Take it from the pros, splitting is the way go. Full-body training, provided that the intensity is high and the routine is good, can produce some amazing results, but splitting lets you get more from […]
Tag: Muscle Building
Eugen Sandow on Heavy Weightlifting
A point previously discussed on this website was the regularity with which early physical culturists promoted light weight training as opposed to heavy lifting. The reasons for this are numerous. In the first instance, light weightlifting is easier to promote to the general public than heavy weightlifting. It requires less equipment, can be done in the comfort of one’s own home and can be done with relative ease. It was for this reason that individuals like Eugen Sandow, Professor Attila and a host of other physical culturists promoted light weightlifting for their followers. A few, like Arthur Saxon, bucked the trend and argued that heavy lifting was needed to build a strong physique.
With that in mind, today’s brief post examines the brief words Eugen Sandow gave to heavy weightlifting in his seminal book, Strength and How to Obtain It. Published by Sandow first in 1897, Strength was, for many, Sandow’s most important work. It came at the height of his popularity, sold widely and was more accessible than some of his later works which were far more medical in composition. Thanks to the British Library in London, I was able to consult Sandow’s 1897 edition, as well as his third edition published in 1905. Sandow did not expand greatly on how to lift heavy but nevertheless provided an insight into the progressive training practices of the late 1890s and early 1900s.
Chris Dickerson’s Training Philosophy (1981)
It’s difficult to elaborate on my bodybuilding philosophy. Bodybuilding has become such an integral part of my life that it’s almost impossible for me to identify where the bodybuilding stops and the rest of my life starts.
I think it’s important initially to understand that bodybuilding is my life, and it has been my life since I became serious about the sport 15 years ago. To be a truly great champion in any sport — and particularly in one as all-consuming as bodybuilding — you must be so dedicated that the sport becomes completely woven into the warp and woof of your life.
What I can do in this article is give you my views on five factors crucial to any man’s (or woman’s) success in bodybuilding. These factors are training, nutrition, rest and recuperation, mental attitude and skin preparation. Let’s look at each of these individually.
The History of Kaatsu Training
“Wrap a band around your bicep until it begins to go numb, then pump out 30 reps with a light weight… Trust me, the pump is worth it.”
These are not the words of an enlightened man but rather my first experience of Kaatsu or Blood Restriction Training. Brought to my attention by a training partner whose grasp of science is not always the strongest, Kaatsu training has grown in popularity over the last decade. While my friend’s description may seem appropriate at first glance, there is quite a lot more to this training system than first meets the eye.
With this in mind today’s post seeks to answer three simple questions: what is Kaatsu training? How was it created? And, perhaps most importantly, should you try it?
Peary Rader, ‘SPECIALIZING ON ONE EXERCISE FOR MAXIMUM GAINS’, THE RADER MASTER BODYBUILDER AND WEIGHT GAINING SYSTEM (1946)
It is sometimes desirable to specialize on one lift or exercise to the exclusion of all others. The reason for this is that you can direct all your energies and effort in one direction. This […]
Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty Training in Action
Previously on this website, we have discussed the heavy duty training protocols of men like Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones. The ‘high intensity training’ of Jones, Mentzer and Dorian Yates is perhaps the least understood […]
1970s Muscle Building Advice
The greatest problem that faces the young bodybuilding enthusiast is that of gaining weight. It’s usually this reason for taking up weight training in the first place. However, after the inevitable gain of a few pounds body-weight almost immediately the weight-training course has been embarked on, one finds further progress very slow. Each pound towards his ideal body weight is gained with an ever increasing span of time. Once I couldn’t gain more than two or perhaps three pounds a year — training three times a week. Eventually my bodyweight gains became stagnant and no amount of training would alter it.
Eugen Sandow on Heavy Weightlifting
A point previously discussed on this website was the regularity with which early physical culturists promoted light weight training as opposed to heavy lifting. The reasons for this are numerous. In the first instance, light weightlifting is easier to promote to the general public than heavy weightlifting. It requires less equipment, can be done in the comfort of one’s own home and can be done with relative ease. It was for this reason that individuals like Eugen Sandow, Professor Attila and a host of other physical culturists promoted light weightlifting for their followers. A few, like Arthur Saxon, bucked the trend and argued that heavy lifting was needed to build a strong physique.
With that in mind, today’s brief post examines the brief words Eugen Sandow gave to heavy weightlifting in his seminal book, Strength and How to Obtain It. Published by Sandow first in 1897, Strength was, for many, Sandow’s most important work. It came at the height of his popularity, sold widely and was more accessible than some of his later works which were far more medical in composition. Thanks to the British Library in London, I was able to consult Sandow’s 1897 edition, as well as his third edition published in 1905. Sandow did not expand greatly on how to lift heavy but nevertheless provided an insight into the progressive training practices of the late 1890s and early 1900s.
Peary Rader, ‘The Clean and Jerk Program for Weight Gaining’, THE RADER MASTER BODYBUILDER AND WEIGHT GAINING SYSTEM (1946)
This very popular lift is a good exercise for all round development and an excellent method of weight gaining if properly performed for this purpose. It is probably the most strenuous of all exercises and therein lies its value as a stimulator of metabolism and a weight gaining medium. Much the same principles of procedure are used as in the squat or deadlift. Because it is so strenuous you will find that, as a general rule, two workout periods per week will be sufficient. You may find yourself rather sore at first if you are not careful to progress slowly
The History of 20 Rep Squats
Though few exercise programmes maintain a venerated status for long in the Iron Game, the mystique surrounding 20 Rep Squat programmes has endured. As hinted by the name, such programmes require lifters to back squat twenty times before unloading the bar, and in my own experience, lying on the ground questioning your decision-making.
Primarily touted for individuals struggling to build mass or to bulk up their legs, such programmes originated in the 1920s and 30s. That they still exist, albeit with some modifications, is testament to their efficacy and popularity. The goal of today’s post is to highlight the original promoters of the programme, to explore the writers who kept the idea in the public mind and finally to question why the programme remains popular in the current age.