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
Many of our day-to-day activities contain elements of arts and science. It’s just that the artistic part is more renowned than the science behind these activities. As such, those scientific influences are easily swept under the carpet. For instance, the idea that physics plays a great role in the art of boxing isn’t much acclaimed.… Continue reading Top 5 Boxers with Amazing Physics
One of the most fascinating things to me is how bodybuilders prepare for a contest. How do they tweak their diets? Manipulate their water and sodium intake and, more importantly, how do they train to maintain their muscle mass while simultaneously losing body fat? In many ways bodybuilding contests are biological warfare. As bodybuilding has… Continue reading How Did Steve Reeves Prepare for a Bodybuilding Show
The Westside Barbell club run by Louie Simmons, is one of the current institutions of the iron game. Known for producing champion powerlifters and even effective machines such as the Reverse Hyper Extension, there is little doubting the club's importance for lifters, whether or not they adhere to powerlifting itself. In today's short post, we're… Continue reading Forgotten Exercises: The JM Press
In the decades before bodybuilding became fashionable, when young men wanted to workout, they would say, "Hey, lets' go to the YMCA and lift weights" In fact, during the early part of this century, weightlifting was much more popular than bodybuilding, in part because bodybuilding was regarded as too narcissistic. Inveterate observers of weight-training history… Continue reading Mike Mentzer (1995) – Mr. Universe Mike Mentzer’s Training Invention
I... dear reader. Am getting older, and crankier. The latter attribute isn't important, although it does explain quite a lot about me. The joy of getting older is that my body is getting more snaps, crackles, and pops than I care to admit. This has encouraged me/forced me/confined me, to taking more interest in both… Continue reading Who Invented the Massage Gun?
When I first became interested in barbells I collected a lot of data about weight- lifting records. There was a time when I could tell you the world’s record in almost any lift you could mention. I could tell you the records for the best men in the different nations at the same lift. I… Continue reading Alan Calvert on Deadlifting Records (1924)
An absolute goliath in the training world, Douglas Ivan Hepburn or Doug for short, was one of the most respected athletes of the mid-twentieth century. Winning gold medals at the 1953 World Weightlifting Championships, the 1954 British Empire Games and a series of other contests, Hepburn is perhaps best known for his incredible power. Indeed, the Canadian… Continue reading How did Doug Hepburn Train in 1953?
In a former life as a teenage rugby player we did some dumb stuff in the gym. Heavy squats with bad form? Yup. Olympic lifts with rounded backs? You betcha. I trained around the time that 'functional training' was all the rage so I even have memories of friends back squatting on Swiss balls! Yes… Continue reading Who Invented the Barbell Complex?
For better or for worse I grew up in the early internet days of the fitness industry. Combining Joe Weider magazines with random forums, I hobbled together a training program guaranteed to blitz my biceps, slice my quads and shred my abs. That at least, was the promise. I remember training long hours every day… Continue reading Ian King, ‘How Hard Should I Train?,’ Get Buffed (2002)
