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[1 hour, 21 seconds] The Friday night introductions at the 2016 Michigan State Spartan strength clinic followed by Jessica Watson's presentation on sports nutrition....keep reading

[4 pages] If you lived on the West coast and wanted a weight set, chances are you sent away to Paramount/The Independent Iron Works in Los Angeles, California. Here's a short advertising brochure from 1947...keep reading

[114 pages] The exercise with the Indian Club, while excelled by none in prompt and beneficial results, is at once the least expensive and the most convenient of modern recreations. These qualities of cheapness and convenience strongly commend it to that large class in every community which lacks either the means or the leisure to indulge in more elaborate and costly diversions. The expense of the club-swinger's equipment, including a light and a heavy set of clubs, a suitable habit, and an instruction book need not exceed the moderate sum of ten or fifteen dollars. Thus, as compared with riding, boating or bicycling, the original outlay is trifling, while the subsequent incidental expenses are merely nominal. The use of the clubs also comports with the utmost economy of time. To improve the circulation of the blood and impart vitality to the system a half hour's exercise with the clubs is fully equivalent to two hours brisk walking, or three-quarters of an hour in the saddle or...keep reading

[94 pages] IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL FITNESS.-Throughout the centuries military leaders have recognized that the effectiveness of fighting men depended to a large degree upon their physical condition. No army in all history has achieved notable success without superbly conditioned soldiers. The remarkable military achievements of the ancient Persians, Greeks, and Romans were due in no small part to the rugged, tough, well-conditioned fighting men these nations produced. In all of these countries the development of strong, tough bodies was begun early in youth and was continued until the men reached middle age. It is a significant fact that when a soft luxurious living undermined the physical prowess of the people of these nations, they were soon overthrown by a tougher people....keep reading

[8 pages] We were sitting in the gym office after everyone had gone home and we were arguing about training. I had been praising light, breathing squats but Oley wasn't convinced. He said I put too much value on them.

"No, I don't," I said. "I've seen too many examples of what they can do. I know they're good."

"Not that good."

"Yes, that good."

"Johnny, he said. "Be serious! You make them out to be some kind of magic exercise."

"The heck I do." We has been arguing for half an hour and I was getting mad. "I know damn well they'll do more for your chest than all the 'super-sets' on all the incline benches put together....keep reading

[14 pages] These have been arguments, but in order to arrive at facts, it seemed only reasonable to gather evidence and examine it. Invitations were sent to champion swimmers, tennis players, big muscle boys, and prize fighters; scores of them. Physical strength and success was the basis for making the tests, and here for the first time, possibly, they are presented for your consideration, and to provide the answer. The men whose handwriting you will find in this chapter were selected only because of their body building accomplishments, and not from their handwriting, nor for their scholastic records. They are only a very small part of the original evidence which was gathered to get at the truth, but these specimens represent the average intelligence of the entire group....keep reading

[4 pages] Teeth lifting is a form of training that has a lot of interesting possibilities. Here's an article written over a century ago which provides more insight.

"A FINE set of teeth is the exception rather than the rule. It is a rare thing to find a person twenty-five years of age who has a splendid set of teeth, regular, white, beautiful, without a filling or a tooth missing-and an octogenarian with such a set of teeth perhaps could not be found at all. And yet it is true that practically everyone would possess a good set of teeh it he were brought up under the right conditions, keeping them well preserved as long as he lived. "...keep reading

[21 pages] Iron Sport has built a reputation as one of the finest gyms in the country, if not the world, but I know that not everyone is in a position to visit our facility. It occurred to me that a simple way to help many serious lifters is by sharing some of the workouts and training methods that we use here at Iron Sport. I’ve been training athletes for decades and training myself for even longer and have many things to share. If you can’t make it out to Pennsylvania, at least you’ll be able to have a little piece of Iron Sport in your own gym or weight room.

For the following program, my goal is to provide you with all the important details that I can think of and erase any confusion so that you can put all your efforts into your training and not end up frustrated over not knowing what to do. If you are truly serious, I’m going to just come right out and say that the best option would be to come and train with me at Iron Sport but if that isn’t possible, this work...keep reading

[3 pages] EVERY CONSCIENTIOUS American soldier should realize that he has a responsibility to himself, his family, and his country to keep himself in a state of physical readiness for whatever demands may be suddenly placed upon him. President Kennedy has said: "The knowledge that the physical well-being of the citizen is an important foundation for the vigor and vitality of all the activities of the nation is as old as western civilization itself. But it is a knowledge which today, in America, we are in danger of forgetting. We are rapidly becoming a nation of spectators. Many of us have a tendency to take our recreation passively instead of being active participants."

