The Noble Heritage... Physical Culture - By Bob Whelan

Reprinted with permission of Hardgainer, (May-June 1999)

Joe Aben doing a set of front squats at WST.


The key to building natural strength is dedicated effort, and not just in the gym. Although there are surely vast differences in individual genetics, I know of no one who has not made tremendous gains over the long haul if they truly paid their dues. Many people “micro-manage” their training and worry overly about minor things, but somehow overlook the main issue—consistent dedication. Many assume that they are dedicated when, in fact, they are not. Some assume that they are dedicated just because they avidly read about strength training. But if you were to ask them what they ate yesterday, or how much sleep they got, or how they are actually progressing in their training, you’ll frequently receive only excuses.

Dedication in natural strength training is best defined by the old-time term “Physical Culture.” You don’t hear this term too often anymore because it encompasses a way of life. It’s not an end result, a trophy or a bodypart measurement, but a total lifestyle commitment. It’s about how you live your life “in the dark” when no one is watching you. It’s dedication to a 24-hour day philosophy, not just what you do in the gym. Most of the old-timers had this Physical Culture philosophy. They cared about health as much as strength. Just look at the old magazine titles. Today, it seems to me that most strong men couldn’t care less about health. Steroid use is rampant, and you’ll find many strong men smoking cigarettes and using recreational drugs too. They are no more dedicated to health than the average citizen.

Vic Boff is a good friend of mine, and we sometimes burn up the phone lines for hours. He’s a wealth of knowledge and has endless stories about the old-timers. He personally knew many of them, and was very close with Sig Klein and George Jowett. No one hates steroids more than Vic Boff; and no one hates more than he does what has happened to the Iron Game as a result of steroids.

To build muscle naturally you have to do the hard exercises, be mentally tough, get enough sleep, eat the right foods and avoid the wrong foods, and sweat buckets for years and years. It takes dedication to do it the right way. You have to love it to be able to stick with it for decades; but the long-term rewards make it all worthwhile.

Building muscle on “tuna and baked potatoes” is a lot slower than building it on steroids. Undedicated phonies can build muscle fast on steroids, but they lose it fast and die young too. To me, a true champion lives a dedicated life of Physical Culture in the spirit of our founding fathers. Vic, for example, puts health first and has lived his life as a dedicated Physical Culture disciple. How many of today’s “Mr. Something” drug-using bodybuilding “stars” will be the picture of health, strong, full of energy, and sharp as a tack like Vic when they get into their eighties? Not many, if any.

Almost every month I hear of another former bodybuilding star, or athlete, who is either dying from steroid use, or who recently died prematurely. And yet these are the guys that many of the ignorant and misinformed masses have looked to for training advice. Thank God for Hardgainer and the few other good training magazines that provide truthful information for drug-free trainees.

We have much more information today about health than our forefathers had, and we should be held to higher standards because of it. Some of the old-timers had bad habits, but overall they were dedicated to health based on the information they had available at the time. Most of the (few) unhealthy things they did were done unknowingly. Today there’s no excuse.

I give a two hour Physical Culture orientation to all my regular clients (who are not just visitors), and this is done before any weights are lifted. I stress dedication, commitment to health, as well as strength. I’ve put the basic framework of the orientation into a tongue-in-cheek “Ten Commandments” format—the “Whelan Strength Training Commandments.”

Whelan Strength Training Commandments

1. Thou shalt train for strength, whole-body fitness and health; and do cardiovascular exercise and flexibility training as well as strength training.

2. Thou shalt not smoke, take illegal drugs or abuse legal drugs.

3. Thou shalt not use steroids or assist anyone in obtaining them.

4. Thou shalt be mentally focused and give 100% effort at every training session.

5. Thou shalt strive for progressive resistance, using good form, without excessive rest between sets, and use the fullest (but safe) range of motion possible.

6. Thou shalt primarily focus on the basic compound strength training movements—multi-joint, not isolation—and train the whole body with equal emphasis on pushing and pulling. The training foundation is overhead pushing/pulling, horizontal pushing/pulling, and leg, hip and back pushing/pulling.

7. Thou shalt not seek shortcuts, miracle formulas or gimmicks, but instead stick to basic and sound information concerning training and nutrition, such as Hardgainer, Brawn, Beyond Brawn and The Insider’s Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique.

