Athletics Books

This is the first book a serious athlete should read on endurance and multisport training. It provides a great foundation for everything you will need to know to develop your own effective training program. The writing team of Sleamaker and Browning work well together. Sleamaker gives you the theory and the facts, and Browning puts them into practice.

It has a lot of good ideas on how to create a training schedule. This isn't the main book I use but I do revert to some of the ideas on occasion.

I use this book in order to build my training schedule and I enjoy any minute. The book explains the different components of the periodic training method and presents a practical way to develope a yearly log for different types of endurance events (road races up to the marathon distance, triathlons and duathlons up to ironman/ powerman distances, cross-country race, cross-country skiing). I use this books for over a year now, and I find it very helpul.



The fifth star is missing because I find that the books is lacking a more comprehansive view for the periodization within the training week.

I bought this book on the recommendations of Amazon customers and I must admit that I wasn't disapointed. Sometimes you don't know what you're going to get when everyone gives a book 5 stars. Sometimes it's hard to get an unbiased review.
I was pleased with the book and what others have said is true. I recommend this book to endurance athletes looking for reasons and explanations on why to train a certain way and what it will do for your body in the long run.
However, I am a competetive rower and there were few topics that took rowing into account. Most of the training is geared towards running/cycling/triathetes and not specific to rowing as much as I was hoping. Also, there is way too little emphasis on resistance training. Most of the book is about setting up a mathmatical training plan and says to devote time sparingly to strength training. I'm not an expert on other sports, but I do know that power through strength training is vital for a strong pull on those oars. I suggest devoting more time in the SERIOUS formula to weight training in the gym than the book suggests, especially in the early training weeks.

As for the rest of the book, it's great, but it takes a *LOT* of paperwork. Fortunately my wife is handy with MS Excel and plotted all the charts for me with forulas that makes it all easy. However, without her I know that I would be daunted and discouraged at the task of making all the charts and calculations by hand. In a future updated edition (I hope that they make one) the book should come with a CDROM loaded with all the charts and formulas, or at least a web site link for downloading them. In the 21st century it's good practice to have online content and I hope to see it with this great text book.

This is a good book for people who have never done a sport at a high level, because it will show you how to do a good training and give you ideas for exercises, it is also for people who plan to do some sport for a special event (for example, training for a 1 week or more mountain hiking)

I would not really recommend this book to people who already do high level taining and who allready are in a training program, because they probably allready know most of the exercises and ideas of this book (or at least something equivalent)

Bought it to prepare for the US Sr. Nationals in taekwondo, although it applies to athletes in many disciplines. An eye opener. I was still running miles, using the stairmaster, etc. Have done this since wresting in high school in the mid 80's.

Jason clearly explains a much more effective and rational training protocol, and also covers topics like making weight, diet, and stretching. A great value, clearly written, with lots of practical and specific, detailed advice.

I purchased this book because I liked the previous writings of Jason so much. A few years ago, I read his book "Tap Out" and since then I modified my training with excelent results.

I was very excited when this "new book" arrived and was expecting to move to even more advanced traininglevels.

It turns out than the new book is the exact same text as the previous one I got a few years back.

So, for the trainingprogram itself, I still give 5 stars. However, buying a book I already have was very disappointing.

Fit to Fight by Jason Ferruggia is an excellent book with tons of great training advice for anyone thinking about fighting MMA, or just trying to get into great shape. Some of the things I enjoyed most about this book were the diet and nutrition sections as well as the various training plans and versatile exercises that can be customized to any program for beginners to expert. This book was also a very quick read which made it that much more enjoyable.

This is a good book, with some good ideas as far as different workout ideas. My review is simple and to the point. My biggest complaint is that the author offers little to back up what he says. Most of his arguments are based on the "trust me I'm a pro" concept. Which is great for picking up pointers but not so good when trying to compare this book to others. For example their is a whole chapter devoted to what supplements work and which ones are bogus. However, he never gives any real reasons as to why the supplement s that are no good are so bad. Overall I would say this is a nice book to have but there are others which are far better.

I'd take the reviews for this book with a BIG grain of salt. Jason Ferruggia is one of a cadre of online strength training "experts" (typically self-taught amateur personal trainers) who are very adept at marketing themselves and each other. The "reviews" for this book have a very suspicious sameness to them in terms of both content and tone ("Jason has outdone himself!)". I'm not endorsing or rejecting the book itself. Just warning the unwary reader think twice about purchasing it based on the reviews posted here.

