Coaching Books

I loved this book! The examples are great and really show that you can express and exude the personal brand you desire if you know how you are perceived by others (gathered in the extract phase). I really enjoyed the chapter on on-line identity and felt that the information provided on how to improve your on-line visibility was right on target. The ideas are easy to implement. With so many hiring managers and recruiters now googling potential employees, it is a chapter full of information that will assist you in establishing your on-line identity for career distinction. Wonderful book that I recommend to all my clients!

As this is written, personal branding is a hot topic. The authors make the argument that job searching and recruitment will be radically different in only a few years. The authors have been involved in career management for years and speak with demonstrable authority. The book pulls somewhat random information together and provides a comprehensive manual on developing an approach that is easy to follow.

The book is easy to read and the information flows well and those attributes alone justify its purchase. I have one criticism to offer: there are too many references to the services sold by the author. This, of course, is not unusual nor fatal. It does distract, to some degree, from the authors' otherwise fine presentation.

Overall, a worthwhile investment, especially if the authors are correct in their belief that most all recruiting will be based on personal branding in the not-to-distant future.

This book opened my eyes to the reality of having an online brand. I was surprised I needed one and even more amazed that I already had one. The author's take you on a journey of the what, why, and how of online branding. The advice is to the point and easy to implement.

I agree with the author's premise that everyone needs to actively manage "their" online brand.

Buy the book.

Personal branding is very important in today's web 2.0 world. In a world where anyone can google you and people change jobs multiple times in a decade, your reputation and brand are essential to your career. If you've never thought about personal branding or you've wondered how to go about it, then you should read Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand. It offers some concrete advise and metrics for setting up your personal brand and measuring how well you are doing. For example, they recommend you google your name and check the number of accurate results you have. They make recommendations like you should have 5,000-50,000 if you are "a vice president, acknowledged thought leader, highly regarded consultant or subject-matter expert." (I did well on that one, a search for "Stormy Peters" returns 161,000 results where 98 of the first 100 are me.) Their suggestions ranged from creating home pages to public speaking to what type of clothes to wear.

All that said, if you are already an expert in career branding, you might be disappointed. The book is only 192 pages and it's full of white space and quotes. (24 of the pages are either blank or title pages.) And in a lot of places where more detail would have been helpful, they refer you to a workbook that's not included with the book.

In summary, Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand is a great introduction and overview of personal career branding but should be combined with the workbook or they should come out with a Career Distinctions 201.

The book "Career Distinction" outlines the new path of career management in the 21st century. It highlights specific tools that one may use to increase their visibility in both the concrete and virtual work place. The book provides thorough insiight to branding your own image and increasing your virtual credibility.

If you're like me, you find it hard to find good fiction and fantasy lately. It seems all the good ideas are used up! But Micheal Warden has created a world in which the very sound of Words and language can create or destroy. This is more than just another fairyland of wizards spouting magic words (though Micheal owes an obvious debt to Tolkien). There are deeper themes in this writing. Deeper ideas than I have found in modern authors lately. An enjoyable story, with villains and explosions and beauty and love and all of the things that quicken your pulse, but also plenty for your mind as well. If you like your entertainment to stay with you even after it is over, this is a book for you. You will find yourself thinking about this story over-and-over. I did, for five years! Any now, FINALLY, the second installment "Waymaker" is available. Trust me, you'll get hooked and have to have both!

This is a great book. Unfortunately, it is the first book in a trilogy and the second and third books were put on hold. For fans of the book, the good news is the second book in the trilogy is now available. Visit http://thepearlsongrefounding.com/purchase for more information. Hopefully Amazon.com will sell the book soon, as well.

I've never been too into fantasy. However, this book caught my attention. I gave it a shot and was glad! If you liked Ted Dekker's Black, White and Red, then you will probably like this as well. I love Ted, but think Mr. Warden has taken a similar theme and created something far better!

