Tag: fitness history

Resources by Conor HeffernanMar 27, 20199:48 am

Guest Post: The History of Personal Training and Its Role in Fitness Today

The career in personal training is a relatively new one. Sure, the ancient Greeks and other past civilizations had their athletic traditions, but they were mostly aimed towards keeping people fit for combat, not for personal reasons. Exercising for health and hiring fitness experts is a new practice less than 100 years old.

A typical personal trainer image that we have today, a person that works with clients in a gym, didn’t exist until the late 1900s. In general, fitness became popular through TV programs and celebrities who sparked the fitness movement. In the early days, no certificate was needed to become a personal trainer and to be recognized as a fitness professional. It was not until the 90s that the first certificate was created and that personal training became a sustainable job path. Today, we have many different certifications and excellent experts who do wonders for people’s fitness and health. However, in order to understand today’s importance of personal trainers and their role, we need to know the history of this career and where and how it all began.

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?

Training by Conor HeffernanDec 3, 20189:31 am

Lost Feats of Strength: Klein’s Tiger Push Ups

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 […]

Resources by Conor HeffernanAug 15, 201812:49 pm

The First Mr. Olympia

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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?

Resources by Conor HeffernanJan 29, 20188:57 am

The History of the Glute Ham Raise

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?

Training by Conor HeffernanDec 27, 201710:49 am

A Brief History of the Swiss Ball

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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?

Basics by Conor HeffernanOct 24, 20161:33 pm

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’.

Resources by Conor HeffernanApr 27, 20162:53 pm

Marian Mason: England’s Trailblazing Woman of Fitness

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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.

Training by Conor HeffernanJan 4, 20168:21 pm