I bought this book because of its 2nd edition date of 2002.

While I really appreciate the value of Mr. Kelso's methods,

I'm a bit disappointed in this book. Too many of the pages are dedicated to who wrote about whichever exercises first. So what ?!?

Overall, I see a complete set of shrug exercises.

These are gold. However, I give this book a three star rating because there are so few pictures of the exercises. He mentions many types of grips, but doesn't list them or describe them. If a beginner picks up his book and reads about the "Snatch Grip", he has to go to another book for a definition

.

The desriptions are pretty good, but pretty much every exercise book printed today includes step-by-step pictures

and anatomical diagrams. Most modern exercise charts include

color-coded diagrams of muscles involved in particular exercises.

Anyway, no disrespect intended. I hope Mr. Kelso reads this

review and updates his book so I can buy his 3rd edition.

He should do an Encyclopedia-style rewrite and charge more.

"Super Squats" espouses the revolutionary theory that if you lift huge weights for huge reps, you're going to get huge muscles. No exercise except possibly the deadlift works the body as hard as the squat does. The heart and soul of Strossen's system is the twenty rep breathing squat. Load the bar to a weight you would normally do ten reps with. Do twenty, taking at least three deep breaths between each rep. Next workout increase the weight and do twenty more. Keep the auxiliary exercises to a minimum. Using Strossen as a guide, I devised a three exercise workout: twenty rep squats, bench presses, and bent rows, and it proved a very satisfactory workout indeed. Do those three exercises and do them heavy, and you cannot help but get strong. A word of caution: Squats can be dangerous. If you want to lift heavy on squats, get Stuart McRobert's "The Insider's Tell-All Guide to Weight-Training Technique." The book is a gold mine of information on how to perform weight training exercises properly and without injury.

For participants and/or fans of the sport of bodybuilding, this is a must see. The gym sessions with Branch are uncensored but ring true and are well filmed. Most of the sequences are in black and white, which adds to the intense effect. Branch is as hardcore as they come, and I have tremendous respect for his work ethic and determination which brought him to the world of professional bodybuilding. The training sessions amply explain why he has already won and placed in several top competitions (including a top 10 in the Olympia).

There is also a second disc in the package, which shows Branch at home with his wife and that is also very well done. He is a multi faceted athlete and individual, and this is highly recommended as a top viewing experience.

Wow. I don't know what I was expecting when I requested this book. I had originally requested it thinking I was just going to hand it over to my boyfriend, let him work with it and then review it from his experiences. (I'm not a strength trainee by any means and abhor gyms with a passion - I go the meditation/yoga route.)

But this book is nothing short of awesome. Full colour pages, descriptive workouts (even loads of plans for beginners, all the way up to advanced workouts), photos everywhere and these AWESOME illustrations that show what each type of exercise technique is working on - displaying muscle tissue, bones, impact; honestly, this is a miniature, useful lesson in anatomy.

Each workout appraises you of the advantages, disadvantages, risks and provides you with handy safety tips scattered throughout the book.

Highly recommended for everyone who goes to the gym or has workout sessions at home...or even just for those of us who are artists (like me) looking for a 'different' type of anatomy book to peruse. It really is an invaluable resource.

I bought this book because of its 2nd edition date of 2002.

While I really appreciate the value of Mr. Kelso's methods,

I'm a bit disappointed in this book. Too many of the pages are dedicated to who wrote about whichever exercises first. So what ?!?

Overall, I see a complete set of shrug exercises.

These are gold. However, I give this book a three star rating because there are so few pictures of the exercises. He mentions many types of grips, but doesn't list them or describe them. If a beginner picks up his book and reads about the "Snatch Grip", he has to go to another book for a definition

.

The desriptions are pretty good, but pretty much every exercise book printed today includes step-by-step pictures

and anatomical diagrams. Most modern exercise charts include

color-coded diagrams of muscles involved in particular exercises.

Anyway, no disrespect intended. I hope Mr. Kelso reads this

review and updates his book so I can buy his 3rd edition.

He should do an Encyclopedia-style rewrite and charge more.

BCAA's are a must for muscle building, and these capsules are a pure source of BCAA's, in the most commonly recommended ratio (2:1:1 Leucine : isoleucine : valine).

I must recommend powder, though. These, and all other BCAA capsules, are a very inefficient way to take in BCAA's due to serving sizes. A serving of BCAA's should be typically 5 or 6 grams. With typical capsules like these, that's 10 or 12 capsules per serving (.5g pills). Doing that several times a day gets old quick, and when you take other supplements with these, it would only make sense to get powders so you can make a drink with all of them at once instead of taking a handful of capsules several times a day.

