Most Popular Articles on this site

[1 hour, 5 minutes] MSU Strength Clinic: Saturday morning introduction by Ken Mannie and then "Creating a Competitive Attitude" presentation by Jay Hooten of Northwestern....keep reading

[64 pages] At the present you may be quite dubious about the squat style of snatching. You may ask, what is the value of the squat style in snatching; aren't most of the records held by split lifters?" Then, too, you may be wondering if you are the type that can conform to the correct position of this method of lifting.

Finally, you have undoubtedly heard at some time or another that the squat snatch is a precarious lift, and you may be doubtful if it would be safe for you to employ this style in competition where only three attempts are permitted.

These questions are very common among lifters who have been considering learning the squat snatch, as they are embodied in the minds and letters of the hundreds of students who have come to me for instruction. I will answer these questions in following pages....keep reading

[34:40] Coach Ken Mannie's Friday night presentation from the 2017 Michigan State Spartan Strength Clinic...keep reading

[6 pages] "To show the terrific strength of his abdominal muscles Maxick would lie flat on the stage and I or some other 180 or 200 lb. man, would stand 7 feet above him and jump onto his abdomen; believe me I bounced as if jumping on solid rubber!-...keep reading

[4 pages] When the newly commissioned naval aviator "finishes flight training, generally speaking, he is in top physical condition. As time passes he may find it more pleasant, beer in hand, to watch a foot- ball game on the TV in the club or BOQ than to work out on the handball court or in the station swimming pool. This is the easy way. But where does the vicarious participation from the one-dimensional world of television get you when you are out in the real world where physical fitness counts--and for the naval aviator and aircrewman. counts in terms of life and death?...keep reading

[38 pages] BEFORE GOING INTO the one hand balances there are a number of other handstands that will test your proficiency. If you have followed course #1 carefully then the following stunts will not only be easy but will add a lot of fun to your balancing session.

The 'Chair-stand' is one such stunt and is an old favorite with professional performers. Use an ordinary kitchen chair but make certain that it is strong and has a very sturdy back. Place one hand around the front edge of the chair and the other on top of the chair back (see Fig. 1). Lean well forward and with a slight jump, draw the legs up close to the body and from this position press up into your handstand....keep reading

[4 pages] The fact that persistent use of muscles causes their enlargement and a correlated increase in their strength has been known ever since there were boys and finally found its way into Greek mythology. But only the most careful researchers of the past 57 years have revealed the nature and limitations of this in- crease, the kind of exercise that brings it about, and the laws that governs its development. Ignoring for the moment the very important individuals who theorized in anticipation and verified in retrospect, the names of three experimenters mark the road that brought us to our present knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of strength. These are Morpurgo, Siebert, and Muller. Their work has yielded findings and conclusions that are essential to an understanding of strength and its development....keep reading

[43 minutes]...keep reading

[89 pages] Here's some interesting research comparing and contrasting four different types of training programs....keep reading

[8 pages] The frame of every individual has its ultimate size, shape, and capacity determined from the commencement of its organization,-bears within itself the germ of its perfectibility; but to this it will only attain when the laws and agents which regulate and sup- port its growth and development are faithfully observed and duly administered. The ways in which these two processes are attained may be classed under two heads. The first is regarded as a mere increase of height, usually completed about the eighteenth or nineteenth year; the second includes the bringing to their proper size, perfect conformation, and highest capacity, the several parts which together make up the body as a whole, seldom completed before the twenty-third or twenty-fourth year. To attain the latter, wrestling is probably the best method extant....keep reading

[6 pages] It is well known that increased activity may enlarge skeletal muscle. Lamark has previously described this. Darwin and Heackel have paid such phenomenon particular attention, and we are indebted to A. Fick for his various far reaching observations and for the consequently formulated physiological laws....keep reading

[60 minutes]...keep reading

[84 pages] ...In this era of excessive information, do we really need to put pen to paper again? A series of words generally makes up a mes-sage; who is the message in this magazine for? Is it a magazine about sport? And why the continuous focus on strength?

We wanted to publish a magazine that contained all the knowledge and information that we had always hoped to find in other magazines or, more pretentiously, in library books and in literature. And this was no marketing blitz either; albeit a legitimate idea, it never crossed our minds, because if that were the case perspective, it would have been much simpler to produce a news bulletin rather than a magazine...

...keep reading

[3 pages] The carrying of a cane, or walking stick, is so much a fashion and is such a universal and ancient practice, that is would almost seem to be the survival of an instinct implanted by the habit or necessity of carrying some more substantial club for self-defence. The game of single-stick was formerly well known and practiced, and it is surprising that whilst all other branches of sport in and out doors, have their conspicuous positions in the world of athletics, the art of single-stick up to the present date is so little understood.

Single-stick practice has indeed fared even worse than the foil. Canes are carried just as much as ever by the sterner sex, but in the main they are merely carried as mute companions. The usefulness of the cane as a weapon is overlooked....keep reading

[22 pages] Exercise is essential in restoring function to muscles, weakened and atrophied as a result of injury and disease. Therapeutically, exercises may be classified according to the quality developed in the exercised muscle,-namely, power, endurance, speed, and coordination.Failure to discriminate between these classes of exercises leads to the employment of the wrong type of exercise to develop the quality needed in the muscle; inevitably the result is poor. Commonly the attempt is made to restore power by exercises to build endurance; this is a mistake. This paper deals with the redevelopment of muscle power, chiefly in the quadriceps, although some consideration will be given to other muscles....keep reading

[65 minutes] Tim "Red" Wakeham speaks on Elite Leadership at the 2017 Michigan State Spartan Strength Clinic....keep reading

[24 pages] The theory of progressive resistance is to work your body within its capacity, while gradually increasing the work load. As the poundages are increased. the size and strength of the muscle also increases. providing you have the proper nutrition and rest. There are definite limitations as to the amount of size and strength an individual will obtain due 10 the fact that we are all born with a certain number of muscle fibers. which vary from muscle to muscle. These numbers are different from person to person. It is these fibers which will determine how large our muscles grow, but with the application of the proper training principles you will reach your maximum limit which is within your heredity boundaries. One of the main hereditary aspects that causes most individuals to fail at achieving success in bodybuilding & powerlifting is the mental attitudes and habits that were instilled in them by their parents or other persuasive persons, in the formative years of the...keep reading

[1 page] This is the first of C. Ward Crampton's series of physical training articles which appeared in Boys' Life Magazine, starting with the January, 1934 issue....keep reading

[54 minutes] Coach Allan Johnson from East Tennessee State and his presentation on "Teaching Mental Toughness Through Training" at the 2017 Michigan State Spartan Strength Clinic....keep reading

[52 pages] We name this style of wrestling Icelandic because it had its origin in Iceland, and has never been practised, or even known, in other lands. The perfection to which it has been brought of recent years has proved it to be, in a very high degree, an exercise which gives health and endurance to the body, and is a real source of refreshment to the mind, while at the same time it sharpens the courage, smartness and intellect of those who take part in it. Its benefits, to some extent, were recognised in olden days, when the deceitful sword of the ancients had frequent use, and life and death were at stake. Many instances are on record, where weaponless men, on being attacked with a sword, rendered that weapon entirely useless, by getting a grip- as the hand was raised to strike, in some cases even wresting their sword from them, and despatching the enemy forthwith, "Gripping" was also resorted to in the event of a man losing his sword. This peculiar style of wrest...keep reading