Training Books

I liked the fact that the author spent enough time in explaining the various exercises in the book.I was really impressed by this, because I've bought other books in the market, and I felt that their messages weren't really clear.I found the book extremely useful,because my clients were already familiar with basic balance ball workouts.The exercise in here, injected some new life into my client's workouts.

Body Sculpt has given me more tools for my at-home workouts. I occasionally use the exercises at the gym and some of my friends are amazed at what can be accomplished with the fitness ball.

This book has great photos and personal training tips to build up your "core" which gets you motivated to try the advanced balance poses and exercises.

If you have a fitness ball and love it, you must get this book. It will re-motivate and amaze you. The results are great and the satisfaction that you can achieve an advanced state is even better.

Having been athletically active all of my life, I am nevertheless concerned that, as I get older, my flexibility and balance is deteriorating. Mr.Frediani's book was suggested as presenting a means of improving these attributes. I obtained the book and asked my trainer to incorporate it into my regular workout. We have done so and the results have been very satisfying. I highly recommend use of the exercise ball and Mr. Frediani's book. It adds to my routine elements of pilates and yoga, and makes interesting a workout which otherwise was getting all too routine. By the way, I'm having trouble getting the book back from my trainer.

I'm a fitness instructor looking for more natural exercises to keep my clients away from machines. Paul's PowerSulpt workouts do exactly that. This book has allowed me to build out my client's routnies with safe alternatives to heavy weights and machines and also provides elements of balance and complexity that mimic moves in ways that people do natuarally in everyday life.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge Mr. Frediani.

A wonderful book on swiss ball exercises that compliments and is the third supporting leg of a total workout when combined with weight training and aerobics. The exercises look easy but the effort involved is a challenging workout that is very satisfying. This book is not just for women!!! I enjoyed this book and use it daily along with variations from Paul Fredian's other book Surf Flex. I am 56 years old and these exercises have improved my indurance, strength and flexibility.

This is the most informative book I have seen on eye care and improvement. I notice an improvement in 4 weeks, but have much further to go.

If you are looking around Amazon at all the different vision improvement books, this is the one that is worth investing in. It is clear, succinct, and offers a step by step program that is thoroughly outlines and easy to follow. A lot of the other books on the subject offer a lot of information, but fail to give the reader a program to follow. Martin Sussman's book also explains why and how vision works and why it will improve with this program. I just got the book, but already his techniques have completely changed my (previously negative)attitude toward my vision.

The information is presented in a very clear, well-organized, and succinct way. The instructions for the exercises are very clear and thorough. I especially like the "What to Watch For" and "Notes" sections for each exercise. I feel like it's hard not to do these exercises correctly with all the notes and observations the author adds. The testimonials at the beginning and the introductory chapters really gave me hope and enthusiasm in this program. I just started the program, but I feel this book will have been valuable even if I do not see improvement in the "First Stage" of the program.

The "First Stage" is only 8 weeks, with a simple exercise for each day. Eight weeks is quite a short time considering how long it took for some of our vision to have deteriorated this much. The exercises taught seem like they should be helpful in the prevention of my worsening nearsightedness, if not improvement.

I read through the non-exercises part of this book quickly--its content is all relevant. It seems helpful to read through the exercises before starting because some may require other materials, such as a fusion string for the first exercise or a voice recorder for the visualization exercise later on. The schedule asks that you follow it strictly (6 days a week with the 7th day as a rest day) so I'd rather not discover that I'm missing materials on the day for a certain exercise.

I wish the materials were either included in the book or that we were warned that it might be helpful to order the materials from The Cambridge Institute for Better Vision. The materials are easy to make or find, though--it's just a "tad" more trouble.

When I started this program, my perscription was -4.75 in each eye with enough astigmatism that I had to wear glasses to correct it. Now, three months later, I wear contacts at -3.50 and no correction for astigmatism and am seeing 20/20. I have hope that someday I might not need lenses at all.

This book explains everthing about you eyesight and the way you can improve it. I recommend it.

When you really want specifics on a topic, you just need a book by this author and you'll find yourself immersed in the kind of details and guidance you were hoping to get. Not one to mince words, Jennings lays it all out with precision, yet keeping the information interesting and practical and sometimes a little humorous. She's got plenty of forms, plenty of decorating training (dealing with the professional ways to arrange a client's furniture), and even more guidance on how to move a client's possessions, plus all the set up, promotional and business side of things. An excellent read.

