Book Review: "Of Stones And Strength" by Steve Jeck

[Wellhairedbeast]

I hope this post belongs here, i thought i would share my opinion of this book.

"Of Stones And Strength", Steve Jeck & Peter Martin

[ Pros ]
+interesting
+inspiring
+includes program

[ Cons ]
+very short
+expensive as a result



People will often as you "why strength train" and we all have our own reasons, sport, health and in the past you may have heard a local village boy answer "to pass into manhood". And that is what the book is about.

Steve Jeck starts by going through some of the famous stones that have been lifted in modern times and in history. The stories of each stone are short yet sweet so its a nice easy quick read and can also be picked up between other activities. There are photos of most of the stones including examples of people including the authors lifting them. Some stones have been so important they have been kidnapped and even ransomed which was intriguing!

The book also revisits some of these stones previously mentioned but as a "tour" Steve Jeck made in 1995 around Scotland and details his experiences and attempts lifting the stones.

The book also examples some writing of stone lifting including some poetry which is interesting, and some write ups of articles and essays.

I have read the entire first section (the book is very short) and have flicked in and out of the other two, but what i have read did engage me and also inspire me to perhaps to travel up north into Scotland in years to come when i'm stronger to attempt such feats.

And the book may actually help me, and also yourselves in such attempts. The final section is one of training, it contains a brief 20 rep squat program but this is actually different to the others i have seen where each workout focuses on the same exercises and involves pullovers. Its a short section and i see it as a welcome bonus.

This program is different, 3 days a week organised as:
Squats + Pull, Rest, Rest, Squats + Push, Rest, Pull, Rest
Squats + Push, Rest, Rest, Squats + Pull, Rest, Push, Rest

The book also details some useful exercises although not in great detail - but the book is not about the program itself so i do not find that a negative however as the book is short i do feel there is room for expansion here. This is also one of the rare strength training programs where bicep curls have a real use, as they are important for the way grip is utilized in stone lifting. I will not go into the rep ranges or suggested exercises as i think you should buy the book for all that, but bare in mind this is not a training manual.

I also really like the look of the grip exercises it shows, but you will have to buy the book yourself for that

I have not tried the training program as i am still using SL5x5 but i am actually quite inspired to try this 20 rep program before i go onto another intermediate program, 20 rep squat programs are renowned for their difficulty but also in putting on strength and muscle so i feel it will help "test" me and develop a stronger foundation ready for intermediate programming.

Overall its a very pleasurable read, although it is short which i would say is the only negative.
I would recommend it to anyone, although bare in mind the length of the book and its specialist nature making it very expensive, which is why i received it a birthday present for my wife, and i would suggest you ask for this book as a christmas present!

If i do try out the program i will post a review of that, but that will be a long way off.

[pangram]

Amazon.com link to the book : http://www.amazon.com/Stones-Strength-Steve-Jeck/dp/0926888056

I actually was offered to pick out a free book by someone. This looks intruiging

[Wellhairedbeast]

Its a good read, and i have read it all now, i just picked it up and read a chapter between doing other things in the house etc.

It may not be extremely concise or detailed but it does the job, it describes some stones, perhaps any cultural or historical significance and then describes Steve Jeck's tour of Scotland explaining his own personal attempts and experiences with the stones.

It makes a good present i would say, i believe he also has some DVDs which are also short, 30-40min in length and this makes it expensive in the UK as Strength Training is niche anyway let alone these even more niche items.

[Mouse]

WHB - you may enjoy reading this post from MuscleTalk.

There's a vid on there to watch too.

[pangram]

Wow! What a great read. Thanks for posting that!

[Caphel]

That is interesting, I was not aware of these stones. I think I will have to get this book. My Dad is Scottish and I am starting to feel that I would like to honour my heritage by lifting some stones in Scotland. I will have to have a look into this.

I think that might be a better goal than just wanting to be big and strong.

[Wellhairedbeast]

Cheers for the link mouse!

That is interesting, I was not aware of these stones. I think I will have to get this book. My Dad is Scottish and I am starting to feel that I would like to honour my heritage by lifting some stones in Scotland. I will have to have a look into this.

I think that might be a better goal than just wanting to be big and strong.

I like that stonelifting can be "casual" no need for formal strongman competitions etc its something you can just go and find and test yourself with, i also like the idea of challenges too where you can just try and best your friend or a local!