Men's Ams of Steel

With strength work, I am an intermediate exerciser, who doesn’t really want to move up to advanced work. Recently, I have been looking for shorter workouts that allow me to lift heavier - and advance with the weights I am lifting.

I REALLY like this workout. I will NOT be trading this one. Gilad is by himself in the gym. The warm up seemed a little long to me, but I fast forwarded through the stretches. Then, he starts with light weights for the shoulders and progressively uses heavier weights throughout the workout. He works the shoulders, back, chest, biceps, and triceps, differing the rhythm and speed of the exercises for every body part. He even works parts not usually in upper body workouts - the forearms and rotator cuffs. At the beginning of each exercise, he explains the weight he will be using. He tends to stick with the weight and/or exercise form a beginner or intermediate would use and stresses that advanced exercisers could use heavier weights. Throughout the workout, he encourages the exerciser to work with a weight appropriate to their level.

I got this video for 49 cents at a Dollar General store and what a deal it is. Don't be put off that its marketed towards men. A bicep curl is a bicep curl after all.

Surprisingly, he uses light weights in this upper body endurance workout. I was really surprised to see GILAD reaching for FIVE pounders!! So of course I grabbed 5 pounders, too. Mistake!! I had to drop down to threes because my shoulders were on fire. Gilad works the upper body thoroughly using supersets. He starts with shoulders which is sort of nice because many weight workouts don't, so by the time we get to shoulders I am tired. He does at least 3 exercises for each body part, and works them to exhaustion. The only thing I didnt really like was that he does standing chest work, which wasn't particularly effective for the chest. I felt it more in the shoulders. He ends with pushups, which I didn't do. I think next time I'll just to the pushups first while I am still fresh. All in all this is a terrific upper body workout that reminded me a lot of Joyce Vedral, surprisingly!

If you see this one, snap it up - its a gem.

This is an excellent tape. Although it is entitled, "Men of Steel," it is appropriate for women too. The workout consists of a very good warm-up, one of the best upper body warm-ups that I've seen on video. His pacing is good and he has plenty of variety throughout the workout. He does a series of basic exercises for shoulders, followed by biceps, forearms, triceps, back and push-ups. Then there is a cool-down. All the exercises are basic, although he does throw in some nice twists, such as shoulder front raises with the palms up and biceps curls across the chest. He also does several compound sets, where he combines several exercises. All muscle groups are nicely burned out. The only exception is back, where there is just one exercise, one-arm rows. There is a series of push-ups, and Gilad varies the hand positions to target chest, shoulders and triceps, respectively. The cool-down is short but adequate.

Gilad is very encouraging and motivating, but is straight-forward and businesslike. He's in great shape, with great muscle definition (and just the right amount of body hair, IMO).

I highly recommend this tape.

I like this tape. (Yes, women can use it too!) It's a thorough no-nonsense workout for the arms (biceps, triceps, forearms), shoulders, chest, and back. You need dumbbell pairs of varying weights, and a chair.

Men's Arms of Steel features that Gilad Janckiewicz (sp?) guy who used to be on that ESPN show (Bodies in Motion?). He starts off with a warm-up, which I can't say much about because I usually skip it, because I do the video after aerobics and am already warm.

Gilad does a good job of cueing proper form for the common upperbody exercises, Bicep Curls, French Press, Tricep dips (from a chair), concentration curls. He demonstrates with what I am sure are very light weights for him (most of the exercises, I do the same or more weight than he does). I'm sure he does this so that men (competetive animals that they are) don't try to start off too high.

I think this video was designed for men who are just starting out, but of course you can increase the weights and increase the intensity. I like this tape because all the women's tapes I have tried use light weights/ hi reps. (Except the Firm, I bought this tape before I discovered the Firm though, and still use it occasionally when I feel I've overtrained my legs with too much stepping or rollerblading, but still want to train my upper body). I don't know what the heavy duty bodybuilder types would have to say about it, but it works for me!

This is a fantastic arm workout for women too. Gil starts out with a warm-up which I skip, and goes in every part of the arms - shoulders, biceps, triceps. He does pushups. He uses weights from 3-20 lbs. Women can use 3-10 or 15. It is really challenging if you want it to be by using weights that are right for you. I am always looking for upper body tapes. This, along with Cory Everson's Get Hard: Arms and Shoulders (the number one upper body tape), are used many times in my workouts. Try it!

This is a very thorough "gym style" upper body workout (as opposed to Firm workouts with aerobics). After a warmup, Gilad uses a wide variety of weights as well as tricep dips and pushups. He also uses several styles of lifting including combinations, graduated lifts ("1-2-3") and "singles" (faster lifts) as well as traditional lifts. Many of the weights he uses are fairly light so this workout is excellent for beginners (like me) although more advanced users could use it by increasing the weights.

What I didn't like about the video:
- not enough lifts for the back
- the set is rather plain and music nonexistent
- I feel the singles can be too fast, I prefer to lift slower so I don't swing the weights

What I do like:
- the workout is very thorough and Gilad also includes exercises for rotator cuffs (important to prevent injury), the forearms and wrists that are often not included on other videos (like Kathy Smith's Secrets of a Great Upper Body)
- Gilad changes weights (and gives suggestions for beginners) and places weights back on the rack in "real time". This gives the viewer time to do the same. I dislike Kathy Smith's Secrets of A Great Upper Body as she doesn't give time to get up and down off the floor, let alone change weights
- Gilad's masclinity is refreshing (maybe I've been doing too many Richard Simmons' videos!). I find the references to "Men of Steel" and "guys" amusing

A good upper body workout, especially for beginners.

