Athletics Books

This book has recipes that are long and use products that I don't have access to in my rural town. I like short simple recipes that offer a bang for the buck with products I can obtain locally and spices that are common to my kitchen. This is more time consuming and complicated than I like. Too gourmet for me.

I was skeptical getting a cookbook like this. I thought it might just be a silly book trading off the Carmichael/Lance duopolistic cycling brand. My skepticism turned to enthusiasm when I read the accompanying text and tried a few of the recipes. They are tasty, easy to make, different, and healthy. And there is enough variety to make this a cookbook I think I will explore for a while.

Sorry, but those who find these difficult in prep/ingredient finding scale are not much experienced as chef. These are at best, medium in difficulty of technique, steps, gredient finding, etc. I find them minimal, but exceptional in taste, uniqueness, and best of all, performace and/or weight loss/maintenance.

With repute of clientle of these two authors, recipe collection is nice variety: Cumin-Roasted Pork Loin with Rosemary Polenta and Creamy Leeks;Sweet Potato and Garlic Soup; Spicy Three-Egg Arizona Scramble;Chicken Tortilla Soup; Quick Muesli with Apples and Dates; Fresh Pear and Pecan Salad.

Great nutrition and training charts and advice as well. Color photos nice.

I have to say this is a good book. The book's chapters are seperated into the Foundation period, Preperation period, specialization period, and transition period. Now at first i found this wierd and annoying because most cookbooks are seperated into breads, soups, appitizers, dinners, snacks, and desserts. After getting used to the book I understood why and appreciate it. Most peoples sport has a "off time" and "peak time" and it gives recipes depending on what period of your sport you are in, which is nice. It also uses icons to tell you what this recipe is actually doing for example. A picture of a match that means it is a firestarter, which means is easy to digest and has ready to use energy which is great hours before a workout. Another example a picture of blocks means it is building blocks which means it is very high in protien. The book explains all of this plus has 6 other Icons. So I feel it spells everything out for the athlete.

Now these recipes are not simple simple. If you need stuff that simple you need to find a 15 min cookbook or a college student cookbook. However these recipes are simple not having complicating instructions. Some of them can take time anywhere from 15 to 90 minutes. But any healthy food will take longer. Just as minute white rice takes 10 minute... but a brown rice takes 60 min to cook. However the brown rice is better for you.
MOst of the hour recipes have alot of not active time or simmering time so you could always excersize in your kitchen while the food is cooking.

I am a vegetarian ( vegan)and these recipes are very easily comverted by switching the fish to tofu or sietan or temeph or even any premade vegetarian protien like tofurkey or boca burgers.

In short i find this book a very good buy for the athlete. If you find these recipes too complited I think it would be best if you stepped away from the stove and gave this book to your girlfriend/ wife.

Wasn't a fan of this book. I found that the caloric intake and the levels of fat were much too high for someone who is a casual athlete. If I'm Lance Armstrong and am training for hours every day, this diet makes sense. But as it is, I am a recreational triathlete who tries to keep her diet near 1500 calories to maintain my weight. More, I gain. Less, I bonk on workouts.

Secondly, I have to disagree with the people who found the recipes as being "too difficult". If anything, I was turned off by the lack of interesting recipes and the simplistic nature of the detail. Maybe some people need a lot of help in the kitchen. However, I don't like cookbooks that could be filled with more recipes instead filled with asinine directions such as "Take a noodle out of the water. Set it on a plate. Let it cool. Taste it. This is how you can tell if the pasta is done." You really can't dumb down the tough task of boiling water, throwing in pasta, and draining it, but Carmichael managed to. I really disliked this to the point where I just sort of glanced over recipes and prepared the ingredients listed in my own way.

This is sinmple a must read for any one wanting to do a triathlon...no matter what level you are.

It could do with a little up dating as it was written in the 80's but this really shouldnt put you off...buy it, read it, get fit!

G.

Dave Scott's Triathlon Training is pretty old. However, it has a great deal of information that is as useful today as it was when it was written. This book covers all aspects of triathlon training: diet, weights, intensity, and of course running swimming and cycling. There is a huge amount of data in the book and on occasion it gets pretty technical. Also, my friend complained that the book does not really have any workouts designed. I like it better than books with workouts though, because it gives the triathlete at any level the tools needed to design a custom workout.

