Science and Practice of Strength Training

by Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky, William J. Kraemer

This new second edition of Science and Practice of Strength Training comes with many additions and changes. A new coauthor, Dr. William Kraemer, joins Dr. Vladimir Zatsiorsky in expanding on the principles and concepts needed for training athletes. Among Dr. Kraemer's contributions are three new chapters targeting specific populations--women, young athletes, and seniors--plus the integration of new concepts into the other chapters.

Together the authors have trained more than 1,000 elite athletes, including Olympic, world, continental, and national champions and record holders. The concepts they divulge are influenced by both Eastern European and North American perspectives. The authors integrate those concepts in solid principles, practical insights, coaching experiences, and directions based on scientific findings. This edition is much more practical than its predecessor; to this end, the book provides the practitioner with the understanding to craft strength training programs based on individuals' needs.

Science and Practice of Strength Training, Second Edition, shows that there is no one program that works for any one person at all times or for all conditions. This book addresses the complexity of strength training programs while providing straightforward approaches to take under specific circumstances. Those approaches are applied to new physiological concepts and training practices, which provide readers with the most current information in the science and practice of strength training. The approaches are also applied to the three new chapters, which will help readers design safe and effective strength training programs for women, young athletes, and seniors. In addition, the authors provide examples of strength training programs to demonstrate the principles and concepts they explain in the book.

The book is divided into three parts. Part I focuses on the basis of strength training, detailing concepts, task-specific strength, and athlete-specific strength. Part II covers methods of strength conditioning, delving into training intensity, timing, strength exercises, injury prevention, and goals. Part III explores training for specific populations. The book also includes suggested readings that can further aid readers in developing strength training programs.

This expanded and updated coverage of strength training concepts will ground readers in the understanding they need in order to develop appropriate strength training programs for each person that they work with.

Genres: Fitness, Health, Nonfiction, Sports, Bodies

264 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1995

Reviews

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're interested in the theory and science behind strength training this book is indispensible. Don't buy it looking for actual templates or step by step instructions, but look at it as a textbook of why and what strength principles are effective. Then use that knowledge when shopping around for a more user friendly program. Tactical Barbell, and Pavel Tsatsouline's materials heavily use the principles found in this book (off the top of my head), and are both very effective approaches. I'm not 100% sure but I think Westside Barbell does as well. If you're looking for templates and programs go with those materials. If you're curious about going indepth into strength science, and are good at using numerous principles to come up with your own program, this book is excellent.

[Tiago F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Likely one of the best books on sports science to ever be written.

[Walt Haas]

Taught me a lot about training.

[Laurin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm quite ambivalent about this book. On the one hand, the first couple of chapters give some great insights into basic principles and models of training. However, there is a great amount of outdated information in here. Some of which was already outdated when the book was first published, while at other times, statements were made with way too much confidence, not fully displaying the body of evidence at the time. Especially the stuff on injury prevention and pain management are just plain bad. Would not recommend reading this book, especially if you're new to the field.

[Thai Son · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/73
The Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vladimir Zatsiorsky, later expanded and revised with William Kraemer, occupies a peculiar position in the strength world. It is cited often, revered almost ritualistically, and yet only partially read by many who invoke it. This is not a book that flatters the casual lifter. It is a dense, model-driven attempt to formalize strength training as a discipline grounded in biomechanics, neurophysiology, and long-term adaptation, written by someone whose intellectual formation took place inside the Soviet sports science apparatus rather than the modern Western fitness industry. As a result, it feels at once foundational and slightly alien, rigorous but occasionally stubborn, ambitious in scope but uneven in application.

At its core, the book argues that strength training is not merely a collection of exercises or routines, but a system of stressors applied to biological organisms with predictable, if probabilistic, outcomes. Zatsiorsky frames strength as a trainable motor ability governed by mechanical laws, neural constraints, and adaptation ceilings. This framing is what makes the book feel “bigger” than powerlifting. Powerlifting fits inside the framework, but the framework itself is meant to govern sprinting, throwing, jumping, and any athletic act where force production matters.

The early chapters lay the theoretical groundwork. Zatsiorsky begins with definitions of strength, differentiating between absolute strength, relative strength, maximal strength, explosive strength, and strength endurance. This taxonomy is not cosmetic. It underpins the entire logic of exercise selection and programming later on. A recurring insistence of the book is that training methods must be matched to the specific manifestation of strength required by the sport. This seems obvious now, but at the time it was a corrective to vague “get stronger” thinking that dominated much of Western training discourse.

