Download PDF The Science of Running How to find your limit and train to maximize your performance eBook Steve Magness
Download As PDF : The Science of Running How to find your limit and train to maximize your performance eBook Steve Magness
Reviews of The Science of Running
"The Science of Running sets the new standard for training theory and physiological data. Every veteran and beginner distance coach needs to have this on their book shelf."
-Alan Webb
American Record Holder-Mile 346.91
"For anyone serious about running, The Science of Running offers the latest information and research for optimizing not only your understanding of training but also your performance. If you want to delve deeper into the world of running and training, this book is for you. You will never look at running the same."
-Jackie Areson, 15th at the 2013 World Championships in the 5k. 1512 5,000m best
If you are looking for how to finish your first 5k, this book isn’t for you. The Science of Running is written for those of us looking to maximize our performance, get as close to our limits as possible, and more than anything find out how good we can be, or how good our athletes can be. In The Science of Running, elite coach and exercise physiologist Steve Magness integrates the latest research with the training processes of the world’s best runners, to deliver an in depth look at how to maximize your performance.
It is a unique book that conquers both the scientific and practical points of running in two different sections. The first is aimed at identifying what limits running performance from a scientific standpoint. You will take a tour through the inside of the body, learning what causes fatigue, how we produce energy to run, and how the brain functions to hold you back from super-human performance. In section two, we turn to the practical application of this information and focus on the process of training to achieve your goals. You will learn how to develop training plans and to look at training in a completely different way. The Science of Running does not hold back information and is sure to challenge you to become a better athlete, coach, or exercise scientist in covering such topics as
· What is fatigue? The latest research on looking at fatigue from a brain centered view.
· Why VO2max is the most overrated and misunderstood concept in both the lab and on the track
· Why “zone” training leads to suboptimal performance.
· How to properly individualize training for your own unique physiology.
· How to look at the training process in a unique way in terms of stimulus and adaptation.
· Full sample training programs from 800m to the marathon.
Download PDF The Science of Running How to find your limit and train to maximize your performance eBook Steve Magness
"This book is packed with information. Steve obviously knows his topic and I found the science and physiological details very interesting, although they may go over the head of people without a background in science. He really does a good job of explaining the science of training and how different stressors create different adaptations and how to use that information to design training.
I hadn't seen his breakdown of athletes by muscle fiber type before and this section is very interesting because it explains how to adapt training plans and workouts based on whether a runner has predominately fast twitch or slow twitch muscle fiber for their event. This would help explain why, besides other genetic variations, different athletes respond to the same workouts differently. He definitely is not a fan of cooking cutter training plans and really gets into adapting training for the individual athlete.
He's also doesn't seem to be a fan of zone training and advises to through it out of the window. His classification of workout paces makes a lot of sense and has been proven effective by coaches such as Renato Canova. Also his explanation of funnel training was new to me and varies quite a bit compared to Lydiard type training.
So the fly in the ointment is the plethora of misspellings and grammatical errors and is the reason for not giving it 5 stars. They book just needs a good editor to go through it and help fix those basic errors and perhaps to refine the organization of the content and make it read better. The book is still quite readable, but it's been a long, long time since I've seen these kind of problems in the age of word processors."
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Tags : Buy The Science of Running How to find your limit and train to maximize your performance Read 114 Reviews - ,ebook,Steve Magness,The Science of Running How to find your limit and train to maximize your performance,Origin Running Press,SPORTS RECREATION / Running Jogging,SPORTS RECREATION / Track Field
The Science of Running How to find your limit and train to maximize your performance eBook Steve Magness Reviews :
The Science of Running How to find your limit and train to maximize your performance eBook Steve Magness Reviews
- In the past year, there have been a number of excellent books on training distance runners published Greg McMillan's You (Only Faster), Owen Anderson's Running Science, Jack Daniels third edition of his Running Formula, Pat Tyson's update of Joe Newton's classic Coaching Cross Country Successfully and now the most recent addition to this list is Steve Magness's The Science of Running. For those of us who remember when the only guidance on the subject was Fred Wilt's How They Train and a quarterly publication, Track Technique, we appreciate their efforts.
Steve Magness's avowed purpose is to integrate the separate silos of coaching practices and research science. His own qualifications are impressive high school phenom, disappointing college career followed by a quest to study the best coaches and coaching in the world and then his absorption of the science of running and exercise physiology (much of what appeared on his informative science of running blog). He also spent a stint with the Nike Oregon Project, seeing and supervising first hand the training of world class athletes. All this has been distilled into the Science of Running, a 331 page opus that is divided into two parts the science and then the coaching.
