Purposeful Primitive has just bust into Dragon Door's Top Ten list--see all 24 reviews
From: John Du Cane
Subject: Fitness
Date/Time 2008-07-20 16:22:11
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Customer reviews of: The Purposeful Primitive Average Rating:
9.4 in 24 reviews
If you are a student of the Iron Game, if Marty writes it, read it! Rated 10 out of 10
Unless you were a competitive bodybuilder and powerlifter in the 70's, 80's and 90's; or even if you were, you would be hard pressed to find more and better information about the real world of training than in Marty Gallaghers lastest epic, The Purposeful Primitive.
Marty is without peer as a writer in the Iron World, combining a rare and unique ability to transmit inportant training and historical data at the same time making it seem like he is just telling a story to his training buddies.
Marty last book about the greatest powerlifter in history Ed Coan: THe Man,The Myth, The Method was just a taste of the information and in depth insight Marty has given to the critical aspects of body transformation in The Purposeful Primitive. Covering resistance training, cardiovascular work, real world nutrition info from the trenches and the rarely examined but critical aspect of the mental game Marty hits on all cylinders in a very easy to read examination of how to REALLY change your body the way it's been done by experts for many years. He backs it up with many examples of regular people using his techniques with great success.
The fact that Pavel considers Marty his mentor should say it all.The fact that Marty writes so well makes reading everything he writes a joy.
I love the in depth look at the Iron Masters; the guys I grew up idolizing and patterning my training after.Information, inspiration and motivation all in one incredible book. Great job Mr Gallagher, can't wait to see what you come up with next!
Rif
Mark Reifkind - San Jose Ca
Holy Sh*t! It's about Freakin' Time!!! Rated 10 out of 10
I haven't even read the entire book, and I am FLOORED with this information. POWERFUL, INSPIRATIONAL AND PRACTICAL...Oh yea, the workouts I've read, the info prescribed, all of it will transform anyone into a freakin' animal!
Where was this stuff when I was a competitive athlete! This is going straight into the hands of the Coaches at my gym for education and inspirational purposes.
This book is about what training should be and unfortunately is not in way too many places. It is long overdue that we have such a book like this!
The photos, the stories and the workouts are so freaking inspiring, it makes me wanna drive right back to my gym and kill the weights! I am fired up and please don't take this as arrogance, but, I rarely endorse other products! This one is amazing!
I'm getting the inside look at how men of amazing strength trained, how powerful gyms were formed, the type of foods to eat for super human gains in strength and he development of lean muscle.
Marty, I never met you or ever spoke with you, but damn do I feel like we're related! Thank you sincerely my friend, this is the kind of stuff that is near and dear to my heart.
When I was a teenager, you would find me awake at night, at 2, 3 in the morning, reading Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, planning my workouts, getting pumped up looking at the old school bodybuilders in the endless black and white photos.
It's too bad this book wasn't available for me back then, but hell, I'll take it now!
I am grateful beyond words!
In Strength,
Zach Even - Esh
Owner, Underground Strength Gym
http://ZachEven-Esh.com
Zach Even - Esh - Edison, NJ
Pure Gold Rated 10 out of 10
I just got Purposeful Primitive by Marty Gallagher. Marty is a 3 time World Master Powerlifing Champion and has been a strength and fitness writer for over 30 yrs. This book big...473 pages big, I have had it less than 24 hrs and have read some of the best quotes about strength training I have ever read. Marty quotes his old Zen power coach "you think you 're training hard until you get sucked into a training group , a group way smarter and way stronger than you". Better to train in a dump with superman than a posh palace surrounded by low-pain tolerance politically-correct metro-sexual sissies!!!
Pure Gold
Jason Wood RKC ZR - Denver,Co
Inspiring Rated 10 out of 10
It has taken me several days to digest "The Purposeful Primitive". It is an amazing read - a straight-forward, no-nonsense, practical, and at times humorous account of legendary athletes, trainers and teachers' approaches to creating strength and health.
The book is so extensive in its breadth, covering not only strength training, but mental approach, diet, and cardio-health, and refreshing in its reflection that it almost make you think "Well, that's it. I guess there's nothing left to say - he's just about covered everything!"
If you have any interest in strength sports or just lifting, you will love this book. I recommend it to anyone without reservation.
Boris Bachmann, RKC - Des Moines, IA USA
The Purposeful Primitive provides pleasant provocative perusal. Rated 10 out of 10
Buy this book! It is great for unskilled and skilled body builders or fitness trainers alike. It is a fun read of the experience of proven top winning body builders and what they thought made them great. It includes lots of gossip about their lives and historical, "I was there," material.
