Best Strength & Conditioning Books For The Thinking Coach

Almost monthly, I receive the question - “What books on strength & conditioning do you recommend?”. And every month I list out several books off the top of my head that I think ANY strength & conditioning coach can benefit from. But the reality is, the content you should be reading will be determined largely by your experience as a coach thus far in your career as well as the education you’ve received up until now.

What good is it if a novice coach reads a science-heavy Soviet training textbook on subjects he is unable to fully grasp and put into practice?

Before you dive into the list below, I should start off by saying that this list is in no way exhaustive. These are only books I’ve came across over the last 6-7 years, I am sure there are way more. Some of these I’ve read from front to back, others - I’ve only read several chapters of. There is also nothing wrong with reading “past” your experience level as the categories below were created fairly loosely and only act as a guider.

[UPDATED JANUARY 2020] Here are my recommended readings based on experience level:

---

The Novice Coach

Anyone that has just entered the strength & conditioning field as a coach… all the way to coaches with 1-2 years of professional experience working with competitive athletes. Ideally already possessing basic knowledge of training program design, movement pattern coaching and general physical preparation.

Exercise Physiology 8th Edition - Nutrition, Energy and Human Performance by William McArdle

Periodization - Theory and Methodology of Training by Tudor Bompa, Carlo Buzzichelli

Practical Programming For Strength Training by Mark Rippetoe, Andy Baker

Olympic Weightlifting For Sports by Greg Evertt

Scientific Principles of Strength Training by Mike Israetel, Juggernaut Training Systems

Ultimate MMA Conditioning by Joel Jamieson

Training and Racing With A Power Meter by Huner Allen and Andrew Coggan

The Hybrid Athlete by Alex Viada

Conscious Coaching - The Art & Science Of Building Buy In by Brett Bartholomew

Optimal Nutrition For Injury Recovery by Lyle McDonald

Applied Nutrition for Mixed Sports by Lyle McDonald

---

the experienced coach

A strength & conditioning coach with 2+ years of experience coaching amateur competitive and/or professional athletes in multiple sports. This coach is familiar with the underlying mechanisms of exercise physiology and movement, understands how to manipulate training variables in a periodized plan and is ready to learn more training methods to further augment specific training adaptations.

Supertraining by Yuri Verkoshanksky, Mel Siff

Shock Method by Yuri Verkoshanksky

Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vladimir Zatsiorsky

Block Periodization - Breakthrough in Sport Training by Vladimir Issurin

Strength Training Manual - The Agile Periodization Approach Volumes One & Two by Mladen Jovanović

Triphasic Training: A Systematic Approach to Elite Speed and Explosive by Cal Dietz, Ben Peterson

The Governing Dynamics of Coaching - A Unified Theory of Sports Preparation by James Smith

Applied Principles of Optimal Power Development - Max Schmarzo, Matt Van Dyke

---

The Veteran coach

A highly read coach that also possesses extensive experience implementing the knowledge and methods learned from the previous section. These type of coaches are ready to further challenge their own training philosophies by reading work on psychology and philosophy in order to improve. Readings in this section teach us how to be more efficient thinkers and be more aware of our own logical fallacies and cognitive biases when it comes to planning, implementing and coaching in the field of strength & conditioning. These books can be read concurrently with any of the above.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb Collection - The Black Swan, Antifragile, Skin In The Game, The Bed of Proscrutes

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Economy of Truth: Practical Maxims and Reflections by Vizi Andrei

---

Got some suggestions? Comment down below, I would love to know which books have been positively impactful in your career as a coach.

Balance The Grind Interview with Hao Nguyen

Image by Hao Nguyen of Balance The Grind

Had to pleasure of speaking to Hao from Balance The Grind about my career, launching GC Performance Training, balancing coaching and business responsibilities, the myth of work-life balance and plenty more.

READ MORE @ BALANCE THE GRIND WEBSITE [LINK HERE]

My Thoughts on the FMS (Functional Movement Screen)

FMS Certification For Trainers & Coaches: Good Idea? Or Stay Away?

I recently had someone ask me whether getting the FMS certification was worth it. Like many questions, I answered... "it depends".

For those who don't know, the FMS (functional movement screen) is a fitness assessment created to look for "movement dysfunction". The FMS can be a good tool for new personal trainer and coaches to use as an initial assessment and as practice as they become more familiar with human movement. But becoming dependent on an arbitrary set of exercises to understand movement dysfunction and predict injury risk is something many trainers and coaches should avoid as they progress through their career.

Using pre-determined movements and quantifying movement quality is the complete opposite of conscious coaching and dismisses the idea of movement variability.

Conscious coaching requires adaptability and interaction.

Stop staring at your piece of paper; start watching your athletes and patients move. Figure out which movements are required in their sport or daily life because the definition of "functional" movement varies from sport to sport and one environment to the next. Talk to your athlete or patient about their confidence (or uncertainty) about particular body positions or movements. Design well-structured training programs that control for load, fatigue management, and injury reduction. Since your athletes and patients will most likely come from many different backgrounds, conscious coaching and assessment will do heaps more than some standardized test will.

This is not to say I'm against writing anything down. Notes should be taken when necessary.

