Attempts

I’ve listened to my fair share of audiobooks on lifting, but *Attempts* stands out because Dan John doesn’t just explain—he *performs*. His narration is like a cross between a campfire storyteller and a grizzled sergeant major, with the pacing dialed to match his conversational (yet authoritative) style. The audio quality is crisp, but the real magic is in how he weaves personal anecdotes—like getting pinned under a squat in his 20s or coaching Olympians—into broader lessons about resilience and adaptability. My only critique? Some sections drag when he rambles on tangents about specific lifts (I skimmed the 20-minute breakdown of the Turkish get-up), but that’s also part of the charm—it feels unscripted, like he’s thinking aloud. The production doesn’t pad the runtime with fluff; it trusts the listener to engage with John’s raw, unpolished insights. By the end, you’ll either want to hit the gym immediately or question everything you thought you knew about training. Either way, you’ll be better for it.