Customer Reviews

Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are studing for the CSCS exam this is your book. And I should stress this is the ONLY review material that you need, the other "review" materials are a waste of time and money. This book does an excelent job preparing you for the test--read the chapters take the tests at the end of the chapters and you should pass with flying colors. As a side note, yes this book is rather dry, however there is NO other book that covers the entire relm of strength training as well as this book--yes, there are better speciality books than this one and yes there are books that are easier to understand--but as far as covering all the bases, this is the best I've found. It also has good color pictures--as opposed to Designing Resistance Training Programs.

I have read several weight training books over the past few months and this is the best one I have seen so far. It is rough going in spots because of the techinical language used by the authors; however, the explanations are wonderful and the pictures are nothing less than outstanding. Numerous charts and graphs help the reader understand the text. So much of what is written about bodybuilding and weight training is fluff, not backed up by true research. In this publication the authors are careful to use only the best research findings and they are excellent at saying when something is thought to be proven verses actually proven.

I highly recomend this text to anyone interested in weight training. I read it from cover to cover and was not bored. It is excellent as a reference tool as well.

What a great text ! Here is a deep yet clearly/visually presented text on physical training. I've read a number of
strength-training books, but most are dominated by the
body-building mentality. This book will make you think
like a coach and help you understand sport-specific
training.

First what this book is NOT:
If you are in a big hurry to start exercise or if you do not like the thorough scientific approach to bodybuilding, go for other books. Also this book does not give the exercises (just very few basic ones).

Finally what this book is for:
The book is intended for training schools; it gives only the scientifically proven facts, and gives these facts clearly and is very well organized.

I give it 5 stars because it is exactly what it says it is (very honest approach). The good thing is that bodybuilding world is full of dirt (wrong or suspicious information is everywhere), so this book would clear the mess in the non-educated person's mind and give the most precious information - the PROVEN ESSENTIAL information. And by proven I do not mean proven by Joe Amateur who tried that on himself only - as usually is the case, but SCIENTIFICALY proven. That is the biggest advantage of this book.

Unfortunately, this book cannot guard you from all frauds in the field of bodybuilding because the field is too complex and no book can cover everything. If you start with this book, then if you buy some books on exercising, then exercise regularly as your (new) way of living, than think a lot about your training, and maybe some other things...., you will enjoy the most benefits of good health and strong body. A lot of ifs, I know, but every knowledge is hard to grasp.

[....]This is THE book if you are preparing to take your CSCS exam. Every chapter is followed by sample exam questions. It's all here, from physiological basics to adavanced program design considerations. If you're serious about understanding the in's and out's of numerous modes of exercise (ie. aerobic, anaerobic, plyometric, etc, etc.), and the differing physiological responses that accompany, than this needs to be on your bookshelf! Everything from nutrition to age and sex specific tranining considerations can be found in this book. Written in terminology easily understood by most people with a health sciences background but accurate and in-depth from cover to cover. This is a phenominal book that as a HUGE bonus has one of the most complete indices re: relevant exercise physio literature that I have ever seen published. A must have reference piece for any library or collection.

First, lets clarify the audience of this book. It is meant for undergraduation students in Exercise and Sport Science or Kinesiology programs focusing on strength training. And as a reference for professionals in the field. I have owned this book for four years and have used it a lot in my undergrad and Masters programs in Exercise Science. New edition should be out soon, which is good since some of the info. is dated. So here are some thoughts:

First, it is the only reference you will need for the CSCS test from the NSCA. Not every answer on the test is in this book, but a good 90% of them are. It is basically a book put out by the NSCA that puts everything into one place.

The organization is pretty good in my opinion. I think the book flows pretty well and is divided up fairly well. Especially the first section of the book (more scientific oriented, while the second half is more applied).

The writing can be dry, but I was OK with it. Moreso, I am unimpressed by how quickly some subjects are glanced over. Fourteen pages only on periodization? Are you kidding me?! It is also very "safe" when it gets out of the scientific arena and gets into the applied arena (the little that it does that).

The weakest chapter by far is the chapter on plyometrics. The drills are very simple and not described well, and this chapter alone could cost someone a passing grade on the CSCS test if they are using this book as their only study guide (just because the test focuses so much on plyos and this book's chapter on it stinks). There are also some stretches made in the book in regard to recommendations that are "common" but not yet scientifically studied. One of these recommendations is, again in the plyometrics chapter, the discussion about "ground contacts" and intensity of plyometrics. Just one example, the info. on facility design is pretty general and, really, bad, too.

Overall it is a good book for the basics and for its intended audience. It could even be OK for a perosn that just is really interested in fitness and human biology from an exercise standpoint who is not an Exercise Science major if they put in a little time learning about the subject matter. Anyway, if you want to go deeper I would STRONGLY suggest Mel Siff's book Supertraining. Even deeper yet, go with Strength and Power in Sport, edited by Komi (this book is a tough read for most - written for scientists for scientists and Graduate level Exercise Science students but I've had it since I was a junior in undergrad). Both are very hard to find (don't even think they have Supertraining on Amazon, but you can get it from elitefts.com if they don't).

This is by far the greatest book ever written on the subject of strength conditioning. It is packed with information on everything, and I mean everything, that you need to know about muscles, strength training and overall conditioning. I could not put it down, the pictures and charts and illustrations are invaluable making it easier to understand. Whether you are a begginer or an expert on the subject of strength training, this book can help you meet your needs. If you want to become a personal trainer, this is the key. If you want to improve your own body and strengths, this is also the key. It is a win-win book, you can't go wrong. I have nothing bad to say, other then it is heavy, but's thats because it is packed with so much stuff!

I just received this new edition in the mail and I am thoroughy enjoying it. Very detailed, yet pretty easy to read. I would recommend this book to anyone that is training athletes or is interested in strenght training (for any reason). This book is a great resource of knowledge even for people with advanced knowledge in strength training.

Used to train prospective strength and conditioning coaches for the NSCA CSCS exam, this book can also help anyone build a strong foundation of knowledge about how exercise improves the human body. Not just an exercise physiology text, this book includes gems like the classic Stone and Bryant periodized model of weight training (the three-phase progression from high-volume hypertrophy training to high-load strength training); the demystification of big lifts like the clean and press, the power pull, or the snatch; how heavy power training selectively thickens Type II muscle fibers; sports psychology and metabolic training; how the lower body is often undertrained; a more intelligent way to use progress strength training with DAPRE; and an unparalleled discussion on plyometrics. This book anchors its thought-provoking and definitive discussion with relevant references, helpfully cited in context so you can clearly see for yourself at the scientific evidence upon which this book--and much current knowledge in exercise science--is based. The treasures of this book must be extracted at the cost of dry science-speak writing (nouny, overuse of the verb "to be," and heavy reliance on the passive voice): as I read along, I found that selectively underlining and briefly restating key ideas in the margins of this text kept my attention. Not only personal trainers in training but consumers tired of glib books lacking citation of scientific evidence would find this book extremely useful, and certainly more accurate than many consumer fitness books currently on the market.

like kent_mc2 this is all you need for the CSCS exam. This and the Exam Content Descriptions. Do all the questions in each chapter and read the chapters that you are weak on and skim the chapters you feel strong in. Use the chapter questions to see if you need to go over the chapter again. This can be done in a few days if you have some kind of science or exercise science background or other PT training. Some of the basic sciences at the beginning can be a bit intimidating if you did not take basic sciences in college, but only a small percentage of the exam is basic sciences. I keep this book as a reference now.