Training Books

Great update to Volume 2! I like the longer workouts although I have received great results from the Volume 2 program as well.

Thank you!

This is the third book I have bought from this author and I would not hesitate to buy additional books from him. I have several weight training books but this one is the simplist to follow and understand. Although you probably won't get a Mr. Universe body from his workouts, you will definitely get toned (which is what most of us are looking for) and it gives you detailed info and pictures on each exercise. Great book for men and women alike. I can definitely see and feel body definition I never use to have.

I did his "Workouts that Work" book religiously and it was the best easiest way to get in shape ever. I dance, do yoga and walk a lot but was never totally in shape until I lifted weights. I like having a guide at the gym so I can just check off what I did and forget about it. The diet portion of this is easy too. No recipes or complicated scheme. Just making sure to eat more often with protein in each small meal. I'm looking forward to getting back in great shape and getting strong with this great book.

I am 42 years old. Not a gym junkie and didn't have the first clue how to go about getting back the body I had before 2 kids. This is truly everything you need to lose weight, get in shape and feel great about yourself. It has the workout rountines and the menu plan all laid out for you. There is no guess work. It is written in simple terms even I could understand.

I love the fact that this book is spiral bound-especially since this book has so many pages. Makes it really easy to bring to the gym and USEABLE! I can lay it on the floor and follow along.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a piece of their youth back!

At first I didn't know what to make of this book. It's a short book that has a jovial style. It presents topics in that almost too enthusiastic HR style that has an unceasingly positive tone, lots of too-clever acronyms, and recipe answers for any problem. That's what you expect though. This is an HR book after all.

What I like about this book is that it presents a totally new style which is the antitheses of books like 'Who moved my cheese?' This book is all about nurturing the talents and uniqueness of the individual. Balancing individual needs against those of the larger company but with the emphasis tilted more towards individualism.

This is the ideal book for engineers to use to convince their managers to be flexible and healthier work environment that will bring better productivity and happier employees.

The title of this book alone will catch your attention...and probably plant a seed in your mind that this is not a book you want to waste your time with. Weirdos? This sounds like a negative term, but it's actually not. Putzier, an experienced and respected human resources professional, consultant, and professional speaker, defines "weirdos" as people who are not like you. This assessment means that they are abnormal...if we assume that you are normal.

The first section of this book is devoted to presenting a foundation-setting perspective that the workplace is a microcosm of society. Society is in the process of change, moving through the four stages of Stifling, Tolerating, Accepting, and Rejoicing. This same progression occurs in the workplace, seen as The Age of the Organization Man, The Age of Diversity, The Age of the New Economy, and The Age of the Individual. Those of us who have watched the shifts in attitudes and relationships have observed the shift from conformity to expansion and inclusion, to an honoring of expertise and performance. Now, with varying degrees of comfort, we are moving jerkily into an honoring of individuality

In the second section, Putzier describes over thirty different people that could easily be categorized as "weird." Another descriptor might be "unique." The colorful pictures he paints will stir memories in the minds of the readers, reminding them of the unusual co-workers we have all encountered over the years. Putzier takes diversity to a whole new level. In his vignettes, our author observes that each of these people-and many more that we might call weird-have something significant to contribute. And they all have the potential to be high performers, though not always in the same way that mainstream employees are superior achievers.

The weirdos are presented in a way that catches your attention and may cause you to smile, shake your head, or roll your eyes. And human resource professionals will bob their heads, recognizing similar situations. But Putzier goes further. Each description is a accompanied by an analysis that includes perspective and advice that stimulates thinking and may influence some more appropriate responses to unusual behavior in the workplace.

The book continues with insights into high performers...an understanding of what makes weirdos tick and accomplish so much. Behavioral change maps guide the reader in valuable methodologies. This is a book that will introduce you to what the author calls "the new normal." Indeed, the workforce is changing and will be populated by more free agents...and regular employees who will certainly be recognized as individuals-in every sense of the word. Understand how weirdness is a positive and you'll change your perspective on the world of work.

