The Very Best Physiques?

           When you look back on the legendary facets of Physical Culture, you’ll notice that some of the classic bodybuilders of their era had some of the greatest physiques even by today’s standards. These men didn’t just rely on bodybuilding, they also relied on their strength as well that was unheard of in that time especially since quite a number were strongmen.

            One of these very exceptional specimens was the great Eugene Sandow; he looked like he was carved from granite. Others that were like him had mighty biceps, powerful torsos and as some of them were also had narrow waists. In that day and age they were the object of perfection.

            A great way that some of these guys did to achieve that muscular, rugged and chiseled look was by bending tough steel, in this case; long bar bending. They took these lengthy pieces of steel and mold them into designs with their very own hands doing such shapes as a fish, paper clip and even clover leafs. It was jaw dropping for most people to believe that a man would have the guts to take steel and make it something into a form of art.

            This type of training alone required very intense pushing and pulling while the body moved in different directions during a particular bend. It is also one of the most intense forms of isometric contraction so the fatigue factor in the muscles is often equaled to at least an hour long workout although it would take as short as 10-20 min. to complete a bend.

            Jedd Johnson one of my friends in Physical Culture has become quite the expert in the art of Steel Bending. Although he has dabbed in conventional weight lifting, muscle building and strength workouts, he loves to bend steel with a passion. Here’s a list of the things he has bent over the years that would blow your mind and I’m not kidding you these are tough, rough and hard steel to even budge let alone complete….

-Frying Pans

-60D Penny Nails

-Horseshoes

-8 inch adjustable wrenches

-10+ ft long steel bars

Here’s a pic of Jedd himself doing what’s called a Scroll.

            He has also just released a powerful 2 DVD course that teaches you The Art Of Scrolling. These DVDs will show you the inside secrets to how the old-time strongmen were masters at this art. He shows you how to make beautiful designs with your bare hands and with strength you cannot get anywhere else.

            Along with fellow strongman and strength giant Bud Jeffries, they bent 6 different pieces of steel on this DVD series and donated them to a benefit for the daughter of of of Jedd’s old high school classmate who’s got a severe form of brain cancer and it was a huge hit. If you want to challenge yourself in a different format of strength training, this could be exactly what you’re looking for.

            Wouldn't it be awesome to feel the steel in your hands as it gives way in your wrath? Even if you have no desire to be a strongman you can still forge your body into a modern day Sandow filled to the brim with mighty muscle and iron cord-like tendons. Click Here To Find Out More.

            Remember now, this was just released so the price right at this minute is the lowest it’ll be for a short period of time. If you happen to live overseas you can get the course immediately by getting the digital download without the hassle of shipping costs or any of that customs stuff. Get The Art Of Scrolling today and never look at training the same way ever again.

Wrestling & The Golden Age Of Physical Culture

Before baseball was a major success, before football became the second national pastime, wrestling was the talk of the world. Even in the carnival ACT shows, wrestling was a way to make money whether by side bets or on a major bout in a small city. The most notable wrestlers of the day were Tom Jenkins, George Hackenshmidt, Frank Gotch and quite possibly the greatest of them all Ed “Strangler” Lewis. Wrestling as we all know is the oldest of sports and what better to help bring wrestling to the national spotlight then in the Industrial Revolution. It took more then these men to make a profit and matches were unpredictable as some lasted a few minutes to lasting a few hours.

 If there was ever a man long before Television swept the nation in America’s living rooms, he took wrestling to a height that only Hulk Hogan and Lou Thesz would achieve later in the century and that was George Hackenshmidt. A man born in Estonia, the most built developed man at that time and was considered to be at one point to another title, The World’s Strongest Man. Looking like he was carved from Granite, Hack sold out areas in Europe such as the London Opera House and in America drew one of the biggest crowds in Sports History wrestling Frank Gotch. By far one of the strongest competitors of that time but more importantly believe it or not one of the most conditioned. Hack lived and breathed exercise and wrestling as he build muscles and brains by writing a course that became his Magnum Opus: The Way To Live. Up until Hulk Hogan arrived, Hack was the guy that brought strength and muscle to the world of Professional Wrestling.

