Ian King: “Get Buffed” and “How to write strength training programs” are two that I have found to be very useful. The man just has a way of making you think about everything that you do. Leave no stone unturned.
I also find his approach to stretching very enlightening and have found his unilateral training to be very effective for muscle imbalances. Some may find this guy a bit unorthadox but I find that much of his approach has everything to do with common sense. If you don’t have any of his material, I would suggest getting it. Well worth your time and effort.
Its funny you bring up the Zatsiorsky story,as i had a similar incidence this weekend.in Canada we have this 3m coaching certificate,it goes from level 1 to 5,at level 3 you can assist coaches at the oilympic level and at level 5 you would become a fully certified olympic coach (I coach weightlifting).Anyways,part of our assignment was to construct a periodization plan (for whatever length).The example in our workbook and the lecture by our instructer was the typical western style of periodization (think Bompa).I explained that I dont use that style and that I use the conjugated method (think Westside).The teacher asked that I present my method on the blacboard to the class.Nobody (including the sarcastic no-it-all kinesiologists from York U)had a clue what the hell I was talking about (and these kinesiologist were asking me how to go about being a trainer)when presenting the dynamic, maximal,and repetition method.The teacher cut my presentation off by telling everyone that this new style of periodization came out two years ago (no idea where he got that from,what an idiot),at which I cut him off and told him this has been around for around 40 years now.Then came nutrition,he showed a video by Covert Bailey,basically dont eat fat,dont eat meat,eat beans as your primary protein source,80% carbs and 10% each of fat and protein,stay away from salt,etc.This Covert guy was telling us that carbs dont make you fat,fat makes you fat.After the video I asked the teacher why sodium should be avoided,as ALL my clients load up on sodium for maximal results,never got an answer.I asked him if there was such a thing as an essential carb,never got an answer.I asked him if carbs dont make you fat,then what does de novo lipogenesis mean?Never got an answer.He tried to attack me by saying I dont work with peoples diet for fatloss,at which I gave him my business card and produced my schedule book and showed him how booked I was,at which point I told him that HE doesnt work with peoples diet.Anyways,just goes to show why there is so many idiots out there,its not the students in particular,theie doing what there taught.By trial and error we find out what works,and what doesnt,and every now and then you’ll get some smart as graduate in a white coat who has never gone to a gym thats going to tell you there more qualified because there graduates (or whatever).I believe it was Charlie francis who said that when exercise scientist prove something (in a study) coaches have already proven it in the gym,so in reality,scientists are behind,not the coaches.
Funny, when I was reading your last post I started thinking about Dr. Mercola… 
Anyway, I’m obviously going to have to get my hands on Siff’s Supertraining book and curl up with it over the winter. I’ve never read any of his stuff; somehow I was under the impression that he wasn’t all that great. Thanks for starting this thread and putting me (and probably a lot of others) on the right track.
As another contribution, I’d recommend Thomas Kurz’ “Stretching Scientifically”. Very well presented and to the point, and also not too expensive.
For something that probably no one else on this forum has read, try “Doublespeak”, by William Lutz. Most of the book has nothing to do with bodybuilding, but the 10 or 15 pages that deal with food labels… well, all I can say is that it’s eye-opening.
Well I was unable to log onto my internet for a day or two so that is why I have yet to respond to this thread. I love any and all of WSB stuff. They are truly entertaining, and I credit them for a lot of my strength. I also like a lot of Fred Hatfields material. I like to read some of the older stuff too, like SUPER SQUATS. I read a very inspirational book called Dinosaur training, by Brooks Cubik. He talks about the old time trainers like Bob Peoples, and George Hackenshmidt, and how they got extremely strong even before the steroid era. Cubik is anti-Roids, but he writes a good book, with alot of good quality information in it. As far as seminars go the WSB seminar is the best. You know I went to the Muscle Media 2000 seminar several years ago before Bill went the the darks side, and it was really good, I hope T-mag does one some day…
In my opinion Fred Hatfield has contributed alot to strength training,especially when compared to other north american coaches.Lost his Scientific Bodybuilding book but I do remember it was more advanced than your average book.If anyone remembers the company Icopro,owned by Vince McMahon,their was a training booklet written by Hatfield that came along with a few of their products.In there was a prescription on how to periodize your training through the conjugated method.This was back in 94/95.Had he had a little push more people would have been exposed to this type of periodization and it would have saved them lost time and effort.
Todays book review is on Sports Supplements by Antonio and Stout.Plain and simple,this book sucks.The only person I can see benefiting from this book would be an absolute begginer.The book is missing many supplements.For example,there was nothing on Forskolin (theres more but I just want to point out that it was by no means complete as far as the athletic community is concerned).The lesson learned,if you want to know which supplements work (or dont) discuss it with someone who has used it and go by feedback,not by some book written by supposed experts.