Warning: You may find it hard to get other things done while reading this book. I know I did! Like another reviewer stated, I "burned the midnight oil" reading this one.
It was a great adventure. (I can hardly wait for the sequel!)

I bought this book in a Christian bookstore and was curious. I noticed the author is a minister and I liked what I read on the back of the book. As I read Gideon Dawning, I saw the parallel between Christianity and this story. I liked how Michael Warden used mythology to make a point; for instance, the importance of how we use words. That was so awesome.

I was first introduced to fantasy fiction by a friend about a year and a half ago - that book was Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson, also excellent and hard to set down.

This is my first review, so please forgive me if it's not the best. I enjoyed the book so much I just wanted to let others know. It is definitely worth reading. My daughter, a junior in high school, is reading it now and I just hope it doesn't interfere with her school work - because it IS hard to set aside.

=Spoiler Warning!=
What a great story! A Geology teacher gets swallowed in an earthquake and winds up in a world at war, you guessed it, he is "the one", the only being capable of stopping the war. Of course he is a reluctant hero, and wants nothing but to leave and keep his dark secrets hidden.
==He wsa sxelaluy aesbud by hsi fehatr as a clhid==

Interesting twist on magic, using instead "The Words" which are basically incantations or spells. He could have just called it magic, but whatever... Perhaps it can serve as a lesson to show people that what they say can either be damaging or healing.

Some have cursed this book as [...] on the Thomas Covenant series, but I never read them, so I can only review this by what I know. ;)

However, being an Isaac Asimov fan, I HAVE to wonder if Warden stole some names from I Robot. See, IR has these two famous characters called Donovan and Powell, not very common names. Well quite quickly, GD introduces guys by the same names. Coincidence? How many OTHER books have two characters named DOnovan and Powell??? Hmmmm...

Can't complain, pretty good fantasy book. Unique, with interesting, though somewhat 2D characters. Use of Words gives the battle scenes great originality. Give it a try.

but I loved reading this book. So much info in there about the history of the game and the Boston Celtics. We'll miss ya Red!

great book awesome stories. i actual went by the restaurant wherte they eat. The game lost an amazing lifer.

Of all the Sports that Feinstein covers I think he covers Basketball Best.
This is a superb tale of the Legendary Boston Celtic's LEADER. I was told that Red grew up in the DC area going to a Segregated Roosevelt High School. I wondered how someone coming from a Segregated Environment could draft one of the first 3 African Americans in the Now NBA. Also how he could select the first African American Coach. Well he grew up in Brooklyn in a multi-cultural Neighborhood. Fascinating stories about the Carnegie Deli area. He went to college in DC (GW) (Which I knew), and then later taught at Roosevelt (Which may have been where the confusion started.) I think it helped that I have been in the Chinatown Restaurants that are the setting for a lot of the stories, This an absolutely Great Read, and one of Feinstein's best.

I have never been a fan of the Celtics, but a big basketball fan none the less. Having said that, this book was perfect for me. It is a in-depth, personal look into the life of the greatest coach in basketball history, as told not only by the man himself, but the great writer John Feinstein. This book gives great insight not only the the makings of the Celtic dynasty, but into the beginnings of the games, and how Red has shaped the game into what it is today. Must read for all basketball fans.

I'm not the greatest John Feinstein fan. Sometimes he's really good, but sometimes he just seems like he's trying to be elitist. But when I heard about this book, I put it on my list to buy. Two years later I finally got around to it. My loss.

Red Auerbach was the institutional memory of the NBA as well as the guy who created the Celtic dynasty. He was a master storyteller and collector of people. This book is the story of lunch with Red every Tuesday, 11am @ the China Doll restaurant. Just as importantly it is the story of the people Red collected and his influence on their lives.

No one will claim this book is objective-it's not supposed to be. I'm sure Red had flaws, but I really don't care. For older boomers he and John Wooden define greatness in basketball. I'm just glad to have the stories.

This book follows ACC basketball for a season. Very fun, like potato chips, hard to stop.

