Fitness audiobooks have the power to inspire and motivate us to change ourselves, whether through tough love or peeks into the amazing transformations of others. As one of the most consistently popular audiobook genres, there are countless selections with a plethora of information about the road to better health. Here, we feature titles that seek to communicate truths about health and fitness by examining both the nutrition industry at large and also human motivations that can affect change.
Dr. David Sinclair is one of the preeminent biologists and geneticists researching the aging process today. His work, summarized in Lifespan, is dedicated to understanding and preventing aging, rewriting the narrative that aging is an inevitable part of life and instead encouraging listeners to think beyond what is currently possible. Dr. Sinclair narrates his own research and findings, making this audiobook remarkably accessible with his personal tone and helpful explanations. Lifespan attempts to reframe the paradigm through which we’ve viewed aging for centuries. It’s ambitious, fascinating, and a little bit mind-boggling—the perfect recipe for a skip-free listen.
Vinnie Tortorich has made his living as a fitness trainer for over 30 years, serving celebrity clients at all fitness levels. He’s also the host of the Fitness Confidential podcast—where he’s claimed the title of Angriest Trainer because of his reaction to the ways the fitness industry exploits people—and has compiled his life’s work and lessons in this audiobook. His charismatic personality shines through in his hilarious stories and narrative performance as he guides listeners through his personal experiences as a trainer and gives practical advice on how to really reach health goals. Tortorich is a no-nonsense person and though he’s part of the fitness community, he doesn’t shy away from critiquing it, offering a distinct perspective that makes this a must listen.
This compact audiobook packs a huge emotional punch. Tina Lifford, whose naturally soothing voice is well-suited for her message, uses 14 stories to express 14 insights on how to shift our self-perception and renew our relationships with ourselves. In a fitness world that, at its worst, fuels comparison and self-hate, Lifford’s audiobook is a breath of fresh air. Lifford guides listeners to take hard looks at themselves and doesn’t shy away from doing the same herself. Every story she tells is deeply personal, and paints a picture of a woman who’s worked hard to build and maintain emotional strength. Juxtaposing her struggle with our own is what makes this title so powerful. Lifford’s selection is touching, moving, and nothing short of necessary.
The aim of The Great Courses, founded by Tom Rollins, is to make the knowledge and experience of experts widely available. In Nutrition Made Clear, award-winning lecturer and celebrated dietician Professor Roberta H. Anding gives listeners invaluable knowledge about food that can be easily applied to real life eating habits. Listeners learn how to calculate dietary needs, create the ideal nutrition and exercise plans, and how to definitively read and understand food labels despite companies’ attempts to obfuscate the important details. Broken down into 36 chapters at roughly 30 minutes apiece, Nutrition Made Clear is easy to study one or two chapters at a time, giving listeners ample time to incorporate Anding’s advice over the course of a month.
Meditation can be intimidating from the outside. For some of us, disciplined silence while emptying our mind of thoughts can seem impossible—and it doesn’t help that the concept of mindfulness has taken on so many meanings that its true essence can feel muddled. In Altered Traits, New York Times best-selling authors and researchers Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson reveal the science behind successful meditation and the various benefits it offers. Hearing Goleman himself unspool the details of every study he and Davidson amassed is illuminating and compelling. They gain the listeners’ confidence by addressing the pros and cons of each study, and by carefully explaining the complex neuroscientific concepts underlying each. The resulting audiobook is a fascinating starting point for new meditators and a unique look for experienced practitioners as well.
How many diets not only allow red meat and dairy but fully encourage it? Nina Teicholz’s The Big Fat Surprise makes the case for those foods, which is reason enough to give this heavily researched title a listen. In this listen, Teicholz exposes the misrepresentations in the food industry’s health standards. Teicholz explores decades’ worth of food research to take a closer look at the people who created the food standards by which we still, in large part, abide. Narrator Erin Bennett lends gravitas to this intriguing title with her performance, enlivening the selection with humor at just the right points to complement her otherwise serious tone as she guides listeners through this intense look at the alleged universal truths of health.
