A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
Name a more iconic duo than Franco and Arnold. Within the sport of bodybuilding, the relationship between Franco Columbu and Arnold Schwarzenegger was of the most enduring and impactful the sport has ever seen. From Pumping Iron to controversial Olympia wins, they did it all! Okay, that last line was tongue in cheek but, more... Continue Reading →
For those of us whose bodybuilding heroes are from the IronAge, finding our place in the land of modern bodybuilding has been tough. We feel out of place. Our heroes and our IronAge ideals often seem incompatible with the world of bodybuilding. As we struggle to reconcile bodybuilding's past with its changes, it is our... Continue Reading →
Arnold Schwarzenegger has worked a lot of jobs. Few people can class bodybuilder, promoter, governor, actor, and author on their resumes. Arnold has worked so many jobs that it is hard to keep up. That is why I always love discovering some of the lesser-known examples of the Austrian Oak earning a quick buck or... Continue Reading →
As bodybuilding gained in popularity, the money to be made from the sport also increased. Whenever a lot of money suddenly be- comes involved, everything starts to change. Professional bodybuilders had been making money at the sport since the days of Sandow, but very few were able to make a good living. Many opened gyms,... 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 →
“What puts you over the top? It is the mind that actually creates the body, it is the mind that really makes you work out for four or five hours a day, it is the mind that visualizes what the body ought to look like as the finished product.” Arnold Schwarzenegger The mind-muscle connection? That's... Continue Reading →
From Eugen Sandow to Charles Atlas, physical culturists have long made a living through mail order ads. Check out this old Arnie one from the late 1960s flogging the latest Weider product. So next time you grow weary of the hyperbole from today's modern advertisements, just remember that such ads are a time honored tradition... Continue Reading →
As bodybuilding gained in popularity, the money to be made from the sport also increased. Whenever a lot of money suddenly be- comes involved, everything starts to change. Professional bodybuilders had been making money at the sport since the days of Sandow, but very few were able to make a good living. Many opened gyms,... Continue Reading →
Joe Weider is undoubtedly a divisive figure in the history of bodybuilding. Influential to the nth degree regarding the modern climate of the sport, Weider has been continually criticised for selling snake oil supplements to a naive public. Today's post briefly examines Joe's 'Hell-Bent for Leather N'Lead' product, a set of bracelets brought out by... Continue Reading →
Earlier this year we were treated to perhaps the most exciting Arnold Strongman Classic to date. We saw Hafthor Bjornsson win the event for the second year in a row with a domineering display of power. The 'Wheel of Pain' from Conan the Barbarian made an appearance and it was joined by an exact replica... Continue Reading →