Jennings has a number of excellent books for the interior redesign and home staging business that fit together and build upon each other into a cohesive whole so that anyone can start and build a business from the ground floor up. This is her basic manual, which is filled to the brim with great advice and guidance, and she also has an advanced book called "Advanced Redesign", along with a couple more books geared for the home staging market. This book, however, shows you how to start up and set up your business, how to get clients, how to do consultations and price your services, how to market and promote it properly, and a good deal of excellent training on the design end of the business - the kind of stuff you won't get from others. For instance, at the end of the book she literally shows you the most common furniture arrangements used by professional designers. In most situations, one of these should be suitable for a typical room a person would work in. She makes the process easy to understand and gives readers the tools and examples to understand what to do, but also why they work so well.

The other books she has written show you how to add related products and services to your business to get the most out of your business that you can get. Since most people want to make profits from their business venture, the book gives you an excellent picture of how to go about doing just that, all in a clear, concise step-by-step analysis. All the books by this author are excellent and well worth the investment.

If you're looking to do interior redesign AND home staging simultaneously, I highly recommend both books by this author as they are easy to read, provide outstanding guidance, give you information on additional helpful tools and are flat out the best you'll find on the subject. I am a teacher and always on the hunt for tidbits and gems I can pass on to my own students. I got far more than I bargained for which pleases me greatly. The information is really to the point, very detailed, very precise. Both manuals are large and packed to the brim -- no fluff like some others. Get both by this author. This is a no-brainer.

The furniture arrangement configurations in the back of the book are powerful examples of how to arrange furniture no matter what the shape or size of the room. This is worth the price of the book alone. In a nutshell, I can see the most common ways furniture should be arranged. All I have to do is select one and I should have a winning combination for any room I have to tackle. This is reassuring because I don't want to get to a client's home and not have an answer for their problems. And that's one huge gem at the end of the book, which I haven't found in any book out there.

From start to finish I found this book to be very practical, very thorough and very useful. It focuses on the single topic of starting a redesign business and doesn't get sidetracked. It also doesn't try to cover the subject with broad generalities and filler, like other books I've read. So it delivers exactly what it promises with the kind of details and thoroughness you would expect to get.

All the standard stuff about setting up a business is there, but it relates all that to a redesign business specifically. The author goes indepth on how to interview a client, how to start a project, questions you'll need to ask and the whole step by step process, including taking before and after pictures, collecting the fee and so forth. There are a generous supply of photos showing how it really is to be a redesigner (not studio pictures that are not the norm). So it accurately depicts the life of a redesigner and what we all face no matter where we live and work.

The author's style is easy to follow and conversational, which helped me stay interested throughout, even in the marketing sections that typically are less fun than the design parts. I mean, I'm a creative person, and it's harder for me to concentrate on the business side, but I know that's where I need to improve my knowledge and skill.

I enjoyed this book immensely and appreciate the tools and visual aids the author recommends. It's an excellent read.

As an interior designer, I was looking to expand my business into the home staging arena, but wasn't really interested in spending thousands of dollars on one of those 3-day courses. After ordering and reading the reviews from the author's Home Staging for Profit: How to Start and Grow a Highly Profitable Home-Based Staging Business, I stumbled across this book and am very thankful that I found it. As a designer, it provided knowledge that I already was trained in, however I thought it was a good refresher, because it reminded me of things that I had forgotten. I thought the author did a great job again in providing an in-depth guide about interior redesign. I found this book as well as her other to be quite informative, easy to read and chalked full of great tips and examples. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in running their own interior redesign business.

This book is EXCELLENT. It is so good in fact that it showed me why a retreat is not for us. Instead, I am using the activities it describes to create a series of training sessions for our senior and middle managers, or what you might call a series of mini-retreats, a couple of hours each once a week over several weeks. The activities contained in this book are intelligent and fun, unlike several others I've read. I highly recommend this book for the activities section alone -- and if you do want to do a full retreat, it will prove even more valuable. Also, the sections on pre-interviewing participants and retreat design components were very helpful, and I am putting them to good use.

I also like "101 Games for Trainers" by Bob Pike, and "Games That Teach Teams" by Steve Sugar. I think these three books together are the best place to start -- there are a lot of other titles out there that are, in a word, garbage, and should be avoided.