The new emphasis on physical fitness in our Armed Forces stems from a presidential directive to the Secretary of Defense originated by C. B. (Bud) Wilkinson, Special Advisor to the President on Physical Fitness. It emphasized the obvious reason physical fitness is important in the military: t...keep reading

[28 pages] "EVERY great strongman owes some credit, at least, to the man who discovered him or instructed him in The Iron Game. If Arno Saxon hadn't wandered into a gym in Leipzig one day, and saw Otto Hennig, we wouldn't have had any Arthur Saxon. If professor Louis Attila hadn't given employment to young Frederick Mueller, we might never have had our Sandow....keep reading

[120 pages] Practical instruction for men who wish to learn the first steps in the manly art. Mr. Hutchison writes from long personal experience as an amateur boxer and as a trainer of other amateurs. His instructions are accompanied with full diagrams showing the approved blows and guards. He also gives full directions for training for condition without danger of going stale from overtraining. It is essentially a book for the amateur who boxes for sport and exercise....keep reading

[5 pages] . . . Lifting weights was not really a popular thing to do back in the early 80's, it was the days well before there were beautiful chain gyms on every corner. If you did want to go to a gym it was usually in some grimy, sweaty, poorly ventilated, hell hole full of angry dudes. I was seen as kind of an outcast at Ridley High, the big really athletic looking kid who didn't play sports at a school known for its dominating sports programs....keep reading

[5 pages] . . . It looked like that gym that Apollo Creed took Rocky to in Rocky III, if you were the new guy you just stood out and everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at you. The owner, Ed Ryan, an eccentric guy to say the least, signed us up and took our money. We were now officially members of this mad house....keep reading

[4 pages] An article on Arthur Jones/Nautilus that appeared in the weekend magazine of the Tampa Tribune on Sunday, May 26th, 1974....keep reading

[1:28] Eighth annual YMCA weightlifting championships video clip and script...keep reading

Fittingly, Joe Weider, The Master Blaster himself also got a feature in Sports Illustrated in the April, 1970 issue....keep reading

[32 pages] Physical excellence (though we often, too often, neglect its culture in ourselves) is always appreciated by us, and by the world, in others. The hero of antiquity whose fame has been justly preserved to the present day is Hercules; and there is no Bible saint half so popular with the masses as Samson. And among the long list of men who have excelled in strength, endurance and physique, there are none who have surpassed, in any or all of these points, the subject of this sketch, and the inventor Gymnasium, Professor of the Patent Parlor Rowing Apparatus and Condensed Home Gymnasium, Professor J.M. LaFlin....keep reading

[130 pages]Here's something you don't see every day, John J. O'Connell jr's Master's Thesis from Boston UNiversity, June of 1949. He did his homework, taking elements from the York Barbell and Dumbbell Courses, Strength and Health Magazine and other interesting sources....keep reading

[16 pages] A new method of exercising has been developed which is particularly suited for supplementing daily activity. Now, you can strengthen your muscles to a degree previously achieved only through a much lengthier program of weightlifting or other very strenuous activity. Using the nine basic exercises described here you can work toward physical fitness right at your desk—and in 54 seconds a day.

The secret of isometrics is in using one set of muscles to exercise against another. By this method you can strengthen and tone your muscles without any actual body movement at all. And you only have to devote six seconds to each set of muscles! Why only six seconds? Because in only six seconds most individuals can gain a significant amount of strength and muscular tone....keep reading

[5 page] Prior to being comfortable with your drumming, you must be technically proficient in your drumming execution. You must be confident in your abilities so that you can listen and accent the artistic qualities of the music, without worrying about whether you can perform a difficult roll or pattern. Technical proficiency depends on your muscle coordination, muscle dexterity and physical ability; weightlifting is an unconventional yet very useful tool which you can employ to achieve these goals.

Weightlifting is associated with sporting activities, whereas drumming is an artistic endeavor. The two are very compatible however, as long us weightlifting is practiced to complement the drumming and not allowed to inhibit it....keep reading