Mercifully, the 144 page science section is not a biology lecture on mitochondria, lactate threshold, and VO2 Max concepts.True to his promise, he attempts to use science to guide training. One learns that there is no rational basis for the current fixation on the emphasis of running at VO2 max. Other insights include that there are numerous signaling pathways activated by different types of training that can accomplish the same adaptation, that sprinting is the best plyometric, the importance of correct biomechanics to optimize the storage of kinetic energy. Before transitioning into the coaching portion of the book, the author concludes that the disconnect between science and coaching can be attributed to science's need to test a single variable in isolation vs. the integrated environment that the coach needs to actually train his
athletes in.
The coaching section's central premise is that the athlete's training should be oriented on his muscle fiber types with separate training programs created for the two types of athletes. He explains different types of training for both muscle fiber types, starting with the 800 meter runner progressing all the way to the marathon. This approach is also used when discussing supplementary training such as core exercises and strength training. Despite the fact that we are now into the coaching section, science insights are still injected when evaluating training. For example, the reader learns that probably the best core training is to run at various speeds.
Steve Magness can be justifiably proud of his contribution to the literature of distance running training. And since this book is probably destined for several more editions, I would encourage him to improve his current edition in two ways. First, there are numerous typographical errors throughout the text, misspellings and missing letters, distracting but easily corrected. Secondly, there is no index, which makes retrieving some of his insights more difficult than necessary. Despite these shortcomings, this is an outstanding guide for any coach or runner, at any level, wishing to become better and / or faster. - This book is broken into two parts. The first section is written the way science would look at training. The second part is written the way coaches might want to look at training. The author notes that the two, science and coaching, are not necessarily in harmonic agreement.
It is intended for elite runners and their coaches, but this book can still be useful for individuals with a background in science and/or training theories based on physiological data (heart rate training, vO2max, etc.) who can glean the principles Mr. Magness is getting at. For me, the author's holistic perspective on running is really useful to help take a step back and gain more awareness that I might be giving more attention to fancy gizmos, or supposed markers of fitness, than what my body is saying. - There is a reason this book is self published. I read it in about an hour and learned nothing from it. There are many books out there that do a good job helping you understand concepts like VO2max and slow v. fast twitch muscle fibers. This books merely glosses over concepts and ideas, and is poorly written. For a total beginner, there is much better material out there. For an intermediate or advanced athlete, there is little to learn here. Some of the gems, for example, include the wisdom that "every runner is an individual and should be treated like one" and that "getting married to an idea or concept limits objective or creative thinking." If these are useful tidbits to you, this book is for you.
- This book is packed with information. Steve obviously knows his topic and I found the science and physiological details very interesting, although they may go over the head of people without a background in science. He really does a good job of explaining the science of training and how different stressors create different adaptations and how to use that information to design training.
I hadn't seen his breakdown of athletes by muscle fiber type before and this section is very interesting because it explains how to adapt training plans and workouts based on whether a runner has predominately fast twitch or slow twitch muscle fiber for their event. This would help explain why, besides other genetic variations, different athletes respond to the same workouts differently. He definitely is not a fan of cooking cutter training plans and really gets into adapting training for the individual athlete.
He's also doesn't seem to be a fan of zone training and advises to through it out of the window. His classification of workout paces makes a lot of sense and has been proven effective by coaches such as Renato Canova. Also his explanation of funnel training was new to me and varies quite a bit compared to Lydiard type training.
So the fly in the ointment is the plethora of misspellings and grammatical errors and is the reason for not giving it 5 stars. They book just needs a good editor to go through it and help fix those basic errors and perhaps to refine the organization of the content and make it read better. The book is still quite readable, but it's been a long, long time since I've seen these kind of problems in the age of word processors. - FYI - I am a doctor (Family Practice) with 13 years of clinical experience, but I am relatively new to long-distance running (only 9 months). I am currently training for my first 1/2 marathon, and I've recently expanded my practice to include common runners' injuries.
This book is a very thorough and comprehensive review of the physiology and biomechanics regarding running. It is a technical text, best suited for those with at least a bachelor's degree or higher in biology or hard sciences. That said, I've enjoyed reading it, and it has enriched my knowledge base - I feel that I will be a better runner (and a better doctor for runners) as a result.
