The quest for greater size has long plagued both the 'hard gainer' and the muscle bound hunk. At times it can seem that the need to ingest greater calories is almost as taxing as our workouts. A predicament that John McCallum, the focus of today's article, was keen to address. As you'll read below, McCallum devised … Continue reading John McCallum ‘Get Big Drink’
Better known as Rheo H. Blair, Irvin Johnson was one of the foremost bodybuilding nutritionists of the 1950s and 60s. Producing one of the most sought after protein powders in the Iron Game, Blair was lauded for his nutritional knowhow and ability to achieve seemingly unbelievable weight gain amongst his clients. Bearing that in mind, … Continue reading Irvin Johnson’s Scientific Body Building and Nutrition Course (1951)
One of bodybuilding's most perplexing problems is deciding on how many repetitions. In recent years there has been a tendency to standardise the number to around ten, as this is felt to provide the best combination for muscular bulk, strength and stamina. Not too many years ago the guiding rule was low reps for bulk, … Continue reading Ivan Dunbar, How Many Reps Makes the Champion? (1964 Health & Strength Article)
One of the most maligned exercises of recent decades has been the military press done behind the neck. Owing it is said to the undue stress this exercise places on the shoulder joints, lifters have been advised to avoid this technique at all costs. I, for many years, was one of those lifters. Not only … Continue reading Forgotten Exercises: The Bradford Press
The following extract comes from a fascinating twelve page pamphlet I recently got my hands on. Written by the Strongman and Powerlifter Bill Kazmier, the pamphlet details everything a budding strength enthusiast needs to learn to perform on the platform. Over the next few weeks we'll be dissecting Kazmier's advice for the Squat, Deadlift and the Bench Press. In the meantime, … Continue reading Bill Kazmier, ‘Competitive Squatting Style and Techniques’ from Bill Kazmier, The Squat and Deadlift (Crain Power-Plus, 1981)
1946, Montreal, the International Federation of Bodybuilding is founded by the Weider brothers before a contest held at the Monument National. This federation will be the Weiders' first step towards gaining supremacy in the bodybuilding world - this however, did not go unopposed. Conflict Releasing the first issue of Santé et Développement Physique in 1946, fitness … Continue reading A French-Canadian Bodybuilding Federation
One point that always fascinates me about training is the sheer diversity one finds when it comes to training systems, exercises and training philosophies. What works for one trainee can prove pointless to another. No matter how good the programme, it often has to be tailored towards the individual, and indeed, we often find that … Continue reading Bob Gajda’s Peripheral Heart Action (PHA) Training
