Science of Sports Training: How to Plan and Control Training for Peak Performance [Paperback]

Thomas Kurz (Author), Mikolaj Zagorski (Illustrator), Mikolaj Zagorski (Author), Thomas Kurz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 2001

The purpose of athletic training is to achieve the highest possible sports result (for a given individual). Training is efficient if this result is achieved with a minimal expenditure of time and energy. In accordance with the above statements, Science of Sports Training tells the reader how to achieve maximal results with minimum of effort.

The book describes optimal sequence of types of efforts (exercises) in a workout, in a weekly cycle of workouts and in longer periods, and explains physiological basis for these arrangements. It covers all effective methods of developing any physical ability, skill or mental ability and it tells how and when to change the training loads, how to make training plans for any period of time (single workout, week, month, year, several years).

You will learn, during a day and during a workout, when the best time is for technical, speed, strength, endurance, or flexibility exercises; when during a week should you do a given type of a workout; when and how much should you work on any ability or skill during an annual training plan.

The examples, illustrating the principles of training and the methods of controlling it, are taken from sports with which most people are familiar (track and field, swimming, boxing, wrestling, gymnastics, and ball games). Furthermore, these examples are presented in such a way as to make it easy to apply the conclusions to any other sport. For example, the indicators of boxer's good or bad form described in this book apply equally to taekwon-do fighters or kick-boxers. The methods of controlling the training process described in this book do not require complicated equipment or technicians to make this information applicable in training.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Kurz, author of Stretching Scientifically (Stadion, 1987), presents a manual of East European training principles to elite athletes of the West. His nine chapters give an excellent overview of training for the development of speed, strength, flexibility, psychological preparation, recovery, and the testing and monitoring of skills. His text is logically organized and well indexed, but the prose contains some awkward phrasing and missing articles and would have benefited from additional illustrations. Kurz does not cover the basic exercise physiology or the fundamentals of physical training that Jack H. Wilmore does in Athletic Training and Physical Fitness (Allyn & Ba con, 1977), nor does he specify training regimens for individual sports. Still, this unique title is recommended for collec tions in physical education, coaching, and athletic training in academic and large public libraries.
- Sandra Math, St. John's Univ. Lib., Staten Island, New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Scientific American

Kurz, author of Stretching Scientifically, presents a manual of East European training principles to elite athletes of the West. His nine chapters give an excellent overview of training for the development of speed, strength, flexibility, psychological preparation, recovery, and the testing and monitoring of skills. His text is logically organized and well indexed. This unique title is recommended for collections in physical education, coaching, and athletic training. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Stadion Publishing Co; 2 edition (January 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940149109
• ISBN-13: 978-0940149106
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #594,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You don't read this book, you study it, March 3, 2004

By 

Mark Meloon (Santa Barbara, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Science of Sports Training: How to Plan and Control Training for Peak Performance (Paperback)

This book contains a wealth of knowlege extracted from scientific research journals and, at times, feels more like a survey article than a traditional book. This results in a very densely packed tome of data on all aspects of training. However, this type of book may not be suitable for all readers. To put it bluntly, you are meant to study this book and not passively read it. And when I say study, I mean be prepared to take notes and scribble down your thoughts. This isn't a book that you're going to lie down with and read in bed. Those familiar with Kurz knows that he does not mollycoddle the lazy and those that don't bother to think things through and this book certainly continues that tradition. You are expected to put in some kind of effort in developing your training method. This is actually quite reasonable: Kurz simply cannot be expected to draft up example workouts for every type of athlete.

The key to appreciating this book is to realize what it is meant to do and what it is not. This book provides a wealth of data that you can use to develop your training regimen. It is not meant as a "by-the-numbers" description of exactly what to do and when. For example, other authors may tell you to do such and such. Kurz will report on exactly how level of performance improvement resulted from doing that in a controlled study and cite the appropriate research article. It is up to you to determine whether this level of performance is sufficient to justify incorporating the specific training methodology in question within your regimen. Kurz' intention seems to be to provide the reader with the necessary data to make informed decisions regarding training. What you do with that information is up to you.

This is a no-nonsense book. Other sports training books feature lots of photographs of attractive male and female athletes in superb physical condition performing the exercises. Those pictures have been replaced with graphs displaying cold, hard data in Kurz' book. Kurz does not waste time trying to motivate the reader.

