Running to the Top: Arthur Lydiard's High-Performance Training Methods

by Arthur Lydiard

This title presnets dedicated mailing and e-mail campaign to targeted running interest media and organisations.In "Running to the Top", Arthur Lydiard - one of the most successful trainers of middle - and long-distance running - reveals the secrets and techniques that have taken him and his athletes to the top of their game.Based on a clearly defined concept of fitness, he presents readers with a detailed and systematic training program for runners of all levels.Expert advice and information on choosing the right equipment, nutrition and healthy eating, injury prevention, therapy and the relationship between the coach and the athlete is also included, as well as a test-system that allows athletes to determine the absorption of oxygen through the fatless body mass.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Health, Fitness, Outdoors

309 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have found this book in our library. Arthur Lydiard is a successful coach and describes here his philosophy of training. He has opinions about how to train children, the right balance between aerobic and anaerobic training, coaching in general, injury prevention, diet and much more. It's not always clear what is scientifically proven or what is the result of his decade long experience of working as a coach (it will probably only matter to other coaches).

The magic pill - if you will - is that to perform well at any sport or activity you have to train to increase the oxygen intake. This is best done by slow aerobic running and can be done for years. Anaerobic training is done for the sharpening phase and to improve strength but only in short periods.

I was mostly interested in tips for beginners who want to increase their weekly mileage. Many books will just say to take it easy and then spend pages on burn-outs and injuries. Arthur Lydiard on the other hand is aware of an experiment done on 20 businessman in Auckland (the first joggers) who went from couch potato to running 20miles in less than a year. It's basically a) running every day and b) let a long day (whatever long means for your level) follow by two easy days to give the body time for recovery.

The diet part is to the point. Today's food doesn't contain the same amount of vitamins and minerals anymore and this is important to understand. Fortunately it's rather easy to test your blood these days so everyone can learn quickly about deficiencies.

The anecdotes in the book were often humorous and you could feel that Arthur Lydiard has his heart in the right place. I wasn't really interested in many of the topics but it was fascinating to see the same techniques applied in different countries to different people with different backgrounds. The same can be said about the mistakes that are done everywhere by coaches with not enough knowledge.

I'll give the book 4 stars out of 5. Your mileage will vary depending on what you seek from the book - at least it's entertaining and relatively short.

[Sarah Arthur · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a shame I read the biography on Arthur Lydiard first as a lot of that book seems to be a direct copy from this book. That made for a fast read as I just skimmed past all the 'history' and only read the training parts - which was my only real interest in reading this book anyway, so that was fine.
The training schedules are definitely intense, and if I get to the point of running 100 miles a week just for training, a full marathon would be a piece of cake!
I look forward to putting his techniques into practice.

[iansomething · Rating 3 out of 5]

You need only patience and control by training and racing at the right speeds and distances at the right times.

I don’t say there is no physical discomfort in first attaining this fitness. There is. But it is short-lived and, once a man is fit on distance running, it is a condition he won’t willingly surrender.

Fit men develop a pride in themselves that transcends the moderate effort they are required to make to maintain that fitness.

Run for fun and from the fun will come the will to excel.

100 Miles a Week

Monday: Ten miles over hills, road or country at half effort
Tuesday: Fifteen miles at quarter-effort on roads
Wednesday: Twelve miles fartlek
Thursday: Eighteen miles at quarter-effort
Friday: Ten miles at three-quarter-effort on a flat road
Saturday: Twenty or more miles at quarter-effort
Sunday: Fifteen miles at quarter-effort

Don’t waste time flinging weights about. You will build up a fine set of lumpy muscles, but they won’t help you to run any faster. You don’t want muscles like an ox; you want muscles like a deer-stretched, supple, relaxed, splendidly conditioned by running.

We must be practical and compromise with the limited time we have available. Therefore, we give priority to running, running and running; and, if there is any time left, we exercise.

The best form of deep breathing exercise is to stand erect, then raise the arms slowly breathing in, clasp the hands overhead and completely lift and stretch the whole body on the toes.

[Teacake · Rating 3 out of 5]

10 years ago, I got into running more or less seriously. A colleague then dropped Run the Lydiard way on my desk. I never heard of Arthur Lydiard before but I devoured the book, inhaled the ideas and put them into practice.
I was looking to go back into that space when I picked up Running to the top, but hey, "past is a land you never visit again."

