Strength Training Think Tank - Natural Strength.com

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - CHAPTER 15 - (Last Chapter) - By Alan Calvert

2011-12-17T07:27:00.001-05:00

In my long association with heavy-weight lifters, both amateur and professional, I have been a witness of some very funny incidents. I remember one time that a friend of mine was about to write an article describing a certain Herculean “hand-balancer.” My friend wishes to illustrate his article with photographs of this gymnast, so he arranged to have the gymnast meet him at the photographer’s

Iron Nation Gym Trade Mark Rights (USA) For Sale

2011-12-16T12:51:00.000-05:00

If you're interested in owning the American Trade Mark Rights to Iron Nation Gym, (we hope it's because you love the iron game, weight training, physical culture, building strength without drugs etc), Please Email us at: info@IronNationGym.com

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - CHAPTER 14 - By Alan Calvert

2011-12-06T12:36:00.001-05:00

STAGE WORK For some reason or other, the physical culture public seems to have the idea that my whole buisness consists of training young men to become professional stage performers, and I am constantly being consulted about the advisability of taking up weight-lifting and “strong man” work as a profession. As a matter of fact, I am a manufacturer of heavy-weight dumbbells, but in the course of

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - CHAPTER 13 - By Alan Calvert

2011-11-29T07:47:00.001-05:00

My hardest work is to try and combat a number of time-worn superstitions which the average person holds regarding heavy dumbbell lifting. If the reader will take the trouble to ask any friend whether it is advisable to take up weight-lifting, ther are ninety-nine chances out of a hundred that the friend will reply: “Weight-lifting is dangerous because it makes one slow, because it makes one

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - CHAPTER 12 - By Alan Calvert

2011-11-20T20:26:00.001-05:00

Many of my readers were probably surprised, when at the close of Chapter VIII, I referred to the difference between strength and power. This difference is not generally understood. The strength of a muscles lies in its ability to contract against great resistance. A man weighing under 150 lbs. may have magnificently developed muscles and may be able to lift an immense amount of weight straight up

SO MIS-UNDERSTOOD - By Fred Fornicola

2011-11-18T12:43:00.002-05:00

Originally posted on NaturalStrength.com on September 1, 1999 Here's one of the conversations I had after a hard workout: Uninformed Individual: "How many hours a day do you train?" Me: "Hours? What do you mean? I don't understand the question" Uniformed Individual: "How do you split up your workouts?" Me: "I don't, I train my whole body each time." Uninformed Individual: "So you are in here

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - CHAPTER 11 - By Alan Calvert

2011-11-15T07:31:00.001-05:00

Physical culture authorities are divided in their views regarding the proper way for a novice to train in order to prepare himself for the strenuous sport of weight-lifting. A great many trainers assert very strongly that before a man attempts to handle heavy dumbbells he should put his muscles in good condition by a long and arduous spell of training with a pair of 5-lb., or a pair of 10-lb.

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - CHAPTER 10 - By Alan Calvert

2011-11-10T11:03:00.001-05:00

Several times in this volume I have alluded to the necessity of trying to standardize the sport of weight-lifting. In Chapter II, I alluded to the European method of regulating the sport. I will now discuss this a little more fully. Here in America, when a track meet is held the officials are generally furnished by the A. A. U., and these officials perform their work according to certain

The Old Rusty Bar - By Keith Wassung

2011-11-09T09:26:00.001-05:00

Originally posted on NaturalStrength.com on February 22, 2006 The old rusty bar lay across a blue tarp on the chilly October ground. Also occupying the space was a hockey stick, three pairs of roller skates and several miscellaneous golf clubs. The old rusty bar was just one of many items that were being sold at the 12th annual St Casmir’s Parish rummage sale. The bar was seven feet long,

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - CHAPTER 9 - By Alan Calvert

2011-11-04T07:41:00.001-04:00

We now come to the much-discussed question of the measurements of the various strong-men. It is a very peculiar fact that every professional strong man, no matter how small he is, seems to consider that he is in duty bound to make the announcement that he has a 48-inch chest and 16-inch upper arm. Shortly after Sandow came to America he published a book on physical culture. Several times in

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - Chapters 7 & 8 - By Alan Calvert

2011-11-03T09:50:00.001-04:00

Originally posted on NaturalStrength.com on 28 December 2006 Chapter 7 I have been engaged in manufacturing heavy dumb-bells for a number of years, and in all that time the only genuine competitions in weight-lifting that I have witnessed have been those which I promoted myself. I have from time to time, heard of competitions between weight lifters, and I believe that at one or two physical

MYTHS, 1/2 TRUTHS AND LIES - By Will Ellinger

2011-11-02T04:47:00.004-04:00

I can't help but feel the need to vent some frustration and give some honest cold hard facts about the whole fitness industry. While I am certainly not the first (and I am sure I won't be the last) to be disgusted by the garbage being spewed and all the misinformation being given. In my view it is getting worse and spreading to the population of athletes which are closest to me. It is nothing

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - Chapter 6 - By Alan Calvert

2011-11-01T13:22:00.002-04:00

A good many years ago no "strong-man act" was considered complete unless the performer did a certain amount of chain breaking, card tearing, etc, but these tricks have gradually lost their popularity, because the public has become very skeptical regarding them. COIN BREAKING. I suppose there have been, at various times, 30 or 40 strong men who claimed to be able to break with their thumbs and

