I’ve just read through a lot of the new Charlie Francis Forum 2002 Review E-Book. It confirms why Tim Montgomery approached Charlie “after” he set the 100m world record and why five-time Olympic medal winner Marion Jones came with him.
There is so much in this book traversing such a variety of topics it was difficult even to know under which category to post my thoughts.
There are 130 pages crammed with Q&A format dialogue covering so many important elements of high performance training for the sprints, primarily herein the 100m.
I like the conversational style, humour intact, but it is the content which is stunning.
The value of this book is that it is a distillation of the forum which, I have to admit, I sometimes find too time-consuming to do much more than browse through due to the sheer volume of posts these days.
In fact I have taken to reading the forum in a kind of short-hand, that is I read Charlie’s replies…and then if they are on a topic of particular interest to me I will backtrack and read the question. Invariably I’ve found the answers contain far more than the question demanded of Charlie.
Of course the reason the forum has become overwhelmed with new members and Rupert was compelled to upgrade the system is simply because the product is so good.
Anyone interested in the fundamentals of performance recognises the wisdom laid out in such user-friendly manner by Charlie who was and clearly remains a master of the game.
The new E-Book continues in this fashion, sophisticated and intelligent content easy to access in language which is unpretentious - like the coach himself.
Unreservedly recommended for any athlete or coach from beginner to advanced. This is a gift to the sport (which will long outlive those few narrow-minded people in track and field whose only legacy is the ignorance they display inherent in their lack of morality in their treatment of this man whose knowledge deserves to be dispersed to an even wider audience).
Charlie’s training has helped me set dozens of school records and all-americans. The forum book should be the first purchase for a coach or athlete wanting to be part of the cream of information. Plus the humor is far better the garbage sitcoms on now…Friends? Shut it down!
Agreed, this forum review e-book is my number one reference guide when looking up anything speed-training related. Lots of information in it and easy to access too.
What can I say, bravo! Definitely recommended to anyone that wasn’t in the forum since the beginning as a starting point to understanding CFTS more completely and answer most of the questions which are brought up again and again in the forum.
After reading CFTS I had a number of questions and many more arose the last few weeks as I’ve been constantly tweaking my training after finally getting and reading CFTS. I was about to post many questions on the forum, but then I finally got the forum review a few days ago, and read it all. It answered every single question I had a doubt on about CFTS and other aspects of training in general, from specifics of core work/active recovery between tempo runs to intensity of weights in maintenance, etc, etc. After reading CFTS, the forum review and being around the forum for almost an year now, I’ve gained so much it’s impossible to quantify. I went from knowing nothing, training improperly, etc to finally being able to understand the components of training, their interaction and of course the CF method of training for speed which I’ve grown to complete agree with. Now I’ll have to see how my devalued Argentine budget scrapes enough together to get the GPP DVD!
I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and talk with at length, a few of the finest sprint and hurdle coaches in the world and though this does certainly not make me an expert on the subject, I can say, without a doubt, that CF is the most knowledgeable, practical, and logical speed/athletic performance coach that I have ever met/read, etc. ALL of his materials/works(books, videos, dvd’s, and in-person seminars) are outstanding and a necessary addition to all coaches’ libraries, not just sprint coaches. The 2002 forum review is no different-if you want to understand the finest sprint training system available, this is highly recommended.