Men's Health Power Training: Build Bigger, Stronger Muscles with through Performance-based Conditioning [Paperback]

Robert dos Remedios (Author), Michael Boyle (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: September 18, 2007

One of the nation's elite strength and conditioning coaches presents a unique training program designed to help men achieve functional strength and muscular balance throughout their bodies

For decades, the conventional measure of an individual's strength was the amount of weight he could bench press. Now, that measure is being challenged by expert trainers like Robert dos Remedios who argue that the variety of movement patterns used in functional training is the real key to getting bigger, stronger, and more powerful. In Men's Health Book of Strength, this acclaimed collegiate strength and conditioning coach describes in detail the methods he has used to develop hundreds of Division I scholarship athletes, including several current NFL players.

The key features that make this book a standout in the fitness field include:

• exercises geared toward functional strength that can be utilized in real-world situations, from playing sports to lifting furniture

• training sessions that are short, intense, and highly effective

• compound, multijoint exercises that replace the less-effective isolation exercises found in many fitness books

• no-nonsense dietary information utilizing a new and innovative food pyramid developed by the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition that will optimize strength gains, recovery, and physical progress

Product Details

• Paperback: 333 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; 1 edition (September 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594865841
• ISBN-13: 978-1594865848
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 0.9 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Men's Health > General
  • #51 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Weight Training

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

ROBERT dos REMEDIOS, MA, CSCS, director of speed, strength, and conditioning at College of the Canyons in Southern California, is the recipient of the 2006 National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) collegiate strength coach of the year award. He has contributed articles to both Men's Health and Men's Fitness magazines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 333 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; 1 edition (September 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594865841
• ISBN-13: 978-1594865848
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 0.9 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Men's Health > General
  • #51 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Weight Training

More About the Author

Coach Robert dos Remedios has been involved in strength and conditioning for over 20 years. After completing his competitive football career at the University of California, Berkeley in 1988, he began training athletes on a full-time basis. "Coach Dos" has a masters degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Biomechanics from California State University, Northridge, has been a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the NSCA since 1990, and is a Strength and Conditioning Collegiate Coach (SCCC) as recognized by the CSCCa.

Coach Dos is a sought after international speaker on a variety of conditioning topics such as Olympic Weightlifting applications, Sport-speed development, Explosive training, and CHAOStm Speed Training. Coach Dos serves as Director of Speed, Strength & Conditioning @ College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, CA, a position he has held since 1999.

Coach Dos is also the 2006 recipeint of the National Strength and Conditioning's prestigious Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Professional of the year for 2006. This award is given to the top collegiate strength coach in the country (as voted on by his peers).

In addition to contributing to Men's Health on a regular basis, Coach Dos' first book Men's Health Power Training (Rodale Books) was released in July 2007 and has become a best seller. His next book "Men's Health Cardio Strength Training" was released in December 2009.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

144 of 153 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars this book is changing my life October 18, 2007

By Robert A. Yoho MD

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm 54 years old and have been lifting since I was 18. I've read countless weightlifting (mainly bodybuilding) books starting with Arnold's stuff in the 70's. I'm a physician. I've been exposed to very little of the material here, but as I understand it, much of it is used currently for athletic training such as football. This thing is packed with great material and I've been working at mastering some of the ideas for several months. The olympic lifts and compound (multiple sets together) exercises are just fantastic. I'm no longer interested in bodybuilding but being strong and healthy and not wasting a lot of time, and this program seems to have it all. Buy this book, I think it will change your life. Be careful with the weight you use, very careful; unless you are well conditioned already you can easily hurt yourself. I've never written one of these reviews before but this time I'm compelled.

70 of 72 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book for maximizing strength gains and improving athletic performance March 30, 2012

By Luca Vincenzo

Format:Kindle Edition

This book focuses on training for functional strength and power (the amount of force your muscles can generate), which means training in a way that aligns with how you actually use your body.

It teaches the right fundamentals of muscle and strength building, such as the importance of muscle overload, of training primarily with free weights, of sticking to compound exercises, of training explosively, of training the whole body, and more. These are the true foundation of a big, strong physique, and are often overlooked by guys.

Functional training also focuses on full body routines, not single body part splits like what most of us are used to. I don't know if I agree that split training is a "thing of the past," as the book claims, but I think that you need to decide based on your goals. I have friends that are big, strong, lean, and athletic, and they do a "normal" split routine. I have friends that are athletes and have to focus on functional strength and mobility, and while they could out-run, jump, and maneuver my split-routine friends, they don't LOOK as good (hey, it's important).

