Product Description

Practical Programming offers a different approach to exercise programming than that typically found in other exercise texts. Based on a combined 60+ years of academic expertise, elite-level coaching experience, and the observation of thousands of novice trainees, the authors present a chronological analysis of the response to exercise as it varies through the training history of the athlete, one that reflects the realities of human physiology, sports psychology, and common sense. Contrary to the one-size-fits-all models of periodization offered elsewhere, Practical Programming explains the differences in response to exercise commonly observed between athletes at the novice, intermediate, and advanced levels, explains these differences in the context of the relevant exercise science, and presents new training models that actually work for athletes at all levels of experience. Complete with new, innovative graphical representations of cutting-edge concepts in exercise programming, Practical Programming is sure to become a standard reference in the field of exercise and human performance. Contributor: Glenn Pendlay

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3119 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-29
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Mike Lambert, Editor Powerlifting USA
"Common Sense brings the Popular Mythology of Strength Training down a couple of well-deserved notches."

About the Author
Mark Rippetoe, CSCS is the owner and general manager of Wichita Falls Athletic Club, CrossFit Wichita Falls, and Performance Sports Conditioning. He has 25 years experience in the fitness industry and 10 years experience as a competitive powerlifter. He has coached athletes in barbell and strength sports since 1980. He was in the very first group to sit for the NCSA's Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam in 1985, and has been continuously certified since then. He was certified by USA Weightlifting as a Level III Coach in 1988, and currently holds the Senior Coach certification, as well as the USA Track and Field Level I certification. He has coached numerous national level strength competitors, NCAA athletes, and many thousands of people interested in improving their health and strength. Author of a classic strength training text, Starting Strength, he has also written articles for a variety of professional and strength sport magazines.

Lon Kilgore, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Kinesiology at Midwestern State University (USA) where he teaches exercise physiology and anatomy. He has held faculty appointments in Exercise Science at Warnborough University (UK) and in Kinesiology and Kansas State University. He has authored and co-authored four textbooks and numerous research articles on the biology of exercise. A nationally ranked weightlifter from age 13, he has extensive practical experience as an NCAA strength coach and as coach of international caliber competitive weightlifters. He is a coaching certification instructor for all levels of USA Weightlifting's coaching development system and has been a member or Chair of the USAW Sports Science Committee for 9 years. He was also a primary proposal author and researcher on the USOC Weightlifting Performance Enhancement Team project and is also a member of the Board of Certification for the American Society of Exercise Physiologists.

Customer Reviews

Practical Programming for Strength Training. A must have!
Whether you are a strength coach, any person who trains others to increase their strength or looking to learn more about improving your own strength, this is a must have. It is science digested and put into print in a very easy to understand format.

Barbel work for Cyclists
This has been a fanastic book. I coach cyclists for the Velodorme, and it has been nothing but helpfulll in bringing up the power output in riders and having them pull out some better numbers on the track.

I recomend this book to anyone who has been having trouble in getting anyone over the line in any sport that requires power, strength, or a combination of both.

Must-have book.
This is the best book I've read on planning strength training programs. If you exercise for strength, you need to have this book.

However, while I thought this was a great book by the standards of the field, the lack of references really irked me. What's fact and what's opinion? It's hard to tell. Rippetoe often implies things are scientifically supported (and from other reading I have a pretty good idea about which of his points are supported), but he doesn't give you the references you would need to be able to tell. He doesn't tell you where his knowledge stops and his speculation begins. This book really is closer to best-practices than anything else out there, but you can't tell that by casually reading it.

Myth-based training and unsupported theories run amok in weight training. Scientific-ish people like Rippetoe could combat that. In that narrow sense, this book is a missed opportunity. There are readers who will get through the book and put it on the shelf next to McRobert, Mentzer and Schwarzenegger and not be able to tell the difference.

Quibbles: The Intermediates chapter, which ought to be the most useful for the target audience, is hard to follow. I was particularly disappointed in the description of the Texas Method. There's also basically nothing on mixing weight training with other sports, which is a common need.

Overall, it's a very good book, but it could have been a great one.