If you love ACC basketball and cannot get enough behind the scenes information about the coaches then you'll love this book.

Feinstein is amazing in that he has the clout to get into the locker rooms of each of the teams in this conference. Further still, the coaches and players never hold back on their thoughts. So you get one fantastic book, made up of hundreds of interesting basketball stories.

John Feinstein is a great writer, and this book is a look at one season in the ACC. He follows the teams around the conference for a season, giving us the background of the players and coaches and showing us the high and low points of the season.

For those of us who didn't go to one of these schools, it's a great way to learn about the basketball traditions of the conference, the history of the rivalries, the conference tournament, the arenas, the fans, etc.

Even if you're not an ACC fan, if you like college basketball you should enjoy this book.

'A March to Madness' follows the Atlantic Coast Conference through the 1996-97 season with Feinstein's signature behind the scenes access. For a fascinating contrast, read this book and then read Feinstein's also excellent 'The Last Amateurs' about the Partiot League. The Patriot League has more true student-athletes, healthier competition, and a lot less money.

'A March to Madness' portrays the high stakes, high pressure, big money atmosphere behind big-time college sports. The ACC is great college basketball conference, but this book tears away most of the romantic myths. The reader is, however, treated to behind the scenes looks at coaches like Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, and Gary Williams, as well as big name players like Vince Carter and Tim Duncan. It's especially interesting to read about Williams' agonies of doubt - this book was written 6 years before the Terps won the NCAA title.

Very highly recommended for readers who enjoy college basketball or John Feinstein.

I'm not a college hoops fan, but having come from the University of Connecticut (back when winning the NIT was a big deal for us), I figured I should try to read something about the sport that has come to define my alma mater.

I chose well. No, UConn is not a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the subject of this season-long profile by John Feinstein. But Feinstein gives a solid appreciation for what college basketball is all about through the experiences of the coaches, players, refs, execs, and fans active in the ACC, which Feinstein claims is perhaps the most competitive b-ball conference in Division 1, year in and out. "Let down just the slightest bit and you become instant roadkill," he writes.

Feinstein gives you a sense of the different coaching styles at play here, from Dean Smith's traditional approach at North Carolina to Rick Barnes' cut-up quirkiness at Clemson to Dave Odom's huggy-bear avuncularity at Wake Forest. He relates tales about the history and folklore of the conference that make one feel like an instant Dick Vitale just from reading them, even if the terms "traveling" and "charging" make you flash on American Express. Most importantly, he writes a book that really opens up the world of college basketball to the more casual fan, or even curious non-fan.

That's what I liked the book. I read it, relished it, and enjoyed it with practically no knowledge of the sport going in. The way Feinstein writes about how different refs call different fouls, for example, was both illuminating and entertaining reading.

Feinstein also writes candidly about contracts, recruiting, marriages (failed and successful), burnout, death, and all the other factors that affect college coaches. Players are less the focus, and I get the feeling that Feinstein speaks from personal experience late in the book when he speculates about how an inability to relate to his young players may have moved Dean Smith to retire at 66. The absence of a players' perspective is unfortunate, but it kind of follows with the focus of the book being on the nine coaches, seven of whom gave Feinstein total access.

Feinstein obviously worked hard, and at times his narrative seems to be everywhere at once. Really great work on game descriptions, too, the way he uses them judiciously to punch up the storyline without letting them overtake the rest of the book.

Finally, this is a must-read for fans of Duke and their coach, Mike Krzyzewski. Krzyzewski comes off the best in this book, and while some charge Duke grad Feinstein with bias, the truth is Krzyzewski has the most to offer, both as a man and as a coach. The story of his "drawing the line" before a big game with North Carolina is worth the price of the book by itself. Between him and Dean Smith, I'm surprised Feinstein had time at all for poor Pat Kennedy of Florida State, but he works hard at balance.

What most comes across in this book is the amazing drive of the people involved. "If you're good enough to reach a goal, then there's still someplace else to go," says Maryland coach Gary Williams. "You don't just stop. You keep trying to be better."