So, what do you do when you're on a five hour red-eye flight and can't sleep? If you're me, you end up reading. And this flight was spent reading Weirdos in the Workplace - The New Normal... Thriving In The Age Of The Individual by John Putzier (FT-Prentice Hall). This is an interesting read on how to effective manage "weirdo" talent in today's workplace.

Chapter List: How Did We Get Here, and Where Are We Going?; Individuality from Soup to Nuts; What's IN with High Performers?; Tools and Techniques to Change Others, Organizations, and Yourself; Conclusions and Universal Truths; About the Author; Weirdisms; Index

Putzier's premise is that "as society goes, so goes the workplace". Today's society values the individual, and the highly talented individual is allowed to be as "weird" as they want because the value they deliver is needed. In the workplace, these people can contribute greatly to the organization, but they challenge the "normal" methods of management which have worked in the past. This book does a great job of explaining the traits that make up the "weird" individual, and how those traits need to be managed. With a little foresight and understanding, today's manager can effectively lead a department of these people and look like a miracle worker. Putzier considers himself a weirdo also, and his writing style is irreverent and fun to read.

If you think you might be a "weirdo", you need to read this to understand how the workplace is changing. And if you manage a group of "weirdos", you absolutely need to read this in order to maintain your sanity.

This book is a must read for anyone who has lived through being a high performer at work and been shafted at raise time for not being a "team player". Any HR manager, anyone in management and anyone in general in the workplace needs to read this book. Lots of new content and food for thought here, but also very cathartic for those dogged by corporate American "process" for "process sake".

John puts into very simple and powerful concepts, even corporate common sense, things that I have found myself muttering under my breath for years. John's concepts would engender a competitive and productive American workforce and a truly "free job market" where talent and skill are rewarded and the "pencil pushers" and "clock watchers" and bad managers are moved on. I long for the day.

Killer book, must read....buy it now.

Dr. Arloski has published a long awaited book on the new attention given to health and wellness coaching....and he has been doing wellness coaching for 2 decades!!!! Long a proponent of the "coach approach" being the missing link in wellness education and lifestyle change, this book paves the way for real change that is lasting. Coaching helps desired change become sustainable over time and Dr. Arloski's book has tips, techniques, and strategies for using coaching with clients and organizations who want to live healthy and well!!!!

author of Becoming a Professional Life Coach: Lessons from the Institute for Life Coach Training

Dr.Patrick Williams CEO of WWW.lifecoachtraining.com and [...]

As an Educational Psychologist and School Psychologist, I found portions of the book to be useful in my work as a Student Success Coach with college students with learning disabilities, ADHD, and NonVerbal Learning Disorders. I appreciated the positive focus of the book, as well as the paradigm shift away from "prescribe and treat" to self-discovery and self-advocacy, which is more developmentally appropriate for college students. I would hesitate to recommend this book for use with younger students. It is clearly geared toward adults, but portions can be modified for older adolescents.

This was a refreshing read because it dovetails nicely with the research in Humanistic and Positive Psychology. In particular, I found the tools in the appendix to be useful for the initial rapport-building and goal-setting sessions. My students have enjoyed the "Wellness Wheel" activity, which is a self-assessment tool for rating satisfaction in many areas of their lives (not just school or work). My only disappointment was that the materials in the appendix appeared to be scanned in and were too small to reproduce.

This book is well worth every penny; a comprehensive look at Wellness from one of the leading authorities. I highly recommend this book for anyone who values wellness and wants to incorporate a healthy lifestyle into their lives. It is written in a user-friendly manner and really feels like you have a coach in your coner on every turn of the page.
-Greg Giesen
Author, Ask Dr. Mac

Michael Arloski has produced a thorough coaching manual. This book is based upon a review of the wellness concept as pioneered by leading practitioners over the past 30 years, particularly Dr. John Travis and the National Wellness Institute. In "Wellness Coaching for Lasting Lifestyle Change," Arloski guides the reader who seeks to coach others. He employs a variety of effective techniques to organize a lot of information. Among the major themes that coaches are urged to master are wellness mapping, making connections and understanding core competencies. All three are thoroughly explained - and they do make sense.

