Brian Sharkey, PhD, is a leading fitness researcher, educator, and author. Sharkey has more than 45 years of experience in exercise, sport, and work physiology. He is professor emeritus at the University of Montana, where he served as director of the Human Performance Laboratory and remains associated with the university and lab. He currently serves as a consultant with several federal agencies in the areas of fitness, health, and work capacity, especially of wildland firefighters. He has won several awards for his work, including the 2009 International Association of Wildland Fire’s Wildland Fire Safety Award for his contributions to wildland firefighter safety and health.  

Sharkey authored or contributed to over a dozen books on exercise, sport, and work physiology and fitness and numerous research papers. He is past president of the American College of Sports Medicine and served on the NCAA committee on competitive safeguards and medical aspects of sports, where he chaired the Sports Science and Safety subcommittee, which uses research to improve the safety of intercollegiate athletics. He also coordinated the United States ski team Nordic Sports Medicine Council.

In his leisure time, Brian enjoys cross-country and alpine skiing, road and mountain biking, running and hiking in the hills and valleys, and paddling the rivers and lakes of Montana. He lives with his wife, Ann, close to his daughter, son, and grandchildren in Missoula, Montana.

“Beginners of all ages and fitness levels are sure to appreciate this shallow-end-of-the-pool approach to improving one’s health, whose gentle but comprehensive guidance and instruction will equip them to venture, at their own pace, into the deep end.”

Library Journal

"If you want to get in shape but don't have a clue about how to do it the right way, Fitness Illustrated is the book for you! There’s no need to plow through pages of boring information. Brian Sharkey's easy-to-read descriptions will help you jump into action."

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD -- Author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Fourth Edition

“Do you ever go to the gym and wonder why you are doing a certain workout? With Brian Sharkey's Fitness Illustrated, you will not only get a step-by-step program but also understand why you are performing each exercise.”

Diane O'Donnell -- ACE-Certified Personal Trainer, Health Editor for the Staten Island Advance