ON's BCAA 5000 powder or Ultimate Nutrition's BCAA 12,000 powder are good alternatives to this product. Keep in mind that this product is actually the same powder, put into capsules and not flavored. A serious plus about the powder is that flavored BCAA powder is good at masking the taste of other supplements, allowing you to buy the pure forms of other supplements and not have to worry about the taste that some other supplements can pack (ever taste arginine by itself?). Powder is also much more efficient on the wallet. I'm cheap, and I stick to the two I just mentioned, the prices on Amazon fluctuate but those two stay relatively low.

But then again, if you're goal is for a couple grams of BCAA's a day (to each his own), you should probably stick with these. ON will never let you down, they're good at making simple, cheap products (hence the 5 stars even though I recommend a different product, for BCAA CAPSULES, it's hard to beat these). But for serious muscle building, it's either powder or a ton of capsules a day.... I take around 25-30 grams of BCAA's a day with powder, it's worked out well for me over the course of several months.

As a natural healthcare practitioner, I often refer to several textbooks to update and review for the benefit of my patients. I have come to rely on Dr. Columbu's knowledge as it applies to athletes. Yet, there is a point to which all persons can benefit from just a little of his principles. Seldom will you find a book recommending that the specific enzyme-containing foods required for proper breakdown and assimilation of other vital substances. As to the comment that the information on the macronutrients and micronutrients being outdated and nothing new, I must respond by replying that I do not often encounter persons who have a working knowledge of what nutrients are responsible for certain functions and the consequences of deficiencies. And the information he provides is just as useful today as it was in the book's first printing. We could all use a bit of a refresher course from time to time on basic nutrition. Glad to see Dr. Columbu reiterating the value of such information.

As a natural healthcare practitioner, I often refer to several textbooks to update and review for the benefit of my patients. I have come to rely on Dr. Columbu's knowledge as it applies to athletes. Yet, there is a point to which all persons can benefit from just a little of his principles. Seldom will you find a book recommending that the specific enzyme-containing foods required for proper breakdown and assimilation of other vital substances. As to the comment that the information on the macronutrients and micronutrients being outdated and nothing new, I must respond by replying that I do not often encounter persons who have a working knowledge of what nutrients are responsible for certain functions and the consequences of deficiencies. And the information he provides is just as useful today as it was in the book's first printing. We could all use a bit of a refresher course from time to time on basic nutrition. Glad to see Dr. Columbu reiterating the value of such information.

As a natural healthcare practitioner, I often refer to several textbooks to update and review for the benefit of my patients. I have come to rely on Dr. Columbu's knowledge as it applies to athletes. Yet, there is a point to which all persons can benefit from just a little of his principles. Seldom will you find a book recommending that the specific enzyme-containing foods required for proper breakdown and assimilation of other vital substances. As to the comment that the information on the macronutrients and micronutrients being outdated and nothing new, I must respond by replying that I do not often encounter persons who have a working knowledge of what nutrients are responsible for certain functions and the consequences of deficiencies. And the information he provides is just as useful today as it was in the book's first printing. We could all use a bit of a refresher course from time to time on basic nutrition. Glad to see Dr. Columbu reiterating the value of such information.

I believe Yogi Berra said something to the effect that "90% of the game is 50% mental." Strossen explores the mental aspects of weightlifting and weight training and guides the reader to a mindset for success. Strossen's analysis is literate, readable, entertaining, and educational. Having trained with weights for the better part of four decades, I have fallen into many of the errors Strossen discusses. I only wish I had read "Ironmind" at the beginning of my training career rather than the end.

Strossen quotes an interview of Buster Douglas shortly after Douglas defeated Mike Tyson. Interviewer: "Buster, you kept him at bay with double left jabs, you leveraged your height advantage and kept tagging him with rights, you tied him up, you maintained that delicate balance of constant pressure [etc., etc., etc.] Was that your strategy? Is that what you planned to do?" Douglas: "I planned to whip his ass." Douglas had the cultivated a mindset for success, and "Ironmind" can help you cultivate it, too, not only in athletics, but in almost any field of endeavor to which you apply its principles.

I bought this book because of its 2nd edition date of 2002.

While I really appreciate the value of Mr. Kelso's methods,

I'm a bit disappointed in this book. Too many of the pages are dedicated to who wrote about whichever exercises first. So what ?!?

Overall, I see a complete set of shrug exercises.

These are gold. However, I give this book a three star rating because there are so few pictures of the exercises. He mentions many types of grips, but doesn't list them or describe them. If a beginner picks up his book and reads about the "Snatch Grip", he has to go to another book for a definition

.

The desriptions are pretty good, but pretty much every exercise book printed today includes step-by-step pictures

and anatomical diagrams. Most modern exercise charts include

color-coded diagrams of muscles involved in particular exercises.

Anyway, no disrespect intended. I hope Mr. Kelso reads this

review and updates his book so I can buy his 3rd edition.

He should do an Encyclopedia-style rewrite and charge more.

I imagine this stuff as a bunch of workers on a manufacturing line just tossing out and liquifying everything in my body that I don't need. This stuff isn't going to be for everyone, but you WILL see results - I promise.