This is my favorite fitness book and will continue to dominate my endurance training program for the future. If you have any interest in the physiology and mechanics of triathlon then this is a great book.

This book may not suit a beginner or first timer triathlete...but after saying that...there are wonderful bits and pieces that would be helpful. But reading it from beginning to end would be too detailed for those just wanting to get to the finish line (I recommend "triathlon 101").

I picked up so many details about VO2, anaerobic and aerobic conditioning. It is rare to find a book that can explain the process and why we should train with different methods.

The only area lacking is the workout section. I can not figure out how to design my own w.o. The workouts are not geared to sprints, olympic or ironman's...so should we all be doing the 3+ hour workouts regardless of what distance we are trying to accomplish? It is very unclear what is the optimum time and or distance. However, the intesity level for each w.o. is clearly explained.

I would recommend this book and maybe in the future Dave will come out with a new edition that clears up some of the confusion between pages 102-130.

When I first decided to start training for the Half-Ironman, I browsed through Amazon and ordered about 10 different books. This is absolutely one of my favorites.

Dave Scott has won 6 Ironman World Championships since winning one of the earliest Ironmans in 1980. Yet surprisingly, he is quite gracious about his wins.

"Triathlon Training" has individual chapters on swimming, cycling, and running techniques uniquely suited for the triathlete. It offers a year-round training program and workout schedules for 3, 4, 5, and 6-day training weeks with the most effective intensity, speed, and duration for each workout.

It covers nutrition and specific tips to get ready mentally for the race, preparing for transitions, and pacing yourself throughout the race.

Frankly, my goal is simply to finish the race. Regardless of my time, Dave Scott's techniques have already helped to prepare me for Hawaii. His attitude and motivation helps prepare you for Life 101 as well.

In much of this book, there is a very strong emphasis on exactly what worked for Dave Scott. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, and in some cases isn't, but I find it more helpful to hear the coach's perspective as opposed to the athelete's perspective. The reason why this is important is because a coach will very often know the difficulties that wide ranges of people face during triathlon training while the athelete really only has to deal with his own challenges. The other thing to note is that the information is a little dated.

It did cover a lot of territory though... There are also some good gems that I found as well as an underlying emphasis: 'your training should as accurately as possible reflect your race'.

(My rating should be 3.5)

I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THIS BOOK, MY STORY IS ALMOST IDENTICAL TO THE AUTHORS, I WAS 7 WHEN I HOPPED ON THE A'S BAND WAGON. I HAVE DESPARATELY BEEN LOOKING FOR ONE OF THE ORANGE BASEBALLS THAT WAS ONE OF FINLEY'S "QUIRKY" INNOVATIONS. AUTOGRAPHED BY FINLEY EVEN BETTER. IF YOU KNOW WHERE I MIGHT FIND ONE OF THESE BASEBALLS PLEASE EMAIL ME AT wiifus@myauctionwatch.com. I WILL SUBMIT A REVIEW IN A WEEK OR SO AFTER I READ THE BOOK.

This book had some extremely interesting information and background about a very colorful organization. The problem was that it was a little heavy on details about mid season games, and a bit light on player quotes, descriptive pictures, and statistics. I would of really enjoyed seeing more pictures of the players and situations describes. It would of been nice to glance at player and team statistics to support points the writer was making. There were quotes from some of the players but many of the key players were notably quiet. The writer did demonstrate a passion for the franchise that made the reading interesting. The writer was a young child, as I was, when the A's were winning these championships, it just appeared there was a lack of information for portions of the book.

The background and explanation of the internal A's battles, Charlie Finleys personality, and the destruction caused by free agency were all very captivating. In part due to my interest in the A's of the 70's, I could not put this book down. I read the book feverishly but it had my wanting more.

