Starting Strength (2nd edition) by Mark Rippetoe, Lon Kilgore
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Book Reviews of Starting Strength (2nd edition)
Book Review: Extremely informative, clear, and a bit witty.
Summary: 5 Stars
For someone interested in starting out on a strength training program, this book is a gold mine. Rippetoe covers what he considers the five most important basic lifts (squat, deadlift, press, bench press, and power clean), along with information about setting up a training program. He is very opinionated about what is and is not worthwhile and safe, and supports his opinions with clear and detailed explanations---you won't find bro-science here.
The explanations of the lifts are very detailed, but he is very good about providing summaries at the end of explanations as well, making this useful both the first time that you walk into the gym and are trying to remember the coarse movements for each lift, and afterward when you're trying to fix your form.
This won't be the *only* strength-training book you'll ever need, but I can't imagine what a better *first* book would look like.
And just remember: if you're going to waste money on lifting gloves, make sure that they match your purse. :-)
Book Review: The cornerstone of any weight training program
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been lifting weights for years and had some great results, but this very detailed how-to guide takes understanding of the basic lifts to a level I never thought possible. Nothing is left unexplained and even some very complex lifts are described in great detail. Every core barbell exercise contains pages and pages of commentary and numerous pictures.
Excellent for all levels from beginner to expert - I challenge even the most experienced lifter not to learn tremendous amounts. Mark Rippetoe doesn't just teach proper form, but he also provides knowledge about exactly WHY the form described is the proper form, and also explains exactly what the risks are of improper form for each exercise.
Truly eye-opening for me, and after only a few weeks of using his techniques and programs I've had accelerated results, particularly for strength.
5 stars, 10 out of 10, 100%, the absolute best of the best for anyone who is serious about improving their weight lifting knowledge and technique.
Book Review: The Magna Carta
Summary: 5 Stars
This is THE book, so really waste no time, click buy.
As a both a descriptive analysis and a guide to corrective perscription, this is an invaluable tool for any coach and a required tool for any athlete whose goal is performance enhancement. You really cant find a better walk through of the movements that define life than Coach Rips monumental work on the squat and deadlift: a better guide simply does not exist. The discussion is on the influence on Lat' recruitment in the Deadlift is profound and ground breaking in and of itself.
Written with humor and illustrated intelligently, this book is a compelling read. I buy this book for all my trainers as the most profoundly enriching gift that I can give. As a Masters age athlete with 20+ years under tension, this book is on the very short list of books I travel with when teaching or doing practical work.
Buy this book for yourself and for all the athletes in your life, you will forever be remembered for opening this door for them.
Book Review: Not Your Typical Bodybuidling Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This book will open the eyes of many experienced lifters. Those of us raised on complicated workout routines, giant sets, negative reps, specialized sculpting exercises designed to bring out "more rhomboid definition" for competitive bodybuilders, etc.
It gives compelling arguments for using basic, multi-joint barbell exercises to improve strength, power and athletic performance.
While it gives the reader ample information to apply the fundemental lifts and programming principles to specialized applications such as bodybuilding, it's focus remains squarely on utilitarian strength and power development vs. asthetics or other specialized applications.
After reading through just the introduction, I became a convert to the arguments made for maximizing strength over the elusive six-packed, veiny beach body (no offense intended to those who wish to pursue that goal).
As others have said in these reviews, I only wish I could have read it many years ago.
Book Review: Best back squat explanation, HANDS DOWN
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is, hands down, the best explanation of the basic barbell lifts, especially the barbell backsquat, ever put on paper. It also taught me that all the myriad of lifts the muscle and fitness magazines have are a waste of time for 95% of the general population.
The majority of this book is the explanation of the 5 core barbell lifts: Squats, bench press, shoulder press, the deadlift, and power cleans. While it also has a chapter on auxiliary exercises, learning the core lifts properly from this book has made me see that you need very little else besides these core lifts to get strong in a very real way. I gained more brute strength from a few months of real barbell training with these 5 lifts than years of aimless workouts gleaned from fitness magazines.
Bottom line: If you want to know how to do REAL lifts the RIGHT way, and get rid of all the garbage you see most people wasting their time on in gyms and get this book! I WISH I had had this book when I was younger.