This book gives examples of various kinds of retreats and includes sample exercises for each that are simple, creative, and effective with no hint of the flaky factor that makes some retreats go offtrack. In fact, I'd say that the section on "Reasons NOT to hold a retreat" was alone worth the price of this book for its value in clarifying what a retreat can and cannot do.

As a communications trainer with my own non-profit board to deal with, I was most impressed by the fact that the chapter on non-profits identifies as a "most common concern" exactly the thing that causes my board trouble -- complaints of micromanaging on details while sidestepping needs for fundraising. The insight that this is a structural problem rather than a personality issue has been extremely helpful to me -- even without a retreat -- and convinced me these authors must know what they're talking about.

Retreats that Work (Jossey Bass, 2003) is highly readable and valuable resource is a comprehensive guide to retreat planning. Authors Sheila Campbell and Merianne Liteman address medium- to larger-sized organizations in the for-profit, nonprofit and government fields. Campbell and Liteman offer both a "how to" for planning and conducting a retreat and a fine sampling of facilitated group activities for different kinds of retreats.

The overall message is that the top decisionmaker should hold a retreat only for important purposes, he or she must be truly ready to hear divergent views and to be open to real change, including change not anticipated by the decisionmaker. CEOs, boards, division directors and other "head honchos" that are not ready to share control need not apply. For instance, Campbell and Liteman recommend confidential pre-retreat interviews conducted by the facilitator. One of their retreat design principles is that at least some of the participants should contribute to formulating the goals of the retreat. To do so, they believe it is essential for employees to feel safe to share their views in planning the retreat as well as at retreat. Thus, Campbell and Liteman call for anonymity and non-attribution of pre-retreat views and assurance of no negative actions for expressing views candidly during the retreat.

A key strength of the book is the attention to pre-retreat and post-retreat concerns. Pre-retreat matters extend well beyond choosing the meeting facility and menu [although their retreat logistics chapter is first rate] to the more important question: "Why have a retreat?" Campbell and Liteman specify nine reasons to hold a retreat and ten reasons not to hold a retreat. Both lists are enlightening and are foundational to further pre-retreat work.

A retreat is not a conference and not a regular meeting. Campbell and Liteman believe a retreat is best served "off-site," that is, at a location away from the workplace. They do cover the challenges of time and money in choosing an appropriate facility, and the discussion reinforces two more of their principles of retreat planning - designing a retreat to result in action for change and ensuring whatever happens at the retreat relates to the day-to-day work of the organization.

Other pre-retreat elements are: setting the goals, deciding on the format, and inviting people; defining the roles of convener, facilitator, administrator, participants (and non-participants); and a review of fixed-format retreat designs (such as Future Search, Ropes courses, and Appreciative Inquiry). Campbell and Liteman do a fine job discussing the tension between having a small enough group for good interaction and the group being large enough to be inclusive of the key players. In particular, they offer eight common criteria for how to choose participants. I think the criteria are especially helpful as an organization thinks of board-staff concerns, clients or customer involvement in a retreat, and inter-organizational issues.

A logical, but often overlooked, planning proviso is to design the retreat backwards-What is the outcome you seek? Instead of holding a retreat because its done annually, or because someone likes a particular format, or to "boost morale," Campbell and Liteman forcefully highlight the need to have retreats only for special purposes, and to work from the question "How will the day-to-day workplace be different following the retreat?"

The structure of the book opens with coverage of the why, goal-setting, logistics planning and role of leaders at the broadest view of a retreat. From there, most of the guide is devoted to facilitator assistance. Campbell and Liteman cover design issues ranging from pre-retreat work for participants to having "unprogrammed time" as an essential part of a successful retreat. They offer tips on ground rules, giving feedback to the group, and decisionmaking. For in-retreat concerns, general facilitator principles are leavened with brief guidance on how to respond to over a dozen glitches (such as repetitive discussions, disruption by a participant, a participant walking out, or a senior manager violating the ground rules).

A large section of the book identifies activities appropriate for four kinds of retreats: a) strategic planning, b) culture change, c) relationship-building and teamwork, and d) creativity and innovation. Each activity offers a clear description, steps and facilitator notes. Equally valuable are accompanying sidebar notes on the experiential elements, set-up, special supplies and degree of facilitator experience to conduct the activity effectively (easy, moderately easy, or only for experienced/specialized training). While retreat facilitators will probably eat up this part of the book, I hope they don't overlook the earlier "menu-setting" essentials of effective retreats.