There are minor holes in "A March To Madness," but what makes it great is the fact its author shares Williams' passion for excellence. There's no let up.

Get this book! This is my bible when it comes to nutrition. I have a few other books that I use to compliment this one, but this is my main resource.

His carb load works wonders (endurance althlete, no need to follow his body builder carb load). Since following a lot of his ideas in this book I've become a much more competitive athlete.

simply the best nutrition book available! humerously written, even a complete novice would enjoy and understand.

This is the most sane book on nutrition. There are no fad diets, and no crazy anecdotal recommendations, just scientifically based advice to enhance your athletic performance. If some supplement has marginal or unclear scientific evidence he points it out. If there are any concerns with a supplement he lists them. The correct level of supplementation is also defined according to scientific test results. Colgan is very forthright and his integrity comes through. I recommend and loan this book to all my athletic friends and they always have to buy a copy. In Optimum Sports Nutrition Colgan helps athletes seperate the truth from the anecdotal hype. I've read several of his other books and found them to be most helpful for anyone concerned with health and nutrition.

For those of you who are looking to push your health and sports performance to the extreme, this book stands alone as the best in its field.

Dr. Michael Colgan is probably the most well-respected writer and researcher in sports nutrition today, and this book has become the "bible" of the sports nutrition industry. Some of today's most elite athletes, bodybuilders and celebrities have used this book's advice to help them achieve incredible gains in performance and physical appearance.

You don't have to be an elite athlete or celebrity to benefit from this book though. It contains a wealth of information on nutrition, diet and how they affect your health. It covers practically every vitamin, mineral, amino acid, fad health food and sports supplement you can think of, and explains the benefit (or lack thereof) of each.

While many clinical terms are used in the book, his advice is still understandable for the average person. A true classic of its time.

I bought this book in the early 90's, soon after it was first published. I was a regular reader of Colgan's monthly column in Muscular Development magazine at the time, so I bought the book.

The good points of Colgan's book are his descriptions of what is wrong with much of our food supply- the adding of hormones and antibiotics to our meat supply, the chemicals abundant in our water supply-and his suggestions for dealing with the problems, e.g. water filters, range-fed beef and chicken etc.

His explanation of why a post-workout drink is so important is excellent.

However his nutritional prescriptions are a victim of the 'low-fat, high-carbohydrate' diet myth that was so fashionable in the 80's and early 90's, but is increasingly being challenged by both research and the enormous number of people who are discovering the benefits of lower carb eating.

Colgan spends much time debunking 'establishment myths' - but ironically buys into their biggest myth of all - that the key to health and fitness is a high-carbohydrate, low-fat, grain-based diet. He recommends a food pyramid that, just like the government's, places grains and legumes at the base and states they should be the foundation of any healthy diet. He is either unaware, or evades the fact, that grains and legumes were not even a part of the human diet in any meaningful quantity in man's diet until about 10,000 years ago. The robust hunter-gatherers got on fine for two million years without them. Grains and legumes contain allergenic proteins,and anti-nutrients like phytates which bind to minerals and prevent their absorption.

There are several studies showing low-carb, high fat diets to improve endurance, in many cases more effectively than high carb diets (you won't read about these in Colgan's book though, so you may want to log onto Medscape and do a search).

I followed the bland diet Colgan recommends in his book for several years, and eventually got sick of the continual fluctuations in energy, the bloating, and the other insulin-induced effects of his 'healthy' high carb diet.

I now follow a higher fat, lower carb diet, employing the principle of carb-cycling, and my endurance has never been better, not to mention my overall energy and mental focus.

Colgan also recommends several supplements in the book which have not lived up to their hype. OKG is a good example -a very expensive supplement that came and went pretty quickly.