8. Thou shalt perform hard progressive strength training, and not toning, shaping, or bodysculpting.

9. Thou shalt not train “bodyparts” but train the whole body (hard) usually about twice every 7-10 days.

10. Thou shalt not rely on mega-hype muscle mags for training or nutritional advice.

All of my clients get a copy of this, and even though it’s in a humorous format, the rules are taken very seriously. I have, for example, expelled people from my facility who lied when they told me that they were non-smokers. I don’t want these types, and usually get rid of them over the phone. I have had many requests for the “WST Commandments,” and so have included them in this article.

Bodyparts training and natural training don’t mix

Most people who train “bodyparts” (not the whole body) confuse “training” with “going to the gym.” They somehow believe that by going into a building called “the gym” they will get bigger and stronger. They rarely talk about intensity or how hard they worked, but instead talk about being in a building. They brag about how long they are “in the gym,” and how often they “go to the gym.” They believe that by training “bodyparts,” and thus spending more time “in the gym,” they will get better results. They are usually unsophisticated beginners who feel more advanced just because they train in a bodyparts format. They don’t realize that bodyparts training has been around for decades and is nothing new.

Guys who “go to the gym” usually spend more time talking (about sports and politics, for example), and socializing at the water fountain, than they do training. That’s why they are there for three hours! They take a ten-minute rest between sets, and usually bench press with several other people. Their bench press workout alone takes 45 minutes. These guys rarely even break a sweat!

It’s almost impossible to train bodyparts without overtraining from “muscle overlap.” You can’t put the major multi-joint exercises into neat, separate categories. The bench press, for example, does not hit just the chest, but front delts and triceps. The machine pullover, termed the “upper-body squat” by Arthur Jones, works almost every muscle in the upper body. What category do you put it in? The truth is that if you train bodyparts 5-6 days per week, you’re either on drugs or are not working hard—you take long rests between sets, and your workout is filled with easy exercises such as triceps kickbacks, cable crossovers, lateral raises, flyes, leg extensions, etc.; and you don’t do squats, deadlifts, chins, rows, military presses, etc.

If you train hard, and are natural, you can’t train bodyparts 5-6 days per week. If you train hard, whole body, you’ll be physically unable to train more than twice every 7-10 days. Anyone who does not believe this can come for a free workout. It would be my pleasure to “convince” him.

“Look of power”

Dr. Ken and others have written articles about “the look of power.” You don’t get the look of power unless you do the heavy compound exercises—the ones which require lots of recovery time for natural guys. Dr. Ken described this well when he stated that people who do bodyparts training look like they are just a “collection of bodyparts” that don’t seem to fit together. When you have the look of power you’re thick and look strong from any angle. Even if you have a raincoat on you still look thick and strong.

The look of power means thickness in the back, traps, glutes, legs, neck and whole body, not just arms and chest. If people only know that you “lift weights” when you have a tank top on, you don’t have the look of power. The look of power can’t be hidden. It has nothing to do with cuts or definition, but size and thickness. If you have the look of power, then no matter what oversize baggy sweatshirt you have on, you’ll still look powerful.

It’s no accident that bodyparts training and drug use grew together and are from the same roots. Most people get innocently sucked into bodyparts training without realizing it. The truth is that “bodyparts routines” are usually “drug routines” (or “wimp routines”) and are not effective for the average drug-free trainee.

I love to get “bodyparts types” to train with me, especially if they have a cocky attitude. If they say things like, “Are you sure that twice a week will be enough?” I go out of my way to change their thinking.

To do this, I’ll have them spend the first workout doing heavy high-rep leg work for twenty minutes—and they usually don’t last even that long. If they do, I keep them going with little rest between sets doing nothing but the hard stuff, to failure; and they finish with the sandbag carry (if they last that long). This is strictly an attitude-adjustment workout, and is only used for “special” people.

When people come in with a really good attitude, and listen, then I start them much slower and pick up the intensity over a period of time, to build up conditioning progressively.

The smart ass types usually last only about twenty minutes of an attitude-adjustment workout, and are then laying on the floor. They are usually amazed at how soaked in sweat they are, and how tired. I then love to ask them, “Do you think we hit your biceps and back enough? Why don’t you come back tomorrow?” They never do, and are usually too sore and tired to think about training for at least three or four days, the way it should be.

