Every year around January, the coaches seem to want to get back into reading, and this year I made a list that sticks. the books are wonderful creations as we literally peer into the minds of great coaches and sports performance professionals. Sometimes books are written by a collection of experts, so the value goes beyond cost per page, leveraging years of research and experience.
You are reading: Books on strength and conditioning
For 2020, I’ve created what I think is a list that will satisfy a lot of different professionals besides strength and conditioning coaches, but I’m sure this hits the spot for those in the iron game as well. Last year, I hardly had time to do the reading that I felt was necessary to learn, but this year is about reading less and being more selective. Let’s face it, reading is key, but we can’t read everything, so we need to prioritize. If you want to take your training to the next level, I recommend these 10 titles. the list also includes alternatives, as some are not cheap and some are hard to find.
how I made the book list for 2020
I want to make sure trainers know that I tried to get the 10 books right for most trainers, not just the ones that are new or popular. the list I created does not include books that I mentioned or listed above, as I want new resources that will be read over and over again. Sometimes books worth sharing don’t get the attention they should, like Kurt Hester’s work, but I hope mentioning the text here will slip another title. Johnny Parker, Al Miller, and Rob Panariello released an amazing text, The System: Adapted Soviet Periodization for the American Strength Coach last year, but I’m assuming everyone already bought it, so I didn’t include it on this year’s list. /p>
I’m already working on the list for 2021, as I anticipate a handful of books coming out this summer will be worth checking out, specifically on motor skill acquisition. Obviously, we should all read the research and review other trainers’ manuals, but a good book certainly helps the cause.
Finally, I realize I have left out a lot of good books, as well as a lot of resources for professional development. I think coaches should read other books outside of the trade, but many of them are personal interest books and many leadership books don’t age well. To me, some books read over and over again keep us honest, as we probably know what to do, but don’t have the fortitude to stick to what is right. again, what I think are great books for leadership or business may not resonate with others, and you’re more likely to be able to identify general training and coaching books that help us all do a better job.
1. the mechanics of sprinting and hurdles – ralph mann
Many coaches will be surprised that I include this text as it has numerous editions and is quite popular. My concern is that it’s not as widely read as other sprinting books and manuals because it doesn’t give any real training recommendations other than summarizing some biomechanical realities. If you are a speed or strength coach looking for direct information, it is wise to pick up this book and be patient with it. there is too much material available that is merely theoretical and almost philosophical, and sprints have no place for fiction.
for years I have thought about the constraints and models proposed by mann because they are very accessible data points. Research and information on speed is often too abstract and complex, leaving coaches wondering how to connect the dots. In this book, Ralph Mann and his co-author, Amber Murphy, present a comprehensive list of what is known and what is needed to be known about elite sport. Obstacles obviously aren’t that relevant to those in a team sport, but honestly, it’s important to know how all the speed areas require you to do your homework. The data presented in this paperback is invaluable, and I recommend reading it every year to ensure you incorporate the constants into your speed analysis.
2. the triple jump encyclopedia – ernie bullard and larry knuth
Perhaps the most violent track and field event for the lower extremities is the triple jump, so keeping an athlete healthy requires a coach to do their homework. This book is a little dated, meaning it is over 40 years old, so some of the information needs to be refreshed, but it is an excellent resource for all coaches, including sports medicine professionals. I was tempted to include the Polish Triple Jump Manual or other works by Starzynski, but this is more robust and extensive. I would still recommend getting your hands on the work in English that is about 20 years old.
The Triple Jump Encyclopedia primarily provides illustrations that are helpful for exercise options, but also outlines some seasonal scheduling ideas as well as a few tidbits of wisdom. The other benefit of the triple jump encyclopedia is that it was inspired by a time when sports science was weak. it forced coaches and support staff to think about the demands of the event rather than just doing typical performance analysis. some other books could supersede this recommendation, but due to the longevity of the information, it really teaches us to know what’s important instead of just knowing more.
3. pace: individual strategies for optimal performance – kevin thompson
An issue that is strangely ignored by many in performance is pacing. Rhythm is a vital element in sports, and it rarely gets enough coverage in science and practice. I think we need more effort connecting the combination of preparation and sports psychology. Another book on rhythm that I think is worth reading is hard to come by, but Kevin Thompson’s work is perfect for just about every sports coach, no matter if you’re an athletic trainer or a team sports professional.
