Bodybuilding Related Books recommendation List

[zan777]

I searched around and couldn't seem to find anything like this on the forums so I thought I'd start one up. Basically this is meant to be a list of books that are relevant to the bodybuilding/gym area. I've only just started out so my list of books won't be as long as some of you guys so please post your recommendations.

Here's a couple to start people of:

Starting Strength (Mark Rippetoe, Lon Kilgore)
Probably the most beneficial book for the beginner gym go-er in my opinion. Starting strength covers the concepts of his renowned beginners training program as well as how to safely perform the most important barbell lifts known to weight training. The book also covers solutions on fixing the most common form errors in the major lifts.

Practical Programming for Strength (Mark Rippetoe, Lon Kilgore

This book covers everything you need to know about planning and implementing your training program. It firstly starts of by going over all the key terminology and important concepts of training (periodisation, overmanning etc) before moving on to cover specific needs of Beginner, intermediate and Advanced athletes and how to progress to the next level. The book finishes with a section devoted to "special populations" including considerations for youth, masters and returning from an injury

Strength Training Anatomy (Frederic Delavier)
Ever wondered what muscle you are targeting during an exercise or looking for an exercise to target specific muscles?... Then this is the book for you. There is a chapter devoted to exercises of every region of the body, With each individual exercise giving a brief overview of how to perform the exercise what muscles are being used and useful tips and notes along the way.
Example:

Trail Guide to the Body (Andrew Biel)
This book probably wont appeal to the common bodybuilder but anyone looking for a comprehensive guide to anatomy (Muscles, Bones, Ligaments) should definitely not look past this. Every muscle in the body has its own page showing the action, origin, insertion, nerve innervation and how to locate the muscle on your body. Its not a bodybuilding book so you won't find actions applied to gym exercises but it is still the most comprehensive, easy to follow anatomy reference book I have found.
Example:

Candyflips list:

The 4 Hour Body - An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman (Timothy Ferriss)
A different take on making skinny people larger, and fat people much smaller, using conventional and unconventional techniques from the superstars of their respective fields (track and field stars, strength trainers, weightlifters and their coaches, etc).

Advanced German Volume Training (Charles Poliquin)
Features the fabled AGVT Eastern Bloc system that builds huge hulking machines out of dweeby Western white boys.

Westside Barbell Book of Methods (Louie Simmons)
Louie’s training methodology is backed up by his athlete’s results. Currently he trains 33 men who have benched 700 pounds, 8 over 800, and 2 over 900 pounds. In addition Louie has 17 athletes who have squatted over 1000 pounds and 6 over 1100. He also has 18 athlete who deadlift over 800 pounds and has 13 athletes who have a total lifting record over 2500 pounds, 7 over 2600 pound total, and the only gym to have 2 over 2700 pound totals, plus 2 over 2800 pounds and 1 over 2900 pounds. All these athletes train within Louie's Famous Training Facility Westside Barbell. He is a strength consultant for the Cleveland Browns , Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and numerous college football teams. 2 Olympic gold medal sprinters and an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavy Weight World Champion have also trained under the watchful eye of Mr. Simmons. Top flight rugby teams have and still ask for his advice and Louie has had past dealings with the New Zealand All-Blacks to name but one of a long list.

 

[candyflip]

Nice idea for a thread. Do PDF books count as well?

I'd add in :

"The 4 Hour Body - An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman" by Timothy Ferriss
A different take on making skinny people larger, and fat people much smaller, using conventional and unconventional techniques from the superstars of their respective fields (track and field stars, strength trainers, weightlifters and their coaches, etc).

"Advanced German Volume Training" by Charles Poliquin.
Features the fabled AGVT Eastern Bloc system that builds huge hulking machines out of dweeby Western white boys.​

"Westside Barbell Book of Methods" by Louie Simmons
Louie’s training methodology is backed up by his athlete’s results. Currently he trains 33 men who have benched 700 pounds, 8 over 800, and 2 over 900 pounds. In addition Louie has 17 athletes who have squatted over 1000 pounds and 6 over 1100. He also has 18 athlete who deadlift over 800 pounds and has 13 athletes who have a total lifting record over 2500 pounds, 7 over 2600 pound total, and the only gym to have 2 over 2700 pound totals, plus 2 over 2800 pounds and 1 over 2900 pounds. All these athletes train within Louie's Famous Training Facility Westside Barbell. He is a strength consultant for the Cleveland Browns , Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and numerous college football teams. 2 Olympic gold medal sprinters and an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavy Weight World Champion have also trained under the watchful eye of Mr. Simmons. Top flight rugby teams have and still ask for his advice and Louie has had past dealings with the New Zealand All-Blacks to name but one of a long list.

HINT : all these books can be downloaded from the InterWeb with a decent search (i.e name/PDF)

 

[Admin]

HINT : all these books can be downloaded from the InterWeb with a decent search (i.e name/PDF)

while i do have a few ebooks in my collection that i read on my samsung tab , but prior to that ebooks were a pain , reading them on the screen burns your eyes plus it was a bit awkward taking the lappy to the crappy to read a book on the bogger

 

[zan777]

Nice idea for a thread. Do PDF books count as well?

Thank's Candyflip i've added your list to the OP. If the PDF books are available freely i'l add a download link to the post but yours apear to cost.

Keep suggestions coming

 

[candyflip]

If the PDF books are available freely i'l add a download link to the post but yours apear to cost.

Nope, you just need to know where to look.

If anyone wants the ones from my list (incl. 'Starting Strength' from your's) I can provide a link to my server copies. But only privately. 'The 4 Hour Body', for example, is a copyrighted (and still available) work.

 

[Rambodian]

I got this copy of starting strength free:
Starting Strength.pdf

 

[zan777]

I don't think its appropriate to talk about downloading copyright material on this forum. Although if they mods allow I can find sources for all the books in the OP

In the mean time, can anyone recommend some good nutrition books

 

[davidb0312]

In the mean time, can anyone recommend some good nutrition books

+1

 

[candyflip]

Another book I just remembered: 'Muscle' by Sam Fussell (1992)

At age 26, scrawny, Oxford-educated Samuel Fussell entered a YMCA gym in New York to escape the terrors of big city life. Four years and 80 lbs. of firm, bulging muscle later, he was competing for bodybuilding titles in the "Iron Mecca" of Southern California-so weak from intense training and starvation he could barely walk. MUSCLE is the harrowing, often hilarious chronicle of Fussell's divine obsession, his search for identity in a bizarre, eccentric world of "health fascists," "gym bunnies" and "muscleheads"-and his devout, single-minded acceptance of illness, pain, nausea, and steroid-induced rage in his quest for the holy grail of physical perfection.

A great read.

 

[walt]

read it, great book.

 

[zan777]

Thanks for the input. Will update OP tomorrow. any nutrition books??