This book is a very interesting one. The book describes how a young basketball star goes through his career from 8th grade to senior year in high school. The book shows Lebron's stuggles and accomplishments. It explains major deals with shoe companies. The book gives highlights from his most hyped high school games. The book shows all aspects of how Lebron made everyone believe the hype. Overall it was a good book and it is for anyone who loves reading about sports and athletes accomplishments.

Ryan Jones is a great basketball writer. In King James: The LeBron James Story he does a great job of trying to show the reader how amazingly good LeBron James is at basketball. Coach Bob Gibbons said about LeBron's performance in the Olympic trials, "I don't want to blow too much smoke and distort the kid's thinking, but I saw Kobe Bryant in tenth and eleventh grades, and I think this kid is more advanced than Kobe was." Like LeBron, Kobe Bryant was drafted out of high school and has led the Los Angeles Lakers to multiple NBA Championships.
Ryan Jones is editor-in-chief at SLAM, the monthly basketball magazine that combined the sport with hip hop culture at a time when the genre was becoming increasingly popular. The magazine carries advertising for basketball-related products, street-wear clothing and hip hop music, and it has been credited with helping to market hip hop culture and basketball as one. It is only fitting that Ryan Jones wrote his first national magazine feature on LeBron James. He thoroughly explains LeBron's involvement with SLAM magazine throughout the book. He lives in New York with his wife and son.
Although Jones seems a bit repetitive at times, his knowledge of basketball and great style shines though and creates an easy to read biography. In Chaper Four, he talks about the potential LeBron possessed in football as well as basketball: even though "there wasn't much national buzz on LeBron the football player, area football coaches knew better." Jones even compares him to the New England Patriots Pro-Bowl wideout, Randy Moss. While he mainly focuses on LeBron's basketball ability, his information about LeBron's high school football career is refreshing.
With all the hype about LeBron and his constant coverage on ESPN, this book reveals the truth about LeBron and his journey from moving in with his friend's family to his 90 million dollar sneaker deal with Nike. While the vocabulary can be a bit easy at times, the book a joy to read, especially if you are a total sports nut like myself. A stong strength of Jones is to tell the complete story of every little event in Lebron's life. His very descriptive writing explains aspects of basketball that makes this book a good pick for sports lovers and non sports lovers alike. I give this book an eight out of ten and recommend it highly.

This was quite an enjoyable read. I was fascinated by the rise and rise of this basketball prodigy due to all the hype surrounding him. There is no doubt that Lebron James is one hell of a talent after seeing many of his highlight plays on T.V, and on the net. This book details his performances in school for ST Vincent-ST Mary and other events, the frenzied interest from fans and media wanting to see him perform, sport commentators and coaches raving about him being the best thing in the sport of basketball, hummergate, speculation about his future career plans, and the fight for his feet between Adidas and Nike in which the latter won because the former could not offer huge amounts of money in the bidding war with its major rival. Great stuff.

King James: Believe the Hype, The LeBron James Story by Ryan Jones was a great book
to read it tells you about LeBron James early life and about his high school games and
when he goes into the NBA . He was born in Akron, Ohio on December 30, 1984.
He was mostly raised by his mother, LeBron went to school at St. Vincent-St. Mary
High School . He was the starting point guard . James averaged 18.2 points and 6
rebounds per game.Lebron James was also a star football player in addition to
basketball, LeBron was also First-Team All-Stateas a wide receiver for his high school
team. But, he didn't want to get hurt so he quit football and concentrated on playing
Basketball . In his junior year, he appeared on the cover of SLAM Magazine which
show everybody in the world who he was.In the NBA LeBron join the Cleveland
Cavaliers they made many changes to there lineup , adding Larry Hughes ,
Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall and many more . Now LeBrons James is Standing at
6 feet,8 inches and is 21 years old. That some information about what the book tells you
about. This was a great book and if you love basketball you should get this book.

This was a AWESOME book. It really looks into the real life of LEBRON JAMES and shows you his trip into stardom. This book is great if you like watching basketball careers grow because is probably the most popular young basketball players in the world today and this book did a really good job of showing how LEBRON is always improving his game. I have read a ton of sports autiobiographies and this one was probably the most inspiring because it took an indept look at the personal and also basketball part of LEBRON JAMES life.

