Ballistic

The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance

20 June 2025

Territory Rights — Worldwide.

Henry Abbott (Author)

Description

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.

Reviews

"It’s not easy to write precisely and engagingly about movement. It’s even harder to write about movement in a way that makes someone who is comfortably sitting—say, while reading an engrossing book—want to get up and move. But Henry Abbott has done it brilliantly. BALLISTIC has changed the way I think about sports, bodies, and movement—which is to say, it’s changed my life." — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker

"Ballistic is a fascinating, narrative tour of a new science of human movement that has the capacity to predict—and prevent—injuries before they happen. You will never think about your hips the same way again." — David Epstein, bestselling author of The Sports Gene and Range

"What if we could unlock peak performance without sacrificing our long-term health and well-being? In Ballistic, Henry Abbott takes us on a journey to explore how to do just that. Abbott shows us that our bodies are not machines to be pushed, but intelligent systems designed for joyful, powerful movement. A must-read for anyone interested in sport or exercise. Ballistic rewrites the rules of athleticism, showing a path towards moving, feeling, and living better." — Steve Magness, author of Do Hard Things and Win the Inside Game

"Henry Abbott’s deep dive into the murky science of sports injuries features great storytelling, clear explanations, and a welcome embrace of complexity over quick fixes. Best of all, you’ll come away believing that injuries aren’t inevitable after all." — Alex Hutchinson, author of Endure and The Explorer’s Gene

Hardback

9781324050131

152 x 229 mm • 320 pages

£23.99

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Ebook

9781324050148

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£23.99

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