Dr. T. Colin Campbell—author of The China Study, a revolutionary approach to plant-based eating—and Howard Jacobson—a Man Booker Prize-winning journalist—take on Big Pharma’s influence on public health in Whole. The narration by Don Hagen is methodical and consistent, maintaining a great pace for this information-packed title and driving home the most important points with clear emphasis. As Campbell and Jacobson lay out study after study to support their approach and steer listeners away from things like harmful chemicals in pre-packaged foods, hidden ingredients that have been renamed to appear less threatening, and phony supplements, Whole transforms into part how-to and part damning portrait of misleading facts in the nutrition industry.
Celebrity health consultant and beloved social media influencer Kelly LeVeque wants to change your life by helping you find balance between dieting and living without restraint in Body Love. The second title on our list narrated by Erin Bennett, Body Love is performed in such a way that it sounds like listening to a comforting pep talk from a close friend. She explores the science behind the most popular diets today and then proposes her own plan for staying healthy while living a balanced life. LeVeque’s friendly, loving approach to fitness makes the experience of learning how to care for our bodies painless and fun. This approachable guide is packed with dozens of recipes, tips, and resources for listeners to explore and add to daily life.
What separates the good from the great? In Endure, award-winning journalist and long-time distance runner Alex Hutchinson examines this question as it relates to feats of athleticism. Guided by the dependably pleasant voice of Robert G. Slade, listeners unravel case studies of endurance athletes to figure out just what it is that sets them apart. The capacity to endure beyond the point at which the brain and body demand rest is a key ingredient to true athletic greatness in any demanding sport, and the mix of mental and physical signals one must overcome to succeed has long fascinated Hutchinson. Rather than making listeners feel like endurance is a skill only a select few can perfect, he aims to making listeners feel that going farther is always possible.
Leading physician in the nutrition field and creator of the renowned Nutrition Facts website, Dr. Michael Greger has studied the impact of animal products on health for years. In this best-selling selection, he uses the 15 leading causes of death in America as an outline to discuss how food can act as both preventative and corrective medicine. The passion of his career-long dedication comes through in his narration, making this a compelling and clear selection for anyone who wants to learn about the effects of some of our favorite foods. Listeners can expect to hear constructive, applicable advice on what to eat to help prevent specific diseases, and a lot of convincing evidence for a whole food, plant-based diet. For listeners interested in exploring veganism, Dr. Greger’s audiobook is an excellent jumping off point.
Michael Pollan follows his food to its source, giving new meaning to farm to table in this incisively reported look at where food comes from and how it makes its way to our plates. The dilemma of the title is simple: in a world where omnivores, especially humans, can eat countless foods thanks to modern farming, exchange, and technology, how do we learn what is good for us? Pollan considers this age-old anthropological question through a modern lens—and it’s a wilder ride than you might expect. Hall of Fame narrator Scott Brick delivers vocal clarity and crisp enunciation that make each of the nearly 16 hours of The Omnivore’s Dilemma as riveting as the last. Pollan and Brick are a great team: Pollan has an important message to share, and Brick is just the performer to deliver it.
Number one New York Times best seller and an Audible Editors Select audiobook, Salt, Sugar, Fat is incredible investigative reporting by Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Moss and a cutting indictment of processed foods and the industry that creates them. Scott Brick he brings all the urgency and anger of Moss’s stellar and engrossing craftsmanship to listeners. Moss spares none of the most well known companies in his findings—Nestlé, Kellogg, Coca-Cola, and Kraft (among many others) are all represented and examined. Splitting his work into three easily consumed parts, one for each of the substances mentioned in the title, Moss effectively reveals how these big companies got America addicted to food that could kill.
Another home-run audiobook from writer Michael Pollan and narrator Scott Brick, this selection is a manifesto for what Pollan might call real or unprocessed food, making it a great companion to some of the other selections on our list. Pollan focuses on the misinformation we receive about food on a daily basis and seeks to show listeners how processed food could be harming us. In Defense of Food works as both a sequel to The Omnivore’s Dilemma, as it further explores some concepts introduced in that audiobook, and as an introduction to learning about processed versus whole foods. Pollan does a great job inspiring a-ha moments by expressing concepts that seem obvious once articulated, and Brick’s high-quality narration brings the drama the subject matter deserves.
