Rating: 
Summary: If you have joints, you need this book!
Review: An outstanding guide to active flexibility and joint health. The book is packed with well illustrated exercises and routines, some unique, some familiar but with a unique twist. Pavel's dry, wry, sense of humor keeps things light, but nevertheless he gives the reader priceless information. The exercises and drills presented here can be done by themselves, or as part of another health practice such as yoga, chi kung, calisthentics, or weight training. An excellent adjunct to his book "Relax Into Stretch", which covers passive flexibility. At 44, I have stopped taking my joints for granted, and the info in this book will be my best tools to keep my aging body in optimal shape.
Rating:
Summary: Pain free
Review: Due to several severe car accidents and a fall I used to wake up extremely stiff, sore and aching and would pop some ibuprofen just get the start of the day going. I got this book and still woke up with lots of pain but after the exercises it was gone. Over time I started waking up with no pain. I'm quite faithful to doing this nearly every day because life without pain is incredible.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy with Caution
Review: I agree completely with the reviewer who suggested to look at the book in at the bookstore before making a decision on buying. I would also add that I do not recommend the book for all the reasons stated by previous reviewers. A friend of mine bought a copy and that spared me the bad experience. There is very little information here, some of it even downright innacurate. The one reviewer seems on the right track suggesting that the author may not be as knowledgable as is claimed. The exercises shown are not secret Russian techniques developed in some remote lab in Siberia or something like that. They are basic calisthentics. They are great to do,in fact I have been doing them for 20 years, but nothing revolutionary is shown. In fact, an old book on Swedish gymnastics would be a better choice. I closing, I really have to question the honesty and intentions of those who gave the book such high ratings. Perhaps they are friends or students of the author, I don't know. My friend was very attracted by the marketing approach the author took for this book and for his other programs. This is a case of image over substance. Don't say you weren't warned about this one.
Rating: 
Summary: plausibility questions of the pan-pan naysayer.
Review: I am guessing as to the stars this book deserves and will edit this post upon careful review of the book. Now: the purpose of my post I would find the reviewer who only rated this book one * to be far more plausible if the name was provided. Instead of casting unfavorable innuendos on those who reviewed the book and DID provide their names, why don't you provide YOUR name? Perhaps you have a motive for disparaging this book; after all you have intimated that those who like the book a lot have a secret motive. I will get this book and see if it helps my serious health problems and I thank the reviewers who honestly provided their names and their opinions.
Rating:
Summary: Skip the armchair debate and buy the book
Review: I am well acquainted with the complexity and high advancement of Soviet scientific research. The Soviet's sciences program has been highly underestimated and misrepresented, at least by a major percentage of the West that was not 'in the know.' When it comes to sports science, the 'Soviet' bloc delved into areas of biochemistry and exercise theory that the West never considered, and then they APPLIED that research to a larger percentage of their applicable population. Rather than spend too much time explaining these complexities, Pavel jumps right into the applications. However, if you are interested in studies and armchair debate, he provides several references. Do your homework!
If you would rather debate from your armchair on fitness theory, do not buy this book. If you're a naysayer with a closed mind, do not buy this book. If you want practical results for joint longevity, greater energy, and more active quality time with your loved ones, then buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: --- EXTREMELY SUSPICIOUS --- of other reviewers
Review: I am ~extremely~ suspicious of other reviewers here, who have posted in response to my earlier review that only gave 1 star. I think many of the reviews here were written by Pavel or agents for Pavel, friends, family, business associates - whatever. I suspect it is very, very much his way of doing things. He is a very aggressive marketer - and successful at making a name for himself - and I would not be at all surprised if he deliberately spammed amazon + other sites with positive recommendations for his books. There is no justification for many of the positive reviews seen here. Quite a few of them refer to things that the book simply does not contain. I have nothing against Pavel and I think some of his other works are very good, for example, the Kettlebell book. It is not the best it can be, far from it, it is very incomplete, but overall the Kettlebell book is a good read, has good exercises, Pavel has quite a bit of eccentric charm. HOWEVER I think this book is a bit light, nothing special, and I think most if not all the positive reviews here are covert advertising - so anyone reading these, take note of what I am saying, take them with a grain of salt AND LOOK AT THE BOOK FOR YOURSELF before you buy it, make up your own mind. I am not denying that the book has some worth nor that the exercises won't help you out, however the price is high, the content sparse and the advertising thick and in your face. MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND. Oh, and Pavel (+friends), please don't come back posting a review along the lines of "well I was put off by the negative review then I had a look in the bookstore and it was fantastic" you've already done a few of those. I say to genuine readers - go and LOOK at the book first (then order from amazon if you like it). DON'T trust these reviews.