I am looking for books that focus on strength and power as opposed to bodybuilding. I have purchased Supertraining and I am awaiting its arrival. I was going to purchase Zatsiorsky’s Science and Practice of Strength Training next, but people seem to agree that Supertraining has everything that Zatsiorsky’s book does.
My questions is, what should be the next book I purchase?
Your strength training books are fine,although I would have ordered the Supertraining bundle off Dave Tate,but its o.k dont worry about it now.From here I would study articles from Dave Tate,louie Simmons,and Charles Poliquin.This will cover all your training info.Hope this helps.
I thought I’d say that I really liked the Micro Muscle lab series on renegade training. It revealed some interesting info about training intensity (percentages), power output and set/rep schemes. Also showed poer outputs of a variety , although small, of different exercises. Definitely a good read
I recently read the Micro Muscle articles because of a previous post of yours. It made me very interested in obtaining one of these pieces of equipment. Do you have any more info on it such as the price?
Any ideas on how to find the optimal training load without one of these pieces of equipment?
To be honest I have Supertraining by Mel C. Siff - recent purchase, and Science and Practice of Strength Training by Zatsiorsky, something I bought some 5 years ago from memory - I didn’t find either all that useful. They’re technical but nothing I can’t digest, still I didn’t get anything from those books that helped me much in my own training to be honest.
Some of the good things I’ve read lately that deal with training…
Rock Iron Steel by Steve Justa: definitely an interesting read on developing functional strength training through unorthodox training. It’ll make you want to go out and create your own shovel weight or strap on a 100 lb. vest while you work your day job!
Dinosaur Training by Brooks Kubik: I know someone else mentioned this book earlier in the thread, but I do want to mention that it is definitely an interesting read. If you’re looking for something different, this book has lots of info on working with heavy singles, thick bar work, and old-time simplicity that is what strongmen from a century ago used to develop incredible strength. If you’re looking to get ripped this book certainly isn’t going to be much use, but for sheer brute strength you’ll be able to learn quite a bit.
MILO: A Journal For Serious Strength Athletes: For strength enthusiasts, MILO is a great quarterly read. You’ll get info on everything including olympic lifting, strongman training, Highland Games coverage, historical info on weightlifting, stone lifting, arm wrestling (yes, I did say arm wrestling!)…basically, if it has to do with strength, MILO has it covered. It may not exactly be a book, but it definitely is something to look forward to every few months!
Personally, I’m not a big lifting science guy so those books don’t do much for me - I tend to gravitate toward the unusual. When I burned out on bodybuilding-style training, strongman and old-time training is what saved me from despair, so for anyone looking to get a taste of what’s different when you’re sick of what you’re familiar with these publications are great resources.
Hopefully someone will find these recommendations useful!
Ryan
I recently purchased the vidoetapes of the charlie francis seminar in Vancouver. Excellent tapes alot of information,learned alot of stuff.I just wish they had shown the demonstration stuff outside on t he tapes,but thats probally for tapes 3 and 4.
The Micro Muscle lab devise is, if I remember correctly, around $2000. Too much for me. I do find it interesting that more power is produced in the 40-50% range. I’ve recently added some explosive lifts in the range (6-10x2-5) to see what the impact would be. I’m used to the WSB dynamic days and this parallels their findings. I remember Louie saying that they continue adjusting their dynamic percentages downward.
I am obviously in a minority with CoolColJ on this one but I equally got nothing from either
Siff or Zatsiorsky that had any influence on the way that I train.
Can anyone describe in practical terms precisely what they now do differently because of those books?
Peter
Im having a hard time with this,but how can you not get anything out of Mel Siff’s Supertraining and Zatsiorsky’s book?If there lacking something Id like to know as I dont want to be left out.Id like to hear alternatives to theses books.
Was that Sports Supplements Encyclopedia or was it Sports Supplements. They have 2 books and I just wanted to make sure. Sports supplements is supposed to have chapters by Kalman, Berardi, etc.
-regards
WSTRAINER-Sorry but that is all I can say. I know full well that I am in a minority on this issue and that the books are highly regarded by many but they have had no influence on the construction of my own workouts. I can only ask again that you set out the practical effect the books have had on your own training so that I can try to understand what I appear to be missing.
What is the latest/greatest information out there that deals specifically with nutrition for athletes/powerlifting/bodybuilders? Has anyone read anything out there recently that has enlightened them at all?
To nar23,dont waste your money on those books.I have the Supplement review by Antonio because it was given to me,and i might require extra space in the house and i have a feeling that book is about to get chucked.If a supplement reference guide is what your after may i recommend the sports supplement review by Andrich (I guess when he was at EAS).This book is more informative then Antonios book and is about $55 cheaper.To peter mercadente; thanks for your reply but can you share some of the educational material that you may have benefited from.Thanks to all.