Marty Gallagher - The Purposeful Primitive: Using the Primordial Laws of Fitness to Trigger Inevitable, Lasting and Dramatic Physical Change

PRAISE FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRIMITIVE

Marty Gallagher has produced an absolute classic! I couldnt put it down packed with real no b.s info from real ironmen. I am proud to be included with the outstanding athletes and their stories A breath of fresh air!

Dorian Yates, 6-time IFBB Mr. Olympia

I would venture to say that I have read every book pertaining to weightlifting over the last three decades, and I have probably read the majority of the articles in this area. There are two things I can say unequivocally about what I have read. One, Marty Gallagher is the best writer in the world of physical fitness and strength, bar none, and two, Gallaghers newest book The Purposeful Primitive is the best manuscript ever produced in this field.

Teeming with esoteric information on training, biomechanics, nutrition, and sport psychology, The Purposeful Primitive is a wealth of information that every serious lifter needs to read. You are going to like this book. NO! You are going to LOVE it. I promise you that. Its Gallaghers best work, and that means it is strictly world class.

Dr. Judd Biasiotto, author of 46 fitness and health-related books, world powerlifting champion

I really only have two things to say about Marty Gallagher that bear on his new book, The Purposeful Primitive. The first is that there are two classes of writers in powerlifting: 1) Marty Gallagher and 2) all others. The second is that one day, ten years ago, Marty called to say he knew a Russian guy who he thought might be a good writer for MILO, so we invited the guy to submit an article: It was called Vodka, Pickle Juice, Kettlebell Lifting and other Russian Pastimes, the author was Pavel Tsatsouline, and rest, as they say, is history.

Randall J. Strossen, President, IronMind Enterprises, Inc.

For those who buy or judge reading material by size, number of pages, volume, or distance able to be thrown and cause damage, Marty has your back on this one. For the intellectual athlete who actually thirsts for knowledge and sees content as King, you will get 30 years of genius and experience in the Iron Game mixed with the passion and ability of Hemmingway all wrapped up in one book and the result is The Purposeful Primitive. From me to youGo buy the book and enjoy!!

Rickey Dale Crain, IPF/WPC/AAU World Champion, 2000 Powerlifting Hall of Fame Inductee

As a student, athlete, teacher, researcher, professional coach, and businessman I have spent over 60 years in health, fitness and sport, devoted to how to become the best you can be. The Purposeful Primitive has been a very interesting journey for me back-to-the-future

Marty does a wonderful job bringing out the art and science of training, extracting many of the critical universal and specific principles (guiding rules to actionsocial, emotional, mental, physical and spiritual) that are applicable to living a productive life in general, and in training for health, fitness and sport, specifically. In addition, I like the way Marty personalizes the lives of outstanding athletes and shows how they applied these fundamental, cant-miss principles in their training to help them become the best they could be in their sport. My recommendation: if you want to achieve something great in your life, add The Purposeful Primitive to your training library yesterday.

Dr. Bob Ward, Sports Science Network, former head strength and conditioning coach, Dallas Cowboys

Marty Gallagher has written a most interesting book that contains not only telling first hand biographies from powerliftings heyday, but the routines and mindset of the top practitioners of the strength pursuit. His style is rich with anecdote, at the same time being right on point regarding the many divergent paths to the attainment of fitness. The basic truths underlying those paths have been distilled down to a certainty, allowing the reader to intelligently compose their own program. Good job from one who sought intensely over many years to grasp the essence of power and fitness and most importantly loves what he does.

Hugh Cassidy, first world heavyweight powerlifting champion

Marty Gallagher is a brilliant writer who thinks deeply about subjects he knows and loves. His manifesto/encyclopedia contains a ton of wisdom, one-of-a-kind role models, awesome color photos a truly fascinating read.

Clarence Bass, author of the Ripped series, Lean For Life, Challenge Yourself, and Great Expectations

Gallagher takes the gems of the greatest strength athletes in history and distills the keys to success for all of us.

After reviewing profile after profile after profile of great strength trainers in history, Gallagher goes the next step: he sums up their approaches then shows that all of them are right. As a person trained in the basics of theology, I understood immediately Gallaghers great point: its not either/or when it comes to strength and body mass, it is both/and. I live by the coaching point: Everything worksfor a while, and Gallagher breathes flesh and blood into this principle.

There is so much more to this book, of course. The mental training section blends the Western and Eastern approaches to the mind game of training. Again, we find both/and, but Gallagher also spends a lot of time detailing how to incorporate these tools in ones training.

But wait, theres more! There is a section on cardio training for strength athletes that really makes me more comfortable with this notion of doing cardio. Its nice to see the return for the widely misunderstood teachings of Len Schwartzs Heavy Hands. Moreover, we see a commonsense approach to this whole overhyped field.

The section on diet towards the end of the book again reflects the idea of both/and. It is simply this: refreshing. Gallagher gives clarity to the calorie conundrum. Yes, every diet approach works, but Gallagher shows us a way to link them together. Truly, this man of experience understands that success leaves footprints and every approach is worthy of discussion.

Oh, this book is a joy. I put this book next to Tommy Konos Weightlifting, Olympic Style for sheer fun and delight and love of training. I am convinced that I will probably keep reading The Purposeful Primitive in bits and snips for years. Its just fun and funny while pounding into the reader the secrets of advanced training. Many wont like the message. The secrets involve training really hard and really heavy.

Daniel John, Head Track and Field Coach, Juan Diego Catholic High School, American Record Holder, Masters Weight Pentathlon

What can one say with certainty about the author of this bookMarty Gallagher? Nothing other than the facts that he has been there and done that as an 800-plus pound squatter! That he has written over a thousand articles about fitness and nutrition in the published print media (not to include his amazing blog). That he is not just a genius, but the best interviewer and storyteller going. And that he has not only truly trained the worlds strongest athletes, but that he has distilled the most useful information from 15 of the foremost weight lifters, bodybuilders, psychologists and bodymaster nutritionists of the last half century into a form that can be used by anyone from overweight, exercise-adverse beginner to world champions in their sports.

From Olympic lifting to power lifting and bodybuilding, whether muscle gain or fat loss, from cooking to supplements, from changing exercise and eating habits to molding the psychology of a champion (whether one is even remotely interested in competition or not), Marty has covered it all. I only wish I had had a book like this when I was growing up and trying my best to get bigger and stronger. Marty has demonstrated, without question, that he is the current and undeniably best trainer of champions and ultimate guide to physicaland mentaltransformation. This book not only provides the simplest instructions and cheapest financial and lifestyle requirements, it is absolutely the single best book ever written on being the best you can be physically and otherwise.