A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
I should be untruthful did I follow the example of certain strong men who have made it their business to say they are weakly invalids at the commencement of their training, but, by the secret method, made themselves into strong men … Arthur Saxon, The Development of Physical Power (London, 1905), 3. I'm hurt, I'm... Continue Reading →
Okay, I admit it. I have become, for want of a better word, a home gym fetishist. What began out of necessity during the Covid-19 pandemic has now become a delightful, but expensive, obsession of mine. We recently moved home and, for the first time in two years, my home gym now has a roof!... Continue Reading →
A piece of equipment so commonplace on the gym floor that we often take its very existence for granted. That, at least, is my impression of the E-Z Bar. Having previously discussed the history of barbells, the ancient origins of the dumbbell and even the Swiss Ball for God's sake, it's somewhat shameful that the... Continue Reading →
John Grimek was one of the greatest American weightlifters and bodybuilders of the 20th century. Nicknamed 'The Monarch of Muscledom', Grimek also competed for the US in the 1936 Olympics in Germany. It's fair to say he knew something about lifting weights. Today's article sees Grimek discuss one of the most pressing issues in bodybuilding.... Continue Reading →
Enthusiasm means a wholehearted devotion to an ideal, cause, study, sport, hobby, or pursuit. If you have an enthusiasm, your success in all you undertake will be assured. Too few people have continued enthusiasm. They are interested for a time, and then the passing fancy passes. We say so often about weightlifting success, that only... 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 →
This article first appeared in Bob Hoffman's Strength and Health Magazine in 1957. It details the point scoring for the precusors for today's modern bodybuilding shows. Of particular interest are the categories dealing with muscularity and athleticism. Many of us forget that physique competitions used to include some form of strength component dealing with the... Continue Reading →
This article first appeared in Bob Hoffman's Strength and Health Magazine in 1957. It details the point scoring for the precusors for today's modern bodybuilding shows. Of particular interest are the categories dealing with muscularity and athleticism. Many of us forget that physique competitions used to include some form of strength component dealing with the... Continue Reading →
LONG before Arnold Schwarzenegger became a movie star and pumping iron a glamour business, weight lifting built the York Barbell Company into a strapping success. York Barbell, founded 54 years ago, put York on the map as Muscletown U.S.A., and still brings Olympic weight lifters here to train. The company still dominates the barbell business,... Continue Reading →
For American weightlifters of the mid-twentieth century, Bob Hoffman was the guru of the Iron Game. Owner of York Barbell, Hoffman's ambitious career saw him produce some of the first protein supplements, work with giants of the game like John Grimek and coach thousands of young lifters interested in building their physiques. For interested parties,... Continue Reading →