The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40

By the time I finished this book, I understood why a 71 year old grandmother who can't walk will benefit more from barbells than a 17 year old football player. It was kind of astonishing. And I believed every word of it. The authors make a very convincing case that basic strength training – yes, the type of strength training that 17 year old athletes do – is the most effective medicine possible for improving your quality of life as you age. This completely reverses the stereotypical idea that lifting weight is only for young guys who are already big and trying to get bigger. The most logical reason to train for strength is in fact to overcome weakness. We lose strength as we age. And then life begins to suck. I mean … it makes a lot of sense. Now, the guy on the cover looks like he's been working out for years, but don't let that fool you. This is not aimed at the aging body builder. This is a book for beginners who happen to be above the age of 40. It lays out a sensible plan for how just about anyone can leverage methods that have traditionally been applied to gaining athletic performance to improve their own health, no matter their age. I don't usually write reviews and tend to avoid putting anything at all on the internet as a general practice. But the thing that really makes me want to recommend this book is that it is written with a lot of heart and sensitivity to the physical difficulties the aging population faces. This is not your standard weightlifting manual (though the authors both regularly produce high quality material on the subject.) This book is for ordinary people who want to keep – or regain – their independence, dignity, and health as they age. I figure that's worth five stars.

There are many reasons why I can recommend the book, “The Barbell Prescription, Strength Training for Life After 40”. I suggest that it should be read by anyone, man or woman, over 40. I myself have purchased both the paperback and Kindle versions. Here are a few of the reasons why I recommend this book. 1. Experience: The two authors, Sullivan and Baker, have years of experience of coaching the Masters Athlete and this adds to the credibility of this text. I must ask who better to write a book about the barbell prescription topic for Masters then two individuals with the combined credentials and experience that Sullivan/Baker have. They can take a complex topic and make it easy to understand and digest. Too often books written for and about the aging population are written at such a high level that you need a Ph.D. to decipher. This book is deep but the authors write it in a way that anyone can understand at first reading. This book with its layout and progression through the topic, with understandable descriptions, will allow the reader to quickly unlock the mystery of their aging bodies. It explains why barbell training is vital to be able to live a healthy life after 40. 2. “Sick Aging Phenotype” explained: This new term as it is defined throughout and the book makes sense. The example of Will and Phil in Chapter 1 about two identical twins living very different lives is a shrewd description of what the authors mean by this term and why they believe strongly in the Barbell Prescription topic for aging adults. This chapter lays out the groundwork for the authors’ premise of barbell training to combat the aging process and what it takes to counteract the previous sickly outcome for most people over the age of 40. 3. The book concentrates on the Masters athlete: Most barbell training books are aimed at the younger athlete. The Masters concentration allows the authors to make the differences clear about how an athlete over 40 can and should use barbell training as part of their regimen to counteract the aging process. Thus, Masters can live a healthier life as they age. The authors explain why, "Masters are volume-sensitive, intensity-dependent", why this is different than in younger lifters, and how to work with this principle in the Master athletes own training. 4. The authors provide a clear explanation of the building blocks of a training program: The explanations about the Novice versus Intermediate programming is concise. Sullivan/Baker give complete descriptions of the Stress-Recovery-Adaptation cycle. Included in this description are whole chapters on each part of the cycle. They provide clear examples and explanation of training programs for the many different ages what constitute an athlete over 40. The purpose of this book is to present the information needed for the aging population to live by the premise that “Healthy aging is Strong aging”. The authors deliver on that purpose. If someone is looking specifically for a how-to book on how to perform the barbell movements, that is not the purpose of this book. As Sullivan/Baker state in the Introduction and Chapter 7- Elementary Iron, “This book is not intended to instruct the reader in the performance of barbell exercises.” It correctly points to, Starting Strength Basic Barbell Training 3rd edition, for performance and instruction of the barbell movements. Also in Chapter 14 – Programming, they state that, “This is not a cookbook. Read everything before you try anything.” I can say for myself that by reading this book I have been able to take advantage of all the information the authors provide. It was and is both helpful and eye-opening for myself and will be to others. The book makes it clear that being a Masters athlete can help one reach their full “genetic potential”, no matter what their age. As I stated earlier I recommend this book.

As an older lifter, currently 74 years old, finding the three books, Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, Practical Programming by Mark Rippetoe and Andy Baker, and The Barbell Prescription by Dr. Sullivan and Andy Baker, changed my approach to strength training. The authors present the science and mechanics of performing barbell lifts in a safe and efficient manner. The books should be read and studied thoroughly. They are a must have resource for lifters of all ages that want to build strength to improve their quality of life. They are also must have resources for coaches and trainers that are focused on getting results for their clients. The Barbell Prescription focuses on the science and programs for Athletes of Aging, those beyond 40, 60, and 70. It is never to late to start strength training and the Barbell Prescription provides the road map to safe acquisition of the strength needed to live a self reliant and productive life as the years accumulate. Following the guidance in these books from Rippetoe, Baker, and Sullivan I have fully recovered from crippling motorcycle crash injuries and have achieved remarkable strength levels as measured by my progress with the barbell lifts. I have purchased multiple copies and have gifted them to friends and family so that they can have the information needed to achieve increased strength also. Buy the Books! Do the program!

