Few bodybuilders are remembered solely for their individual body parts. The collective entity? Certainly. But the individual sections of the body? This is a far rarer phenomenon. While Dorian Yates may be remembered for his towering Lat spread and Tom Platz for his Quad sweep, Frank Zane holds the distinction of being remembered for his… Continue reading Frank Zane’s Ab routine
Alternative title: A Character Study in Why I Hate Social Media Social media killed the fitness magazine—and the internet just watched. Today I want to take stock and talk about the humble fitness magazine. When were fitness magazines first sold, why did people buy them and why, ultimately, did people discard them. While it may… Continue reading Muscles, Misinformation, and the Death of the Fitness Magazine
Though oftentimes derided on the gym floor, the leg press machine has nevertheless become a staple of weight lifting life through the globe. Yes it's not as 'hardcore' as the squat and yes it's oftentimes abused by bros quarter repping but this piece of equipment has a long and interesting history behind it. A long… Continue reading Who Invented the Leg Press?
One of the few things to unite meat-eaters, vegetarians and even vegans, peanut butter is perhaps the great leveller of the fitness industry. High in calories, fat and protein, the delicious substance has been a go to option for muscle fanatics over the past century. Some use it as a spread whereas others, myself included… Continue reading The History of Peanut Butter
Though athletes and workers have long pushed or pulled heavy weights, the idea of the Prowler is a relatively new one. Who amongst us, upon seeing this shining behemoth on the gym floor has not been tempted to try it out? As an admittedly recent convert to the Prowler, I'm somewhat late to the party.… Continue reading The History of the Prowler
Describing himself as Arnold's Seminar Nutritionist, Balik opened his short pamphlet on gaining muscle with the often forgotten law that 'nothing beats persistence.' Produced alongside a pamphlet on gaining muscle, which we'll be discussing in a future post, Balik's Total Muscularity represents a great insight into the training philosophy of 1970s Muscle Beach bodybuilding. Sparing myself… Continue reading John Balik, Total Muscularity: SuperStar Nutrition (Santa Monica, 1979)
Mike Mentzer remains one of the most fascinating characters in the history of bodybuilding. A deep thinker and proud contrarian, Mike is one of the few men in bodybuilding to achieve a perfect score in a competition—and do it on more than one occasion! His training style was defined by the high-intensity training first proposed… Continue reading Interview with Mike Mentzer author John Little
Gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is often held up as the Holy Grail of body recomposition. A desirable goal, that advanced or even intermediate trainees are now told is only possible for beginners or those using chemical means. Today's post examines the rather lengthy sounding Anabolic Burst Cycle of Diet and Exercise… Continue reading Gaining Muscle and Losing Fat: The ABCDE Diet Experiment
Much to my surprise, and great shame, Edward Aston is not someone mentioned a lot on this website. This, I hasten to add, has everything to do with my own deficiencies. Born in England in the late nineteenth-century, Aston was known to contemporaries as one of the strongest men around. In 1910, he won the… Continue reading Forgotten Devices: Edward Aston’s ‘Anti-Barbell’
Now admittedly this is not the catchiest title I'm ever going to use but it hopefully conveys the purpose of today's post. Back when I started training, assisted pull up machines were a thing of scorn. Who, we would wonder, would bother with such an oddity? Couldn't individuals muster a solitary pull up by themselves?… Continue reading Who Invented the Assisted Pull Up Machine?
