Required Reading for a Trainer?

[jimbuick]

Just wondering which books any of you guys have read that you would recommend to someone who trains themselves/others.


Just trying to find some new books to read up on for training methods/theories and the sciences behind training in general. I am also not opposed to just buying a solid textbook for physiology and further educating myself.

Anything you guys have read personally, or have heard about I am interested in. I need something to read when we are just sitting around at work/home and figured why not make it something that will help me in life.


Hopefully we can get some good discussion in here as well :thinking:

 

[Jiigzz]

I have quite a collection; One I recommend is Essentials of Strength and Condititioning Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning - 3rd Edition: National Strength and Conditioning Association: 9780736058032: Amazon.com: Books

Or Exercise Physiology 7th Ed. Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance by William D McArdle, Bs, M.Ed, PhD, Frank L Katch, Victor L Katch - New, Rare & Used Books Online at Alibris Marketplace : this one is some comprehensive but definitely fo people experienced with the terminology

And Physiology of Sport and Exercise 5th Ed. Physiology of Sport and Exercise With Web Study Guide-5th Edition: W. Larry Kenney, Jack Wilmore, David Costill: 9780736094092: Amazon.com: Books

These 3 are all textbooks but have provided the basework for all my studies. They are however quite pricey.

I don't any 'reading' books; all mine are heavily science based.

 

[Young Gotti]

 

[PumpHouse]

Starting strength 2nd edition is great. 56 pages on the squat!

 

[JudoJosh]

Everything and anything

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[Rodja]

First, learn and become proficient in technique and analysis. This is not just what they're doing properly, but why it is happening whether it's a verbal cue, imbalance, misunderstanding, etc. After that, at least be able to understand some of the basic training periodization schemes such as Western aka linear, conjugate, block, and undulating.

Template-based
Lilly's Cube Method
Westside Book of Methods (take with a grain of salt as it's aim is geared lifters)
Wendler's Max Effort Method, 5/3/1 (all of them)
Smith Juggernaut Method

Theory-based
Supertraining by Siff
Anything by Bompa, Zatsiorsky, Verkoshansky, and Issurin

 

[jimbuick]

I have quite a collection; One I recommend is Essentials of Strength and Condititioning Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning - 3rd Edition: National Strength and Conditioning Association: 9780736058032: Amazon.com: Books

Or Exercise Physiology 7th Ed. Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance by William D McArdle, Bs, M.Ed, PhD, Frank L Katch, Victor L Katch - New, Rare & Used Books Online at Alibris Marketplace : this one is some comprehensive but definitely fo people experienced with the terminology

And Physiology of Sport and Exercise 5th Ed. Physiology of Sport and Exercise With Web Study Guide-5th Edition: W. Larry Kenney, Jack Wilmore, David Costill: 9780736094092: Amazon.com: Books

These 3 are all textbooks but have provided the basework for all my studies. They are however quite pricey.

I don't any 'reading' books; all mine are heavily science based.

I had a feeling you would be in here lol.

Thanks for the links, will check them out when I get home.

I wonder what pricey is to you lol, I'm cheap as hell.

Everything and anything

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lol any you prefer over others?




Also, it would be worth noting that my particular interest is performance/S+C (I want to work with athletes) but obviously I am completely open to studying the different methods for other aspects of fitness as well. (BBing, PLing, Strongman, etc.)

 

[jimbuick]

First, learn and become proficient in technique and analysis. This is not just what they're doing properly, but why it is happening whether it's a verbal cue, imbalance, misunderstanding, etc. After that, at least be able to understand some of the basic training periodization schemes such as Western aka linear, conjugate, block, and undulating.

Template-based
Lilly's Cube Method
Westside Book of Methods (take with a grain of salt as it's aim is geared lifters)
Wendler's Max Effort Method, 5/3/1 (all of them)
Smith Juggernaut Method

Theory-based
Supertraining by Siff
Anything by Bompa, Zatsiorsky, Verkoshansky, and Issurin

Great point!

I've always heard that I should read supertraining but have put it off, I'm glad you brought that up as I will definitely be looking for it now.

 

[napalm]

I'm about 2/3 through essentials...

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[jimbuick]

I have quite a collection; One I recommend is Essentials of Strength and Condititioning Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning - 3rd Edition: National Strength and Conditioning Association: 9780736058032: Amazon.com: Books

Or Exercise Physiology 7th Ed. Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance by William D McArdle, Bs, M.Ed, PhD, Frank L Katch, Victor L Katch - New, Rare & Used Books Online at Alibris Marketplace : this one is some comprehensive but definitely fo people experienced with the terminology

And Physiology of Sport and Exercise 5th Ed. Physiology of Sport and Exercise With Web Study Guide-5th Edition: W. Larry Kenney, Jack Wilmore, David Costill: 9780736094092: Amazon.com: Books

These 3 are all textbooks but have provided the basework for all my studies. They are however quite pricey.

