Dr Mel Siff Blog

Just like Supertraining, Facts and Fallacies of Fitness is a landmark book in its own right. It questions almost every piece of conventional wisdom in the world of exercise science and then examines the evidence (if any) supporting popular factoids. Like Supertraining, you can by Facts and Fallacies of Fitness by Dr Mel Siff from www.supertraining-siff.com.

Here is the table of contents for Facts and Fallacies of Fitness

1. INTRODUCTION

2. ALL THOSE FALLACIES

A Compendium of Popular Fitness Fallacies

Before You Go Any Further

3.  A DISSECTION GUIDE

Rules of Exercise?

How to Distinguish Fact from Fallacy

Techniques of Persuasion

4. DISSECTING THE EXERCISES

Our First Dissection

Fallacies Among General Fundamentals

Fallacies of Cardiovascular and Aerobics Fundamentals

Strength Fallacies

Postural Fallacies

5. SOME MORE DISSECTIONS

Fallacies of Warming Up and Stretching

Fallacies of General Popular Exercises

Fallacies of Aerobics Classes

Fallacies of Resistance Exercise

Fallacies of Equipment and Apparel

Fallacies of Special Population Training

6. FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES

What is Fitness?

Fitness in Sport

Are the Fit Healthier?

Fat and Fit?

Is Exercise Testing Necessary?

What Research does not Tell You

Pain and Gain

What is Stability?

The Specificity of Movement Patterns

Is Lactic Acid a Toxin?

Spinal Terminology

What is Fatigue?

Is Muscle Fibre Typing Valuable?

Types of Muscle Contraction

7.  CARDIOVASCULAR ISSUES

Matters of the Heart

An Irregular Heart may be Healthier

Oxygen Debt?

Heart Rate and Cardiovascular Fitness

How Strenuous is that Exercise?

The Heart is not just a Pump

8. BIOMECHANICAL ISSUES

Myths of Antagonistic Muscles

A Flat Back?

Back Facts and Figures

Back Pain and the Mind

Strength and Connective Tissue

Back Pain and Evolution

Foot Mechanics and Shoes

The Effect of Head Position on Strength

What is Hyperextension?

The Dogma of Isokinetics

Strength Training and Muscle Tension

What Newton really Said

Correct Pelvic Tilt?

Safe Lifting

Correct Lumbar Lifting Posture?

Lifting Revisited

Weight Training and the Back

Lumbar Pelvic Rhythm

Inflexibility or Spurious Muscle Tension?

Triphasic Muscle Action

Diaphragm and Stabilising

Correct Sitting Posture?

9. AEROBICS ISSUES

What is Aerobics Really?

Is Low Impact Safer?

Dumbbells in Aerobics Classes

Plyometrics in Aerobics ?

Heart Rate in Low or High Impact Aerobics

Elastic Band Aid for Aerobics

Structural Exercises?

Callanetics?

PNF Aqua-Exercise

Toe-Heel Doctrine in Aerobics

Mind-Body Aerobics

10. FLEXIBILITY ISSUES

Is Flexibility Training Necessary?

Active, Passive and Other Stretches

Do You need a Warmup?

Facts on Warming Up

11. GENERAL TRAINING ISSUES

Progressive Overload?

Structural vs Functional Training

The Bodybuilding Paradigm

Is Symmetric Training advisable?

Autoregulating Progressive Resistance Exercise

Hybrid Training – A Strength Training Innovation

Loadless Training

Using PNF in Training

What is Periodisation?

Comparison of Training Regimes

Design of Sports Training Programmes

Gorilla Power

12. STRENGTH AND RESISTANCE ISSUES

Scientific Resistance Training in Sport

Resistance Training for Different Purposes

Bigger, Faster, Stronger?

Speed-Strength Training

Eccentrics and Muscle Soreness

Strength and Size

Closed vs Open Chain Exercise

Slow Training and No Momentum?

Strength and Gender

Peripheral Heart Action

Competitive Lifting for Juveniles?

Muscle Hypertrophy Formulae?

The Hardgainer

Muscle Pain for Gain?

13. SAFETY ISSUES

Exercise Readiness Questionnaire

Dangerous Exercises: Fact or Fiction?

Safety Mania

Safety in Exercise

Contraindicated Exercise May Protect

Muscles may not Protect

Are Ballistics Dangerous?

Types of Overtraining

Personal Liability

Safety in the Health Club

Equipment Safety

14. PERSONAL TRAINING ISSUES

The Personal Trainer

Becoming a Successful Personal Trainer

Instructions and Performance

The Art of Public Speaking

Fitness Guru Kit

Skinfold Champions

Bodybuilding Anorexia

Rules of Treatment

15. SPECIFIC EXERCISE ISSUES

Abominable Abdominals

Ab Mania

Abdominal and Trunk Exercise

Beyond Bent Knee Situps

Straight Leg Situps

Leg Raises – Sane or Insane?

Why Situp Testing?

Islated Muscle Testing?

Is there a Bicep Curl?

Special Rotator Cuff Exercises?

All Squats the Same?

16. EQUIPMENT ISSUES

Training Machines

Safety and Machine Training

Machine Testing?

Equipment Purchase Questionnaire

Passive Exercise Systems

Lifting, Belts and Breathing

Shoes and Safety

Ball Balance Training

17. PLYOMETRICS ISSUES

What is Plyometrics?

Understanding Plyometrics

Powermetrics, Not Plyometrics!

Non Impact Plyometrics

Asymmetric Plyometrics

Plyometrics and the Brain – The Missing Dimension

18. BRAIN  AND MIND ISSUES

The Brain-Mind Link

Neural Changes with Training

Mental Preparation in Sport

The Mind and Body Shaping

The Endorphin Story

Auto-Mind Training

19. HEALTH ISSUES

Exercise and Stress

AIDS Tales

Losing Weight?

Spot Reduction Revisited

Slimming with High Carbohydrate Diets

Bouncing for Life?

X-Rays and Your Health

The Greatest Medical Challenge?

20. NUTRITION AND DRUG ISSUES

The Cholesterol Debate

Butter or Margarine?

Fat Substitutes

Fad Diets

Food Consumption to Test Fitness?

Low Fat Dairy Substitutes?

Slim Before Breakfast

Sugar for Energy?

Calorie Counting

Health Watch:  Paracetamol, IUD, Inderal and Other

Left Handed Food

Nutrition for Performance

Synchronised Sports Nutrition

The Steroid Game

Steroids for Endurance?

The Farce of Steroid Testing

Food and Behaviour

Eat Right For Your Blood Type

The Creatine Story

21. EASTERN TRAINING ISSUES

The Chinese System of Quantal Training

Chinese Secrets

Adaptogens and Other New Ideas

Kinaesthetic Manipulation

Sports Restoration and Massage