Book or article reviews & recommendations

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reading is hard but sometimes worth it. post collections of words here

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Title:
How We Learn to Move

Author:
Rob Gray

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 – The Myth of the One “Correct”, Repeatable Technique
Chapter 2 – We Are Built to Produce and Detect Variation
Chapter 3 – The Business of Producing Movements & Why We Don’t Need a Boss
Chapter 4 – Freedom through Constraints?!
Chapter 5 – We Perceive the World in Terms Of What Our Body Affords Us
Chapter 6 – Learning as Search, the Laws of Attraction & the Tim Tebow Problem
Chapter 7 – New Ways of Coaching I: The CLA
Chapter 8 – New Ways of Coaching II: Differential Learning
Chapter 9 – Good Vs Bad Variability, Optimal Movement Solutions & Effective Self-Organization
Chapter 10 – A New Perspective on What It Means to Be Creative
Chapter 11 – Youth Coaching: The Problem with Cones & Making Practice Fun Again
Chapter 12 – What Are We “Acquiring” Anyways? The Nature of Expertise, Automaticity and Direct Learning
Chapter 13 – The Evolving Role of Technology & Data in Supporting Skill Development
Chapter 14 – Injury Prevention & Adaption (Not Rehabilitation!)
Chapter 15 – A Little about My Journey & Some Exploration Guides for Your Own

Synopsis
The book is an introductory book on the ecological model of human motor learning, expression and skill development. It starts off with a history of ecological and "traditional" models of motor learning, with comparison to the "traditional" models of motor learning.

It then discusses common observations, problems and contradictions with our typical understanding of skill development through an ecological lens, along with examples of coaching methods.

Discussion
This is a good read overall, though it can definitely be very dense reading especially for those who have not yet been exposed to ecological/dynamic systems models of motor learning. It's written in broad/general terms, so it does require a bit of thinking to apply the understanding to specific situations.

The model is applicable to weightlifting, even if it's probably more applicable/efficacious for understanding other sports.
I would suspect that weightlifting being a fairly simple sport where skill expression is heavily limited by physical capacity does mean that the ideal variability is probably lesser than other sports.

The broader concepts are heavily applicable to weightlifting as most models of weightlifting technique are too rigid and do not hold up to physical scrutiny when applied to different athletes with different backgrounds. I think weightlifting coaching also rarely encourages exploratory learning, despite the fact that most of us think we do that well.

The discussion around injury rehabilitation vs injury adaptation is an interesting perspective that makes sense given my personal experiences and broader understanding. I think this is more pertinent to those who have more limited adaptability (e.g. Masters lifters).

[Hawkpeter]

So much of people's approach to coaching weightlifting appears to be merely a skill taxonomy. Absent is precisely what it sounds like this text is trying to address.

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Title
The Ultimate Hybrid Athlete

Author
Alex Viada

Table of Contents:
Introduction: What is a Hybrid Athlete?
Part 1: The Science and Principles behind Hybrid Training

• Chapter 1: The Body Systems
• Chapter 2: Fatigue
• Chapter 3: Analyzing Stressors
• Chapter 4: Programming
• Chapter 5: Hybrid Training
• Chapter 6: The Sports
• Chapter 7: Advanced Concepts

Part 2: The Hybrid Programs

• Chapter 8: Pretesting
• Chapter 9: Movement key
• Chapter 10: The Programs

Review
Where Viada's first book was more of a proof of concept and establishing the definition and theory of hybrid training, this follow up is a part textbook, part practical handbook. It aims to equip the reader with the tools necessary to understand the physiology of different training methods and how to combine them to construct self-contained, coherent programs that serve different primary purposes.

The book is written to an audience of well read trainees, as opposed to academics, and does a good job of balancing sufficiently detailed content without getting in over its head. It also has a healthy dose of anecdotes for levity or for illustration and plenty of practical advice that provides food for thought.

The first chapter deals with the physiology of the human body and how it relates to both exercise and recovery from exercise. A good refresher for many coaches, and establishes the fundamental underpinnings of exercise prescription for those who don't have that physiological background. The remaining chapters deal more with practical applications and experiences commonly found in this area.

Although it obviously has the primary purpose of dealing with what most "hybrid athletes" want (i.e. concurrent training of some strength sport and some endurance sport), I think a lot of the concepts presented make for a good general theory of training. More than just strength and endurance specifically, all training simply interferes with all training.

I really enjoyed reading this and got through it quickly but will likely re-read it again. I would recommend just about any coach to read through this book - expensive but thoroughly worth the price.

[Elle]

I read his first book, but I wasn't much interested in hybrid training at the time. Now that the topic interests me more and is more popular (has anyone mentioned Hyrox?), I'll try rereading it, and this one too.

Thanks!