Bernarr Macfadden Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Nat Pendleton on The Cover of Physical Culture

Posted on Monday, March 1st, 2021 by John Wood

Nat Pendleton was a fantastic college wrestler at Columbia University (team captain and 2x EIWA Champion, 1914-15) who went on to take the Silver medal in Heavyweight class the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. (He was defeated by Robert Roth of Switzerland in a match that many say Pendleton really won.)

After that, Pendleton went to Hollywood and landed many bit parts and minor roles, typically thugs, gangsters, and policemen due to his imposing muscular stature. Pendleton stuck with it in Hollywood and rather amazingly, parlayed this into some fairly substantial roles. Of particular note to those with Iron Game interest, Pendleton portrayed Eugen Sandow in the movie The Great Ziegfeld (1935) and another very Sandow-like strongman character (known as Goliath) in the 1939 Marx Brothers movie “At the Circus.”

Above, Pendleton was featured on the cover and interview in the May, 1940 issue of Bernarr MacFadden’s “Physical Culture” magazine. As you can see, Pendleton didn’t miss many workouts and his condition would certainly still be impressive today.

Card-Tearing as a Feat of Strength

Posted on Friday, February 5th, 2021 by John Wood

Card Tearing as a Feat of Strength made the cover of the December, 1906 issue of Bernarr MacFadden’s Physical Magazine. We’ll probably reproduce the accompanying article at some point. In the meantime, if you would like to learn the finer points on the traditional feat of strength of ripping a deck of cards in half, our good friend and Grandmaster Strongman Dennis Rogers has a step by step course which comes as a bonus with issue #6 of the John Wood Report.

Ed Jubinville

Posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2018 by John Wood

Ed Jubinville from Holyoke, Massachusetts, took up physical training after becoming inspired by an article about Eugen Sandow in Bernarr MacFadden’s Physical Culture Magazine. In fact, his first workouts were with a couple of bricks. Shortly afterward he began training with more conventional equipment at the B-6 Weightlifting Club run by Armand LaMarr… and it was Armand LaMarr who first taught him Muscle Control. Around this time, Ed also happened upon the writings of Mark Berry which he lists as being very influential.

With a solid foundation in proper weightlifting and a knowledgeable teacher, Ed Jubinville went on to become one of the greatest Muscle control experts the world had ever seen. You can read a very interesting anecdote on Ed Jubinville’s Muscle control act in The Dellinger Files Vol. I.

Rethinking Thin by Gina Kolata

Posted on Saturday, October 14th, 2017 by John Wood

Recommended Reading:
Rethinking Thin by Gina Kolata

Gina Kolata first showed up on my radar about ten years back thanks to her excellent book ULTIMATE FITNESS which should be required reading for anyone with an interest in the history of the fitness movement from the ancient Greeks through the 18th and early 19th centuries and up through some of the crazy things that are commonplace today.

A few years later, Kolata decided to tackle nutritional topics with the same fervor, in RETHINKING THIN.

As you might guess, we get a lot of questions about diet, nutrition, losing body fat etc. and this book should be a perfect place to find some answers in an industry that is, to use a technical term, “nuts.”

In order to understand the ideas and rationale behind many of the nutritional beliefs that are commonplace today, it is necessary to analyze how and where they came from in the first place and this is the type of information that you’ll find in this book.

For example, how does the results of the Atkins diet compare with the traditional, standard, low-calorie, low-fat diet? You’ll find the some of the surprising results of that analysis in the Prologue.

Here’s a look at some of the other interesting topics that are covered in its pages:

CHAPTER I: Looking for Diets in All The Wrong Places

The results of the first federally funded diet study at the Universities of Pennsylvania, Colorado and Washington University in St. Louis … Where the current dietary guidelines came from … How spousal involvement can affect weight loss … An in-depth look at how Dr. Atkins and his diet got started … A brief history of weight loss drugs (and the unfortunate aftermath)…

CHAPTER II: Epiphanies and Hucksters

Dietary Fads … A look back at 19th century dietary advice … What the Ancient Greeks had to say about diets and nutrition … Unusual (albeit non-recommended) weight-loss advice from the 1800’s … The simple technique that one man used to easily lose over 50 pounds of fat back in 1884 … The rise of Fletcherism … The cautious beginnings of the Vegetarian diet … A look at early diet and cook books and the advice they contained … The first weight loss contest… The beginnings of Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, the Beverly Hills Diet, The Scarsdale Diet and the South Beach Diet

ONE MONTH

One month into the Penn Study … The good weeks and bad weeks and good ideas and bad ideas … Willpower … Solutions to common problems?

CHAPTER III: Oh, to Be as Thin as Jennifer Aniston (or Brad Pitt)

American ideas on body image … A look at cultural ideals and the realities of beauty pageant winners through the ages … The University of Florida obesity study … Popular media and attitudes on the overweight … Ideals … The Gibson Girl … Bernarr MacFadden jumps in

TWO MONTHS

Two months into the Penn Study … Behavioral modification “tricks” … Dealing with stress

CHAPTER IV: A Voice in the Wilderness

Obesity research … The mental side of weight loss … “Is obesity a mental disorder?” … Attitudes in and out of North America … The role of emotional content

THREE MONTHS

Three months into the Penn Study … The “Magic” Number for weight loss success … Results of the low-calorie group … Discipline … Does counting calories really work?

