Okay so I didn’t lift the ‘original’ Atlas stone but I did lift what historians would call, its daddy, the Inver Stone. The Inver Stone is 118kg granite Stone from Scotland which has been lifted, reportedly, since the 1700s and, if you follow the ‘family tree’ of the modern Atlas stone backwards, you do end… Continue reading I Lifted the Original Atlas Stone
There's a problem in fitness that no one wants to contend with. It’s not steroids, and it’s certainly not predatory supplement sellers. Nor is it overpriced gym memberships. The problem, my dear friends, is boredom. The greatest religious movie ever made, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, sums this up quite well. Begging, nay pleading people… Continue reading When Did Fitness Become So Boring?
I went looking for a hole and found Paul Anderson hanging upside down. The hole belongs to one of the great stories in strength history. Anderson, so the tale goes, wanted to overload his squat beyond what he could manage through a full range of motion. He dug a hole, stood inside it and performed… Continue reading Forgotten Exercises: Paul Anderson’s Upside-Down Deadlift
Gironda is undoubtedly a site favourite. Known for his unique style of training and nutritional approach, Gironda didn't pull any punches when it came to giving his opinion. The below errors, 35 in total, may raise a few eyebrows. Nevertheless they demonstrated Gironda's willingness to give his opinion! Over training! (Anything over 45 minutes is… Continue reading Vince Gironda, ‘Common Errors in Bodybuilding’, The Master Series of Nutritional Bodybuilding (Iron Guru Publishing, 1983), 5-7
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
Yes. Sort of. Before you panic, I am not about to tell you to cancel your gym membership, throw out your barbell, and start hugging a tea towel. Although, if you do feel compelled to donate any dumbbells, my doors remain open. Instead, I want to introduce you to a delightful and slightly mad little… Continue reading Your Kitchen Table Was a Gym (According to George Jowett)
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
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
Reg Park was one of the most influential figures in mid-twentieth-century strength culture. A multiple-time Mr Universe winner and widely regarded as the strongest bodybuilder of his era, Park built his reputation on heavy barbell lifting as much as physique display. He believed that muscular development without demonstrable strength was incomplete, and he spent much… Continue reading Why Reg Park Believed Bodybuilders Should Lift Heavy
I once spent a few days training with the legendary Mr. Olympia winner Frank Zane. One of the best purchases I ever made, I was always struck by Zane's observation that our bodies are, in many ways, the sum total of the equipment we have access to. If your gym has machines and no free… Continue reading Before lifters added weight with plates, they poured it in by hand.
