Customer Reviews

Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Running, Second Edition

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

 

 

First, you must be aware of the fact that this book is part of a series of about 30 books called "Weight training for...", including diverse activities such as rugby, bowling and cheerleading, and which are very similar one another. The author had the wonderful idea of writing basically one book and selling 30. Genius.

The book is structured as follows:
- A running-specific introduction
- Generic advice about gym workouts: basic stuff like the necessity of warming up and cooling down and making sure you don't lift more weight than you can
- Tons of (generic) exercises
- Two pseudo-scientific articles (one about technique and another about nutrition). These were the only remotely useful bits of the book, and they were written by other specialists.

From the above, it doesn't sound so bad. You could even thing this book was worthwhile. This is why it is not:

- The only running-specific advice is contained in the introduction (and the two articles), which is just 9 pages long (with huge font and big tables!)). All the rest of the book is totally generic, addressed to runners, racquetball players and golfers alike. Seriously, there is no other running-specific advice anywhere else, meaning around 85% of the book.

- The explanations to the exercises are pretty basic, similar to what you'll find printed in most decent gym machines. No value added there.

- Even worse, not even the selection of the exercises seemed to be really thought for runners. Only 20% (12 out of 60) of the exercises are for legs. I'm totally for a balanced work-out and training the core muscles, but you'd think runners would want to focus just a little bit more that 20% on the legs, right?

- There is no distinction between sprinters, hurdlers, marathoners, ultramarathoners, etc., which you'd assume would require "slightly" different training routines. You are left wondering whether the author even knows that there are several kinds of runners.

- Most annoyingly, the text is full of ads inviting the reader to join the author's (paid) website. Which I will not.

I truly do not know what the other reviewers based their reviews on, but IMHO this book (and the whole series) is pretty much a waste of your hard-earned money.

First off, this book has about a 16 point font and is very short. It looks like my 6th grade book reports where I was trying to fill as many pages as possible. The author is a weight-lifter first and foremost and doesn't seem to have any particular insight into running. He just lists basic exercises and training programs.

The programs are very specific, and there is little advice on how you would tailor your own if you don't plan on lifting weights according to his strict schedule.

Skip this book, get a good book on basic strength training instead.

Yes, the book get's one star for one single positive thing: the calculation of 1repmax without doing it. After some internet googling I could have found this also for free. The rest of the book is pure weightlifting very little to do with running. The author does not give the impression had a greater idea or even the ambition to do so. Waste of money! Very expensive recycling paper! As it became in my case!

Found this book to be disappointing. There was quite a bit of content on how to perform different exercises, but it was lacking in running specific information. It did not go into depth on how each of the specific exercises helps running performance, nor did it provide a variety of alternative workouts to achieve different goals. I should have been more careful before ordering this book - had I seen that it was one in a series of "Ultimate Weight Training" books for different sports - not written by someone who specializes in running - I would not have bought it.

I was disappointed in this book. I was hoping to find out more on the difference in weight training between distance runners/sprinters. There was very little useful information on this topic. I know these drills, weights, but as a distance coach, this didn't help at all. It made me think of how to train my pole vaulters/long jumpers a little more, but no distinction is made for sprinters, middle distance, or long distance. That's what I was hoping for when I bought this book.

Bad, bad, bad choice. Don't bother. It doesn't even get closer to be a guide for running. Not even a good guide for weight lifting. Cheap trick.

I made the mistake of buying this book a couple of years ago. The sample training programs at the back are generic and not as the title implies specific or even aimed at runners. The lower body exercises in the program like incline leg press, leg extensions, leg curls are for great for body builders and most gym goers but are not functional exercises that will effectively supplement your running. The two articles at the front are interesting but overall a complete waste of money.

A good weight lifting routine can make one a faster runner with greater stamina. Now in a fully updated and expanded second edition, "The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Running" is a guide for runners who want to incorporate weight lifting into their routine. A solid routine can help runners run faster, longer, with less chance of injury. "The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Running" is a powerful and highly recommended read for any serious runner.

If you train, be it for a goal race or a charity run, then you, like me need motivation to keep going forward. We all need tried and true tips to change things up, this book is full of those. Nobody can or should run everyday, so why not hit the gym on off days? we all need something different and we all need to stay injury free, a different sport, something to cross train with and something to challenge us beyond where we are. Time off keeps the injuries at bay, extra training and working the muscles does too. This book offers examples (through word and picture and charts) of different training exercises for in season and off. It is filled with suggestions on how to mix different exercises up, I love and you will too!

As a competitive runner I found this book to be extremely valuable to formulate a program that has giveing me that the edge I needed to increase my speed and muscle endurance. I recommend it to any serious runner wanting to improve their performance.