How to Write Strength Training Programs

Who is this guy and what is this product?

“How to Write Strength Training Programs” by Ian King

Quote:

Ian King has been involved in sports training personal since childhood and has dedicated the bulk of his adult life to achieving excellence in sport and physical preparation with elite athletes. He has trained athletes in every Summer and Winter Games, every Commonwealth Games, and various World Cups and World Championships between 1986 and 2006.

What does this product claim?

Quote:

This book is a guide to writing strength training programs the ‘Ian King’ way, based on practical experiences, with a respect for the contribution of sport science, written for the practitioner. This book will clarify many issues that may have been confusing you, and also introduce you to a number of Ian’s original concepts and methods in program design. The book was written for the professional physical preparation consultant, and will also be of benefit from those wishing to master the writing of their own strength training programs. The chapters in this book is broken into three sections : Part A-Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Strength; Part B-A Summary of the Variables and Related; Part C Sample Strength Training Programs.

Where can I get it and how much does it cost?

$40.00

Review:

Layout\Format

This is a paperback with standard binding on A4 paper weighing in at 180pgs. Paper quality is standard with some bleed through if pages are not pressed together but not noticeable 99.9% of the time. Print is clear. The entire book is black and white with an abundance of tables.

The book breaks down into three main sections. The first is a 35 step process to designing a program. The second expands on those variables giving detailed explanations covering most anything you could think of on strength training and adaptations to. The final section presents three sample programs.

Commentary

This book is a bit like a fancy necklace wrapped in the middle of a turd. It starts off (the first section) with a step by step guide to setting up a strength program. You are blessed with the 35 steps in a “what this is supposed to accomplish” format…this is good. Then you are given a worksheet to actually do the 35 steps. Oh Christ, that’s painful. Everything in and of itself makes sense for the most part. It’s when you actually start filling it out and you find a table missing, or figure out that you screwed up somewhere down the line…and you backtrack…and things blur…oh god make it stop. 35 steps later you’re shaking on the ground, eyes rolled back in your head, foaming at the mouth….and so on and so forth. The main problem with this section isn’t really the steps but the overlap and complication of the steps. You might be asked in 4-5 steps about filling in a set\rep scheme….that should be one once…damn it Jim. Agony and gnashing of teeth.The really sad part of the manual is that this not really be the worst of it. We’ve still got part II.

Now SOME people might think it logical to go for a one to one “part I step” to “part II explanation” section. That way if you’re confused you can just rock out and go on down the line and figure this bad boy out. Yeah, big negative on that one. The chapters in this section are fairly logical and laid out fairly well, but the entire process is marred by the seeming necessity of periodizing every…single…detail. Did you zip your fly all the way up this week? Better go for 1/4 of the way next. Which again, isn’t that big a deal in and of itself, but it rears its ugly head when you go back to the 35 steps of endless torment.

Part 3 of the book is sample programs and exactly what you think it is.

The redeeming quality of the book is that the second section is largely solid stuff and highly relevant. King covers a great many topics and presents a well thought out (perhaps overly so in places) collection of thoughts\opinions. Is this redeeming “enough”? Perhaps, probably not in context of the book itself. While the content is solid, the overly confusing presentation makes the manual usable only by those with a freakish level of patience and understanding.