Books I like
16 August 2005If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
The Super Athletes by David Willougby - 1970
This 650-page out-of-print Magnus Opus is a compendium on all types and kinds of strength feats and vignettes on the individuals who performed themchapter titles include feats of strength in ancient times, Thomas Topham 18th century prodigy, five famous weights and the men who lifted them, miscellaneous feats of strength and endurance, shouldering-carrying-supporting and climbing with poundage, one-finger lifting and pulling, log chopping and sawing feats, jumping, holding breath underwater, somersault records, juggling, neck and jaw feats of strengthyou name it, if it happened before 1970 its likely been noted in this amazing book. Likely the one strength book Id run outside with if the house caught on fire.
Keys to Progress by John McCallum 1972
This book contains 100-plus articles on-and-about weight training and related subjects. Written in a fashion that predated gonzo yet exemplifies the gonzo approach, this book holds up well both qualitatively and quantitatively. Mac wrote in a loose familiar style that portrayed serious subjects from a lively 1st person vantage point. Not all his theories have stood the test of time; but a vast majority of his ideas remain relevant for todays trainees. His primordial emphasis on squats and hard work, 5-rep sets and a balanced approach to training and life make this book important for those serious about transformation. I still use and pass along many of the lessons I first learn from Mac back in the sixties.
Serious Strength Training by Tudor Bompa 1998
Bompa was a Romanian coach who began his career in 1963 and was one of the first of the Iron Curtain coaches to champion periodization. He has a whole series of books including his master work, The Theory and Methodology of Training. Dense reading that is dry at times; Serious Strength Training is an accessible treatise on how best to structure periodization for sport-specific training and bodybuilding. His approach is befitting a serious theorist and college professor. I like Bompa and I like his approach. Of all his books this is the one I would recommend.
Keys to the Inner Universe by Bill Pearl 1985
This massive book is primarily an encyclopedia of progressive resistance exercises and an invaluable antidote for training boredom. Tired of doing the same old shoulder exercises and want to try something new? Flip to the shoulder section of Keys and you are suddenly confronted with twenty five pages of shoulder exercises with 2-3 exercises per page. Bill offers an incredible menu of exercise variations that offers enough meat to keep a trainee busy for a lifetime. Truly a progressive resistance treasure trove.
Optimal Sports Nutrition by Dr. Michael Colgan 1993
A nice nutritional primer that deserves a read; basic information presented in a readable style. The basics that he discusses are still relevant and this 550-page book has plenty of meat on its bones. A nice presentation of medically factual information presented in a clean style that makes it worthy of a read. What ever happened to him? I believe he was a New Zealand native.
The Weightlifting Encyclopedia by Art Drechsler 1998
Fred Hatfield calls this 540 page monster book, the single most important book ever written on Olympic weightlifting. Id agree with that. More than just another training book, Art was a junior world record holder and lawyer who is also a great writer. He goes into incredible depth on every aspect of training the two lifts plus the squat and front squat. Chapters include nutrition and weight control, anatomy, physiology, mechanics and biomechanics, prevention and dealing with injuriesthe degree of detail is awe-inspiring and I often co-opt and incorporate his approach to pulling and squatting in my own training. Two thumbs up.
Power: A Scientific Approach by Fred Hatfield 1989
Fred is a multiple time world champion powerlifter who possesses perhaps the finest brain in the entire fitness game. He produced three books during his tenure at Weider and I refer to all of them: Power addresses how best to acquire strength for athletics and is a great basic primer for serious individuals serious about getting strong. Hardcore Bodybuilding was Freds muscle for muscles sake book and definitely worth a read; Ultimate Sports Nutrition completes the Dr Squat trilogy. I think of all three books as really one big book and I recommend you pick up all of them at the used book store. Again, the information is dated but biology is biology and the modes and methods Fred describes are priceless and timeless.
