THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHYSICAL POWER - (Circa 1906) - Chapter 19 - RING AND BALL LIFTING - By Arthur Saxon

Stand with the ball between the feel, the handle of same to be held as shown in photograph, describing body press and ring weight lift, on another page. Place the left hand on the knee and swing to the back, after which swing overhead as in the dumb-bell swing, but when the weight is three parts up suddenly step forward with the right foot and twist the right hand and wrist round so that the globe falls on the fleshy part of the right fore-arm. Of course the bell, if heavy, may be lifted to the shoulder with a similar movement and thence pressed aloft.

In juggling with kettle balls or ring weights, the simplest manner to describe the ordinary turn-over is to say that the way which would occur to your mind is an incorrect one. It is a strange thing, but in weight lifting, in 9 cases out of every l0, if not in 99 cases out of every 100, the position which the man in the street, quite innocent of all knowledge pertaining to weights, would take, if asked to lift a weight in any position, is always the wrong one. This shows what a science there is in weight-lifting when properly understood. If you wish to juggle with the bell, take it in your hand with the handle parallel to your body, and instead of pull the handle over and down towards you, press it down and over away from you, first lifting it as high as the shoulder, and then giving it a vicious turn in the position I have referred to, and as the handle comes up again your hand will readily grasp it, or if not it will fall to the floor without doing damage. With practise it maybe turned over twice or even three times before you endeavour to catch it, and it may be thrown behind you to return over your right shoulder and be caught before it reaches the floor.

FINAL NOTE

To thoroughly fall into the correct positions in each lift, it will at all times be best, as described on another page, to commence practise with weight much lighter than you can really lift, and practise the lift adding discs each time until you reach your limit.

Do not attempt to practise too many lifts at one time. Disc bells are always superior to shot-loading bells, and, in my experience, not only are they more convenient in every way and cheaper, but more can be lifted in discs than in hollow bells. Also have a scale and weigh your weights. To a certain extent the necessity for this is done away with by use of discs, but I have seen many disappointments when a bar-bell has been placed on the scale and found to be 10 lbs. or so lighter than the lifter had judged and believed. It is VERY seldom weights turn out heavier than one hopes. Therefore be certain, and use a scale.

Iron Nation