Customer Reviews

A Practical Approach To Strength Training

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is possibly the most intelligent and practical book on the subject of strength development that I have ever seen. If you can only buy one book about weight lifting and strength training, buy this one.

Mr. Bryzcki begins by explaining the modern theory of strength development and contrasting it with some of the traditional approaches still in use today. In so doing, he explains how muscles work, how they get stronger, and how they can be injured. If you understand these things, you will understand why you should, or should not, train in a certain way. His explanation is rigorous but easy to understand, neither tedious nor trivial.

Having laid a firm groundwork, he goes on to explain how a conditioning program should be designed and structured for maximum benefit, and the various adaptations and permutations that can be made. He gives a sample program that most people could use straight from the book.

Then he proceeds to descriptions of how each exercise should be done with free weights, Nautilus, and Universal Gym machinery. He also covers a technique that uses a partner to supply resistance instead of a weight or mechanical device. This latter method is particularly useful to those who may have a physical condition that prohibits stress to specific joints, since it allows near complete isolation of the muscles being worked.

The muscles affected by each exercise are given, as well as hazards involved in a specific exercise. Cautions concerning certain physical conditions are often given, but are not always sufficient, in my opinion. However, this is a book on strength training, not orthopedic medicine, and adding them in detail would have ruined the utility of the book! People with specific injuries should have the sense to consult a medical authority about their limitations.

Some readers may be discouraged to learn that maximum potential strength is apparently inherited. They should not be. One point that the author perhaps does not make sufficiently is that only the most dedicated professional athletes ever attain or maintain their full strength potential. You can be much stronger than you believe, and you can learn to use your strength efficiently. This latter point he does make quite thoroughly.

The book has only one minor flaw: There are sometimes so many reference citations given in the text that the flow of the sentences is unnecessarily disrupted, distracting the reader. Footnoted references would have been better. Readers accustomed to academic literature will not find this a difficulty, and the book is otherwise so well written, clear, and focused that this flaw is only a minor nuisance.

Once again, a "must read," (and absorb, digest, and assimilate) for anyone interested in strength training or physical conditioning.

Yes. This is the most practical approach I've seen to strength training. I used his single set/maximum weight/total body workout for three weeks and I saw a difference. How NICE to get out of the gym! As a note to readers: the author is an academic. In that circle, you have to back up your observations with other people's claims. I agree that footnotes would have made it more readible. I gave this book 5 stars for its content, not the footnotes issue. What I got from it was a workout I took pretty much straight off the pages. He includes options for different machines, free weights, and partner-resistance. I like the variety. I answered all of my questions about using the single set plan with the data he provided. I got my cardio done in my favorite, sweat-inducing way. I have progressed wonderfully, within the amount of time I'd like to spend in a gym.

I am both a runner and triathlete and felt my training could be improved by adding some weight lifting. Unfortunately nearly every book, and even the trainers at my gym, seam oriented towards bodybuilding not building functional strength for athletics.

I first heard about Mr. Brzycki's book on the rec.running news group were it is widely endorsed. I picked up a copy and have so far been extremely pleased with both the focus of the book (oriented towards athletes) and the results I have so far achieved. Highly recommended for athletes. Bodybuilders may want to look elsewhere.

(Note on rating: as a matter of personal policy I almost never give 5 star ratings)

Unlike dozens of other books I've read on the subject of strength training, Brzycki supports his beliefs with plenty of documented scientific research (the reference/bibliography is 16 pages long!), whereas most other such books are purely anecdotal. Or based on the results of a select group of geneticly gifted (or genetic freaks?) body builders.

Brzycki provides a through explaination of why certain training techniquies work and other don't. He also give (well researched) recommendation so designing your own program, including such factors as number of sets, approapriate repititions based on the best time-under-load for a given muscle group, and appropriate recovery intervals.

Overall, this book dispells a lot of myths and clears up the confusion and mystery around strength training. By the time you're finished reading it you will find that working out and achieving results is not nearly as complex as muscle magazines and sponsored body builders would have you think.

By the way, I gained 6 pounds of muscle and increased my bench press by 20 pounds in one month following the recommendations of this book.