The book then moves into the biomechanical and physiological bases of strength. Muscle cross-sectional area, fiber type composition, neural drive, intermuscular coordination, and reflexive mechanisms are introduced as co-determinants of force production. Zatsiorsky places particular emphasis on neural factors, arguing that early strength gains are primarily neural rather than hypertrophic. For powerlifters, this framing remains highly relevant, especially when thinking about beginners versus advanced lifters, or about peaking phases where neural readiness often matters more than muscle size.

A central conceptual contribution of the book is the classification of training methods. Zatsiorsky outlines the maximal effort method, dynamic effort method, repeated effort method, and submaximal methods, among others. These are not presented as dogma but as tools with specific adaptation profiles. The maximal effort method targets maximal motor unit recruitment. The dynamic effort method targets rate of force development. The repeated effort method targets hypertrophy and local fatigue resistance. This typology later became embedded, sometimes simplistically, into systems like the Westside Barbell method, though Zatsiorsky himself is more cautious and conditional in his prescriptions.

The middle chapters address programming variables. Intensity, volume, frequency, rest intervals, and exercise sequencing are treated not as isolated knobs but as interacting variables. Zatsiorsky introduces the concept of training load as a composite of intensity and volume, and emphasizes that excessive focus on one variable often produces maladaptation. He also introduces delayed training effects, noting that adaptation often appears days or weeks after the stimulus, a concept that becomes critical when discussing peaking and tapering.

Later chapters deal with long-term planning. Periodization is discussed not as a single model but as a family of approaches. Traditional linear periodization, block structures, and conjugate ideas are all gestured toward, though the book stops short of offering cookbook templates. Instead, it emphasizes principles such as accumulation, transmutation, and realization, even if those terms are not always foregrounded explicitly. For powerlifters, this is both a strength and a frustration. The book teaches you how to think, not what to run.

From a scientific validity standpoint, much of the book holds up remarkably well. The emphasis on neural adaptation, specificity, and load management has been repeatedly supported by later research. The force-velocity relationship, the size principle of motor unit recruitment, and the interaction between mechanical tension and adaptation remain foundational concepts in contemporary strength science. Where the book shows its age is less in being wrong than in being incomplete. Measurement tools were cruder, sample sizes smaller, and certain assumptions were made with more confidence than modern statisticians would allow.

One common criticism is that Zatsiorsky relies heavily on theoretical models that can feel over-deterministic. Human adaptation is treated as something that can be engineered with near-mechanical precision, provided the correct variables are manipulated. In practice, individual variability, psychological factors, recovery constraints, and sociocultural conditions often overwhelm neat models. Modern critics argue that the book underestimates the messiness of real-world training environments.

Another criticism concerns transfer. While the book insists on specificity, it sometimes assumes a cleaner transfer between general strength exercises and sport performance than evidence supports. For powerlifters, this is less of an issue since the competition lifts are themselves strength expressions. But for athletes in more chaotic sports, the promise of direct transfer from barbell metrics to performance outcomes has been repeatedly questioned.

There is also a stylistic criticism. The book is not pedagogically friendly. It assumes patience, mathematical comfort, and a willingness to reread sections. Compared to modern S&C texts that integrate graphs, summaries, and applied case studies, Zatsiorsky can feel austere. This austerity, however, is part of why the book still commands respect. It does not pretend that strength training is simple.

For powerlifters specifically, the value of the book lies in its capacity to discipline thinking. It clarifies why maximal strength must sometimes be trained directly, why speed work can have a place even when the competitive lifts are slow, and why volume manipulation matters as much as load selection. It also cautions against the chronic overuse of any single method, a lesson many powerlifters learn the hard way through stagnation or injury.

At the same time, the book should not be treated as a standalone programming manual. It does not account for modern realities such as equipment evolution, competition frequency, or the data-rich feedback loops now available through velocity tracking and fatigue monitoring. Its models are scaffolding, not finished architecture.

In sum, The Science and Practice of Strength Training remains one of the few texts that genuinely earns its canonical status. Not because it is perfect or complete, but because it forces the reader to confront strength training as a serious intellectual discipline rather than a collection of folk practices. For powerlifters willing to engage with it critically, it offers something more durable than a program. It offers a way of thinking that, once internalized, makes every subsequent method easier to evaluate, adapt, or discard.

