Old Timer exercise junkie

[slingshot]

I'm male, 6'1", and 190 lbs., 52 years old. I have exercised on & off since I was about 16, Charles Atlas, weights, isometrics, various bodyweight exercises and resistance means. This last bout of excercise began in 2004 as I began to prepare for a backpacking trip in Europe. I love excercise and this is a great site on the web for people like us who enjoy this type of lifestyle, and I'm glad to be here! Have a GREAT and powerfilled day!

[Fatman]

Welcome to the forum! I have started researching and trying out the various old-time lifts, as well as "free-hand" exercises.

What kind of results have you had with isometrics and self-resistance stuf, if I may ask? Do they work development-wise?

[slingshot]

Thanks for the Welcome! I have had positive results with both self resistance, and isometrics. Isometrics have given me some strength gains, and perhaps some gain in muscle mass, but they are a feel good exercise - they will make your body feel good, keep your strength levels up, and keep your muscles in a toned condition. I use them in areas where I have aches & pains, and isometrics help relieve the pain & seem to speed recovery. The good feeling has to be experienced, I can't explain, but guys I know who use Isometrics seem to agree about this unusual phenomena. On self resistance, such as the old Charles Atlas training regime, they are effective, and are actually more difficult than say bodybuilding weight training. With them you don't need any equipment but your own body, and are less likely to hurt yourself than lifting weights. I incorporate all these methods into my workouts, and have my favorites. I too am interested in the old time lifts, especially the Bent Press, which I have yet to accomplish. Any info on this lift would be greatly appreciated.

[Fatman]

I'm sure you've checked out this website, but just in case:

www.sandowplus.co.uk

It's full of old-time training and lifestyle books from the late 1800s onward (Saxon, Sandow, Hackenschmidt). They have loads of instructions on the bent press, and a lot about the lifestyles of the famous strongmen. It's all free material, but be careful - you might spend all your time reading the stuff instead of training (happened to me a couple of times).

[XLift]

It's funny how these guys did not put that much value on bulging biceps. If those were the strongest, than overall strength is not valued by the size of the arms. lol

[Fatman]

Well, large biceps aren't exactly useful for lifting heavy weights (maybe in the curl). Overall strength should definitely not valued by the size of the arms - not then, or now. Superfluous muscle mass which looks nice when it's pumped up, oiled and bronzed with tan-in-a-can doesn't impart extra strength (bodybuilders are a classic example).

But guys back then did have some serious arm development. Sandow had 19" arms, and the arms of heavyweights like Cyr and (later) Goerner went over 20". Considering that 16 inches was a lot in those pre-steroid, pre-mass gain swill days, that's a lot. Even today, most "gym goers" hardly stretch the tape to more than 15", despite the weight gain drinks and championship bodybuilding programs.

[koltz]

bodybuilders aren't that weak you know........
Ronnie Coleman is as strong as any power lifter his size in the world class
I think he can deadlift a grand now with a powerliftign technique

since he repped 800 with a snatch grip in a video not long ago

[slingshot]

I've visited the Sandow site in the past, went back and found a description on the Bent Press by Bob Hoffman I had missed before. Unbelievable amount of information in there. I'll try a Bent Press soon. The Old Time Strongmen did not seem to have the Bicep Fetish that seems to permeate more modern physical idealism. If you have a 6 pack and bulging biceps today you are considered a God incarnate, even though you can't even walk, or pick up 50 lbs. Core strength, thats where it is, build that and all else will follow!

[Fatman]

bodybuilders aren't that weak you know........
Ronnie Coleman is as strong as any power lifter his size in the world class
I think he can deadlift a grand now with a powerliftign technique

since he repped 800 with a snatch grip in a video not long ago

I agree. However, Coleman is an exception, not the rule. Many of the top-flight bodybuilders don't even do deadlifts, standing military presses, etc. and squats ("it thickens the waist"). And even Coleman's squatting could be better - I saw a recent video and his depth was nowhere near standard, plus he didn't lock out at the top of the movement.

I'm not saying this to diss bodybuilders - they have specific training goals and strength is only a secondary objective in their routine. There are better mass-producing exercises than the standard movements, and one doesn't need a big squat to build massive thighs (what with all the juice and supplements).

[cheesedog]

and one doesn't need a big squat to build massive thighs (what with all the juice and supplements).

That's quite true, in fact lots of powerlifters don't have legs nearly as huge as you think they should be, for the amount of weight they can move. Bodybuilders usually get better results from leg presses, hack squats, sissy squats, and leg extensions.