 | If you’ve spent any time on the Sabers Fitness Floor while I am there, you know that I can’t help myself from telling everyone “a better way” to do whatever it is they are trying to do. On the Fitness Floor, we promote barbell training (emphasis on the word “training”). More specifically: heavy barbell training with full range of motion, compound, multi-joint athletic movements. Even more specifically: squats, deadlifts, presses, cleans, and did I mention squats and deadlifts? We practice these kinds of lifts in order to improve strength and power in the belief that greater strength and power will lead to better and safer performances in the Sabers gym and on the Sabers field, not to mention an overall improvement in physical health and mental wellbeing. (An aside: This approach differs from the use of machine-based single-joint isolation exercises, the ones where you get to sit down on a padded seat. Don’t get me started on the topic of which approach I think is better.) |
Our “bible” for barbell training is a book called Starting Strength written by Mark Rippetoe. There are copies of this book – one in English, one in Japanese – on the Fitness Floor. The Japanese version was published in April 2019. Prior to that, I had always hoped for a Japanese translation to share with the Sabers community to better “spread the gospel according to Mark”, so to speak. I went so far as to commission Sabers legendary basketball player Evan Shore (OIS class of 2006) to write a translation of the opening paragraph of the book’s introduction.
Evan used to be a skinny high school basketball player (one of the best point guards we've ever had). I couldn't get him (or anybody) into the weightroom, but when he went on to play college basketball in California he saw the light. Evan got big and strong, and he eventually started a career in the fitness industry as a personal trainer. When I approached Evan about writing the translation, I wondered if he had ever heard of Rippetoe's book. I was happy to learn that Evan had long had his own copy of Starting Strength, and he agreed to write the translation. He was the perfect guy for the job: a bilingual Japanese-English speaker and Starting Strength fan. And there is an interesting twist to the story: Evan is married to the daughter of none other than Bruce Wilhelm, the winner of the first two World's Strongest Man competitions in 1977 and 1978 (and the star of a great Lite beer commercial). In the end, Evan finished the job.
Evan used to be a skinny high school basketball player (one of the best point guards we've ever had). I couldn't get him (or anybody) into the weightroom, but when he went on to play college basketball in California he saw the light. Evan got big and strong, and he eventually started a career in the fitness industry as a personal trainer. When I approached Evan about writing the translation, I wondered if he had ever heard of Rippetoe's book. I was happy to learn that Evan had long had his own copy of Starting Strength, and he agreed to write the translation. He was the perfect guy for the job: a bilingual Japanese-English speaker and Starting Strength fan. And there is an interesting twist to the story: Evan is married to the daughter of none other than Bruce Wilhelm, the winner of the first two World's Strongest Man competitions in 1977 and 1978 (and the star of a great Lite beer commercial). In the end, Evan finished the job.
 |  |
Sabers men's basketball, WJAA champs, 2006. Point guard and translator Evan Shore, middle, holding trophy
About a year ago, the entire Starting Strength book was translated into Japanese. Here is the website of the official Japanese translator of the book. And of course you can find it on Amazon.
Below is the English version of the opening paragraph of the introduction to Starting Strength, the best-selling book about the why and how of barbell training. Following that is Evan Shore’s unofficial but very good Japanese translation. And, finally, at the end, an excerpt from an Amazon review of the book.
ORIGINAL ENGLISH
Starting Strength, Chapter 1: Strength - Why and How
Physical strength is the most important thing in life. This is true whether we want it to be or not. As humanity has developed throughout history, physical strength has become less critical to our daily existence, but no less important to our lives. Our strength, more than any other thing we possess, still determines the quality and the quantity of our time here in these bodies. Whereas previously our physical strength determined how much food we ate and how warm and dry we stayed, it now merely determines how well we function in these new surroundings we have crafted for ourselves as our culture has accumulated. But we are still animals – our physical existence is, in the final analysis, the only one that actually matters. A weak man is not as happy as that same man would be if he were strong. This reality is offensive to some people who would like the intellectual or spiritual to take precedence. It is instructive to
see what happens to these very people as their squat strength goes up.
EVAN SHORE’S TRANSLATION
スターティングストレングス, 1章：筋力―必要性と鍛え方
筋力は人生で一番大事なことである。どう思おうが、これが真実だ。人類が進化し続けた結果、生存の面で筋力の必要性は低下したが、人生の中での重要性は変わっていない。なぜかというと、筋力は我々が所有するものの何よりも、人生の質と長さを左右するという真実は今でも変わらないからだ。その一方で、昔はどれほど良い衣食住を確保し、維持できるか等、筋力が日々の生存に大きく関与していたが、今では人間が創り上げた環境と社会の中でどれほど機能するかのみに影響する。それでも、我々は動物である。つまり、最終的には生き残ること以外ない。筋力のない男は、同じ男が筋力を得た時ほど幸せではない。人間の幸せは知性や精神から成り立つと思う者にとって、この情報は非常に受け入れがたいであろうが、そう思う人たちにスクワットができる重量が上がり始めた時、どう思うかを聞いてみたいものだ。
AMAZON REVIEW
One reviewer expresses sentiments similar to my own about the misunderstanding of strength training by the general public and within our school; that is, people avoid barbell training because they think it is unsafe and that it will make their muscles too big. (Don’t get me started on this topic, either.)
