Customer Reviews

Explosive Lifting for Sports

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

 

 

So much training in the U.S. is dominated by bodybuilding practices and principles. In "Explosive Lifiting for Sports," Newton breaks down the ONLY way to train athletes, EXPLOSIVELY, with much of the training being dominated by Olympic Lifting (the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch.) It is a refreshing read and is a must have for any coach who wants to decrease a teams susceptibility to injury and improve their performance.

Most books and publications focus on the bodybuilding side of weight lifting. This book is all about getting more explosive power, not about growing muscle. Unfortunately, when most people think about strength training, bodybuilding techniques come to mind. This is one of not many books that focus on lifting for purely functional purposes. You will not be doing any concentration curls 10 sets of 10 reps with programs offered by this book. Instead you'll be doing dynamic lifts that are guaranteed to increase your "core" body explosive strength.

Most of the given information that this book does not help athletes in such sports as football, baseball, basketball, running etc. is completely and entirely absurd.

Sure, this type of "explosive" [olympic] lifting and other similar exercises and routines in themselves are not suitable for those players. Simply because, as stated endurance is a very important factor in sports. In order to be as effective as possible, programs and workouts must be created that include several different types of exercises and training.

Athletes of today ( of the professional kind at least...) implement one or several of these kinds of lifts. There are several different kinds of strength to be gained. One kind, explosive, cannot be gained without drills and exercises such as plyometrics and olympic lifts. Which is precisely the subject of this book. A sprinter would not have the power and speed to explode out of the hole without movements like these. Ever seen an NBA player dunk? That's explosive. Have you have ever seen a quarterback, wide receiver, or linebacker without amazing speed, strength, and power? They use exercises much similar to these. I find it hard to believe that any athlete would not find a single ounce of benefit at all from this book. Olympic "explosive" lifts teach the body to work together and when done correctly and efficiently, enhances overall speed, strength, power, agility, and flexibility. It teaches the entire body to work as one unit, getting bigger and stronger altogether and working just about every muscle in the process. Mostly importantly, it strengthens muscle of the upper body as well as all important muscles of the lower body (primarily everything ranging from the calves,hamstrings, glutes, lower back, to the upper back, delts, and traps)

There are also many cardiovascular benefits to this type of lifting as well. Since the body is worked all at one time with each exercise, not only is it quite taxing, it also saves quite a bit of time. Isolation type exercises (for example, bicep curls or leg extensions) need not be performed if training with this particular kind of lifting.

However, the one most important thing of engaging in any type of lifting program, especially one which contains complex movements (such as olympic lifting) is to have a qualified personal trainer or coach showing you the movements. So, this book may or may not be a worthy source from which to learn. In any case though, it takes most people on average, weeks, months, even several years to completely master lifts of these caliber and to become quite good at them. This book may be definitely worth a read, but make sure that if you do pick it up and attempt any of the exercises contained within, that you also have a qualified trainer or coach. If that is not possible, at least start off VERY light as to avoid injuries and then eventually work your way up slowly.

The reviews so far are quickly turning into a debate over suitablility of training types, crossover of athletic capacity and etc. This section is for reviews.

This book will teach you how to lift in the Olympic Style, pure and simple. This would be a supreme training tool in conjunction with an olympic lifting coach, but is very good on its own. Without a trainer, and using this book, I went from no confidence to snatching and clean and jerking.

The author does not at any point say that olympic lifting is the be-all and end-all of athletic training, but states that olympic lifting can play a major role in preparation for sport. Thus, the book achieves exactly what it says it will: teach the reader olympic lifting, and how to apply it to sports.

I agree that the person that says that explosive lifting is not helping doesnt know what he is talking about. The essence of basketball is not aerobic, it is anaerobic and very explosive. I dare you to take two identical players, and have one player only do endurance stuff and have another do explosive work and other anaerobic work. The later should end of being the better player. Basketball is full of athletic players who are fast, quick, jump high and are strong. Aerobic work takes away from explosiveness. I am a trainer, I have my CSCS, I graduated with a degree in exercise and sport science and I promise that this kind of lifting is key and helpful.

This is a great book for introducing athletes, coaches, or anyone interested in learning about the Olympic lifts. Each lift (clean, snatch, jerk) is covered separately and in great detail with photos showing starting positions, technical variations, and proper execution. Several accessory lifts are also covered, with and emphasis on exercises beneficial to this style of training. The use and importance of these lifts in various sports settings and for developing power and strength is also discussed. While learning these lifts is best done under the tutelage of an experienced coach, this book provides a lot of information for people with little or no exposure to this type of training. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learned a lot from it. If you are unfamiliar with the Olympic lifts or Olympic style weightlifting, then you will find 'Explosive Lifting for Sports' to be a very valuable text.

Chapters cover: basic training methods and principles of strength training; the importance of strength, power, and explosiveness in sports; the importance of proper technique in weightlifting; detailed instructions on proper execution of various lifts (Olypmic lifts and auxillary lifts); periodization and program design; and example sport-specific training programs.

Although you can't beat a coach or trainer when it comes to certain things such as performing olympic lifting movements, this book is the next best thing. After reading it, you should at least have a strong base for what needs to be done to successfully complete lifts such as the snatch, clean and jerk. Ample illustrations and an accompanying summary break down each movement and really help to visualize proper technique. Exercises instrumental in helping to develop explosive lifting power are explained. There's even two chapters devoted to designing and implementing specific training programs. I would recommend this book and it would even make a worthy supplement to the use of a trainer.

Mohammed, At all the elite levels of competition in an amazing array of sports you will find athletes performing olympic lifts almost exclusively. Even if you believe the author's beliefs are out of an enthusiasm for weightlifting you can not deny the success that this type of lifting has given to so many lifters throughout the entire world.

This book was nothing special. It was slow in the beginning - and then got better. All in all good but, could never replace learning first hand from someone who can critique your form.

The book is ok, but it seems like it would be a good book for
introduction, or high school students. I couldn't see anyone
learning to do the lifts from this book, its definately not
a how to or substitute for real coaching. the title sounds
like its trying to hook in people but the book is a basic
primer on the o-lifts.