You’ve put in the time, effort, and sweat to build a solid foundation, but you want more—more muscle mass, strength, and definition. Look no further. Serious Strength Training will bring your workouts and results to the next level.
Tudor Bompa (the world’s foremost expert on optimal schedules for training), Mauro Di Pasquale (a leading authority on nutrition for strength training), and former bodybuilder Lorenzo Cornacchia have again teamed up to bring you the latest, greatest, and most effective exercises and programs for hard-core strength.
Featuring solid scientific principles and the latest research, Serious Strength Training provides the blueprint for increasing muscle mass and achieving strength gains you might not have thought possible. Follow the general programs or tailor one to your special needs through manipulation of the six training phases—anatomical adaptation, hypertrophy, mixed, maximum strength, muscle definition, and transition—and proper application of the individual metabolic profile.
Serious Strength Training is essential reading if you want to lift in the big leagues. Choosing from 67 muscle-stimulating exercises and detailed dietary plans, make it your guide to the greatest training you’ve ever done.
Preface
Part I Science of Strength Training
Chapter 1 Adapting to the Training Stimulus
Chapter 2 Understanding the Periodization System
Chapter 3 Designing the Perfect Program
Chapter 4 Accelerating Muscle Recovery
Part II Maximizing Nutrition for Muscle Growth
Chapter 5 Nutrition and the Metabolic Diet
Chapter 6 Good and Bad Fats
Chapter 7 Implementing the Metabolic Diet Plan
Chapter 8 Using Nutritional Supplements
Part III Maximum Stimulation Exercises
Chapter 9 Choosing the Best Exercises
Chapter 10 Lower-Body Exercises
Chapter 11 Upper-Body Exercises
Part IV Six Phases of Training
Chapter 12 Anatomical Adaptation (AA)
Chapter 13 Hypertrophy (H)
Chapter 14 Mixed Training (M)
Chapter 15 Maximum Strength (MxS)
Chapter 16 Muscle Definition (MD)
Chapter 17 Transition (T)
Appendix A: Understanding Food Labels
Appendix B: Nutrition for Maximizing the Anabolic Effects of Exercise
Appendix C: Maximum Lift Based on Repetition
Appendix D: Maximum Weight Chart
Glossary
References
Index
About the Authors
Tudor O. Bompa, PhD, revolutionized Western training methods when
he introduced his groundbreaking theory of periodization in Romania in
1963. After adopting his training system, the Eastern Bloc countries
dominated international sports through the 1970s and 1980s. In 1988, Dr.
Bompa applied his principle of periodization to the sport of
bodybuilding. He has personally trained 11 Olympic Games medalists
(including four gold medalists) and has served as a consultant to
coaches and athletes worldwide.
Dr. Bompa’s books on training methods, including Theory and
Methodology of Training: The Key to Athletic Performance and Periodization
of Training for Sports, have been translated into 17 languages and
used in more than 130 countries for training athletes and educating and
certifying coaches. Bompa has been invited to speak about training in
more than 30 countries and has been awarded certificates of honor and
appreciation from such prestigious organizations as the Argentinean
Ministry of Culture, the Australian Sports Council, the Spanish Olympic
Committee, and the International Olympic Committee.
A member of the Canadian Olympic Association and the Romanian National
Council of Sports, Dr. Bompa is professor emeritus at York University,
where he has taught training theories since 1987. He and his wife,
Tamara, live in Sharon, Ontario.
Mauro Di Pasquale, MD, a physician specializing in nutrition and
sports medicine, spent 10 years at the University of Toronto teaching
and researching nutritional supplements and drug use in sports. He wrote
both Bodybuilding Supplement Review and Amino Acids and
Proteins for the Athlete and has written hundreds of articles for Muscle
and Fitness, Flex, Men’s Fitness, Shape, Muscle Media, and Ironman,
among many others. Di Pasquale was a powerlifter for over 20 years,
winning the powerlifting world championships in 1976 and the World Games
in 1981.
Di Pasquale received his medical degree from the University of Toronto
and is a certified medical review officer. Currently the president of
the International United Powerlifting Federation and the Pan American
Powerlifting Federation, he lives in Ontario.
As a former professional wrestler for the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA), bodybuilder, and kinesiologist, Lorenzo J. Cornacchia has
directed extensive electrical myographical (EMG) research to identity
which exercises produce the greatest amount of muscular electrical
stimulation. In 1992, he conducted a research study with Dr. Bompa and
various colleagues to scientifically determine the results of
bodybuilders’ use of periodization training methods, bodybuilders’ use
of performance-enhancing agents and the typical bodybuilding training
method, and bodybuilders’ use of the periodization method coupled with
performance-enhancing agents. Ironman magazine published the
results in their May 1994 issue, “Periodization vs. Steroids.”
Cornacchia also published the results in Dr. Di Pasquale’s international
newsletters, Drugs in Sports and Anabolic Research Review.
Cornacchia coauthored Periodization of Strength. His EMG research
was published in Ironman’s Ultimate Guide to Arm Training
(2001), Ironman’s Ultimate Bodybuilding Encyclopedia
(2002), and Ironman’s Ultimate Guide to Building Muscle Mass
(2003).
Cornacchia became an editor and author for Ironman magazine,
writing a monthly column called “EMG Analysis,” and directed extensive
research studies in electromyography to determine which exercises
produced the greatest amount of muscular electrical activation.
Currently he is working with Dr. Di Pasquale on research dealing with
supplementation and the metabolic diet.
Cornacchia received his BA in physical education from York University.
Currently he is co-owner of a fitness establishment called FFX and is
the president and shareholder of Pyrotek Special Effects, Inc., where he
spends most of his time designing special effects for shows such as the
Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, and BET Awards and for artists such as
Iron Maiden, Lady Gaga, Van Halen, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Lil Wayne.
Cornacchia resides in Miami, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada. His
favorite pastime is watching the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals.
“Serious Strength Training is a guide you will refer to for as
long as you are lifting. If you're serious about building strength, this
is a must-have.“
Steve Holman-- Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
"The field of strength coaching is considered both an art and a
science. Serious Strength Training acknowledges that synergy by
applying the science of periodization to the art of program design. It
is a must-have for all strength coaches and personal trainers."
Charles Poliquin-- Poliquin Strength Institute