Easy Strength: How to Get a Lot Stronger Than Your Competition-And Dominate in Your Sport

by Pavel Tsatsouline, Dan John

How To Look Like Tarzan, Play Like Tarzan-And Win Like TarzanHeadline:What It Takes to Stack the Strength-Deck in Your Favor "If football were played in the weight room or on the track, I could guarantee that each year, the team that won the championship would NOT be the team that won on the field of play. And that is absolutely true in every sport and every game. It's a rare track meet that you don't hear someone rhapsodize about training numbers and then see him or her lose badly. In football, we have a phrase for this: 'Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.' Pavel and my goal in writing this book is to clarify the role and impact of strength training in fitness, sports, and life. We are committed to clarity, even though at times, it's impossible to navigate the sea of conflicting information regarding the lifting sports. Pavel's experience and research provides grounding and a confidence to "Do this!" as we often joke.What can you expect from reading this book?.You will learn some history. You will discover that almost everything discussed in the fitness industry has been done before-and often better..You will reexamine the role of strength training as it applies to sport. Doing so may serve as the greatest timesaver in history!.You will find that, like a medical doctor, a strength coach must be committed above all to "Do no harm"-a pledge that's often disregarded..You will be exposed to the concept of systematic education and the need to build an athlete (or anyone!) using some kind of intelligent approach..You will be exposed to another educational system-along with a way to harness its powers-that will give you clarity into all the various fitness, health, and nutritional information being tossed at you daily..You will discover the tools for teaching an entire team to improve in a sport-and why these great tools may be of no value to you in your training!.You will be exposed to what the best in sports do in the weight

Genres: Fitness, Health, Nonfiction, Sports, Bodies

361 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

Reviews

[Baraz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only give these types of books reviews after I try out the material. I personally dislike reading reviews of fitness programs by reviewers that haven't actually run the program but comment anyway.

I ran the 40 day program end of last year. Here's my assessment.

Positive:
Pavel knows his strength training, his principles are always sound. I own almost all of his strength books.

Freed up some energy to focus on other pursuits/athletics.

Generally maintained strength levels.

Negative:
I didn't increase my strength by very much. I mostly maintained my numbers & lifts.

Although this frees up energy because of the quick and easy sessions, you're also spending more days in the gym (almost every day for 40 sessions). So time and scheduling can become a factor.


Conclusion:
It's a decent program if you're playing another sport and wish to maintain your strength in an easy 'don't think too much about it' fashion. I did not experience significant increases in strength. Personally I had better results (actual strength increases and less time in the gym) with both Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 and K.Black's Tactical Barbell book. I would rate both of those higher for the athlete looking to gain strength without interfering with athletic training.

[John Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this book and applying it's principles, everyone who trains to muscular failure or strives for "Muscle Confusion" is an idiot.
Read the book now, apply the principles immediately and believe it later.
10 reps a day gets you stronger than you deserve to be without any of the B.S.

[Paul, · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a mish-mash of ideas. Almost all are useful, but the structure could use a little work. The back and forth between Pavel and Dan is often good, but sometimes not so good. And occasionally the themes of this book appear to contradict, probably because the structure is not quite clear enough. This book is mostly for elite athletes, but the Easy Strength stuff is applicable to anyone. I think it is probably pretty helpful, though I haven't tried it yet.

Whether or not you are interested in strength, I highly recommend this book just for Dan John's take on losing. Wow! It mirrors my own view and experience, but he says it much better. Basically, winning is often the end, either because the winner sees no need to improve or because winning does not fulfill whatever need the person was trying to fill. Losing is often the beginning of a new effort and a new analysis. Losing prompts adaptation and insight. Winning is a "bad" good, and losing can be a very "good" bad. And that's not just in sports or strength, but in life. Take it to the bank, people. Learning to lose well is much easier than learning to win well. You can probably say the same thing about most of life's setbacks.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Autism is a hell of drug that I would read this for fun. Part of this low score is no fault of the authors as I am really not the target audience for this. The 'Easy Strength' is a methodology for athletes in other disciplines to gain strength through various types of weight training without hindering their athletic performance elsewhere. It is *not* a strength guide for beginners and I don't know why people are promoting it as such on the internet. There are some good titbits in there, but the book is bloated with extremely irrelevant chatter between the authors. John, in particular, uses so many oblique jokes and metaphors that I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Please, I'm begging you just talk about technique. The book could have been 300 pages less without all these asides and Tsatsouline's rants about 'fat' American children. John also seems to be fond of homophobic and sexist jokes, which is a bit odd as he seems to have trained women. He mainly talks about his male athletes in anecdotes, which suggests a more entrenched poor attitude to women in sports than some weak jokes. This is one for professional coaches only if you can get past the, frankly, deranged patter.

[Peter Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! Editing and organization definitely wasn’t too high quality, but it was good enough that I could follow. I definitely don’t agree with everything Dan and Pavel wrote, but overall, there was a lot of good content and some new ideas for me to think about and test out.

[Joe Swam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic

Are there two more knowledgeable trainers than Dan John and Pavel? I don't know of them. A great, quick read.