John Devine - Culleoka, TN USA
One of the best books on the market today Rated 10 out of 10
I bought this book for my husband and he is thoroughly and completely enthralled with it. He reads a little every night as he wants to take everything in. There is so much useful information in it --- he has already started putting some of the principles to work. Thanks for a great book and keep up the good work.
Jeanette Santangelo - Greece, NY, USA
This book is superb Rated 10 out of 10
I am not a body builder; although I was first introduced to weight training in that manner over 50 years ago. I have spent most of my life/energy in full contact karate. About 4-5 years ago I re-discovered kettlebells and the works of Pavel Tsatsouline. I had a brief experience with KB's as a teenager before they disappeared from the American scene.
I have read and re-read Gallagher's book. It contains basic principles that every serious fitness nut ought to know. I wish I had had the wisdom of this book when I was a teen/young adult. Attitude/training/eating, etc. are covered in this work. Gallagher is not spreading BS. If you are serious, GET THE BOOK THEN READ IT and DO IT. You will save yourself a lot of time. SOUND Wisdom.
Thanks Dragon Door.
Don Rankin - Birmingham, AL
If you are into strength training, this book belongs on your shelf. Rated 10 out of 10
A truly great book. Clearly written, lucid, easy to apply. Took me back to when I used to read John McAllum's articles in the old Strenght & Health. In 1962, Bill Pearl and Reg Park were my idols as well. This has the same "Real Deal" info.
Pete Pickering - Massapequa, New York
A Must Read for Beginners, Intermediates, and anyone with a love for the history of the Iron game Rated 10 out of 10
Marty Gallagher has written a book on the crossroads of bodybuilding, power-lifting, and fat loss, one that I've enjoyed more on each reading.
Marty coached or met everyone who was anyone in the world of Power lifting in the 80s and 90s, and he fills the book with anecdotes that give a real feel for the characters that made a half-underground sport what it was. Marty's prose style is concise, engaging and accessible. For me, these looks into Iron History were the strongest points in a very strong text.
Marty also uses these anecdotes to great effect when discussing training styles and nutritional strategies, building his recommendations for various phases of body recomposition around the greats he trained with or coached. Marty's genuine love of the sport shines through. The tales of strength he shares are inspiring, and he has a knack for presenting even the roughest of his subjects with their humanity intact.
The training and diet information are comprehensive. Marty is a big believer in old school training splits and volume, and he has plenty of experience to back up his position. It's an approach to training that will seem revolutionary to someone caught up in the unproductive isolation and machine training so many unqualified trainers end up foisting on their clients.
On the downside, the training section will be most useful for beginners and intermediate trainees. Marty's weight training recommendations are excellent, but many more experienced lifters are already following similar programs. His cardio and diet recommendations are very solid, but not likely to change the way more experienced lifters train or eat (it's another case of "I already do that"). On the other hand, even advanced lifters will benefit from seeing this information laid out so clearly, and a reminder to do what you already know you should can be very useful.
Marty also doesn't make much of a distinction between training for Body Building, Power Lifting, Strong Man Competition, Olympic Lifting, Martial Arts, or other strength sports. To a more advanced lifter who knows where he wants to fit in the strength game, that cuts into the book's utility.
The place where the book most left me wanting more was in its reticence on the subject of steroids. It's a tough subject to honestly discuss. Talking about it opens you up to attack from the For The Children crowd and scares the heck out of the majority of the market. Athletes don't want their reputations tarnished by the public admission that they were using, and supplement manufacturers hate admitting that their spokes-user did not achieve twenty inch biceps at three percent body-fat solely through the use of their products.
So, Marty doesn't talk about steroids much. We miss out on part of the story of power lifting and bodybuilding in the day, and we're left wondering about the differences in training for those who use and those who choose not to.
Despite minor criticisms, this remains one of the best books I've seen on weight lifting and body recomposition, possibly the best single volume of its kind currently on the market. I very highly recommend it.
Robert Dorf - Cherry Hill, NJ, USA
Definitive Rated 10 out of 10
I'm 27, have power lifted since I was 13, fought MMA since 1999 and played football before that. I live for exercise and training. I love all the info I can get my hands on, watch or hear.
This book is the Bible of training for strength, cardio, nutrition and mind. Marty leaves no stone unturned. Growing up on Ed Coan and Kirk Karwoski, this book had high marks to meet just by mentioning their names in the pre-release. It delivered in spades. THE Definitive book on fitness.
Bravo Marty, bravo.