I don't any 'reading' books; all mine are heavily science based.

You definitely were not kidding, I might have to take out a loan to buy those 3 lol.

 

[napalm]

You definitely were not kidding, I might have to take out a loan to buy those 3 lol.

I picked up essentials for 60 bucks w free shipping on eBay...

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[jimbuick]

I picked up essentials for 60 bucks w free shipping...

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Lol that's still expensive. I can never get over how expensive books are!

I'm still going to get as many as I can though, it's just more than a days pay to get each one.

 

[JudoJosh]

coursera.org sign up for human physiology, chemistry, exercise physiology.

Its free and should provide you with a basic foundation.

MIT has a similar free online learning setup. You can check them out as well

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[Rodja]

Lol that's still expensive. I can never get over how expensive books are!

I'm still going to get as many as I can though, it's just more than a days pay to get each one.

It's not a great source of information, IMO.

 

[jimbuick]

coursera.org sign up for human physiology, chemistry, exercise physiology.

Its free and should provide you with a basic foundation.

MIT has a similar free online learning setup. You can check them out as well

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I actually checked that out last night. Thanks for the link Josh!

It's not a great source of information, IMO.

Would you care to expound upon that opinion?

 

[Rodja]

Would you care to expound upon that opinion?

For starters, they only touch upon one form of periodization, which gives the impression that it is the superior version compared to others. The only update they've really made to the text in years is adding in plyos (huge amount of irony there) and their techniques they only teach one technique for major lifts and don't expand on other versions at all (e.g. wide stance v Oly stance squat).

As an overall tone, I've noticed a huge shift towards the C and little for the S when it comes to S&C. Very little of the time that is spent teaching in many schools is towards the C and I put the NSCA at the forefront of that with their lack of practicum associated with the organization these days.

 

[napalm]

It's not a great source of information, IMO.

Stop hating rodja cscs

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[jimbuick]

For starters, they only touch upon one form of periodization, which gives the impression that it is the superior version compared to others. The only update they've really made to the text in years is adding in plyos (huge amount of irony there) and their techniques they only teach one technique for major lifts and don't expand on other versions at all (e.g. wide stance v Oly stance squat).

As an overall tone, I've noticed a huge shift towards the C and little for the S when it comes to S&C. Very little of the time that is spent teaching in many schools is towards the C and I put the NSCA at the forefront of that with their lack of practicum associated with the organization these days.

I had remembered you talking about them only teaching one type of periodizarion.

Of the organizations that grant certifications which one do you have the most faith in?

 

[Rodja]

I had remembered you talking about them only teaching one type of periodizarion.

Of the organizations that grant certifications which one do you have the most faith in?

Honestly, they're mainly tools to get your foot in the door and a necessary evil. I have my CSCS for this exact reason. A certification is similar to an undergrad degree in that you only need to pass the curriculum set forth by a certain group of people. It's only when you expand the boundaries of your knowledge via graduate degrees and/or further reading does any of this knowledge really carry weight. This is my opinion, but having a certification doesn't make you qualified in the same way that not having a certification makes you unqualified. DeFranco, Simmons, Wendler, etc. are some examples of guys that don't have a huge list of certifications yet no person in their right mind would question their knowledge.

 

[jimbuick]

Honestly, they're mainly tools to get your foot in the door and a necessary evil. I have my CSCS for this exact reason. A certification is similar to an undergrad degree in that you only need to pass the curriculum set forth by a certain group of people. It's only when you expand the boundaries of your knowledge via graduate degrees and/or further reading does any of this knowledge really carry weight. This is my opinion, but having a certification doesn't make you qualified in the same way that not having a certification makes you unqualified. DeFranco, Simmons, Wendler, etc. are some examples of guys that don't have a huge list of certifications yet no person in their right mind would question their knowledge.

That was my understanding as well (I believe we've had this discussion before). I'm looking into getting the same certification if at all possible.

DeFranco is my hero.

 

[JudoJosh]

Focus on getting a basic understanding on how things function first. Than once you understand the mechanisms you start to understand the how part of the question. After this you can start reviewing relevant research and learn how to analyze the data and draw conclusions. This is your best tool you can have. An actual understanding. Then as rodja has pointed out there are some amazing coaches that have years and years of experience but as I said earlier read everything! Don't limit yourself. Even if it is something you will disagree with read it still. Everything helps to broaden your horizon and understanding and will make you a better coach. You will never stop learning in this field.