I am as big of a baseball history buff as they come. This was a great book as it gave you an inside look at the mindset and business dealings of a tyrant owner and his slaveship that was the 1970s' Oakland A's. While Markusen does a good job in explaining details, player reactions, quest to the WS etc; I feel this book comes up short in the aspect of objectivity. Mr. Markusen explains in the beginning of the book that he grew up rooting for the A's. As you read, it feels like his love of the team clouds the objectivity a book like this should be written. It is written in a way that paints the team, owner and operation in a much too positive light. I felt his account was written from a standpoint that some "haphazard" fans have of thier teams, that they block out the negative and accept only the positive. (Ala Monte Moore). Instances such as Vida Blue's holdout, the 1972 ALCS fight between Rollie Fingers and Blue Moon Odom, Ray Fosse's 1970 shoulder injury, Charlie and Shirley Finley's divorce etc. were portrayed in a respect that it feels as if the author doesn't want to accept that these things occured within his beloved team. Loving a particular team is great. Its part of sports. But a true sports fan accepts the bitter with the sweet. (Ask any Yankees fan). However, I dont feel that this is entirely the case in this book. From a historical perspective, its a good book. Beautifully written - to a point. I can sum this book up best as if it were a player, who just hit a deep drive into centerfield. Just when you think it might be an inside-the-park homerun, the batter gets thrown out at home plate by a magificent throw. It comes up short.

I was very disappointed that Charlie Finley never received any votes for Time's Man of the Century...it is the same type of snub that the A's have had to endure many times, such as when Mitchell Page had to share the 1977 AL Rookie of the Year award with Eddie Murray....Charlie was a master deal maker, as witnessed by his trade of his manager, Chuck Tanner, for Manny Sanguillen and the Mitch when he was at AAA Hawaii...Mr. Markusen's book tells the true story that baseball didn't want to know -- Mr. Finley could build and manage a signficant enterprise better than all of the rest of the league combined...Many scoffed at his decision to let players like Rudi, Tenace, Bando and Reggie Jackson go, but Charlier knew his minor leagues were stocked with players like Henderson, Murphy and Armas, not to mention Picciolo, Newman and John Henry Johnson....there is a reason why Oakland has been to 6 world series in the last 30 years, or 20% of all world series played -- Charlie O....this book is a must read for anyone who ever dreams of running an entrepreneurial fortune 500 enterprise, like Charlie's cousin Bill Gates.....sincerely, Miguel Dilone

Growing up in New England it's only natural that I was a huge A's fan during the 70's. The green, gold and white of a team from the bay area was all I talked about, so when this book was chosen for review, I naturally grabbed at the chance and I am glad that I did.

The book shows how on the field the power of Reggie, the speed of Campy, men like Hunter, Blue, Odom and Holtzman along with Rudi, Bando and the whole host of others produced the most dominate team of that decade.

Off the field, you'll read about the troubles in the clubhouse with the fights and of course the antics of the owner, Charlie O. The book gives you the first in-depth look at what these men went through to become the powerhouse they were.

Read about a team that won 5 straight division titles, 3 American League pennants and 3 straight World Series. The Oakland A's, the mustache gang, Charlie's Not So Angels, are but a few of the nicknames they earned. A great read and an excellent book!

I like the way the author set up the book with a clear introduction of the anatomy and mechanics of stretching. In addition, the use of charts for "sport specific" stretching guidelines is extremely useful. Illustration are clear and easy to understand.

I'm a former couch potato who started doing Tae Bo and cardio kickboxing almost two years ago. I recently added yoga to my routine for flexibility, and pilates for strength and control, but found that I needed more. In particular, I wanted greater flexibility in my adductor muscles so that I could kick higher and with increased control. I found that I was also having some knee problems. So I checked out every book that my local library had on stretching and flexibility; out of the dozen or so books I looked at, I liked three of them, including "Sport Stretch," well enough that I purchased my own copies.

"Sport Stretch" begins with a discussion of flexibility, then launches into descriptions of 311 different stretches. Most of these consist of a single illustration with a few bulleted instructions. The stretches themselves are arranged into chapters based on muscle groups, including feet and ankles, lower legs, hamstrings, adductors, quadriceps, hips and gluteals, lower torso, upper back, neck, pectorals, shoulders, and arms and wrists.

Additionally, the author includes an index at the beginning of the book that singles out stretches that are helpful for specific sports. One- to three-page sections are dedicated to each of the following: archery; baseball, softball, and cricket; basketball; bowling; cross-country skiing; cycling and triathlon; dance; diving; figure skating; football; golf; gymnastics; hiking and backpacking; ice hockey; in-line skating; jogging; lacrosse; martial arts; race walking; rowing, kayacking, and canoeing; sailing and windsurfing; skiing; soccer; squash; swimming; table tennis; tennis, racquetball, and handball; track and field; volleyball; water skiing; weight lifting; and wrestling.

