So often in today's world of World's Strongest Man, Olympic Weightlifting and Powerlifting, the assumption that strength is defined by maximum weight lifted goes unchallenged. It is as if we accept unquestioningly that the person who can lift 500 pounds once is stronger than the those who can 'only' lift 400 pounds for reps. It's… Continue reading What is Strength?
“What puts you over the top? It is the mind that actually creates the body, it is the mind that really makes you work out for four or five hours a day, it is the mind that visualizes what the body ought to look like as the finished product.” Arnold Schwarzenegger The mind-muscle connection? That's… Continue reading The History of the Mind-Muscle Connection
One of the things which always fascinated me is the diets of those early physical culturists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. At a time when gym culture was in its infancy, these men and women experimented with their training, their diet, and their mindsets to achieve maximum results. For some, like the… Continue reading C.F. Langworthy, ‘Dietary Study of Sandow, The Strong Man.’
How did you become a strength performer in the early 1900s? It's not a trick question but something that I've become fascinated with in the past two weeks. This was a time before mainstream competitions. This was a time before social media and it was a time when to be strong was to be truly… Continue reading How did you become a strength performer in the early 1900s?
In 1894 Eugen Sandow, alongside G. Mercer Adam published Sandow on Physical Training. This was the first training manual/biography which Sandow published but it was not his last. Over the next twenty years, Sandow published a multitude of books covering everything from working out to alternative medicine. Sandow on Physical Training was published during Eugen… Continue reading Sandow as a Strongman in Holland (1894)
From Eugen Sandow to Charles Atlas, physical culturists have long made a living through mail order ads. Check out this old Arnie one from the late 1960s flogging the latest Weider product. So next time you grow weary of the hyperbole from today's modern advertisements, just remember that such ads are a time honored tradition… Continue reading Bodybuilding and the Mail Order Ad
How did you become a strength performer in the early 1900s? It's not a trick question but something that I've become fascinated with in the past two weeks. This was a time before mainstream competitions. This was a time before social media and it was a time when to be strong was to be truly… Continue reading How did you become a strength performer in the early 1900s?
How many times do you eat a day? Do you eat carbs after 3pm? Post-workout protein shake? Such are the questions faced by the modern day strength enthusiast. Are we overthinking the way we eat? In a world faced with a growing obesity epidemic and continuous production of low quality foods the answer may appear… Continue reading What did Eugen Sandow Eat?
So often in today's world of World's Strongest Man, Olympic Weightlifting and Powerlifting, the assumption that strength is defined by maximum weight lifted goes unchallenged. It is as if we accept unquestioningly that the person who can lift 500 pounds once is stronger than the those who can 'only' lift 400 pounds for reps. It's… Continue reading How do we define strength?
Most readers will be familiar with the name of strongman Eugen Sandow. Born in Prussia in the mid-nineteenth-century, Sandow helped usher in the modern day interest in health and fitness. In fact, some scholars have argued that Sandow was the 'father' of modern bodybuilding! What most people forget is that the strongman Sandow also fancied… Continue reading Why did Eugen Sandow Sue the Strongman Arthur Saxon?
