Tommy Kono - The Best Iron Game Athlete in Physical Culture History - Tommy Kono Interview with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 22) - 11 Nov 14

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TONIGHT… It’s a huge honor for me to have as our guest one of the greatest and strongest athletes the world has ever known. A man who is truly the best all around Iron Game athlete in the history of Physical Culture … the legendary Tommy Kono.

In his day, Tommy was the best in the world in both Olympic Lifting and Bodybuilding. During the 1950's, from the time he won his first Gold Medal in the Olympics in 1952, Tommy was invincible. He was undefeated internationally for 8 years until the 1960 Olympic Games, where he took a Silver Medal. He set a total of 26 world records in 4 weight classes. This feat has never been matched by any other weightlifter.

During this same period Tommy dominated bodybuilding as well, winning the Mr. World competition in 1954, and Mr. Universe titles in 1955, 1957 and in 1961.

He was also an Olympic Weightlifting Coach for the USA, as well as West Germany and Mexico too.

In addition to being a great champion, Tommy is one of the nicest, most humble and classiest gentlemen you will ever Find. Be sure to get Tommy’s two great books: *** WEIGHTLIFTING OLYMPIC STYLE, and CHAMPIONSHIP WEIGHTLIFTING at Tommy's website: TommyKono.com Tommy, its an honor to speak with you again and welcome to Natural Strength Night.

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Stuart McRobert, Bodybuilding Goldmine, Hardgainer, Brawn, Little Gems, Basics 'Breviated and Best, Peary Rader - Stuart McRobert Interview with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 21) - 2 Nov 14

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Tonight it’s an honor for me to have as our guest Stuart McRobert, the publisher of Hardgainer Magazine. I’ve known Stuart for over 20 years. I consider him my strongest ally in the promotion of good honest training information. The one word that best describes Stuart is integrity. Stuart is one of the few out there with enough guts to take a real stand against the use of PEDS in strength training. You will never see Stuart compromise by using the "drugged-up stars" to sell his products like most others do. You won’t see their pictures on his website or books either. I admire him for that. I’m proud to say that I wrote for Stuart’s great magazine Hardgainer for a 10-year span from 1994 to when the magazine ended in 2004. I owe a lot to Stuart for giving me my start in writing and getting me established.

Stuart saved the modern physical culture movement IMO. I remember those dark days after Perry Rader sold Iron Man, way back in 1986. I was working as a Federal Agent at the time, even before I was transferred to Washington, DC and way before I started Whelan Strength Training. There was nothing new that was good to read. All the magazines were crap. The new Iron Man was swiftly ruined by the new ownership after 1986. They turned that great magazine into another "Muscle and Fiction" drug-rag. I ended my subscription.

Along came Hardgainer in 1989. What a God send! It was an honest magazine for the drug free trainee, and whose message was strongly against the use of drugs. No BS advertising, ... just truthful information for the genetically typical and even the genetically dis-advantaged! Hardgainer turned out to be even better than IronMan in my opinion. Even Peary Rader compromised with the top drug using stars and had a place for them. Stuart never did. I consider Hardgainer to be the best magazine in the history of Physical Culture. It came at just the right time and was so needed.

Stuart has published many great books and has written hundreds of great articles. My favorite book is his original Brawn. It is still the first book I recommend to my clients. The good news is HARDGAINER magazine is now being digitized, under the title of BODYBUILDING GOLD MINE. The first two volumes of BODYBUILDING GOLD MINE are now available in Kindle format from amazon.com Check out all Stuarts great books and get Bodybuilding Goldmine at Hardgainer.com Stuart, welcome to Natural Strength Night.

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Marvin Eder - The Strongest Man Who Ever Lived, Pound for Pound, Drug Free - Marvin Eder Interview with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 20) - 22 Oct 14

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Tonight you are in for quite a treat. Our guest is pound for pound the strongest drug free man to ever walk the face of the earth. The legendary Marvin Eder. I have been friends with Marvin for over 10 years and we have had many long phone conversations. I wish I had them all recorded. Marvin was the recipient of the Physical Culture Award at my last Capital City Strength Clinic, and today, the day of this podcast, October 22nd, its Marvin's 83rd birthday. Happy birthday Marvin.