A Portrait of Dorian Yates by Peter McGough 1998
The book is good the video tape Blood & Guts is the best Ive ever seen. Peter is the major domo at Flex Magazine and a good writer. Dorian Yates is a purposefully primitive man trapped in a world of narcissistic poseurs. Dorian was all about the training and competing was to him a bother; I had the good fortune to interview him at his peak and his training was so similar to that of Ed Coans that it moved me to write a feature article on it for Muscle & Fitness. Yates believed that intensity trumped volume and his huge physique bore testament to the efficiency of his approach. The Blood & Guts video is the best bodybuilding training video ever made. True film noire, shoot in black and white, no verbal explanations offered, Dorian and Leroy (the ultimate training partner) simply wade though a weeks worth of training. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and Yates, a man of few words, shows more by doing than could ever be expressed talking.
Anabolic Primer by Phil Embleton and Gerard Thorne 1998
Everything youd ever want to know about things you put into your body: hormone manipulation, steroids, estrogens and anti-estrogens, growth hormone, insulin, thyroid and mineral conserving drugs, diuretics, HCG, thermogenesis, beta agonists, fat burners, epinephrine, clenbuterol, protein and amino acids, erogenic nutrients, vitamins, neurotransmitter and hormonal control of appetite, energy sources, oils and fats, natural ergogenesis, anticatabolics, hormone boosters, soviet supplements, peptide growth factors, genetic engineering.get the idea? At 500 pages this book covers any conceivable question about any substance you could ever possibly imagine.
High Performance Bodybuilding by John Parrillo 1993
The most revolutionary book of its time, HP Bodybuilding first introduced the concept of high calorie eating to support high volume training. Parrillo was (and is) a bodybuilding genius and successfully had bodybuilders eating 10,000 calories per day without getting fat. His build the metabolism approach dynamited all preconceptions on performance eating. Parrillo was also the first to champion the inclusion of aerobics into the training template of bodybuilders. Nothing was ever the same after the publication of this book.
Heavyhands by Dr. Len Schwartz 1983
The best book on cardiovascular exercise ever writtenthe science, the writing, the most persuasive argument ever presented for quad limbed cardioLen is a genius, psychiatrist, medical doctor, sports performance researcher he not only talked the talk, he walked the walkat 71 years of age he could do 35-pullups while holding his leg straight out to make the pull-ups a tad tougher. His book talks of METS, senders and receivers, oxygen turnover and exotic exercises done to achieve maximal aerobic benefit in a minimum timeframe. Not just the best written book on cardio but the most important book ever penned on the subject.
Clearing the Path to Victory by Aladar Kogler 1994
This is the best book on improving sport performance through psychological recalibration ever written. I interviewed Kogler several times and he was as insightful as he was mysterious. A Hungarian native who had a Transylvanian flair, Kogler was the leading sports psychologist theorist and responsible for developing the brain train approach used by Iron Curtain athletes back in the Big Red glory days. He also coached the Czech Olympic fencing team and after immigrating to the US coached the United States Olympic fencing team. His systematizes sport-modified autogenic training, self-hypnosis, ideomotor training, psychological preparation for sport competition, visualization, developing a mental training program and strategies for improving athletic performance through brain-train.
The Awakening of Intelligence by Jiddu Krishnamurti 1981
The best book on psychological reexamination Ive ever read. Krishnamurtis contentions are subtle: we need to examine not just what we think or why we think certain things - but how we think. He presents a non-method for silencing the internal voice that chatters ceaselessly. Once the voice is quieted not though any mind-deadening methodology but through the minds own volition the quieted brain allows us to deal with the immediacy of the instantaneous present (always moving ahead) without reflecting (on the past) or projecting (on the future). Incredibly intricate and subtle, this book explained my own peak athletic experiences and taught me a new way to think. Profound reading that literally changed my life or more accurately my mind.
Alibris.com has many of these books available.
Or, check the used book stores for these obscure and out-of-print gems.Part II tomorrow
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