A wide range of health-related practitioners will find solid ideas in this book for motivating clients (and themselves) to reach improved levels of performance both professionally and personally. While the focus is behavioral change, Arloski presents a solid groundwork in health education history, change theory and traditional methodologies. A central coaching idea continually reinforced is the mindset shift from prescribe and treat (or educate and implore) to advocate and inspire.

Among the key chapters are sections devoted to medical coaching (persons with health challenges), unique coaching issues in different kinds of settings (e.g., hospital versus corporate programming) and attending to the interpersonal dynamics within coaching (e.g., "calendarizing" and body/mind concerns).

Generous, easy-to-understand graphic illustrations and an extensive recommended reading list add to the value of "Wellness Coaching."

Michael heads the Ft. Collins, CO based "Real Balance Global Wellness Services" organization. He is a licensed psychologist, consultant and wellness advisor for "The Institute for Life Coach Training." He has served as president of the Northern Colorado Association for Training & Development, the Ohio Society for Behavioral Health And Biofeedback and the Colorado College Counselors Association.

I am an amateur, but I've been breeding and raising western horses for over twenty five years, and a 4H judge for nearly that long. This is a beautiful book. You can tell that love went into it, for the animals, for Robert Miller's students, for the writing itself. It contains a wealth of information, but always presented from the standpoint of *why* - which makes it a fascinating book to read even if you have nothing to do with horses. I'm very happy it's still available.

The book was created from class notes from a college professor and lifetime horseman. An authentic horse whisperer. Behavior information was researched and documented. Offers step by step directions on how to break and train a horse from a colt to a trained horse. All is based on horse behavior. I am the daughter of the author and have broken many horses under his methods!

I am so glad that this book is still being helpful to horse owners across the world!!! It is a timeless guide to horse behavior and how to train your own horse, the methods which are ageless.

I have bought several different training books but this is the only one that really explains in detail everything you need to know. I live in Europe and there is no way I'll find a western trainer in my area, so I really needed advice, and this book gives it. Very helpful, from what you need in bits, bridles, saddles, spurs, and why, and how to best select it all for you and your horses. Then light handed horsemanship from the very beginning, from the first the minutes of meeting a colt at birth, all the way to how to teaching him to side step, it is all in there. Excellent!

Many like golf. Some of them are obsessed by it. The only people who truely seem to object to it are those who have never even picked up a club and simply tried to hit a ball, despite the outcome.

What everyone, despite their own personal connection (or lack of) to the game, would like to know is why. Why do people spend sums great and small to play a game with more furver than has been seen in virually all of human history? Why do they keep it up year after year, even if they see to sign of improvement, or even a glimer of hope that they may some day win a championship? Simply put, why golf?

Cullen's journey to find this answer takes him to many possible fonts of wisdom: psychology, evolutionary science, Greek philosophy... His answer is, of course, not singular. He finds that, from an elemental instinctive level to a higher appeal to our intelects, golf satisfies and entices us in more ways than we are conciously aware.

The questions that come up and their answers will be of interest to the duffer and duffer-hater alike. If you still have a few weeks before the course thaws off, or you want to know what your spouse keeps sneaking out on Saturday morning to do, this is the book to go to.

