Core Performance: The Revolutionary Workout Program to Transform Your Body and Your Life

by Mark Verstegen, Pete Williams

You probably look at elite athletes and think they have something you don't. Certainly, they can do things the rest of us can't, but they have the same muscles and require the same food. They have to strike a balance between exercise and recovery, or they'll wear down. They need to get leaner and stronger without compromising their endurance or flexibility. And if they don't train intelligently and cautiously, they'll get hurt. Same as you.

Of course, athletes have hours a day to train, and you're probably lucky if you can squeeze in 60 minutes. So it's no wonder that you focus on one or two types of exercise--aerobics, bodybuilding, Pilates, yoga, kickboxing, or Tae-Bo--and assume you don't have time to work on all the other aspects of fitness.

Core Performance is the first program that delivers strength and muscle mass, endurance and a lean body, balance and flexibility, athletic quickness and power--all in less than an hour a day. How? By giving you a personal coach who has worked with some of the most famous and successful athletes in the world today.

Mark Verstegen, owner of Athletes' Performance in Tempe, Arizona, and Carson, California, has trained the best of the best: Nomar Garciaparra. Mia Hamm. Roberto Alomar. Mary Pierce. When Verstegen trains an athlete, millions of dollars in salary and signing bonuses are at stake. Bottom line: If he didn't deliver, he'd be out of business. And he's busier than ever.
What works for these gifted athletes will work for you. Sure, you can't do as much exercise as they do, but you don't need to. It takes less than an hour a day to build the type of fitness that improves your life in almost every way. You can straighten your posture, eliminate aches and pains, sleep better, and approach everything you do with more vigor and a better attitude.
Sure, you will get bigger muscles, a tighter waist, and more strength and power. But the biggest benefits come from the inside. The intense focus on the muscles of your core--abdominals, lower back, hips, and thighs--will help you stand taller and prevent the back pain from which most people eventually suffer. The detailed nutrition section guarantees that you'll feed your muscles, starve your fat, and get boundless energy when you need it most. And the attention you'll pay to recovery from your workouts will give you a straight path to the results you want.


li0The potential is within you, and the power to unleash that potential is within Core Performance.

Genres: Fitness, Nonfiction, Sports, Health, Reference

286 pages, Hardcover

First published January 17, 2004

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this one up a while back on Paul's recommendation. I had seen the book in stores for years, but there was something about it that put me off buying it. Which is unfortunate, since it turns out to be a pretty good book.

What's Good

If you're looking for a comprehensive, one-book kind of exercise program, Core Performance delivers. The book contains advice and instruction on warming up, strength training, cardio (or energy system development, in the Core Performance lexicon), explosive power development, and post-workout stretching routines. It's even got a short, but informative nutrition session. There's a very clearly laid out twelve week program to get you started, and advice for what to do once you complete that twelve week program.

So, yeah, there is a lot of information in here.

The program follows a nice, steady progression that is pretty easy to work into. I actually was using it after coming off of a really bad injury (Piriformis Syndrome, which still plauges me), and used the optional three week starter program before jumping into the full program. My wedding and honeymoon stopped me from doing the last week of the program, but overall, it seems pretty solid.

Even if you're not following the program precisely, there's a lot of good ideas and information in here. The movement prep and pre-hab concepts are invaluable for anyone involved in an athletic activity, particular combat sport. A lot of Verstegen's concepts tie in nicely with the material on Kevin Kearns DVDs, and if you're a fan of one, you will find a lot of value in the other.

What's Bad?

While Verstegen insists that you can follow this program with a minimum of equipment, the actual program does not bear that out. In order to complete the program as outlined in the book, you'll need a heart-rate monitor (or a piece of cardio equipment that has one), barbells, dumbbells, a bench, a physioball, a foam roller, some rope...and that's just what I can think of off the top of my head. If you're a member of a well-equipped fitness facility, you'll probably be fine. If you're like me and mostly workout at home or in a martial arts school, you may have a hard time following the program to the letter.

If you have access to a fully-equipped fitness facility, this is a great "one book" for fitness. If you don't, I'd recommended Ross Enamait's Never Gymless instead. It's just as comprehensive, but not nearly as equipment intensive. Still, the movement prep and pre-hab routines make Core Performance a worthwhile purchase in it's own right. Check it out!

