Author Dr Patrick Hagerman has been a professor of exercise and sports science, a university-level strength and conditioning coach, and an experienced personal trainer and athlete, so he’s a good man to consult on the subject of strength work.

His book begins by introducing the concept of strength training, and follows a logical progression through different types of strength-training equipment, which exercises are useful for what, and the variety of orders in which you can plan your training.

There’s also the usual whip through periodisation, specific tri-discipline exercises, core exercises and some useful sample plans for strength-training programmes for athletes wishing to compete at sprint through to Ironman-distance races. The diagrams are of a respectable quality, and the book as a whole leaves you with enough scope to personalise your strength training plan.

Its biggest downfall is that there’s nothing we haven’t seen before, and so there's no killer reason to buy this book over another on the same topic.