As a BEGINNER, I found most of the stretches helpful. There were some standard moves that I was already familiar with from my high school gym classes, as well as some more challenging exercises I learned in yoga. However, a number of the stretches were completely new to me. I'm especially happy with the adductor section, as it's exactly what I needed to help with my roundhouse kicks! Note the emphasis on "beginner," though - because I'm such a novice, I really can't say whether more advanced athletes will find "Sports Stretch" useful or not.

As much as I like the book, I do have a few complaints. Most of the stretches, with few exceptions, only have a single illustration. Given the minimalist instructions, many of the moves could have used at least one extra picture. Also, once I eased into certain stretches, I found it difficult to gracefully get OUT of them. It seems to me as though the author should have included "exit strategies" for some of a stretches, particularly the more advanced ones! Finally, a few stretches come with the following caveat: "This exercise may be too advanced or dangerous for even some elite athletes." Now, I would think that "elite" or even "professional" athletes have trainers, and wouldn't need to rely on a book for stretching advice - so I really don't see why the author included these seemingly dangerous stretches. Unless he's asking for a lawsuit! ;)

Otherwise, a great buy, at least for beginner-to-moderate athletes.

- Kelly Garbato

I am a certified personal trainer, athlete, medical massage practitioner and I teach anatomy/physiology, so I review this book with some authority.

The opening chapters explain quite nicely the scientific rationale for, and benefits of, stretching for those who prefer to have a technical basis for what they do. You'll find great variety here and many unique stretches I've not seen in similar books.

To address some of the negative reviews:
Nowhere does the author recommend performing dangerous stretches or techniques beyond the abilities of the reader. Some advanced stretches are presented for informational purposes but with the caveat that these are for VERY specific applications and should be attempted ONLY if you do not have contraindicated conditions. To quote the book: "There is generally no such thing as an unsafe stretch or exercise: only an unsafe way of executing any movement for a specific individual at a specific time". In other words, everyone is different and the reader should use good judgment in their choices. Some people will take very "safe" stretches and get injured by using sloppy form or not training within their abilities while others can perform "dangerous" stretches very safely by proceeding slowly, deliberately and realistically training within their own physical limitations.

Some reviewers purport that 2 or 3 stretches are all that you need and the author is fooling you with many "goofy" stretches. Ridiculous! Can a carpenter build a house with only a hammer and level? NO! If two good stretches were all you needed for each muscle, then the book would simply be entitled, "Two Stretches That Work For Every Person and Sport". Personally, I like that the author has provided a huge amount of variety. That way, I can try any number of the 311 stretches taught and find the 3 or 4 that work best for me for each muscle group. As my needs change, then I can go back to the book and try something different. I would rather have too much information than not enough. If some readers are annoyed by the variety there are plenty of very basic, boring stretch books out there to fill their needs. Also, if you read and understand the opening chapters, you'll know how to adapt any of the stretches to active, dynamic, PNF or vice versa. The book will not limit your advancement as some reviewers mistakenly believe.

I highly recommend this book. It's clear, concise and presents many options, from basic to advanced, for you to build a good stretching program.

Although this book may have some good overall general stretches in it it does not cover all the methods of stretching, or any routines for the athlete to build apon. Although passive stretching is good for your flexability maintanence if you dont incorperate isometric and combining it (PNF), you will never achieve the greatest rang of flexability as a top athlete. I have been studying the martial arts for 19 years now and I am always looking for good material for stretching to recomend to my students of friends. I can say I would never recomend this book to another living soul involved in any demanding sport.

I was very pleased with this book. As I read the other reviews, there unhappiness with the book comes from the fact that it is not for every day people. I am very pleased with that fact and the title does imply that it is for people involved in sports. I am a mother of a 7 year old gymnast and I have been very challenged to find a book on stretching that will enhance her flexibility at an advanced stage. I am working with her coaches to ensure safety and develop a schedule that will make her a better gymnast. I was very pleased with the variety of stretches, pictures and descriptions for the stretches.