Listen to what the great iron game historian Osmo Kiiha wrote about Marvin Eder:

“Marvin set the strength world on notice in the early 1950's His incredible power along with a world class physique set him apart from other men of his era. He had tremendous natural gifts, thick joints, great leverage, all his lifting was done way before the era of drugs. Marvin's strength feats were almost super human, he was able to surpass the efforts of almost all super-heavies of the time, weighing only 196-198 pounds. He was the third man in the world to bench press 500 pounds and the only man under 200 pounds to accomplish this fabulous feat in the 1950's. His one single parallel bar dip has never been equaled, 434 pounds, at the bodyweight of 198. He cleaned and military pressed 355 as a middle-heavyweight in 1953, which exceeded the official American record by 74 pounds, but due to being declared a professional athlete at the time, was unable to claim his rightful place as the American and world record holder. Marvin was the original high intensity training kid, very few could stand up to his training volume or load, truly Marvin Eder was pound for pound, the ‘Strongest Man’ who ever walked the face of the earth.”

Marvin, its an honor to have you on Natural Strength Night.

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Close Combat, American Combato, Martial Arts, Self Defense, Strength Training for the Martial Arts, Dangers of Steroids - Bradley J. Steiner Interview with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 19) - 7 Oct 14

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It’s a great honor for me to have as our guest, Professor Bradley J. Steiner. Brad is one of the greatest muscle writers of all time and is a world-renowned expert in two separate fields: strength training and the martial arts. (Especially self-defense and close combat.) He has written over 30 published books in these areas of study. I have read several of Brads strength training books in my early years of training and I credit his great writings in Strength & Health, Muscular Development and Iron Man for giving me a great foundation in my own training. 
 Brad was probably the first to emphasize the importance of STRENGTH TRAINING for self defense and the martial arts. Traditionally the martial arts discouraged weight training (and many still do!) Brad went against the grain and was a leader and pioneer in teaching the benefits of strength training for self defense and the martial arts. Brad is a tenth degree black belt and Founder and Grandmaster of American Combato.
Professor Steiner is President and CEO of the International Combat Martial Arts Federation an elite and prestigious organization of internationally recognized close combat, self-defense, and martial arts authorities. Brad has a great home study DVD course and a great monthly newsletter, SWORD AND PEN. For more information, please visit Brad’s two websites … AmericanCombato.com and SeattleCombatives.com

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Muscle Museum, Jackson Barbell, Charles Atlas, Bur-Bel, Bernarr Macfadden, Sig Klein's Gym, Iron Nation Cover - Mike BonDurant Interview with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 18) - 28 Sep 14

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Tonight our guest is Mike BonDurant. Mike is well known as one of the top iron game memorabilia collectors and physical culture historians in the world. He’s especially known as THE guy who knows the history of strength equipment. He is the founder of the Muscle Museum in St Augustine Florida, and he’s also the publisher of the Muscle Museum Forum newsletter. I’m going to have to drive up and visit Mike now that I’m in Florida. Mike sounds like a man half his age but don’t let his youthful voice fool you. He’s well into his seventies and has over 60 years experience in the field of strength training and has done it all ... from running his own gyms, selling equipment and nutritional products, running natural bodybuilding contests, writing numerous strength trainining articles and his own personal training business. If you are going to be anywhere near St Augustine Florida you have to stop by and visit the Muscle Museum. Mike owns one of the world’s finest collections of unique iron game historical items that are the envy of collectors world-wide. Mike doesn’t have a website but you can contact him by email at mikebd1@bellsouth.net

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Muscle Beach, Bill Pearl, Leo Stern's Gym, Joe Gold, Vince Gironda, Dick Conner's Gym Travels, The New Pit Gym - Dick Conner Interview with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 17) - 19 Sep 14

