[.ca] Serious Strength Training-2nd Edition (ISBN 0736042660)

Good but not great:
Good, accurate information - which is hard to find in the fitness field - but these guys are a little too enamored of bodybuilders and isolation exercises. They've spent too much time in the lab hooking up 'roided out booby builders to the EMG machine, not enough time with athletes from real sports who need real strength. They've written one too many articles for the muscle magazines (aka soft-core porn for the supermarket magazine racks.) Bodybuilding is not about strength, it's about size. It's hard to take a fitness writer seriously who associates with that drug-abusing crowd.

Should be "Serious Bodybuilding":
I was dissapointed. The book did a good job of explaining the principles of periodization, but that was about it. All the knowledge could easily be condensed into half as many pages. Not really a bad book, but I thought it would be more advanced than it was. If you buy it, remember that the weight reccomendations for the example routines are just that: reccomendations. It is more important that you adhere to the number of repetitions.

A Great Book for Anyone: Entry-level to Advanced Athletes:
I have read and reviewed a number of books regarding strength training and bodybuilding. This book is by far the best among the ones I have read. It's a complete guide to strength training, and covers all aspects of the sport. It's easy to read and comprehend, well-organized, and uses a number of scientific (but practical) methods to improve the efficiency of the workout sessions. Part 1 gives the background needed to plan effectively including a basic understanding of human body. Part 2 shows how to use "Periodized Workouts." And Part 3 gives detailed information about exercise, and nutrition. The Periodized Workouts bring variety to strength training making the workouts a lot more challenging and interesting for any level of strength trainers. Overall, the book is near perfect. One area it can improve on is the nutrition and diet sections. The book gives recommendations on the amount of protein, carbs, fat, and total calories for each phase based on body weight. It would be useful if it would have also provided information on building an eating plan, food groups and their amount of carbs, proteins, fat, and calories (a great book on this subject is Power Eating by Susan M. Kleiner). One point of caution: It takes time to build a Periodized strength training plan and discipline to adhere to it. I guess that's why the title is "SERIOUS Strength Training." If you don't have the time or the discipline, this is not the right book for you.

A Great Book for Anyone: Entry-level to Advanced Athletes:
I have read and reviewed a number of books regarding strength training and bodybuilding. This book is by far the best among the ones I have read. It's a complete guide to strength training, and covers all aspects of the sport. It's easy to read and comprehend, well-organized, and uses a number of scientific (but practical) methods to improve the efficiency of the workout sessions. Part 1 gives the background needed to plan effectively including a basic understanding of human body. Part 2 shows how to use "Periodized Workouts." And Part 3 gives detailed information about exercise, and nutrition. The Periodized Workouts bring variety to strength training making the workouts a lot more challenging and interesting for any level of strength trainers. Overall, the book is near perfect. One area it can improve on is the nutrition and diet sections. The book gives recommendations on the amount of protein, carbs, fat, and total calories for each phase based on body weight. It would be useful if it would have also provided information on building an eating plan, food groups and their amount of carbs, proteins, fat, and calories (a great book on this subject is Power Eating by Susan M. Kleiner). One point of caution: It takes time to build a Periodized strength training plan and discipline to adhere to it. I guess that's why the title is "SERIOUS Strength Training." If you don't have the time or the discipline, this is not the right book for you.

Serious and scientific:
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.