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good if dated training plan. I plan to execute it in 2025, hopefully.

[Josh Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

In March 2012, I needed to take Colby to the library to pick up "Summer of the Monkeys" (a great book to read to kids)... We had literally about 5 minutes to browse the library for another book. I headed to the fitness section, which is surprisingly large. I skimmed all of the books, and grabbed this one. I took it home, and started reading it slowly at first, but by day 2 with the book I couldn't put it down. I read the entire thing once, and decided that I would try his 3 month workout. I got online, and was delighted to find that at CorePerformance.com, you can subscribe to a program with his workouts and meal plans. 3 months later I can honestly say that I am a "new man". I am not excited about fitness, and always looking for ways to improve my health. Thanks Mr Verstegen, for changing my life.

[Sean Blevins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Add this to New Rules of Lifting and you're set. I read through it, did the first three-week program, and was a new man. After each workout I felt better than I did before. And when I went back to my heavy weight, low-rep lifts, I was stronger, and that nagging shoulder pain had disappeared. Thought I'm not rigorously following any routines from this book, I still use its ideas and exercises to warm up, work my core, and "pre-hab"

Basic idea: You're only as strong as your core musculature. For the purposes of this book, your core consists of the area between your knees and your shoulders. The exercises here are therefore designed to strengthen, support, and protect the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments in this part of your body.

A couple of drawbacks: many of the exercises are new and unfamiliar. They are therefore difficult to figure out how to perform correctly. There is a website associated with the book, but it requires a paid membership. Also the routines are six-day/week routines, and while they're all fairly short (25-45 minutes) I don't think that hitting the gym six days a week is really sustainable for most folks. Granted, most of the exercises can be performed at home with minimum investment in equipment (a balance ball being essential), but I knew I couldn't stick with a six day routine, so I knew that my adherence to the program was going to be short-lived.

The up-shot: Use the ideas and exercises that help you where you need it. It's a great reference and good for a break from a heavy lifting routine. Combined with a good lifting book like New Rules, you should be able to be fit and lift injury-free for a long time.

[Peggy McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This makes good sense, I've adopted several of these exercises into my routine.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't say this is a book that is really "read." The text can be skimmed in an hour or so. But the philosophy of it, that "pillar strength" is critical to a well-functioning body both in day to day life and in athletic performance, is critically important. I've always scoffed at the people that advise runners, cyclists, soccer players, etc., that they need to strengthen their cores, and then have them doing crunches and some small number of lower back exercises. Ridiculous. The variety in this and the categorization of activities into different functional areas - e.g. movement prep, prehab, strength, etc - are useful. And, as goofy as this sounds, I think the swiss ball stuff is fun.

[Kapil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently written.

Some people may take issue with the fact that many statistics are stated but not substantiated. I tend to look at that as a coach who's read a bunch of stuff but decides to distill it for you. It may not be totally accurate, but he's a coach trying to motivate you.

This will be a bible for my working out.

[Michelle]

This book is great! Teaches you how to make sports training relative to your daily life.

[Barbara]

My husband just bought this book for him to read. I plan on reading it after he's finished. It's time to get back in SHAPE!

[Megan Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best workout program I've ever done. I recommend this to everyone I know that wants to have a varied, incredible workout!

[Janet Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is IT, folks: the exercises fitness guru Justin Levine has been teaching our Visalia Tri Club. I've been working out for decades and am finally getting results with this program. Whoopee.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I use this book often and its high on my list in terms of great exercises. focused on increasing functional and core strength, range of motion and flexibility.

[Jacob Cruzan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. I was looking for exercises that I can incorporate in my unit's PT program. I was able to get some exercise ideas.

[Jeb Huckeba]

I think this is a great program for busy professionals or anyone wanting to incorporate all aspects of fitness in their daily life. Most of the workouts can be done in less than an hour

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for a resource on mobility and flexibility exercises this is a good one.

[Sondra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this so much, I ordered the book they specifically wrote for women.

[Lyn Tally]

For the at home athlete.