Campbell and Liteman know that typically the worst part of a retreat is....after the retreat. Does the great thinking from the retreat get lost in the daily grind or new crises? Do non-participants not support the outcome? While a retreat's impact depends on organizational norms outside of any retreat's reach, Campbell and Liteman nicely select a few post-retreat points. In brief: announce the outcomes to everyone affected, not just the participants; move briskly into the actions steps identified at the retreat; and avoid a letdown by offering a memento, having periodic updates, or celebrating milestones. They highlight "critical leadership actions" for retreat follow-up.

Campbell and Liteman know that retreats have a purpose within the larger context of an organization. They provide a fine guide the knits together the earliest hints of whether to hold a retreat to effective planning to post-retreat steps to offer the best possible assurance that the change initiated by the retreat is converted into a better organization. The book is a must-have for both the senior management and for internal and external facilitators. (...)

This is a terrific handbook for anyone who wants to (or has been assigned to) organize or lead a retreat for their company or non-profit organization. The authors describe the guiding principles for designing a retreat, they outline the logistics in detail, and they provide all kinds of good advice about how planners and facilitators should work together to get the most out of an offsite meeting. The checklists alone are worth the price of the book, and the activities sections are priceless!

"Retreats That Work" could be subtitled "Everything you ever wanted to know about retreats." Just a look at the table of contents told me that there was going to be an answer to any question I might have -- from the basic who, what, when, where and why, to the types of specialized retreats.

I am in a related, but quite different, field. As a qualitative research moderator, I am often asked to facilitate meetings or retreats by clients who are unaware of the differences -- hence, my interest in this book. But, whether you are working for a small or large company and want to hold a retreat, or you are someone needing to actually facilitate such an event, this book is a wealth of information. And for anyone thinking of facilitating a retreat or just understanding what a facilitator must be able to do, they would be advised to read the "definition" or role of the facilitator on page 116!

I found this book very well-written, easy to read and follow. It's filled with lots of practical information and tips, valuable time estimates for the various activities, and additional resources given.

The creative thinking section was particularly interesting to me. As a "left brain" person, I am usually skeptical of these kinds of activities. But the authors' examples and explanations of each exercise gave me a new appreciation for the value of this type of retreat.

I also visited the authors' or book web site, which is a nice accompaniment to the book, including additional resources.

Guy Windsor teaches at the fencing school he founded in Helsinki, Finland (School of European Swordsmanship). In this manual, he introduces us to the two-handed longsword, one of the primary close-quarter weapons of the Middle-ages and Renaissance, a weapon highly prevalent in many ancient European martial texts.

Mr. Windsor's text explains the history of this particular sword, with commentary on the philosophies of Italian fencing-masters who wrote some of the most influential early fighting-manuals. Inside, you will recieve instruction in drills of footwork, armed-practice (alone and with a training partner), principles of fencing, and warm-up for sword-practice.

Thoroughly illustrated with black & white photos, as well as historical line-drawings from the original Medieval manuals, you will find this to be a true gem among the new wave of Eurocentric martial-arts books.

Also to be recommended: Medieval Combat by Hans Talhoffer, translated by Mark Rector

This is an excellent book. The demonstrations of the techniques are clear, and easy to understand. Guy Windsor intended for this to be a workbook for the Historical Western Swordsman, and this is. He does an excellent job at conveying the subtlety of the Italian longsword tradition. I look forward to other works by Windsor on the Longsword and other weapons used on the battlefields of medieval Europe.

The broadsword in s good place to start for anyone interested in learning Historic Swordsmanship. This book is well written for those who want to learn the basics. I personally found many new drills and new ways to teach my students.
Personally I have been in the martial arts for over 20 years and have been doing Western Martial Arts for about 8 and I really liked this book. It is always good to return to the basics and make sure they are solid.
I would recomend this book to anyone who is starting or thinking about getting into Historic Swordsmanship, also and well equiped sword library should have this book.

Although I read this a few years ago, it remains for me the best book on the subject of swordplay that I've ever picked up. Although I may disagree with some of his interpretations (and that may simply be the result of his models handling blades too long to accurately demonstrate some of Fiore's guards), his decriptions of the fundamental principles of swordfighting are both elegant and insightful. This book was a pivotal experience in the evolution of my understanding of medieval swordplay.

