A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
Born at the turn of the twentieth-century, Tony Sansone is perhaps one of the most famous physical culturists never to turn his hand to bodybuilding. Nevertheless his influence on bodybuilders and those seeking to get in shape was remarkable. Training under both Bernarr McFadden and Charles Atlas, Sansone developed one of the most sought after... Continue Reading →
In the 1970s the average can of soda weighed about six ounces. Nowadays you can buy one weighing 32 ounces or more from 7-11s and other convenience stores. The reason for this dramatic increase can be traced in part back to the history of the ‘Big Gulp’, 7-11s iconic colossal drink. Today we look at... Continue Reading →
I think every lifter has a story about the first time they became fascinated with weightlifting. For Arnold it was pictures of Reg Park as Hercules. For most young lifters nowadays chances are movies or social media are the sources of inspiration. Oddly enough, despite being born in the 90s, the first recollection I have... Continue Reading →
As many readers will no doubt be aware, protein bars have become almost ubiquitous in certain parts of the Western world, owing in part to their durability and in part to their successful advertising. Indeed, at the time of writing, I can walk five minutes to the local shop where I will be greeted by... Continue Reading →
Though more synomous with bodybuilding than wrestling, the late 1890s saw Eugen Sandow, the man many credited with possessing the perfect physique, wrestle a caged lion in front of a US audience. The bout was undertaken during Sandow's extensive tour of the United States under the tutelage of promoter Florenz Ziegfeld. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many viewed... Continue Reading →
Though born in Vienna in 1873, Alois P. Swoboda became one of America's most popular and famous physical culturists of the early twentieth-century. Preaching a system of bodyweight only exercises, Swoboda ran a successful mail-order business for several years, which allowed the Austrian to preach his message of muscle across the United States. Given the... Continue Reading →
The Physical Culture Creed We Believe... That our bodies are our most glorious possession; that health-wealth is our greatest asset; that every influence which interferes with the attainment of superb, buoyant health should be recognised as a menace. We maintain that weakness is truly a crime; that sickness is the penalty of violated health laws;... Continue Reading →
The following article comes from Strength & Health magazine, a 1950s American physical culture bi-weekly concerned with all things fitness. In the article, managing editor Harry B. Paschall attacks rival exercise magazines, whom he believes are using bodybuilding to peddle pornographic images. The title of the article, 'Let me Tell You a Fairy Tale', reveals Harry's opinions... Continue Reading →
It's funny given the current obsessions with macro counting that few bodybuilders produce cookbooks for the general iron populace. This is in stark contrast to the early foundations of the sport, which saw dozens of cookbook and health works printed by enthusiastic physical culturists. Today's brief article focuses on Bernarr McFadden's 1901 'Physical Culture Cookbook'... Continue Reading →
Born at the turn of the twentieth-century, Tony Sansone is perhaps one of the most famous physical culturists never to turn his hand to bodybuilding. Nevertheless his influence on bodybuilders and those seeking to get in shape was remarkable. Training under both Bernarr McFadden and Charles Atlas, Sansone developed one of the most sought after... Continue Reading →