I liked that the training program given in this book don't eat up a ton of time. There are 2-, 3-, and 4-day weekly programs, and if you opt for the 4-day, you'll spend no more than an hour in the gym each day. The book tells you everything you need to know to do the program correctly, from how long to rest between sets, to exercise tempo, to warming up correctly, to the exercises to do each day, and more. It's very thorough.

I found the nutrition section a bit lacking as it didn't fully explain how to tailor and tweak your diet for muscle building (bulking) and fat loss (cutting).... The problem with this is that nutrition DRASTICALLY affects your training gains--the commonly accepted adage is that nutrition determines 70% of your gains. So if you train correctly but eat poorly, you will make a fraction of the gains you could make if you ate well.

SUMMARY

You will like this book if you're more interested in getting strong than getting as big or lean as quickly as healthily possible. The workouts are INTENSE circuit routines--if you've never felt like puking during a work out, you will. If you follow this program, expect significant strength gains with moderate muscle gains.

P.S. I recently finished Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body (The Lean Muscle Series), and I highly recommend it. It teaches many of the same principles of this book, but it's slanted toward the guy that wants to build muscle or lose fat quickly and effectively. Its workout program is very straightforward and sensible, it fully explains how to manipulate your diet based on your goals, and it has some great advice regarding supplements. Check it out. Read more ›

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Training with a program! Finally October 25, 2007

By J. P. Kunze

Format:Paperback

I got this book from the library first but now it's on my Christmas list. This book is well worth the price!

I'm sick of getting workout books that just show you a lot of the same old exercises and don't really give you a program or instruction on how to use the workouts. I believe that is why so many people are gravitating toward workout programs like crossfit, because they actually tell you what to do. I believe the problem with crossfit is that you are constantly working out but there is really no gauge on how much progress you are making or no real goals to accomplish. This book is a very structured book with lots of really creative and difficult exercises, some of which I've never seen before. You may have to work your way up to some of the most difficult exercises.
My first experience going through the full body workout 3 days per week I came closer to puking than I ever had before! It took me about 30mins to calm down after that workout enough to keep my food down. It's a well rounded program that the author has designed so you can tailor it to your own schedule very easily (which is about the only easy thing about this workout).
Another thing I really like about this program is the emphasis on unilateral workouts. I tore my ACL a year ago, and had surgery about 10 months ago, and have had a hard time working out and not favoring my good leg. All the unilateral workouts really keep my body balanced and has really been good for my surgical knee as it recovers.
I can't talk about long term results yet because the book just came out but so far I've been really impressed.

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars sound practical advice..highly recommended December 29, 2007

By cynic1

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

i really enjoy this book. in particular, the selection and variety of exercises is great. although beginners are encouraged to try, i would say it's best-suited toward people already in above-average shape or people at least 1-2 months into a regular workout program. many of the exercises suggested require a lot of proper technical form, balance, and maximal power, all of which could lead to serious injury without careful supervision or at least a foundational level of fitness. also many of the exercises require comfortable usage of your own body weight. this kind of training requires commitment; done properly, it is not easy.

the philosophy of the author's training is practical & efficient. most books neglect these areas and just offer workout recipes, which to me seems like a by-product of what the author despises: isolation.

my criticisms are small (& not necessarily within the author's control)
- the described total-body, hypertrophy, and strength phases do not seem all that different from each other. (maybe that's just how it is)
- i'd prefer if the more technical exercises were explained & shown in greater detail
- having access to olympic-style lifting equipment can be difficult. it's pretty hard to find gyms that carry the type of barbells & weights you can safely drop on the floor from an elevated height. (you can use regular barbells, just be more careful & quiet)
- i don't really like the nutrition section. it offers basic advice that neither targets losing body fat or adding muscle; just does a little of each. diet & rest are just as important as a workout plan in getting real results. since this is men's health, "the abs diet" is a much better guide to proper eating....

this book is not directed towards losing body fat, though that may happen coincidentally. it's for building practical & balanced strength, muscle, and coordination. ultimately, this kind of training will help keep you safe and functionally strong. i wish there were more books like this and i think it's sad more people don't train like this.

P.S. make sure you use really stable cross-training or tennis shoes with this workout. do not use running shoes. Read more ›