There are far better, and more current resources available for those who would like to learn about athletic eating and training. 'Natural Hormonal Enhancement' by Rob Faigin is a great book,(if you are trying to build muscle or recover from intense training ignore the author's comments about post workout carb intake). I particularly like paleolithic nutrition, with slight adjustments it is great for athletes, see 'Neanderthin' by Ray Audette. Atkins is definitely worth a read for his analysis of high carb diets and insulin disorder, but I don't consider some of his food choices ( his much-maligned pork rinds for example!) to be optimal. For training, books by Poliquin, Bompa, Siff and Verkoshansky, and Zatsiorsky are highly recommended. Pavel Tsatsouline's books contain some useful tidbits, though they are a little thin for the price. Young bodybuilders with good recovery ability might want to check out 'Big Beyond Belief' by Leo Costa, this book has helped a lot of people put on a lot of muscle. Also the online strength mags Testosterone and Intensity are a great source of training info.

Thanks Jennifer for your honest account of your personal story. As a mom with three kids and a family chock full of former elite athletes, I struggle daily with the notion of how much pressure and competitiveness we subject children to. The culture of "positive pushing" is pervasive and your story shows how things can go sideways with even the best of intentions.

At the age of nineteen, Jennifer Sey was the number one gymnast in the United States. She had 3% body fat, had never had her period, and trained for eight hours a day. Her family had relocated to bring her closer to the best trainers, her coaches were relentless, and just one year before she had broken her leg. This is an amazing and powerful memoir about the desire to be the best, the sacrifices that go into it, but also the abuses and dangers of giving up everything in the pursuit of a young girl's sport.

Jennifer Sey is telling her story. She is not preaching nor is she telling you to remove your child from the sport of gymnastics. Although a painful side of gymnastics, which so many of us are scared to acknowledge, it is a reality in the elite world of gymnastics. Twenty two years after winning the national title, a crown that all elite gymnasts dream of, Sey still struggles with a love/hate gymnastics relationship. Before judging Sey, stating that your gymnast is perfectly happy in the gym and that this book is false, it's important to note that this book documents ELITE gymnastics, a very different world than that of your level six gymnast.

As a former gymnast, coach, and avid fan, I can confidently tell you that the experiences that Jennifer Sey discusses continue today. I believe that education has positively influenced a majority of US coaches, however, it is important to recognize that a number of the unethical training methods used in the 80's have not been eliminated. Parkettes Gymnastics, owned by Donna and Bill Strauss continue to run their elite program, mirroring a concentration camp (with the exception of the gas chambers). The experiences of Jennifer Sey are not isolated, as thousands of gymnasts over the past 20 years share similar stories. I feel confident in guessing that a majority of those gymnasts come from Allentown, PA. And don't be so naive to imagine that sex scandals between gymnast and coach were only a trend of the 80's.

A must read for die hard gymnastics fans. The casual fan must read with the understanding that Sey is not suggesting that her experiences takes place in all gyms, at all levels, to all gymnasts. Allow Sey to share her story with you.

A memoir from a gymnast's point of view is long overdue in the oftentimes tedious litany of cautionary tales about high-level gymnastics. Written by an athlete, not a journalist, Jennifer Sey's Chalked Up finally fills this void. She painstakingly renders her unlikely rise to gymnastics superstardom and subsequent fall into depression and obscurity. Her story is brave, honest, and raw at times. Readers who are former gymnasts likely will have a strong emotional reaction (one way or the other) to this work; her straightforward prose becomes an open doorway to experiences, sounds, smells, and pains long forgotten. As a second unique and long overdue contribution, Sey offers us a gymnast's perspective, not during her career or immediately following, but twenty years later, as she still struggles to figure out how her former life as a gymnast meshes with her current identity as a professional woman, wife, and mother of two children.

As a former elite gymnast who is now a sociologist, I am intrigued by the fervent debates this book has sparked in the gymnastics community. It is unclear how much of Sey's overall discontent with her memories of elite gymnastics can be generalized to other contexts- to other individuals' experiences, to elite gymnastics today (a lot has changed since the 1980s, as Sey herself points out), and to other varieties of elite sport or child accomplishment. What is clear is that, whether or not you agree with her rendition of what happened, Sey is definitely not over it. Her work raises important questions about the longer term effects of elite sport on self and identity, and about how the costs (and benefits) of an intensely athletic childhood play out over the life course.

