Powerlifting Paperback – April 12, 2012

Amazing book. It was a very short read, but it contained an abundance of useful information for the sport including whole chapters on each lift of course. Provided great information on accessory work, great information on different routines to pick up on. Great information for a beginner like myself, but includes chapters for the more advanced lifter as well. Dan Austin was one of the greatest LW powerlifters in the world, so you can only expect to get the best information in a concise and logically fluid manner. No worthless jargon, no "bro" or pseudo-science that I could manage to find in here. I learned more from this book about the sport than I have in a year's time of browsing the endless forums and articles on the internet.

Pros: Good explanation of the basics, including lots of exercise choices to augment the three big lifts. Good use of pix. Good info on attitude and the mental aspects, nutrition, and the basics of periodization. Cons: The explanations of advanced training cycles like the conjugate system are not as clear or example-laden as they might be. These concepts are complicated and clarity is needed if the treatment is to be useful for someone unfamiliar with the concepts, or with a mistaken idea about them. But the book gives you enough info to get you started and alert you to do more research.As a newcomer to Powerlifting I think the book is helpful. My interest is chiefly in Olympic lifting and adapting some of the powerlifting methods to the Oly lifts, and I think the book is useful.A friend who's made great progress in powerlifting recommends Squat Every Day, for another take.

Powerlifting: The complete guide is essentially the sport's version of Greg Everett's book on Weightlifting, though perhaps not quite as detailed, but it is close. This book is a start to finish manual on the sport, explaining everything under the assumption that you were reading it to truly learn what Powerlifting is, and how to compete in it. The authors do a great job of explaining the science and physiology involved to give the reader a bit of foundation, but they don't take it overboard and bore you to bits with it. Everything is covered in this book, from a breakdown of how to perform the lifts (written for someone that really has no idea at all), to programming, and what to expect come competition day. There's even a small section on sport psychology and mental training, which I'm a huge fan of.A few things stand out to me about this book. First, it's written by guys who were athletes first, as some of the goofy machismo of Powerlifting finds its way onto the pages. The book is incredibly easy to read, but sometimes reads like someone is having a conversation, not writing. Perhaps for some this isn't obvious, but people who enjoy reading regularly, may find this a bit annoying. The last thing that really stands out is the authors' affection for equipped Powerlifting. The book does cover raw Powerlifting as well, albeit in less detail, although that may be a result of the fact that raw powerlifting is a lot less complicated. In fact, I had not realized just how complicated equipped Powerlifting is. Not only do you have all the special gear, but then you can have the pieces altered in terms of the shape of the collar, the thickness of the stitching, etc... all of which lets you squeeze more weight out of it. Then then there is the training...go raw up until this percent, then put on the suit, but keep the straps down, then when you reach a certain weight put the straps up, then put on the knee wraps, and so on and so forth. The authors even recommend bringing different sized suits on meet day, because the one you train in may not fit quite right after your weight cut. The whole thing seemed complicated and unnecessarily messy to my purest Weightlifting heart.The programming section of the book was one I was most looking forward to for a few reasons: One I'm a huge programming nerd, and two, I was in need of some fresh ideas for the general fitness clients I train. The book certainly delivered on that, for me. Although there was a section dedicated to "conjugate training" which was quite obviously just a Westside clone, the book featured two other periodized methods: Undulating (which I was familiar with, but needed a brushing up on) and APRE or Autoregulating Progressive Resistance Exercise.I had honestly never heard of this method before, and I'm not sure where the chart came from (if anyone has any insight on that, I'd love to know), but is exactly the type of thing I was looking for. I'm currently trying this method with one of my clients, and it's going really well so far. She has hit some HUGE rep PRs, and I think it's well suited for her since she does better with higher rep training than she does outright maxes.I also picked up a few gems I wasn't familiar with in terms of exercises, like the Tate Press, the Bradford press, which just these few things alone made it worth the read. I have some clients that have been with me for 5+ years and for them it's always important to incorporate new movements, if for nothing else, a little mental variety.

The book doesn't focus on the full mechanics of how to squat, DL, or bench. Mark Rippetoe's book, Starting Strength may be ether for that. But, the programming, progression, and mental preparation are awesome in this book. It is concise but detailed enough to educate provide you with a strong foundation of understanding. It is an efficient book to read and will help you become stronger. All that is left if for you to do the work and move that weight.

I finished reading my book not long ago. Very helpful and informational. Some things I didn't even know as a personal trainer for several years. I based some of my training around a few points from the book and did well in my first lifting meet. I highly recommend!

This was a great book for beginners in powerlifting, like me. As an older guy I needed more direction than just friends at the gym, so this was a big help. Pictures help a lot and the included features like diet and acessory exercises were good.

This book is a very good starting point for beginners but lacks information for advanced and experienced lifters. Also, the authors don't once mentioned steroids or other strength drugs. Dan Austin is a multi-time World and National drugs and has to have some opinion on drug use in powerlifting. Since he is a college strength coach, I believe he refrained from discussing drug use because of his current job. The book does discuss choosing a federation to lift in but drug testing isn't listed as one of the reasons. This shows a real lack of courage on the part of the authors. Most strength drugs are illegal to obtain and use and some disussion on their use should have been included in the book. They also make mention of different methods of training. A couple of methods are made popular by known drug users. I also don't like the fact that they quoate Fred Hatfield and Louie Simmons in the book, both well known drug users. Powerlifting contiunes to have a drug problem that the authors don't think is well mentioning.

book is very good in my opinion easy reading very understanding its motivating me for my transformation wish I can get in contact with the author to thank him