A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
Name a more iconic duo than Franco and Arnold. Within the sport of bodybuilding, the relationship between Franco Columbu and Arnold Schwarzenegger was of the most enduring and impactful the sport has ever seen. From Pumping Iron to controversial Olympia wins, they did it all! Okay, that last line was tongue in cheek but, more... Continue Reading →
Oddly given the site's extensive interest, we have yet to detail Eugen Sandow's most exciting remnant, a short film clip taken in 1894. Taken during Sandow's extensive promotion tour of the United States, which began in 1893 and included everything from posing sessions to fights with lions, Sandow's film is one of the earliest movies we... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7drz_faT8sM Part of the 1942 movie 'Behind the Eight Ball', the above song is not strictly about health and fitness. Sung by the Ritz Brothers, Al, Jimmy and Harry, 'Charles Atlas did it for Me' is a funny and interesting incidence of how physical culture was viewed in wartime America. Eulogising the system of Charles... Continue Reading →
A recent trawl through Ebay uncovered a story which for me, has a very unhappy ending. Stumbling across a 1979 movie poster for the Silver Surfer, the Marvel superhero capable of travelling through space aboard his trusty surfboard, I was shocked to find name of the legendary bodybuilder and three time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7drz_faT8sM Part of the 1942 movie 'Behind the Eight Ball', the above song is not strictly about health and fitness. Sung by the Ritz Brothers, Al, Jimmy and Harry, 'Charles Atlas did it for Me' is a funny and interesting incidence of how physical culture was viewed in wartime America. Eulogising the system of Charles... Continue Reading →
Published in Muscle & Fitness in 1991, the following article details the keep fit routine of Clint Eastwood, the Hollywood actor/director then in his early sixties. Coming at a time when celebrity training routines were becoming an item of public interest, the article is interesting in its own right as a piece of bodybuilding history. Furthermore,... Continue Reading →
Do you know what is a bit mind-boggling? How did Arnold Schwarzenegger become such a globally-renowned actor? Honestly, how? His acting range and ability to exhibit a spectrum of emotion aren’t that of, for instance, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Newman, Anthony Hopkins and many other sophisticated personality-shifters who possess... Continue Reading →