This book is really a terrific guide for anyone who lifts, unless you're a competitive powerlifter. Good common sense advice on high intensity training, nutrition and supplements. It debunks a lot of myths, like higher volume training is better, free weights are better than machines, supplements are good for you, super high protein diets are important if you want to gain muscle etc. I've lifted for 23 years, and I wish a book like this was around when I started. Since I've lifted in this manner, I progress faster, spend less time having to work out, don't overtrain, don't feel as beat up and don't look upon my weight lifting sessions as hard unpleasant work. They're plenty hard, but maintaining focus for 30 minutes is much easier than for 1 1/2 hours. I differ regarding several exercises he discusses. I think squats are fine if done properly and if you have the right body type. He show pull downs and presses behind the head which I think are quite bad for your rotator cuffs. He says leg presses and deadlifts are safer than squats, when both are at least as bad. They're all fine if done slowly with good form, and you increase the weight only a little bit from week to week. All in all a great book, which you should listen to. Don't listen to steroid abusing muscle mag readers who erroneously believe high intensity training is inferior. This is the way to go.

As a fairly fit 59 year old coming to Strength Training for the first time, I felt that I was very lucky to have started with this book. It is a serious book based on the author's long experience and his wide knowledge of many scientific studies of the subject. But it is also easy to read and very reassuring. After ten weeks following his advice in the gym I am already seeing the hoped for improvements in body shape and strength, and more importantly in a sense of accomplishment and well-being. His guidance allowed me to approach this new task with confidence and correct technique. I regularly have to bite my tongue to stop myself from telling others about their mistakes in exercises which I have learnt from this book. Anyone who reads or flicks through many other books on this subject as I have will be surprised to find some apparently key exercises such as 'the squat' and certain 'calf raise' exercises not included in workouts suggested by the author. He refers to them in the text though and steers you away from potentially hazardous exercises that might give trouble to a beginner or someone of a certain physique or age. I found this aspect of the book most comforting. He also gives what seems equally good advice to younger exercisers and to women. If you want a 'fashion fitness' book promising buns or abs of steel do not buy this book. If you want a totally credible account of why and how you should take up a safe and effective strength traing program I don't think you could find a better book than this one.

I bought this book a year ago and decided not to write anything untill I see results. After 12 months of following his training phylosophy and safety guidelines I have noticed great results. In fact I noticed the gains in the first weeks. I keep an accurate work card an pay heed to what it tells me ie increase load, level or back off. I'm very happy with my personal gains. I hate long unpaid manual labor style excercises and Brzycki's approach has none of this, it really has worked fast with minimal time spent in the weight room for me. The price of course is of maximizing efficiency is damned hard high intensity workouts, but hey thats life. The book has also helped me a lot in sorting out my endurance/cardio training from that of pure strenght. Best of all I can track and see results and have been doing for a year. This guy has done a lot of research and proves it. I love the authors treatment of the established weightroom predudices. He takes a be all you can be attitude and shows that you can get started right away and see the benefits.

Dave

I started out with the "Body for Life" method without much knowledge of weight training a few years ago...and this book blasts a few "myths" from that program away. Most importantly, you don't have to kill yourself with multiple sets of the same exercise to get a good workout (BFL recommends SIX sets for each exercise!!). Instead, research has shown that one or two sets does just as much to fatigue the muscle and promote strength gains. I've definitely found this to be the case!

The major drawback of this book is the writing style. It's written for a target audience of strength trainers and conditioning coaches, so there are a lot of textual references. And, the material isn't new or anything. I bought the "complete idiot's guide" at the same time and found it to have the same information, minus the textual references, plus some other information that seemed particularly useful for people new to weight training, and it was more fun to read.

I still occasionally use this book for reference, but only after I've looked in the "complete idiot's guide" first.

I purchased this book with a lot of enthusiasm after I learned about HIT (high-intensity training). Honestly, I was dissapointed. The information is better than that found in 99% of strength/bodybuilding books, but that is not enough, especially since most mainstream books by bodybuilding champs and the people at Weider Inc. are directed to steroid pumped,... It advocates training two or three times a week, which is sound advice, and the volume of training is adequate, but there are too many isolation excercises instead of focusing on the big and productive excercises. Besides, too many pages are filled with excercise technique, and he gives a thousand variations of each excercise (nautilus machines, universal machines, free weights, etc.). Only one chapter is truly useful, the one on making your own excercise program, but still, I believe there are better ways of training. His book is titled "A PRACTICAL Approach...", but I think it is not too practical to fill it with citations instead of relying on a bit more common sense. If you want practical, commonsense, and PRODUCTIVE training, try McRobert's "Beyond Brawn".

This book helped me sort through the enourmous mass of B.S. in the fitness industry. I have made exceptional progess, avoided injury and learned a great deal about what's behind the whole physiology of strength training. The fact that it is not the opionions of one person, but a collection of many contributors and the results a great deal of quality research, increases this books value tremedously. I could not recommend it more highly! I vote 6 STARS on this one!