Resources
Here is a comprehensive list of websites and a few select products that have helped me tremendously in my journey of learning and professional development as a trainer. Honestly, if you were to just read from these websites on a regular basis and purchase the products I provide you then you would be ahead of the game and solidify yourself as a solid and trustworthy trainer that could deliver results! Here you go!
WEBSITES:
TRAINING RESEARCH SITES
Strength & Conditioning Research
COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING SITES
UndergroundStrengthCoach.com (The Underground Strength Academy)
SPEED AND ATHLETICISM BASED SITES
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS:
FAT LOSS:
Here is a link to the best book I've ever encountered on fat loss. It's simplistic, scientific, and highly effective. The book is authored by Tom Venuto who is one of the best minds in the field when it comes to bodybuilding and fat loss science. It's well worth the read.
Tom Venuto's book is the most practical and simple guide for effective short and long term fat loss that I've seen, but Lyle is hands down the smartest when it comes to altering someone's body composition and he can explain all of the science behind his methods. If you are a geek like me who loves to know all of the ins and outs then this book is a must have for you.
MUSCLE BUILDING:
Jay Feruggia has more in the trenches experience and knowledge on raw natural muscle building as anyone I have ever seen. He has helped transform thousands of people into muscle building machines, including myself. His easy to follow and highly practical guide is the perfect formula on learning how to put on high quality muscle mass as fast as possible.
SPEED TRAINING:
THE CHARLIE FRANCIS TRAINING SYSTEM
Charlie Francis is quite deserving of being referred to as the past and even modern day "Godfather" of speed training and development. His techniques and training cycles are still more than valid today and he helped develop some of our fastest sprinters in history. What I love most about his approach is that he combines all elements of training simultaneously year round in just the right dosage to keep athletes progressing over the long-term. He is a true artist and master of training and anyone who trains athletes and wants to improve their speed should check out his work!
VERTICAL JUMP TRAINING:
Like Charlie, Kelly Baggett was a pioneer in the science of vertical jump development. Approximately 10 years ago Kelly was one of the original coaches to introduce a comprehensive guide on how to improve your vertical jump rapidly. Since then there have been more than enough imitators, but Kelly still remains the most knowledgeable and proven coach in this arena hands down.
CORRECTIVE EXERCISE/REHAB:
Dr. Weingroff has always been years ahead of everyone else, and brought on the training concept of believe it or not: training for rehab! It sounds simple but the notion has been groundbreaking and several other credible authorities and researchers have followed suit. The fact is that stretching and any special exercise or recovery modality is only going to take you so far in becoming and staying healthy. At some point you will have to buckle down and start lifting weights regularly according to our anatomical design for a host of physiological reasons. His DVD set is well worth the investment and will leave you much smarter than before.
PROGRAM DESIGN:
Periodization Training for Sports
You can read plenty of books that discuss the philosophy of periodization, or scheduling a long-term training plan for an athlete or client. Aside from Charlie Francis, Tudor Bompa is the next best I've seen for speed training, and if we are talking about team sport athletes, then Bompa is going to be your go to! He discusses all sorts of useful and advantageous training strategies in this book and gives you bulletproof plans to put it all together.
CONDITIONING:
Who are some of the most fit and well conditioned athletes on planet Earth? MMA fighters! and guess who has happened to train several top notch fighters, or at the bare minimum teach their coaches and trainers how to properly condition them? Well if you aren't familiar with the name Joel Jamieson you should be. In this book he will give you a solid program design structure for conditioning and include all different types of training that satisfy each style of conditioning. When all is said and done there will be no remaining weakness in any of your body's conditioning networks, or energy systems.
GENERAL HEALTH:
Beyond Training: Mastering Endurance, Health & Life
Ben Greenfield has been labeled as one of the top 50 trainers in America and for good reason. His book delivers an absolute insane and unprecedented amount of training and general health information with loads of research. He literally leaves no stone uncovered in this General Health masterguide!
NUTRITION:
Practical Applications In Sports Nutrition
Everyone wants to know more about nutrition and I think everyone needs a reputable guide that covers all areas of general and sports nutrition. I purchased this book back in college for a nutrition course at the time, and it's no doubt the best one I've seen even today if you want to learn as much as you can about the topic.