Okay, you pencil-neck geeks, listen up. I am sick and tired of people dogging on upright rows. It is tired, clichéd, and predictable. Don't believe me? Check out any generic 'exercises to avoid' article and you'll usually find upright rows there. I am not an exercise scientist, but I am an angry historian which makes… Continue reading Why Does Everyone Hate Upright Rows?
So much has been written of the great old timers, that I will barely touch upon their deeds and confine most of this article to the strongest men of the present. If all the great strong men of the past, many of whom have gone from this earth, could meet in a contest, what a… Continue reading Bob Hoffman, ‘The World’s Strongest Man: Past & Present,’ Strength & Health, 5, no. 10 (1937), 32-34 & 42-45.
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 How Fast Should You Gain Weight and Size – John C. Grimek (1976)
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 What Are the Most Common Lies in Fitness?
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 What did a Home Gym Set Up Look Like in 1950s America?
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 Who Invented the EZ bar?
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 How Fast Should You Gain Weight and Size – John C. Grimek (1976)
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 Why Enthusiasm Matters. Bob Hoffman’s Sage Advice from the 1950s.
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 Bob Hoffman and the World’s First Protein Bar
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 Judging a Physique Contest