I feel sorry for the girl who went through many of the things described in this book. I have no pity for the grown woman who seems intent upon skewering every person in her past who did not give her what she thinks she was owed.

I think there are objective problems with the sport of gymnastics. The point is well taken that little girls should not be submitted to a scoring system that is based upon deductions and counting "imperfections." Clearly, grown men whose careers involve close contact with little girls in leotards ought to be screened carefully.

However, Jennifer Sey is relentlessly petty and seemingly out to get each person who, in her opinion, never valued her at her true worth. The overall impression is that the author is not as intelligent and penetrating about people and their motivations as she thinks she is. She takes great pains to point out the (supposed) hypocrisy and cowardice of others, with some feeble attempts here and there to point out her own shortcomings, as if that will make her viewpoint fair.

For example, she serves her father up on a silver platter on numerous occassions, detailing his failings for the whole world to read. It comes across as incredibly smug, as if she's telling him, "You weren't as perfect as you thought you were." Or, perhaps even, present tense, "You aren't as perfect as you think you are." She is also brutal in her depiction of her mother. These things would not be surprising if she maintained that they were monsters and horrible parents. But that is not the case. She mentions the many generous and loving things they did for her. Sadly, she seems to point out their virtues only in order to paint them as hyprocrites, instead of in order to show them as complex human beings, with good and bad points taken together.

She also implies that Angie, her fiercest competitor at one gym, was too cowardly to come back and compete after an injury, because she was afraid Jennifer would beat her. It's as if Angie owed it to Jennifer to let Jennifer beat her. Nevermind that at the time, Angie was not at her prime. As I see it, when both were at their prime, Angie beat Jennifer, fair enough, case closed. For a grown woman to go back and spell out ever implication for *why* Angie didn't return to compete--and, in Jennifer's view, why she didn't come back specifically to compete against Jennifer--is silly and vain. This little girl, Angie, probably had a host of reasons not to participate in a specific competition, and they likely did not revolve around *Jennifer.*

Jennifer is particularly spiteful about former U.S. Champion Kristie Phillips, the 1987 winner. Jennifer notes that Kristie attempted a "comeback" ten years after she left the sport, in 1999. Jennifer gloatingly points out that Kristie only managed to place 23rd in the all-around, and she calls Kristie's attempt a "pitiable circumstance." I think most of us would agree that a gymnast who managed to place 23rd, after 10 years out of the sport, is someone to be admired. Whether or not Kristie returned because she couldn't let go of the past(as Jennifer scornfully maintains), Kristie nonetheless accomplished something very difficult and praiseworthy. It's as if Kristie could only win Jennifer's respect by placing *1st* which is precisely the attitude Jennifer claims does so much damage to gymnasts, i.e., if you aren't 1st, you are nothing.

Also, Jennifer (the author) seems to hoard each and every slight she ever received, recounting them all for us to read, seemingly so that we will "understand" how she came to be who she is.

In the foreward, the author pretty much says she was a neurotic child, and if gymnastics hadn't found her, she would have obsessed about being "the best" at something else. What's clear by the end of the book is that she has lived a linear life, no less entitled and petulant and neurotic now than as a little girl.

It could have been a fascinating book. It could have been a, "this is the little girl I was, these were the circumstances that shaped me, this is how I see things now." Instead, it is a glimpse into the mind of someone who never sees herself, or the people in her life, as good enough. They never, herself included, give her what she needs and wants.

