Few bodybuilders are remembered solely for their individual body parts. The collective entity? Certainly. But the individual sections of the body? This is a far rarer phenomenon. While Dorian Yates may be remembered for his towering Lat spread and Tom Platz for his Quad sweep, Frank Zane holds the distinction of being remembered for his… Continue reading Frank Zane’s Ab routine
Early this week I had a wonderful conversation with someone about the value of studying fitness history to inform our current practices. One of the issues we touched on was how rarely, if ever, modern powerlifters seem to pay homage to older legends. Outside of some folks like Ed Coan it seems like the greats… Continue reading John Kuc’s Beginner Power lifter Routine
Alternative title: A Character Study in Why I Hate Social Media Social media killed the fitness magazine—and the internet just watched. Today I want to take stock and talk about the humble fitness magazine. When were fitness magazines first sold, why did people buy them and why, ultimately, did people discard them. While it may… Continue reading Muscles, Misinformation, and the Death of the Fitness Magazine
Though oftentimes derided on the gym floor, the leg press machine has nevertheless become a staple of weight lifting life through the globe. Yes it's not as 'hardcore' as the squat and yes it's oftentimes abused by bros quarter repping but this piece of equipment has a long and interesting history behind it. A long… Continue reading Who Invented the Leg Press?
Academic Books are notoriously expensive. That isn't because the authors demand huge royalties... we don't, but rather because they are often sold in small numbers. I am thus thrilled that my publisher, Bloomsbury, have taken a decision to publish a paperback copy of my last book, Indian Club Swinging and the Birth of Global Fitness which… Continue reading My Indian Club Swinging Book is Now Affordable!
Though athletes and workers have long pushed or pulled heavy weights, the idea of the Prowler is a relatively new one. Who amongst us, upon seeing this shining behemoth on the gym floor has not been tempted to try it out? As an admittedly recent convert to the Prowler, I'm somewhat late to the party.… Continue reading The History of the Prowler
Describing himself as Arnold's Seminar Nutritionist, Balik opened his short pamphlet on gaining muscle with the often forgotten law that 'nothing beats persistence.' Produced alongside a pamphlet on gaining muscle, which we'll be discussing in a future post, Balik's Total Muscularity represents a great insight into the training philosophy of 1970s Muscle Beach bodybuilding. Sparing myself… Continue reading John Balik, Total Muscularity: SuperStar Nutrition (Santa Monica, 1979)
Much to my surprise, and great shame, Edward Aston is not someone mentioned a lot on this website. This, I hasten to add, has everything to do with my own deficiencies. Born in England in the late nineteenth-century, Aston was known to contemporaries as one of the strongest men around. In 1910, he won the… Continue reading Forgotten Devices: Edward Aston’s ‘Anti-Barbell’
When I first became interested in barbells, I collected a lot of data about weight-lifting records. There was a time when I could tell you the world’s record in almost any lift you could mention. I could tell you the records for the best men in the different nations at the same lift. I knew… Continue reading Alan Calvert, ‘Some Lifting Records,’ Super Strength. 1924
In 1927 German strongman Hermann Goerner stood incensed on a weightlifting platform after the local English judges disqualified his record-breaking 650lbs. deadlift. His crime? He failed to deadlift in the English style, which was a peculiar form favored by the British Amateur Weightlifting Association. Goerner put his anger to good use as he promptly put… Continue reading Why is the Deadlift World Record so Controversial?
