A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
Perhaps I cannot do better than begin this series of talks with one which shall serve as a definition of Physical Culture. First of all, I should like to make it clearly understood that I do not propose by my system to produce a nation of athletes. To make a heavy-weight lifter, or a runner,... Continue Reading →
For better or worse, supplements seem to have become an inextricable part of the modern lifestyle. Provided that you use them the right way, though, and provided that you choose the right ones for your health and fitness needs, supplements truly can elevate your long-term well-being and even help you take your fitness game to... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMXadANmrXc Admittedly a little bit longer than the normal videos I post here, the following film is too interesting to pass up on. Produced in the late 1980s in the final years of the Soviet Union, the film is part propaganda and part instructional exercises. Done to show the training needed to be a champion... Continue Reading →
Today's short post comes primarily from Nigel B. Crowther's wonderful chapter on Ancient Chinese sport and physical education. Looking primarily at Chinese physical cultures, Crowther found that weightlifting, archery, weight throwing, tug of war, boxing and a host of other activities were practiced by Chinese men. Of interest to us today, was the use of Ding's as... Continue Reading →
The majority of bodybuilders I meet at my numerous exhibitions and seminars all over the country still seem to think that protein is needed in tremendous quantities to build muscle. The fact that muscle is only 22 percent protein suggests that our protein requirements are not nearly that high. And just because muscle is more... Continue Reading →
The Westside Barbell club run by Louie Simmons, is one of the current institutions of the iron game. Known for producing champion powerlifters and even effective machines such as the Reverse Hyper Extension, there is little doubting the club's importance for lifters, whether or not they adhere to powerlifting itself. In today's short post, we're... Continue Reading →
Earlier this week I was given a very generous gift. The gift in question was a complete set of Wills' Cigarette Cards. Produced for an Irish and English audience in 1914, the cards depicted various physical culture exercises one could engage in to keep fit and healthy. The irony that the cards could only be... Continue Reading →
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6o3dct When I say mid-century fitness programme, you're probably thinking of Jack LaLanne's long running programme broadcast across the USA. While this is a fair assumption to make, old Jackie boy was not the only individual concerned with improving America's health and wellbeing. Broadcast in 1962, the following 'Dennis the Menace' episode revolves around... Continue Reading →
In the decades before bodybuilding became fashionable, when young men wanted to workout, they would say, "Hey, lets' go to the YMCA and lift weights" In fact, during the early part of this century, weightlifting was much more popular than bodybuilding, in part because bodybuilding was regarded as too narcissistic. Inveterate observers of weight-training history... Continue Reading →
I frankly confess that when I was young I was just as much hypnotised by professional "strong men" as you are today. I was as strong as the average boy; maybe a little stronger, for I could take a 65 lb. solid iron dumb-bell and push it slowly above my head with my right arm. But... Continue Reading →