Patrick E. - Los Angeles, CA
"THE" book for all who love the iron game Rated 10 out of 10
Congratulations to Mr. Gallagher - he has written "THE" book for lovers of the iron game. He takes you there - right there with the big boys, and you feel like you are a part of the action! I really think that this book is more valuable than we know at this date and time. I highly recommend this book - a must have for the ironman's library. Kudos and thank you Mr. Gallagher.
Gil Flores - San Mateo, CA
Dont waste your money Rated 2 out of 10
Most of the book covers training programs that have already been published in other books and magazines.
Marty Gallagher is a colorful writer, but the training programs can be found in old issues of Powerlifting USA Magazine.
GravityFighter - USA
Good men stepping up Rated 10 out of 10
(Marketing) tyranny gets a foothold when good men stand by and do nothing. Its great to see the good men - Marty, Pavel, and the rest of the Dragon Door authors - stepping up with the no-nonsense info. Marty Gallagher has given everyone not only cut and dried templates for optimizing health and fitness, but a very entertaining and down to earth read. If this book can't do it for you... fold your cards.
Mike Edwards - Gainesville, FL USA
READ THIS BOOK NOW Rated 10 out of 10
Marty Gallagher has cut through all the crap that is modern "health and fitness" to give you the simple truth. The truth is painful. It won't be easy. But it will work. And that's what is different from all the "new weight loss secret" "easy" "medical breakthrough" garbage we are bombarded with incessantly. Rather than being disheartened with the work ahead of me, I became excited to finally have the knowledge... the tools needed to achieve what I want for me and for my family. I have a quiver full of arrows that I can draw out whenever I hit an obstacle. In the three weeks since I've read this book I've actually cut down the time I spend working out. I'm eating delicious food, real food, to satiety. I've lost 8 pounts of fat. I have energy to spare and oh, by the way, I have only pulled out a couple of the arrows in my quiver. And if you haven't figured it out yet...I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED.
BILL - Vernon, FL USA
The dog's b******s Rated 10 out of 10
The headline will make more sense to a Brit perhaps, suffice to say I was very pleased to receive this book. It's clear, well written and full of information.
Gavin Pollock - Cockermouth, UK
No Nonsense Advice From A Master Rated 10 out of 10
This is the most authentic - useful - information on how to develop strength I have ever seen. Marty Gallagher is a true "Master" of IRON SKILLS! He is a great writer and the book is hard to put down once you start. My advice - buy it!
David Girdley - Orlando, Florida United States
Entertaining, informative and ecclective Rated 10 out of 10
At first, when I started reading, I thought that I ended up buying a book on powerlifting and body building. I was a little dissapointed.
HOWEVER as I got into the book I realized this book is an enormous eclectic collection of weightlifting/ressistance training, nutritional guidence, cardiovascular work, medative and mindset work
and a whole lot more.
As a recovering cardio junkie I realy appreciated the explanation of the 3 types of cardio. There are many examples of what proffesional athletes have done to garnish success and importantly HOW A REGULAR GUY WITH A DAY JOB CAN APPLY THESE PRINCIPLES.
Another pluss, the book is nearly 500 HUGE pages. These pages are in normal size print, with no unneccesary photos to fill space and there is no 30 or so pages at the back of adds. This book is big and there is ALOT of info in it. I will keep this book around and use it and revisit it like the enormous refference manual that it is.
Final praise, beyond being informative I realy enjoyed reading it.
This book is primarly about lifting when it comes to exercize,
I love the book and guess what, I have always been a cardio guy, I never lifted a weight before I got into kettlebells 4 months ago. It has inspired me to add squats and deadlifts to my training.
I still read and gained usefull knowledge from every word.
Honkey - Maine USA
Buy for the lore, not for the tips Rated 5 out of 10
A few comments:
1. The profiles of the various lifters are terrific and worth the price of the book. That said...
2. The training exercises are disappointing -- I doubt that any of the superstar lifters profiled do any dumbell triceps extensions or Romanian deadlifts, for example. As Pavel says, "to press a lot, you must press a lot."
3. The book barely talks about the role of doping -- Bednarski and dianabol is one mention that I can think of in the book. I have known and trained with several of the lifters mentioned in the book -- all were dopers. Hardly anyine can squat 1000, BP 700 and/or DL 900 without serious pharmalogical assistance. The drugs don't lift the weight but they do permit lifters to train harder than they otherwise would be able. Downplaying the role of dope in lifters moving amazing poundages does a disservice to the young.
4. The book also fails to emphasize the role of body type and mechanics. The best squatters are compact, the best BP-ers are barrell-chested and the best DL-ers have long arms and huge hands. If you want to excel in weightlifting/powerlifting, you need to figure out what your body is built for.
