A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
Olympic weightlifting for men dates to the very first Olympic games in Athens in 1896. The first iteration for women came in 2000 at the Sydney Games. It took until 1987 for the first world weightlifting championship for women versus 1891 for men. Likewise, the first recognizable meets for women only came in the 1970s... Continue Reading →
Owing to the inquisitive nature of a PCS reader, I've finally gotten my act together, or at least come close enough to some semblance of normality, to go down the rabbit hole once again. The topic of todays post, is the rather more niche but nevertheless effective Glute Ham Raise (GHR) machine. Having spent years... Continue Reading →
I am currently working on my next book project, this time studying the history of women's Olympic weightlifting in the United States. Funded, in part, by the Olympic Studies Center, I had the pleasure of studying the International Weightlifting Federation's minutes and magazines from the 1970s to the present day. Housed in Lausanne, Switzerland, this... Continue Reading →
The following post is taken directly from Thomas Inch's 1920s work, On Strength. Inch, as we have previously discussed on Physical Culture Study, was one of the early and influential British physical culturists. Inch was a weightlifter, weightlifting organizer and a prolific writer. He wrote for several decades with Health and Strength magazine, likely contributed... Continue Reading →
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 press but instead of pressing both dumbbells at the same time, you alternate between reps. As you lower one dumb-bell, you... Continue Reading →
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 in conjunction with the squat. Typically Rader would inform trainees to perform this exercise directly after a set of twenty... Continue Reading →
Memorialisation is a fascinating part of the human condition. From war to illness, cultures around the world have repeatedly sought to pay tribute to the good and bad of the human condition. Until recently, I wrongly believed that strength monuments were few and far between. Thankfully a quick google search put my ignorance to rest... Continue Reading →
I HAVE often been asked what it feels like to press 350 pounds with one hand, and perhaps to my readers the different sensations experienced will be interesting. In the first place, immediately I start to press the weight away from the shoulder I become perfectly oblivious to everything except the weight that I am... Continue Reading →
A point previously discussed on this website was the regularity with which early physical culturists promoted light weight training as opposed to heavy lifting. The reasons for this are numerous. In the first instance, light weightlifting is easier to promote to the general public than heavy weightlifting. It requires less equipment, can be done in... Continue Reading →
The following Chapter comes from Mark Berry's wondeful book from the 1930s Physical Training Simplified. In it, Berry addresses one of the biggest questions from his era, is lifting safe? Enjoy! Bar Bell Exercise is Different Than Competitive or Record Lifting. But Does the Weight Lifter Run Any Risks? In the minds of some persons... Continue Reading →