Michael Matthews’ big personality comes through in his stately, penetrating narration of his work. Hearing him read his words in this first-person look at training hard and consistently is compelling and, above all, motivating. His goal is to give listeners the knowledge needed for building muscle, plain and simple, and is focused on his own experience doing just that (and on avoiding the treadmill at all costs). While this fitness audiobook naturally focuses on the male experience because of its author, there are plenty of pieces of sound advice for all genders contained within these quick-passing 16 hours. Matthews cuts through years of nonsense and supplement-pushing in the muscle-building industry, unlocking an essentially foolproof gameplan for listeners looking to add muscle mass fast.
Dr. Linda Bacon challenges society’s assumption that overweight equals unhealthy in Health at Every Size, and what follows is a selection that has the power to reintroduce self-love into listeners’ lives in a very real way. Using her PhD in physiology, Dr. Bacon debunks myths society has told us about the way bodies should look for decades, and condemns the impossible ideals we’re meant to strive for. In only 10 hours—which makes this a great selection for a week or two of commutes!—Dr. Bacon guides listeners to a more holistic health approach that isn’t so weight-focused and allows room for loving and respecting bodies of any size. Narrator Emily Durante brings a personal, warm tone to this uplifting title that we love for the way it makes listeners feel: free and unashamed.
Using a uniquely kind and thoughtful voice, Jenna Hollenstein teaches listeners how to disentangle from a complicated, toxic relationship with food and the body. Most of us, she argues, aren’t even aware of how much these relationships influence our daily lives, but once listeners begin looking for their effects, they seem to be everywhere. Hollenstein allows listeners to wipe the slate clean and stop focusing on dieting, weight-loss, or exercise, instead urging an inward-facing approach centered around self-compassion. Hollenstein’s approach is radical in its simplicity and positivity, and her audiobook is more like meditation than instruction, which makes it a great break from more action-oriented messaging, should listeners need it. We definitely recommend letting a little love back into your relationship with food and the body with the help of this soothing, hopeful selection.
If there's anything people say they want more of these days...it's energy. Shawn Wells' latest audiobook takes the age-old concept of "food as fuel" and takes it to the logical limit. In this text, Wells looks at our internal engine from a holistic standard, considering caloric intake, supplements, daily routine, exercise, sleep, and any other factors that affect the biological clock. Stick with Wells for some serious inspiration, as well as some actionable items that can really impact your energy levels on a day-by-day basis.
All at once a memoir, motivational piece and a guide to personal fitness, role model and success guru David Goggins takes to the page once again with his smash hit "Can't Hurt Me." Pulling from his difficult past, Goggins details his transformation from a depressed, overweight young man to a US Armed Forces icon and one of the world's top endurance athletes. If he can do it with the odds stacked against him, you can too. Goggins meets his listeners at eye level for a true showcase of good advice to affect positive change.
We all know it’s beneficial to exercise—it helps us stay physically healthy and reach our fitness goals. What Dr. John J. Ratey offers is an in-depth look at the mental effects of consistent exercise that shifts the focus away from body shaming and toward inspiration. Dr. Ratey gives listeners knowledge about endorphins by leveraging medical studies and stories of past patients, personal experiences with a wealth of expertise to explain the role endorphins play in our brains. Narrated with a steady pace and friendly tone by Walter Dixon’s adaptable voice, Spark makes one of the most compelling cases for the necessity of exercise. It’s a particularly good fitness audiobook for those who have depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders; while Ratey doesn’t tout exercise as a cure, he spends a good deal of time focusing on how it can aid mood-related mental health management.
One of the most thorough accounts of carbohydrate science, Good Calories, Bad Calories argues that carbs, despite many years of besmirchment by fad diets, don’t necessarily lead to unhealthy weight gain. The real issue, according to award-winning food scientist Gary Taubes, comes in refined carbohydrates, like regular pasta. And Taubes suggests that by substituting these refined carbs with healthier options, we can make a big impact on our health. Narrator Mike Chamberlain effortlessly adds auditory interest to the data-centric title, making it an easy listen for anyone who’s interested in learning more about the myths surrounding carbs. Taubes’ hypothesis may be familiar to listeners already educated on nutrition issues, but it’s only because Good Calories, Bad Calories is the defining account on the subject and has shaped diet discourse for nine years now. This selection is a foundational must-listen.