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Tonight we welcome back my good friend Dick Conner who is a regular on the show and one of the nicest and most honest guys in the field. Dick also has a great sense of humor which I love. Dick has been involved in strength training for over 60 years, and he’s one of the greatest powerlifting coaches of all-time. He has written many great articles for Hardgainer, Natural Strength.com and others. Dick is the founder of THE PIT, one of the best strength gyms in the country and he still works there a few days a week. Dick provides some great and humorous information about his visits to many gyms around the country and meeting Leo Stern, Vince Gironda, Joe gold, Vic Tanney, George Eiferman and others. You'll get some great info on the new awesome Pit Gym too. We have another great sound-bite of the great Jack Lalanne from his TV show in the early 1960’s. Enjoy the wisdom of a man way ahead of his time. Todd Baisley called in an entertaining Flamingo Sighting and Bob gives some great training tips in a segment called "In a Nutshell."

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Successful Coaching Philosophy, Jack Lalanne, "Shock the Muscles" BS, We Used to Be a Cult, The Scourge of Bread & Wine - Ted Harrison Interview with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 16) - 7 Sep 14

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Tonight we welcome back a regular guest, Ted Harrison. We'll talk about the core philosophy of his personal training, who in physical culture influenced him the most, and if he believes cardiovascular exercise is needed if you do hard and progressive strength training.  We will also talk about how many people confuse STRENGTH TRAINING with EXERCISE, the pros and cons of training info in Social Media, how often to change your strength training program and some good nutrition info. We also have some vintage Jack LaLanne talking about unhappy people and Drew Israel calls in a classic "Flamingo" message. All this with a bunch of laughs with it!

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Ripped Like Clarence Bass, Transform Your Physique, You Can't Out Train a Bad Diet, Captain of Crush - Bill Piche Interview with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 15) - 31 Aug 14

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Tonight’s guest is Bill Piche. I’ve know Bill for at least 15 years or so… he is a real gentleman and one of the good guys in this field. Bill competed as a powerlifter and did a triple body weight deadlift as one of the top natural powerlifters in the country back in the 1980’s. You have to be careful shaking hands with Bill too as he is a certified “Captain of Crush” closing the number 3 gripper which is very hard to do. He has recently turned his attention to natural bodybuilding and is becoming about as cut as Clarence Bass. He is extremely knowledgable on proper nutrition for bodybuilding: mainly to lose fat … without losing muscle and I’ll be picking Bills brain on this tonight. He started one of the best … and first (if not THE First) strength training websites on the net Called Cyberpump way back in 1995. It is enormously popular and has grown into a NETWORK … and now includes several of the best and most popular strength training, grip training, and iron game history websites in the world. Cyberpump.com is the place to go for real, truthful strength training advice.

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Training in Deland with Arthur Jones, Kim Wood, Dr. Ken, Casey Viator, Jim Flanagan, Dick Butkus, Carlton Fisk, and more! - Jim Bryan Interview with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 14) - 21 Aug 14

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Jim has done it all in the field of strength training and has over 50 years experience. He is a High Intensity Training pioneer and was one of the earliest college strength coaches to use the HIT philosophy way back in the early 70’s. He was truly one of the first college strength coaches period. Jim was also one of the first people to work directly with Arthur Jones in Deland, Florida back in the early 70’s.  I will be picking Jims brain tonight for some insight to those colorful days working with Arthur in Deland.

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Iron Game History, Muscle Smoke and Mirrors, Kim Wood, Raw Foods, Heavy Iron - Randy Roach and Ted Harrison with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 13) - 12 Aug 14

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An exclusive in depth (over one hour) interview with Randy Roach, author of the epic books Muscle Smoke and Mirrors (Volumes 1 and 2.) Randy gives us an update for Volume 3, describes the tremendous effort it took for the first 2 volumes as well as many other interesting gems of strength training information. A must listen. Ted Harrison gives us some great information on how to connect physical culture and iron game history to your own training for positive results. A very interesting segment by Ted.

