Rating: 
Summary: A good book on the necessity of overload to build muscle
Review: This is a great book and a great formula to build muscle and watch out for overtraining or lack of progress. I applaud the authors for having researched to find this formula. I have also read the 'Static Contraction Training' written by the same guys. However I gave it four stars not because I disagree with their writing or that I dont like their program. Its just that what I dont see is how one can progress when one is limited to a small gym with a lack of 45 pound plates. Can one really pile that much on the machines or racks while there are others around who want to use the weights as well. Judging from the strength increases, the weight pile up pretty quickly in that program. One would need to spend a lot of money on a good gym. And the other question I have is the transfer of static or partial rep strength to full range training. Otherwise, I would really recommend this book to others may they be hardgainers or not. The authors have one thing very right: It does take MAXIMUM OVERLOAD and REST and RECOVERY to build muscle. Congrats!
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Summary: An innovative methods for more choices & (possibly) results
Review: Power Factor Training is written by the Peter Sisco and John Little, who also worked on a popular technique called Static Contraction. There is a saying in bodybuilding, "The greater the intensity, the shorter the workout time" while maintaining the same or better results. The partial rep technique in Power Factor Training, like static contraction technique, has very very high intensity, compared to high volume approach taught by Arnold and other traditional approaches. Therefore, in my opinion, only seasoned bodybuilders should apply this methods. As well, those who are seeking for more leverages to reduce workout time while gaining greater results, you might want to try it out.
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Summary: Almost perfect: A very effective system
Review: This system is brilliant and many of the so called experts who have written reviews to the contrary should do one of two things: 1: Try the system for themselves 2: Perform a proper study using the system The main criticisms of PFT are to do with the partial range of motion training system not the system of measuring the workout intensity. The only problem with the measurement system is the absence of distance in the formula. This is because it is assumed that people will choose one range of motion and stick with it and that therefore the workout intensity is always measurable. As for partial reps here are the 3 most important points: 1.) If you are training in your strongest range of motion the muscle growth is phenomenally higher than full range of motion. However, training exclusively in partial ROM for extended periods, ie 3 months or more, will cause a loss of strength in full range of motion, not because of a loss of muscle mass at all but because of neuromuscular facilitation loss. That is the ability of the body to activate muscle mass. Therefore, performing a single workout once every week, or ten days i have found to be best, compiled of full range exercises for every body part, focusing on using the muscle not "building" it. Super slow reps are very good for this. 2.) Many people feel that alot of the weight of partial reps are carried by the joints and ligaments rather than the muscles. Well aren't they absoulutey brilliant! Well done doctors! Of course the ligaments take the weight, just like in any other exercise or ROM. It is for this reason the partials build strength, they strengthen the tendons and ligaments that hold the limbs together. This provides a better transfer of power. 3.) One writer from "upstate NY", who appeared to have never actually tried the system for himself or conducted any studies on the system, said that the power factor and power index counteract each other. This is only if you don't get stronger. If you were to become stronger the power index would grow with the power factor but as this "expert" obviously works out with mediocre strength gains he doesn't expect to get stronger but tries to manipulate his workouts so he thinks he does. People who are unwilling to even try a new system or even recommend a sytem are the reason why bodybuilders resort to using steroids, because their are so many systems out there and nobody is willing to actually make a fair appraisal of them. It just so happens that this system is a good one and as a responsible scientist I do not merely look at a system and try to find faults without any real analysis, but I either perform legitimate studies or try the system for myself. I believe that alot of the "experts" who have reviewed this book should work alot harder and outside of their comfort zone. Get some guts and advocate a system and stick by it, only as long as it is the best not as long as it is the most popular. This is an excellent book and a courageous effort to change the face of bodybuilding. Buy it, read it, learn from it, improve it, but most importantly test it.
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Summary: THE BEST BODYBUILDING BOOK
Review: Two of my training partners and I decided to try Power Factor Training. We had heard so much of it discussed in our gym, that we thought it was worth looking into. All of us have plateaued in our training (using conventional methods) for about three months. I'm pleased to report that after only one month on the "power factor" system, we have, collectively, added 50 pounds of muscle to our bodies (20 pounds, 10 pounds and 20 pounds, respectively). I mention this as further proof of the potency of this training system as some of the bad reviews of this method strike me as a little over-zealous (as if written by jealous authors of other fitness books...). More and more people in our gym are starting to use Power Factor Training. It's safer, more productive and takes far less time than any other training method. If you're serious about results, get this book. If you're not, then keep training conventionally and leave the progress to us.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money.
Review: Narrowly-focused weight-training book. Recommends partial reps while disregarding every other weight-training technique. Mathematical formula used to measure workload requires a lot more record-keeping than most lifters care for. Narrow, not revolutionary and certainly, not scientific.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book, Relatively Laconic
Review: Yes, the equations are off, and they don't account for distance travelled in the strongest-range, but- If you keep the distance travelled the same, generally, and you can move a greater load, of the same distance in less, or equal time, you are stronger. You must be stronger, in order to do that. Actually, I don't even calculate my PF & PI- I lift more weight, with more reps, in the same or less time, all of the time, and the calculations aren't needed. Basically- calling for the increased recovery time is the most important aspect of the book. As for imbalances from strong-range partials- like other readers have commented, you need only to then perform exercises for lagging muscle groups. I am no in any way involved with the book, and I write and help other lifter, FREE. I am not a writer of the book, and- if you don't like it, return it. At least try it, and look at your recovery time. I have gained almost fourty (40) lbs. in the past three or four months, without increasing body-fat. Give it a try, John
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Summary: Very misleading
Review: This training method, using partial repetitions exclusively, will gain you nothing in functional strength and relatively little, if any, gains in hypertrophy. As mentioned previously by the reviewer from upstate N.Y., the authors' power factor equation neglects distance traveled and other biomechanical principles. In addition, the negative effects on the nervous system are significant. Not all motor units in a given pool fire in the same range of motion, thus some motor units will "learn" not to fire when contracting a muscle if you train it EXCLUSIVELY in one range of motion. Much research in motor learning and control confirms this. As a pre-med exercise science major in college with plenty of exercise physiology exposure, I can tell you that although you should be flexible and open-minded to various training methods, NEVER train your musculature in only one small portion of your range-of-motion. Partials can be a great tool in addition to full-ROM training, but they should not be used exclusively. Do not let the authors' quasi-scientific rhetoric fool you.
