A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
From as far back as the 18th century, upright posture has been associated with a ‘moral’ upper-class society vibe. This has caused the development of many devices to help with posture, and despite its tendency to almost squeeze people close to death, the first-ever posture corrector known as the corset was introduced. Evolving societal standards... Continue Reading →
Few pieces of equipment have a century's long history. Aside, perhaps, from the Indian club, most of the machines or devices we exercise with today count their origins to the eighteenth or nineteenth century. Sure some may argue that dumbbells have long been used by trainees but a simple look at Ancient Greek halteres makes clear... Continue Reading →
Invented in the late 1820s and publicised for several more decades, the Polymachinon represents one of the nineteenth century's more interesting fitness devices. Created by the Professor of Gymnastics at University College School, London, the Polymachinon was seen as an effective method of improving strength, musculature and, more importantly, overall health. This much is made... Continue Reading →
In order to maintain health and provide for optimal growth, our bodies require more than 40 different nutrients. These various nutrients can be found in the six primary food components: water, protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. WATER: Whether or not you believe live began in the sea, the fact remains that life exists in... Continue Reading →
Among many kinds, intermittent fasting (IF) has proven to be an effective approach to maintain and improve a healthy lifestyle. Fasting can be done to lose weight, detoxify the body, or for religious reasons. Scientifically, there has been a large amount of research that supports health benefits driven by fasting. Even though it has been... Continue Reading →
Earlier this week I was given a very generous gift. The gift in question was a complete set of Wills' Cigarette Cards. Produced for an Irish and English audience in 1914, the cards depicted various physical culture exercises one could engage in to keep fit and healthy. The irony that the cards could only be... Continue Reading →
This website has, at time of writing, been operating for a little over six years. When I began Physical Culture Study my intent was to shed some light on the weird and wonderful of the fitness industry. Little did I know at the time of all the things I could write on! Somewhat shamefully it's dawned... Continue Reading →
In 2018 the strength and conditioning community lost one of the most creative, and controversial, coaches of recent memory, Charles Poliquin. Known primarily for his work with Olympic athletes, Poliqun's training methods and philosophies were often times at the cutting edge of the field. This is not to say that Poliquin was not without his... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itfqFLTHtzk People of a certain generation will remember the importance of Bodybuilding.com in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At a time when internet culture was still slowly influencing the fitness world, Bodybuilding.com was a one stop shop for training and nutrition advice. Today's post looks at an exercise I first came across in the... Continue Reading →
Who in their training career, has not used the Ab Wheel? As a teenager, I took to the device with a great deal of enthusiasm, often overextending my arms and producing undue pain in my lower back. I suspect the experience of pain is one shared by many. Despite a relatively simple premise, and a... Continue Reading →