One woman runner in New Zealand told me that every time her doctor took her pulse was much higher than she believed it should be. I took it and it wasn't high at all. Then I remembered the doctor she was talking about was a very handsome young man. There was the difference.

The book is short, pleasant to read and filled with anecdotes. It presents a nice and broad summary of Lydiard's views on training. For the one already familiar with those, there is nothing new here. For the one that has never heard about those ideas, it is a half-decent introduction. The essential is there but it doesn't go in much detail. Photos, drawings, in-depth exercise descriptions: where are they?

[Teri · Rating 1 out of 5]

All of the good stuff could have been pulled out and made into 3 blogs posts or magazine articles.

This is poorly written and out of date. The training schedules are decent, but that's it.

[Sam Schnurbusch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about running from this book, and it is definitely a must read for anybody wants to know a little bit more about the history of running. Could use a good editor though.

[Kira Beatty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some great principles, but a lot of outdated examples with racist and misogynist undertones.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lydiard's works are referred to so often that I felt I had to get and read a copy of this book. I read it back then, and I started rereading this book ten years and 12 days from when I bought it.  I am delighted with how he makes plain his philosophy by starting with the fundamentals of metabolism. I hadn't remembered that being in there. That's why I reread the best books.

What I got out of this book:
- Knee lift - the endurance to maintain knee lift at the end of a race is critical
- Endurance mileage is more important than speed. You can train too fast, but you can't train too slow. Make sure the majority of your training is in the aerobic zone not anaerobic.

The twenty-one factors that influence the running athlete (in no particular order)
- The date of the race
- The challenge the race represents
- Age
- Talent
- Health
- Nutrition
- Drugs
- Hormones
- Body build
- Running technique
- Aerobic capacity
- Weight
- Body fat
- Training methods
- Coaching
- Tactics
- Self-discipline
- Track conditions
- State of the weather
- The opposition
- The balance between aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

[Viacheslav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Удивительно интересная книга про бег. Тяжело поверить в достижения совершенно рядовых людей, начавших заниматься спортом в возрасте, когда уже о душе думать надо и, как говорится в одном старом анекдоте, к землице привыкать. Ну и абсолютно невероятна история о марафонце, начавшем заниматься бегом после перенесённого инфаркта и достигшем серьёзных успехов в соревнованиях.
Очень доступно описана физиология, особенно сердечно-сосудистой системы, полно рекомендаций к технике бега, питанию. Ну и, конечно, приводятся программы занятий для различных групп людей.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lydiard is arguably the greatest long distance running coach the world has ever seen. Starting with New Zealand and Japan then moving to the hay-day of Finland and into the Kenyan federation, creating the most dominant distance runners in the world where ever he spread his knowledge.

With such a large pool of misunderstanding over Lydriad's training ideas, this is a fantastic look into the heart of Lydiard's training theory. It is nice to see these theories with some of the physiological background. It is a great asset to any track and field or cross country coach.

[Fran · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand Lydiard's legendary status among running coaches, but this book just wasn't very good. There were a few good pages that laid out his phases, which I already knew about. I couldn't figure out what the audience was supposed to be for this book, he goes back and forth talking about runners, football players, etc.

I'm going to go deeper into the running-related aspects of Lydiard, but I think I'll choose Livingston for my next read.

[Paul Deveaux · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terribly written and not edited. Seems like it was put together from a series of articles. In a few places the author directly contradicts himself. Much of the latter chapters seem to be directed at someone coaching or playing rugby or soccer, not a runner. The training schedules are not really explained just shown. The information here on nutrition, sports psychology, and injury prevention is woefully out of date.

Don't waste your time with this book.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lydiard's coaching technique led to much of the foundation of modern training. Long distance for aerobic conditioning, hills for strength and transition, speed work for finishing touch is the core of his philosophy.

[Anthony Skuce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lydiard is undeniably a coaching giant, but this rambling avuncular account doesn't best serve his brilliance. Too much blather about rugby players. Too much anecdotal sitting-in-a-pub story telling. Could be boiled down and tightened up with a greater focus on running training.

[Lisa Lingrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever man with advice worth listening to.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of the book were great! But it didn't really read cohesively or present a clear plan. Seems more like a decent reference book than a guide to training.

[Mike A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good principles, but the book wasn't very organized and the writing rambled.

[Wild Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Touches on all aspects of sport-training, injury prevention, nutrition etc. Easy read with plenty of tips and scientific back up to solidify his points. Well worth a read!