Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I think it is important that readers understand precisely what this 931-page books IS, and what it is not. Dr Noakes is a trained physician, a professor of exercise science, and a highly published researcher in the field of exercise physiology. His meticulously researched book (the online references occupy over 100 pages) offers an authoritative compilation of the latest and best research to guide the intelligent coach or self-coached runner in the structuring of productive and safe training regimens. For those who lack a PhD in physiology but still want to understand WHY they should perform specific types of training, based on current research, this book is simply unsurpassed. If all you want is a "table" of training prescriptions with no grounding in research or explanation of validity, then look elsewhere: this book is not for you.
In my opinion, Dr Noakes has done an excellent job of extracting results from current research and translating them from the highly specialized language of sports physiology into language that the intelligent layperson can understand. Indeed, I found the book pitched at a slightly less technical level than the popular competitor by Martin and Coe---a book I hve also found to be invaluable.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Fourth Edition is Noakes' unapologetic challenge of THE prevailing paradigm in distance running; he questions the widely accepted belief that an individual's VO(2) max, or maximal oxygen uptake figure, is the key limiting factor in distance running performance. In a carefully argued Chapter 2, complete with dozens of references to research of the past decade to support his claims, Dr Noakes argues for an alternative "Central Governor Model" in which exercise capacity is primarily limited by coronary blood flow to supply oxygen to the heart. I cannot even present an outline of this fascinating alternative model in the brief space allocated here, but suffice it to say that Chapter 2 of his book, in which this theory is developed in detail, is alone worth the price of the book.
In addition to the physiology of training, there are entire chapters devoted to temperature regulation, ergogencic aids, injury prevention and treatment, apparel (emphasis on shoes), etc: all of the usual topics with which self-coached runners must eventually cope.
If I were to offer criticisms of the book for the sake of balance, there would be only two, both relatively minor.
(1) Chapter 6, entitled "Learning from the Experts" offers training programs from a number of famous past champions who raced over distances from 1 mile to the ultramarathon. However, as Dr Noakes points out clearly and often, many of these runners, almost inhumanly gifted with natural ability, became champions IN SPITE OF their obsessive, unbalanced training programs, and not because of them. For the person of average gifts, emulating the training programs of, say, Dave Bedford (who occasionally logged as many as 160--200 miles per week!)is a certain prescription for injury (as it ultimately was for Bedford). I would therefore suggest changing the title of this chapter to "Learning from the Champions." The accomplishments of these highly gifted people all too often had very little to do with "Expertise" in rationale training, as the current title suggests, and far more to do with natural endowment.
(2) Since Dr Noakes is willing to challenge the VO(2) max paradigm so openly, I think it is necessary that he offer some guidance on precisely what differences to the training program his alternative Central Governor Model implies. It is not easy for the non-specialist to see what amendments to training are implied by this alternative model; perhaps an addition to be incorporated into the Fifth Edition?
In summary, if you are a self-coached runner looking for an intelligent basis on which to construct a training program, then this 931-page book is comprehensive and has no real rival. If, on the other hand, you would prefer a 5-page pamphlet offering some training tables for the beginner, then I advise you to look elsewhere.
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Tim Noakes's "runner's bible" is a distillation of international research, by one of the world's foremost exercise and sports scientists. Established as a classic work on running, it is also at the cutting edge of discovery: the fourth edition challenges previously accepted theories of what causes fatigue in athletes and offers solutions on how best to train the body and brain to counter it. The book is suitable both for sports scientists and for medical practitioners, and is a resource for runners who want to understand and enjoy their sport.
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