This is an excellent book for backs who need more speed, like me. There are many, many ways to improve speed. All of which are helpful. Any athlete needs to read this book, it will take them to the next level of performance.

The book does have some good drills which can be helpful. Unfortunately, the text based descriptions of those drills are hard to understand, and only a few pictures are provided to support those poorly-written sentences. It's obvious that different authors wrote different portions. For example, in the early portion, we are told that an athlete who wants to gain a pound of muscle only needs around an extra five grams of protein per day, since 70% of muscle weight is water. Later on, when the Advocare (TM) system is being promoted, the number goes to the more standard .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body weight.

It covers plyometrics drills, increasing stride length, increasing stride frequency, and other essential areas. However, as others have noted, it does not give any information about how to really integrate this into the training program. As well, some of the tables are just plain confusing.

Bottom line, read through it, (and this is going to be some dry reading), copy some of the drills down, and then read other books which cover a more integrative training approach towards periodization and hitting peak cycles.

This book tells you many ways to improve your speed....What plyometrics you should do.....and soooo many ways to imrove yourself..ways which YOU wouldn't have thought of!

I'm a defensive back (6'2, 205) who has been trying to take it to the next level and find a team. I don't have the luxury of trainers and fancy equipment. All I have is all I get. This book helps me get more than I know I have.

I never knew why all that stuff was important until I read this book. Now when I work out, I know what's happening to me and what I need to do in order to make it happen more. They even get down to the mental aspect of training as well as breathing techniques. The exercises they illustrate are definitely speed and agility powerhouses! Believe me I know!

This book proves that sprinting isn't just running, but a complex science and it has "Dumbed It Down" for all who read. They say that sprinters are born not made, well this book proves that sprinters are born on the track as well and not just in the womb. The scouts are going to love me come May 13th in Atlanta. Thanks for the insights fellas!!

This book is mostly a kitchen sink approach to speed training methods and is a sure fire perscription for overtraining. And as previous reviews have pointed out, the book does not provide an overall logic that helps the athlete or coach properly integrate the training elements. The book does not properly explain how the components of its sytem interact with each other and how they should be balanced against each other when determining the needs of a given individual athlete. In addition, many of the techniques, most notably overspeed training, are highly dubious and most likely counter productive. For those interested in proven speed training methods, I highly recommend Training for Speed by Charlie Francis, which is light years ahead of SportSpeed. Also be on the lookout for Charlie's new training manual which should be released by the end of 2002 and will make every other book on speed training obsolete.

This book is a fast read, and I really liked it. I thought he made his points and got his story across very well, and gives some insight as to how the coaching profession works. I recommend it.

Take ajourney with Charles Weis, New Jersey born
and raised guy who happened to go down and talk
to one of the 'Fathers' in the Notre Dame Athletic
office one day back in 1975 about what HE thought
the 'Fightin' Irish' should be doing to inprove
the football team. Fast forward through the years
as Charlie Weis becomes the sports enthusiast who
moves up through the ranks and becomes a first rate
football coach who ends up going back to Notre Dame
after winning FOUR Super Bowls and becomes it's H.
Coach! Great and inspirational reading! As good as
Marv Levy's fine football book, "Where Else Would
You Rather Be?"

Coach Weis starts this short autobiography out with a funny story about his student days at Notre Dame and how he had the nerve to complain to the University president about the football team. I would say that this is a rather interesting way for the man who is now in charge of that same football team to start out his book. Right up front Charlie Weis says to us the fans that he understands what it is like to be frustrated and that we Notre Dame fans really matter to him. I like this guy!

I say that this is a short autobiography because there is so much yet to be written in the Charlie Weis story but there is still a lot of information to be found in these pages. I must admit that I had wondered how a guy who hadn't even played college football became the coach of the most storied program in the sport and by reading this book I got my answers. Charlie Weis is one hard working guy. This is not to say that he didn't get some major breaks along the way because he did and he freely acknowledges that he did. Coach Weis is proud of his work ethic and that comes across loud and clear in this book but the man doesn't have a conceited bone in his body. I like this guy!

When Coach Weis was hired at Notre Dame most Irish fans read up on him in a hurry and so we knew the basics of his sparkling pro career but in this book we get a little more of story including some things that I'm sure that he didn't really care to share but he shared them anyway and the book is all the better for it. I really do like this guy!