I am trying to show this book to my son who is two years old. He gradually learnt to do the pose of the butterfly and the dog.

My 2 year old son loves this book. I am a yoga practitioner, so I thought it would be fun to get him this book. He loves it, and asks to "do Oga" as he calls it, and we do the poses together. He really likes it alot. It is a simple and fun book appropriate as an introduction to yoga for toddlers.

I got this book for my 2 year old boy and he loves the postures and has fun mentioning the names whilst doing them. It is a great introduction to yoga for young kids. No stories, no explanations that they don't understand, just the posture with a name of an animal and lots of color.

My daughter has had this book since she was 20 months old, and she is now almost 36 months. She still enjoys "making animals" and I anticipate she'll continue to enjoy it. One of the features of this book that I like is that there is an illustration of a child in the pose on one page and an illustration of the animal being mimicked on the facing page. There's also photos of real children doing the poses at the end. We enjoy the Sleepy Little Yoga book as well.

My daughter (14 months) really loves this book. I didn't know if she would and honestly purchased it because I practice, but she thoroughly enjoys the illustrations and the pictures of the toddlers in the poses. I am going to purchase for friends who have little ones.

Lincoln has written a very good book. He has interviewed many coaches, especially coaches at Dartmouth. For the record, John Lyons and Pat O'Leary have both been fired (the latter by the new returning coach Teevens, and later filed an age discrimination suit, which was thrown out). May be if Lyons had landed Slaughter, he may have saved his job, and Slaughter would not have ended his career as a backup secondary and kick returner at UCLA. Lincoln offers a valuable insight into elite schools and recruiting. This book should be read together with John T. Reed's 70+ page essay on his son's experiences with Ivy football recruiting (available on the internet, type in "John T. Reed Dan Reed Columbia" in google). Reed makes specific comments about the level of play in Ivy football (pretty good), and the down side to coaches pressuring players to commit during recruiting visits (Lincoln's book offers coaches' perspective).

Capsule summary:

Strengths: Clean crisp style, easy to read, good use of quotes from coaches, wide research, good forward by Fiedler. Do not be turned off by the name Nomad Press, which I had not heard of before.

Weaknesses: no index, organization could be tightened up here and there (but not too bad). Additional perspective of players would have offered a counterbalance to extensive interviews with coaches.

If you have a high school aged son or daughter who hopes to be an Ivy League athlete, this book is a must read.

My daughter, after reading Chris' book, learned what motivates the coaches and how to approach them in a straight-forward and ethical way. At the same time she was able to take control of the process and ultimately achieve her desired outcome, a scholarship offer from Stanford and a "Likely Letter" from her first choice, Dartmouth. She couldn't have done this without this resource.

I have a high school senior son who is looking to participate in college sports after graduation and I was looking for a book that would help provide some understanding of the whole Ivy recruiting process. This book provided great insight into the Ivy recruiting process from both the college coaches and administrators perspective. It provides the insight though true experiences of athletes, coaches and administrators. It also sheds light on the conflicts within the Ivy League about the process.

An excellent book for high school students and their parents interested in Ivy League and even NESCAC schools and how sports recruiting at those schools works. I learned about "likely letters", "supports" and other details that are otherwise difficult to learn, even from the coaches.

My only reservation is that with Harvard's recent decision to stop early admissions, and I assume others will follow, the book will need updating to reflect the changes in sports recruiting due to this.

A great learning tool for anyone connected with a high school athlete looking to play sports in college. Unfortunately, I read this too late to help. Just witnessed first hand a scenario whereby a "solid commitment" did not materialize at an Ivy - putting a student athlete in a very precarious spot. To the reviewer claiming that Lincoln was "creating a controversy and scandal that does not exist", I can personally tell you that Lincoln is right on the mark. I have already re-read the book and advocate that all who are ever thinking about entering the recruiting process should take detailed notes.