[Justin Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly educational and accessible for someone who has never been seriously coached in strength training. The info these guys lay down has infinitely more value than anything you might learn through a YouTube video. They demystify strength training, which was a great help to me, and gave me the tools to get started. Highly recommend.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book caused me to dramatically rethink how I train my athletes. I work with endurance and ultra endurance athletes. I cut the volume of most of my athletes programs right off the bat. The results outside of the weight room were clear. The reduction of training load had no negative effects on progress in the weight room either.
Improvements in sport performance were enough to inspire me to read it again for further evaluation.

[Six-Seven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great in theory...unfortunately I didn't get the results. I ran this for 6 weeks, and toward the end I ended up losing strength on two lifts, and merely maintained on the others. I've had better results in the weight room with 5/3/1 and Tactical barbell. I've heard and read great things about Pavel, so maybe this just wasn't the right program for me.

[Mike Lepree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the set up of this book because it felt like I was in the middle of a conversation with both Pavel, and Dan John. It's really worth a read. Alot of quoting of SuperTraining, but a damn fine written book.

[Yonathan G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reads like one of those books that is a collection of online articles just compiled and called a book. It isn't very cohesive, but rather just a lot of disparate concepts. I enjoy both authors, but I don't find this publication to be that valuable.

[Ryan Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, interesting workout concepts for sure. I’d say this book is most valuable for the athlete looking for a workout program… more so than the average Joe looking for a workout routine. Still a worthwhile read for sure.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two of the best, that says it all.

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Dan John. The majority of the contents of the book were more geared towards current higher-level athletes and strength coaches - i.e. were less directly relevant to me than his other works- but like many others I thought the basic Easy Strength program was brilliant and in a couple hours I'll be heading to the gym for the first session. Even if the extended discussions of topics like periodization don't really apply to me, I still enjoyed the discussion from both Dan and Pavel. The insight, experience, thoughtfulness, and absence of the aggressive machismo that so taints much of the rest of training landscape, always makes Dan John excellent reading.

Intervention is the best bet of Dan's books for 99% of people, and then gleam insights on the Easy Strength program from that book and from his online stuff.

4/5 as a rating, 3.5/5 for actual enjoyment due to reduced applicability

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this years ago, and tho the book has some amazing insights, it feels and reads as if a bunch of forum posts were collected and made into a book.
Pavel, an amazing guy, keeps referring to a gazillion Russian coaches (which I don't object at all) who all have very specific names for their training protocols. After a while, every page has something like: Specific Strengths Periodization Readiness Control Training Protocol Method part 7a section B.

But when it comes to no BS training approach, Dan John and Pavel rule the day.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cool book and i would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about strength training and have common ideas around it challenged.

There are definitely some dry points, and it can be a bit of a slog, but there are equally interesting ideas and suggestions that will really change the way you look at becoming strong.

[Lars · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gems hidden between rambling

I actually like the authors and they make a lot of good points but this book seriously needed an editor. Between all the anecdotes and similar but slightly different approaches, it is hard to take much away. On the plus side, one oft the anecdotes may be of unexpected interest to you.

[Cory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy Strength (the routine in the book) is an simple & efficient way to build strength without frills or confounding complexity. There seems to be a good deal of scientific support to substantiate the routines & perspectives proffered in the book, so hard to argue with the efficacy.

[Jacob Utting · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's good to get into the mind of these two master trainers. Watching them play back and forth allows one to see the dichotomy in their styles.

There are a few simple programs laid out, and some more complex. Most of all, you get a feel of how to approach strength training.

A good read.

[Jimmy47 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit scattered but interesting thoughts. Training for your event, having a baseline program that makes you feel good before adding anything, don’t mix workouts and have endurance with strength for example. Going to give kettlebells a try as a result of reading this.

[Chuck Kechter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my personal favorite of Dan John's books. It (along with Intervention), greatly changed my training practices - for the better!

Highly recommended!

[Nicholas Basile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent break down of how to systematically build a simple strength plan.

[Chuck Kechter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my personal favorite of Dan John's books. It (along with Intervention), greatly changed my training practices - for the better!

Highly recommended!

[Evan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy Strength Omnibook

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of good tid bits of information dispersed across an unnecessarily long and unfocused book

[Adam Keep · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and straightforward.

[Adam Vine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of valuable information, but probably doesn't need to be 500+ pages

[André Padrão · Rating 2 out of 5]

The knowledge seems very useful and well founded, but the writing and structure of the book is very confusing.

[Alternative365 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Futballfogadási stratégiák – Első rész


A másik típus az extrém (kockázatos) stratégiák. Segítségükkel számos sikertelen előrejelzést készíthet, és legalább egyszer kitalálhatja a pozitív egyenleggel kapcsolatos előrejelzését. Ez a fajta stratégia kezdő játékosok számára megfelelő. Ezeket azért nevezik extrémnek, mert hosszabb negatív előrejelzéssorozat esetén a tét összege nagyon gyorsan növekedni kezd, és indokolatlanul magas lesz. Ha pedig egy adott bukmékernév érdekli, nézze meg ezen az oldalon a Bet365 regisztrációs útmutatóját – amely az elmúlt évek szerencsejáték-világának egyik vezetője!

