education material

Wow, I forgot to mention one of my more recent favorite reads with direct application to the bodybuilders and athletes who may occasionaly find themselves on the road in need of food. “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser. It detailed the whole industry and it is pretty much ALL bad. A fantastic, entertaining, and educational read. Rating - 10/10 for the topic covered.

Next up - "Job's Body" by Deanne Juhan. This book is a look into Bodywork (massage, etc.) and the science behind it. For anyone pursuing a career in bodywork, this is a must read I think. It is a bit slow, but it is very thorough. Rating - tough call, 7/10 just for general info but 10/10 if you go into the field.

Nutrition Action Health Newsletter - published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. It is an 10-12 page newsletter that I've been receiving for about 3 years. It is more health related than performance related, but it does touch upon a wide variety of topics from disease, food choices, genetically modified foods, restaurant foods, supplements, studies, recipes, etc. Interesting read, but limited info for the bodybuilder. Rating 5/10.

WS I didnt realize you were located in the Toronto area.Im currently enrolled in the Kin program at York.Anyways Im definitley going to check out your recomendations. By the way whats your opinion on Paul Chek.I always thought the guy was quite intelligent but sometimes he is almost a caricature(sp)of himself.The crazy swiss ball guy.I do enjoy some of what het has to say and he was the first person that introduced me to muscle imbalances and such…

I live in Bay Shore (LI) and train at Sports Fitness in West Islip. I work at Spectrum Conditioning Systems (Private Training Facility) in Port Washington (LI also).

T-Men should start a militia group and take over the world (just kidding if any of you guys are psychos and are loading your assault riffles and painting you face with como).

Anyway, always willing to learn and speak of techniques to make better gains.

Books I like…Periodization Training for Sports by Tudor Bompa, Strength Trainign Anatomy by Frederic Delavier is a MUST have for anybody who lifts (it is my bible).

I am currently in the process of learning the “ibnas and outs” of being a strength coach and look for books that will help me. My bosses teach me a lot but they also SUGGEST we learn on our own by reading about strength Training.

DanB,your right,SWIS is a must.All of Siffs books have the highest ratings.Coach davies is very hardcore.Patricia,if you like,only purchase Supertraining,it covers everything(in an advanced fashion though,so not for begginers)in Zatsiorskys book,but if your very passionate about strength training,you’ll own both like I do.Although I have most of Cheks video series,I cannot say it has changed the way I approach training.His Program design coarse is very good for someone who prefers a visial instructions(the training is based on Poliquins,Telle,Goss,Siff and Zatsiorskys theories). His best video series in my opinion is the medicine ball videos.Highly recommended.BG,yes im located in T.O.Good luck in your studies,just dont bring up any Russian training pholosophies around your profs.To AG,have you read the books by Siff and Zatsiorsky?If so,how do you compare it to Bompas books?Frederics book is also recommended,but only after you own the essentials,Siff/Zatsiorsky and Francis.

“Modern trends in strength training” is very good. ANYTHING by Poliquin is incredible, although he is VERY cheap with sharing his vast knowledge. The main source of info by him is ‘past issues’ at tmag, his site, and Ironman. Did I forget anything?
As I am from Israel, I have to tell you guys how lucky you are, within reach of all that knowledge. Here the muscle and sport scene is controlled by outdated idiots, who dont have a clue about cutting edge, updated research and know-how.

I recently purchased and read “Of Stones and Strength” by Steve Jeck (I think - cant remember without looking). A fanastic book about stonelifting. Covers the history behind it, as well as some “technique” stuff. There is a good training program in there as well based around the 20 rep squat. I realise this is not totally relevant for you bodybuilding folks - but I found reading this really inspirational. I couldn’t wait to get in the gym after reading it.

I have not read the Charlie francis trainng system, or what ever it was called. I’d like to maybe someday. He has had a big influence on many coaches

Two other books I like are The Training of the Weightlifter by Roman and Managinh the Training of Weightlifters by Laputin.

I also liked The Russian Kettlebell Challenge. It has a lot of unusual drills and exercises that can be incorporated into any training program. I dont think it will revolutionize anyones training but the exercises in it would help with functional strength and conditioning.