This is a fairly large, information dense book. A collaboration between a strength training coach and a doctor, it is a unique blend of training advice for strength training. This publication is less dogmatic than Mark Rippitoe's Starting Strength, and is geared toward the mature novice and intermediate trainer. Dr. Sullivan allows his wry sense of humor to sneak in occasionally, and it is refreshing to see that a doctor actually DOES what he prescribes for others.

My recently deceased father had to use a walker for the last several years of his life. I'd like that to never happen to me. I turn 70 in two months. Using the information in this most excellent book, (with the aid of an online lifting coach too), I can say that I know I'm stronger than most men 20 years younger than I am. Resistance training, (EXTREMELY safe when done correctly) is the best way to slow down the aging process. This is an excellent resource for doing it well.

This book is very timely, and yet long overdue. As an orthopedic surgeon for over 27 years, I highly recommend The Barbell Prescription to anyone at all concerned about their health, or the health of their patients. Yes, this is a book that is detailed enough for physicians, and yet well-written enough for everyone interested in health. Note that it isn't just for "muscle heads" or "gym rats". It is for the guy who is 50 and fat, for the woman who is 40 and too thin from dieting, spin classes, yoga, and circuit training, and for me, the 61 year-old guy who sees patients all the time who have little strength, dwindling energy, bad knees, and an addiction to television. Dr. Sullivan gives a very clear and well-referenced explanation of the current state of knowledge about fitness and it's relation to overall health. He discusses hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, bone health, and how all can be improved and the effects reversed by the careful application of Strength Training. It turns out that the information about aerobics that began in 1968 with Kenneth Cooper's book Aerobics, is NOT the answer to the Metabolic Syndrome (visceral obesity, insulin resistance/hyperglycemia (diabetes), hypertension, dyslipidemia, and inflammation), but Strength Training IS the answer. Dr. Sullivan introduces the "Sick Aging Phenotype" which represents much of the adult population of the United States. After explaining this in the first of three sections of the book (The Why), Dr. Sullivan and Mr. Baker go on to explain the What and the How of Barbell Training. The suggested training is low-tech, but very specific, and the beauty of weight training is that one can start very light if necessary, and lifting can be adjusted a pound at a time. I consider this a "must read" for physicians who care for adults, especially adults who in are in the long slow decline of aging, shoring up their failing body systems with a dozen or more medications. This book will open your eyes. Related book: Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe

At first glance, it's not an easy book to understand from the get-go, because it covers different circumstances. An over-40 weightlifter may not have the same routine as over-50 and so on. Also, once you move from novice to intermediate, there isn't a one size fits all program, so it covers the various modifications. If you're an experienced weightlifter that doesn't want to read any of the basics, then this book may not be for you. Likewise, if you're an older beginner, and just looking for a program without putting any thought into customizing it -- well this book isn't for you either. This book is great for someone that may be new to strength training at an older age, and appreciates some of the basic knowledge. And also willing to read through some of the technical details so you can come up with a customized program for yourself. I read one negative review where someone criticized the book for recommending the Texas Method to older intermediates. That's not exactly true -- it offered the Texas Method for those Masters up for it -- but also offered modifications to the method that may be more appropriate for older athletes. It's the modifications that matter. I especially liked the sample logs and programs that the book provided. I found myself following the program for my age bracket, and progressing just as written. Yes there are YouTube videos that cover some of these exercises, and all other sorts of material on weightlifting. But none of them are complete. I find myself using this book along with Starting Strength along with the free Mark Rippetoe Art of Manliness YouTube videos. They all have something to offer along with the many other countless videos out there -- but this book has been an immense help.

The Barbell Prescription describes how to use the Starting Strength method of linear progression for novice lifters over the age of 40. The book lays out the reason for lifting for life, how to execute the lifts safely and how to implement the program. I'm 55 years old and my only experience with barbell exercises was almost 20 years ago when I tried a HIT style program of squats, deadlifts, weighted dips, chin ups and seated dumbbell presses. I made some progress but stalled and gave up after about 6 months. Since then I've had long periods when I did nothing strength related and some decent periods of work with kettlebells and body weight strength exercises. I decided to give the barbell one last shot while I'm still young enough to significantly increase my strength. I'm so glad I found this book. I was looking for Starting Strength and saw the link to this book and bought it and read it first. I ended up purchasing the kindle version of SS as it contains more detailed descriptions of the base exercises and is a worthy purchase on its own. Part one of The Barbell Prescription was preaching to the choir for me, go look at the table of contents if you want to see the topics. Part two gives a decent overview of the exercises used in the Starting Strength method and how to properly execute them. Part three discusses the SS progression model. So simple and yet so effective. There are so many programs out there that most novice lifters just want somebody to tell them, "Just do this". That's what this book does. Part three tells you, "Just do this" to SAFELY get stronger in the least amount of time. For those of you worried about conditioning, part three does not disappoint. Those of us on the wrong side of 40 (or 50) need strength and need basic conditioning. Stealing a quote from a book on clean eating I read, "I want to die young at a very old age". I think this book will help me do that.