Thursday, January 28, 2010
Spalding's Athletic Library: Indian Club ExercisesA look at a vintage Indian Club training course, put out by Spalding about a hundred years ago. The Spalding Company put out dozens of similar booklets highlighting tips and techniques for the many types of equipment they once featured in their catalog - Indian Clubs obviously being among them.
Labels: Edward B. Warman, Indian Club Book, INdian Club Exercises, Spalding, Spalding Indian Clubs, Training Course
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, January 11, 2010
The York Cable Course No. 2The York Barbell Company produced many training courses over the years, and among them, several for getting stronger with "Cables" (or chest expanders, or strands ~ whatever you are more comfortable in calling them). Here's a look at York Cable Course No. 2 which covers all the bases pretty well.
Labels: Cable Course, Cable Training, Chest Expander Course, Chest Expanders, Training Course, York Barbell
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Friday, December 11, 2009
Lung and Muscle Culture by Paul Von BoeckmannA look at Paul Von Boeckmann's highly unique Lung and Muscle Culture Course. His big thing was Breathing Gymnastics in relation to muscular development. This certainly makes a lot of sense, the more oxygen you can get to the muscles, the stronger they will be. Also of note is the fact that this is the 12th edition - most strength books rarely make it to a second reprinting.
Labels: Breathing Exercises, Deep Breathing, Mail Order Course, Muscle Culture, Paul Von Boeckmann, Training Course
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Bruno Course Here's a look at the cover of the incredibly rare "Bruno Course of Bodybuilding" authored by the Living Legend himself, Bruno Sammartino. You can see by Bruno's thick bone structure that he was a man built for some major horsepower but don't forget that he still had to work for his strength.
In the Bruno Course, he covers a dozen or so basic exercises which were his favorites, some "weight" exercises, some bodyweight movements and some conditioning. - simple, but highly effective. You can read more about The Bruno Course in "The Dellinger Files Volume I"
Labels: Basic Exercises, Bruno Sammartino, Cover, Professional Wrestling, The Bruno Course, The Bruno Course of Bodybuilding, Training Course, Wrestler
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, August 31, 2009
The York Leg Developing Course"A man is as good as his legs" ... so began one of the all-time classic training booklets: "The York Leg Developing Course" written by Bob Hoffman. Originally written back in 1943, the training information is just as pertinent -- and effective -- these days. As you might guess, squats were prominently featured.
Labels: Bob Hoffman, John Grimek, Leg Development, Leg Work, Leg Workout, Squat, Training Course, York Barbell Company, York Leg Course, York Leg Developing Course
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
The York Hand Balancing CourseIt took a couple years but I finally tracked down an extremely rare copy of the York Hand Balancing Course. It was well worth the wait, you wouldn't believe what's in there.
I believe that it was written by Bob Jones. We may actually reprint the York Hand Balancing Course at some point in the near future.
Labels: Bob Jones, Hand Balancing, Training Course, York Hand Balancing Course
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, April 02, 2009
You Can Bench Press 400 lbs. by "Big" Bill AntonReaders of the classic Iron Man Magazine will no doubt remember this ad, it ran there for years. I've never actually seen "Big" Bill's course and I'm wondering how it is. Pretty good I suspect. The 13th man in the world to bench press over 400 pounds can't be wrong!
Labels: 400 Bench Press, Advertisement, Bench Press, Big Bill Anton, Iron Man Magazine, Mail Order Course, Training Course
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Bob Hoffman's Simplified System of Swingbell TrainingBob Hoffman and the York Barbell Company produced a number of books, courses and training guides featuring their equipment. This course, written for the York swingbell was written during the early 1940s. You can make your own swingbell pretty easily out of a dumbbell handle and some plates.
Labels: Bob Hoffman, swingbell, Swingbell Exercises, Swingbell Training, Training Course, York Barbell, York Barbell Company
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
How to Bent Press by Sig KleinIf there ever were someone qualified to teach the bent press it was Sig Klein. He wrote this nifty little training guide in the 30's. Copies are pretty hard to come by.