 Lou Thesz who was the most watched man in America in the early TV era, considered one man he didn’t question as the greatest of all-time (even though it’s still argued to this day) was a man who was known to beat anyone at any length of a match and whenever he wanted but still made a moniker as a boring defensive wrestler named Ed Lewis a.k.a Robert Julius Fredrick if I stand corrected. Although very well talented and could cripple any guy he faced, Lewis wasn’t all that of a offensive wrestler if history serves me right and he just didn’t do very well when drawing a crowd. During one match it lasted five and a half hours when spectators were expected to see a good hour of wrestling. Because of this notion, during the roaring twenties and the Depression of the 1930’s, the scientific style of wrestling became faded and the people needed excitement. With promoters and wrestlers alike they began doing performance matches which they don’t try to cripple each other but get the people in frenzy and this was the turning point from being a sport to becoming an entertainment spectacle.

 No matter what sport you love, there’s always going to the single greatest debate, “Who’s the greatest.” Wrestling is no different. During the Industrial Revolution, kids and athletes of all shapes and sizes flocked to YMCA’s and the early stages of Gymnasiums done by guys like Sig Klein’s gym in New York in the 30’s and also York Barbell Company along with a Health Club in Oakland, CA by a little known Physical Culturist and athlete himself Jack Lalanne. Wrestling for most people at that time and in Europe such as England, Germany, Ireland & Scotland honed their skills just to pass the time because of either money trouble, tension at home, odd jobs or even to become a professional. Back then, Wrestling gave you a sense of hope and to test your manhood of not only skill but character. A lot of great athletes came out as wrestlers at one time or another. Even big name Presidents were wrestlers in their lifetime like William Taft, Calvin Coolidge, Teddy Roosevelt and others but the most famous wrestler in the White House long before the Industrial Revolution was none other then Abraham Lincoln.

 Such big names during this era up until the TV era were names like Otto Arco, Gama, Hackenshimidt, Frank Gotch, Eugene Sandow, George F. Jowett, Tom Jenkins, The Mighty Atom Joseph Greenstein, Lou Thesz, Ed Lewis, Jim Londis, Toots Mont, Ad Santell, Stu Hart and many, many more. These men were the cornerstone before there was a WWE, WCW and ECW. The NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) was on the verge of becoming the top promoting company in the wrestling business at that time. Wrestling back then was far more real and scientific then the high flying, bloated up bodybuilding and chair swinging entertainment that it is today and wrestlers had to be in tip top shape and be able to go an hour or more in a match if they needed to.

 Money wasn’t a major deal at the time until Hack and Gotch came around and for them, they were practically the first two athletes to draw a major wrestling card as they had a series of Championship matches that lasted god knows how long but they kept at it until they had a final match in 1911 at Chicago’s brand new Comiskey Park where Hack lost another match to Frank Gotch.  Other then that unless it was in the Carnival shows, betting on a wrestler was as much a gamble as horseracing (maybe less). Side bets came left and right and most likely there were guys who took a fall to get a big payday like shaving points in a basketball or football game today. Like any gamble, there were guys who won and lost money on a good wrestler and very few great ones like Santel, Gotch and Jenkins ever lost a match before they ended up crippling their opponents. Like any athlete you want to bet on a man that is good, strong and intelligent in how he uses his opponents. Once the promoters began running shows in various cities around the country and the real style of wrestling faded, the gamble wore off and ticket profits became the stuff of legends.

 There are an extreme few wrestlers today that are as good, some better and some far less then the wrestlers of the past. If I had to name a few would be Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture, Dan Severn, Kurt Angle, Kazushi Sakuraba, Brock Lesnar and Matt Hughes that are keen wrestlers to tearing down their opponents, yes I realize a few of these names were in WWE at one time but seriously, I’m talking before they even talked to guys like Vince McMahon. Any wrestler whether in the WWE, UFC, King Of The Cage or even what use to be PRIDE in Japan should pay homage to those that came before them, learn their history, learn where they came from and how to model themselves after. It’s more worth while knowing your history then knowing your techniques. Knowledge is power, wisdom is strength, and conditioning & technique come last. Whoever is the greatest wrestler doesn’t matter and really shouldn’t ever matter, what does matter is what did you get out of learning from the best whether it’s from one wrestler or ten of them.

Historical Physical Culture

I believe that the real golden age of physical culture started with the industrial revolution and its first major superstar was Eugene Sandow. He was the Arnold Schwarzenegger of his day. He had strength beyond belief, can wrestle with the best of them and had one of the most powerful physiques of his generation next to the Russian lion himself George Hackenshmidt. During this time on till about the early 60's, the strongmen were the rockstars of their day. In the vaudeville era where theaters flourished with acts of all shapes and sizes ranging from acrobatics, magic, comedy and others but usually the Strongman got it's biggest applause of what they were capable of doing. Sure there were guys who faked lifts and certain stunts but the legit men and women put on a show that can still be talked about to this day.