Elméletileg minden stratégia nyereséges. A gyakorlatban, ha magas téttel kezd, és nem jó előrejelzésekben, akkor gyorsan eléri a fogadási összegek ésszerűtlen határait. Ehhez ne becsülje túl játékosként képességeit, és válassza ki a megfelelő stratégiát. Egy jó játékos - alacsony kockázat, egy kezdő játékos - magas kockázat és nagy kezdőtőke szükségessége.

A pénzügyi stratégiák nem jelentenek csodaszert sok sikertelen előrejelzés ellen. Kompenzálhatják a veszteségeinek egy részét vagy egészét, ha nem túl nagyok, de nem tehetnek sikeres játékossá. Gondoljon a pénzügyi stratégiákra úgy, mint a pozitív trend ingadozásainak elsimítására, nem pedig arra, hogy egy negatív trendet pozitívvá változtasson.

Fogadási rendszerek és stratégiák

Ebben a részben információkat kaphat a legjobb és ígéretes sportfogadási és kaszinójáték-stratégiákról, amelyek révén többet nyerhet. Ezeknek a fogadási stratégiáknak biztosítaniuk kell, hogy nyerési esélyei és ezáltal fogadási sikere jelentősen megnőjön. Ebben a részben talál stratégiákat az egyes fogadási típusokhoz, konkrét stratégiákat az egyes sportágakhoz, valamint általános stratégiákat futballra, kosárlabdára, teniszre és más sportágakra.

Stratégia és rendszer – mi a fő különbség?

A szerencsejátékban ez a két kifejezés nagyon népszerű. Néhány ember számára ugyanazt jelentik, de nem. A stratégia kifejezés azt jelenti, hogy van egy cselekvési terve a fogadásban, amelynek célja hosszú távú nyereség elérése.

Másrészt a rendszer kifejezés azt jelenti, hogy matematikai valószínűségekre hagyatkozik, hogy megvédje magát a veszteségektől. A fogadási veszteségek azonban mindig előfordulhatnak, hacsak nincs korlátlan költségvetése. A rossz eredmények sorozata azt jelentheti, hogy sok pénzt veszít, és a rendszereknek továbbra is megvannak a kockázatai.

Fogadási stratégiák az egyes fogadási típusokhoz

A sportfogadások világában különböző típusú fogadások léteznek, amelyekhez saját megközelítésre van szükség. Az egyszeri fogadások alapvetően különböznek az egyenes oszlopos fogadásoktól. Ezért először tájékoztatjuk Önt a fogadások típusairól - egyedi fogadások, kombinációs fogadások és rendszerfogadások, különböző stratégiákkal. Mind a négy fogadási típushoz nem csak magyarázatot adunk, hanem használható stratégiákat is.

Minden típusú fogadásnál több taktikai lépés is megtehető, ami sikerhez vezet. A fogadási típusok és fogadási lehetőségek széles választéka gyakran zavaró, különösen a kezdők számára. De még a tapasztalt játékosok is találnak egy-két hasznos tippet fogadási stratégiáinkban és rendszereinkben.

Egyetlen fogadási stratégia lehet az, hogy magasabb oddsra fogad. Az előnye, hogy nem kell minden fogadást megnyernie ahhoz, hogy a profit jó legyen. Egy példa három, egyenként 10 eurós téttel, és meg fog győződni erről:

1. fogadás: odds 2,20 | A fogadást nem nyerik meg | Veszteség: 10 euró

2. fogadás: Odds: 3,00 | A fogadást nem nyerik meg | Veszteség: euró

3. fogadás: szorzó: 3,20 | A fogadást nyerik | Nyereség: 32 euró

Így három fogadásból 2 euró nettó nyeresége van, ha csak az egyiket tippelte meg. Bármilyen fogadás megtételekor meg kell vizsgálnia a fogadást, és nem szabad vakon fogadni.

[Henry Barry]

These guys know their stuff. Throughout the book, they reference powerlifting greats, other well known books, and big names in exercise physiology. The book provides a template for strength training for athletes, especially in season. They do a good job of explaining how athletes progress from general PE classes to becoming olympians, and the differences in training that go along with that progression. They also provide lots of routines and general methods to try, along with, my favorite, recommendations for more books to read. The end of the book, which gives a big picture look and makes you consider why you train, going into the philosophical side of things, is probably the best part. Definitely worth reading, but you should read Power to the People by Pavel first to understand it a bit more.

Merged review:

These guys know their stuff. Throughout the book, they reference powerlifting greats, other well known books, and big names in exercise physiology. The book provides a template for strength training for athletes, especially in season. They do a good job of explaining how athletes progress from general PE classes to becoming olympians, and the differences in training that go along with that progression. They also provide lots of routines and general methods to try, along with, my favorite, recommendations for more books to read. The end of the book, which gives a big picture look and makes you consider why you train, going into the philosophical side of things, is probably the best part. Definitely worth reading, but you should read Power to the People by Pavel first to understand it a bit more.