Thread: Best strength training book?

Some of my favs:

Super training- mel siff
super squats- randell strossen
dinasour training- brooks kubik
Explosive training in sports- harvey newton
beyond braun- can't remeber the authors name and it is killing me?
power- richard hattfeild
scientific approach to bodybuilding- richard hattfield
only the stron survive- bill pearl
getting strong- bill pearl

beyond brawn is by stuart mcrobert

Dinosaur Training - Brooks Kubik
Super Squats - Randall Strossen
Keys to Progress - John McCallum
Insiders tell all handbook on weight training technique - stuart Mcrobert
Powerlfting Texas style - Paul Kelso
Stronger minds stronger bodies - randall strossen
Paul anderson the mightiest minister - Randall strossen
Mastery of hand strength - john brookfield
Combat conditioning - Matt furey
Black Book Of training Secrets - Christian Thibaudeau
Modern Strength and Power Methods - Christian Thibaudeau
The Charlie Francis Training System - Charlie Francis

that's right sturat mcrobert....thanks. that was drinving me insane.

All those books that Terok listed are excellent resources as well.

currently reading:

"Science and Practice of Strength Training" by Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky

Serious Strength Training 2nd edition- Tudor O.Bompa, PhD
Mauro Di Pasquale, MD
Lorenzo J. Cornacchia

This is very good book, especially if your new to bodybuilding. 1)It explains both how YOU design a training program for maximum gains as well as 2) covering the nutritional side of bodybuilding (what nutrients are needed when- IMPORTANT: it does not force supplements down your thought, instead they focus on what foods/food groups to eat when), 3)advising what supplement groups can benefit and how they work/when to take them and lastly 4)they show you a range of exercises for each body part- based on scientific experiment- which will stimulate the most muscle fibers.

Note though, that this book has not been written by people who count bodybuilding as their hobby, so they are talking purely from a scientific point of view not from experience.

High Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way

Note though, that this book has not been written by people who count bodybuilding as their hobby, so they are talking purely from a scientific point of view not from experience.

no offense, but this statement is not gonna entice people to read your book, nor will it reinforce whatever credibility this author did have. Why would I want someone who doesn't BB to tell me what I am supposed to do. There is only so much book knowledge one can have, real world experience is more important. I mean lots oif things look good on paper, but if someone is telling me a program works, they better be able to say they used it, otherwise its just speculation. Would you read a book by someone telling you how to bench 500 lbs if they only bench 200?? hell no. Science is important, but real experience is also vital, thats all I'm saying.

hi gr81! first, this is not my book. I have no interest in sales of this book/or in misleading anyone as to the contents (source) of this book. I have read this book and I think, reflecting back on what I knew when I started out, that this book will answer many questions a newby might have.
I think armed with the knowledge of how your body works you will gain independence when designing your own routine.

second, no two people are the same, no two bodies react the same. Science can give us a valuable insight into how a body (universally speaking) is designed to work and how it reacts. When you know the basics you can by trial and error find out what works for you.
I do appreciate what you are saying, but IMO blindly trusting what someone claims will work is not clever, even though he may be experienced.

I'd go with Zatsiorsky/Siff over Bompa anyday.

Strength Training Anatomy
Frederic Delavier


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

Originally Posted by Luke9583

Strength Training Anatomy
Frederic Delavier


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

www.exrx.net is cheaper (its free, duh), you don't have to wait for shipping and its most likely way more informative.

I do appreciate what you are saying, but IMO blindly trusting what someone claims will work is not clever, even though he may be experienced.

I can agree with that defn. my point was juts that which you basically agreed with, that everyone is different. its impossible to predict what is going to be best for any individual. Science is extremely important, without it we are back 20 years, no question about that. I juts think both are necessary and your statement about the author never BB threw me off is all. its all good man. peace

thats cool

Originally Posted by Yanick

www.exrx.net is cheaper (its free, duh), you don't have to wait for shipping and its most likely way more informative.

The illustrations in "strength training anatomy" are AMAZING!

^^plus I don't know about that book, but many of teh demonstrations on exrx are not very accurate

I own strength training anatomy as well, and it's a very good book (paticularly for beginners)

^ agreed

donuts how does mentzer define intensity? if it's high intensity shouldn't the reps be low instead of to failure which would be quite high

Supertraining, by Dr. Mel Siff is hands down the greatest book in the world of strength training. It requires a bit of a scientific background, but there is no equal. Most people don't like it because it doesn't spoon feed the reader a "can't fail" routine. Instead it teaches. Here's my favorite analogy on books.

99% of books on the topic are like high school courses. You are told a set of answers and are expected to memorize them. You don't learn anything and you don't know if what you're being told to memorize is even the truth.

Supertraining is like an advanced college course. You're given the material. You combine the material with notes and other material and you learn. When you're done reading Supertraining, you know WHY things work. But you aren't spoon-fed HOW. The author expects his readers to be intelligent, so the HOW is up to you.

Now what kills me is when people use "everyone is different" as a cop out for actually being intelligent on the subject. "What works for you may not work for me." Sorry, that's bullshit. That's what someone says when they don't want to understand there is a better way, and don't want to be shown what it is.

There are facts in this world as to how and why things are as they are. Why we breathe oxygen. How water hydrates the body. Protein's role in ATP. These things are known and have been proven time and again by science. Science doesn't lie. If it did lie, some of us would breathe hydrogen while others still breathed argon.

Supertraining takes into account various forms of science, from various sources and provides you with strength training knowledge.

Intensity means pushing oneself to the bring of their momentary ability. It has nothing to do with intensity relative to percentage of one rep max.

hey is arnold's encyclopedia any good?

Originally Posted by wilwn

hey is arnold's encyclopedia any good?

It is great for comedic purposes.

okay i've narrowed it down these:


science and practice of strength training by zatsiorsky: my concern with this is that it may be too technical, although am very interested in the science behind strength training as well as the basic mechanics. Are there actual exercise suggestions in this book?

strength training anatomy by Frederic Delavier: detailed anatomic charts would be very helpful. does this book give good exercise suggestions and proper execution of them?

beyond brawn of the insiders handbook on technique by stuart mcrobert: my concern with beyond brawn is that it is simply a plan for training with not much emphasize on specific exercises or techniques and basic science behind strength training while my concern with the insiders' handbook is that it only deals with technique and doesn't give proper guidance or plans. can someone please clarify for me?


thank you to everyone to who posted and to people who may kind enough to further clarify for me.

are you looking for books to give you a set program or biomechanics or what..