Ignite the Fire Book Review. John Goodman promises to deliver the secrets personal training. But does he deliver? Read my review to find out.
I read about 3 new Fitness, CrossFit, Mobility, and Nutrition Books a month. Each one is like a little trophy that I stick on my bookshelf. You can view all the books I have read and my thoughts on them on our books page. Ignite the Fire Book Review. People have been asking me to post little reviews about all the books that I am reading. I figured I’d start this new posts with one of the most popular books on Amazon, Ignite the Fire, The Secrets to Building a Successful Personal Training Career by John Goodman.
Book Rating of Ignite the Fire
6/10 is my Rating for this critically acclaimed book that has garnished 4.8/5 based on 426 Amazon reviews. Why the difference? As I read through the Amazon reviews, its pretty clear that most of the reviews are from personal trainer who are brand new to the profession. I think many personal trainers would be well served from reading this book. It’s chapter on selling is something all personal trainers should read. It is easy to understand. So if you are a brand new personal trainer – yeah this is a good book.
Counterpoint for the Veteran Personal Trainer
But, I’m not a rookie personal trainer. If you a veteran coach or a person very interested in training. Should you buy this book? Probably not. First off, the book doesn’t provide any real secrets. It’s also dated (it’s now 5 years old, and it is out of date on internet marketing.) To be frank, I didn’t learn anything new form this book.
Golden Nuggets for the Personal Trainer
There are some great nuggets of well-organized information tucked away in the chapters. Page 61 on Why Use a Personal Trainer. Page 70 – Five Questions not to Answer. If you don’t know information like shown in these excerpts — maybe you should buy this book.
Lack of First-Hand Experience Coaching
There are also some glaring errors from an author who is not a personal trainer. The excitation system of teaching the deadlift and clean press as a phase II item in the excitation system. It is just stupid to teach the deadlift and clean in the same cycle. Deadlift and Squat sure. Deadlift and medball clean sure. There is nothing wrong with the excitation system he explains in ch6, I just took issue with this example. In case you are curious, the excitation is designed to provide the client with a more complicated skill as they get better. Something good CrossFit Coaches, Yoga Teachers, and Personal Trainers have doing for a long time. Many don’t do that though, so it’s a good tip.
Summary of My Ignite the Fire Review
I gave this book a low rating, because I didn’t personally learn much form the book. It is well written and decently organized. I don’t think it’s required reading for a personal trainer. I do think most personal trainers will be well-served by reading it. It’s worth mentioning, I have not read a better book on this exact topic.
Find a Mentor
You would be better served by finding a mentor if you are a new personal trainer. It so happens, I’m looking for some new coaches, so apply if you are interested.