This wonderful book answers the question that every golfer has been asked: "Why in the world do you play that stupid game?" Part of the answer that we duffers already know is that even the most modest golf course is a pretty nice place to take a walk. But Cullen goes beyond that, and shows that there might actually be a deeper reason, reflecting our species' emergence from the forest on to what Cullen calls the "clipped grassland" savannas of Africa, and thus the genetically-wired comfort a modern day "clipped grassland" can give. Another reason we love the game is that it's eminently companionable, allowing two, three or four people to spend a few hours together in an atmosphere wholly unlike that of any other sport. Cullen fleshes this out beautifully, with chapters on both an annual trek he takes with friends for several days of golf and side bets, and the delights of "twilight golf" with his kids when there are few other people around and you only play with the old balls at the bottom of your bag. He also points out that golf is the only sport where the weekend duffer can play as well as the pros, even if only for a hole or two or even if only once in his life. I once played with a friend, who could never hit a Randy Johnson fastball or dunk over Shaq, who had a hole-in-one during the round. It was a wonderful, exciting achievement, one that many pros never experience, but one which happens every summer weekend in foursomes of even high handicappers.

Read this book, and you'll never be at a loss to explain this most benign of obsessions.

As a curious, but skeptical non-golfer, I hoped Why Golf would reveal something which would turn around some dubious stereotypes about the game and the reasons people play it with such apparent zeal. To my surprise, I learned that while golf may appeal to primal human attraction to stretches of clipped grass, it is as much about enduring human nature as any endeavor which seeks perfection rarely if ever attainable. Bob Cullen's personal journey through an unlikely array of sites and characters made for an engaging, often funny, and inspiring read. Cullen provides insight into male fellowship in a sporting environment unique to golf that has nothing to do with making deals on the course. While Cullen's experience in Iran may not have exposed him fully to the cultural attributes of that society, his point relating to the ethnic origins and and ability to master the game are well taken. Fortunately, he does not stretch the point to cover geo-political themes beyond the game itself.

I'd recommend Why Golf to anyone considering taking up the game for the first time. The reassurance he gives to the novice that it is possible to experience the same satisfaction as the veteran in exploring this highly complex game, has nudged me closer to the links.

This is a good book for people who like to read about golf. The author's thoughts on the sources of golf's appeal to the human psyche and well observed accounts of golf charcters and out-of-the-way golf places yield intriguing insights into the special qualities of the game. The author's tone is genial and unpretentious. Reading it is a bit like meeting a pleasant stranger on the first tee and sharing some thoughts about golf as you play a round together.

My copy of Wingtips with Spurs: Lessons from the Ranch arrived on a Friday and I had read it cover to cover by Sunday. While I was initially intrigued by the title, it was the book's content that I found to be so fantastic. It is truly the first "management" book I have read that offers insightful, real-life advice that I can apply to all areas of my career. Other books of this genre tend to be boring and just focus on a single theme. Wingtips made me laugh and cry--something I didn't think a "business book" was capable of. I would recommend it to anyone in the business of people management. It is ideal for small business owners and corporate leadership alike and I give it my highest rating.

Having spent over 25 years in Human Resources as an HR Director with Fortune 500 companies, I have read a lot of management books on managing people over the years. Most contained valuable information and insight but were written in a style that tended to put you to sleep after the first few pages.

I received Wingtips with Spurs a few days ago and have to admit it's one of the most enjoyable, refreshing, down to earth books on people management I have ever read. It's a virtual encyclopedia of information on a host of issues that we have all dealt with not only in the business world but everyday life as well. It blends wit and humor (Cowboy Wisdom) into real life situations that keeps you turning the pages.

The author has an uncanny knack for getting to the core of an issue and then providing his own unique insight from his experiences professionally and from life on the ranch. You may not agree with everything the author has to say regarding a particular subject but I will wager you will thoroughly enjoy your journey through this book. I certainly did.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who manages people at any level of an organization but it would be on my list as a must read for anyone new or just getting started in management. If you're an HR Director, you should buy copies for your management team. You will not be disappointed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author has managed to weave together a very resourceful book for the business world while capturing the average person's interest as well. His practical advice on people management and moral life lessons can readily be applied to not only the corporate life, but to one's daily life, proving that being ethical and moral are important aspects of both worlds. His clever writing style and wit are refreshing and a delight to read!