When I saw this book advertised on Amazon, I said to myself...oh no!!! not another one of those books written by these whackos who think they can swordfight, just because they played with metal bars in their backyard !!!! Then as I looked through it I said .....Finalmente ....Finally....a well researched book written by an intelligent man who has studied the period manuals and presented his theory on the subject!! What is great about Guy Windsor is that even on his discussion forum he admits that he is learning everyday, and that he feels no shame in changing something that he might be wrong on. Great book written by a great author !!! If you want to learn to fight with the Longsword by this book !!!!!!

Your strategic planning must incorporate the people who work for you, says author Edward L. Gubman in a book that gets high marks for its easy, bullet-point organization, but scores in the middle of the curve in terms of originality. Grubman preaches that you must create a strategic alliance between your company’s mission and competencies and the people who work there. Then, he describes how to motivate and involve people, and finally how to assess their performance. He uses research examples and starts each chapter with a bullet-point summary of key information. The book includes questions to ask yourself, and many useful charts and summary lists. However, the theoretical discussion of how to engage and reward employees seems oddly dry and analytical for a how-to guide on how to motivate and excite people. The areas of job matching, motivation, and assessment have been covered in many other books, but we... recommend Gubman’s authoritative approach to these topics.

A well thought through book written by a consultant with a vast amount of varied experience. The illustrative brief case studies were most helpful in understanding the thoughts, concepts, ideas and strategies. In a global economy where talent is an increasingly scarce resource, HR practitioners will find the book a very valuable resource to craft, adapt, adjust or align their practices to be more organisation and employee friendly. Mr Gubman strategic perspective of people in terms of organisational development and growth of people is indeed a very commendable effort and very insightful. The "Creating the Talent Solution" at the end of each chapter should provoke readers to critically look at their own organisation with a fresh perspective. It will help you draw a better road map in your talent search!

"This book is about why it's essential to connect strategy and people to manage talent, and more importantly, how to do it. It rests on three key concepts: alignment, engagement, and measurement. Alignment means pointing people in the right direction. Engagement means fostering commitment to your basic purpose and direction. Measurement means providing connected and balanced ways for your company and employees to keep score about how you are doing. When you do all three things, you will be managing your talent and company to achieve extraordinary results" (from the Introduction p.9).

In this context, Edward L. Gubman introduces 'Improving Business Results with People (IBR) Model' used by Hewitt consultants as an alignment model. He argues that "The IBR model is designed to ensure you line up all the critical elements in talent management. If you pay attention to these pieces and execute them right, you will create alignment that enables you to achieve extraordinary business results" (p.32). Thus, he elaborates this model in more detailed throughout the book.

The stages of the IBR model can be outlined as follows:

1. 'Business Results and Strategies' describe the outcomes you are trying to achieve as a company and the strategies you are using to get there. Thus, he defines strong business results as:

* great value for customers,

* rewarding work situations for employees-including psychological, social, and financial rewards,

* high returns for shareholders. (more detailed discussion see Chapter 2).

2. 'Business Capabilities' refer to your distinctive abilities as an organization to use money, technology, information, people, and other resources to create a competitive advantage. He argues that "Your goal in developing these capabilities is to build unique abilities that competitors have difficulty copying so you have the advantage" (p.46).(more detailed discussion see Chapter 3).

3. 'People Requirements' are the things you demand from people to exercise your capabilities-what you need from them to be successful. He describes these requirements as the Three Cs: culture, competencies, and contract, and argues that "These three are interrelated so it's hard to separate them completely" (p.57).(more detailed discussion see Chapter 4).

4. 'Employee Priorities' are the 'bottom-up' of the equation. In this stage, he focuses on the changing nature of the employement relationship as a context for engaging employees, what engagement is and how you can increase it, and the psychology of engagement and change.(more detailed discussion see Chapters 9 to 11).

5. 'Workforce Strategies' are the distinctive plans you have for acquiring, developing, deploying, and retaining your people for competitive advantage. He argues that "Smart companies build plans for their workforce just like they build plans for the other parts of their business" (p.75). Hence, he describes elements of a workforce strategy: (a).people requirement-the cultural values, competencies, and contract, (b).employees' needs, fears, and goals, (c).the resulting employement relationship, (d).organization design, and (e).priorities for change.(more deatailed discussion see Chapter 5).

6. 'Management Practices' describe the ways you enact your workforce strategies. In this stage, he examines (1) three major criteria for excellent management practices-alignment, integration, and execution, and (2) five management practices-staffing, organizing, learning, performing, and rewarding.(more detailed discussion see Chapters 6 to 7).

