Science and Practice of Strength Training, Second Edition Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book was a slight disappointment, wasn't as good as I expected. Contains good info anyway, and I found some interesting new pieces of info, but also some errors. Due to some errors I can't totally trust everything in this book, have to verify some things from other sources before I could trust them completely.
As an example, in "Injury prevention" section authors recommend including "trunk rotations against resistance" in training protocols (page 147). This is totally against scientific proof, according to scientific evidence this exercise should absolutely be EXCLUDED. Check this in Stuart McGill's book "Low back disorders- ..." and you will find the right kind of advice on injury prevention.
Same goes for the recommendation on page 145: "Persons at high risk of LBPS (low back pain syndrome) should perform sit-ups with the legs bent, as in this position the load on the spine is lighter and the effect on the abdominal wall is greater." This is old and erroneous information, the new scientific evidence proves that there is not a great difference in the load on the spine even if legs are bent. The pressure is again high and exactly from the injury prevention viewpoint there are superior rectus abdominis exercises. Once again, check for example above mentioned McGill's book for the scientific evidence and better recommendations.
For the above stated reasons, I can't totally trust this books information, especially the injury prevention section is clearly not updated to take into account the newer scientific evidence.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Science and Practice of Strength Training, Second Edition


This new second edition of Science and Practice of Strength Training comes with many additions and changes. A new coauthor, Dr. William Kraemer, joins Dr. Vladimir Zatsiorsky in expanding on the principles and concepts needed for training athletes. Among Dr. Kraemer's contributions are three new chapters targeting specific populations—women, young athletes, and seniors—plus the integration of new concepts into the other chapters.

Together the authors have trained more than 1,000 elite athletes, including Olympic, world, continental, and national champions and record holders. The concepts they divulge are influenced by both Eastern European and North American perspectives. The authors integrate those concepts in solid principles, practical insights, coaching experiences, and directions based on scientific findings. This edition is much more practical than its predecessor; to this end, the book provides the practitioner with the understanding to craft strength training programs based on individuals' needs.

Science and Practice of Strength Training, Second Edition, shows that there is no one program that works for any one person at all times or for all conditions. This book addresses the complexity of strength training programs while providing straightforward approaches to take under specific circumstances. Those approaches are applied to new physiological concepts and training practices, which provide readers with the most current information in the science and practice of strength training. The approaches are also applied to the three new chapters, which will help readers design safe and effective strength training programs for women, young athletes, and seniors. In addition, the authors provide examples of strength training programs to demonstrate the principles and concepts they explain in the book.

The book is divided into three parts. Part I focuses on the basis of strength training, detailing concepts, task-specific strength, and athlete-specific strength. Part II covers methods of strength conditioning, delving into training intensity, timing, strength exercises, injury prevention, and goals. Part III explores training for specific populations. The book also includes suggested readings that can further aid readers in developing strength training programs.

This expanded and updated coverage of strength training concepts will ground readers in the understanding they need in order to develop appropriate strength training programs for each person that they work with.

Click here for more information about Science and Practice of Strength Training, Second Edition