Instead of writing: "Scored a 2 on the lunge test", a conscious coach will watch their athlete and note: "knee valgus during fast change of direction when running - check hip and leg complex and assess previous injury history and running/agility technique."

Some argue that the fact that FMS can be standardized to help sports teams. Several of studies have come out showing that their findings do not support the "predictive validity of the FMS" and that the FMS does "not relate to any aspect of athletic performance", so using an invalid assessment is stubborn and a waste of precious time, no matter how consistent it is. Can the FMS be useful? Of course. But consider the picture blow:

The FMS is 8% better than a coin toss. Let that sink in.

Like I said earlier, the FMS can be useful for new trainers and coaches. However, the end goal should be to acquire enough knowledge on human movement, motor learning, movement variability and training load to be able to consciously watch our athletes and clients. The FMS is not a game-changer and I would advise you to consider whether or not getting certified will help you towards your goals given your current experience level.

Be adaptable.

Again Faster Klokov Barbell Review

I've always wanted a barbell to myself, I did not like the inconsistencies of training with several different barbells week to week (not to mention bent barbells). I decided to get the 20kg Again Faster Klokov Bar as a high-quality, general use barbell. This bar is great for Olympic Weightlifting and for compound exercises.

Price
https://ca.againfaster.com/en-ca/shop/conditioning-tools/again-faster-klokov-competition-barbells/
Retail Price: $355 Canadian ($400 after shipping + taxes)

Price was one of the most important factors when deciding whether or not I should buy this bar. $355 was much cheaper than other barbells of the same quality. In comparison, the 20kg Pendlay Bearing Olympic Barbell is $530 (USD) and the Rogue Olympic WL Barbell is $715 (CAD).
As you can see, the AG Klokov Bar is cheaper by a large margin.

Bearings
It is hard to find a bearing barbell south of $500. Bearings is the mechanism by which the barbell sleeve is allowed to spin. Bushing barbells are generally cheaper because of the cheaper manufacturing costs. Both needle bearings (which are better than ball bearings) and bushings are used in the AG Klokov bar, making the sleeve spin smoothly for snatches, and clean & jerks, yet durable enough for everyday use.  The quality of the bearings and the sleeve spin may not be as great as Eleiko or Werksan barbells, but is a huge upgrade from bushing barbells usually seen 

PSI and Bar Whip
The AG Klokov Barbell has a PSI rating of 264,000, which apparently is 30,000 PSI stronger than any other Olympic Weightlifting barbell on the market. I've had this barbell for a week now and have done several different exercises with it, but I haven't lifted heavy enough to test out how much the bar can handle. If it can handle the weights that Dmitry Klokov puts up, it is definitely more than enough for us mortals.

High Bar Squatting 225lbs: There is a bit of whip at the top of the movement compared to normal gym bars, but very subtle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quugw_xmOOo Judging by this video, there seems to be noticable whip starting from 140kg/308lbs onwards.

Knurling
My favorite part about this bar. There has been reviews saying the knurling on this bar is inconsistent. I'm not sure if they mean the knurling is inconsistent from bar to bar, or inconsistent on different spots of the bar. Nonetheless, I love the feel of the barbell, the outer knurling is not too aggressive; it feels like how a high-quality olympic lifting barbell should feel. I also like the fact that there is a passive centre knurling, which aids in keeping the bar on your back during a high bar squat, or during a front rack position.  Another thing I find useful is the knurling ring marks. There are 2 sets of knurling marks, one for the IWF and one for the IPF; this makes it easier to establish a grip width and be consistent with it especially for lifters who like to perform the olympic lifts as well as the power lifts.

Product Specifications (via Again Faster website)
"• Meets all IWF weight and dimension specifications for Men's and Women's bars 
• Weight Tolerance +0.1% / -0.05% 
• Dual knurl marks that meet both IWF and IPF specifications for knurl mark spacing 
• 264,000 PSI Ultimate Tensile Strength 
• 5 needle bearings per side 
• High strength steel bushings are set both inside and outside the bearings in the collar 
• A screw lock cap with two internal retention rings secure the collars 
• Finish: Hard Bright Chrome 
• Collar Band: Men's = Blue | Women's = Yellow 
• Shaft Diameter: 20kg = 28mm (IWF spec) | 15kg = 25mm (IWF spec) 
• Length: 20kg = 2200mm | 15kg = 2010mm"
 

Closing Remarks
Its a nice feeling to touch a new barbell, this bar feels really good in my hands and really good on my back. It feels very straight and very sturdy. Labelled as a "competition barbell", this bar would be perfect for anyone prepping for an Olympic weightlifting meet. Although this bar performs well when squatting, bench pressing or deadlifting, I personally, would not use it to prep for an IPF Powerlifting meet. The whip of the bar (especially when squatting and deadlifting heavy) is not ideal for Powerlifting meets as it will give the lifter a false sense of strength in training. The lifter will be guaranteed tears of sadness and shame after being stapled to the floor by IPF-approved Eleiko powerlifting barbells.

Overall, I would highly recommend this barbell to competitive athletes and weightlifters or any trainee involved in general strength training.