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… Continue reading The History of the Pull Up
“The band is to remind you that your ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure!” What if one piece of easy fitness equipment could totally change your home workout? It's exactly what Joseph Pilates saw more than a century ago - and it's what modern Pilates resistance bands (also known as… Continue reading Guest Post: A History of Pilates Resistance Bands: From Hospital Bed Springs to the Ultimate Home Fitness Essential
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?
I lift therefore I am. Or ... something like that. I've been training in gyms and with weights in some capacity for two decades (this year in fact!). I've yet to win a major bodybuilding, powerlifting or weightlifting title. Neither will my lifts, sacred though they are to me, ever be something to write home… Continue reading Why Do We Train?
In the late nineteenth century, before the internet, before broadband, before anyone had even heard the word influencer, people still argued about fitness with the same mix of certainty, panic and wounded pride you find today in any comment thread. They just did it on paper. They did it with fountain pens and postage stamps.… Continue reading The First Fitness Comment Section
If you think that a strong core, a flexible and agile body, and a calm mind are wishes of the modern 21st century person alone, you are wrong. Ancient civilizations, though technologically backward, were aware of the importance of the connection between physical, mental, and spiritual health. Perhaps even more than us. Let’s have a… Continue reading Guest Post: From Ancient Practices to Screens: History of Fitness & Top 10 Wall Pilates Apps
The following excerpt comes from Dan Lurie’s Body Building System, a mid-century mail-order course that reflects the commercial and cultural ambitions of the American Physical Culture movement. Lurie, a one-time Mr. America contestant and tireless self-promoter, occupied a peculiar space between showman and health educator. His system, like those of his contemporaries, blended moral advice,… Continue reading How To Lose Weight Fast And Make Your Muscles Stand Out
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
Set in 1970s San Diego, cult comedy movie Anchorman featured a brief skit about jogging. In the scene, lead character Ron Burgundy attempts to explain the new fashionable jogging craze to his colleagues. Struggling to come to terms with the concept himself, Ron settles on "running for a prolonged distance of time...it's supposed to be wild."… Continue reading When Did Jogging Become Popular in the United States?
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
