Product Description

There are lots of things about weight training in general and barbell exercise in particular that can only be learned by spending way too many hours in the gym. And honestly, unless you're a gym owner, this is a really weird way to spend 75 hours a week. Mark Rippetoe has been in the fitness industry since 1978 and has owned a black-iron gym since 1984. He knows things about lifting weights and training for performance that most other coaches and professionals have never had the chance to learn. This book of essays offers a glimpse into the depths of experience made possible through many years under the bar, and many more years spent helping others under the bar.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14449 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-28
• Binding: Perfect Paperback

About the Author
Mark Rippetoe is the author of Starting Strength: A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners, numerous magazine and journal articles, and the co-author of Practical Programming for Strength Training. He has worked in the fitness industry since 1978, and has owned Wichita Falls Athletic Club since 1984. He graduated from Midwestern State University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in geology and a minor in anthropology. He was in the first grouop certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as CSCS in 1985, and is a USA Weightlifting Senior Coach, CrossFit Coach, and USA Track and Field Level I Coach. He was a competitive powerlifter for ten years, and has coached many lifters and athletes, and thousands of people interested in improving their strength and performance.

Customer Reviews

Great information and fun to read.
This book contains great information, is motivational and---with a dry wit that clearly comes from much experience---very funny in places. The style is direct, practical, and easy to read. There is stuff in here that is pretty technical, but also very useful, like the extended analysis of deadlift form, and there is also a lot of philosophy. You'll find yourself reading this stuff and then wanting to head to the gym to try it out.

With this book, plus Starting Strength, you'll be prepared mentally and physically to use strength training just to be strong, to help in whatever sport you do and to make your life better.

Finally, this book has some utterly hilarious comments about cyclists and strength training. As a road biker, I agree that the cycling community as a whole just doesn't get why strength training matters. However, after starting to lift at age 52 (and never touched a barbell before) I definitely get it. The cycling improvements are obvious and it works -exactly- as described in this book: You can ride harder, longer because you're working at a lower percentage of your total strength.

You also have less fatigue on the bike because every muscle in your body has been strengthened so that holding a cycling position is easier. Training time is greatly reduced because 30 minutes of lifting is FAR more effective than 30 minutes of cycling. You still have to build base miles, but the requirement is greatly reduced, leading to a more efficient training schedule.

Great read!
A really good book. I have to say the book is too advanced for me at my level, but I am still learning a LOT. And the best part is, this book is actually fun to read! I actually find myself really enjoying his style and sense of humor. If you're looking to be educated and entertained - a true rarity - you should really get this book.

Note that it does focus a lot on squats, deadlifts, and building muscle, and tends to "look down" on long distance running. I consider it a valuable perspective in today's environment which is so focused on cardio, distance running, pilates, etc. This is just good old fashioned brawn-based muscle building. I also really like that it focuses on hard work - things that are hard are good for you, and we do tend to avoid things that are hard.

Really - a must have for anyone serious about building muscle or even just getting into good shape.

An excellent read. A must for anyone who lifts weights.
I've just finished Strong Enough? and I have to say that I found it to be an incredibly informative and entertaining read. I am a practicing Chiropractor and have been involved in serious weight training for over 10 years. I have a background in exercise physiology with a BS degree in Kinesiology and a coaching endorsement from my undergrad university. My personal philosophies of health include a combination of Chiropractic care with regular weight training exercise. I honestly feel that a great many of today's health care problems could be prevented by this combination. I will be recommending to my patients who are engaging in athletic endeavors and weight training in general to read this book, along with Rippetoe's other works, Starting Strength and Practical Programming.

Coach Rippetoe is able to provide a wealth of information that is both advanced enough for the academic as well as being clear and concise enough for the general public. He does a fantastic job of conveying the importance of weight training, and doing so properly. Along with this, he's got quite the sense of humor. More times than I can count I found myself laughing along with a passage as I was reading.

Strong Enough? is a rare find in this world of popular "fitness" magazines and bodybuilding rags that preach the same tired (and largely ineffective) routines time and time again. I find myself reading along and thinking to myself, "I've told people this same information so many times! Why don't they get it?" It's refreshing to find someone willing to set the topic of weight training straight for a change. Instead of misleading the general public with ineffective routines alongside pictures of chemically enhanced models/"athletes" and an equal amount of advertising copy, Coach Rippetoe puts the information out there in clear terms. But this book doesn't include a canned workout that readers can just pluck out of the pages and implement into their gym time. This book offers a unique commentary on the past and present state of strength training. Offering his personal thoughts over a long and successful career as a strength coach, Rippetoe gives readers something new to think about. This is true for novice, intermediate, advanced and elite lifters alike. In the rare chance that there is nothing in this book that is new to the reader, at the very least it is a useful reminder of some very important concepts. And that alone is worth the price of the book.

Adding in some wit and humerous commentary to the generous dose of common sense makes this a fun, quick and easy read. I think that anyone who trains with weights should have a copy of this book on their shelf or in their gym bag. I know that I will be recommending it to my patients, and anyone else who is involved in weight training.

Thanks for writing your books, Rip.