Best of all, we finally get a look at Coach's personal life and we learn about his wonderful wife and his special relationship with his son. We also get a glimpse of his relationship with his special needs daughter who is able to communicate very clearly when she wants her dad to go away and leave her alone. The proceeds from this book go to a foundation he has set up in the name of his daughter Hannah and it was for the love of her that he even agreed to write this book. Did I mention that I like this guy?

This book is not a deep tome on Charlie Weis' coaching philosophy or an insight into the Notre Dame program. That may well come later when he has been at South Bend for a few more years. This is simply the basic story of a man who accepts no excuses from his players or himself and who expects everyone to give their all for the good of the team. This is Charlie Weis 101 and I hope that the graduate level course won't be too long in coming.

This is a very refreshing story of how an outwardly ordinary person with some extraordinary insight and self-confidence goes from being a regular kid to a top level coach, and how he balances his family life with his professional life. He doesn't dish dirt or tattle, and it isn't all about Notre Dame Football. He acknowledges success and failure without bragging about his system or complaining about setbacks. He doesn't breach the privacy of others to sell his story, so details of who said what and who did what are not there, though he does give plenty of credit where it is due. It's dignified but not stuffy or superior. You just can't help but admire him, and you wish you had a boss with his sense of priorities, directness, and honesty.

It really does hook you, so make sure you have plenty of time when you first open it to read the whole thing. I bought this for my spouse for Christmas. While wrapping it, I took a little peek. Two hours later I finished it. It was just too darn interesting to put down, and I am not a big football fan. Then I kept thinking about it and had to stop myself from quoting it (to keep from spoiling the surprise). When my spouse opened it on Christmas Day; I warned him that it would suck him right in. He laughed and took a peek. Now I have a nice picture him, surrounded by holiday chaos and kids, completely oblivious while reading this book cover-to-cover.

We both agree that this is a really terrific book. Since my spouse is a big Notre Dame fan (two ND degrees and grew up in South Bend), but I am not, I'd say that this book appeals to a wide variety of people.

The book has several interesting stories. Though CW doesn't mention it, he must have been a pretty smart student to get admitted to ND. I thought he said his dad was of a blue collar profession, so he must have gotten quite a bit of financial aid.

I found his story about how he quit HS coaching to take a grad assistantship at South Carolina interesting, as well as how he was to be offered the head coaching job with the Bills, if the Patroits lost the AFC championship game to the Titans. I also found his early days as coach of the Fighting Irish to be interesting. All in all, it's a story of a hard working guy who always tried to do the right thing and succeeding to get the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Mychael Urban's book takes a different view than Michael Lewis' "Moneyball" does. Urban goes in-depth to show you what goes on in the minds of Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, and Mark Mulder. Hudson, Zito, and Mulder are about as different as three men can be, but all three have one big thing in common: They are all driven to be the best.

Urban's book discusses the trials and tribulations of the Big Three's and the A's 2004 season. It was a unique year for the A's, as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Urban had earned the trust of the Big Three, therefore all three let their guards down and talked about what makes them all tick. You'll read about Hudson's battle through an injury-plagued season, the always confident Mulder struggle through his first moment of self-doubt, and Zito's various musings.

The book wraps up with the frantic few days during the 2004 off-season in which Hudson and Mulder were traded within two days of each other. This book is both a nice look back at the A's 2004 season and an excellent look at an interesting topic in the Big Three. A's fans will likely hang on to this book and look back in upcoming years on what a fantastic trio Hudson, Mulder, and Zito were.

I was looking forward to this book, as I'm a big fan of the A's system and was intrigued by the possibility of the story of the last season these three spent together. However, author Mychael Urban is kind of all over the place; he says that it's not a "team" profile or the profile of the season, but in fact that's prety much what it is. He tries to write around major aspects of the team's 2004 season -- the failure to find a closer for the first half of the season, injuries to Chavez and others -- but ends up spending quite a bit of time discussing them. The interviews with the 3 pitchers are interesting but not much different than one might find in a daily column or extended SI profile. Not a bad book for fans looking for a closer look at these three players, but the look isn't that much closer and there's not much suprising or unusual. "Moneyball" has much more of a take, and "Three Nights in August" conveys the day-to-day ball activity in a much richer manner.

