As requested by one of my subscribers, here is my list of the top 10 books on strength training – in no particular order.
Some of my reccomendations may come as a surprise to those who view me as a pure slow rep HIT enthusiast. But the truth is that many books have little pearls of wisdom in them that can be useful in your training like this little gem (these are from my collection):
Or this one:
This one is a real gem:
All of these books have weight training information that is both valuable and overkill.
In thinking about all this, now may be a good opportunity for me to state that I do not consider slow rep, Slow Burn, HIT training the only way to develop strength and muscle mass. It is obvious that many different methods work quite well. Some people live for the gym and need to configure routines and programs that keep them in their lair of love for hours and days on end.
Some people have an almost primal need to lift very heavy things and put them down. If you watch any of this guys videos, you can see his method of lifting has produced very good strength gains – in some cases amazing strength gains. But what you will also notice is that his methods are not what one would consider safe – certainly not as safe as possible.
To each her own.
OK. Here’s the list (the links to the books I’ve listed are Amazon affiliate links so if you click and buy it via the link, I’ll get a shekel or two):
Moment Arm Exercise
Body by Science: A Research Based Program to Get the Results You Want in 12 Minutes a Week
by Doug McGuff M.D.
Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and Development
by Brooks Kubik
Power Factor Training : A Scientific Approach to Building Lean Muscle Mass
by Pete Sisco and John Little
Science and Practice of Strength Training, Second Edition
by Vladimir Zatsiorsky
The New High Intensity Training: The Best Muscle-Building System You’ve Never Tried
by Ellington Darden
Building Strength and Stamina: New Nautilus Training for Total Fitness
by Wayne Westcott
Maximize Your Training
by Matt Bryzcki
Brawn, 3rd Edition
by Stuart McRobert
(Also Beyond Brawn is a good one too.)
These 10 books have just about everything you need to get strong and muscular. Some are overly elaborate, some a bit too sparse and simplistic.
From my experience, which at this point is not too shabby, the key elements to successful training are:
*Heavy weights (for you – not compared to others).
*Intense effort (If you can do 10 repetitions in an exercise, don’t stop at 5. Go for the gusto. Try the 11th!)
*Adequate recovery (Training too often is a definite mistake. But so too is training too infrequently.)
*Meticulous record keeping (Write down everything!)
*Nutrition (Adequate protein and fat intake.)
*Sleep (Individual total time varies but for all people, several hours of sound sleep is critical.)
*Positive attitude (“Whether you think you can or can’t, either way you’re right.” – Henry Ford)
If I’ve left out some books that are clearly great training references, I’d love to know about them!