Labels: Bent Press, How to Bent Press, Sig Klein, Training Course
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Friday, December 26, 2008
 The York Hand Balancing Course | The name York Barbell is synonymous with freeweights -- barbells, dumbbells and the like, but they were all about "Strength" in all its many forms. Hand Balancing was, of course, a very popular method of training even with the typical "barbell" man. Articles with hand balancing techniques regularly appeared in Strength and Health Magazine. And, as many past champions demonstrated, hand balancing was a good method for improving one's barbell overhead press. An advertisement for the York Hand Balancing course is shown at the left. |
Labels: Advertisement, Hand Balancing, Strength and Health, Training Course, York Barbell, York Hand Balancing Course
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, July 27, 2008
| Here's an ad for a training course you won't be seeing anytime soon: The Kings of Arm Strength by George R. Weaver and David P. Willoughby This course has all the great ones and covers a variety of feats for building bigger and stronger arms: hand balancing,card tearing, horse shoe breaking and many more... I'm fortunate enough to own a copy (and no, it isn't for sale.) This was actually Weaver and Willoughby's second course on arm building with the first titled: Powerful Arms for You. |  The King's of Arm Strength by George Weaver |
Labels: Arm Strength, Card Tearing, David Willoughby, George R. Weaver, Hand Balancing, Horseshoe Bending, The Kings of Arm Strength, Training Course
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
| The well-known bodybuilder John McWilliams wrote his own arm development course entitled "Big Arms for You" which he advertised in Iron Man Magazine for years. As you can see, his arms were quite impressive. -- McWilliams wasn't all show though, he also had a 710 pound deadlift to his name. |  John McWilliams - Big Arms For You |
Labels: Arm Development, Bicep Exercise, Bicep Workout, Big Arms, Bodybuilder, Bodybuilding, Deadlift, Golden Age Bodybuilder, Iron Man Magazine, John McWilliams, Strength Author, Training Course
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Friday, January 04, 2008
| "The Most important muscles of the body and also the most neglected are the muscles of the mid-section." ... That's how the York Abdominal course begins, and I agree. Bob Hoffman and the York Barbell Company produced several training courses like this one and they are all classics. That's John Grimek on the cover, using the York abdominal board for situps. |  The York Abdominal Course |
Labels: John Grimek, Training Course, York Abdominal Course, York Barbell Company
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The York Big 12 SpecialThis is the weight set that helped put a lot of muscle on a lot of people - The York Big 12 Special as advertised on the back of the June, 1952 issue of Strength and Health Magazine.
That's Jack Delinger (Mr. America, 1949) on the left, and John Farbotnik (Mr. America, 1950) on the right.
This set included 240 pounds of barbell plates, long barbell bar, short dumbbell/swingbell bar, health boots, a head strap for building neck strength, wrist roller, kettlebell handles, collars and four York training courses (York Dumbbell course 1 & 2, Leg Development and Swing Bar Training.)
Labels: Barbell, Big 12 Special, Collars, head strap, Iron Boots, Jack Dellinger, John Farbotnik, kettlebell handles, Mr. America, swingbell, Training Course, Training Equipment, wrist roller, York Barbell
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
 All About Strand-Pulling by Syd Devis | It took me three years to find a copy of All About Strand-Pulling by Syd Devis but it was well worth the wait. Many chest expander training courses feature some of the same exercises over and over again -- this one features several unusual chest expander exercises that I had never seen in print before. Syd Devis was the retired undefeated Professional 9 stone & 10 stone World's Champion Strand Puller, Record Holder and Technical Adviser to the British Amateur Strand-Pulling Association. |
All About Strand-Pulling Labels: Chest Expander, Oldtime Strongman, Strand Pulling, Syd Devis, Training Course
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
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