One of the coolest things that these men did was challenge the audience to their special lifts and put up prize money to whoever can lift and handle it as good or better but safe to say, far too many tried and failed. One of the strongest men of all-time The Mighty Atom, had men of all shapes and sizes come up and try to bend one of his signature spikes and only a handful ever did it and one of them became his one and only student and he was dubbed the nickname, Slim The Hammerman. Atom and others just captivated audiences all over the world showcasing their unbelieveable strength. Some carried horses across the stage, some lifted elephants off the ground, others lifted weights from odd angles and even others would hold a weight in one arm and have a totally different type of apparatus in the other (e.g Barbell and kettlebell, look up Arthur Saxon).

Some still talk to this day about the great impact the old-timers gave and encouraged us to become strong, vibrant and powerful. Some old-timers however have been forgotten and were only mentioned by those who had seen them or read about. I don't believe for a second that those who had been forgotten were that at all, they were just lost in history until one learned how to find them again and there are a few who have done just that. Learning fitness and strength is really learning about our own history as there's information out there that are as good or better today then any modern method of the last 40-50 years. There really are secrets of how the old-timers trained for the things they've done and some of that info is lost in history but now you can find some of that lost treasure here.

I am a firm believer in old school bodybuilding and whether using weights or bodyweight alone, the old school ways are far better then the crap that's used today. Sure some modern methods are good but that's an extreme few. Bodybuilding today is bigger then life and it has its share of ups and downs and almost none of the men and women of today have a damn clue of what true bodybuilding is. In the old days (long before steroids) guys trained to get strong and used natural methods to put on muscle in ways that can never be reached today. If I had to choose between Ronnie Coleman and John Grimek i'd pick the latter. Unlike Coleman, Grimek had a physique that's still unmatched to this day and had the wicked strength to go with it. Sure Coleman is a strong mofo and can move weight as good as anyone but Grimek can actually move his body better. The point is, guys like Otto Arco, Maxick, Grimek and even Reg Park for that matter are the real deal of what it takes to get strong and powerful. Are they even close to the guys of today, hell f*cking no but its also vise versa, guys today interms of health, real strength, power and vibrancy are no where near guys like them.

Reg Park was really one of the first men of his era that showed he can have a powerful physique and the strength to back it up. He was the first bodybuilder to bench press 500 lbs. That was unheard of at that time and the bench press itself was itching its way to becoming a synonum for what someone's strength is. I believe that Park and Bill Pearl were the last of the all-natural bodybuilders that had real world-class strength to back up their physique. They can lift, they can pose, they did it all without ever needing steroids or PED's. They ate good, they trained hard and were actually healthy. Reg Park was the man that got the great Schwarzenegger himself on the track to becoming the most famous bodybuilder of all-time.

In all fairness you don't need steroids to become strong and powerful. The physique stars of the early era didn't need them cause they weren't around then and still don't really need them for that purpose. Media has really to blame whats wrong with how one looks. If you want to be a bodybuilder today, you need steroids, if you want to get ahead in sports, you do steroids, you want a quick fix, you take steroids its all real bullsh*t. Yes genetics play factors but that doesn't give you an excuse to build the body you want naturally. Usually these days if one looks a very muscular guy there's at least 2 things on his mind, "He must be on roids" or "he was born to be that big." I don't always believe either one of those things. Look at guys like Maxick, Charles Atlas an others, if you saw them before they got strong you would've thought they were swizzle sticks just waiting to get their ass kicked and never had a chance in hell of having a phenomenal physique. Maxick was a sick child and didn't have much to look forward to as he was tol he was too weak, too frail to do the simplest activities yet he became one of the first 3 men in history to officially lift more then double bodyweight in the overhead press and had the some of the very best muscle control that no one was close to duplicating. Charles Atlas was a 97 lb weak teenager who would be the target for mos of the bullies in his neighborhood and once had a girlfriend who left him for s tronger guy yet managed to put on nearly 100 lbs of muscle in a few short years and was crowned the most perfectly developed man twice.

Never assume that one is strong because you think they were born that way. In my opinion, the old school methods of physical culture are far better for you health wise compared to the crap used today. Learn your history and find that it doesn't take a whole lot to learn how to be strong. Work hard, create goals, imagine yourself being strong and muscular eat good and use basic principles. Its easy to learn now as it was back then. Let me ask you this, if you didn't have your chrome and fern gyms, your little bity weights and your machines, how would you be able to turn your body into from a weak state to a muscular state? You'd be surprised on what you can find.