Strength Coaching in America

Jason P. Shurley is an associate professor of health, physical education, recreation, and coaching at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater and previously served as the director of the kinesiology program at Concordia University–Texas. An NSCA-certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a BOC-certified athletic trainer, he has also worked as a strength coach or athletic trainer in professional baseball, football, and hockey.Founders and codirectors of the Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports at the University of Texas at Austin, Jan and Terry Todd wrote the classic guide Lift Your Way to Youthful Fitness. Jan Todd is also a professor of kinesiology and health education at UT-Austin and the author of Physical Culture and the Body Beautiful. A world-record-setting powerlifter, she was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame. Terry Todd (1937–2018) was the author of four previous books. His many honors included induction into the International Sports Hall of Fame and being named a Legend by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association.

[Strength Coaching in America is] a must-read to historians, professionals involved in recreational weight training, and all others who are interested in strength training, whether as a form of recreation or as a profession…Highly recommended. (CHOICE) In Strength Coaching in America, the authors examine the historical, social, and scientific factors that led to the development of strength coaching within sports. They argue that the primary responsibility of this new profession was to improve an athlete’s strength, power, and agility so that the athlete could achieve maximum performance during competition. The emphasis on strength conditioning by teams at all levels, the authors conclude, has transformed the landscape of sports and physical culture. (Journal of Sport History) [Strength Coaching in America] marks a fascinating insight into the previously explored area of strength and conditioning….The book’s strength lies in the effortless way in which the untold stories, the contentious figures and the scientific dogma which influenced the development of strength coaching are told...Shurley, Todd and Todd have produced a book that serves simultaneously as a reference guide for future works and a challenge for more research. (Physical Culture Study)

• AbbreviationsIntroductionChapter 1. Before Barbells: Strength Training, Athletes, Physicians, and Physical Educators from the First Olympic Games to the Twentieth CenturyChapter 2. Building the Barbell Athlete: Bob Hoffman, Joe Weider, and the Promotion of Strength Training for Sport, 1932–1969Chapter 3. The Science Connection: Thomas DeLorme, Progressive Resistance Exercise, and the Emergence of Strength Training Research, 1940–1970Chapter 4. Pioneers of Power: Strength Training for College Sports before 1969Chapter 5. An Emerging Profession: Boyd Epley and the Founding of the National Strength and Conditioning AssociationChapter 6. Bridging the Gap: The National Strength and Conditioning Association and Its ImpactChapter 7. Strength Coaching in the Twenty-First Century: New Paradigms and New AssociationsAppendix. In Memoriam: Dr. Terry Todd (1938–2018): Pioneering Powerlifter, Writer, Sport Promoter, and Historian Who Changed the Cultural Paradigm for StrengthNotesBibliographyIndex