This text introduces students to the essentials of the major contributing disciplines – biomechanics, physiology and psychology. It provides detailed knowledge and understanding of each subject area combined with explicit advice on how to study effectively, research further and think critically. Case studies clearly relate theory to practice and learning exercises support readers throughout the text.

"A delightful and informative look at nudism throughout history and around the world." — The Seattle TimesPeople have been getting naked in public for reasons other than sex for centuries. But as Mark Haskell Smith reveals, being a nudist is more complicated than simply dropping trou. "Nonsexual social nudism," as it's called, rose to prominence in the late nineteenth century. Intellectuals, outcasts, and health nuts from Victorian England and colonial Ind...

What is physical literacy?What are the benefits of being physically literate?The term ‘physical literacy’ describes the motivation, confidence, physical competence, understanding and knowledge that individuals develop in order to maintain physical activity at an appropriate level throughout their life. Physical literacy encompasses far more than physical education in schools or structured sporting activities, offering instead a broader conception of physical ...

The globalizing influence of professional sportsProfessional sports today have truly become a global force, a common language that anyone, regardless of their nationality, can understand. Yet sports also remain distinctly local, with regional teams and the fiercely loyal local fans that follow them. This book examines the twenty-first-century phenomenon of global sports, in which professional teams and their players have become agents of globalization while at the ...

In this masterpiece of sports reportage, Washington Post staff writer Mark Maske--one of the most respected journalists working both on and off the field--draws on unprecedented access to produce a behind-the-scenes look at the NFL's bitterest rivals: the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and Dallas Cowboys.Relentlessly reported from the leadership level, War Without Death delivers all the dramatic personality conflicts and unexpected chan...

This is the first text to offer a comprehensive socio-cultural and historical analysis of the current fitness culture.Fitness today is not simply about health clubs and exercise classes, or measures of body mass index and cardiovascular endurance. Fit for Consumption conceptualizes fitness as a field within which individuals and institutions may negotiate - if not altogether reconcile - the competing and often conflicting social demands made on the individual body that cha...

SPORT FITNESS CULTURE provides an overview of the socio-cultural factors that influence sport, physical activity and fitness. An interdisciplinary theoretical background is followed by an analysis on current issues of importance. SPORT FITNESS CULTURE focuses on the influences of culture and society on human movement. The text introduces and analyzes current issues of importance whether it is in the context of teaching physical education, coordinating/ marketing sport and rec...

Philosophical Perspectives on Play builds on the disciplinary and paradigmatic bridges constructed between the study of philosophy and play in The Philosophy of Play (Routledge, 2013) to develop a richer understanding of the concept and nature of play and its relation to human life and value. Made up of contributions from leading international thinkers and inviting readers to explore the presumptions often attached to play and playfulness, the book considers ways that pla...

The discipline area of physical education has historically struggled for legitimacy, sometimes being seen as a non-serious pursuit in educational terms compared to other subjects within the school curriculum. This book represents the first attempt in nearly thirty years to offer a coherent philosophical defence and conceptualisation of physical education and sport as subjects of educational value, and to provide a philosophically sound justification for their inclusion in the curriculum.

In our increasingly risk-averse society, touch and touching behaviours between professionals and children have become a fraught issue. In sports coaching and physical education, touching young sports performers and participants has, in some contexts, come to be redefined as dubious and dangerous. Coaches find themselves operating in a framework of regulations and guidelines that create anxiety, for them and others, and for many volunteer (and sometimes professional) coaches, this fearful c...

'We can reach far more people through sport than we can through political or educational programmes. In that way, sport is more powerful than politics. We have only just started to use its potential to build up this country. We must continue to do so.' – Nelson MandelaNelson Mandela's statement reflects a widely held view that sport can contribute in unique and far-reaching ways to the delivery of important social outcomes. But is this rea...

The Routledge Handbook of Youth Sport is a comprehensive survey of the latest research into young people’s involvement in sport. Drawing on a wide diversity of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, policy studies, coaching, physical education and physiology, the book examines the importance of sport during a key transitional period of our lives, from the later teenage years into the early twenties, and therefore helps us develop a better understanding of the social constru...