Rating:
Summary: "Super Joints" + "Relax into Stretch" = Pain-Free Body
Review: I foolishly injured my left shoulder a few months ago. With this injury, I lost a lot of ROM on my left shoulder, I suffered sudden and sharp pain, and the usual "frozen" joint syndrome. I picked up a copy of Pavel's "Super Joints" book; I had heard of this book before but, frankly, didn't give it much attention. Well, with the injury in mind, I gave SJ a second more thorough look. I decided to try the first of the 1-17 drills. Well, surprise! Not only did my shoulder started feeling better from the first few practices, my entire body began to appreciate the daily 'recharge'. Very soon, I became addicted to SJ and I now feel like a million-bucks. The entire SJ drills are well described and easy to follow. As an additional companion, I also picked up Pavel's "Relax into Stretch." I now alternate days with SJ and RIS. On Pavel's website ... is an article on how to incorporate Tai-Chi/Qigong, even Yoga, synergistically with the SJ experience. I heartily recommend SJ for its simplicity, usefulness and practicality. One can easily add it before (or after) a weight and strength-training workout, incorporate it with body-weight only Calisthenics circuit, or a classic Russian Kettlebell program. Or ALL of it, if one is so inclined. Either way, Super Joints is an excellent program.
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Summary: Witness to results from this book
Review: I purchased this book with a few others about six months ago. I had put it on the bookshelf and was going to get to it when I had less information overload:) Well, I am READING it now! My girlfriend broke her arm in March. She used the programs from this book to rehab herself. When she went to Occupational Therapy they told her she didn't need to return. She had more mobility than any other patient they had ever seen after that amount of time. The drills she was doing from this book were much more advanced than the ones her doctor had her doing for range of motion exercises. Buy this book, it is well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Underestimate the Power of Super Joints!
Review: I remember when I first bought Super Joints, I thought: "Well, that's nice, but I'm already flexible, and I don't like long warm-ups." Boy, was I wrong. After enduring Steve Maxwell's warmups for two days at the RKC (Pavel's Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor Course), I realized I had to take a pretty hard look at Super Joints--there were definitely ranges of motion where I had no strength-flexibility. Since then (for about a month), I've been warming up daily with Super Joints drills 1-17 with Steve's admonishment in mind: "don't skip the hard ones, those are the ones you need the most." In that short period, I already feel "younger" (I'm only 23, and now I finally feel like it). I still wake up stiff and sore some days, but Super Joints is like a tonic for those days, it works great. I'm also noticing an ability to better withstand rolling in Jiu Jitsu class--I don't have to tap quite as often, even in bad positions. My Aikido instructor used to say that joint locks had some sort of endorphin release attached to them. To that end, when I was stressed, I would gently stretch my wrists in various directions. It always worked like a charm. Super Joints takes that and applies it to your whole body. If joint locks produce endorphins (and they certainly do something that makes me feel good), I get high on my own supply every morning. Super Joints is a fantastic, fantastic book. I think that everyone should do the drills. If you already have a copy, loan it to an older relative with Steve's admonishment (the hard ones are the ones you need) and the instructions to start slowly, and I think it could be a new lease on life for them. When they come by in six weeks like a new person, hand 'em a copy of PTP (Pavel's "Power to the People: Strength Training Secrets for all Americans" book), head off to the gym and show 'em the exercises, and they'll transform again. When they come back in another six weeks, hand 'em a kettlebell. The transformation will be complete and they will be completely new people. Super Joints is a fantastic book that I seriously underestimated when I first read it. Don't underestimate the power of Super Joints. It's a great way to start getting back into shape, or to make yourself more youthful, graceful, and atheletic. You can transform, too!
Rating:
Summary: Don't Believe the Hype
Review: I was absolutely sick at how sloppy and uninformative this book was while at the same time so very expensive. There are so many misspellings and misprints it is really hard to read sometimes. Of course there isn't much to read as most of the text is in big print and spaced out as much as it can be. There are probably no more than 20 or so pages of information stretched out over 100 pages. Many blocks of text and photos are repeated two or three times! Was this a misprint or just filler? Either way, its not good. Worse than that, the information is flat out wrong in many cases. Does the author know the difference between a kyphosis and a lordosis? Not judging by the drawings! Does he understand posture? Probably not, or at least he doesn't bother to clearly explain the concepts. The author displays a condescending attitude toward his readers, simplifying everything to the point where he conveys nothing. I wonder how much he really knows himself. Nothing in here can be attributed to the author. All the exercises and routines are taken from some other source. No evidence of Pavel's genius as proclaimed by his loyal followers Many of the exercises and the joint mobility tests are not even illustrated! No excuse for this in a 35.00 book! The written descriptions aren't all that clear either. I have also seen versions of these exercises that were far more complete than what the author presents here. So, what the reader is left with is a few grainy black and white photos of exercises taught in every elementary school gym class. I am a big believer in joint mobility training, but this book isn't worth half the price. Pavel Tsatsouline has gotten himself a lot of publicity. He is a great marketer and self promoter. His skill as an author and his knowledge as a trainer must be called into question. If you like to be conned get this book. Otherwise, look elsewhere. This is really a shameful effort on his part.
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