CHAPTER V: A Drive to Eat

The results of the WWII-era Minnesota Weight-Loss Study … The origin of the Mediterranean Diet … SHOCKING results … “Are vegetarian diets good for preventing heart disease?” … What happens to fat cells as people lose weight? … The prison study … What determines whether someone will be fat or thin? … Identical twin studies

FIVE MONTHS

Five months into the Penn Study … “Are there social cues that trigger eating?” … Planning ahead

CHAPTER VI: Insatiable, Voracious Appetites

What makes you want to east? … What goes on in the brain … A unique case from 1901 … The eating control center … The roles of the pituitary and hypothalamus … A breakthrough from an unlikely source … Genetic factors … Calories over the long term

SIX MONTHS

Six months into the Penn Study … Free will … Struggles … “What went wrong?” … The mind-brain divide

CHAPTER VII: The Girl Who Had no Leptin

An unusual case of obesity “lore” … The discovery of Leptin … Why some people are naturally fatter than others … Other adventures in hormones … Problems with common methods … Obesity in children

TEN MONTHS

Ten months into the Penn Study … Thin clothes and Fat clothes … Stalled weight loss … Losing the iron will … Why exercise alone is not enough

CHAPTER VIII: The Fat Wars

Answering the “Why?” question … What kind of control you have-and don’t have … What scientific truths are ignored? … Society, politics, hopes and dreams … A meta-analysis of the obesity world … West Virginia and obesity statistics … What is and is not making a difference in American body weights … Sounding the obesity alarm … Cultural resonance … The National Institute of Health study … The social pressure to do something … Debating the health risks of being overweight … Liposuction

TWO YEARS

Two years into the Penn Study … Atkins diet aftermath … “Normal” weight … Lessons

EPILOGUE

Drumbeats … Weight loss psychology … “What have we gained/learned” Misconception and other diet book tactics … Soft drinks … End notes

NOTE: we do not sell this title. Click here to get your copy of RETHINKING THIN from Amazon.com (at an amazingly cheap price, I might add.)

Robert B. Snyder

Posted on Monday, November 28th, 2016 by John Wood

There have been more than a few great strongmen who are not giants. A perfect example is Robert B. Snyder of Hagerstown, Maryland. As a boy he was inspired by the strongman from the Forepaugh & Sells circus and began training by lifting barrels and stones. He also taught himself hand balancing – something which he would become exceptionally good at.

At the age of 14 (weighing 116 pounds) Snyder lifted his first barbell — a MILO barbell owned by a local strongman. Shortly afterward, Snyder began following MILO barbell course #1 and showed tremendous improvement… so much so that he was featured in Bernarr MacFadden’s Physical Culture Magazine as well as Alan Calvert’s STRENGTH Magazine.

At his heaviest, Snyder weighed only 139 pounds yet was incredibly strong easily performing multiple one-arm chins with each hand as well as lifting poundages well above bodyweight. Above, Snyder performs the one-arm get up lift with a human weight.

MacFadden’s Headstands

Posted on Friday, March 6th, 2015 by John Wood

Here’s Bernarr MacFadden standing on his head around eighty years of age. MacFadden followed a daily exercise routine his entire life and headstands were always included – he believed that being in an inverted position helped his brainpower! Macfadden was a bit of a nut on many topics but he may be on to something there…

MacFadden’s Muscle Builder, July, 1926

Posted on Sunday, January 18th, 2015 by John Wood

Here’s one NOT to try at home: Daredevil Kurizo hangs precariously by his fingertips off a building ledge in New York City (looks like about twenty stories up.) This was the cover of the July, 1926 issue of Bernarr MacFadden’s Muscle Builder magazine (also the very last issue.)

Bernarr MacFadden: “Why Strength Spells Success”

Posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2014 by John Wood

Bernarr Macfadden: The Father of Physical Culture

WHY STRENGTH SPELLS SUCCESS

“You Must have strength of body.

You cannot have too much strength. The more you feel like a strong man the more you can achieve in the desired direction.

All successful men are, and have been, men of tremendous energy. Their achievements have been simply the expression of the vitality and nerve force which can no more be repressed than the power of an engine when it has once been liberated.

The average individual goes through life without living. In other words, he scarcely exists.

A vital man is at all times thoroughly alive. The forces of life seems to imbue every party of his organism with energy, activity and all characteristics opposed to things inanimate.

A vital man is naturally enthusiastic. He can hardly avoid being ambitious. And consequently Success, with all its splendid rewards, comes to such a man in abundance. Life to such a man should be resplendent with worthy achievements.

In other words, it is our first duty to be men, strong and splendid, health and perfect, if we are desirous of securing life’s most gratifying prizes.

Why not be alive, vital, vivacious? Why not be alert, keen, energetic, enthusiastic, ambitious, bubbling over with fiery ardor.

The possession of these vibratory forces proves ones physical development has closely app- roached perfection. To such vital individuals life opens up opportunities that are almost countless.

Do not be satisfied with existence. If life is worth anything, it is worth living in every sense of the word.”

~ Bernarr Macfadden’s Muscle Builder Magazine, October, 1925

Abe Boshes

Posted on Sunday, December 1st, 2013 by John Wood

To provide additional proof that one can be impressive without being “huge” here is the famous Brooklyn strongman Abe Boshes. Boshes stood 5’3″ at a bodyweight of around 150 pounds and was very well-known for his shoulder development (which was obviously a big contributor to his stature.) Boshes did quite a bit of training with chest expanders.

Boshes could bent-press around 220 lbs for a single and a 100 lb. dumbbell 18 times in succession. In the early 1900’s, he won a contest put on by Bernarr MacFadden and the fame from doing so allowed him to travel the country on the Vaudeville circuit. Like many strongmen of the time he also did some wrestling.

Physical Culture Magazine: April, 1906

Posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2013 by John Wood

A look at the cover of Bernarr MacFadden’s Physical Culture Magazine from April of 1906. Macfadden’s arm graces the cover and while his methods were unconventional (even by today’s standards) they were certainly effective.