ようやく日本語訳が出ましたね。これで日本の筋力トレーニングのレベルも向上するでしょう。
詳しくは原書のレビューに書きましたが、BIG 4 + プライオメトリックス + 補助種目という構成です。
(スクワット、デッドリフト、ベンチプレス、スタンディングショルダープレス+ クリーン、スナッチ+補助種目)
ジムに行くと、ボディビルダーの真似か、マニアックなアイソレーション種目ばかりやる人を見かけます。
アームカールとかサイドレイズとかフライとか。
しかし、まずは上記コンパウンド種目をしっかりやりましょう。それが強さへの近道です。
上下2分割とか4分割とか、そういうのはずっと後の話ですよ。
ちなみに本書を読むと、日本の大手スポーツクラブがいかにダメか分かります。
マシンやトレッドミルばかり並び、フリーウェイトはベンチ台とスミスマシン、後はダンベルのみというジムの
多いこと。
運営側はフリーが危険だと思い込んでるのでしょうが、残念ながらスミスでは効率的な筋トレは出来ません。
その理由は本書を読めば分かります。
STARTING STRENGTH DESCRIPTION
Below is the English version of the opening paragraph of the introduction to Starting Strength, the best-selling book about the why and how of barbell training. Following that is Evan Shore’s unofficial but very good Japanese translation. And, finally, at the end, an excerpt from an Amazon review of the book.
ORIGINAL ENGLISH
Starting Strength, Chapter 1: Strength - Why and How
Physical strength is the most important thing in life. This is true whether we want it to be or not. As humanity has developed throughout history, physical strength has become less critical to our daily existence, but no less important to our lives. Our strength, more than any other thing we possess, still determines the quality and the quantity of our time here in these bodies. Whereas previously our physical strength determined how much food we ate and how warm and dry we stayed, it now merely determines how well we function in these new surroundings we have crafted for ourselves as our culture has accumulated. But we are still animals – our physical existence is, in the final analysis, the only one that actually matters. A weak man is not as happy as that same man would be if he were strong. This reality is offensive to some people who would like the intellectual or spiritual to take precedence. It is instructive to
see what happens to these very people as their squat strength goes up.
EVAN SHORE’S TRANSLATION
スターティングストレングス, 1章：筋力―必要性と鍛え方
筋力は人生で一番大事なことである。どう思おうが、これが真実だ。人類が進化し続けた結果、生存の面で筋力の必要性は低下したが、人生の中での重要性は変わっていない。なぜかというと、筋力は我々が所有するものの何よりも、人生の質と長さを左右するという真実は今でも変わらないからだ。その一方で、昔はどれほど良い衣食住を確保し、維持できるか等、筋力が日々の生存に大きく関与していたが、今では人間が創り上げた環境と社会の中でどれほど機能するかのみに影響する。それでも、我々は動物である。つまり、最終的には生き残ること以外ない。筋力のない男は、同じ男が筋力を得た時ほど幸せではない。人間の幸せは知性や精神から成り立つと思う者にとって、この情報は非常に受け入れがたいであろうが、そう思う人たちにスクワットができる重量が上がり始めた時、どう思うかを聞いてみたいものだ。
AMAZON REVIEW
One reviewer expresses sentiments similar to my own about the misunderstanding of strength training by the general public and within our school; that is, people avoid barbell training because they think it is unsafe and that it will make their muscles too big. (Don’t get me started on this topic, either.)
ようやく日本語訳が出ましたね。これで日本の筋力トレーニングのレベルも向上するでしょう。
詳しくは原書のレビューに書きましたが、BIG 4 + プライオメトリックス + 補助種目という構成です。
(スクワット、デッドリフト、ベンチプレス、スタンディングショルダープレス+ クリーン、スナッチ+補助種目)
ジムに行くと、ボディビルダーの真似か、マニアックなアイソレーション種目ばかりやる人を見かけます。
アームカールとかサイドレイズとかフライとか。
しかし、まずは上記コンパウンド種目をしっかりやりましょう。それが強さへの近道です。
上下2分割とか4分割とか、そういうのはずっと後の話ですよ。
ちなみに本書を読むと、日本の大手スポーツクラブがいかにダメか分かります。
マシンやトレッドミルばかり並び、フリーウェイトはベンチ台とスミスマシン、後はダンベルのみというジムの
多いこと。
運営側はフリーが危険だと思い込んでるのでしょうが、残念ながらスミスでは効率的な筋トレは出来ません。
その理由は本書を読めば分かります。
- パワーラックがない
- デッドの床引き禁止
- クリーン禁止
- 滑り止めチョーク禁止
STARTING STRENGTH DESCRIPTION
- 本書は全米で有名なストレングスコーチ・Mark Rippetoeの超ベストセラー著書の日本語版です。
- バーベルを使用した5種のストレングストレーニング (スクワット、プレス、デッドリフト、ベンチプレス、 パワークリーン)が、他のトレーニングと比べいかに効果的、効率的かを圧倒的な情報量で学べます。
- しっかりとした解剖学とバイオメカニクスの知識、またRippetoe自身が35年以上にわたってこのメソッドを指導してきた経験をもとに、なぜバーベルトレーニングがトレーニングの最適解であるかを解説します。
- トレーニング経験の少ない初心者こそ、最初に本書籍を読んで効果を上げてください。
- トレーニング経験者にも絶対役に立つ! 目からウロコの事実がここにあります。繰り返し読むことで毎回新しい発見が!
- トレーニング指導者は、本書でトレーニングの原点に立ち戻り、アスリートに最適な筋力向上が図れます!
- バーベル以外で役に立つ、アクセサリーエクササイズの解説もあります。
- トレーニングのプログラミングも非常にシンプル! 複雑な方法の罠にハマっている方も、これで脱出
RSS Feed