7. 'Business Interactions' is where all business results occur. He argues that "All business results come from interactions-leaders with employees, employees with employees, and employees with customers. These interactions are changing, and some are becoming much more electronic. Sometimes the 'employee' now is an ATM machine, a voice-mail box, home page, or voice response circuit" (p.143). Hence, in this stage, he examines these interaction processes.(more detailed discussion see Chapter 8).

8. 'Balanced Measurements' are both the business and individual measurements that gauge how well you and your employees are doing. He argues that "Measurement is the last of the three processes you need to connect talent to strategy to deliver outstanding results" (p.225).(more detailed discussion see Chapters 12 to 14).

Finally, as conclusion, he rightly argues that "The growing effects of the information economy, globalization, and changing demographics are coinciding to create a new era in business-the era of talent. Your ability to attract, manage, and retain talent will determine whether you succeed. This wasn't always true in the past. Before, you could succeed if you controlled enough physical resources. Today, talent is the fundamental resource in business" (p.292).

Highly recommended.

The key theme of this work is that the competitive advantage goes to those companies that are best at finding, motivating, and retaining talent to fill critical positions-especially in high technology sectors. The book is filled with good advice on staffing, recruiting, motivating, managing, and retaining people. Adding to its value, Gubman gives many references to what leading companies are doing. Plenty of sound advise and examples make this worthwhile reading. Reviewed by Yvette Borcia, co-founder, Stern & Associates, author of Stern's Sourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

Mr. Gubman provides some of the best, most straight-forward information I have read on the subject. His simple, clear, discussion was extremely refreshing. His method of aligning the HR practice with Company strategy is excellent. I most enjoyed the little nuggets of wisdom located in the tables throughout the text. They are an superb summary of the text material for those with limited time or who decide to only scan the material.

This is a no frills approach to success in not just athletics but life in my humble opinion. This is a great learning tool to have for any coach, athlete or someone wanting to just better themselves overall. Many thanks to Mr. Rooney for sharing his knowledge with us.

Ok, this are 11 principles that are important for being succesfull, but there are some more I think. Do the things the author says and you will improve your performance. After implementing all these principles, please search for further improvement. Don't stop exploring.

Greetings
Tom

Train To Win is a great book and I recommend it to any athlete. I read the book in one sitting. It is enjoyable to read, and it seems like you are constantly learning lessons. It touches on so many different aspects, all of which are crucial to your training.

I am playing professionally in France and I still pull the book out for guidance at times. The book is useful to me at 24, but it would also be useful for a 14 year old athlete or a 55 year old one as well.

Sometimes training can seem like a big task. where do i begin? what is most important for me? how do I organize? what is my biggest priority? Rooneys 11 principles really breaks it down for you, and makes things clearer. Another great book and oppurtunity to Learn from Martin Rooney.

This is an excellent book with tons of information on how to create your own training program.

The principles in the book are 100% and it is from these principles that you can design your own regime based on your own strengths/weaknesses and demands of your sport.

The book covers nutrition, workout length, periodisation, variety, economy, amongst other things but one of the real assets of the book is the plethora of inspiring quotes and anecdotes that will you to take and use these principles to create a program to put yourself a class above the rest. Train smart, buy this book, train to win!

As a sidenote, I purchased this book along with Training for Warriors: the Team Renzo Gracie Workout.
Both books are top notch, whether you train martial arts or not, the Warriors book is a great way to see the principles in action and the workouts entailed can be tailored to any sport or training regime. As a combo, these book are unbeatable value.

This is a book who's principals can be used for any athlete. From the pro to casual and from basketball to Mixed Martial Arts and beyond. To many athletes buy a couple body-building magazines and take the workouts from those magazines and implement them into their training for their sport. With no real knowledge why they are doing these workouts other than some pro athlete listed it as what they do. Without knowing what you are trying to accomplish and how to do it you're certain to fail. This book is a great step in the right direction.

Trainers in Motion is a necessity for anyone who is in the training industry. It has become my primary resource for techniques to deliver content that is retained and used. The end result: the participants are enthusiastic about the information they receive and even better they are using this information to enhance the jobs they do for our company. We all WIN!

