The Whartons' Strength Book: 35 Lifts for Over 55 Different Sports and Everyday Activities [Paperback]

Jim Wharton (Author), Phil Wharton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1998

"What Can I Do to Maximize My Performance?"

Active-Isolated Strength Training is a remarkably easy and effective way to tone up, lose weight, rehabilitate from an injury, reshape a sagging waistline, regain lost vitality, or build muscles. Using the Active-Isolated technique, introduced in The Whartons' Stretch Book ("Athletes rave about the program by this father-son team"--USA Today), you'll learn how to create a personal training program backed by sound scientific principles and specifically tailored to your specific fitness goals and favorite sports. You'll discover:


Step-by-step instructions and clear illustrations for thirty-five simple exercises
tailored to work specific muscle groups

The seven myths of strength training (forget going for the burn!)

How to make your own no-cost/low-cost home gym

Workout prescriptions for more than fifty sports and activities, from running,
swimming, and cycling to keyboarding and heavy lifting

And much, much more!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Most weight-training programs are built around exercises that work as much muscle as possible, thus building the most strength in the least amount of time. But the Whartons believe the exact opposite approach is the most beneficial. They believe you should work your body one small group of muscles at a time. In that sense, The Whartons' Strength Book takes the exact same tack as their very popular Stretch Book.

Will the Strength Book become as much of a fitness-bookshelf staple? Maybe, but the two books appeal to different ends of the fitness spectrum. Whereas the Whartons' ideas about flexibility seem to be most useful and popular with high-performance athletes, their strength-training theories seem most suited to beginners and recreational athletes. Maybe they really do train this way themselves, and maybe they really use these methods on the professional athletes who pay for their services, but one has to doubt that many serious gym-goers will want to do specialized exercises for tiny muscles in their wrists and ankles, and will want to do a bunch of exercises for lower-body muscles that one move--the squat--can work all at once.

That said, most people who exercise will find something to like here. The beginning of the book is chock-full of useful tips for working out in your home without expensive equipment (for example, they note that a gallon jug of milk weighs 8.78 pounds; with two of those, you've got a decent set of dumbbells). Most people will be able to use at least a few of the 35 exercises illustrated. And anyone who enjoys sports--watching or playing--will be entertained by the Whartons' witty comments about training for specific activities. They note, for example, that hockey originated with bored shepherds strapping broken animal bones onto their feet. "Although the sport has evolved since those early days," they write, "one thing remains constant: broken bones." --Lou Schuler

Review

"The Whartons' Strength Book can serve as a personal trainer in a unique system of working individual muscles to attain not only greater strength but also improved general health. Having worked with the Whartons, I consider them uniquely qualified as teachers of this method."
                          --Andrew Weil, M.D

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (December 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812929292
• ISBN-13: 978-0812929294
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars i recommend this book to many clients, September 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Whartons' Strength Book: 35 Lifts for Over 55 Different Sports and Everyday Activities (Paperback)

the whartons are very experienced and knowledgeable, and i found their descriptions of the exercises totally clear and understandable. This book gave me the ability to feel completely confident that i could work out at home, where i wanted to be. The lifts are for the whole body, with the emphasis on balance rather that just looking good. for the person who wants to work out at home, i haven't seen anything better. I found the sports discussions pretty vague and they definitely should delete the horsebackriding section!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Read, But ..., May 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Whartons' Strength Book: 35 Lifts for Over 55 Different Sports and Everyday Activities (Paperback)

I bought this book hoping to expand on the strength training program I do at home. I'm a competitive track athlete and am dependent on strength exercises to prevent injury.

This book was a hoot to read. I read the whole thing, all of the exercises and all of the sports discussions at the back. The Whartons are fun and entertaining writers.

BUT. Truth be told, the only thing I changed about my exercise routine was that I now hold my leg extensions for 5 seconds instead of three. That's it.

The Whartons would have you believe that it takes only twenty minutes or so to do their list of exercises for each sport, but I didn't find this to be true. Exercising one little muscle at a time is time consuming and pain staking. I find myself doing the same old squats and push-ups that I've always done -- exercises that, frankly, give you the many muscle group workout that the Whartons discourage.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money, February 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Whartons' Strength Book: 35 Lifts for Over 55 Different Sports and Everyday Activities (Paperback)

This book is a complete watse of time for the educated strength and conditioning coach. This book does not apply the latest theories and conditioning drills that will aid in your athlete's performance. Programs are not periodized and relay on outdated principles of reps/sets schemes. If your a beginner to weight training and conditioning then this book may be for you.