5. Ignore the power-walking crap -- I'm surprised that Pavel would endorse a book that embraces "the dishonor of aerobics." Sheesh...
Privacy Please - Anytown, USA
Back To The Basics Rated 9 out of 10
The Purposeful Primitive is a great read and contains many timely reminders that optimum results in strength and body shaping endeavours comes from hard work, heavy weights, basic exercises, healthy food and some aerobic content. Marty Gallagher is a fine researcher and writer and we are fortunate to have him working in our sphere.
Ron Prestage - Nelson New Zealand
Interesting SUbject Matter Rated 10 out of 10
I have been reading and rereading The Purposeful Primitive for the last couple weeks now. It is very holistic and detailed, so once over is just not enough to absorb the encyclopedia of info that it presents. This is typically how I "absorb" books anyhow...I drain them dry.
I am struck by Mr. Gallagher's choice of subject matter. A couple of non-traditional subjects stand out so I want to discuss them here. It seems odd that a self proclaimed muscle head is exploring this type of info.
First of all his section on the mental and spiritual connection as being a fundamental aspect of athletics left me really inspired and impressed.
Another area that has not really progressed into fitness mainstream is his discussion of raw and organic foods.
I am impressed at his diet choices. Though he recognizes that there is NO magic bullet diet that automatically works for everyone he champions the Parillo Nutritional System and the Warrior Diet. He believes that these systems can be used alone or in cycles to keep the body progressing. He presents all of the info you need to begin with either system.
His cardio section discusses non-mainstream approaches to cardio as well as set in stone methods like steady state. I love the discussion of "3rd Way" cardio and it's ramifications.
I also appreciate his section on fasting. To see a powerlifter talking about the benefits of fasting is extremely refreshing.
Last but not least his simple machine free methods for strength training appeal to my own primitive inclinations.
I just continue to be impressed with this book.
Com. Atl - EUbank, KY USA
Learn the secrets of the worlds Elite!!!!! Rated 10 out of 10
I just finished the Purposeful Primitive and I am so excited to start fully implimenting Marty Gallaghers "amalgamation" of some of the worlds elite in the areas of resistance training, cardio, and nutrition!! Marty bears all and doesn't hold anything back and takes pride in smashing conventional fitness myths, only to leave us with THE most proven and effective methods of the fitness elite! I especially enjoyed the Mind Methods section where Marty outlines the technique to increase strength on top lift sets by 10-15 percent, simply by preparing the mind!!! Do yourself a favor and transform yourself from Fat and Flaccid (or scrawny for that matter) into Lean and Powerful! You will have no doubt in your mind how to do it after this spectacular read!!!
Hunter B. - Cincinnati, Oh
Simply fantastic... Rated 10 out of 10
I have just completed my first reading of Marty Gallaghers's new book The Purposeful Primitive (notice I said 1st reading) and have been educated, challenged, validated and entertained. This fitness book contains true "fitness wisdom" and is a must have for trainers and trainees alike.
Not a fluffy feel good approach to what is referred to today as "fitness", the Purposful Primitive is a clear distillation of a simple approach to strength, nutrition, cardio and the mental side of performance. Simple does not mean easy as you will earn your primitive stripes!
Brett Jones, MRKC, CSCS - Pittsburgh, Pa
Breath Taking Rated 10 out of 10
It's amazing what Iron knowledge and good writing skill can achieve. Put the two together you get Gallagher's book. It is like an anthropological case study of weight lifters and their community. The book has templates for programs which, when stripped down, go to the basic fundamental laws of cycling. And when he says cycling and periodization, he means it. You will not want to stop reading this book. When you do, you will wish it were not over. It is packed full of information, anecdotes and unadulterated truth. My only gripes are as follows: exercise descriptions could have been clearer for my taste, and it was pretty much focused (or seemingly so) on the males, though I believe the information within is applicable to all. This book is to the strength community what fire was to humans.
Peter Baker - Tampa, FL
Hard to put down Rated 10 out of 10
The Purposeful Primitive is one of those books that reads like good fiction but contains a wealth of training information. Marty Gallagher is the perfect combination of coach, fan of the Iron, technician and storyteller. Much like John McCallum, Marty's writing causes me to identify with the people in the stories while absorbing the practical knowledge. His passion for all things related to strength is apparent on every page. I know this will be a book that I will continue to reference for years.
David Whitley, Sr. RKC - Nashville TN USA
http://www.dragondoor.com/b37.html
- Purposeful Primitive has just bust into Dragon Door's Top Ten list--see all 24 reviews: (134) John Du Cane (2967) - - 2008-07-20 4:22 pm
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