The Purposeful Primitive is a must read for anyone who is serious about their weight training. Author Marty Gallagher has compiled anecdotes, articles, stories, observations and training methods into a book that is just about impossible to put down.
Marty himself was a World Champion powerlifter, combine this with the fact that he is intelligent and well-read and you have someone who is truly qualified to write on the topic of strength training.
The Purposeful Primitive is not just another exercise book with some programs and exercise descriptions (although it includes both of these). It goes much deeper than that and looks at the training philosophies and methods of the great and Marty himself says: "My task is to share with you the battle-tested modes and methods of the true Masters."
Find out about the training protocols used by some of the best lifters of all time, including Ed Coan.
In fact, just some of what you will learn from this book include:
- How to completely transform your body—in 90 days or less
- How to train for only five hours a week— yet be superbly lean and strong
- The two best eating plans to optimize your fat loss while gaining muscle
- Training protocols favored by the legends of champion-level strength
- How combining an Eastern mystic's mind secrets with a Western scientist's brain train methods can lead to massive leaps in your performance
- What foods will certainly sabotage your progress and what foods put you on the fast track for glory
- The very best cardio methods to complement rather than hinder your weight training
The anecdotes about great lifters peppered throughout The Purposeful Primitive are greatly entertaining, but also do a wonderful job of inspiring any reader to harden the f**k up and get stuck into their training.
Marty's exploration of the psychological side of training is particularly insightful and useful. It is an aspect of training that is largely overlooked in most books on training, yet any serious lifter will tell you that it is one of the most important ingredients for successful training, if not the most important. Marty goes so far as to describe Zen concentration techniques to prepare for, and focus on, training, which "invariably produces superior training results".
The Purposeful Primitive is also takes a very balanced approach to strength training, and Marty recognises (as do many other well known strength trainers) that strength alone is but one piece of the puzzle. There are whole chapters on cardio, strength endurance and nutrition that give the training philosiphies wholeness.
Learn the cardio secrets of athletes like Mark "The Hammer" Coleman
Anyone who is into their strength training and has read this book agrees that it is definitely one of the best books on the topic, if not the best. This is a book that will make you laugh, make you think and possibly make you reformulate the way you think about your training. Highly recommended!