SUPER STRENGTH (Circa 1924) - Chapter 7 - The Abdominal Muscles - By Alan Calvert

At the present time the development of the abdominal muscles has become almost a fad with some physical culturists. If you pick up a magazine devoted to exercises you are almost sure to find some pictures showing young men with their bodies bent forward so as to make the muscles in the front of the abdomen stand out in ridges.
Since the muscles along the front of the abdomen are fastened at top to the breast-bone, and at the bottom to the bones of the pelvis, it follows that contraction of these muscles bends the body forward and brings the chest closer to the knees.

I can see the importance of these abdominal muscles, but I think that no man would cultivate them and leave his back-muscles neglected. Eugene Sandow, who "started" so many other things, is responsible for the craze for abdominal development. The muscles on the front of his abdomen were phenomenal; but not a bit more phenomenal than the muscles on his back. Up to the time that he made his debut as a vaudeville performer, it was customary for a professional "Strong Man" to work in a high-necked jersey; and as these men never stripped or did muscle-poses in a lighted cabinet, the people who saw their acts never got a chance to see the remarkable development of the abdominal muscles which many of them possessed.

In a real "Strong Man" the muscles on the front of the abdomen should be plainly visible when the body is held erect. It should not be necessary to bend the body over, as in Fig. 34, in order to make these muscles noticeable. If you look at the picture of Sandow in Fig. 35, you can trace the outline of the abdominal muscles; even though in this pose, he is actually leaning slightly backwards. In his case, these muscles were so noticeable that out of a hundred people who saw him pose, ninety-nine would remember the development of his abdominal muscles, where only one would notice the wonderful cables of muscle along either side of his spine.

As a rule, I can say that most men and boys who take up body-building exercise end up by having a better development on the front of their bodies than on the back of their bodies. This is due to their constant habit of standing in front of a mirror and studying their own development. It is easy for them to see the outline of the muscles on the chest, those on the front of the abdomen and the muscles on the front of the thighs. They see the width of the calves of the legs, and if it seems insufficient, they will do exercises to make the calves wider, forgetting that the important thing is to make the calves deep from front to back. Similarly, they will work hard to make the thighs look wider and never once think of the vitally important muscles on the back of the thigh, which they never see in the mirror. Worst of all, they do far more exercises for the muscles on the breast and on the front of the abdomen, than for the muscles on the back of the body.

I am not trying to discourage the developing of the abdominal muscles, but to make you realize their place and proportion in your whole muscular get-up.

Anyone who has practiced even the simplest kinds of exercise is familiar with the two usual exercises which develop the abdominal muscles. In both exercises you lie flat on the back. In one of them you raise the legs to a perpendicular position; and in the other you keep the legs on the floor by placing a weight across the ankles, and then you bring the body to a perpendicular position. The first exercise, where you raise the legs, seems to develop the lower part of the abdominal muscles; that is, the part in the neighborhood of the groin. In the other exercise, where you raise the body, most of the work is done by the upper fibres, where they attach to the breast-bone. (If a fat man carries most of the surplus flesh around the hips, he should practice raising the legs; but if most of the surplus is on the upper part of the abdomen, he should practice the other variation.) But these two exercises are merely "kindergarten stuff," and they have no place in the training-schedule of the super-strong. They are so easy that men have been known to bring the body to the perpendicular position 2000 times in succession; and almost anyone can, in a few weeks' practice, learn to repeat either movement from 25 to 50 times. Anyone who can do that much, can safely start doing the body-raising movement while holding a weight at the back of the beck, as in Fig. 36. The beginner can start with 10 or 15 lbs., and he will find that he can increase quite rapidly, and that it soon becomes no more trouble to do the exercise with 50 lbs. than it formerly was with 15 lbs. When he gets this far along, he should adopt a more strenuous method. (In some of our cities no candidate is accepted for the police-force unless he can do this exercise with 40 lbs.)

The next step in abdominal development is to sit on a bench or a chair and then lean back and pick up a light bar-bell, rest it on the upper-chest, and bring the body back to a sitting position. Naturally, the feet have to fastened to the floor, and the customary thing is to either put the toes under a strap or else to put the insteps under a heavy bar-bell. This variation should not be attempted until it is easy to use 50 lbs. in the preceding method, and then you should start on the chair with 10 or 15 lbs. When you can make several repetitions with 50 lbs., it is time for you to graduate into Roman-chair or Roman-column work.

