What was it like to be a bodybuilder in the 1940s? Or, for you younger kids, how did ‘silver-era lifters’ get so jacked? It’s a question that I think a lot of people come to after a few years in the muscle game. The ‘silver-era’, and kudos to Golden Era Bookworm for coining these terms,… Continue reading What was it like to be a Bodybuilder in the 1940s?
Category: Resources
When Is the Strongest Man in the World Not the World’s Strongest Man?
In 2017 Eddie Hall won the World’s Strongest Man contest. Thor ‘The Mountain’ Björnsson came second, and a good chunk of the online and offline strength community debated about whether or not Thor had been robbed. The question, which a decade after the fact seemed unfair, was whether or not the organisers had picked events… Continue reading When Is the Strongest Man in the World Not the World’s Strongest Man?
Fred Hatfield, ‘Myths about Drugs, Nutrition and Training,’ (Hardcore Bodybuilding: A Scientific Approach, 1993)
Dr. Fred Hatfield (1942- 2017) is, for me, one of the most fascinating fitness figures from the 1980s and 1990s. An established powerlifter, he earned the moniker of Dr. Squat thanks to his strength on the powerlifting platform. At one point, he squatted 1,014 pounds at a bodyweight of 276 lbs., thereby breaking a new… Continue reading Fred Hatfield, ‘Myths about Drugs, Nutrition and Training,’ (Hardcore Bodybuilding: A Scientific Approach, 1993)
The Thickest Barbell Alive and the Lost Art of Odd Lifts
I am a big fan of novelty barbells. This is not news to anyone who has read my stuff for long enough. Give me an EZ bar, a trap bar, an earthquake bar, a thick bar, a homemade bar, or some bizarre object a strongman once claimed was impossible to lift and I am happy.… Continue reading The Thickest Barbell Alive and the Lost Art of Odd Lifts
How to Build a Home Gym: Advice from the 1970s
I’ve been dipping back into John McCallum’s Keys to Progress lately and, honestly, it still feels fresh in a way most modern training writing doesn’t. There’s no sense of him trying to impress you. There's no jargon, no systems layered on top of systems. Just clear ideas, told through stories about real people who are… Continue reading How to Build a Home Gym: Advice from the 1970s
The 3 A.M. Deadlift Isn’t Discipline. It’s Content
I recently stopped following a fitness coach I liked. Solid programmer, realistic expectations, no nonsense. The kind of account that’s actually rare. Then out of nowhere: videos of empty gyms at 2 a.m., dramatic lighting, captions about the grind never sleeping. I unfollowed immediately. I’m old and cranky, and I think that’s bullshit. But as… Continue reading The 3 A.M. Deadlift Isn’t Discipline. It’s Content
The Strongest Men in Britain Didn’t Train the Same Way
Most people in the gym today are looking for the answer. The program, the split, the system that finally works. A hundred years ago, Britain’s strongest men had already encountered that problem and, in effect, ignored it. In How to Use a Barbell (1925), William A. Pullum, a coach, promoter, and a central organiser of… Continue reading The Strongest Men in Britain Didn’t Train the Same Way
The History of 21s
What teen or young lifter hasn't been seduced by the idea of bigger biceps? Indeed in the bodybuilding universe of both males and females, no pose is more iconic that the front or back double bicep pose. A difficult set of muscles to grow, except of course for the genetically gifted, the biceps have been… Continue reading The History of 21s
Guest Post: The History of Sandbags in Physical Training
Commercial gyms and standardized training equipment are relatively modern phenomena. Humans have been lifting weights for a long-time using tools that predate them. Among such tools, sandbags have proven themselves to be quite durable. They have been documented in training manuals as far back as 1793, co-opted by military conditioning programs, and, to top it… Continue reading Guest Post: The History of Sandbags in Physical Training
Guest Post: The Popularization of Dip Belts in Modern Strength Culture
Dip belts emerged in the modern strength culture as an answer to the ceiling effect of bodyweight-only training. The late 20th century witnessed a revolutionary surge in dip belts’ adoption in bodybuilding, powerlifting, calisthenics, and subsequently, in home-training solutions. The modern dip belt is a waist-worn belt with weights suspended with a chain. It was… Continue reading Guest Post: The Popularization of Dip Belts in Modern Strength Culture