What I love about this book is that it’s cleanly written, which means it doesn’t use fancy language and it’s very simple. the models and diagrams are easy to understand, and the length and depth are perfect for those trying to refresh their knowledge over a weekend. Of all the books, I recommend this one most often because I see a huge gap in the profession.
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kevin thompson is from australia, so it would be great if more american experts could dive into baseball, basketball, and football to help us see the finer details of how tactical and physiological interactions occur during competition. With a relatively inexpensive price tag, I think this text is a no-brainer to order for your collection.
4. science and application of high intensity interval training: solutions to the programming puzzle – paul laursen and martin buchheit
I could easily include mladen’s book, but I don’t want to sound biased, especially since I recommended your website a year or two ago. Your other books and resources are amazing, but since I’ve already recommended your book before, I’ve included Paul Laursen and Martin Buchheit here to round out the sports conditioning side. they also have a course you can take to demonstrate proficiency in the subject, but since I don’t know much about the educational resource, the book is a good addition to a trainer’s library.
Even if you’re a running, swimming, or cycling coach, watching them solve the fitness puzzle is really helpful in becoming a better programmer. If you’ve read my articles, I mention Martin Buchheit often, but it was also nice to learn from Paul Laursen. he is known as a specialist in resistance or aerobic fitness, but he is also clearly an expert scientist in all areas of conditioning. If you want to prescribe training with a clear purpose and standard, this foundational work is a great start. Again, this blog article is for all performance coaches and can be read by team coaches to understand the process of designing sports fitness programs.
5. Concurrent Aerobic and Strength Training – Scientific Foundations and Practical Applications – Moritz Schumann and Bent R. rønnestad (editors)
I realize that many coaches will see this recommendation as a repetition of buchheit and laursen’s text, but this book is a bit heavier on scientific theory. my reason for including it is that it’s written by so many different experts, and it’s even deeper than #4. the app side won’t help a trainer write a workout for monday, but it will help them invest in the correct information to build training in the future.
One of the reasons I recommend this title is its focus on the molecular science of training, as we are getting closer to understanding how athletes actually adapt to training. In addition to the balance between neuromuscular improvements and aerobic conditioning improvements, the book covers nutritional factors and inflammation. Honestly, it’s a wonderful book with a plethora of experts, including Iñigo Mujika, an author I recommended the last time I made a list. If you don’t do high-performance sports or work with young athletes, this text is great for understanding the differences and similarities between different age groups and between genders.
I recommend getting the book and not just buying chapters online, unless you’re financially pressed and only need a limited topic. the value of the book is that all the chapters together are much less expensive than buying one at a time. if you’re serious about endurance sport, this is more suited to the conditioning side, but if you’re an expert in speed and power and want to really meet your concurrent training obligations, this is a great investment.
6. biomechanics of training and testing: innovative concepts and simple field methods – jean-benoit morin and pierre samozino (editors)
this field guide by jb morin and pierre samozino is an excellent start to evaluating athletes. I don’t know what population it’s most appropriate for, but I think a strength coach or athletic trainer could benefit from at least a few chapters. Due to the inclusion of cycling, I would say that this is a perfect text for a sports scientist who has just finished his degree and wants to have protocols for evaluating athletes. my favorite chapter is on speed testing as it is one of the best working models on speed training. trainers obviously have to take into account elements beyond the general full-body model, but for the most part the contour is nearly perfect.
Other chapters are almost as strong, but I think it’s worth getting the full book because you can use the information for other training needs. for example, the jumping and upper body tests are very novel and useful. I will say that books like this are part of the evolutionary process, and it is up to the coaches to extract what they find valuable and accept the limitations of current science. researchers should be more open to learning from trainers and put more effort into ecological validity and study training programs. this book is a valuable resource, and I believe that anyone who puts in a fair effort in testing can make their training more specific and effective.
7. IOC Manual of Sports Cardiology 1st Edition – Mathew G. Wilson, Jonathan A. Drezner and Sanjay Sharma
The heart is a special organ system and has never been admired by speed and power coaches like the neuromuscular system. we tend to worship the brain, but leave the heart to the endurance experts. this is not a book you can pick up and flip through. I’d say this book is a year’s worth of study, and can take a cardiology neophyte and leave him or her ready to make a difference. often the heart is left to sports medicine, but we have a responsibility as coaches to know what to look for and when to outsource to a specialist.