Now we are coming to really advanced abdominal exercises. In all the previous variations, where you rest the body, your weight has been supported at the hips and all the bending has been done from the hip-joint. In the Roman-chair and Roman-column work, the support is at the knees, which makes it much more difficult; because, for one thing, the leverage is longer, and for another thing, the work is shared between the abdominal muscles and the muscles of the hips and thighs. Of the two kinds of apparatus, the column is much preferable. If you refer to Fig. 37, you will see that there are rests for the feet, and that most of the athlete's weight is carried by the chains fastened at one end of the post, and at the other end to straps buckled around the upper part of the calves. In a properly arranged Roman-column, when the athlete leans back and throws his weight against the chains, the knee-joint should be but little higher than the ankle-joint. The first exercise in the Roman-column is to learn to get in the sitting position shown in Fig. 38, which, but the way, is much harder than you would think. Then you learn to bend backwards and lower the body until the finger-tips touch the floor, as in Fig. 39. The real work comes in raising the body again to the sitting position, and no one should even attempt the stunt unless the muscles of the abdomen and the groin have been developed and strengthened by the preceding exercises. Since, on your first attempt to use a column, you might find it impossible to bring your body up, you should always have a friend present to rescue you, if necessary, from the head-downward position. During the first week's practise you will gain in strength at a surprising rate; and while the first day you may not be able to bring your body up even once, on the seventh day you will do it many times with the utmost ease. Then is time to start with a light bar-bell; ten or fifteen pounds is enough to begin with. You have to lift it from the floor, hold it against the bend of the hips, and then bring it with you to the sitting position. You can make the work harder either by increasing the weight of the bell or by holding it close to the chin instead of in front of the hips. The further the weight is away from the knees, the more strength it takes to raise the bell and the body. After a month's practise you will suddenly awake to the fact that you have a degree of bodily strength which is entirely new and most pleasing; and you will wonder why it was that you wasted so many weary months trying to get real strength by performing the kindergarten exercises which started this chapter.

Since few Roman-columns are available, many athletes have to resort to the use of the Roman-chair, which is illustrated in Fig. 40. Such chairs have to be of very strong construction. The straps on the seat of the chair hold the athlete's feet firmly in place, and the top of the chair is padded. The back and seat should be inclined as in Fig. 40, and not upright and horizontal as in the ordinary chair. My objection to the chair is that you have to bend the body back farther in order to reach the ground. In the pictures of the Roman-column, you will see that when the body is down it is at right angles to the calves of the legs; and in the pictures of the Roman-chair, the body has to be bent beyond the right angle.

Undoubtedly the idea of the Roman-column occurred to some gymnast or athlete who was familiar with the parallel-bars. It is possible to do Roman-column work on a pair of parallels, providing the bars are not too far apart. All you have to do is to sit sideways, with the insteps under one bar and the bend of your knees over the other bar. Since most parallel-bars are adjustable, both in height and in width, you can fix them so that your legs will stretch across the open space between the bars, and so that when you are hanging head-downwards, your finger-tips just sweep the floor. It is easier to do the work on a Roman-column, because the leg-straps and the foot-rests are padded; but if you can't find a Roman-column or a chair, there is nothing to prevent you trying the column exercises on a pair of parallels.

I'm afraid that some of you will be discouraged when you read this chapter, and that you will decide to give up all idea of getting to be super-strong if it is necessary to do stunts like this. A man who has only average strength is hardly able to imagine what it feels like to be really strong. Let me assure you that a man who has gotten super-strength by practising with weights thinks no more of getting on a Roman-column and doing an exercise three or four times with a 50-lb. bar-bell than you would think of lying flat on the back and raising your legs in the air three or four times in succession. I realize that if you have never tried it, Roman-column work seems at first glance to be a most difficult and dangerous form of exercise; just as the performance of the Kreisler or a Heifetz seems highly difficult and complicated to the man who has never taken a lesson in violin playing. You probably have thought that it would take the strength of a Hercules to do Roman-column work. That is more or less true; but the point is that if you can learn to do it, you will get the strength of a Hercules; and once you have the strength and the corresponding muscular development, you will surprised at how easily you can retain it, and how little work is necessary to keep the body at the highest pitch of condition. Make up your mind to this: If you ever get to be super-strong, you will thereafter have no patience with the "light" exercises which formerly seemed to be all-sufficient. If you can get on a Roman-column and repeat the exercise a few times in the course of one minute, why should you spend a half-hour lying on the floor and raising first the legs and then the body to the perpendicular position? When you get so that you can handle 600 or 800 lbs. in a hand-and-thigh lift, and that five minutes' practice per week keeps your back and leg muscles in fine shape, you will have neither the time nor inclination to bend over and touch your toes 200 or 300 times in succession.