If you want a textbook like book I would go with supertraining over the NSCA book

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[Jiigzz]

You definitely were not kidding, I might have to take out a loan to buy those 3 lol.

They are pricey, and are more geared at the physiology side. If you wanted to just focus on S+C then the ideas Rodja gave are good examples. My interests are how the body responds (via hormonal release and whatnot) and nutrition as opposed to S+C (which I find interesting but not to the same degree). Essentials has good basic knowledge on hormones and things which may expand your knowledge in that area. IMO its not a complete write off and does have some useful info in it, but it does lack variety in methods.

In saying that, I agree wholeheartedly that Certs are a necessary evil in the same way that I don't have faith in my educational institution to a degree; often things they say regarding nutrition make me cringe but you have to accept what they teach, but that doesn't mean you agree with it.

I'm actually about to pick up some books myself ( I have the 5/3/1 ebooks + westside and Juggernaut (yet to read the last two)) so i'll buy supertraining and some others.

 

[Jiigzz]

Just bought supertraining.

 

[jimbuick]

They are pricey, and are more geared at the physiology side. If you wanted to just focus on S+C then the ideas Rodja gave are good examples. My interests are how the body responds (via hormonal release and whatnot) and nutrition as opposed to S+C (which I find interesting but not to the same degree). Essentials has good basic knowledge on hormones and things which may expand your knowledge in that area. IMO its not a complete write off and does have some useful info in it, but it does lack variety in methods.

In saying that, I agree wholeheartedly that Certs are a necessary evil in the same way that I don't have faith in my educational institution to a degree; often things they say regarding nutrition make me cringe but you have to accept what they teach, but that doesn't mean you agree with it.

I'm actually about to pick up some books myself ( I have the 5/3/1 ebooks + westside and Juggernaut (yet to read the last two)) so i'll buy supertraining and some others.

Ordered Juggernaut method yesterday. Found a few that looked interesting at a bookstore as well yesterday.

Just bought supertraining.

I hate you ....

 

[napalm]

while i wouldn't consider it a classic, tate's "the vault" is pretty good and has links at the end to all his seminars. it's free too...

 

[Sean1332]

well this thread is awesome..crap load of sources

 

[Jiigzz]

I hate you ....

ooohhh yeahhh.

 

[JudoJosh]

Ordered Juggernaut method yesterday.

PM coming

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[bolt10]

I have nothing really to add...most have given great recommendations. I think one thing to do is read a lot and don't limit yourself, if something looks interesting give it a read even if it doesn't end up reinventing how you think.

I will say I love Supertraining though..one of my better purchases.

 

[herderdude]

Subscribing for a one-stop shop for training references.

 

[mmorton]

Probably get grilled for this but Arnold's book of Modern Bodybuilding. I still enjoy it

 

[mmorton]

Just a fun read

 

[crispycrown]

Look up stuff on fascial release. So often people focus in working the muscle but not the fascia and it causes all sorts of problems later on. Learn the pec release and rhomboid release as it goes hand in hand with inverted shoulders that you see a lot in today's society with everyone being at computers all day. Not sure of any good books for it off the top of y head but if you google it I'm sure you'll find a bunch if good stuff

Best,
CC

 

[Jiigzz]

Probably get grilled for this but Arnold's book of Modern Bodybuilding. I still enjoy it

Not really a required read for a strength trainer though, lol

 

[mmorton]

Not really a required read for a strength trainer though, lol

I noticed that right after I said it lol

 

[MrKleen73]

I think my next major book purchase will be Supertraining.

 

[Rodja]

I think my next major book purchase will be Supertraining.

It's a relatively boring read with a lot more theory than practicum. Nothing negative about that, but don't expect a lot of implementation of the information.

 

[jimbuick]

It's a relatively boring read with a lot more theory than practicum. Nothing negative about that, but don't expect a lot of implementation of the information.

I planned it to be one of my next as well. Hopefully it isn't TOO boring to read :laugh:

 

[MrKleen73]

I like to see how things work, so theory is great. Plus I can create my own theories with more information. If it sucks I already know I can put it on eBay...

 

[Quatie]

Probably get grilled for this but Arnold's book of Modern Bodybuilding. I still enjoy it

Starting Strength is the best book.

 

[Rodja]

Starting Strength is the best book.

It's a good book for beginners, but is in no way the best book.

 

[kBrown]

You definitely were not kidding, I might have to take out a loan to buy those 3 lol.

Find older editions and used online.

 

[PaulBlack]

Go here...
The Tight Tan Slacks of Dezso Ban

Scroll to bottom and hit all the old dates/articles
This site has tons of stuff, links and all kinds of great articles.
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