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - Chapter 5 - By Alan Calvert

2011-10-28T10:59:00.001-04:00

When I was a boy I remember having owned a volume entitled “Magic,” and one of the chapters of this volume was called the “Magic of Strength.” This chapter described the marvelous feats performed by several athletes who lived in the Eighteenth Century. All these feats were tricks, and were not genuine tests of strength . I can remember very distinctly the old wood-cuts which illustrated this

First 20 Books of SNS

2011-10-28T10:50:00.001-04:00

It has come to my attention from Lulu who prints the copies of Super Natural Strength that the first 20 books sold in August had a printing glitch where several pages had the bottom line chopped off. It was corrected right away and only 20 books were involved. If you bought a book in August and had a few pages missing a bottom sentence, please call me: (202) 638 1708 I'll ask you a few questions

Review of Super Natural Strength By Fr. Paul Makar

2011-10-28T10:37:00.002-04:00

With regard to SUPER NATURAL STRENGTH, all I can say is WOW!!!! "Maximum" Bob Whelan again hits a home run with the release of this new book. It is primarily a collection of articles that Bob had written for HARDGAINER, but the wisdom contained in these pages is priceless. Bob writes very clearly and succinctly in driving home the fundamental principles of weight training for overall health and

My Friendship with Arthur Saxon - by Thomas Inch

2011-10-27T06:14:00.002-04:00

It was not long after my arrival in London at the age of 21 that I met a world-renowned weightlifter who was fated to have a great influence upon my strength career, the late Arthur Saxon. I lived in Fulham where the local music hall is a small but not unimportant one as the “Granville.” Visiting the hall one evening accompanied by my wife, I first saw the act of the famous Saxon Brothers –

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - Chapter 4 - By Alan Calvert

2011-10-23T10:34:00.001-04:00

For some reason, the one-hand slow “press,” or “push up,” is no longer included in competition lifting in Europe, but it is still favored to some extent in both amateur and professional lifting in England, and is almost exclusively used in competition lifting in America. The reason the one-hand slow "press" is excluded in Europe is because it is so hard to lay down rules governing this lift. The

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - Chapter 3 - By Alan Calvert

2011-10-21T12:14:00.001-04:00

Originally posted on NaturalStrength.com on 25 June 2006 It should be distinctly understood that chapters III and IV are not to be considered as instructions. I have endeavored to describe in these chapters the way the lifts are performed. It is necessary to do this in order that the reader should be able to understand the numerous references to the standard lifts in the chapters of this book.

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - Chapter 2 - By Alan Calvert

2011-10-20T07:12:00.001-04:00

Originally posted on NaturalStrength.com on 30 April 2006 There are several reasons why weight-lifting as a sport is not popular in this country. Probably the principal reason is the very foolish and short-sighted attitude of the professional lifters in this country. These professionals have made a practice of deceiving and "buncoing" the public for so long a time, that the public has become

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHTLIFTING - (circa 1911) - Chapter 1 - By Alan Calvert

2011-10-19T04:29:00.001-04:00

Originally posted on NaturalStrength.com on 08 April 2006 In dealing with feats of pure strength, we regret to have to admit that most of the strength records are held by European athletes. This does not mean that the European races produce larger and finer man than we breed in America, but really indicates the fact that for the past 25 years the European nations, especially the Germans and the

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHT LIFTING - (circa 1911) - INTRODUCTION - By Alan Calvert

2011-10-11T08:07:00.001-04:00

Originally posted on NaturalStrength.com on 25 March 2006 By Alan Calvert, the Originator of Progressive Weight Lifting in America. Inventor of the “Milo” and “Milo Triplex” combination dumbbells. Proprietor of the Milo Bar-Bell Co. Published by the Author, Philadelphia, 1911 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this book is to describe some of the greatest know feats of strength; how such feats are

Mighty Doug Hepburn - By Walter Wadas

2011-10-05T07:42:00.002-04:00

Originally posted on NaturalStrength.com on 02 September 2004 The road to bodybuilding success is rarely walked with a clubfoot, but that’s the way Doug Hepburn started out. On September 16, 1926, Douglas Ivan Hepburn was born at Vancouver (BC, Canada) General Hospital with a deformity to his right ankle and foot. He had as well a vision distortion called severe alternating squint and a

Message from David Gentle on Hack/Gotch

2011-10-04T18:21:00.002-04:00

Originally posted on NaturalStrength.com on 18 August 2003 I wrote the article a long time ago, since then have discovered a lot more info which makes me tend to aggree with Mike. Only recently, I made the comment that in a rough house, i.e. real fight, I would sooner had Gotch in my corner than Hack, So yes Mike, with newever info and hindsight, I agree with you and believe that Gotch did win.

Comments on the Hackenschmidt - Gotch matches - By Mike Chapman

2011-09-30T09:03:00.001-04:00

Originally posted on NaturalStrength.com on 29 July 2003 Hello Bob, I don't know if this is the right place to write about David Gentle's article on George Hackenschmidt, but I found the article listed on this web site. Perhaps you could forward it on to Mr. Gentle. The article is well written with lots of facts. However, there are two major errors regarding the Hack-Gotch matches. He writes