Jim Vidakovich's Trainers in Motion is published in a binder with dividers, so you can add your own notes and comments. This reader participation workbook parallels Vidakovich's approach to involving participants in their own training. Vidakovich begins with an initial discussion of his approach, but the majority of the book is very hands-on, with descriptions of exercises, illustrations of room arrangements, lists of suggested approaches and questions for you to answer. This notebook is packed with good ideas from an expert on training. The caveat:...it's a little pricey. Nonetheless, we from getAbstract recommend it with confidence to trainers and workshop leaders. If hands-on is your style, you have a very well-informed friend in Jim Vidakovich.

Although the price may deter some buyers, if you are doing any professional training, this book is a must-have. I unconditionally recommend it. There are many other books on conducting workshops (see my other reviews) but a lot of them are either; 1. Too academic on the subject of adult learning (beware of the use of the word 'andragogy'), or 2. Too consumed with team/individual game playing.

Trainers in Motion is my "bible" for conducting professional workshops. Vidakovich goes so far as to distinguish those activities that are appropriate for small groups versus large groups, and how to adapt your approach if the group dynamics change (which they will).

The real beauty of the book is the adaptability of it to almost any subject. I have taught workshops on Leadership, Team Building, Project Management, Sales and Marketing, Creativity, and other subjects, and one standard I have followed is the approach of this book towards generating participation and excitement.

The 3-ring binding of the book is also a benefit, as I have been able to take some of the pages along with me, when needed, as opposed to the entire book.

Use it well!

I have participated in Jim's Accelerated Learning Course, where he taught us many of the ideas & exercises delineated in this book. All of us in the Course felt it was invaluable, and we were all "seasoned" professional trainers and consultants. His book is an excellent extension of his professionalism, enthusiasm, and superior training techniques. I can't recommend it highly enough.As a Trainer, I'm supposed to be professional ... this book has helped me be even better.

I must say that Mr. Vidakovich's book is an essential tool for today's training environment. "Trainers in Motion" has set a new standard in adult learning in the 21st century. We all can learn to utilize this style not only in our academic environment, but also in our everyday interpersonal relations.

If you are in the training field, this is a must see manuel to guide you to an enhanced training environment that not only will your participants enjoy, but you will also have fun in the process.

Enjoy, Jeff Stavitzski Corporate Trainer (Levitz)

I found this book, with its exquisite pictures, sexy and very entertaining. The women are lovely, sexy and strong, and as a gay woman, I truly appreciate that combination.

"The women" here are unprecedented in history: women with much greater muscularity and strength than many men (including me). Until the 1980s, women did not have the chance to build this huge muscularity. Yet within a few years, massively muscular female bodybuilders (FBBs) were on the scene. Are these women (1) grotesque freaks or (2) a new kind of femininity? The author thinks it's #2 and presents these photos are proof.

None of "the women" here look like men in drag. All have elements of conventional femininity: stunning faces, luxurious coiffures, slender waists, and curvaceous hips. Some model seductive lingerie. But the also have massive biceps, shoulders, and backs, as well as hard, flat, strapping chests with virtually no bosom. (As part of their exercise regiment and diet, FBBs tend to increase their chest size while dramatically losing breast mass.)

So what are "the women": half man/half woman monsters or a new kind of "muscular femininity"--elements of traditional womanhood combined with a new look of strength and power? For me, it's a "new femininity." The elements of traditional womanhood are so seductively powerful in these women that I could never call them masculine. The best description for them is "titanic." The Titans in Greek mythology were a race of massively muscular men and women--the women far more muscular than an ordinary man. Yet the Titan women still had al the traditional elements of womanhood at the same time. And that's "the women."

Two concluding observations from reading this book. First, what we look for in a woman's body depends on what we expect from them. If we expect clinging fragility, we look for a weak, delicate body. But in the age of Xenia, "muscular femininity" no longer sounds like an oxymoron. Second, if a man regards these women as freaks, it may be because he is encountering (for the first time, perhaps) a woman who is more muscular than he, threatening his sense of masculinity. As a small, quite unmuscular man, I long ago realized that not all men are muscular, nor all women weak. Ladies such as "the women" teach us that muscle alone does not define either masculinity or femininity, and they make us more accepting of people who don't meet traditional stereotypes of womanhood or manhood.

In conclusion, this book is a MUST for any man (like me) who admires and is attracted to very strong, muscular, yet feminine women. People with negative stereotypes of FBBs will have them challenged. The photos themselves are creative, artistic, dramatic, and seductive.

My favorite photo: the cover shot of the massive Nikki Fuller in a perfect combination of demure femininity and regal muscularity. A true Amazon Queen!

