Mike Israetel has earned real authority in fitness. Through Renaissance Periodization, he has become one of the most recognizable figures in evidence-based hypertrophy training. His lectures on training volume, recovery, and nutrition are staples in gyms and classrooms. When he speaks about training, he cites peer-reviewed studies, parses physiology clearly, and backs it up with… Continue reading When Fitness Gurus Become Public Intellectuals
I am delighted to share that my new article, Mistakes I Carried: Building Strength in a Time of Crisis, has just been published in the American Historical Review. For historians, the AHR is the big one. But what excites me most is not the prestige of the publication. It is that the piece gave me… Continue reading The Weight of History: Building Strength in a Time of Crisis
I love a rabbit hole. Especially when a friend or family member tips me off on it. Today’s workout came from a relative who asked me what I knew about actor Helen Mirren’s workout course. Sweet nothing was my response. Get reading was the kindly reply. So in my wisdom I began to dig into… Continue reading The 12-Minute Military Workout That Took Over the World
You may walk past a park bar today and see someone straining through a muscle-up, holding themselves sideways in a “human flag”, or flowing through a freestyle routine. To most, this looks like a modern trend, fitness popularised through Instagram and YouTube. Yet, calisthenics — training with nothing but your own bodyweight — carries a… Continue reading Guest Post: The Social and Cultural History of Calisthenics
In the 1940s, long before the commercial gym became a ubiquitous feature of modern fitness culture, lifters often had to rely on their own ingenuity and craftsmanship to equip their training spaces. Purpose-built apparatus was expensive, difficult to source, and frequently beyond the reach of ordinary enthusiasts. Within the physical culture movement, the ethic of… Continue reading When Lifters Built Their Own Gyms: The DIY Squat Rack of the 1940s
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?
This is one of the odder products examined on this website, and that is really saying something! One of the great issues facing parents and schoolmasters is how to get kids excited about exercising. Well, a century ago, Eugen Sandow claimed to have the solution. What do kids love more than anything else? Candy! With… Continue reading Eugen Sandow’s Combined Toy and Physical-Culture Apparatus (1913)
Early this week I had a wonderful conversation with someone about the value of studying fitness history to inform our current practices. One of the issues we touched on was how rarely, if ever, modern powerlifters seem to pay homage to older legends. Outside of some folks like Ed Coan it seems like the greats… Continue reading John Kuc’s Beginner Power lifter 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?