By Jennifer's own account, she was never the most atheletic, charming, talented, or spectacular gymnast. She had to work hard and bulldoze her way through to the top. Given that, the fact that she won the U.S. Nationals is amazing. Her achievements are remarkable and a tribute to her gymnastics. She accomplished a lot, considering her raw talent for the sport was not terribly high. A well-rounded, grown woman with perspective would look back at that and say, "Wow. I really did great." Or, if all the suffering she describes is true, "Wow. I had a tragic life, yet look what I accomplished despite all that suffering." But this woman has not. She is consumed with what could have been, with what, in some alternate universe, should have been. And it comes across as a bitter life.

Every consultant, entrepreneur and company should know and practice all the elements of becoming an "obvious expert" that are detailed in this book. For a second opinion on concepts found in my own book, "The Expert's Edge," get and read this book too!

If Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is on your bookshelf, this book deserves to be right next to it -- but read it and take it to heart first! The Obvious Expert is a classic like Think and Grow Rich, it is literally life changing, a pleasure to read, simple, clear and written from the heart.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to differentiate the service or business. The information contained in this book is a must read if you want to build "your own professional brand" in the marketplace.

It is well written, easy to follow and LOADED with great ideas.

Do yourself a favor and buy this book.

This is an excellent book. I wish I had read it when I started by law practice. A must read for anyone intending on starting a business.

This book has little new advice. I do like the spin of becoming "The Obvious Expert" in your field, but the path to this goal is about the same as can be found in other books for consultants or freelancers. In a nutshell:

* write a book
* write articles for a trade journal or magazine
* engage in public speaking
* offer seminars
* get free/low cost press coverage
* join a professional society or trade association
* build a website
* network

There are some useful tips, and the sidebar stories from various consultants are interesting. Overall not a bad book. A better choice is "Getting Business to Come to You" by Paul and Sarah Edwards -- less expensive, much longer, and with deeper coverage of each topic mentioned above.

this book provides the basics of nutrition, and provides lot of practical advice and guidelines. It is easy to read and put to practice. It ended my doubts about how to eat and drink for various forms of training, during tapers, and at race day. And so far with good results. More than worth the money. Joris

This book provides a wealth of information in nutrition, equipment, and sample workouts for various sports. It is very easy to read and understand.

Excellent book, up to date. Essential reading for anyone who is serious about improving their training and race performance. Thank you !

Great compendium of important concepts on sports nutrition, and also lots of practical tools to master the art. Easy going writing stile.

This is a well-written and authoritative review of many aspects of sports nutrition, with an emphasis on the specific needs of endurance athletes. Triathletes, endurance runners and cyclists will especially benefit -- there are separate spections geared just for their needs. Provides insight into not only meeting nutritional needs before, during, and after training and racing, this book offers guidance into an integrated approach to an overall nutritional program. Also provides a useful discussion of many nutritional supplements, including ergogenic aids, vitamins, and commercial sources of carbohydrates, lipids, protein, and hydration. Recommended read for the serious athlete.

This is the kind of book for all gym lovers and ladies especially who can do it at home without major gym machines.

The book is colourful and the spot training methods are interesting

Highly recommende for people who wants to start strength training and I think the colours keeps you motivated

I was shocked to see that this book got such high reviews. I found it to be extremely lacking. I suppose it might be alright for a woman whose never lifted a weight in her life, but for anyone serious about weight training, this book will not help you. I highly recommend Strength Training Anatomy (not the women's version). I use now use that book to formulate all my strength routines.

Joan Pagano's first love is yoga, and it shows in the type of exercises in this book. She also appears to have a cross-disciplinary interest in physical therapy; I recognize several exercises (all excellent) which I learned from physical therapists in recovering from injuries.

I give Ms. Pagano an A+ for both clarity and variety. The book has clear descriptions of exercises, and excellent photos with a white dotted line showing the muscles each exercise is supposed to work. I was able to understand how to properly perform several stretches which had been unclear in other books. The variety is excellent, including many exercises for rubber resistance bands and for those big, fun, colorful stability balls. I was pleasantly surprised to find several pages on exercises for improving posture.

