https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcMOG0ECqDU Previously on this website, we have discussed the heavy duty training protocols of men like Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones. The 'high intensity training' of Jones, Mentzer and Dorian Yates is perhaps the least understood style of training to grace the lifting world. Critics cite a lack of volume, incomplete workouts and too much... Continue Reading →
Frederick C. Hatfield, ‘Dr. Deadlift’, Powerlifting USA, Vol 10 No 4. Novemeber/1986
It’s a little known fact that the eruption of Mr. St. Helens, and the continuing subterranean growls in the area, are purely mythic. What really happened up there in the land of perpetual rain and majestic mountains was that Doyle Kenady took a heavier than normal deadlift workout. It’s not a coincidence that those after-rumblings... Continue Reading →
Guest Post: Women’s Sport History
Historically, people idealized woman’s femininity and frailty, frowning on female participation in sports that threatened to destroy those coveted qualities. However, in spite of that, there were always sporting outlets for women to participate in. Certain sports like tennis, croquet, archery and swimming were available for women ever since the Gilded Age. While today... Continue Reading →
The Sig Klein Challenge
Face it. Every now and then you want to try something new in the gym. A new lift, a new rep range or an entirely new style of training. The mind gets bored of monotony, something which the lifters of yore were all too acquainted with. Today's post on the Sig Klein challenge will not only... Continue Reading →
Irvin Johnson’s Scientific Body Building and Nutrition Course (1951)
Better known as Rheo H. Blair, Irvin Johnson was one of the foremost bodybuilding nutritionists of the 1950s and 60s. Producing one of the most sought after protein powders in the Iron Game, Blair was lauded for his nutritional knowhow and ability to achieve seemingly unbelievable weight gain amongst his clients. Bearing that in mind,... Continue Reading →
John Hansen, ‘The Day I Met Arnold, Lou and Franco’, Iron Age (c. 2004)
I have a great story to share about the day I met the three best bodybuilders in the world on the same day. I was 14 at the time and had just started to get interested in bodybuilding. It was wierd because I had been interested in muscles and bodybuilding for a long time, from... Continue Reading →
Anthony Ditillo, ‘The Single and Double Progression Method’, The Development of Physical Strength (Wm F. Hinbern, 1982).
Image Source. When beginning a book on physical training, I feel it is only natural to begin with the most basic concept used in any barbell endeavor. We all use this training aid in one form or another and its use makes possible the goals of which our dreams are made. By single and double... Continue Reading →
Doug Hepburn, ‘The Challenge’ (c. 1999)
The below text is something I'm rather excited about. Earlier this month, I stumbled across Doug Hepburn's website from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Hepburn was one of the strongest men of the mid twentieth century, famed for his seemingly inhuman feats of strength. You can imagine, then the joy I felt when I... Continue Reading →
Guest Post: Steroid Use through History
We all know how competitive humans are, especially when it comes to sports. Athletes are pushing themselves harder and harder every day to be the best and achieve what nobody has achieved before. Sometimes they resort to various substances to enhance their performance, but many of those substances are actually quite harmful and forbidden. Still,... Continue Reading →
1970s Muscle Building Advice
The greatest problem that faces the young bodybuilding enthusiast is that of gaining weight. It's usually this reason for taking up weight training in the first place. However, after the inevitable gain of a few pounds body-weight almost immediately the weight-training course has been embarked on, one finds further progress very slow. Each pound towards his... Continue Reading →