I went to Coach Davies Pacifica seminar and it was really good. He took the time to teach the Olympic lifts to anyone who wanted to learn them (me). He taught them in a very specific progression which can be used to teach others. So now I feel cofortable with form and with teaching them. That alone made it worth the trip. He also showed/taught us hip mobility drills, and many other exercises, I learned I was doing turkish get ups too slow and I have good hip flexibility. He addressed all quenstions that were asked. Considering the small fee for a full day seminar it is definitely wirth the money. Heck paying a coach to work with you one on one to learn the OLifts would cost more than the seminar.

I’m going to read Science and Practice next, or maybe Facts and Fallacies anybody have a reccomendtation?

WSTRAINER: thanks for the specifics. I will probably do as you have and get both books. BTW: I do have Chek’s medicine ball videos and agree: they’re very good.

WSTRAINER, you asked about articles that had changed training philosophy etc, 2 that had a big impact on me were the interview with Charles Staley where he mentioned rep speed being a measure of fatigue, and a series of articles at Renegade training site called Micro Muscle Lab, if you haven’t read them I recomend it.

Your in luck,the new Supertraining book (updated version) has been released.If I were you Id contact Dave Tate,a few months ago he had a special on all of Siffs books (3)for an amazing price,ask to see if he can help you as all 3 books should be of great use.As for Zatsiorskys book,unless your coaching just stick with Supertraining for now,or check a university near you to see if they have it.good luck.

Thanks for your response.Charles Staleys tip on rep speed and fatique is very valuable info,although most dont follow it even though they should.I met Charles a few years back at Swis and all I can say is he is very down to earth (unlike some strength coaches I know).If you notice most of Charles articles,he usually discusses something new,instead of repeating something we obviously know.Id be interested in hearing from anyone who has trained with Charles or has attended his seminars.Thanks.

The book of the day is “Adaptation in Sports Training” by Atko Viru.This book deals with training induced changes and adaptation to conditions of muscular activity.This book deals withh all sports and activities.I would guess over 3000 references are produced.If hormonal adaptions to physical activity interest you,this book has no equal but I must warn you,this book is not easy to understand,I have read this book at least 50 times and I stll learn something new with each reading.Very advaned and technical,definitely not for begginners (its not even for some who are advanced).Theres about 3 chaptewrs on program design co-authored with Verkoshansky.this book is not cheap,aroud $200 U.S last I checked.If your training athletes or take your training VERY seriously this book will rock your world.Anyone read this book?

In no particular order:

  1. Get Buffed by Ian King
  2. How to Write Strength Training Programs by Ian King
  3. Killer Leg Exercises (video) by Ian King
  4. Charles Staley’s Strength Training for Martial Arts
  5. Modern Trends in Strength Training by Poliquin
  6. Russian Kettlebell Challenge by Pavel Tsatsouline
  7. Russian Kettlebell Training (video) by Pavel Tsatsouline
  8. Renegade Training for Football by John Davies
  9. Tellekinetics: Beyond 2001 (video) by Jerry Telle - Don’t get the book! Not worth it.
  10. Poliquin Principles by Charles Poliquin - ahead of its time when released, not the best thing out there now.

Bro,what didnt you like about the Tellekinetics book?

Well, this has been a lengthy and interesting thread! I’d like to give my imput, surely a lot of what I’ll include have already been mentionned, but I’ll go ahead anyway!

Video I have recently acquired:

  1. Olympic-Style Weightlifting Tape & Manual for the Beginner & Intermediate Weightlifter
    by Jim Schmitz (very good ressource for individuals who don’t have an olympic lifting background. I personally found it ordinary because I already knew everything Jim talked about. But it’s a nice a thorough introduction to the olympic lifts and their assistance exercises)

  2. Ironmind olympic lifting training hall tapes (These are great! Especially the ones between 1993 and 1995 and the 1998 Bulgarian training tape. You wont learn much about training while viewing this, but you’ll sure see some impressive lifting!)

  3. The Weightlifting Encyclopedia Video Companion by Arthur Drechsler (Much like the Jim Schmitz video but of better visual quality. It’s great to help you learn proper olympic lifting technique, but it’s boring as hell!)

