Tag: Old School Shoulder Exercises

Training by Conor Heffernan

Forgotten Exercises: The Scott Press

The first Mr. Olympia and one of the 60s most admired bodybuilders, Larry Scott is rarely credited these days as being a bodybuilding great. Whereas Zane, Arnold or Olivia are regularly, and rightly, praised for their physiques, Scott is too often seen as an afterthought. Trained by Vince Gironda and the winner of two Mr. Olympia’s Scott’s thoughtful training style should not be underestimated. It was, after all, Scott who helped popularise Gironda’s preacher curl in the 60s and 70s.

Working together, Gironda and Scott made quite the formidable pair. The object of today’s post, the forgotten Scott Press, is testament to that statement. So in today’s brief post, we’re going to examine the history of the Scott Press before giving some words as to how to best implement it in your own training programmes.

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Forgotten Exercises: Monkey Rows

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Monkey or Armpit Rows… Admittedly it’s not the most enticing of names. Regardless of its poor labelling the following exercise is one of my favourite forgotten exercises of recent times. A godsend for individuals with shoulder pain, Monkey Rows offer a great alternative to commonplace exercises for trap and deltoid development like the upright row. So in today’s brief post we’ll be discussing the correct way to perform the Monkey Row and try dig into its history a little bit deeper.

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Dennis Weis, ‘Bits of Advice & Routines Number 6’, Iron Man Magazine, March (1977).

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At this point in my series of articles I think it is appropriate to introduce one of the greatest Super Stars in the physique world past or preset. The man is Boyer Coe. From my observations of people who are interested in physical development and physique contests, there are usually one or two men who will stand out in an individual’s mind as being at the top in their chosen field which in this case is physique contestants. The two men who immediately come to my mind are Chuck Sipes (who I have already discussed in detail) and Boyer Coe. I am not even going to attempt to describe his sensational physique. I would probably waste at least 4 to 5 paragraphs describing Coe and still not come up with a description which would do justice to him. All I can say is to study his photos which are published in just about every issue of Iron Man Magazine.

Continue reading Dennis Weis, ‘Bits of Advice & Routines Number 6’, Iron Man Magazine, March (1977).
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Forgotten Exercises: The Bradford Press

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One of the most maligned exercises of recent decades has been the military press done behind the neck. Owing it is said to the undue stress this exercise places on the shoulder joints, lifters have been advised to avoid this technique at all costs. I, for many years, was one of those lifters. Not only did the exercise feel uncomfortable, I couldn’t go as heavy on it, thereby hurting my fragile ego.

Some months ago I stumbled across another trainee performing Bradford Presses in the gym. This same trainee, an advocate of old school training, had previously alerted me to the Butt Punch and Swingbell exercises previously covered on this site. When pressed (no pun intended) about why he was performing said lift, I was curtly informed that he had performed this exercise for two decades without shoulder pain. I, was curious to put it mildly.

Fast forward to the present day and my shoulder health has improved dramatically, as has my conventional military press. I owe a large part of this to the Bradford Press, hence the topic of today’s post.

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Product Review: Heroic Sport’s Pahlavandle Clubs

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Regular readers of this blog will be aware of my fondness for Indian clubs. I’ve posted on them at several points, published a few academic articles on them and even spent a year in Cambridge doing a thesis on them. Alongside and indeed fuelling this interest, has been my daily use of the Indian clubs.

Every morning without fail, I swing the clubs for 10 to 15 minutes. This has been my morning routine for the past three years and in that time my mornings have become more pleasant, I’ve perked up and perhaps most importantly of all, my previous shoulder problems have become a thing of the past. Like many other lifters, my first forays into the gym resulted in far too much time bench pressing like my life depended on it. The result were very…very beat up shoulders.

Swinging lightweight Indian clubs in a variety of ways has slowly, over time, helped stabilise, solidify and save my creaking joints. I am therefore…. a fan.

You can imagine the childlike giddiness created when Heroic Sport contacted me about reviewing their Pahlavandle Indian clubs. Based in Denmark, this rather clever device allows you to bring your Indian clubs with you wherever you travel. Having trialed the Pahlavandle out for a week, I thought it’d be beneficial to discuss my initial reaction.

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