You cannot spend a third of a century around physical culturists and barbell men without coming to a few conclusions. You see many enthusiasts who thrive on their training schedules and attain a perfectly satisfactory degree of physical development. You see others work and strain without noticeable improvement for months or years. Quite often these… Continue reading Harry B. Paschall, ‘How Barbell Men Go Wrong’, Muscle Moulding (London, 1950)
John McCallum has been covered at several points on this site already. What's been missing in our discussions has been an insight into just how wonderful his writing style was. McCallum wrote in parables that were simultaneously funny and inspiring. This was best seen in McCallum's iconic 'Get Big' drink article. The 'Get Big' drink… Continue reading Physical Culture Library: John McCallum’s Iconic ‘Get Big Drink’ Article
You cannot spend a third of a century around physical culturists and barbell men without coming to a few conclusions. You see many enthusiasts who thrive on their training schedules and attain a perfectly satisfactory degree of physical development. You see others work and strain without noticeable improvement for months or years. Quite often these… Continue reading Harry B. Paschall, ‘How Barbell Men Go Wrong’, Muscle Moulding (London, 1950)
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… Continue reading 1970s Muscle Building Advice
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… Continue reading Peary Rader, ‘The Clean and Jerk Program for Weight Gaining’, THE RADER MASTER BODYBUILDER AND WEIGHT GAINING SYSTEM (1946)
If it is convenient, it is often found a great help to eat 4 to 6 meals per day, tho this is not necessary. Many men have found that the addition of a light lunch at about 10 o’clock, another at about 3:30 p.m. and another just before bed time has been the secret of… Continue reading Peary Rader, ‘The Six Meal A Day Plan’, The Rader Master BodyBuilder and Weight Gaining System (1946)
Compared with his less fortunate brothers who box and run, the lifter has no restrictions as to diet. The man who boxes requires good wind and staying power, and he, therefore, has to care- fully limit his allowance of liquid, and has to exercise great care in his selection of foodstuffs, avoiding pastry, all starchy… Continue reading Arthur Saxon, ‘My Ideas on Diet’, The Development of Physical Power (London, 1906).
Although sometimes people take up bodybuilding to lose weight, the majority take to the sport in an attempt to add weight and gain muscle size to their frames. This is especially true for teenagers and young adults. As one matures with age it is usually much easier to gain weight, sometimes too much weight. Individuals… Continue reading Alan Palmieri, Gaining Weight And Adding Muscle Mass (2003)
I don't believe in the heavy use of food supplements. Not for anyone. ESPECIALLY (and perhaps, surprisingly so to many) in the case of hard gainers, of all people! Why? Hard gainers need COMPLETE, BALANCED NUTRITION. They need ir more definitely and more direcrlv than their easy-gaining brothers. THEY DON'T HAVE THE EXTRA-EFFICIENTMETABOLISMS NEEDED TO… Continue reading Bradley Steiner, ‘ON GAIN WEIGHT SUPPLEMENTS’, The Hard Gainers Bible (1988)
Diets have been around far longer than you can imagine. It’s safe to say that people from a long time ago were also pretty concerned about their weight, fitness, figure and health – concerned enough to try out different techniques on how to effectively carry out an diet. Eventually, these diets developed, became popular, and… Continue reading Guest Post: 10 Weirdest Diets in History
