Training for Warriors - September, 2005

I love this book. Eighteen months later and I've got the videos and am using the knowledge from both at my club every day.

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One of the Top Trainers in the Field


Rooney is just about the most qualified strength/conditioning/speed coach in the martial arts. His work at the Parisi Speed School is well known, as his his work at the Elite Fitness Systems website. He is quite the sought-after coach, having worked with various Olympic athletes, as well as pro sports athletes and teams.

This book gives you a look at some of the most advanced training methodics you're likely to find. Not hundreds of knuckle pushups and the like.

Rooney is big on mobility and shows his 'Dynamic Warmup for MMA.' This, alone, is worth the price of the book. He also shows how to fit your other training modalities into your training regimen (Weights, conditioning, explosive exercise).

As mentioned in earlier reviews, Rooney doesn't give you precise descriptions of what Renzo's crew do from day to day. That would be asking a little much, as most athletes at this level are on individualised programs to work on deficiencies and maintain sport specificity (Renzo's school has competitors in several streams of combat sports).

He doesn't leave you high and dry, though. He helps you identify the weaknesses and strengths of an athlete to correct or highlight them, respectively. He also discusses strategy and mindset.

Probably more helpful to the coach, but fantastically helpful to the athlete, as well. As both, I get value from it daily.

Other martial arts conditioning books have a lot of catchup to play.....