I shouldn't get into fights on the internet. Or in real life for that matter. But I just can't help myself sometimes, especially on trivial stuff. Every time I leave the sanctity of my home gym, I seem to drift into unwanted fitness territory. I stumble over an influencer's tripod, gasp at some inane exercise… Continue reading How Strict Should Your Form Be?
THE RADICAL GENETICS Five years ago, Adam Smith was heading down the wrong road of life. At 6-3 (190 cm) and a "sopping wet" 140 lbs (63 kg), Adam had severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine) which caused a serious curvature to his upper back, hips that looked displaced slightly to the right, and the… Continue reading John Christy, ‘Evening the Genetic Score’, Hard Gainer Magazine, September/October (1995)
Under this heading, I would include the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and similar substances. In my opinion, alcohol is a nerve poison that is not assimilated and requires a great expenditure of energy for its excretion. Furthermore, it decreases energy and deadens certain inner forces, which, although we may be unconscious of them, could… Continue reading George Hackenschmidt, ‘Hindrances to the Acquisition of Strength.’
Three time World Strongest Man champion Bill Kazmaier was an absolute golaith during his career. Excelling in both powerlifting and strongman, there is little doubt that Kaz is one of the most impressive strength athletes of all time. He had the static strength needed to excel in powerlifting, the athleticism needed for strongman and the… Continue reading Bill Kazmaier’s Squat and Deadlift Program
So much has been written of the great old timers, that I will barely touch upon their deeds and confine most of this article to the strongest men of the present. If all the great strong men of the past, many of whom have gone from this earth, could meet in a contest, what a… Continue reading Bob Hoffman, ‘The World’s Strongest Man: Past & Present,’ Strength & Health, 5, no. 10 (1937), 32-34 & 42-45.
Given the current vogue for Mike Mentzer and high-intensity training, I thought it would be cool to look at John Little's 2008 interview with Iron Man magazine. Little is a Mentzer expert, and has written several books on his training methods. Here we get a unique insight into Mentzer as a person, and as a… Continue reading John Little, Heavy Duty: The Wisdom of Mike Mentzer, Iron Man, August (2008), 267-269.
I grew up on the internet memes of the 2000s and nothing was more pervasive than 'friends don't let friends skip leg day' or some variaton thereof. What was innocent for the time was a rallying call for trainees to actually train their legs and not just focus on the upperbody. Despite the recency bias… Continue reading Why Strong Legs Are Important!
John Grimek was one of the greatest American weightlifters and bodybuilders of the 20th century. Nicknamed 'The Monarch of Muscledom', Grimek also competed for the US in the 1936 Olympics in Germany. It's fair to say he knew something about lifting weights. Today's article sees Grimek discuss one of the most pressing issues in bodybuilding.… Continue reading How Fast Should You Gain Weight and Size – John C. Grimek (1976)
Why did the first era of bodybuilders have flat chests? Two common explanations I see online are that lifters in the 1890s and early 1900s considered large chests to be feminine and thus wanted to avoid it or that lifters modelled their own physiques on Ancient Greek statues and, thus, wanted to build their physiques… Continue reading Why Did Bronze Era Lifters Have Flat Chest? A Serious Answer to a Stupid Question
This article, first published in Health and Strength Magazine in 1956 is a great reminder that we don't need to spend hours in the gym to maintain our fitness. In fact, the writers of this programme believed it could be done in half an hour or less. Ideal for those struggling to make time to… Continue reading Workout for a Working Man
