IronFit Strength Training and Nutrition for Endurance Athletes: Time Efficient Training Secrets For Breakthrough Fitness

by Don Fink, Melanie Fink

Fully illustrated with depictions of proper exercise technique, this book contains exciting strength training programs based on sport (e.g., triathlon, running, cycling, swimming) and levels from beginner to advanced.  For the marathon runner, triathlete, duathlete, distance swimmer, or cyclist, these programs will complement  any other training regimen an athlete follows. Written without confusing jargon, IronFit® Stregth Training … provides concise and easy-to-follow information. Don and Melanie Fink of IronFit® have coached hundreds of athletes over several decades at all levels, from weekend warriors to world champions. Their innovative approaches to strength training and nutrition not only complement an athlete’s sport-specific training, but they do so in the most time-efficient and enjoyable way possible. Multi-sport and multi-leveled, this book provides 27 specific program schedules – 9 sports and 3 levels each to give 1) A progressive strength and core training program for their specific sport and level. 2) A mind and body preparation program to maximize benefits. 3) A traveling strength and core program for travel with little or no equipment.  4) A fueling and hydration routine to maximize performance before, during, and after competition. 5) A healthy eating and lifestyle plan.

Genres: Sports

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Allan Martell]

It's the most systematic and didactic book I've found on how to adapt one's diet and create a fueling plan that covers the before, during and after of the workouts. Excellent reference even if you only run or bike. The recommendations about swimming were almost non existent.

[lynda slack]

I found this so easy to read , loads of useful plans shd explanations. I have a real clear understanding of what I need to do and how ho go about it. Read in a day as just so interesting.

[Keith]

Pro:
They discovered that strength training is necessary to prevent injury in endurance athletes. Secondly, that in the competitive season, athletes often have trouble fitting in a 1 hour workout in addition to their sports specific training. Therefore, they found that even 20 or 30 minutes of strength training yields good benefits, and divided workouts into off-season, pre-season, and competitive season training.

Con:
The description of metabolism was oversimplified to where it doesn't match physical reality.

This book is the experience of two coaches & thus is a description of what they have found to work. The recommendation hydration rates exceed typical absorption rates as I understand them. The diet and hydration of a bunch of athletes are profiled. I skimmed over that part.

Here is some things I found on the Internet because of reading this book. 

"And so begun my journey into a land of bullsh*t and fantasy that is ‘established’ human nutrition theory. I can confidently say I do not know of any field of human endeavor in which so much bullsh*t, unsubstantiated hypotheses and complete nonsense has been presented and accepted as science and as conventional wisdom. Pick any subject from saturated fat, to fish-oil supplements, antioxidants supplementation, to the benefits of fibre in lowering cancer and you get – drum roll – nothing! Nothing but really bad science, wishful thinking and the wilful misrepresentation by an industry that pretends it knows what it is doing."  
http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/On-Tim...

"But before we tar all “registered dietitians” with the same brush, ... Based on Professor Harry Frankfurt (1986) essay “On Bullshit” we get diet truth tellers, we get diet liars and we get diet bullsh*tters. Truth tellers convey the facts, with measured caution. Liars know the facts, but willfully mislead. But bullshitters just make up any story to impress the people that pay money or take the time to listen to them. (See Ben Goldacre’s book – Bad Science)."
http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/On-Tim...

Quite a few interesting comments here.
http://www.ultrunr.com/carbo.html

[Katie]

I enjoyed the book. There were good tips and examples of exercise plans. I wish there had been a plan dedicated to the Olympic distance triathlon. Instead it was combined with Sprint distance. Having only done one season of training and competing at the Sprint level for that year, I had hoped for tips or a plan to move up to the next distance which is twice the length. I will possibly look through it again in a year or two if I jump to the 1/2 iron distance.

[Cortney]

Like "Be Iron Fit," this training guide is comprehensive and actionable. There are some great strength and conditioning workouts in here broken out by your type of race (short course or long course), as well as the time in the season (early, mid-season, and competitive). While I don't really follow these workouts as prescribed, I like the structure that Don Fink lays out in this book.

[Kelli Stephenson]

The strength training section is the best part, I like how it is sport specific. Very useful explanations and pictures, seems easy to follow. The nutrition section started off good with the explanation of how to determine how many calories you need to eat to maintain and lose weight, but it just went on and on. Repetitive!

[Marsha Altman]

Really more important for marathon and triathlon runners, but has some great stuff for people who are serious about getting fit and staying that way.