Practical Programming for Strength Training

This book contains a treasure trove of strength principles and knowledge accumulated by the authors over several decades of training elite athletes as well as recreational lifters. Much detail and advice for strength trainees and coaches at all levels of sport.

Required reading if you haven't. This is a complete and thorough overhaul of PPST2 and should be considered a primary reference for programming strength training for all levels of athletes ... not just power lifters. Excellent writing and coverage of concepts behind programming that will allow adaptation of the sample programs within, of which there are numerous to choose from. A must buy!

The 2nd edition leaves you with a rough sketch of how to construct workouts past the novice phase. The detail in this
(3rd) edition vastly improves the readers understanding, even giving multiple templates. Don't hesitate to purchase this, even if owning the 2nd edition.

This is without doubt the most comprehensive guide to lifting that I have ever come across and I've been training for over 30 years. Some understanding of anatomy would help readers, but the pictures and explanations are so clear, that I wouldn't let that deter you. More than likely this will become a treasured reference text for many years. Money well spent. Congratulations Mark Ripptoe!

Simple, practical ways of structuring a strength program for optimal performance. Strong focus on athletic ability rather than size and asthetics. Can be a bit regimented in his prescribed method but the principles are extremely useful.

A really good book on strength training. It is suitable for anyone, beginner or advanced, strong or not.

That said, the book could be better written and the internal structure in the chapters could be better. This makes the book a bit confusing to read and a bit hard to search and the whole book has to be read in one go.

This book is extremely thorough with great examples and more wisdom than you can take in in a single reading, or even several. I would recommend this for any coach or individual that has an interest in following or writing their own barbell training program.

There is so much useful information that to be honest I haven't read it cover to cover, but I did up to the various programing examples and explanations and then sought what would fit for me. This is really a follow up for those who have completed a linear progression and need to use a little more advanced programming for strength gains. Start with SS. Not for beginners unless they just want to have the information, but too much info can be a bad thing sometimes.KISS

The best book on real world programming to get strong. I have always enjoyed Mark Rippetoe's writing, and here he breaks down training methods based on level of advancement, addressing the novice, intermediate and advanced lifter, giving you the appropriate parameters for each type of trainee to ensure ongoing progression. A must have for any coach or series trainee.

An excellent source of reference - covers everybody from the novice through to the advanced and older trainees - very comprehensive and arms the reader with everything they need to know to assist in planning and monitoring their training programs!

An excellent source of reference - covers everybody from the novice through to the advanced and older trainees - very comprehensive and arms the reader with everything they need to know to assist in planning and monitoring their training programs!

One of the many problems with the health and fitness industry is that there are many gurus and fads. I have literally wasted YEARS of my life following "5 weeks to (insert body specific goal)" programs from "Health" magazines and numerous other fitness fads. I have purchased many books on the subject. I have cycled, I have done Pilates, yoga. I tried running for over 3 months because all my runner friends told me that it becomes enjoyable, you just have to do it long enough. I have sought advice from local gym personal trainers. Finally after struggling to learn how to squat and getting nowhere with local "certified" trainers, an Internet search led me to the author and his book Starting Strength. Just wading into first few pages of that book I quickly realized that every other source of information about the subject of strength and how to attain it, that I have read, was complete garbage. Mr. Rippetoe presents such a simple, logical approach to strength in all of his writings that you feel like a fool for falling for all of the sophistry out there. His two books: Starting Strength and Practical Programming have changed my life. I do not say that lightly, before reading Mr. Rippetoe's books I could not squat at all, I had no appreciable strength and nothing really to show from years of "working out". Since then, I have squatted 400lbs, deadlifted 455 and standing pressed 175, and I plan on more! The thing is, before reading Mr. Rippetoe's books, I would have never even conceived that I could lift those numbers.

Like others have pointed out, this third edition of Practical Programming contains a significant amount of examples of the training methods. It really hammers home the idea that the programs aren't fixed and you can tailor them to your needs and sport.

If you want to really know what works, why, and how to do it, I strongly recommend you pick up both this book and Starting Strength third edition. You will not regret it.

Especially the intemediate section by Andi Baker is worth buying this book. Compared to the first edition I feel this is a completely different book. Next to Starting Strength I think this book is a must have for the seriously strength training interested with most valueable in praxi proofed information. Rip and folks know what they are doing.

Excellent book. I've tried many programs, ones that worked, ones that didn't as well and like Mark says, this is the most functional workout there is. If I only knew a long time ago what I know now. Must read Starting Strength also.

Significantly improved intermediate chapter. I was having trouble applying the theories of the Texas Method described in the second edition, so I bought this edition for the expanded and more detailed intermediate chapter. Would definitely recommend the third edition even if you own the second.

There are so many books and blogs and magazines that amount to "Weightlifting for Dummies," it's nice to read a book that treats it with the rigor and level of detail the sport deserves. The genius of this book is that it doesn't spell out for you exactly what you must do (although some example training programs are given and discussed), rather it teaches you how to teach yourself to plan for what you want to achieve. Along the way, you given a crash course in biology, physiology and exercise science. I would highly recommend this book to any new or intermediate lifter who is serious about weight training.

If you're fortunate enough to come across this review before you've started to train, know that this is the book that you should be reading long before many others. Do yourself a favor and get this and Starting Strength.

A very practical and easy to understand guide to effective strength training from an experienced coach. This guide does not tell you how to do the lifts, but tell you the basic principles of how frequent, how many sets and reps, how heavy and strategies to go from novice, to intermediate to advanced lifter.
The book is not very well cited, but gives theoretical background on why.
I found this book very interesting and is applying his novice program.