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Build Muscle Mass with Low Rep HIT, Dread of Gym Moving, Kefir, Purpose, Push-Pull Balance - Joe Aben and Ted Harrison with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 12) - 03 Aug 14

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Joe Aben talks about building a successful strength coaching business, lower rep HIT training, the balance of pushing and pulling, the nightmare of moving your gym, and even provides us a home made Kefir recipe. Some great info. Ted Harrison talks about finding the "purpose" and the "why" in your training for maximum results. Another great talk by Ted as always.   *Correction: My rep range when I do "Lower Rep HIT" is between 5-8. I had a senior brain cramp on the podcast and said 8-12.

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What Do You Stand For?, Mind Strength, Coaching Philosophy is Everything, Going from 'Ruth's Chris' to 'Waffle House' or My Move to Business Basic Training in Fort Pierce, Florida - The Fitness Professional Show - Interview with "Maximum" Bob Whelan - Aug 14

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As promised, a follow-up to my interviw with Chris Lutz. Now I'm the guest on their show. You can tell that they did not do a lot of "show prep", if any, but overall it was fun and a good interview.


My Favorite Quotes:

"I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me." - Philppians 4:13

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." - T.E. Lawrence

"Ah but a man's reach should exceed his grasp...or whats a heaven for." - Robert Browning

"Government is not the solution, government is the problem."- Ronald Reagan

"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." - Satchel Paige

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High Intensity Strength Training, H.I.T., SPARTA, The Fitness Leaders Alliance, Science of Good Form, Effort or Poundage, Sub-Sets of HIT - Chris Lutz and Ted Harrison with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 11) - 27 July 14

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Chris Lutz talks about high-intensity strength training (H.I.T.) and his company, SPARTA, that provides business solutions and resources for the fitness industry and personal trainers. Please  visit:  Sparta Training.com Ted Harrison, owner of Vital Exercise, Talks The Science of Good Form and more!

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Henry Rollins THE IRON, Neck Work, "Plate Wasting" Machines, The Pit Shark - Ted Harrison and Drew Israel with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 10) - 20 July 14

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Ted Harrison, owner of Vital Exercise, talks training and eating on the road, get enough protein, work the neck, train out of your depression, Henry Rollins, Stretching, Speed of Motion, and more! ... Drew "The Human Wall" Israel talks about the V-Squat, Powernetics Dominator, Nautilus Explode Deadlift, "Plate Wasting" Machines, our visit to Pit Shark Headquarters and more! If you live anywhere near Colchester in the U.K., you need to look-up Ted for some great training. For more info, go to VitalExercise.com

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Hard Strength Training and Eating FDNY Style, The Day Bob Hoffman Died, First Workout with Dr. Ken, Huge Steaks at Peter Lugers - Jim Duggan & Drew Israel with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 9) - 12 July 14

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New York City Fire Captain and world class natural strongman Jim Duggan is back for round two. We talk Protein from The Sea, ("dehydrated fish guts"), only York plates will do, the sad day at Bruno's gym when Bob Hoffman died, and more! Drew "The Human Wall" Israel describes his first workout in Dr. Ken's Basement, Eating steak for 3 by himself at Peter Lugers, Why he no longer trains Slow Speed and more!

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The Brotherhood of Iron, Mind Strength, Vital Exercise - England's HIT Mecca - Ted Harrison with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 8) - 28 June 14

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Despite the technical problems we still did the show and I'm glad we did. My microphone was hooked from Skype to Blog Talk Radio and had a slight static but Ted was crystal clear. It was do-able till the end when we had to cut it short. It was a good interview as far as quality information goes. Ted provided great answers to listener questions. If you can just ignore the slight sound problems, you will get about 40 minutes of good information. I will for sure have Ted on again.