The purpose of the book is not only to reduce the sudden death of the athlete; information is very important for conditioning and being informed when athletes have complicated backgrounds. Cristiano Ronaldo underwent heart surgery when he was a junior athlete, and several high-profile athletes have died during games or practices. The heart is a responsibility, not a burden, and over the last year I have spent hours learning and trying to understand basic health issues.
If you’re involved in your team’s evaluation process, you may also want to see if you can do echocardiograms to assess performance, as yearly heart wall and chamber measurements can determine if all the “extra training” is really making a difference. . the price and length of this book are not for the casual recreational athlete; this is for professionals in school performance and elite settings.
8. the psychology of sports injuries and rehabilitation – monna arvinen-barrow and natalie walker (editors)
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Another gap in what we do as professionals is truly understanding the psychology of athletes, typically during an injury. I think more athletes have left the sport they love not because they are tired of failure, but because injuries have made the emotional strain of returning too great to continue. I understand that physical trauma takes its toll, but the mental anguish an athlete can experience is an area where we need to improve.
Many times an athlete is thrown to the wolves or demons when repeatedly injured, often labeled as “injury prone”. injuries are part of sport, and this text reviews the more academic side of the issue of regulation in sport. I think this title is a workbook? No. I think it’s an excellent framework for those in applied environments to get a better indication of what they need to have in place? yes.
I know there are other resources available, but I’m a firm believer that sport psychology is so far down the totem pole that we need something like an anchor text. With injuries so common and mental health so important, a book of this nature should be in every sports department’s library. the editors did a great job rounding out the book’s content for completeness, and professionals can make great strides by studying this resource over and over again.
9. performance assessment in strength and conditioning – paul comfort, paul a. jones and john j. mcmahon (editors)
Due to the strength of all the contributors, this is perhaps the most useful strength and conditioning testing book available. One of the reasons I like the book is that it’s not just about strength and power, it also includes conditioning and experts in that field. In addition to the conventional power and jump tests, the book includes applications and guidelines for presenting the data. I also like that the book includes direction change tests as well as an isometric test.
The length of each of the chapters in this book is the perfect amount of information to guide coaches; Unlike other books, the chapters are not so short that they barely scratch the surface and disappoint trainers. This book is not just for advanced trainers, and a hungry young trainer should be more than satisfied. I wish there was more information on weightlifting, specifically looking at the snatch and clean. otherwise, this book is in the “almost bible” category, where a book is so good you just list it and don’t bother recommending other options.
10. Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes & coaches – greg everett
I have other manuals and books on weightlifting, but this one is extensive and accessible. In the past, I’ve listed books in other languages, but that became a problem I just didn’t want to repeat. Everett’s book was always a good resource, but after its expansion from the previous edition and due to the excellent videos on his website, I needed to include it here. one of the biggest problems with weightlifting books is that there aren’t enough of them!
Seriously, the problem with weightlifting is that the best trainers aren’t very active in sharing information, and this is still a problem today. Sure, there are plenty of books out there, but they’re usually shallow resources that just provide a few tips for novice athletes or coaches. this helped me a few times as it will always keep a trainer honest with concepts that are important to know. some trainers who deliberately choose not to use weightlifting should refer to the book as it contains general training information that is useful beyond the technical aspect.
I suggest, if you have the money, that you read the book Weightlifting Movement Evaluation & optimization: mobility & stability for boot and clean & quinn henoch jerk as it is a well thought out reflection on what the moves will require in terms of mobility. Again, we need more here, as two books won’t be enough to satisfy a career coach, but Everett’s work certainly covers the bases with flying colors.
balance your reading
A final recommendation is to read titles that simply have no connection to strength and conditioning or speed training. It is not a sin to read for pleasure as there are many good books out there that are great for entertainment. don’t get caught up in the race for productivity and knowledge, because a happy mind is a brain that grows. feeling unnecessary pressure to read what everyone else is reading is a bad idea. for years I have read what my colleagues have recommended, and that was essential to improve. now I read books that just satisfy my curiosity or provide the right next steps to further improve what I think I need to know more about.
The book selection process is simple, as it is not about publishing the titles you think are important for others to know, but about finding the right information that you think will close a hole or gap in your base of knowledge. find the right balance for you, as we will always know more than we can get athletes to do, so don’t stress. I found that last year I actually progressed by reading when I wanted to, not chasing a pace that is probably unsustainable. Not only did I feel like I retained more, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
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