I'm really pleased with this video and Legs of Steel. Unlike most Gilad videos, this one is in a gym rather than on a beach. It is about 40 minutes long and covers the entire upper body, including the forearms and the rotator cuffs. It's thorough and time efficient-- he uses about 6-9 sets for each body part, with the exception of the back-- he does only one set of rows. I do either two sets of double-armed rows or 2 sets of barbell rows here.

The exercises are unusual, and so excellent for crosstraining. His chest work is similar to flyes, but done standing, from different angles, also working the shoulders. His anterior delt lifts are done with palms up. He does hammer curls pointed inward. He lifts his arms straight back for posterior delts rather than doing flyes. He does three sets of pushups, each with a different hand position to change the emphasis. Then at the end, he combines a bunch of movements to finish you off if you have any strength left.

He does quite a few reps, so I usually take a rest in the middle of each set. Almost every set is done with 2-count reps, then single reps, then pulses, then 3-up, 1-down reps. The legs tape is the same way. When I woke up this morning, my entire upper body was sore, especially my biceps and chest. I was skeptical about the chest exercises but they obviously work.

What is good about this video:
It's thorough. Your upper body feels seriously pumped at the end. The exercises are a nice change from the same-old. Your forearms and much-neglected rotator cuffs get worked. Gilad does fantastic stretching. Many videos shortchange this but he really focuses on it in his videos.

What is bad:
Not much! The music is really bland and quiet. The set isn't too exciting, either. I wish he did a little more back work.

I really recommend this video. I like it better than Cory's video because it includes the entire upper body and the reps aren't done at lightning speed. It's more thorough than the FIRM Upper Body tape.

Excellent mix of some basic, yet effective, exercises for the shoulders, (little) chest, triceps, biceps, and (only 1 exercise) back. I like that he stays with one muscle group for a few exercises (especailly shoulders, triceps, and biceps) so you really get to work that area thoroughly. In order not to get bored after a few weeks of doing this tape, I tend to keep the same order of exercising but vary the weight and rep amounts. Staying strictly with the reps and weights on the tape is gfreat for a beginner, but after a while, I found the variation helped spur new growth and definition. I'd recommend this tape highly!

Unlike other reviewers, I didn't really like this video...I do think that the workout is good and if you're looking for a variety of upper body tapes this one may be for you...

I just found the tape boring...I tried it twice and then traded it...Gilad doesn't offer too much personality and I like my instructors to have some...he also sometimes cues incorrectly and "tricks" you into doing more than he originally said...when I'm doing tricep dips (ouch!) I don't like dealing with poor cuing...

I think I am in the minority when it comes to this tape...if you are unsure if you'll like it go ahead and get it...it's very easy to trade on the Exchange if you don't like it...

I give the workout an A- but the overall tape a C+

This is a pleasant surprise -- I expected a "so-so" workout, but it's actually quite good. As the name suggests, this is an upper body tape. It's mostly biceps, triceps, and shoulders. It almost reminds me of Cory's Arms & Shoulders tape, but I don't get as much of a pump with this one as I do Cory's. But that's okay -- sometimes you need a break! Also, the exercises are different than Cory's, and I think the variety is important.

The total length is about 30-35 minutes. At the end, Gilad combines several of the exercises into sort of a mini-routine, which really tests your endurance. Then after all that, he has you do three sets of pushups with your hands placed in different positions for each.

I enjoy doing this and will keep it in my permanent rotation. Grade A-.

I agree with other reviewers that this is an excellent upper body workout. I usually use it after Firm Standing Legs, so I too skip the warm-up. As others have said, this is a very thorough workout with fairly standard moves (curls, flies, presses) using dumbbells. One thing I really appreciate about this video is that no time is wasted. In just 35 minutes I feel like I've given every muscle in my arms a good workout. Another thing I like is that because Gilad talks to an audience of men, I feel kinda macho and like I'm "one of the guys". It's a nice contrast to the "femaleness" of most exercise videos. I give this video an A.

I bought this video based on reviews I read at this web site and am very pleased. This is a good upper body workout for both men and women. It is very thorough at covering all exercises for the upper body except one. There was only one set of rows for the back. Other than that, it's a great workout. This one joins the Cory tape as my top upper body lifting videos.

Men of Steel Arms of Steel is my favorite upper body workout (it's followed by Cory Everson's Get Hard and Claudia Schiffer's Arms). I guess I like it best because it's so thorough. It covers every muscle in several different ways. When I'm done, I feel like I've really worked my entire upper body. He doesn't skimp on any part. As much as I hate pushups, I know I need to do them and Cory's tape does not include them. I also like the warm-up and especially the cool-down in this tape. He has a couple of breathing exercises at the end that really feel good.
I highly recommend this tape to anyone who wants a good, long (about 30 minutes of pure toning), thorough upper body workout. I give it an A+.