A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
A health shop is admittedly, an odd thing to write about. In today's world of GNC's and stores with fanciful names like 'Vitality' or 'Mr. Pump', modern gym goers are blessed with a wealth of pill peddlers to call upon. This, shockingly, was not always the case. While health stores did exist in some guise... Continue Reading →
Ever since the creation of the earth man and woman have both relied on athletic prowess. In fact, it used to be necessary to trap, capture, and kill for food. And, this is not to even mention the gathering and foraging that took place. You have probably heard the saying “survival of the fittest.”... Continue Reading →
Diets have been around far longer than you can imagine. It’s safe to say that people from a long time ago were also pretty concerned about their weight, fitness, figure and health – concerned enough to try out different techniques on how to effectively carry out an diet. Eventually, these diets developed, became popular, and... Continue Reading →
Aside from your mental state, which is entirely within your capacity to control, there are two other items that you can fully regulate most of the time as well: your diet and the amount of rest you obtain. Both are as essential in building strength and size as is exercise. Strength is built on solid... Continue Reading →
Few bodybuilders and weight trainers are unfamiliar with the dip exercise. A favourite of Vince Gironda, albeit with some modifications, the exercise is a prime builder for the chest and tricep muscles. Done correctly, the exercise is for my money, up there with the bench press. Done incorrectly, you're just flopping up and down. While... Continue Reading →
Before beginning, I have to thank a series of individuals for their help in devising this article. The good folks at DavidGentle.com and Ironhistory.com helped point me in the right direction for the earlier history of the shaker. Likewise Ron Campbell's Bodybuilding Books and Magazines group on Facebook which provided several leads which helped sharpen... Continue Reading →
Loved and despised in equal measure, the squat has long been the iron game's go to exercise for maximum leg development. A cornerstone of most trainee's leg routines, there is certainly no doubting the exercise's popularity. Yet despite the fact that the back squat in particular has enjoyed a decades long dominance amongst gym rats,... Continue Reading →
One would think that hydration is as simple a thing as drinking water when you’re thirsty, but when it comes to athletes, not even that is simple. Furthermore, there’s a whole interesting history behind drinking while performing endurance exercise, one that started over a century ago. So, before going on your next running or cycling... Continue Reading →
Yoga is a spiritual discipline, which focuses on establishing the balance between the mind and the body. Many people enjoy it across the world and it's one of the most popular ways of exercising and relaxing. However, while most of us love doing yoga, not so many people know a lot about it. Here is... Continue Reading →
Are bodybuilders becoming too large? It’s a simple question but one loaded with controversy. Today most Internet forums are filled with heated arguments about whether the ‘mass monsters’ of today are helping or hurting the sport. Rather than continue the common narrative that the 1990s and the Dorian Yates era was the dawn of the ‘Mass... Continue Reading →