Healthy Intelligent Training: The Proven Principles of Arthur Lydiard [Paperback]

Keith Livingston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2008

Based on the proven principles of Arthur Lydiard - Runners World "Coach of the Century" - this is a must-have volume for anyone involved in middle-distance running. "Healthy Intelligent Training" provides readers with an easy-to-follow guide to the principles and training techniques that guided numerous athletes from across the globe to World Records and Olympic Gold.Written by a former national-level runner, with contributions from Olympic medalists and coaches, this superb volume shows you how to plan and follow your own training program to reach peak performance when you want.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Keith Livingston is a successful chiropractor, and an avid middle distance runner. He has trained and raced with many of the world's best runner's.

Product Details

• Paperback: 267 pages
• Publisher: Meyer & Meyer Fachverlag und Buchhandel GmbH (October 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841262471
• ISBN-13: 978-1841262475
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #927,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book ever on the Lydiard system, November 10, 2008

By 

SimonM (Boulder, CO, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healthy Intelligent Training: The Proven Principles of Arthur Lydiard (Paperback)

Simply the best book ever on the training system that has probably transformed more runners into champions than any other.

I got a copy of Running the Lydiard Way in 1978 and it went everywhere with me, 24 hours a day for at least two years, while Arthur's way changed me from an average club hack into a county-class runner. I don't know where Keith Livingstone's book is going to take me, but I've already started carrying it around.

Finally, 30 years on, we get an update and a full explanation of what the Lydiard system really is and how it works. Very exciting!

Even better, Keith writes as a New Zealander born and bred right there in Lydiard land, being himself coached by Olympic medallist Barry Magee, one of Arthur's originals. So here is the true word on Lydiard, direct from original sources.

It's become fashionable to bash Lydiard these days; many of us who had direct contact with the "master coach" have tried and failed to correct the complete tosh that is often claimed as being "Lydiard training" - the most common myth being that he advocated a minimum of 100 miles a week at barely above jogging pace. Here at last is chapter and verse on EXACTLY what Arthur intended, with plenty of real-life examples of how Arthur and his runners adapted the basic system to individualise it for runners of different capabilities.

You'll see, for example, how to use sessions of long slow distance therapeutically, to help recover form. Keith has also done a great job of providing the missing science; although Arthur has been hailed as the greatest running coach of all time, Keith reminds us that Arthur was actually a milkman; he worked things out by experimenting on himself and then with trial and error plus intuition. 30 years on, and with the benefit of the latest research, we can see why Arthur's system works so well -- and also what we need to tweak to make it even more effective.
To that end, Keith brings in the research of Dr Jack Daniels on Vo2 and "V dot" pacing that clarifies what some of Arthur's sessions were out to achieve; he incorporates the "mass-specific" model of strength training developed by Barry Ross; and he includes contributions from Nick Bideau, coach of Craig Mottram, and NZ triathlon coach Chris Pilone, who guided Hamish Carter to 2004 Olympic gold.

A brilliant book, endorsed by Barry Magee and marathon great Lorraine Moller, co-founder of The Lydiard Foundation -- this is a must-have.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book for aspiring runners., November 7, 2008

By 

Peter N. Cecil "Late Start Runner." (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Healthy Intelligent Training: The Proven Principles of Arthur Lydiard (Paperback)

This book is a must for everyone who is a runner or who wants to be a runner. Keith's way of putting things in a simple no nonsense,from experience way is very refreshing and makes for a "can't put down read".
I finished it at 4.00am and felt like going for a run. Five stars is not enough!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only book a serious runner will ever need, February 28, 2009

By 

Michael Dixon "DIXON" (Fanwood, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Healthy Intelligent Training: The Proven Principles of Arthur Lydiard (Paperback)

This is a must have for any distance runner looking for the best way to train. While following Arthur Lydiard's principles, I have already taken my marathon time down from 3 hours in 2006 to a 2:31 this past year. Not to mention, every other personal record that I held. Livingstone makes everything clear and simple.