NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training Review

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NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training ReviewThis is pretty much the only book I've been reading for the past couple of months as I prepared for the NSCA's personal trainer exam. I am fairly sure I passed the exam, and I doubt I could have passed without the help of this book and NSCA's exercise techniques DVD which is sold separately. [Update - I DID pass the exam! :-) ] This 674 text is packed full of information and can not be breezed through Harriet Klausner style.
For the most part, I like the book, both as a study guide for the NSCA-PT exam and as a reference for someone in the fitness industry. Each chapter is written by one or more experts on that area of fitness or nutrition. Since the table of contents is not provided on the product page, I've listed the contents at the end. Most of the content is fairly well written, although it could use some tightening up in spots, or additional clarification in others. Being a visual learner, I appreciate the multitude of illustrations, drawings, and tables, and I can't think of any I didn't find helpful. For example, they don't just tell you what partner-assisted and partner-resisted towing are, they provide photographs of them. They don't just tell you what the barbell grips are, they provide illustrations of four grips. Tables are not just in black and white, but alternate rows have tan or light blue backgrounds, making it easier to read. Information in the tables is detailed, for example table 9.1, Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factor Thresholds from ACSM. Through no fault of the publishers, some of the information in this table is already outdated, as the latest data for hypercholesterolemia uses LDLs at >100 mg/dL (instead of >130 mg/dL) and the low HDLs is considered NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training Overview

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Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning - 3rd Edition Review

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Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning - 3rd Edition ReviewWhen it comes to telling people how to train, I want to know that the advice I give is based on evidence, not what on other people say, and not on what I "think" is going to work. While you could dig around on various electronic databases, such as Medline to get such information, its nice to have all the latest excercise recommendations based on sound research at your fingertips. And if you're looking for such a book, well, look no further.
Readers who regularly read sports science research will see some familiar names on page vii, which contains the list of people who contributed to the book. To me, knowing that people like Kraemer, Faigenbaum, or Hatfield had a hand in this book puts it on solid ground.
And the book is thorough too. Covering just about every aspect of conditioning and training, from basic exercise physiology to how many sets of an exercise should I do, its just a plain fact that there's not much that has been left out. Of course all the major areas such as strength training, endurance training, and flexibility are there as well. Also notable are the great pictures of stretching and strengthening exercises as well as little numbers (2) to refer the reader to the study the info was taken from. Right on!
My criticisms of this book are picky and few. For example I did notice that on page 299 the book advocates holding a static stretch for 30 seconds to become more flexible. Experts in the field who keep up on the research may not agree with this. While the 30 seconds rule applies to a lot of muscle groups, it does not apply to all- like stretching the calf muscles to increase dorsiflexion (see The 5-Minute Plantar Fasciitis Solution for a nice updated literature review on ankle stretching). In case you're wondering, 30s won't cut it to increase ankle ROM.
In conclusion, as a researcher and trainer, I was really impressed with the evidence-based information and the thoroughness of the text. I think it would be of most benefit to coaches, athletic trainers, personal trainers, or anyone who wants a good resource to guide their exercise prescriptions.Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning - 3rd Edition Overview

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