Serious Strength Training (Paperback)

~ Tudor Bompa (Author), (Author), Lorenzo Cornacchia (Author) "For any serious student of strength training and bodybuilding, it is important to understand muscle physiology, particularly muscle structure and the main function of muscle..." (more)
Key Phrases: safety squat bar, supine leg curls, calorie cycling, Primary Muscles Worked, Exercise Technique, Exercise Step Low Medium High (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With science as the backbone and loaded with in-depth practical advice, Serious Strength Training provides a carefully constructed step-by-step approach. This is a good addition to the library of bodybuilders of all levels.”

Muscle & Fitness, August 1998

“In their book, Serious Strength Training, the authors outline a workout routine that takes into consideration family obligations and hectic holiday seasons. It's about time! You will find programs for entry-level, recreational, and advanced strength trainers and bodybuilders. This book is excellent.”

MA Training, March 1999

"Serious Strength Training gives us the ultimate advice because authors Di Pasquale and Bompa are the world's most recognized authorities on nutrition and training."

Robert Kennedy
Publisher, MuscleMag International, Oxygen, and American Health & Fitness

“Serious Strength Training brings science into the gym. Hone your workouts with the most effective, efficient exercises and get the gains you deserve for your sweat and effort.”

Steve Holman
Editor in chief, Ironman magazine

From the Journal of Sports and Sports Sciences
A book which should be in possession of all coaches and trainers as well as the libraries around the world.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

Whether you want to increase strength, gain power, or sculpt the ultimate physique, Serious Strength Training will help you maximize your goals.

Tudor Bompa, the man who revolutionized western training with his principle of periodization, presents

• 136 photos showing 68 of the most effective exercises,
• six detailed training phases,
• nutritional guidelines for each phase, and
• customized training programs for optimal muscle building.

Muscle development and shaping takes dedication, patience, and a solid understanding of training principles. Get the results you want with the proven programs in Serious Strength Training.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 301 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics Publishers (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880118342
• ISBN-13: 978-0880118347
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #635,647 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book... Might be useless for some people, April 19, 2000

By	"moviefanatic" (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews

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.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great mix of science and practicality, February 23, 2000

By	Kenneth Sparr (Arizona) - See all my reviews

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.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book--scientifically backed, June 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Serious Strength Training - 2nd (Paperback)

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.