I have looked a while for a great conditioning program for football players and when I found this book, I was amazed by the detail, quality, and effort obvoiusly put into it by the authors which made it a great conditioning book for High School football players and beyond. The authors incorporated not only the physical ways in which to get better but mental ways as well which are both important for conditioning as well as the successful winning of football games by not only being ready on the outside but also believing and knowing you can do it on the inside. The whole conditioning program is, when performed with the best potential and effort, a challenging one that will more than likely get you the preperation you need. These authors, coaches of the University of Nebraska football team which is famous for this strenghth and conditioning program, first introduce you to factors that build on one another to make a great football player and then give a very complete program of conditioning and training including a nutrition and shopping list for best atheletes to use for great energy. The structure of the book and organization is exceptional and it literaly gives you all the information you will ever need on how to prepare for football in any aspect. It contains specific exersises for speed, flexibility, strenghth, and more, and contains workout plans, inconclusive descripiton, and even helpful football tips in the process.
I would strongly recommend this book to any football athelete looking to prepare for football through conditioning at any level because of the very helpful information you will find in this book. I guarantee this book will never sit on your shelf too long if you get it because you will be refering to it constantly. I know I made the right choice by buying this book.

This is a great book because the program's strengths are based on what you want to do for football. If you want to get big and strong to play oline/dline then it has a stellar weight program. But if you are looking to develop speed and quickness it has a series of drills for that too. You just have to concentrate on the area that suits your needs the most. Excellent description of all the drills and excersies as well.

Gives a in-depth view on football specific training and is helpful in developing a custom program for yourself. All-in-all worth the read.

From the school that really started weight traininging in college football, Coach Arthur has done a great job of setting forward the principles that we should use in designing the programs that we use to build our athletes. You need this book.

The book "Complete Conditioning for Football" is a must for any football player. Inside includes performance needs; conditiong principles; testing, evluating, and goal setting; flexibility training; lifting techniques; speed drills; agility drills; nutrition and rest; and last but not least conditioning workouts and programs.

Performance Needs:

This chapter includes a performance pyramid which if followed can lead to "making the play", or success on the football field. It includes character, conditioning, ability, practice, game, and with the top brick, performance. Also it breaks down each of the components, exa. Character- belief, resolve, discipline, courage... and gives a descriptive explanation for each of them also.

Conditioning Principles:

This chapter guides you in developing and implementing a program to allow you to peak the four athletic indicators of speed, agility, power, and endurance. It breaks down and explains the principles of specificity, overload, and periodization.

Testing, Evaluating, and Goal Setting:

This chapter outlines step-by-step procedues on how to safely test and evaluate athletes' fitness and athletic abilities so ou can develop the objectives and specifics of your conditioning program. Here it gives some tests, such as vertical jump test, pro agility run test, 10- and 40- yard dash test, 300-yard shuttle run test, and even height, weight, and waist measurement tests. It also gives you percentile ranking charts of all the positions in high school and college. With your test results you can see where you rank among those in the 10-yard and 40-yard dashes, pro agility run, and the vertical jump. Percentile ranks are from 5-100.

Flexibility Training:

This chapter gives you the proper warm-up routine (high knees, heel ups, ect.), stretching routine (partner stretches), and mobility drills that should be done during the conditioning workouts (warm-ups and stretching before, mobility drills after the workout).

Lifting Techniques:

Provides valuable information on proper technique of all the lifts, to warming-up, spotters, breathing, and so on and so forth. Strength training exercises include: explosive, complementary, base strenght, and specialty. Not many weight rooms that I know of have the complementary, or "ground based jammer", so in the workouts in the back of the book give replacements for these lifts if the jammer is not available.

Speed Drills:

Included are 29 drills for speed (2), acceleration (9), plyometrics (9), and resisted speed (9). Also gives the proper sprint technique especially used for testing the 40.

Agility Drills:

Included are 58 drills for improving your agility. The drills include ropes (8), bags (15), backpedal drills (11), cones (12), line drills (6), and jump rope drills (6).

Nutrition and Rest:

Basically describes all the foods you should eat to make it short. This is a chapter you should allow as many people as possible to read, since without nutrition, athletic performance is low. Also gives a grocery shopping list with all the foods listed under the vitamins and minerals it has in them (example: almonds, corn oil, ect. are listed under vitamin e) and a section of drinking fluids and getting plenty of sleep.

Conditioning Workouts and Programs:

Guides you to building a successful conditioning program. Lists all the speed/agility drills and notes which drills are appropriate for which positions. Included are sample programs in development and peak phases for the positions. Also included in this chapter is the lifting programs for the beginner (base, development, in-season), intermediate (base, development, peak, in-season), and advanced (base, development, peak, in-season). This is an absolutely outstanding weight program in my opinion, with lifting days on monday, tuesday, thursday, and friday.

