BOOK REVIEW: JUGGERNAUT TRAINING’S “A THOUGHTFUL PURSUIT OF STRENGTH”

 

 

Greetings once again internet.  I am continuing in my voracious quest to read things on lifting again, and when Labor Day sales were abound I decided to pick up a paperback copy of Juggernaut Training (JTS)’s “A Thoughtful Pursuit of Strength”.  At $40, it was right around the cost of 5/3/1 Forever, and considering how much I enjoyed the latter, I figured there was a shot of this being a similarly worthwhile purchase.

The book absolutely looks pretty

 

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT:

 

This book left a bad taste in my mouth.  It’s not a book: it’s a collection of articles Chad had already written before and crammed together into a book.  This is similar to the Elitefts Basic Training Manual, which I ALSO spent $40 on back in the day, and ALSO felt pretty unhappy with as a result.  It’s especially unnerving to call it “A THOUGHTFUL pursuit”, because there was no added thought in compiling previous authored articles together.  With this being marketed as the magnum opus of Chad’s career in coaching, I really expected it to be a book that was intended to BE a book from the start.

 

THE BAD:

Not very thoughtful...

 

It’s primarily stylistic issues this approach runs into: throughout the book, Chad refers to what he’s writing as “in this article”, which gives away the game that he took his old articles and mashed them together.  In addition, Chad is a fan of relaying a select few anecdotes about training which, when it’s done in articles released over a span of several years, makes sense to remind a reader about what he’s talking about, but when you JUST read an anecdote 2 pages ago and Chad re-introduces it in a new article like you’ve never heard it before, it removes you from the immersion.  There are also several formatting errors, instances of paragraphs getting cut off, and ALSO instances of Chad taking a previously written paragraph and inserting it into a new article.  Since I read the whole thing over the span of 2 days, it become pretty obvious, so maybe if you read it slower it’ll be ok.

 

THE GOOD:

There is something to be said about credentials....

 

Chad wrote great articles for his website, so having them all complied in one spot is helpful.  I also REALLY dig Chad’s philosophy.  We’re very much aligned.  He’s big on not getting psyched up in training, saving PRs for competition, training in phases, etc etc.  I also REALLY dig that Chad emphasizes the importance of hypertrophy and variety for a new lifter.  I recently re-read the second edition of Practical Programming for Strength Training (I may review that too), and the two books could not be further from each other in approaches.  Consequently, it shows that CWS is a world class shotputter, powerlifter and pro-strongman who has trained many successful athletes and Mark Rippetoe is…Mark Rippetoe.  I think this book would be a fantastic manual for a newer athlete to have a grasp of what training should look like on the quest to get bigger and stronger.

 

On top of that, in the back of the book, there’s a ton of Chad’s programs laid out, which percentages and movements.  Incredibly valuable.  I honestly really like the look of the strongman/powerlifting program.

 

Chad does a good job breaking down the 3 powerlifts as well, and gives tips on how to maximize performance and select that appropriate supplemental work to improve it.

 

THE…OK:

Yup: that's vanilla alright

 

There’s a big section in the book on back re-hab written by a chiropractor that worked on Chad for a herniated disk.  I genuinely didn’t care for/about it, but I’m sure it’s helpful for people that care about that sorta stuff. 

 

FINAL VERDICT (SHOULD YOU GET IT?)

 

…it depends.  I will flat out say that this is NOT as valuable as 5/3/1 Forever, and so, with it being the same cost, I would not buy it.  HOWEVER, it IS offered as an e-book at a significantly reduced price, at which point I think it’d be worth having.  If you’re an experienced lifter (counting training time by decades), I don’t think you’ll learn anything from it, but can at least read it and appreciate what is shared.  If you’re a newer lifter, this book is a MUCH better influence on your training compared to a LOT of garbage that’s out there.  CWS is legit: it’s why I bought the book in the first place, and ALSO why I was a bit disappointed in it.  I expected more FROM Chad as a result.  However, Chad is ALSO so legit that, when he fails to deliver to the standard expected, his “substandard delivery” is still leaps and bounds over other folks that EXCEED expectations…if that makes sense.  It’s like Michael Jordon playing only with his left hand: it’s still going to be pretty good.  Or like the old joke about how there’s no such thing as bad pizza. 

 

That got super rambly.  Don’t buy the paperback unless you REALLY hate e-books.  If you’re a newer trainee, get this book and read it before you contaminate yourself with other junk.  Otherwise, I’m definitely going to re-read Powerlifting Basics Texas Style and 5/3/1 Forever before I come back to this one, but I’ll definitely steal from the programming in the back.