Verkhoshansky & Siff's Supertraining Review

The latest edition of the sport science classic "Supertraining" by Prof. Yuri Verkhoshansky and the late Mel Siff is set to be released on September 15, 2009. This will be the first new edition of the book since 2003. This book has been often referred to by strength coaches and sport scientists as the "bible" of training for sports. Indeed, the book is an encyclopedia of education, with info on almost every relevant topic in sport science today.

Because of this lay-out many have said that the book is too dense or abstract to glean any practical info from. While this may be true for those new to training, those with a solid background in training science will find that many of the theoretical topics discussed can be translated into practical applications with a some thought.

However, it is important to note that "Supertraining" is not a book that is best read straight through, but instead used as reference. For example, if you are looking for information on "plyometrics" you can easily flip through the index or table of contents and find the relevant pages for this topic. This is how I and most other strength coaches typically use this book.

This new expanded sixth edition will include much more information from Prof. Verkhoshansky, with a lot of new information on the shock method. This edition will have more than 100 pages of new information, including sections on:

* The development of the adaptation process during long-term training
* Adaptive reserves
* How to manage adaptation in the training process
* The specificity of protein synthesis in the adaptation process
* The phenomenon of supercompensation

I believe this book is a must for anyone who is truly dedicated to the pursuit of education in the sport science field. With so many books out there claiming to give you the secrets to training, Supertraining is one of the few that has stood the test of time, as this will be the 7th edition of the book to be published. I have always made it a point to always have the most up to date version of this book as soon as it comes out. That’s how valuable a reference I believe it is for those serious about strength and sport training.