All in all, this is the complete book for any football player looking to get in great shape for the next season. It is mainly a year-round program by giving types of workouts (base, ect.) for each month of the year in which to apply the right workout to. I also recommend the book "52-Week Football Training" to combine the exercises in the books if you want a more varied program. I suggest taking the time to looking into "Jumping Into Plyometrics" for a plyometric program to add into your schedule and "Play Football the NFL Way" for techniques and tips to help you excell in the game of football.

To many fans of college basketball, the ACC can be defined most seasons by what happens within the confines of the state of North Carolina. With four teams growing up within 50 miles of each other, and each one featuring a host of truly unique and competitive individuals as their coaches, the North Carolina teams have continually dominated the scene in college basketball for the past 50 years.

The book follows the story of Duke, North Carolina, NC State, and Wake Forest from their days in the Southern Conference to the formation of the ACC, right up until today. Each era is defined by the men who coached and played for each of these teams throughout the years. The book provides an excellent history lesson on what has become the center of power in the most competitive conference in college basketball.

I have been a fan of ACC basketball for the last ten years and this book helped me to learn the history of the most storied teams within the league. If you are a fan of NCAA basketball, this is an excellent book and should be highly recommended.

Four Corners is a thorough history of basketball in North Carolina--a very interesting subject for basketball fans everywhere (it is home to more dominant programs than any other state in the country)--but unfortunately Menzer's book is like the four corners defense in that it really slows things down. He is not a particularly good writer and his anecdotes often fall flat because he does a poor job of explaining the story. Another problem is that he relies on very few sources, so his book is terribly biased and its stories are limited. For instance, Menzer relies on Billy Packer to essentially tell Wake Forest's story. While Packer is amusing, he is arrogant and is only one person so Wake's history is not three dimensional at all and really doesn't seem particularly interesting. Despite these flaws, which would prevent me from recommending this book to anyone who doesn't love college basketball and particularly the Carolina schools, this book is a good companion for a fan and will give them some interesting historical context that will allow them to appreciate their team that much more. Also, it will provide some nice trivia for those who like to bring up obscure facts during arguments about who is the best player, team, coach, etc. in the history of these programs.

Borrowed this from the library and brought it back late because I read it twice. I am planning to get it again and read it again. I have grown up with ACC basketball, but I never had the whole historical context laid out for me. This book does that. It is well written (thank you, but I understand "Duke continued their run" just fine) informative, chatty, and obviously written by someone who loves, lives, and breathes his subject matter.

Four Corners by Joe Menzer is an outstanding review of the modern era of college basketball in North Carolina. It is a must-read for the Carolina hoops fan and a good selection for any college basketball aficionado.

The wit and insight of Four Corners puts Menzer on a path trod by the likes of Frank DeFord and other greats of sports journalism. His style is well-structured and clean, without dips into slang and minutia that too often mar sports writing.

Four Corners is definitely Five Stars. Joe Menzer wins this year's "Sixth Man Award" for North Carolina college basketball.

I have started my summer reading and so thoroughly enjoyed Menzer's Four Corners. I played womens's basketball and have always enjoyed the game. I never really understood the ACC rivalry. Thanks to Menzer's book, I do now. I so enjoyed this. A must read!

This is one of the best sports books I have ever read. The author does an excellent job of presenting alternating points of view without bias. I really felt like I was there, on campus with the players and students and fans, captivated by everything going on in 1969. The book is entertaining throughout and even inspirational at times. It would make a great gift for a teenager or high school athlete with college in their near future.

I was seven years old when Texas and Arkansas met in their 1969 battle. While I remember little of the game, my father was a big college football fan and I do recall sitting down with him to watch it and seeing shots of President Nixon arriving at the game. As a typical seven year old, the game was all I cared about and I had virtually no appreciation for what our country was going through. The author does a great job of describing the social setting including war protests, the draft lottery and racial unrest (as reflected by a controversy surrounding the playing of "Dixie" by the University of Arkansas band). Horns, Hogs and Nixon Coming is a great recipe mixing one part football and one part history to create a gourmet masterpiece. If you have any interest in football or American History you will enjoy this book. If you like both subjects, it surely will be one of the best you have ever read.

Frei has an amazing way with words. He has been able to paint a picture that with such clarity that I could almost smell the Fall air... This book falls into the category of books that makes you lose sleep as it becomes impossible to put down ("... I'll just read one more chapter... and THEN I'll turn off the light...")