[cellomerl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good stuff. Definitely not a general-interest read, but a very valuable for coaches and athletes alike, and I enjoyed its strong slant toward weightlifting. Given the lead author’s background as a Russian sports physiologist, this emphasis isn’t surprising. There is some good physiology information, and a treatment of training considerations for different types of athletes, including a fairly comprehensive and helpful section on training children. There is nothing about competition here, except for acknowledging the ability of athletes to lift considerably more under competitive conditions, a well known phenomenon. Also some of the physics explanations are shaky (not wrong, but a bit hard to follow). The book is now about twelve years old so it could probably use an update soon.

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the penultimate read for anyone looking to maximize training with more of a scientific approach. The kinesthetic and physics-derived explanations are stellar, complete with discussions/diagrams of force, angle, resistance, and their relevant transferability to activity. The sheer amount of variety in discussion here is incredible, from biochemical (catabolics/anabolics) to physiological, no detail is spared.

Best educational resource for anyone looking to get the most out of strength training.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has almost as little relevance to practical training as Supertraining.

[Terry Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very intense book on Training and for me it was a little too detailed.

Book reads like a Exercise Science textbook with various scientific studies (a bit of Physics, Physiology and Biology) that is filled with charts and formulas. It would be a great book for coaches planning the optimal routine for their athletes or professional athletes themselves. For an average joe like me wanting to improve my knowledge on strength training it was quite easy to get lost in the academic language.

However there are some interesting things I found, such as how muscles are formed, benefits of heavy weight training, free weight training being more effective than machines and etc. I would prefer finding a routine that someone else has optimised instead of planning it from ground up.

Not a bad book but surely not for someone just interested or beginning in training

[Rory Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of detail and insight.
Was very useful for challenging my own assumptions on strength training (maximal load rather than sub-maximal) and guidance on programming training.
I found some parts not appliciable - on monitoring and some bits on training specific demographics - but overall it's a great resource for strength training.

[Tisho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a must-read book for anyone who is interested in strength training.

[Herbie Behm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is regarded by many as the most influential book to S&C ever written. Certainly lives up to the hype. Valuable information on how human adaptation works for coaches in any field.

[Gustavo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, goes really in-depth on the basic principles of training!

[GORDON · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conditionally great book on Soviet era strength training. Detailed, but it assumes world class athletes and a lot of chemical assistance, given the times and subsequent investigations.

[Diogo Freire · Rating 4 out of 5]

But general, some good nuggets in there

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read about strength training.

[Dane Wozniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dense but extremely informative. Great background for understanding strength training

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice general overview of different strength training concepts and how to apply them in practice. Doesn't give you specific rep schemes or weights, but that's because of the need for individualization of programs. Also doesn't go into too much depth about what the "best movements" are, though it does seem to promote free weights over machines. Overall, a very good book for the aspiring Personal Trainer or self-programming weight lifter.

[Akif · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely amazing book. It explained the theories and application of strength training. Although it does not give you step by step of how to train, but it does give you an incredible amount of knowledge to plan your own training. It helped me to understand more of factors that affecting our strength. And I love it when they differentiate between maximal strength and RFD, This is the biggest misconception that I noticed when athlete's want to improve their performance.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found that this material was more guided towards fitness professionals rather than individuals. Things were more verbose than necessary and it was difficult to quickly tease out suggestions. I assume the content is excellent but the material was too low in information density that I mostly skimmed it.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for content, 1 for the fact that counting each hair on my head would be vastly more entertaining than this book. But I expected that coming in, still a good read for people interested in any kind of lifting.

[Steven Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super useful information but intensely hard to read. Everything is immensely dry and just presents data as a dump of information that you have to fend for yourself to understand. I basically took the sections I thought were interesting, read them and moved on.

[Christoph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good introduction to scientific strength training.

[Sebastien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basically the same comment that I gave to supertraining: good, but not the only, resource for someone with experience and that can think for himself/herself

[Philski · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book for a scientific introduction to weight training. goes over the major technical terms and ideas for weight programming

[Bojan Avramovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abeceda treninga snage

[Mike Lepree · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books a person should have.

[Daniyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's enjoyable.

[Mark Miller Jr]

A gighly scientific breakdown of the factors and combination of factors which affects the recovery, fatigue, performance, strength, endurance etc of athletes. Would recommend to anybody who wants a better understanding of biomechanics, general knowledge about programming principles, and lifting technique. Would not recommend to anybody who wants in depth and quickly applicable tips for weightlifting and powerlifting programming. All in all, it is great book for gaining general preparation to understanding and applying strength training principles.