A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
Controversies aside, it's far to say Joe Weider's was one of the most influential men bodybuilding has ever encountered. In the course of his long career as a trainer, promoter and media mogul, Weider came across everyone from Arnie to Ronnie. Who better to learn from then the man known as 'The Trainer of Champions'.... Continue Reading →
Let's face it, very few people in the business of muscle building seem to respect the Tricep Kickback. Indeed a cursory glance online sees it described as pointless, useless and ineffective. Strong words for a relatively simplistic exercise. From my own observations, it is interesting to note in my own gym that women tend to... Continue Reading →
I remember hesitating abut using the title that appears on the top of this page. I can hear the "oohs!" and "aahhs!" and I can see the looks of astonishment and disappointment on your faces: "Steiner - IRON MAN'S feature-writer, advocating, a split routine? Why, this guy's flipped his wig. He's been hollering so much... Continue Reading →
An ideal for Arnie and countless others, Reg Park was one of the biggest bodybuilding names of the mid-century. Known for his powerful physique and raw strength, it's no surprise that even though the great man has passed away, many still follow his old workout routines to a tee. Today's post was generously given by... Continue Reading →
It happened to Rocky Balboa. He got soft. He earned all that money, got used to the good life, and lost his competitive edge, his "eye of the tiger." His old fart of a trainer told him, " The worst thing that could happen to a fighter happened to you - ya got civilized." Rocky... Continue Reading →
Training Strategy for Evander Holyfield The time-honoured -- but unfortunately ill-conceived -- practice of long, slow distance work as a conditioning regimen for boxers is what Evander learned from the training dinosaurs of his youth, and had continued with for years. When I was brought aboard his team, prior to his fight against Buster Douglas... Continue Reading →
Forced Rep, Negatives, Free Weights & Machines - People have called me mad. They say no sane man would inflict my degree of discipline on himself. Perhaps they're right, but I feel that extremism in the quest of your best is no vice. If I seem to be in be in the iron grip of... Continue Reading →
That Marvin Eder, sensational Eastern muscle and strength star, chose the bench press as his favorite exercise, is no surprise to any bodybuilding authority. For in this lift can be found the key to his determination to become a world beater, to overcome all obstacles and to gain immortality as one of the celebrated GREATS... Continue Reading →
Recently I had the good fortune to stumble across Alan Radley's excellent History of Physical Culture work. A combination of fun facts, serious scholarship and enough photographs to keep any Ironhead happy, it's likely that I'll be dipping in and out of this work for years to come. In any case, Radley's scholarship highlighted a... Continue Reading →
For whatever reason some training systems remain in the public psyche while others fall to the wayside, continued only by a few dedicated and often fixated trainers. Thus while nearly every intermediate and certainly every advanced trainee is familiar with manipulating rep ranges, few seem to stray outside the comfort zone of 5 x 5,... Continue Reading →