Customer Reviews

Serious Strength Training - 2nd

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

 

 

This book is an excellent introduction and guide to the world of strength training. It contains a sound mix of scientific evidence, explained in laymen's terms, as well as practical advice I have not seen in other publications on this topic. The mix allows the reader to gain not only a plan for strength training, but an understanding to why he/she is doing what is prescribed. Also, the book is nice in that it provides a range of training options, from beginner to expert, and also depending on your ultimate goal (fitness vs competition). The book is also refreshingly realistic in that it continually expresses long term goals as the end point, not short term gains.

BOOK REVIEW:

People who are into serious bodybuilding might find this book very informative. It is packed with information such as charts and graphs showing anything from training guidelines to nutrition. In addition, it is filled with tips on how to train properly (i.e. how many sets and repititions to do, how long to rest between each set, etc.), how to lose weight, how to avoid injuries, etc. It also shows where specific muscles are can be found on the human body (the locations of biceps, triceps, deltoids, etc.).

For people who are looking for extensive workout tips (push-ups, bench presses, etc.), you won't find it here. All the workout tips are not covered until Chapter 11, and that's about it... only one chapter! People on the hunt for home exercise tips, forget it! The workout tips require the use gym equipment... The book assumes that you go to the gym to workout! The tips are basically useless for people who workout at home.

I only recommend this book for peple who want to know as much information as possible on how to train, and take care of their bodies.

A very good explanation of the periodization techniques and why they work. Excellent explanations of the scientific reasons behind the different periodization cycles. This book covers the scientific aspect of training for size and strength much more comprehensively than some other books, which extract portions of the theories in this book and try to make entire training programs from them. For example, the popular book "Body for Life" uses one cycle all year round and says you should continually make gains--no explanation of going through a phase of getting your body used to exercise prior to even beginning his (Bill Phillips) program. Many people I know have gotten injured using the popular "Body for Life" workout due to this major oversite. Another book, "Power Factor Training" only deals with the "Hypertrophy phase" using one technique (partial reps)to constantly grow and get stronger. Another example is the book, "Power to the People! : Russian Strength Training Secrets for Every American" by Pavil Tsatsouline explains training the Central Nervous System (CNS) using heavy weights for a couple of exercises 3-5 times a week--all the time, and states that you will continually get stronger on a cycle like this.

Why these programs cannot work on an ongoing basis, or many of the popular programs like "Body for Life" cannot continue to work will be explained in this book. The results you will get using the programs in this book will be far safer and more effective than most of the books out there today.

One flaw is that is seems to concentrate primarily on cycles to train for bodybuilding. I only wish it would incorporate more powerlifting, and possibly Olympic lifting training cycles as well.

Overall, however, very comprehensive and good scientific explanations of a wide range of weightlifting training.
This book explains the entire range of training (primarily for bodybuilding) and why each phase is important and using any one type will cause stagnation.

Even though this book wasn't expensive, it wasn't all I thought it was. It is mostly about hypertrophy and is totally geared to bodybuilding. The periodization part is usefull though.

Good book, but.......it is more a book for body building rather than strength training. Sorry, the two aren't synonymous. In fact, the two terms are intermixed at the beginning, and as the book continues, they finally drop "strength" word and admit they are talking about body building. A little less talk about getting "cut" and building mass and more on aspects of building strength please. If the title was more accurate, I'd give this book a much higher rating. ****[added 2/2008]: However... there is lots of good info to be found in this book and periodization is indeed a powerful technique for _both_ body building and for strength training. But to reiterate, this book does emphasize bodybuilding aspect, which might turn some people off. NOTE: Given that my initial review was during the early days of Amazon, now, compared to how others rate books, I would give the book 4 stars today. It's worth a spot on your shelf.

This book is extremely useful for bodybuilders and strength trainers alike who want to use a periodized approach to their training. It allows you to design yearly programs to tailor to your needs and goals, whether its to lose weight, gain muscle, or increase maximum strength. There are six phases to maximize all aspects of the trainig continuum, but you don't necessarily need to employ each phase. If your goal is to increase muscle mass, you could focus on using the hypertrophy phases while using a maximum strength phase every so often. Also covered are nutrition, recovery techniques, and exercise presciptions and techniques. It does take some considerable time to design a personalized training program, but that has to be done if you truly want to reap the benefits of periodized training.

This book helped my go beyond my novice approach to weight lifting by providing simple, sound advice for getting the most out of a training phase. Other than diet, periodization has been the biggest key to moving past the "when will I ever grow" wall. Muscle Mags did not do it, Weider did not do it, I did it with the valuable direction of Tudor Bompa. Great Work!

Unlike some people who reviewed this book and are more worried about who discovered "Periodizaion" than the actuall point behind the book I found it to contain good information about weight training and a recommended outline for a diet plan.

The book basically covers different periods of weight training and how to select the different periods and apply them to the goal you are after, building mass, gaining strength and so on. Its based off a 1RM / % scheme and gives example programs for each period. All lifters benefit from periodization but most do not have the patience to stick to the plan and see the results. Everyone wants instant results! Once you set up your plan it does not have to be adjusted for weeks and sometimes months.

The nutrition suggestions are basically just a an outline and a suggestion for the metabolically based approach-created by Maura Di Pasquale.

Overall I think it is a good book to simplify your training and to see the big picture which is you are not going to achieve your goals in a few weeks or a few months.

An excellent book for those that want to know the how and why. The explinations of the physiology and psychology of lifting help a great deal. Knowing how a muscle works and grows helps to explain why this method works. The in depth training examples are fantastic and are much more detailed than other Periodization books that I have read. Be careful though. If you try this method (as I am) be prepared to push yourself. Some parts of the program are extremely difficult. But if you are looking for results, this book will give you it, and explain the details behind it. I look forward to more books by Bompa.

* Finally a book that reveals the how and why's about bodybuilding, backed by research, not opinion. This book could quite possibly answer every question a begginning or professional bodybuilder may have about gaining muscle, strength, and definition. Easy to follow guidelines, interesting and thorough nutritional information are just a couple of high points of this book. The most important thing in the book, other than the periodization of training, is the page that list the best exercises for each bodypart based on IEMG readings. This page let me see which exercises I should be doing in order to recruit the most muscle fibers and grow. I have recommended this book on every message board I have visited. To say it is a must-have would not do the book justice. In a way I wish I would have kept my mouth shut, because in the future there will be more competitors in bodybuilding contest due to the knowledge gained in this book.

* The charts and tables are set up for every skill level of bodybuilder. Even with limited knowledge, one could use this book to increase their gains.