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Weight
Training: A Scientific Approach reviewed by |
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Are you serious about developing a weight training strategy? I mean serious about it? So serious that you are tired of the usual bodybuilding/strength training books because there is never any science or research to back up their claims and programs. You do not want to just take the book's word for it, you want references. References that you can track down. References that help you zero in on facts instead of hype. So many references that people who are not serious will choke on the number of references. If you are a reference freak, Weight Training: A Scientific Approach will bring a smile to your face and give you plenty of reasons to scurry off to the library for some research.
Like most people, I had never heard of this book. It first came to my attention in Barry Merriman's excellent post on periodization. Barry gave it high marks as well-researched and well-referenced and I must concur. In fact it is so well-researched and so well-referenced that it will be overwhelming to all but very serious trainees. If you are happily going along in your training and do not want to get down to the nitty gritty, then pass this book by because it is not a casual read. There is a lot of science here and the book reads more like a textbook than a training manual. It is also biased more towards strength training (powerlifting and olympic lifting) than bodybuilding, but just a bit. Here are some sample chapters:
You will not get through this book in one sitting and you will have to read this book over and over again. There is a lot there, a lot to think about, and a lot to do. For instance, a periodization program can take almost four months to go through one mesocycle. There is no magic bullet here so if quick fixes are what you are looking for, look elsewhere.
Something that struck me over and over in this book was that I had seen this information before. Though this book was written in the mid-eighties, I have seen information from it in magazine articles in the ninties. The periodization program is exactly what Ironman was touting a few years back, for instance. However, you have not seen all the information here. How about this excerpt:
At least one machine manufacturer recommends that only one set of an exercise be performed to exhaustion and that this represents a sufficient workload for gains in hypertrophy and strength. This method of training greatly reduces the total workload made possible by multiple sets, which means the activated motor units receive less training. Part of the reasoning behind using sets to exhaustion is that, due to fatigue, the nth repetition would be maximal using an RM repetition scheme. This confuses relative and absolute maximum tensions; fatigue inhibits the use of some fibers, whereas all fibers are active with absolute maximum tension. Tension, not fatigue, is the major factor in developing maximum strength. One set to exhaustion likely reduces the training effect and produces small gains in lean body mass. Stowers et al. observed inferior performance gains (1 RM squat, VJ and VJ power) from one set to exhaustion compared to multiple exhaustion sets and a training program "periodized over 7 weeks.
High volume should not be used for too long a period. Multiple sets to exhaustion have been advocated as a superior training method, but this type of training can quickly lead to overtraining.
Well, well, well. There certainly is enough there to start quite a debate, wouldn't you say? Note that I didn't list the 7 footnote references in just those two paragraphs. Seeing the information here in magazines recently is not a bad thing at all. In fact, it only shows that the ideas in this book are standing up well to the test of time.
If you are seriously committed to a strength training program and do not mind spending a lot of time reading, thinking, designing a program, and doing the follow-up work to measure your progress, I have not seen another book like Weight Training: A Scientific Approach. Not for the casual or intermediate trainer, it will help you make your training program more effective by putting some science in it rather than guesswork. Now if you will excuse me, I need to start reading the book all over again.
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