  4. The Westside Seminar tape by Dave Tate (This is a nice 4 tapes set. Very informative and well made. I like Dave Tate and this is high quality material.)

  5. Training secrets of Westside Barbell - Bench press secrets by Louie Simmons (Very good purchase for individuals looking to improve their bench press. There is tons of demonstated exercises and it shows you how to use bands and chains on the bench press.)

Books I like:

  1. Supertraining by Mel C. Siff (This is by far the most complete book ever written on strength training. Every aspect that you can possibly think about is covered it it!)

  2. Science of Sports Training by Thomas Kurz (Another very complete book on sports training. Not as much emphasis on strength as Supertraining but provides ton of useful material.)

  3. Science and Practice of Strength Training by Zatsiorsky (Fantastic reference book. If you understand all that is written in it, you are well on your way to becomming a top strength coach!)

  4. The Weightlifting Encyclopedia by Arthur Drechsler (If you are interested in olympic lifting, this is the book for you! More than 500 pages of olympic lifting info… a must have!)

Books I recently acquired:

  1. Renegade Training for Football by John Davies (I like this book because it gives an endless array of drills and exercises for every physical capacity needed to succeed in sport. Not so much “learning material” though.)

  2. Explosive lifting for sports by Harvey Newton (Great book for every strength coach! Of course I’m biased since I’m an olympic lifter!)

  3. Speed Trap by Charlie Francis (I must confess that I read the whole book in one siting! It’s just so damn interesting! Not so much training info, but a great insight in the world of elite track and field.)

  4. The Charlie Francis Training System (Good book, lots of good info and several training methods. Not on top of my list though.)

Web sites I like:

  1. Testosterone.net (Always has been one of my favourite site because of the variety of information available. Most web sites focus on one idea or one methodology, T-mag consider its reader as very knowledeable folks and let them choose their own path. They understand that there is more than one way to skin a cat!)

  2. ironmag.com (I used to write articles for that web site, but its owner decided to stop updating it. It’s been dead for almost two years now. The old articles can still be accessed.)

  3. www.goheavy.com (I frequent this site occasionally for it’s olympic lifting board.)

  4. http://www.aafla.org/ (Their Online Sports library contains - virtual archive contains a ton - and I do mean a ton - of old magazine, journals articles in .pdf format. This range from complete training manuals to sport history articles. Great ressource!)

Coaches I like/trust

  1. Louie Simmons

  2. Dave Tate

  3. Ian King

  4. Charles Staley

  5. Mel Siff

  6. Jim O’Malley

  7. John Davies

  8. Charlie Francis

Maybe it’s the fact that I have the first “unedited” copy of it, but it seems to be missing information (pages seem to skip around, some gone) and much of the information is too technical for most people. It’s interesting, but not a good read unless you really want to know many technical aspects of training. And most people aren’t interested. They want the “meat” of the program. And the video does a better job of providing that.

Cant recall who it was but when the tellekinetics book came out I was going to buy it but was told to wait because the released version is a rough copy,sort of not finished with terrible explanations,etc.I to have the video,good but short.Not sure if it was worth the money for the length of the video.As previously brought up,Louie Simmons video series are about an hour in length with more useful info and at a cheaper price.I believe Chek produced the Tellekinetics video so Ill just blame him for both cost and length.

Am coming in late to this thread as I typically only post on the “steroid” side of the forum. Anyway, I have the 6 hour Westside tapes…actually had them 6 months ago or so. If you are a powerlifter they are cetainly invaluable. Louis Simmons / Dave Tate, in my opinion, are the best strength trainers for powerlifitng.

Funny story for t-people:

I was at the training room getting rehabbed for a I AC seperation. This guy is performing ultrasound on me, and asks me what kind of reps I do when I bench (the injury has zero to do with benching; it came from a bodycheck). I asked him if he ever read Zatsiorsky’s Science and Practice of Strength Training. He said no and I explained dynamic and maximal methods to him. His reaction: “Do yourself a favor and throw that book away, I’ve read all the books about training.” I just laughed and let him rehab me. Amazing.