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Two Sport Multi-World Champion Talks Dedication, Art Drechsler & Dr. Ken, LBH Gym in Queens - Linda Jo Belsito Interview with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 7) - 22 June 14

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I’ve known Linda Jo for over 15 years, she spoke at several of my Capital City Strength clinics in DC. In addition to being one of the strongest steroid free women in the history of the world, she is also one of the warmest and nicest people in the strength field. LJ has been drug free her entire career. She is nick-named “white lights” due to her perfect form and technique. She has won open powerlifting world titles, and 8 other master world titles in powerlifting. She changed sports in 1998 from Powerlifting to Olympic lifting and has won 15 national titles in masters olympic lifting, and recently won her 9th master world title, and 3rd master World Games Championship.

If anyone is interested in being a sponsor of Linda Jo to help off-set some of her out of pocket expenses from flying around the world to compete etc. please send an email to Bob at mindforceradio@earthlink.net

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Hard Training at The Pit Barbell Club, Training for Powerlifting, Avoiding Injuries, Dick Conner with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 6) - 19 June 14

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Hard Training at The Pit Barbell Club, Training for Powerlifting, Avoiding Injuries, Training Lessons Learned, Dick Conner with Bob Whelan

Dick Conner is one of the most respected men in the Iron Game. He has loved the Iron Game and strength training since the early 1950s. While stationed in the Navy at San Diego, he trained with Leo Stern, the same man who trained the famous Bill Pearl. He is a retired police officer and suffered serious injuries in the line of duty that made training himself almost impossible. Dick decided to turn this into a positive situation and to use his knowledge to help others. 

He has been contributing to teaching others proper training methods for decades and runs one of the best hard-core gyms in the country, The Pit, in his home state of Indiana. He is the long-time coach of the famous PIT Powerlifting Team, which has won numerous drug-tested powerlifting championships. The PIT Powerlifting Team has won 19 state powerlifting championships and 9 national championships. The team has traveled all over the country to meet any challenger. Dick trains many athletes at the Pit and has also written numerous articles for HardGainer magazine and NaturalStrength.com.

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Sig Klein, Bruno's Gym, Trips to York, Big Steaks at Peter Lugers, Iron Island Gym Stories, Sad State of Powerlifting and more... Jim Duggan with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 5) - 9 June 14

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Sig Klein, Bruno's Gym, Trips to York, Big Steaks at Peter Lugers, Iron Island Gym Stories, Sad State of Powerlifting and more... 

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Professor Attila, Size vs Strength, Building Power "The Pit" Way, Dick Conner with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 4) - 25 May 14

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Professor Attila, Bill Pearl's Barn, Sig Klein, Size vs Strength, Building Power "The Pit" way, Dick Conner with Bob Whelan.

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20 Rep Super Squats, Bulking for Young Athletes, Body Part BS and more! - Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 3) - 11 May 14

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A series of training questions from listeners are answered by Bob Whelan. Throw away your protein powder and EAT!..., 20 rep squats, split routines, body parts, poundage progression, sets to failure and other interesting topics discussed.

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Steve Baldwin, Dick Conner & Drew Israel with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT podcast - (episode 2) - 13 April 14

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Bob Whelan and Steve Baldwin both talked about how they met John Grimek and about visiting York. Steve provided some great training info. Dick Conner talked more about training with Leo Stern. Drew and Dick provided some great and humerous information.

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Talking Hard Strength Training, HIT, and Equipment - Dick Conner & Drew Israel with Bob Whelan - NATURAL STRENGTH NIGHT - (episode 1) - 6 April 14

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Bob Whelan talks about the fundamentals of successful strength training and points out what to do and not to do in a clear, strong, but humorous way. Dick Conner gives us some great training information and some interesting iron game history with his training stories with Leo Stern. Drew Israel provides some great training stories from the trenches and great information about strength equipment and machines.

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A few of my favorite quotes:

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." - T.E. Lawrence

"Ah but a man's reach should exceed his grasp...or whats a heaven for." - Robert Browning

"Government is not the solution, government is the problem."- Ronald Reagan

"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." - Satchel Paige

"I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me." - Philppians 4:13

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