Aces is a great insight into the minds of three very good pitchers who have different personalities. Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito are known as the Big Three, three fantastic young pitchers on the Oakland A's staff. This book, by a daily newspaper beat writer, covers the three pitchers through the season. Although its about the A's, and Billy Beane wrote the foreward, its not like the famous book by Michael Lewis, Moneyball, at all. There's little in it about Beane's approach to baseball, except how the Big 3 feel about the A's lack of spending money. They aren't happy about not bringing in free agent talent due to their limited funds. The book goes through the mental aspects of the game, how Mulder and Zito both dealt with failure at different points in the season. Mulder had a great start but faltered in the 2nd half of the season, while Zito had a bad start but pitched well in the latter part of the season. After reading this book, its hard not to root for these three pitchers, even though they pitch for three different teams now. Urban did a great job.

This book was a delight to read as I love to see inside the world of the players, and Urban does it with a breezy and fun style that is worth reading out loud (as I often did to my boyfriend, or whoever was nearby if they knew about baseball). The "big three" in Mulder, Hudson and Zito provide a study in contrasts that illuminates everything from what goes on inside a pitcher's head (or doesn't) while he's on the mound, to the importance of pitching coaches. I found myself wanting to copy out various sentences from the book to make sig quotes out of, sometimes from what the players said, sometimes from Urban's pithy and hip take on modern major league life.

The book's only possible drawback is that I wanted more! There are some great personal moments (that also give insight into baseball), as with Zito using his guitar case as an illustration of Gary Sheffield's 'hitting zone', but I wanted more of them. The book was designed to cover just one season, but honestly I could have used a little bit less of a chronicle of the A's ups and downs in a season that wasn't that memorable and more of the pitchers talking pitching. Perhaps Urban will write another book that will satisfy me on that score later--I would buy it in a second. He's definitely one of the up an coming baseball scribes worth watching.

This book is awesome. It goes deep into the minds of these "Big Three", as pitchers and people. Through early season bullpen woes, to the dogdays of summer, to their slim loss of the division lead in the end of the season. The pitchers minds are dissected, from Zito's quirkiness and tendency to get too deep into his thoughts, to Mulder's calmness, to Hudson's aggressive "bulldog" mentality. This book is for anyone who loves sports, espessialy baseball, and anyone who respects the A's dominant run through the early 2000's. It is masterfully written, and a beautiful recount of, not only the "big three" we have grown to love, but the 2005 season, and the A's playoff hopes. It shows the breakdown off a pitchers mind before his start, and the other 4 days in between, and how these supposed "super humans" are just people. Mychael Urban's quick wit, and smooth style of writing make this memoir much more than just the report on each game's happenings, and make it into something special to share and read.

I found this DVD very helpful. I was able to create a 6 hour CE class for massage therapy.

As a massage therapist I often work with muscle injuries. This book is a must have for both therapeutic technique and for client education. I highly reccommend it.

As a runner and horseback rider, I have always subscribed to the theory that stretching is critical for performance. However, finding an effective stretching system has been a long and arduous search. Some books are difficult for the lay person to understand. Some books do not have a fundamental theory underpinning their exercises. And some books promote stretches that are actually harmful. I have found Facilitated Stretching to be the best of the bunch. The illustrations are clear, well-organized and large enough to follow. The text is written clearly and concisely: I can figure out what to do the first time I read it. The cd is excellent: slow, well-narrated and easy to follow. Best of all, the results are immediate. My partially frozen shoulders are starting to move in response to a combination of massage therapy and facilitated stretching (as advocated in the book). My hamstrings have finally let go so now I know what it feels like to walk as normal people do! In short, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It has met all my stringent requirements. This new edition is even better than the second edition which I studied before buying this book.

This 3rd edition is a wonderful upgrade from the 2nd. The DVD does an exceptional job of visualizing spiral diagonal patterns and demonstrating the facilitated stretching technique. The book is upgraded as well as the information on specific body locations is easlier to find and readily accessable for use in my bodywork. I use both frequently.

As a Personal Trainer, I was looking for a book that was practical with stretches that I could teach my clients that were beyond the normal static stretches. After some weeks with a flexibility program designed with stretches from this book, there is a noticible difference in positive range of motion. It is well written and easy to follow. For my purposes, I found it to be an excellent book.