So far as I am aware, there are no records for Roman-column work, because it is not a competitive lift, but is used either as an exhibition stunt or as a developing exercise. When using it as an exercise, you should never push yourself to the limit of your strength, but should always keep a factor of reserve. It is not necessary to repeat the exercise every day, two or three times a week being sufficient to keep the muscles growing in size and strength. Fig. 40 is a sample of the bodily strength which can be created in this method. Few ordinary athletes can hold the body horizontally when the feet are strapped to a Roman-chair. This man can hold his own weight, plus the weight of a 100-lb. man at arms' length. If the other man were resting across the lifter's thighs, the stunt would be easy. In this instance it is hard, because the extra weight is right above the lifter's chest.

Weight Training and Women - By Jim Bryan

You could also say, “Strength Training or Resistance Training.” I didn’t say “Weight Lifting” because that can be confused with Olympic Lifting and Power Lifting. I’m not talking about either. I’m talking about prudent and productive workouts with some type of progressive resistance. The equipment could be bar bells, dumb bells (free weights), machines, resistance bands, and even some body weight exercises. The fact is resistance training is good for Women. Just as good as it is for Men. The problem is the Myth’s that surround the subject of Women and weights.

1. Weight Training will not give you “Man Muscles.” Men and Women both have “Human Muscle.” Women will not end up looking like a Man……………..Unless they take Body Building Drugs! Ladies, think “Toned.” This may help you understand what working out with weights can do for you.

2. You won’t end up “bigger” with large muscles. If you follow a good diet and exercise with weights you’ll become leaner and smaller. Once again think “Toned.” Think Fat/Big Muscle/smaller.

3. You don’t have to train every day for two hours. A half hour workout done 2 to 4 days a week including cardio work is sufficient. Some of this can be done at home. If you have a nice gym at home, all of it can be done there. Being active can be split between the gym and outdoor choices.

4. You don’t have to eat like a “weirdo.” You can eat regular foods like everybody else. Just be carful of over eating and junk food. Yes, twinkies are junk food. Fruits, vegetables, lean meat, you know the drill.

You’ll need to be consistent. It does take time. In the end you will have more strength, more energy, more endurance, and you’ll feel better. Not to mention you’ll look better. You will also help prevent muscle wasting and osteoporosis. Both are something to be concerned about if you are a woman.

Join a gym and find someone who can help you learn. This could be a “Personal Trainer” or a friend with experience. Just be careful of “gimmicks.” You won’t need to spend a bunch of money on supplements, and you sure don’t need “Fat Burners.” The exercises you do in the gym will be your “Fat Burners.”

We have Athletic types in both Women and Men. We also have Non Athletic types. Both will benefit. We also have plenty of excuses for not exercising. If you are serious, you can find a half hour a few times a week. You will be better for it if you do. You can end up looking “toned and fit.” AND younger!

In Defense of the Press Behind the Neck - By Bradley J. Steiner

PRESS BEHIND NECK

The idea that presses behind the neck are "dangerous" is a new one for me! I have been using this exercise and teaching it since the 1960's, and the only result for myself and others has been . . . GOOD RESULTS!

Of course it is possible to train improperly on the press behind neck, or on any other exercise. That could cause problems. But that does not make the movement per se "dangerous"; it only means that you should learn how to do it properly, and then train correctly on it.

My tips would be:

• Learn how to do the press behind neck correctly
• Use weights that are manageable and that you can exercise with correctly in good form
• DO NOT drop, "jerk", or bounce the weight (your head might suffer!)
• Progress gradually — never hurry and do not "cheat" in order to hoist weights that are too heavy for correct performance
• Stop immediately if pain is felt; pain is not the same thing as "effort", or as the fatigue you ought to experience after working a muscle group properly
• If — for whatever reason — the press behind neck feels awkward for you even after learning its correct performance and trying it with a light and reasonable poundage at first, use another exercise. Maybe regular pressing or dumbell pressing suits your personal physiology better.

I rate the press behind neck as one of the finest BASIC EXERCISES. And I have never known any reason to change this opinion.

