Tag: Cross Fit

Resources by Conor Heffernan

The History of the Assault Bike

Assault bikes are, for want of a better phrase, awful. Just awful. I remember how excited I was when my gym first got an old air bike. I hopped on, busted a gut for 2 minutes and then jumped off, vowing never again to use such a horrid machine. Funnily most people I chat to have a similar story to tell.

Now there are a few people I train with who claim to love the assault bike. Such an admission proves that there are indeed sociopaths present in all walks of life …

More seriously, the assault bike is now one of the more popular cardio machines. Used by Crossfitters, professional athletes and the average gym goer, the assault bike has grown in popularity over the past decade and a half.

Today’s post looks at the history of the air bike which, I was surprised to learn, is far longer than I gave it credit for. We’ll examine its origins, original markets and, of course, its rapid rise in usage.

Continue reading The History of the Assault Bike
Resources by Conor Heffernan

The History of the Assault Bike

Assault bikes are, for want of a better phrase, awful. Just awful. I remember how excited I was when my gym first got an old air bike. I hopped on, busted a gut for 2 minutes and then jumped off, vowing never again to use such a horrid machine. Funnily most people I chat to have a similar story to tell.

Now there are a few people I train with who claim to love the assault bike. Such an admission proves that there are indeed sociopaths present in all walks of life …

More seriously, the assault bike is now one of the more popular cardio machines. Used by Crossfitters, professional athletes and the average gym goer, the assault bike has grown in popularity over the past decade and a half.

Today’s post looks at the history of the air bike which, I was surprised to learn, is far longer than I gave it credit for. We’ll examine its origins, original markets and, of course, its rapid rise in usage.

Continue reading The History of the Assault Bike
Resources by Conor Heffernan

The History of the Pull Up

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There are some exercises so basic, so ubiquitous and so difficult that their origins are often taken for granted. Previously when detailing the history of the squat, we encountered the difficultly of tracing a movement found in every culture and arguably every human movement. The Chin Up and the Pull Up exercises offer a similar problem.

The purpose of today’s post is not to discover the inventor of the pull up, if such a thing is possible, but rather to discuss its evolution over the past two centuries from gymnastic exercise to Crossfit controversies. As will become clear, even a simple movement carries a lot of history.

Continue reading The History of the Pull Up
Resources by Conor Heffernan

The History of 20 Rep Squats

Kevin Phengthavone 415lbs squat black and white

Though few exercise programmes maintain a venerated status for long in the Iron Game, the mystique surrounding 20 Rep Squat programmes has endured. As hinted by the name, such programmes require lifters to back squat twenty times before unloading the bar, and in my own experience, lying on the ground questioning your decision-making.

Primarily touted for individuals struggling to build mass or to bulk up their legs, such programmes originated in the 1920s and 30s. That they still exist, albeit with some modifications, is testament to their efficacy and popularity. The goal of today’s post is to highlight the original promoters of the programme, to explore the writers who kept the idea in the public mind and finally to question why the programme remains popular in the current age.

Continue reading The History of 20 Rep Squats
Resources by Conor Heffernan

A Brief History of the Barbell

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Whether you bodybuild, power lift, cross fit or simply keep fit, there’s no denying the importance of the barbell to your training. Easily adjustable, stable under enormous weights and challenging to the nth degree, barbells are a time honoured means of building muscle and strength.

Yet despite the barbell’s unrivalled popularity amongst the current gym going population, we tend to know very little about its short history. Borrowing from the work’s of historians such as Jan Todd, today’s article seeks to present a brief history of the gym-goers favourite device.

Continue reading A Brief History of the Barbell
Resources by Conor Heffernan

The History of 20 Rep Squats

Kevin Phengthavone 415lbs squat black and white

Though few exercise programmes maintain a venerated status for long in the Iron Game, the mystique surrounding 20 Rep Squat programmes has endured. As hinted by the name, such programmes require lifters to back squat twenty times before unloading the bar, and in my own experience, lying on the ground questioning your decision-making.

Primarily touted for individuals struggling to build mass or to bulk up their legs, such programmes originated in the 1920s and 30s. That they still exist, albeit with some modifications, is testament to their efficacy and popularity. The goal of today’s post is to highlight the original promoters of the programme, to explore the writers who kept the idea in the public mind and finally to question why the programme remains popular in the current age.

Continue reading The History of 20 Rep Squats
Resources by Conor Heffernan

Guest Post: History of Gyms: Then and Now

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Whether you want to get toned, lose weight, gain weight or just spend some time active, gyms have become such a staple part of our routines. There seems to be a gym on every corner, and they are all filled with an amazing variety of equipment. But have you ever wondered how this all started? When were the first gyms opened, and were they anything similar to the ones we frequent today? Knowing the history of it might not be crucial for building up muscle and stamina, but it can give us an interesting insight to how similar or different we are to our ancestors and where the future of gyms might be heading.

Continue reading Guest Post: History of Gyms: Then and Now
Resources by Conor Heffernan

The History of the Pull Up

images

There are some exercises so basic, so ubiquitous and so difficult that their origins are often taken for granted. Previously when detailing the history of the squat, we encountered the difficultly of tracing a movement found in every culture and arguably every human movement. The Chin Up and the Pull Up exercises offer a similar problem.

The purpose of today’s post is not to discover the inventor of the pull up, if such a thing is possible, but rather to discuss its evolution over the past two centuries from gymnastic exercise to Crossfit controversies. As will become clear, even a simple movement carries a lot of history.

Continue reading The History of the Pull Up
Resources by Conor Heffernan

Guest Post: Being Open-minded as an Iron Addict…Try Yoga!

Whether you’re an Olympic lifter, powerlifter, strongman, or crossfitter, there’s this cliquish attitude in the iron sports that what ‘we’ do is better than the other. Now it’s a lot less than it used to be, at least form what we can see on the internet. But it is still holding a lot of us back from reaching our goals. It could very well shorten training careers of some people too.

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If you look back at history, some of the greatest achievers were known to overcome this kind of close-mindedness. Take Alexander the Great. At 23 years old he conquered a good chunk of the known world back in the 300s BCE. He also utilized a level of open-mindedness unheard of during his time, forging a unity between east and west.

By overcoming the shortcomings of his peers, Alexander openly accepted the resources of Eastern culture to help reach his goals of conquering. He didn’t let differences in perspective blind him to the usefulness that other cultures brought to reaching his own goal. It’s with that open-mindedness that Alexander was able to reach as far as India.

Continue reading Guest Post: Being Open-minded as an Iron Addict…Try Yoga!
Resources by Conor Heffernan

A Brief History of the Barbell

weightlifting_

Whether you bodybuild, power lift, cross fit or simply keep fit, there’s no denying the importance of the barbell to your training. Easily adjustable, stable under enormous weights and challenging to the nth degree, barbells are a time honoured means of building muscle and strength.

Yet despite the barbell’s unrivalled popularity amongst the current gym going population, we tend to know very little about its short history. Borrowing from the work’s of historians such as Jan Todd, today’s article seeks to present a brief history of the gym-goers favourite device.

Continue reading A Brief History of the Barbell