This book is only good if you have never stepped foot in a gym. More than half the exercises are longer than 60 min and no mention of diet.

i got this book because I have some experience lifting weights, but I wanted a program to follow. this book is very good - it has programs that you can use and you can start working out very quickly. If someone is very, very experienced, then this is not the book you are looking for. however, for most people out there who aren't semi-pros, this book will be fine.

This is the most helpful book I have found for advice on locating or constructing a weight lifting program to meet your goals. The authors are obviously experts because their advice is backed with reason and covers a wide spectrum of needs - just what you expect from consultants who know both theory and practice of their field. Whether you are a beginner or advanced lifter, young or old, this book will put you on a progression of good programs for a very long time.

The book helps you assess your current readiness for weight lifting, and encourages you to think about your goals as being in one of three areas: muscle toning, body shaping, or strength building. Of course there is overlap between these since any program will accomplish some of these elements, but it is a matter of emphasis in the program you will follow. Then the book has nice color coded charts for 6 different zones which are basically your starting experience level for any one of the three goals. There are also alternate week and month ideas to really help you get the most time out of these plans. The recommended programs usually last one month and then encourage you to switch to another for continued progress. Most programs introduce slight variations at week 3 as well. There are 2, 3 and 4 day a week programs depending upon your goal and experience (color zone).

There are lots of charts and helpful calendars, etc. You can copy the charts to track your progress. By using these tools you can learn more about how to design your own programs and the authors talk you through that as well.

It is important to know what this book is not. It is not a detailed exercise manual showing lots of different exercises and their variations. There is an exercise appendix so if this were your only book, you could do the programs, but exercise details are not the emphasis of this book. Nor is nutrition, or detailed anatomy diagrams - both are mentioned briefly.

This is a great book of sound weight lifting programs for most of us. I say most of us, because expert body builders will probably find most of this book too easy or obvious for their needs. But for most of us it represents a tremendously helpful set of programs and ideas to get us from wherever we are to being more advanced lifters.

This book has a decent amount of basic material and is worth the ten dollar price tag. A good chunk of the book is filled with mostly repetitious tables about color coded training 'zones', information which could have been compressed into a few pages. I was looking for more details about diet and fat loss which I didn't find.

Apart from that, the binding quality is poor and the pages are coming out of my book after only a couple of months of use.

This book is superb for anyone who is considering weight training for fitness. The different spectrum levels guide you through workouts geared to the level of YOUR athletic ability, from absolute beginner to seasoned athlete. The book offers clear instructions on how to perform the suggested exercises without becoming overly technical. It gives you what you need to know, and not too much more. The section on designing your own workout is worth the price of the book.

This book is great for logging your training and has great quotes in it to keep you motivated weekly.

This was okay. I wish there was a little more room for comments on each day. However, I LOVE the tips and the quotes of the day! I would recommend this product to anyone...

I HAVE BEEN USING THIS JOURNAL FOR YEARS AND HAVE GROWN ACCOSTUMED TO LOGING MY ENTRIES IN A CERTAIN MANNER. THE EDITORS HAVE SEEN FIT TO CHANGE THE ENTRY FORMAT MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO ENTER THE SAME INFORMATION IN A MANNER THAT IS MEANINGFUL TO ME. NOT A PROBLEM TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT. THIS JOURNAL IS AN INVALUABLE AID IN THE FUTURE FOR VIEWING HOW FAR YOU'VE PROGRESSED OVER THE YEARS. A MUST FOR ALL SERIOUS AND COMPETATIVE RUNNERS.

I LOVE this training log. This log is perfect for the busy runner. It has just enough room for all you need to record, but the only drawback (to me) is that there is not a section for the weather. I do, however, like the shoe history and Rave Run sections. I have owned at least 10 of these journals from Runner's World, and I have never been disappointed. The advice that is given in the journal can be found in their magazine, but for the casual runner, they aid in performance and additional information. I highly recommend this log to runners in place of a simple notebook or calendar. It includes so much information that you may forget before you have the time to record it.

I agree with other reviewers about the lack of space to write notes in this edition. The previous edition was a joy to use.