2010 University of Florida Strength Clinic * February 26th and 27th

If you are interested, please contact:

Coach Frank Piraino or strength coach Micky Marotti

Phone: 352-375-4683 (ext. 4940)

E-Mail: frankp@gators.uaa.ufl.edu

John Grimek Was "The Man” - By Bob Whelan

Reprinted with permission of Hardgainer, (March-April 1999)

For all of my training life I’ve had the quiet comfort of knowing John Grimek was around to inspire and motivate me. He was my all-time Iron Game hero, a legend of unparalleled achievements, but who was universally described as a “good guy” by everyone who had the honor of meeting him. He was a guy you could really admire, look up to and respect not only for his titles or measurements, but as a man.

His pictures have always been on the walls of my gym even if it happened to be my bedroom or garage. I have several of his pictures on the walls at Whelan Strength Training, from various decades of his life starting with the Mark Berry posters showing John in his early twenties, until several decades later showing his body even more muscular and better, with only his face showing signs of age. For my money, he was the best, a legend—the man! This greatest chapter in Iron Game history came to a close on November 20, 1998 when John C. Grimek passed on at age 88.

Vic Boff summed it up well when he stated, “For over five decades, John C. Grimek has been heralded as the Monarch of Muscledom throughout the world. He was the greatest combination Iron Game athlete—physique star, bodybuilder and strength performer—of all time and certainly the most popular, inspiring millions. He was a major influence in the lives of every top bodybuilder. He was the only bodybuilder in history who was never defeated in a contest. His charisma was so outstanding that everyone in the Iron Game wanted to meet him, shake his hand or get an autograph. His obliging patience was endless.”

Grimek was also the only man to win the Mr. America title twice, and was also a member of the 1936 US Olympic weightlifting team. He won the Mr. Universe in 1948 and the Mr. USA in 1949. He was also an expert swimmer, diver, acrobat and muscle control expert. He was also very strong, and capable of a 400-pound jerk.

John probably did more to advance strength training in academia, teaching and coaching than anyone—especially as a legitimate method for training and preparing athletes. The all-prevalent musclebound myths of the day were largely dispelled and reversed by his awesome demonstrations of flexibility, grace and speed while working with Bob Hoffman and other members of the York Barbell Club. Modern strength and conditioning coaches may not have had a profession if not for John C. Grimek.

I began to train, involuntarily at first, at age 10. I was a good baseball player and was batting around 600 in little league. I just came home from a game and as soon as I got in the door, my father asked me, “How many hits ya get, ya bastard?” He had his usual beer in hand and was in his typical semi-intoxicated state.

“Three!” I proudly replied.
“How many home runs?”

“None,” I replied.

My introduction to training was when my father responded, “You weak son of a bitch. Get on the floor and do pushups.”

I did only three, and he really tore into me for that. I usually managed to make a positive out of most of the negative childhood situations with my father. He made me do pushups every night before bed, and soon I began to love the exercise because I felt stronger, which in turn raised my confidence and self-esteem; and I began hitting some home runs. Soon I was doing 90 pushups in a row.

I put up a chinning bar in the basement and was up to 18 in no time. I made a wrist roller. I walked around constantly squeezing rubber balls to strengthen my wrists because that was what Ted Williams did. I was hooked on training at an early age.

It was during this time that I bought my first copies of Strength and Health and Muscular Development magazines. I was buying baseball cards near a magazine rack and a cover caught my eye. Muscular Development was a new magazine at that time (1964), and John Grimek was the editor. From my first glance of him, I was in awe, but greatly inspired. I always read every word in MD and liked it even more than S&H, because of Grimek’s influence. (I didn’t even know about Iron Man ‘til a few years later.)

I continued to lift cement blocks and copper tubing stored in the cellar, and did pushups, chins, dips between chairs, wrist roller work, situps and other calisthenics until I got my first York 110-pound barbell set for my birthday at age 13.

I was a fanatic and devoured everything related to training I could get my hands on. I was sad when I'd read all the articles in a new issue. I couldn’t wait ‘til the next month so I could ride my bike to the apothecary in Sherborn, Massachusetts, and buy the next issue.

I can remember the smell of the ink in the new issues. I had to hide the magazines because my father thought all the bodybuilders were “musclebound,” but I knew better. My biggest heroes were Bob Hoffman and, especially, John Grimek. I still have a deep affection for and loyalty to the tradition of the York Barbell Company, and tremendous respect for its pivotal role, since the thirties, in the development of the Iron Game. To this day I will only buy York weights.

