Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training is the new expanded version of the book that has been called "the best and most useful of fitness books." It picks up where Starting Strength: A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners leaves off. With all new graphics and more than 750 illustrations, a more detailed analysis of the five most important exercises in the weight room, and a new chapter dealing with the most important assistance exercises, Basic Barbell Training offers the most complete examination in print of the most effective way to exercise.Price: $29.95
Arnold Schwarzenegger works the crowds, plots strategies for defeating multiple opponents, shares his parents' values with the press, and inspires legions of admirers with his resolute optimism about the future. And all of this long before he decided to run for governor of California, in 1977's hit documentary, Pumping Iron. Larger than life, though not necessarily larger than his rivals for the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia bodybuilding titles (especially a young Lou Ferrigno, hot on Arnold's competitive trail but much less interesting), Schwarzenegger still comes across, at age 28, as a consummate politician, smart, likable, and crafty about exploiting others' psychological weaknesses. The film still feels redundant (there's only so much beefcake the human eye will tolerate), but the emotional dramas--the unrewarded hard work, the unanswered hopes--are compelling. Complete with a revealing 2003 interview with Schwarzenegger and a reunion of the film's bodybuilders and director. --Tom Keogh