How Beginners Learned to Lift Weights in 1939

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately in 1930s Britain, at least archival-wise, working through old Health & Strength magazines from the period. It’s one of my favourite physical culture publications: it first appeared in the late 1890s and, in various forms, survived right up until the last decade.

The article below comes from 1939 and was written by George Walsh, one of the foremost authorities on weightlifting in Britain at the time. What struck me most reading it were three things.

First, just how cautious Walsh is when outlining what a beginner should do. There’s a heavy emphasis on form, repetition, and skill acquisition — building the competence needed to lift weights well, not just lift them heavier.vSecond, the techniques themselves look very different to modern eyes. You’ll see an English deadlift with heels together and toes turned out, and a stiff-legged deadlift performed with a rounded back. Technique, quite literally, has a history. Finally, there’s the simplicity of the programme. A deadlift, a stiff-legged deadlift, a press, and a row. Four movements, nothing more — and yet a genuinely well-rounded beginner workout.

George Walsh, ‘Weight Training for All!’, Health & Strength, Apr 1, 1939, 459

So you’ve bought your barbell at last! After a year (or is it two?) of free exercise, strange-looking dumb-bells, and all the real enthusiasms of getting a set of weights. And there it is in front of you now—a strange-looking bundle of shining steel that may contain for you all the secrets and mysteries of strength that have fascinated and enthralled you. Soon you will be a weight-lifter, and it is important—more important than you can possibly realise—that your first exercise into the “iron game” and your baptism as a lifter are carefully planned and executed.

If there are 25 lb. discs that is all the weight you will need; if they are in smaller discs, say 20, 15, or 10, you must add more weight until you have approximately 25 lb., excluding the weight of the bar and collars. This is all you need for your first lesson.

The first workout that you are now going to attempt can influence for good or ill the whole of your future career. I have care to this advice, and set out just how much you can lift in as little as possible manner, and how to avoid a minor injury, the aches and pains that the next few days may bring, your cool confidence or otherwise. Start cautiously, remembering that one of your limitations is lack of experience, and all will be well both now and in the future.

If you’ve read “Health & Strength” for any length of time, you will be familiar with the compound parts of the barbell. When you open your first barbell, you will know that you must look for a long bar, four collars, and two pairs of discs of different denominations. You must screw one collar on each end of the bar and attach another collar to the other end in the same way. Now put on the largest discs on each end of the bar.

All positions in this article posed for by Harold Lawrence.

The First Lift — The Two Hands Dead Lift

For more information on the English deadlift, check out this post.

Take up a position with the heels together and the insteps right under the centre of the bar. Keep your back as flat as possible, and bend the knees slightly, grip the bar with the hands placed shoulder-width apart. You will find it more comfortable if you place one hand with the knuckles pointing to the front and the other with the knuckles pointing to the rear, but this is not really important, and providing that you do not make the mistake of having both knuckles pointing the same way, you can suit yourself as to the position of your hands.

When you are comfortable, lift the bar from the ground by straightening the legs. Slowly, don’t be hasty; in lifting you will find that you can lift more without injury and arms will automatically ease that your arms will automatically bend a great deal. But this is something you must avoid. The task of raising the bell back alone; so let your arms act as hooks only. When the arms are straight—only to lift the weights is accomplished—this exercise is known as the Two Hands Dead Lift, and even average lifters manage 400 lb. and more without difficulty.

You will feel that you could go on repeating almost indefinitely; and quite probably you could, if you tried. But 15 is quite enough. After 15 have been completed, and when rest for a few seconds before you start on the next movement.

Stiff-leg Dead Lift

 

The second movement is very similar to the first, but in this case the legs are kept straight, thus throwing all the work on the back muscles. Weight-lifters know it as the Stiff-leg Dead Lift. Use exactly the same commencing position—feet together, insteps well under the centre of the bar, and hands placed shoulder-width apart. Then erect the body until it is perfectly straight; lower the bell and repeat until you have completed eight repetitions in all. Another short rest, and then you can try something more interesting—a Two Hands Press.

The Two Hands Press

Take up the same initial position as you used for the last two exercises, i.e., stand with the feet together and insteps placed underneath the centre of the bar. Bend your knees and grip the bar with the hands placed shoulder-width apart, but this time turn both knuckles to the front and lift the bell, not just into the thighs, but to come to rest on the shoulders. You will be able to do this, but too much energy into the movement, or if you are extremely light in body-weight, you will be compelled to bend the legs slightly and erect the body in order to accomplish this. When the bell reaches the shoulders, stiffen and erect the body, and rest, and then a third movement.

The Two Hands Press. The opening position, says George Walsh, is exactly the same as in the first exercise.Stand erect with the body erect and rest, and then a third movement.

The most important in modern weight-lifting, and as it will figure so largely in all that you do in the future, it will help you to study its technique carefully at this very early stage. Briefly, every object must be to lift the bell steadily and evenly from the shoulder-level to full arms’ length overhead. There must be no “jerk” at the commencement; the body must not move or sway forwards and backwards, or sideways; the shoulders must not depart a level plane; and once the arms are locked they must be held rigid and immovable for a period of at least two seconds.

When you are satisfied that the bell is securely locked overhead, lower it steadily to the shoulders without moving the body. Rest here for a second, and then—again—raise the bell overhead. Slow lifting and slow lowering is irresistible urge to sway backwards or forwards when the weight goes up—and when this happens you must stop and lower the weight to the ground. But don’t finish with the press here. Take a rest of a few seconds and then repeat the procedure—stopping the repetitions when you find yourself unable to maintain the body immovable.

 

Another point: do not press the bell from the shoulders alone. Try and get as much of the position shown in Position 1 as possible, and then complete your work on the press.

Rows

Now you can lighten the bar. Take off the 25 lb. discs if you are using them and substitute weights of 10 lb. each. Take up the same commencing position as for the Stiff-leg Dead Lift; place the feet about 15 inches apart, and also see that both knuckles are turned to the front. Now flick the bell a little from the ground, and let it swing forward so that the arms hang straight down from the shoulders. You will then be in the correct commencing position for the next exercise, which is familiarly known as the “rowing movement.”

All you have to do is to lift the bell from this position as high as possible, without altering the position of the body. In other words, you must lift the bell and try and make it touch the chin. Lower it at once and repeat—and keep repeating it until useless exhaustion sets in. Give yourself a few minutes rest, and then run through the same procedure. And after this you can put your weights away for the time being.

An easy schedule? Of course it is easy. But when you must remember that you are not as yet a weight-lifter. For a little while, at least, your bar-bell must not be used as a medium for acquiring strength and bulk—it must be used to improve and perfect your health.

Perhaps you don’t know that the barbell can be used for this purpose. But then it can be, as we shall see next week!