I love my PhD research. After three years, very few people can say that, but here I am. Now the reason for such positivity is not because a student recently gave me whiskey as a […]
Tag: fitness history
The First Mr. Olympia
It all began in April 1965 in a Joe Weider magazine…
Sick and tired of conversations about who was the greatest bodybuilder, Weider had decided to create a competition pitting champions from around the World against each other. In the same year that the iconic Gold’s Gym opened, Weider’s ‘Mr. Olympia’ would see A Mr. Universe, Mr. World and Mr. America pose, flex and tense in front of thousands of fans to determine the best that Bodybuilding had to offer.
Why create a new tournament?
The History of the Glute Ham Raise
Owing to the inquisitive nature of a PCS reader, I’ve finally gotten my act together, or at least come close enough to some semblance of normality, to go down the rabbit hole once again. The topic of todays post, is the rather more niche but nevertheless effective Glute Ham Raise (GHR) machine.
Having spent years devotedly using reverse hyperextensions and 45 degree back extensions, my own relationship with the Glute Ham Raise only began in the last twelve months. Since then I’ve made a point of trying as many different alternatives as possible. As is so often the case, I became too engrossed in using the machine that I forgot to look into its history. An email this month asking me about the GHR finally set me straight.
So without further ado we’ll crack into the history of the GHR. What is it? Who invented it and how did it become so damn popular?
A Brief History of the Swiss Ball
Whether you’ve attempted to train your ‘core’ or perform some simple rehab exercises, chances are you’ve used a Swiss Ball at some point in your training career.
So where did the Swiss Ball come from? What was it’s purpose and how did they become so popular?
Dan Lurie’s Half Moon Bench
Having previously detailed forgotten physical culture devices like the Iron Boots and the Swingbell, the time has come to discuss another treasure from bodybuilding’s past, namely the ‘half moon bench’.
Marian Mason: England’s Trailblazing Woman of Fitness
Although sporting historians have long noted the importance of Englishwomen in the development of sport in general, few studies have devoted themselves to the study of callisthenics. Those that do, often employ problematic timelines. Indeed, although Fletcher, McKrone and Holt famously argued that women used sport and callisthenics to gain some form of social freedoms, all dated their studies from the latter half of the nineteenth-century. A decision which has done a great injustice to Marian Mason, England’s first female physical fitness instructor, who beginning in the 1820s, ran one of the most sought after training studios in all of England.
A Brief History of the Swiss Ball
Whether you’ve attempted to train your ‘core’ or perform some simple rehab exercises, chances are you’ve used a Swiss Ball at some point in your training career.
So where did the Swiss Ball come from? What was it’s purpose and how did they become so popular?
The First Mr. Olympia
It all began in April 1965 in a Joe Weider magazine…
Sick and tired of conversations about who was the greatest bodybuilder, Weider had decided to create a competition pitting champions from around the World against each other. In the same year that the iconic Gold’s Gym opened, Weider’s ‘Mr. Olympia’ would see A Mr. Universe, Mr. World and Mr. America pose, flex and tense in front of thousands of fans to determine the best that Bodybuilding had to offer.
Why create a new tournament?
Attention Women: Left out because you’re too skinny? Try Wate-On!
Societal pressure on women is often a talking point.
Indeed previously on this website we’ve looked at slimming crazes dating back to the early 1900s when women worldwide were encouraged to lose weight and ‘become happy’.
Well it seems that the pressure on women to conform to a certain body type works both ways as the following set of ads from the 1980s demonstrates.
Once upon a time wate-On, an artificial weight gain product, was marketed to American women concerned with being too skinny. Shown below are a series of ads detailing the Wate-On message to gain weight, be merry and most importantly, be popular.
Needless to say I’m sure the conflicting messages about being too skinny and being too large caused many a headache for the 1980s woman.