If you are serious about your training and want to be responsible for crafting your own training regimen then this book will be a goldmine for you. The depth and breath of knowledge contained within its pages is astonishing. If, however, you want to be fed example workouts and explicitly told what to do, then you will be confused and frustrated with this book. I can easily see an exasperated reader sceaming "Get to the damn point, Man!" when reading this book. It comes down to whether you want to be your own coach or not. I've found it to be a wonderful resource and would definitely recommend it for advanced athletes and those who are serious about their training. However, for the begining athlete, this may not be the best choice for a first book on subject of scientific training.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good source of information, January 21, 2002

By 

"[e-mail]" (Cary, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Science of Sports Training: How to Plan and Control Training for Peak Performance (Paperback)

I'm not sure what Frank Jones (reviewer above) has against Tomas Kurz, but I found this book to be a great source of information for many different areas of training. Mr. Jones also (unfairly, in my opinion) gives a horrible review to Mr. Kurz's other book, "Stretching Scientifically."

This book is not well written for people who have no knowledge of exercising or the human body, I will agree with Mr. Jones on this point. But if you have a basic understanding of the different areas Kurz covers, you will be able to follow his reasoning, and take a vast amount of knowledge away from the book.

Keep in mind that, the training methods Kurz outlines are not unproven. Eastern european countries used these training methods for years, and consistently produced some of the world's best athletes. The scientific method was used to prove the information contained in this book, and Kurz provides sources for all his findings.

This may not be the most comprehensive book in terms of covering athletic training, but its a great start.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for Idiots or Lazy people! Understanding about training!, March 10, 2004

By 

Hai D. Vo "hvo003" (Riverside, California USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Science of Sports Training: How to Plan and Control Training for Peak Performance (Paperback)

From all the negative comments I have read, I had to reply. This is a must have book for anyone who wants to understand about sports training. This book gives you a general guide that can help you in any sport. This book is not a bunch of BULL. It is "RATIONAL SPORTS TRAINING" from Eastern Europe. It gives scientific descriptions to help you understand how each type of training would work. This book is not about specific sports training or how to train in a specific manner. Its about understanding methods of training to reach peak performance with as much minimal effort as possible(also note SCIENCE of Sports Training).
Some believe this book to be trivial or a bunch of bull. Well, I guess these people believe that all the scientific experiments done in this book is a bunch of bull. These experiments are done to show specific results that vary from recent to past. So, some of these experiments still remain valid. Experiments were done by REAL scientist.
Another reason for one to not like this book is if they can't exactly read. Most of the book is not really difficult to understand, unless you have basic reading school. You must think about it to understand it. It does get technical from time to time. This lack of understanding of the text by people who don't understand, as the reviewers Matt and Matt above has said, don't think about what they read. At first, I didn't understand the text of some topics. After thinking and looking back at the book, I have a greater understanding of sports training. One reviewer note taking showers with different temperatures as trivial. Kurz notes that one should shower after a workout as part of rest. One should change temperature, so as to "invigorate" the body. If you want to see the validity of this statement, try it at home sometimes. Workout like weightlifting,etc. and try it. If you are not invigorated then I guess rational sports training is nonsense(changing temperatures, to clarify myself, means showering from warm to cold to warm to cold,etc.).
Though i have commented on a lot of positive aspects, the book does have some negative aspects in my opinion. This book is comprehensive, but some topics could be expanded upon like nutrition. The book maybe sort of complex in that you may lose your way. This means that you might remember a topic, but not quite clearly understand, and it is kind of hard to find it in the book.
Some notes Thomas Kurz as unprofessional. I guess tough love is unprofessional for some people. Read some questions asked to Thomas Kurz. They are pretty stupid. I mean its in the damn book. If I asked a stupid question, then I must be doing something wrong in my training. Being scolded would note the inefficiency of my training. I guess some people can't handle a little bit of a direct answer; My dad is worse than Thomas Kurz!
I have learned a great deal about this book. Without it, I would seriously be hurting myself. There is info that can change the way you train for the sake of safety and possible improvements. If your serious about training this is a must have, but if you are a person who is not serious, then don't waste your time to write a incoherent, unlogical review of this book!