Tag: Training

Resources by Conor HeffernanFeb 15, 20194:16 pm

The History of the Preacher Curl

A piece of equipment ubiquitous across the gym floor, the Preacher Curl is a go to exercise for gym bros and dedicated trainees alike seeking to build their biceps. Combined with the EZ Bar, whose history is covered here, the Preacher Curl is likely an exercise we’ve all turned to in need of arm development.

When did this piece of equipment enter the gym zeitgeist, what was its original purpose and how did it become so popular? Furthermore, how does one perform the exercise correctly? Well strap in folks as we take another trip down memory lane…

Bob Fitzsimmons, ‘How To Lose Weight’, Physical Culture and Self Defense (Philadelphia, 1901), 44-46

HERE is some advice for the business man, the lawyer, doctor, broker, clerk, salesman: any man, in fact, who is kept indoors much of the time. Most men of this class take on weight. They […]

Training by Conor HeffernanJan 14, 20193:22 pm

Lies, Snake Oils and Downright Deception: Selling and the Fitness Industry

Unknown

The fitness industry, was and is, a notoriously dubious business place. For every honest athlete seeking to help his fellow trainer, there are dozens of genetically blessed individuals who seek to make a living with half-truths.

This chicanery, is however, a time honoured tradition as evidenced by today’s article. Surveying the great names of the physical culture game, today’s post looks at the forerunners to the current market industry and demonstrates how many sought to promote their products over the truth. Unsurprisingly names like Sandow, Sick and Inch all feature.

So if you thought that deceit was a new phenomena in bodybuilding, you are sorely mistaken!

Resources by Conor HeffernanJan 11, 20193:22 pm

The Workouts and Diets of the Bodybuilding Champions

RFB225 Index

* This article first appeared in Iron Man magazine in 1991 and includes the workouts and eating patterns of Lee Haney, Rich Gaspari, Lee Labrada and Mike Quinn. Jerry Brainum was the author.

Needless to say it’s a fascinating insight into the dietary and training habits of some of the greatest bodybuilders of the 80s and 90s. Check it out below. You might just learn something!

Resources by Conor HeffernanDec 21, 20184:55 pm

How They Train: Conditioning Methods of World Champion Boxer Evander Holyfield by Dr. Fred Hatfield

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, […]

Resources by Conor HeffernanDec 12, 201810:10 am

Forgotten Exercises: The Rader Chest Pull

Having previously discussed the history of the squat exercise, today’s post examines the creation of the Rader Chest Pull, an exercise that Peary Rader, one of the Irongame’s biggest names in the twentieth-century, often used […]

Training by Conor HeffernanDec 10, 201810:10 am

Forgotten Exercises: The See-Saw Press

I was flicking through some old strength magazines during the weekend and came across a lift that I doubt many of us are familiar with. Called the ‘Seesaw’ press, it is essentially a standing dumbbell shoulder […]

Resources by Conor HeffernanDec 7, 201810:10 am

The Secret of Rheo H. Blair’s Protein Powder

Blairs_Protein

Having discussed Bob Hoffman’s (failed) attempts to create a protein powder that was both tasty and efficient, the time seems right to examine Rheo H. Blair’s famous protein powder from the mid-twentieth century.

Iron game historians will long be aware that Blair’s protein powder was the go to supplement for bodybuilders, average trainees and even Hollywood stars of the 1960s and 1970s. It was one of the first protein supplements and was highly regarded by others in the industry including Vince Gironda.

Heck, so highly regarded was Blair’s protein that it was credited with adding pounds upon pounds of muscle in a short space of time. Some bodybuilders spent months eating nothing but the protein powder alongside some vitamin capsules.

So what exactly was in Blair’s protein and what made it so special?

Resources by Conor HeffernanNov 30, 20189:52 am

The History of Fitness

There is an apparent correlation between industrial advancements and fitness when we look back at the history of humans. Early man had no locomotive to move around. Getting food was a task that involved walking, running, and skills that most of us in this new age cannot even fathom. What we call exercise now, was back then just the way of life.

Training by Conor HeffernanNov 30, 20189:17 am

Forgotten Exercises: English Style Deadlifts

goerner4

Admittedly this is an exercise for your physical culture purist. Stemming from the early origins of physical culture in the late nineteenth-century, English style deadlifts are unlikely to be seen in your gym any time soon. Nevertheless, this style of lifting was hugely popular amongst British and European lifters of yesteryear. Used by Goliaths like Herman Goerner, this style of deadlifting was seen as inherently strict and the greatest measure of a lifter’s power.

That being the case, today’s short post will be addressing three simple questions. What is the history of the lift? How does one deadlift English style? And how can we incorporate it into our routines?