Although the author sometimes goes a little too far into the libertarian philosophy and uses a bit too much religion, in every other way I am in complete agreement with him. When not engaged in his primary job as a director of human resources for a major corporation, Gooch owns and operates a cattle ranch. As someone who once had a hobby farm and raised cattle, I can deeply empathize with his statements about raising cattle.
The theme of the book is to relate the problems of the modern corporate culture to the "simplicity" of herding cattle on a drive. Using analogies between the various components of each area, Gooch describes his philosophy of managing people, loving hard work and having respect for your underlings, whether they are people or cattle. While this may sound demeaning, no one who has ever raised cattle will question the validity of the comparison.
The way to get cattle to do what you want is to engage in gentle persuasion, anticipate their needs and to introduce change reasonably slowly. That philosophy works with people as well. You must understand that they have fears, concerns and feelings and that many of the negative things such as poor performance and lay-offs are the responsibility of management. Cattle have personalities and are not interchangeable parts although eventually you must replace even the best due to sagging performance.
Sound management advice can be packaged in many ways; in this case it is presented with a western flair and a virtual cowboy intonation. Plain speaking, respect and honesty are always the best long term management strategies, as the trail to success is a long one and sometimes you step in what the cattle leave behind.

With one sprint triathlon under my belt, I was looking for training programs, injury prevention and info on progressing to the Olympic distance triathlon.

SWIMMING CHAPTER: Jargon/vocabulary guide was helpful. I would've appreciated more photos or illustrations for the suggested drills.

CYCLING CHAPTER: Good general information. The VO2 max and lactate threshold discussions were over my head but will probably come in handy as my training advances.

RUNNING CHAPTER: This is my strongest event so I didn't find much new information. The suggested training programs were quite extensive and included discussion on both speed and endurance work.

TRAINING PROGRAMS: Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman and Ironman distances.

STRENGTH TRAINING: The weakest chapter in my opinion. Suggested exercises were quite basic. You'd probably do better with a session or two with a trainer or another reference.

As a newbie, the nutrition and equipment sections were very helpful. The pricing guidelines came in handy when scouting out bikes. Interesting chapter on training while pregnant.

Overall, this book is a good resource, especially for those new to one or more of the events.

This book is full of great workout schedules, useful advice and tips from pros and detailed information on equipment, drills and nutrition. Definitely a fantastic way for anyone to either get started or continue on their journey toward triathlon success. I read it cover to cover and have used it continuously for 2 seasons now. Wonderful resource!

I am going to use this book to train a 16 year girl triathlete in Surat, India, since there is not a single qualified coach in this area. I feel that I can use this book to understand the sport in detail and guide her during training for the next National School Game. This is going to be my bible for training the triathlete.

This book is very easy to read. Christina has done an excellent job compiling articulate women (pro triathletes, exercise specialists, nutritionists, psychologists, coaches, etc.) to give their expertise on the varying components of training for a triathlon. There are specific drills for each sport as well as training regimens to follow from a sprint to an ironman triathlon. Not only does she cover the physical components of training, but also the mental and nutritional aspects. I have read other books on triathlons, but this is the first book I read where I wanted to get off the plane and jump into the training program immediately. I've been competing for a couple years and learned more from this book than from a camp I attend. Another aspect I appreciated about this book, is everything about it is written from, and for, females. I found myself reading it and feeling empowered by other women and their levels of accomplishment. There are lots of examples and illustrations in this book to keep the reader interested and informed. It's a fun, educational, well-written read. Kudos to Christina and her editorial skills.

I am a great admirer of Kim Mulkey as both a player at La Tech and as a coach at Baylor! She has been a "winner" where-ever she's been and her book is also a "winner"!

Reading this book was enjoyable because it gave me a deeper insight into what makes Kim Mulkey tick. The background from childhood through coaching was excellent--not too detailed, but just enough info to explain things. Reading Kim's coaching philosophy and current stance at Baylor was interesting. I highly recommend this book.

