Customer Reviews

Powerlifting

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

 

 

I purchased this book to add to my general knowledge of powerlifting. It was extremely basic and utterly useless to anyone who has some knowledge of the sport. I hoped to gain information about training methods and routines, but the book did not deliver. The book also contradicts itself on many occasions. At one point, it claims working the calf muscle will not increase power, yet later it gives information on calf exercies to supplement the squat.

who is barney groves??????........and who are the supposedly national and world champions he presents in his book?????

as one who had been involved in powerlifting since it's inception as coach.....international referee.......and a 5 time world champion........i find this book to be a joke......mr groves may have meant well...but i find the book to be a piece of junk...written by a no name author ...giving incorrect information....using made up national and world champions to promote a book that teaches nothing........i guess anybody can make money on anything today in the good old u.s.a.

it does my sport a great disservice to present information like this to the general public......

the book should be rated as a comet not a star......i.e falling to earth and burning up is it's best chance of being useable
rickey dale crain

A lot of folks confuse body building, weightlifting and power lifting. These are three sports that use similar equipment for different effect. It is important to explain this to avoid a lot of confusion and understand the authors target audience.

1. A bodybuilder is using a variety of exercises to have large and well defined muscles. While strength gains are real, the primary goal is to have a shapely body and the contests are based upon how good the contestant looks. There are numerous resources, magazines and so on available to the prospective trainee. Most people who "work out" are following one or more bodybuilding routines.

2. Weightlifting is a strength and speed exercise with many classic lifts such as the 'clean and jerk' - and this is the sport most people think of when they talk about weight training. This is an Olympic sport and has a lot of books and other references.

3. Powerlifting is mostly a strength exercise based upon 3 exercises: the Squat, the Bench Press and the Deadlift. This book is about this particular sport, and it is about these three lifts. If you want to know about this sort of lifting, the sport and the types of people that do this, as well as a taste of the types of diet and exercise programs people use to train, this is a good book.

*** It happens to be one of the only easily available books on the subject, as such it is a "must get" for the prospective Powerlifter. ***

The book is not a complete reference for an absolute beginner to weight training, but if someone is familiar with basic bodybuilding routines, and has done it for a little bit (a year of minimum training in my opinion) this is a great introduction into the sport of powerlifting. From some of the bios in the book, most of the people did bodybuilding for some time, and then discovered Powerlifting, and this probably should be no different.

The book does a great job of describing the lifts, how to perform them properly, and safely, and it explains routines for training, periodization for competition as well as how to set up your own powerlifting routine. You can glean a lot of information on the sport and routines for a variety of ages, body types as well as men and women form the book. It also has sections talking about how to have a balanced routine, which is important if you are to have a LONG powerlifting routine!

If you want to learn about POWERLIFTING (the sport) this is a great book! If you have some experience in bodybuilding and want to know more about some really core exercises as well as one possible way to expand you horizons with a new sport - pick this up!

I can't believe all the bad reviews this book is getting. Ive been into fitness for 12 years and seen far, far worse efforts by self-styled "experts".
I'm aware that power lifting is hard on the joints. So is every sport I can think of. Sad to say, as a weightlifter and martial artist, my sports have a lot of envy and gossip. The author is a professor of Physical Ed at a Virginia University. What are the qualifications of his critics?
If you want a book that shows real strengh training, get this one. It's about ten dollars used and twenty new. You won't be sorry.

I do realize that Grove's intent is to show us the basics and let us develop our own programs over time, but he leaves way too much food for thought.

The vagueness of the program, applies to it's incorporation into other sports, as well as powerlifting itself. For example, he tells us the deadlift and squat should be performed every 5-10 days and the chest twice a week, every 3-5 days, with one light day. What he doesn't tell us, is should we do the chest and deadlift on the same day since the muscles are different? And what does he mean by doing a "light" day for chest, when there is no explaination of this at all in the program? Are we just supposed to figure out our own system?

I also find it strange that Groves only gives 2 examples of other sports, where powerlifting can be used. One of which is basketball. You'd think he'd include a program for wrestling or Olympic weight lifting, but he didn't. Not only that, the exercises he lists, give no indication of how many sets, reps, or how his main program should be incorporated into that sport. He also tells you to a whole bunch of exercises, that aren't even listed in his book.

All I can say is, don't expect to follow this program properly unless you already have a good amount of knowledge of basic bodybuilding and it's exercises.

This book contains sound, useful advice, and it is appropriate for drug-free lifters.Furthermore, the author is a middle-aged man of average potential, not an ultramesomorphic superstar, which makes his suggested methods apt for the majority of prospective trainees/competitors. Those who are contemplating powerlifting competition will find the book helpful, but "home gym" trainees who seek only to gain muscular strength and size can also benefit.

Although it is informative to hear the views of an insider to Powerlifting, the author failed to warn people of the shortcomings of this unscientific and dangerous sport.

The author is obsessed with the definition of Power in the context of the laws of mechanics and entirely omits the physiological dimensions of muscular power. Powerlifting induces serious limitation in the range of motion of joints. Thus, many powerlifters would be crippled with knee injuries, back injuries, and shoulder injuries before too long.

The three powerlifting lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift) are arbitrarily chosen to represent the sport. Thus, powerlifters will fail to lift overhead, in upright position, due to frozen shoulders, stiff back, and worn knee cartilages.

Powerlifters should be advised strongly to stretch and enhance the range of motion of those three major regions. They also have to be told to plan for health insurance that covers serious knee injuries with life-long disability.

One must admit that training on Powerlifting is much better than doing nothing. Yet, better, is to lift weight from the floor overhead, standing on your own feet, even if it would require many months to develop the coordination and balance. Lifting in the deadlift is very "partial". Lifting in the "squat" tips the body extensors at the expense of the flexors. Lifting in the "bench press" freezes the shoulder joints in a narrow range of motion. The three lifts have to be balanced with full, floor-overhead, lifting and flexing exercises such as "pull-over", "weighted crunches", and "standing shoulder-press".

This book is perhaps only interesting if you are a absolute beginner and want to learn a bit about powerlifting. The exercises are in my opinion very poorly displayed. Also the text is sometimes vague and uninspered.

It looks like this book is put together fast for sales, with no creative ideas or innovating routines. All the information in this book is well known to everybody, easily obtained through websites , and in places outdated.

I am sorry that I bought it, since I ecspect more from a recent publication by Human Kinetics.