Weight Training: Steps to Success

Weight training is the most popular type of fitness training activity in the world. But if you are new to the weight room, how can you ensure you are training properly to reap the most benefits while also avoiding injury? Weight Training: Steps to Success, Fifth Edition, takes the guesswork out of weight training and provides you with the steps to learn proper exercise technique, determine appropriate loads, and set up your whole program.

Combining the experience of strength and conditioning experts Thomas Baechle and Roger Earle, Weight Training: Steps to Success will maximize your development with a progressive approach to weight training, whether you are using either free weights or weight machines. Learn which exercises target which muscles and how to perform each exercise correctly and safely. As you master technique with lighter loads, you will move on to heavier loads and more challenging exercises, including eight new exercises for this edition that use versatile equipment such as stability balls and kettlebells. Gain insight on the importance of nutrition and follow the step-by-step directions to calculate safe training loads and design an overall training program that fits your interests and training preferences.

The fifth edition also offers options to further advance your training after learning the basics. Improve your performance in recreational or competitive sports with a sport-specific training program or increase your overall fitness with a high-intensity interval training program.

Whether your goal is to improve muscular endurance, build strength, increase muscle mass, tone existing muscles, or reduce body fat, Weight Training: Steps to Success will help you be successful. With over 40 exercises, each explained and demonstrated through full-color photo sequences, along with guidance on how to approach introductory workouts and create a tailored training program, the fifth edition firmly establishes the work as the go-to guide for weight training success.

Thomas R. Baechle, EdD, CSCS,*D-R, NSCA-CPT,*D-R, has been an author or editor of 17 books on strength training, some on which have been translated into 10 languages. Perhaps most noteworthy are his publication efforts as the editor of the first three editions of the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning (which he also contributed several chapters to) and the coeditor of the first edition of NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training. He has published 80 articles or chapters and has made over 170 presentations related to strength training, fitness, and wellness, 40 of which were international presentations. Baechle is one of the founding fathers of the NSCA and was the association’s second president and director of education. During his time as executive director of the NSCA Certification Commission, he was instrumental in establishing the CSCS and NSCA-CPT certifications as the premier certification credentials. Baechle has received over 40 awards for his contributions to local, national, and international professional organizations and institutions, including recognitions from Human Kinetics and American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). He was honored with an Outstanding Teaching Award from Creighton University, where he served as chair of the exercise science and pre–health professions department for 38 years. He currently holds the rank of professor emeritus. His NSCA awards and recognitions include Region IV NSCA Strength Coach of the Year in 1982 and 1983; Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year in 1984; President’s Award in 1986, 1991, and 1993; Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998; Service Award from the NSCA Certification Commission in 2007; NSCA Hall of Fame in 2017; and the Pioneer Award and the Alvin Roy Career Achievement Award in 2019.

Roger W. Earle, MA, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D, has over 30 years of experience as a personal fitness trainer, competitive sport conditioning coach, and behavior modification facilitator for people of all ages and fitness levels. In addition to training clients in person and online, he lectures at national and international conferences about weight management, exercise motivation, and the creation of personalized exercise and training programs. Earle is a senior acquisitions editor in the Trade and Professional division at Human Kinetics, the world’s largest publisher of sport and exercise books and online products. He is a coauthor, coeditor, or contributor for 10 fitness- or resistance-training-related books, including Fitness Weight Training and EuropeActive's Foundations for Exercise Professionals. Earle was previously the associate executive director and the director of exam development for the NSCA Certification Commission, a role in which he was responsible for reviewing and editing the CSCS and NSCA-CPT exams and writing study resources, as well as coediting the first edition of NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training and the second and third editions of Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. Before working at the NSCA, Earle was the head strength and conditioning coach at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, for 10 years and was a faculty member in their exercise science and athletic training department for 6 years.

Thomas R. Baechle, EdD, CSCS,*D-R, NSCA-CPT,*D-R, has been an author or editor of 17 books on strength training, some on which have been translated into 10 languages. Perhaps most noteworthy are his publication efforts as the editor of the first three editions of the National Strength and Conditioning Association's Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning (which he also contributed several chapters to) and the coeditor of the first edition of NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training. He has published 80 articles or chapters and has made over 170 presentations related to strength training, fitness, and wellness, 40 of which were international presentations. Baechle is one of the founding fathers of the NSCA and was the association's second president and director of education. During his time as executive director of the NSCA Certification Commission, he was instrumental in establishing the CSCS and NSCA-CPT certifications as the premier certification credentials. Baechle has received over 40 awards for his contributions to local, national, and international professional organizations and institutions, including recognitions from Human Kinetics and American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). He was honored with an Outstanding Teaching Award from Creighton University, where he served as chair of the exercise science and pre'health professions department for 38 years. He currently holds the rank of professor emeritus. His NSCA awards and recognitions include Region IV NSCA Strength Coach of the Year in 1982 and 1983; Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year in 1984; President's Award in 1986, 1991, and 1993; Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998; Service Award from the NSCA Certification Commission in 2007; NSCA Hall of Fame in 2017; and the Pioneer Award and the Alvin Roy Career Achievement Award in 2019.

Roger W. Earle, MA, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D, has over 30 years of experience as a personal fitness trainer, competitive sport conditioning coach, and behavior modification facilitator for people of all ages and fitness levels. In addition to training clients in person and online, he lectures at national and international conferences about weight management, exercise motivation, and the creation of personalized exercise and training programs. Earle is a senior acquisitions editor in the Trade and Professional division at Human Kinetics, the world's largest publisher of sport and exercise books and online products. He is a coauthor, coeditor, or contributor for 10 fitness- or resistance-training-related books, including Fitness Weight Training and EuropeActive's Foundations for Exercise Professionals. Earle was previously the associate executive director and the director of exam development for the NSCA Certification Commission, a role in which he was responsible for reviewing and editing the CSCS and NSCA-CPT exams and writing study resources, as well as coediting the first edition of NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training and the second and third editions of Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. Before working at the NSCA, Earle was the head strength and conditioning coach at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, for 10 years and was a faculty member in their exercise science and athletic training department for 6 years.