Any football fan or anyone who is a student of the 60's will appreciate "Horns, Hogs and Nixon Coming." If you're both, you'll be twice-blessed!

Mr. Frei, thank you for an exciting and well-painted story! Please continue to supply us with historically accurate sports-related stories.

P.S. I felt compelled to provide a review about this book after reading the one and only "yawn" review written about this book. I'm certain this review was provided by someone whom thinks he/she is an avid Denver sportsfan and didn't appreciate one of Frei's columns or something. I'm doubtful that "reviewer" ever opened the front cover to the book...

I was a grade schooler in Colorado when this game was played but I still remembered it when I saw the book. I grabbed a copy, and much to my wife's dismay, I couldn't put it down. Finished it off in a couple of days and have loaned it to several friends, each of whom has thoroughly enjoyed it! While I remember the game and the subsequent tragedy involving Freddie Steinmark, this book provided interesting background and history on the coaches, the teams, and the game as well as great insight into the changing socials conditions of the late 60s and the seeds of integration into Southwest Conference football. For those of you who are true college football fans, this is a MUST READ. But for those of you who aren't football fans, the surrounding social events will be of interest to you as well. I've heard the author has another book coming out shortly on the Wisconsin football team and the members of that team who ended up serving their country in World War II. I will be watching for its release and recommend that after finishing "Horns, Hogs and Nixon Coming," you look for his new one. Mr Frei is a talented author!

Having spent 4 years as a manager for the Longhorns, I search out books on UT sports. Imagine my surprise in finding one with my picture (in the team photo) on the back of the dust jacket! Seriously, a well-researched, well-written book. How do I know? For starters, I was there at some of those conversations, both as an observer & participant. Many of the incidents Frei describes brought back many memories. I knew the Texas players & coaches very, very well. Some of them I still see on occasion.

I particularly enjoyed Frei's delving into more than just the game itself. For those of us in college during the late 60's, it was a tumultuous time. Sports often was a "safety-valve release" for the on-campus tensions that raged around us. Gathering in stadiums across the country was one way of forgetting about the social unrest threatening to tear our country apart. Frei made all of those memories come alive.

I commend Terry Frei for his book. Sure, he could have gone for pumped-up sales by getting into the "dirt" (& every sport has it!), but instead he chose to do a more serious work. I congratulate him for that. The book both gets across the intensity of the game - & of the rivalry between UA & UT - & its connection with the times. I heartily recommend "HHNC" to all sports fans. It will be enjoyed by all who love college athletics, especially football.

".....Science and Practice of Strength Training is an OUTSTANDING REFERENCE AND TEXT that not only presents the scientific principles behind strength training, but also provides practical recommendations for optimizing muscular strength and development....."
[from the book of the back cover]

I am very satisfied with this book.It's very interesting scientific strength book who attempts to join scientific strength approach with one side and practice on the other side.Book is very influenced from work dr.Zatsiorsky with weightlifters and throwers in former Soviet Union but I am also interested in non linear periodization from dr.Kraemer.
Many thanks to autors

As the name implies, this book is a scientific analysis of the practice of strength training. Rather than the typical myths advocated by publications such as Men's Health and other popular sources for training information, this book provides the scientific foundations for strength training. It helps cut through the many myths surrounding strength training and provides in depth scientific analysis by one of the world's leading biomechanists, kinesiologists, and strength training experts. Zatsiorsky has influenced the weightlifting, powerlifting, strong man, and sports training worlds as well as academia. He describes theories as well as methods. This book belongs on the shelf of any serious student, professor, coach, or athlete. I, myself, am a tennis player and have benefitted greatly from this book. Clearly one for the ages, this book is excellent. Worth at least 100$.

I read this book upon the recommendation of Louie Simmons from one of his
[...] articles. I can safely say that this is one of the best books out there. It contains legitimate research and case studies of ELITE world class athletes. You won't find a perfect program here, because no such thing exists... Rather, you will find principles that you can employ to your training and research results based on other world class athletes (most notably Olympic weightlifters).

Best part of all, the text isn't infested with bodybuilding magazine type advice that distorts many trainees philosophy. The bottom line is that 3 sets of 8-12, pre-exhaustion and pyramid sets among other techniques are flawed and ineffective for elite strength athletes and Olympic athletes.

