Entries by Ian King

The times they may be a-changing!  

The Bullshit Backlash I watched as we moved from a period of honesty in publishing in the period leading up to the start of the 21st century, to a period post 2000 AD where the bullshit in our industry grew exponentially. You didn’t need real world experience. You didn’t need measurable results in success of […]

Readers response to Barbells & Bullshit (book)  

I received this feedback recently and responded. It’s great to have genuine people reach out and offer their support: Hi Ian, I’ve just read your Barbells &… book. I did so with a mixture of sadness and anger. While xxxx had made me aware of the plagiarism of your work that had occurred, it was quite shocking […]

Out-dated methods – shame, shame, shame!  

Imagine if this was a respone my last post generated (just imagining of course): “My understanding from studies concerning this issue that I have read, are simply stating that static stretching prior to physical exercise causes a decrease in force output of muscle tissue (poor performance). The studies opt for dynamic stretching prior and static […]

Static stretching fear mongering

I recently received a thesis study conducted in the US and shared with me by a coach out of Austria, which i appreciated. Here are some thoughts I shared in return. Note the aim (or at least my aim) of static stretching is not necessarily to in the acute sense enhance or detract VJ height. Nor […]

Performance Coach or Director – Why the term sucks  

[The following is an extract from the book ‘Barbells & Bullshit’ by Ian King, 2010.] I have noted a trend over the last decade or so for physical preparation coaches involved with athletes and sporting teams to refer to themselves as ‘performance’ coaches or directors. In fact, this title appears to be the pinnacle of […]

Feedback on my latest book – Barbells & Bullshit  

I recently received this feedback about my latest book: Ian, Great book… …keeping me up late. Very entertaining, hilarious, gut-wrenching and scary as you unfold the reality of this industry, while pairing it with guidance to a conscious way of thriving in the field of physical preparation and life. Also, you have brilliantly made the […]

The World is Flat!  

Popular stories have humans believing the world was flat and that Christopher Columbus, in his late 1400’s explorations to the America’s, travelled in spite of this belief and the risk of ‘falling off the edge’ of this flat earth. If this were true, Columbus showed courage and shaped the world as a result. As a race […]

Enough to make your blood boyle

I looked, and looked again – surely not! I couldn’t believe my eyes! There on the ‘net on an ‘industry leading’ site was three stages of a strength progam that KSI had provided a client some years prior. Being given away as a PDF download – free! How is that possible!? For the duration of […]

Performance coach. Really?  

The following is an extract from Ian King’s latest book ‘Barbells & Bullshit’ – due to be released later this month. I have noted a trend over the last decade or so for physical preparation coaches involved with athletes and sporting teams to refer to themselves as ‘performance’ coaches or directors. In fact, this title […]

Surely they can perform better than this!  

Many years ago I met a gentleman at a NSCA trade show who owned a major equipment distribution company in the industry, and who had a booth at the trade show. He seemed a genuine person. So recently when I learnt his company was distributing my material – just without my name on it and […]