Core Performance Endurance: A New Fitness and Nutrition Program That Revolutionizes the Way You Train for Endurance Sports by Mark Verstegen, Pete Williams
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Book Reviews of Core Performance Endurance: A New Fitness and Nutrition Program That Revolutionizes the Way You Train for Endurance Sports
Book Review: Core strength for 100 mile ultra-marathons
Summary: 5 Stars
I used many of the core exercises to train for 100 mile trail ultra-marathons. A strong core is essential to optimum athletic performance as well as helping those of us with chronic lower back problems (which are problems no more after strengthening my core!).Book Review: Poorly written
Summary: 2 Stars
I was excited to get the book and flipping through it, was excited to start reading it. But reading it I found that each chapter was written like an introduction. He hints at what you'll be doing in the program without ever showing you how to do it. The program is essentially presented as one table with a two line explanation of how to use it. There is a huge explanatory gap between the "introductory" chapters and the presentation of the program. The introductory chapters could have been condensed to one quite easily, leaving plenty of room for real information on how to use the program, how everything fits together.
The table references all of the program's exercises, which are great. I quite like the exercises but the single table program doesn't quite work for me. Without any explanation of how I might customize it, I'm just doing my own thing with the exercises.
In the end it's just a bunch of new exercises.
Book Review: Great Program for Time Constrained Multi-Sport Athletes
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a big fan of Mark's 'original' book, so I was thrilled to see a version specifically for endurance athletes. This version does borrow many of the same exercises from his first book -- but, if they work why change them?
The workouts are quick and effective. So, this is the way to go if you are considering strength training into your plan. Many traditional exercises (like leg press, for example) really do not translate into improvement in endurance sports. The strength and power workouts really have resulted in better cycling and running. The Core Performance sessions are completed quickly and allow you to recover for your swim/bike/run workouts. Mark uses the 'incremental' approach to improvement. This is not a workout session that will require you 3 days to recover.
Also, I've found the 'Movement Prep' and 'Regeneration' movements most helpful. My back has never felt better.
The ESD (or cardio) part of the program really should be ignored. Your run/bike/swim workouts more than cover this aspect.
Mark does provide a free code for a 3 week trial of the coreperformance.com site. This site provides really nice video snippets of how to complete the exercises and a detailed diet plan. Good stuff. Now, after the 3 weeks you have to pay -- but, it is only like $[...] for the year. I learned the proper form during the trial phase and chose not to renew.
Book Review: Very Disappointing, More of the Same
Summary: 1 Stars
Mark Verstegen deserves a lot of credit for his ability to take a basic concept and milk it into a very lucrative cottage industry. While I actually liked his earlier Core Performance Essentials book (it's a good basic introductory book, though admittedly not much is new there either), Core Performance Endurance offers virtually no new material. Instead, the book is a complete rehash of Essentials and his first book. The rehashing goes so far that entire sections of Endurance are copied word for word from the earlier two books. Other sections show substantial overlap (but not verbatim) with the earlier two books. The two exceptions is that he spends a little more time introducing plyometics (though an introductory text on plyometrics can do it better) and regeneration (the novel concept that endurance athletes should schedule regular rest and active regeneration instead of going 100% every day).
I was also disappointed in the lack of new exercises presented. Whereas Essentials provided an interesting variety and progression of exercises, Endurance was fairly minimal in its presentation. I was especially expecting more challenging exercises that would be appropriate for endurance atheletes.
Finally, I was annoyed by the endless cross-selling of other products endorsed by Verstegen. I already bought the book and buy into the philosophy, but there were too many pushes of the coreperformance website (a subscription service that offers more exercises) and other products sold by Athletes Performance or strategic partners. There is a time and a place for cross-selling, but this book crossed the line.
Overall, if you're a Verstegen fan and want to know what the whole core thing is all about, I'd recommend Essentials over Endurance, but even then I'd recommend it only if you're looking for something fairly introductory.
Book Review: Great book for those wanting to go to the next level
Summary: 4 Stars
This book shows you some new teqniques for improving your form and strength.
The section on the foam roller has been invaluable to me.
The book sort of ends quickly....I wish there was a bit more on implementing a program.