since we had a good productive thread on good books to read… now lets mention some book to stay away from that you’ve read. we all know that there are many books dealing with track and field and strength training that arent even worth the paper that they are printed on. so lets mention these books so instead of reading nonsense people can spend there time reading books of value.
Sport Speed by Dintiman and Ward. I currently use my copy as a drink coaster 
Explosive Running by Michael Yessis… Need I say more.
Originally posted by NumberTwo
Explosive Running by Michael Yessis… Need I say more.
What specifically do you dislike this book? Is it the biomechaninal analyses of sprinting and running that you disapprove of, or the training recommendations?
EXPLOSIVE RUNNING… lol. THAS funny… as opossed to unexplosive running… i guess explosive running is a fancy word for sprinting… imaging telling someone your hobby is explosive running or you coach the explosive runners at such and such university.:mrt:
funnier yet, it’s mostly about distance running
Heres my top ten worst books in no particular order…
1.Bodybuilding A scientific
appoach…barnes and noble needs to wipe its shelves clean of this book
2.Book of Speed Dintemen…???
3.Guide to nutrition Nancy Clark…Heh?
4.The runners book of training secrets by ken sparks… what secrets…???
5.She how she runs: Marion Jones The making of a champion… this book doesnt help you on the track or off the track
6.Running for dummies -flojo…Did a sprinter actually write this book!!!
7.No need for speed: A beggeners guide to the joy of running
8.The non-runners marathon trainer by david whitseff
9.High Performace training for track and field by bowerman/freeman
10. Run faster with isometric training:clap:
Please barnes and noble wipe these books off the shelves…
Thankyou.
Originally posted by briangates
What specifically do you dislike this book? Is it the biomechaninal analyses of sprinting and running that you disapprove of, or the training recommendations?
Pretty much all of it… and the photos taken are pretty poor in terms of ‘trying’ to demonstrate proper technique. Most of the ‘models’ have low hips at ground contact. And the only world class runner they have - Barbosa - was an 800m and is no longer close to competing at a world class level. Hardly ‘explosive running’.
The weight training recommendations also fall short of an explosive program…
That’s the Readers Digest version… I could go on.
Clemson, please offer your comments regarding the Yessis book. Drink coaster or bird cage liner…???
Explosive power and strength - Chu
3 pages of science 50 pages of primary school drawings
I had the unfortunate experience of attending one of nacy clarks seminars about 6 years ago. I paid out of pocket!!
Talk about smacking myself in the forehead after sitting through that…
At least I picked up some ceu’s, but a painful way to do it. First and last time I ever make that mistake.
There is at 200 people (Rupert how many members?) will buy your book. But you are right-get your marketing guru on to it.
I will buy a copy clemson.:mrt:
Clemson you and Timothy seem to have one of those love hate things going on.
In regard to books not to have.
I believe you as an individual need to find your belief or philsophy, so to answer your question I believe there is no bad book as such. There are ones that are better than others.
The I say this is I had a high school teacher when I was 14 who was teaching us about the earth. He told us that there where two beliefs.
One - was about teutonic plates
Two - was that the earth was always expanding.
i would like to go into more detail - but I can’t.
He tolds us he believed the second one and proceeded to teach us about the first one. But what intrigued me was he said you as student need to learn about all methods/theories and decide which one you believed or had more creditablity.
I can tell you that was one of the most important lessons I have had ever.
Huh
DMA,
Good point! It is important to become versed a range of different theories on training and then think for yourself! You must be able to objectively analyze and test out various training methods to convince yourself what is the best method. If you never do this, you will not make progress because you will simply jump from training fad to training fad, always looking for the magic bullet.
[soapbox]There is more than one way to skin a cat, but just because some famous athlete claims to be training a certain way doesn’t mean that it is optimal for them (and certainly not for you!) Some can succeed in spite of their training, not because of it.[/soapbox]
xlr8
I laughed internally (like Healthcliff in Spike Milligan’s “Wuthering Heights” ) as I glanced down through the suggestions of forum members. Have I subconsciously been collecting a library of the worst training books out there? I have them all!
I agree with David W. Chu’s ‘Explosive Power & Strength’ is among the worst out there. Those diagrams have to be seen to be believed :o
100 years of solitude, tried 5 times to read this darn book, couldnt get any farther than page 100.
DMA,
I think you meant tectonic plates. Teutonic plates are only found on German dining tables.
Flash - I knew my spelling was incorrect. It’s been awhile since I have to use either in a sentence.
GF200 I think I most of them to.
What about the idea of complex training?