Tag Archives: strength and conditioning

BOOK: “The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training” by David Magida & Melissa Rodriguez

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The Essentials of Obstacle Race TrainingThe Essentials of Obstacle Race Training by David Magida
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher site – Human Kinetics

This book is written as a soup-to-nuts guide to running a successful obstacle course race from nutrition to gear to what to expect by way of obstacles, as well as how to build workouts that will adequately prepare one. It’s a task which the book performs admirably. While the core of the book is the exercises and regimens into which one fits said exercises, there are some other elements that are useful, such as description of the class of obstacles one is likely to see along with discussion of variations thereof, the different categories of race, explanation of what to keep in mind at various stages leading up to the race, and a chapter on how to prepare the mind as well as the body, and more.

The book has photos and tables to supplement the descriptions.

I found this book to be useful and sufficiently specialized to the objective at hand. For example, it gave considerable attention to the question of grip strength, a topic that wouldn’t merit mention in many sport preparation guides. If you’re interested in running an obstacle course race and want to know what to be prepared for, and how to prepare for it, I’d recommend this book.

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BOOK: “Fight Ready” by Santino DeFranco

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Fight Ready: An MMA Coach’s Guide to Losing Weight, Getting Strong, and Kicking AssFight Ready: An MMA Coach’s Guide to Losing Weight, Getting Strong, and Kicking Ass by Santino DeFranco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher site –St. Martin’s

Release Date: May 19, 2026

MMA fighter turned coach, Santino DeFranco, offers an insightful and pragmatic overview of the process of getting one’s body shipshape, including: getting sleep, dealing with injuries, strength and conditioning practices, nutrition, and more. The book attempts to be of broad appeal, not just relevant to MMA and other competitive fighters, but to athletes of other sports and non-athletes as well. It was not clear to me that the book achieves said broad appeal. One of the most fascinating and engaging chapters dealt with the process of cutting weight, an activity that applies to few outside weight-graded combative sports. (And an activity which the author, with the pragmatic approach that makes the book so useful, attempts to dissuade general readers from attempting.) The book does discuss the calories-in-and-calories-out basics of nutrition in a more generally relevant manner, as well. And there is certainly wisdom to be gleaned for the non-fighter, but, overall, I don’t know that this would be a good book to send a person toward if they were a typically unathletic person trying to lose a few pounds and be in better shape. (Though I do acknowledge a sort of aspirational motivation that a book might have for such readers, particularly UFC fans.) [And it’s completely out of my wheelhouse to know how generally applicable strength and conditioning approaches are for completely different sports, but I can’t help but have doubts.]

That said, I did come across many thought-provoking tidbits of wisdom in this book. The author is clearly one prone to look to the science and established best practices and to challenge the fad-laden fitness influencers and not dive headlong into the trend du jour. The book uses stories and anecdotes to increase the book’s readability and relatability. Here I’d say the results are mixed, but the aforementioned Tracy Cortez weight cut story is one example of when it is done very well.

If you’re curious about the training life of professional fighters and are looking for a few health and fitness concepts you might apply in your own life, I’d highly recommend this book.

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