Where the book really shines is in providing a safe, approachable beginning for women who are either very out of shape or recovering from illness. For example, she de-scarifies the push-up, that ultimate symbol of military-grade fitness, by showing four less physically demanding variations in order of gradually increasing difficulty.

But I do have one major caveat: If you're hoping for a serious weight training book--which will help you build muscle--this is not the one. Ms. Pagano seems to seriously underestimate women's strength. Doesn't she know we lift grocery bags, babies and suitcases in airports? The section on push-ups, for example, fails to include the standard 'man's" push-up. I would think that working through the other four would be with a goal of getting there, to the most difficult one. Nowhere in the book does she ever show a barbell, and her choice of dumbbell weights (mostly 3-8 lbs, with a maximum of 15 pounds recommended once in the book for lat rows) is almost insulting. Three to five pounds might be okay for a beginner looking to learn proper form, but after a few weeks most women can lift a lot more. Lifting weights which don't challenge your muscles will just waste your time, and very likely lead to discouragement when you see no results.

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for yoga and physical-therapy style exercises for general well-being and injury prevention. It would also be useful as an adjunct to a serious weight-training program found elsewhere--just take the weight recommendations with a grain of salt and listen to your body instead.

This is a great entry or re-entry level book. I used it summer before last to prepare for a camping trip. At the time (alas) I had decent cardiovascular fitness but knew I wanted to improve upper body strength along with core and lower body fitness. I created a work out I could enjoy.

If you are new to weights, she has a very sensible approach to starting. The models are obviously strong women but no oiled, beef-cake type poses, no ultra-buffed bods. So indeed, if that's what you're looking for, this is NOT it.

Very nice emphasis on fitness for a lifetime. I'm going to have to take a look at the cards.

This is a good book for a women who wants to add strength training to her workout program. The pictures make it easy to follow and there notes of where to "feel it" offers a good way to know if you are doing the activity correctly. It offers programs at a glance which also helps to do the program once the moves are familiar. I use it in conjunction with a weight training workout CD (Denise Austin) so that I really understand the best way to make my workout successful and the time well spent. This is also a DK books which are generally well done and easy to follow.

Did not take long to recieve on standard shipping, the book came in perfect condition and it is a great resource

it has latest research studies, and colored, easier to understand. it smells weird when i first purchased, but i think it is just a smell of a new book that I don't like.

My main reason for purchasig this textbook was for a study material for the C.S.C.S exam. Having read through 100 pages already, this book is well organized and easy to apply the concepts in understanding anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, bioenergetics, flexibility, etc.... Obviously, it does not go into super detail in each area, but for the person who wants to know more about the body and how it works in general for exercise, this is more than enough information.

And for the person who says Supertraining is a better book overall, I highly disagree for the most part. It is an advanced text, very cut and dry to read compared to the Nsca's book. Supertraining is more or less a reference than a book you can sit down and read anytime.

Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning
Book is fantastic easy to understand and very thorough. A definite requirement for every person undergoing Personal Training study and even a great reference book for qualified PTs

Supertraining, and other texts from foreign authors can be used in the best way the reader deems them; just like the nsca books. However, ST was definitely not intended to be a "pretty" book. No, there are no color pictures in ST, but the information is 1000 times more in-depth. The NSCA books are so vague and provide very little information. Just because ST requires a little thought process doesn't make the book cut and dry. It actually inspires creative thinking, unlike the NSCA. If the NSCA is soo awesome, why can't they provide good enough coaches for the U.S. to win every single gold medal in the Olympics?? Why can't we win weightlifting? Why, with all of our resources and opportunities, why can't we win the most gold medals? Not the most bronze or silver- the most GOLD? How can you not say the NSCA has failed miserably?? Aren't they the NUMBER ONE AUTHORITY on strength training?? Whether you are a personal trainer at a small gym, or a strength coach for a football team, you owe it to your clients/athletes to find the best information possible. NSCA doesn't come close. Elitefts.com, Dryessis.com, powerdevelopmentinc.com, defrancostraining.com. That's where you will find good information.