I've heard Kim Mulkey speak in person as well as seen her in action coaching and this book sounds just like her. She is very forthright and as always, tells it like she sees it. Except for a few repeated or inserted sections that seem to interrupt the flow, the book is a very good read.

Kim Mulkey wrote an interesting auto biography, which helps us know how she became so succesful in her career. It is great reading for any fan of women's basketball and working mothers who in spite of the demands on their time, keep family first.

I use "Writers in Training" nearly every day teaching my 7th grade writing class. If you can get a copy, you can't go wrong.

This book was given to me by a relative of mine in order to help me through my first year as an English teacher. It has truly helped me teach my students to become detailed writers. In addition, it has made writing in my class a fun activity, rather than just a chore. The author presents daily ENTERTAINING writing assignments that are the base for writing expository, persuasive, and compare/contrast pieces, along with a research report. I have found this book to be very valuable and highly recommend it, so much so, that it will be a gift to one of my colleagues who will begin teaching English next year.

I've been using this book in various teaching situations ranging from one-on-one tutoring to mini-courses to classroom situations for over 15 years. PUT IT BACK IN PRINT. PROMOTE IT. It is the single best book on the teaching of writing I've ever seen. It gets right to the heart of what good writing is, shows how to give writers lots of practice in mastering the skill, shows how to give them practice in evaluating their own and others' work and builds real writing skills without the artificial exercises found in so many other books. There's nothing else like it around.

This book transformed my professional life. Having students write a short amount for homework every day and talk about their writing for 5 minutes a day dramatically improves their writing plus it lightens your load as a teacher. And the students start to realize that they can write to entertain each other. They get involved in their own and each other's writing. It is so much fun when students come in saying "Read mine!" or "Read Joey's." I highly recommend this book to English teachers from 4th to 12th grades.

Before this excellent book came out, very few people knew how strong and athletic Coach Davies is. Now everyone will know! The drills in this book are both unique and I have no doubt that they will be very beneficial to extreme athletes. Naysayers will say that many of the exercises in the book are not practical and will not carry over to extreme sports. Ask them how long they have been surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding. Furthermore, ask them how many extreme athletes they have trained.

It is clear that every exercise in this book is well thought out and has been tested in the lab. In addition to being a manual of killer exercises, Coach Davies reveals several programs so that you have a clear idea of how to put all of the intense exercises together. Whether you are an extreme athletic or someone who simply wants to take his or her training up a huge notch, get this book.

Coach Davies takes extreme sports conditioning to the next level in this book. He introduces techniques that even the pros can't do on their first *100* tries! Coach Davies excites the reader to start training by introducing a program that defies all preconceived ideas of working out.
The content of the book is laid out very lucidly, and the multitude of pictures show even the newest grom how to work out 'Renegade Style'.
Coach Davies walks you through every exercise, then gives a recommended training program, which, instead of vaguely laying out "this many reps on this day of the week," details SIX WEEKS of specific daily workouts. This takes the book to a higher level than most fitness books that give you a general idea of how to work out, but don't suggest a workout plan.

This is not only the book for getting better at surfing, snowboarding, wakeboarding, or skateboarding, but it is a book for anyone who wants to get better balance and feel healthier!

This book is the first of it's kind as it addresses the needs of ahtletes in extreme sports. Coach DAvies presents his material in an excellnet progressive manner as he describes the motor qualitites that are necessary in regards to being a successful extreme athlete. All athletes can benefit from this book as it details the importance of agility, range of motion, dynamic and static balance, explosive strength etc...

Davies also presents a sample workout program at the end of the book. If you are serious about your conditioning levels the investment that is required for this book is simply a giveway.

thank you
Coach Jamie Hale
www.maxcondition.com

The stuff Coach Davies does in this book is awful. I mean I cried I was so mad. How in the world can he do close grip snatches on a stability ball when I can barely stand up for prolonged periods of time? This book is a huge ego-checker. If you are into extreme sports and serious about your training, this book is a must have.