A great book on strength training for beginners and veterans alike. You don't need to be an exercise physiologist to understand it and yet the information is complete and extremely helpful for athletes and coaches at all levels

This book should be required reading in all high school classes. It is
a testament to the courage of the writer and his team of athletes.
Their acceptance of a coach who had the courage to come out to his team and the community is inspiring and these young athletes show they are far more mature and understanding than the school administration.


This is an well written, absorbing story which I found hard to put down.
I have purchased about 10 copies to give to young people that I know.

I am no fan of athletics or stories about same, but I found Eric Anderson's book an engaging memoir. He keeps the whining down to a minimum and provides instead a truly inspirational piece about an individual who would just not give up on attaining his goals, no matter what obstacles were strewn in his way. Sometimes I found myself skeptical at how easily and immediately accepting his friends, family, colleagues and students were of his homosexuality, but I am inclined to give Anderson the benefit of the doubt. He strikes me as an honest man. His life could certainly serve as some sort of model for young folks of all and any persuasions or predilections: perseverence is the key to success; hard work is unavoidable.

I would liked more about Eric's personal life, but perhaps that would have thrown the book out of focus, because TRAILBLAZING is as much about the talented young runners as it is their hard-headed, hard-working young coach. And if we are lucky, Anderson might even be penning a sequel that gives us further details about his life and loves. Let's hope.

I am usually loathe to read biographies of individuals under the age of 40. As Benvenuto Cellini once wrote:

"All men. . . who have done anything of excellence, or which may properly resemble excellence, ought, if they are persons of truth and honesty, to describe their life with their own hand; but they ought not to attempt so fine an enterprise till they have passed the age of forty."

Coach Eric "Gumby" Anderson, however, is an exception to this admonition against youthful indulgence. While he glosses over the more personal aspects of his life, like coming out to a gay-friendly mother, his professional struggle to coach track at the high school level is more than worthy of book-length treatment.

Coach Gumby lives in less than an accommodating part of California (Orange County), though it is still probably more "socially progressive" than most other areas of the nation. He demonstrates that a steadfast commitment to pursue one's life calling -- the unyielding exercise of individual volition -- can overcome those orthodox cultural hurdles rooted in misinformation, fear, and the anti-social desire to exert power over other persons.

All persons - gay or straight - who yearn for a civic community where individuals are judged according to their unique merits and talents, as opposed to their "identity," shall find a superlative instructor in Coach Gumby. There is still much work to be done, and his story shows that genuine progress comes from courageous acts of individual initiative and persistence.

The human quest for freedom against the incursion of others' belligerence pertains to all, regardless of sexual orientation. I know that I am a much richer person for having read "Trailblazing," and I strongly encourage all parties to learn from, and empathize with, Coach Gumby's successes and failures (many of which were the product of others' shortcomings).

Eric Anderson's book gives us a powerful and up-close look at sports in society and the importance of teamwork. Combining a rigorous account of the fast-paced high school distance races he coached to victory with a compelling and shocking journey, Anderson clearly illustrates homophobia is still very much present in our culture and that sport, when abused, reinforces and perpetuates discrimination and male dominance. His powerful journey urges us to form new perspectives on sport, the system that creates and manages it, and the ludicrous racist, sexist and homophobic beliefs which plague our society today. This book is truly a gem--a must read for every high school and college student and for anyone interested in sports, sociology or humanity.

I currently have a class with Gumby (Soc of Sport @ UCI), and reading this book was one of the requirements. However, it wasn't just another class textbook--in addition to being educational, it was extremely inspiring. I have not been exposed to many gays or lesbians (maybe a few lesbians and bisexuals here and there, but I was never close to them), in fact, I have been exposed to more conservative, anti-homosexual, and heterosexist views for most of my life, so many of the things Gumby brought up in his book were new to me. For instance, I never really thought about how hard it must be not just for a person to come "out of the closet" but how it would affect his close ones. Though I'm not close to Gumby, I learned a little more about how and why he thinks certain ways, mainly due to his treatment and experiences before and after "coming out". In addition to learning about issues on homosexuality, heterosexism, and how hegemonic masculinity can be, I learned more about how these issues are dealt with in the school administrative and sports arena through Gumby's experience. If you are interested in these sociological issues, or just want inspirational/motivational support in coming out as a homosexual, then READ THIS BOOK! It has definitely changed my view on homosexuality forever.