This background information is important because it should help you to understand the magnitude of the thrill I had in April 1976 when I drove to York, Pennsylvania, and met John Grimek. For an Iron Game/Physical Culture enthusiast, this was the equivalent of a baseball fan meeting Babe Ruth. I’d hoped to meet Bob Hoffman too.

I remember looking at all of Hoffman’s medals and spending an hour or so in the museum section downstairs. I finally got the nerve up to ask if I could meet Bob Hoffman, but was told he was not in that day. I still regret not meeting him. But Grimek was upstairs in his office, and I was told that he would be happy to see me. My heart raced as I walked up a creaky staircase to his office. I sheepishly knocked on the office door and politely referred to him as Mr. Grimek.

Mr. Grimek invited me in and was extremely friendly. I was only 21 at the time and was completely in awe. At first I was surprised because he was well into his sixties at the time, but most of the photos I’d seen of him were not recent. He was in great shape, though, and I could tell that he still trained hard and regularly. He had his shirt sleeves rolled up, and I could see his huge biceps in full glory. He looked at least 20 years younger than most men of his age.

He asked me as many questions about my training, and my life in general, as I asked him. He seemed genuinely interested in me and I was impressed at how approachable and kind-hearted he was. He answered every question I had and was in no rush to have me leave. He signed an autograph for me that I guard with my life and proudly display on a wall of my gym. After asking every possible question I could think of, and spending about 30 minutes in his office, I felt I might start to be a pest. I thanked Mr. Grimek for his time, shook his hand, and let him get back to his work.

Dispelling myths

It wasn’t until fairly recently that the term “musclebound” has finally been put to rest. You may hear it once in a while now, but mainly by ignorant people. Most people today believe that strength training is beneficial. It wasn’t always that way, and as a kid growing up I would always hear about it and be discouraged from lifting. I never believed it was true, mainly because of the hard work and courage of John Grimek and Bob Hoffman, who told me the truth.

On April 4, 1940 Bob Hoffman brought several members of the York Barbell Club, including John Grimek, to Springfield College. Dr. Karpovich, of Springfield College, had been influential in pushing “musclebound” theories throughout academia, and was making most athletic coaches shy away from training with weights. Strength training was being seriously threatened, and John Grimek was instrumental in turning this around. After Grimek was introduced to the panel, the pompous academics sneered at him and seemed to mock him at first, believing he was nothing but a big clumsy oaf with limited movement and “bound” muscles.

Grimek went right up to each of them and said, “Can you do this?” He then proceeded to contort his body into every stretch and bend possible, and reportedly could come close to touching his elbows to the floor while keeping his knees straight! Each of the academics gave a pitiful performance of flexibility when responding to the challenge, to which Grimek replied, something to the effect of, “You’re musclebound, not me!”

Hoffman then had Grimek and others perform all kinds of feats including one-arm chins, handstands, backbends, jumping splits and numerous stretches. After Karpovich had witnessed this, he was stunned. By the time Hoffman and Grimek got through with Karpovich, he changed his position to, “There’s no such thing as musclebound.”

Hoffman went further and challenged any athlete in any sport to compete against his York Barbell Club in any physical test outside of their own specific sport. The challenge was widely publicized. There were no takers, mostly because of the larger-than-life image of Grimek and the fear that he would humiliate any challenger.

Our responsibility

John Grimek was larger than life, much like John Wayne was. John was what the Iron Game and Physical Culture are really all about. He was the essence of how things were and how things should still be. When you think of John Grimek, you think of the glory days of the Iron Game before drugs ruined the honest competition, and the brotherhood.

The “good guys” in the Iron Game today have a sacred duty to carry on the tradition that John Grimek stood for and which Vic Boff and others still represent. Give no respect to steroid users—they are scum. Take down their pictures. Always keep your focus on good health as the primary motivation for your toil, and build muscle the old fashioned away—earn it by hard work and dedication, like John Grimek did.

What about Isolation Exercises? - By Bob Whelan

Posted on NaturalStrength.com on April 13, 2001


John Hanlon on the Athletic Edge squat macine at WST.



Isolation exercises are not "bad" to do and using a few of them can be a good ADDITION to your program. Don't get carried away with them, but a set of thick bar curls added to the program or leg curls AFTER SQUATS ARE DONE is ok.

I believe that the CORE foundation of your program should be the big basic compound exercises. That, however, does not mean that you should NEVER do ANY of the isolation exercises. As long as you are not looking for the easy way out and substituting the isolation exercises for the much harder multi joint lifts, using a few of them in addition to your program can be beneficial.