This deals with a lot of recent sports research in a very accessible manner. In some ways it's too accessible, since the author rarely discusses experiments in detail, and a lot depends on whether you think the author is authorative. I did, on balance, but I could be wrong. Because of the nature of the book - it clearly started life as brief newspaper columns - it also doesn't always make links between different areas of research and I
think many of the key takeaways will already be familiar to people who take even a passing interest in exercise (the move away from static stretching; the idea that you do need to do some strength training regardless of your main sport; the notion that the amount of sleep affects athletic performance)
By far the biggest problem for me, though, was the overwhelming bias towards endurance sports, and running in particular. I don't think this is entirely the author's fault. It is far easier to do good quantative science work with clear output variables (faster or further?) than with the messier, correlational world of multidimensional sports requiring different physical attributes, and I am sure the book reflects an unavoidable bias in sports science. Nevertheless, the author, a runner himself, barely considers a broader range of sports. Rowing and cycling (as endurance sports) are discussed several times, but often to support other studies on running. The demands of the world's most popular team sports however are barely touched on - there's a brief discussion of how football and basketball needing both endurance and speed (no shit!) but few practical tips about how to apply the science to amateur training - unlike the wealth of advice for runners of all levels. Coverage of other sports is even worse. Tennis and other racquet sports are barely mentioned and my own sport (martial arts) is not mentioned at all outside of a brief discussion of weight cutting - the author has little to say about these sports save generalities about diet, sleep, and recovery. Even discussions of core strength and skill acquisition (far more important in virtually any sport other than running) eventually return to takeaway points - for runners.
That's not to say it is a bad book, necessarily. Whatever sport or exercise you're doing, if you're relatively new and want to build on scientifically solid principles, you will find some of the advice applicable (and even motivational- he's unquestionably good on the general health benefits of exercise) and runners will find a lot of targeted advice regardless of their level - this is also useful for anyone looking to include aerobic exercise in their general training. Unfortunately, more serious athletes in strength or skill based sports may, like me, end up wishing the author was as interested in these areas as he is in running.
Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?: Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise
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Jeremy Bee
Some valuable insights but bitty and very focused on endurance sports
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 February 2020Verified Purchase
MikeHotel
High quality information presented in a very good Q&A format
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2015Verified Purchase
S. Padazis
Excellent review of the studies of scports science by a read scientist (Physics PhD and all)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2018Verified Purchase
champion the wonder horse
good book. interesting read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 May 2016Verified Purchase
Big bob joy love
Yawn, boring useless garbage, feel asleep it was so boring
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 July 2018Verified Purchase