I found the photos in this book to be quite beautiful. The women are shown as exotic, beautiful bodybuilders - not gross overly muscular freaks, nor phony "Miss America" plastic beauty queens. And for those of you that are wondering, yes there are nudes in the book. Why that detail is always ignored in reviews is beyond me. I guess they want to make you buy it before that is disclosed.

This book remained on my coffee table for years. I wanted others to see how beautiful feminine muscle could be. The pictures are just magnificent. They are of some of the top female bodybuilders of that time. Today, it seems the sport is taking a turn in a downward direction. The sport is constantly struggling to get the recognition & respect it deserves. This book is an excellent portrayal of "Female Beauty".

When i got this book i was very excited. The pics are very great and i like it to look at them. Unfortunatley they are not enough pics of these women who are the most beautyfull girls.
Denise Rutowski, for example, is wonderfull, alluring and i adore her. This one pic (scroll a little more higher) where you only can see her right side (she puts her arms on a chair and looks to it), is the best pic i ever have seen. A wonderfull face, great hands and hair and excelent biceps/triceps. Fantastic.

Working as a fitness model can be an enjoyable and profitable career. However, there are many pitfalls and dangers to avoid on this path, and for the first time someone who not only works, but has had tremendous success in this field is available to guide you. From creating your first portfolio, to the details of endorsement contracts, fitness model extraordinaire Clark Bartram will advise you, drawing on years of experience. You'll read about the great satisfaction such a career can bring, but perhaps more importantly you'll be told the truth about the reality of being a fitness model. This includes not only what attributes you'll need to succeed, but also your attitude, and how much money you can honestly expect to earn per shoot. In any field, links with people on the 'inside' are often what's needed to get that big break, and there's plenty of insiders in this book sharing their knowledge with you.

It's not only great man-to-man advice in this book though. The beautiful, and very successful Monica Brant offers advice from a woman's perspective, which is of use to both male and female readers. Also, the people behind the cameras talk about what they look for in a model in the 'Lessons From The Other Side' section. All invaluable knowledge. The structure of the text is such that you can read from cover to cover, but also go straight to a particular topic and still have all the information you need.

In short, if you're serious about a career as a fitness model, or just curious about what such a job would involve, then you cannot afford to pass up on this book. Agencies, self-promotion, tricks of the trade, training programs, possible employers, useful resources and even haircuts are all covered. I've found this book an exceptional resource, and my thanks to Clark Bartram for writing it.

This total insider's guide to the fitness modeling industry offers valuable information in a conversational manner, lets you know who's looking for the next fitness superstars, AND tells you exactly how to contact them.

Clark Bartram's own accounts of his success are honest, candid, and loaded with advice and encouragement for aspiring fitness models - guys and girls. You really feel like he's opening up and telling you everything you need to know. Plus, a lot of his influential friends - agents, photographers, and magazine editors - have contributed chapters explaining the business from every angle.

You come away learning that fitness modeling isn't just about being in tremendous shape, it's about being a shrewd businessperson with a positive attitude. You really learn what it takes - and as a bonus you get simple but effective advice on training and nutrition to keep in top shape all year long.

If you decide you want to be a fitness model after reading this book, you'll feel like you have some real friends in the industry. If you call anyone mentioned in the book and tell them that you read it, I think they'd give you a real shot if you're serious. If you decide you don't want to be a fitness model after reading this book, you'll still have a positive guide with powerful advice you can use to look, feel, and be your very best.

Clark has helped me learn how to achieve the goal I want and to market myself in the fitness business. He has the knowledge, and the dedication to get you anywhere you want to be. After reading his book I too believe that If I work hard and dedicate myself that I could have a future being a Fitness model. This is an incredible book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in Fitness.

This book has helped me find business contacts that would have probably cost me alot of money if I would have searched other ways.I really did'nt know that it was this easy to contact the people who make the big decisions. I could'nt and would'nt have done it without this book. If you have ever had the dream of being a fitness model,then I strongly advise you to buy this book...

It's so refreshing to finally find a book that applies specifically to the interests of fitness models and that covers the topic so thoroughly. Weeding through the books written for fashion models was becoming tiresome, so I was pleasantly surprised when I finally came across this book. While reading it, I was ecstatic to find that it was packed full of useful information. I was able to identify the mistakes I've been routinely making and start implementing Clark's invaluable advice. All of the other books I've purchased have not been as useful to me as this one book. I recommend it to anyone who is serious about fitness modeling!