Book review: The Soviet Road to Olympus, by Norman Shneidman

Like many people my age, I grew up in fascination of the Soviet machine and its interaction with the American West.  There was nothing else as exciting as the display of two international superpowers facing each other down, whether in a genuine military combat or on the field of sport.

So when I saw a recommendation by Vern Gambetta for The Soviet Road to Olympus, by Norman Shneidman (affiliate links: UK, US), a book about the role of sport in the Soviet education system and the system of education that delivered it, I quickly logged into Amazon and ordered a copy.

The Soviet Road to Olympus: obligatory red cover included

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So what’s it like?

It’s very much an academic book.  If you’ve spent any time reading academic works in pursuit of an non-science degree then you’ll immediately know what I mean.  For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of writing a thesis or doing a literature review, I’m not talking about textbooks.  I am talking about books written for an academic audience with no need for any simulating writing style to keep them turning the pages.

Academic books in a non-scientific field tend to spend a great deal of time establishing a number of things before actually saying anything.  Principally, they try to establish:

• What the general consensus is about the issues they are going to talk about
• What the extent of the current literature is
• What the appropriate questions are (no, I am not joking, this can get really contentious)

That being said, it did have some interesting material.

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So what’s interesting?

Well, the chapters are as follows:

1. Introduction – in the introduction, Shneidman addresses the key questions.  He notes that there has been little discussion of the nature of the Soviet athlete and that there is little non-Russian literature about the training methods and systems of the Soviet athletes, coaches and schools.  He also touches on what people consider to be the appropriate questions and offers very typically academic opinions.
2. Soviet physical education – Shneidman considers the role of physical education in the wider context of the Soviet education system and how it functioned as a tool of the system.  Physical education was seen as having a beneficial effect on productivity and morality.  However, in what seems to be a bit of a non-sequitur, he then goes on to consider the apparently contrary behaviour of some elite Soviet athletes, coaches and judges in the questionable sporting ethics and partiality that they have shown on the world stage.
3. Soviet physical culture in historical perspective – Shneidman goes back and looks at the development of athletic clubs and groups from in the time before the Second World War and the development of Communism and how it then changed under the Soviet system.
4. The Soviet system of organised athletics – in this detailed chapter, Shneidman looks carefully at the Soviet system of athletics in school, colleges, universities and trade unions, and discusses the various facilities and time available for people to partake in sporting activities.
5. The basic programme of Soviet physical culture – and in this chapter, Shneidman discusses the nature of the competitions and achievements open to the Soviet people if they were keen to participate in sporting activities.
6. Specialist training – obviously, the elite athletes would at some point specialise, and here, Shneidman goes into the detail of where this specialisation occurred, what the time commitment was and how that time commitment broke down into theory and practical study.
7. Means and principles – everything so far has been purely interesting from an historical point of view.  However, in this chapter, Shneidman covers the underlying principles behind the way in which Soviet sport was taught.
   1. Classification – Shneidman notes that the principles begin with the classification of physical activities into four broad groups: touring, gymnastics, games and sport.  Touring includes walking, cross-country skiing, swimming, boating and cycling.  Gymnastics includes all categories of floor tumbling, bar work and ring work.  Games are non-competitive team and individual sports.  Sport is defined by virtue of its competitive nature.
   2. Principles – apparently, all Soviet pedagogy is based on certain basic principles, but, in respect of athletic development, the principles are as follows:
      1. Specialisation – the development of specific abilities suited to the sport in which the athlete will ultimately take part.  Soviet research suggested that early specialisation for athletes was actually detrimental to their performance later in life and it was better to focus on general athleticism.
      2. All round development – the acquisition of a balanced set of skills and abilities, along with a strong will and mental faculties.
      3. Consciousness – a clear understanding of the aims of the athlete, of their role in the wider Soviet society and of their personal development as a person and as an athlete.
      4. Consistency – an appreciation of the need for a systematic increase in the volume, intensity or complication of training.
      5. Repetition – a progression from executing a movement, to becoming adept at a movement to becoming automatic at a movement through repeated practice.
      6. Visualisation – the use of examples or film or pictures to show the ideal movement being sought through training.
      7. Individualisation – the recognition that after an athlete reaches a certain level, their abilities will not be improved through general practice but practice must be refined based on their specific circumstance.
8. The Soviet system of athletic training – in this chapter, Shneidman discusses the concepts of periodisation (including micro-cycles, meso-cycles and macro-cycles), interval training and how the above principles are structured into the overall training programmes.
9. Conclusion – Shneidman concludes that the success of the Soviet system in producing athletes shows that it is possible to produce world-class athletes in a relatively short period of time with a well-structured programme.  Whether this is of any practical benefit is another question entirely.

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So who might appreciate this book?

Don’t buy this book looking for any of the Russian strength training secrets that are said to have influenced Louie Simmons and the Westside Barbell method of training.  However, if you are familiar with those training methods, then this book might prove an interesting background resource to put those training methods into context.