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Summary: Power Factor Training : A Scientific Approach
Review: If you want to try it, do a complete warmup first. This is very important
Rating:
Summary: A Serious Training System That Actually Works
Review: Power Factor Training and its three sequels (the Power Factor Specialization series) are excellent tools for those serious about maximizing their gains. I'm a certified personal trainer and this is the system I use. My personal results have been that Power Factor Training knocked me off a growth plateau I'd been on for six months, and despite having good muscle development already, I've had new, steady gains for more than five months. Power Factor Training is the first weight training system that allows you to quantify and plan your progress. Until now, there has been no way to truely measure whether your muscles have more, less or the same strength than on your last workout. By effectively measuring muscle output, you adjust your training to accommodate your body's stimulus, recovery and growth ability. Sisco and Little have created what's probably the best system for maximizing muscle growth efficiency, and it absolutely works. Power Factor: Measures raw power -- a "snapshot" of what your muscles can do in the short term. Power Index: Measures your muscles' abilility to maintain a Power Factor over time. You adjust your training weight, reps, sets, time and schedule so that you're constantly increasing your Power Factor and Power Index. You systematically find the set/weight/reps/time combination for each exercise so that you constantly train at the point where you move the maximum amount of weight (max intensity). This varies with the individual depending upon a muscle's white and red fiber mix, so that one individual will train with maximum intensity with higher weight and fewer reps/sets, and another with lighter weight, greater reps and sets. Power Factor training allows you to find exactly the combination that maximizes intensity for each exercise and muscle group, to adjust it as you make gains, to know when you plateau and how to readjust to break off plateaus. Power Factor training also embraces the use of Strong Range exercise, meaning that you maximize the weight and increase the reps for an exercise by limiting exercise motion to the maximum strength range (partial reps). Muscle growth stimulus results entirely from overload; once you move more than about 50% of your single rep max, you've activated more than 90% of a muscle's fibers. By working high weight/max weight/strong range, you maximize the overload and time in overload while maintaining maximum fiber activation. Done properly, strong range training also tends to reduce injury potential by keeping you out of the area with maximum joint stress. Concerns with Power Factor Training Most concerns expressed about Power Factor Training result from misunderstanding or misapplying its principles. Many concerns focus on strong range training, which is really only a component of the system -- not THE system itself. 1. Concern one: The Power Factor formulas don't accurately measure force because they doesn't account for limb length, range of motion and torque. This is true, which the authors point out themselves, to extent that a Power Factor/Index is not comparable between two individuals or, to a large extent between different exercises, because of these variables. Sisco and Little point out that there's no practical way to accommodate all these variables in a workable system anyone can use, BUT a Power Factor/Index IS valid for comparing the same exercise performed by the same individual through the same range of motion, because the variables cancel out. This is all you need to measure power output and change, and you can do it with ANY exercise with ANY machine or free weights. 2. Concern two: Partial reps (strong range training) create "muscle imbalances" or limit strength development for the full range exercise. With respect to exercises that isolate a muscle group (e.g., bicep curls), this isn't true. Muscles don't grow in one part and not another because fiber distribution and activation pathways are random; a muscle either grows all over, or it doesn't grow at all. An exercise does NOT have to be full range to stimulate growth (in normal activity, muscle use is rarely full range and usually strong range). Partial repping a compound exercise (multiple muscle groups involved --e.g. the squat) may reduce stimulus to some of the muscles compared to the full range motion. However, those muscles in the weak range; the solution is to target those muscles with a different exercise that stimulates them in the strong range. But, if you feel you need to perform an exercise full range, then do so -- the Power Factor and Index concepts still apply (but are not directly comparable to the same exercise performed in the strong range). My personal experience is that as my partial rep strength for an exercise increases, so does my full range strength for the same exercise, and by using targeted, high intensity exercises for each muscle group, partial repping compound exercises has caused no "imbalances." 3. Concern three: Partial reps (strong range training) doesn't develop flexibility. This is true, but full range strength exercise isn't the best way to develop flexibility anyway. Ask anyone in dance, gymnastics or martial arts: if your goal is flexibility, perform flexibility exercises. If your goal is both flexibility and strength, optimize your training by training for these separately. Some thoughts: For safety, Power Factor Training specifies some equipment requirements that you should follow (most well-equipped gyms have what you need). Strong range training is probably not the best system for beginners; several months to a year of basic weight training and full range exercise would be a good idea before trying to handle the super heavy loads involved. This develops automacity with the exercise movements and allows for tendon/ligament development. However, even a beginner using full range can calculate Power Factors/Indexes.
Rating:
Summary: Power Factor Training : A Scientific Approach
Review: The method in this book is a good one. Within 2 to 3 weeks, you can increase 50-60 pounds in your strongest range of motion. However, if you want to try it, I suggest that you should have a good warm-up before your working sets. This is very important. This is also true for the static concertration training. In both methods, you use much more weight than you normally do.
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