Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance

A journey into the new science of injury prevention that reveals how “ballistic” movement can help you get strong, stay healthy, and be elite. For people who love to move, injuries are the worst. What if we could predict and prevent them? In Ballistic, longtime NBA data journalist and competitive amateur athlete Henry Abbott tells the story of sports scientist Dr. Marcus Elliott and the Peak Performance Project (P3), who use technology to study how athletes move, and why they get hurt. P3 has helped elite professionals compete with impressive longevity by training with “ballistic” movements—leaping and landing. Their data-driven insights offer a surprising takeaway: The explosive moves and ground impacts we often avoid in everyday workouts might provide the secret to an injury-free athletic life. Ballistic explores cutting-edge research into physiology and strength, pain and psychology, biomechanics and neuroplasticity, and presents an evidence-based case for intervening early to avoid injuries and stem our growing mobility crisis. Abbott’s inspiring narrative can help readers harness the science of ballistic movement to continue the athletic adventures that bring joy.