The earliest records of strength training date back to 3600 BC. C., when the Chinese emperors made their subjects exercise daily (Webster 1976). During the Chou dynasty, subjects had to pass weightlifting tests before entering the military. There is a great deal of evidence indicating that weight training was a part of life in ancient Greece and India. In fact, the Greeks built numerous sculptures of people lifting stone weights.
Numerous training systems have been proposed over the years. The accumulation of experience and different philosophies has led us to the current training methods that are used today. Keep in mind; many authorities have varied greatly from the original purpose of strength and conditioning. Hard work and dedication formed the foundation of the previous training methods. Today the opposite has occurred in many settings, as easy work and quick fixes form the basis of most people’s regimes.
During the 16th century, books on weight training began to appear in Europe. Sir Thomas Elyot’s book on the subject was published in England in 1531. Joachim Camerius, a professor at the University of Leipzig, wrote several books in 1544 recommending that weight training should be a key activity offered in the model school. John Paugh published a book in 1728 titled A Physiological, Theoretical, and Practical Treatise on the Utility of Muscular Exercise in Restoring Energy in the Limbs, which pointed out the benefits of weight training for rehabilitation purposes. In the 1860s, Archibald Maclaren devised the first formal system of dumbbell and barbell physical training for the British Army.
The performing artists and strongmen of the 19th century contributed greatly to the methods used today in the sports and fitness industry. From extensive research, iron game historian David Webster credits Italian circus and fairground artist Felice Napoli with popularizing strongman performances on an international scale. Naples disciples include Professor Attila (Louis Durlacher) and Eugen Sandow (Frederick Muller). Attila became very well known and attracted some of the best known physical bodybuilders in the world and many rulers of Europe. His list of students included King George of Greece, King Edward of England, Crown Prince Frederick who became King Haakon of Norway, the six children of King Christian of Denmark, Queen Mother Alexandra of England, Princess Dagmar ( Empress of Russia and mother of Tsar Nicholas) and the Duchess of Cumberland.
At the time, training the rich was a highly respected occupation. We have what today we call personal trainers. The current protocols used by the majority of trainers today are a far cry from the original teachings and benefits provided by trainers. The fame and notoriety of the coaches of those days was the result of public displays of extraordinary physical feats. These events were often attended by royalty and highly acclaimed for their promotion of physical well-being.
Eugen Sandow, born in Koningsberg in Eastern Russia in 1867, was recruited for his teachings by presidents and rulers from around the world. Nine kings and queens and many princes of Europe, as well as the presidents of the United States William Taft and Woodrow Wilson endorsed the Sandow Life is Movement book. Sandow was a successful strongman as well as a promoter of formal health and fitness management. He stressed that physical education and sports should be an integral part of the school system. He also traveled the world giving lectures and promoting physical culture as a means to improve the quality of life.
Sandow is recognized by most authorities as one of the most important figures in the history of fitness, and the history of his work reveals that the modern phenomenon of science-based physical training is not a new invention. Sandow promoted the importance of strength and skill as the cornerstone of fitness. Half a century later, Dr. Kenneth Cooper proposed that fitness depended primarily on aerobic conditioning. Approximately 25 years later, the academic world has once again recognized the important role of strength training.
In Russia, during the same period, Vladislav Krayevsky founded the St. Petersburg Amateur Weightlifting Society (1885). Many scientists, respected athletes; artists became his students, including famous strongman George Hackenschmidt, who credited Krayevsky for teaching him everything he knew. Hackenschmidt mentioned in his book The Way To Live that some of the strongest men in the world at the time, including Sandow, were trained using the Krayevsky system.
Krayevsky’s work and the popularity of his students had a major effect on weightlifting in Russia. Not only was he a renowned teacher, but he also achieved significant numbers in barbell lifts. He was president of the jury at the first world championships in Vienna in 1898.
Krayevsky wrote two of his seminal works during the period 1896-1899. The writings were titled The Catechism of Health Rules for Athletes and The Development of Physical Strength with and without Kettlebells. The Catechism of Health Standards for Athletes went to press on December 9, 1899, but was never published and is now preserved in handwritten form. His other book was published in 1900 and reprinted three times (1902, 1909, 1916) after his death (1901).
Krayevsky was well studied on the history of physical culture and all forms of gymnastics. He was familiar with Swedish gymnastics and noted its therapeutic benefits, but his concern about the lack of scientific data from the Swedish system led him to recruit experimenters to investigate it.
Many of Krayevsky’s recommendations are still used today. His recommendations include medical monitoring of an athlete’s health, constant training and variable load patterns, full-spectrum physical development, psychological development, and avoiding smoking and alcohol.
Early strength pioneers developed numerous devices when it comes to strength training, including cable machines, kettlebells, dumbbells, dumbbells, odd-shaped bars, thick grab bars, weighted boots, isolation machines, and various devices. launch. However, 50 years later, numerous people claim to have invented this machinery. In today’s industry there are many systems and people promoting their new systems, which are not really new at all.
The development of different scientific and educational cultures divided the West and the East, as their promotion of physical activity was vaguely different. During the years after the World Wars, Russia and Europe continued to promote various elements of physical strength, power, and skill, while the West primarily promoted aerobics. Kenneth Cooper’s book Aerobics was popular at the time, as was Swedish research on resistance exercises. According to Cooper and the Swedish researchers, heart and overall health depended primarily on prolonged endurance work. Supporters of the resistance doctrine strongly protested the strength training. Cooper told the world that strength training promotes a beautiful body but does nothing for health.
During the same period that the aerobics craze raged in the West, Russians and Eastern Europeans amassed extensive international information on strength training and sports while developing comprehensive educational programs to further their findings. Most schools offered weightlifting and in a few decades there were approximately 1 million weightlifters in the USSR. Strength training became a key element in all sports training programs in the USSR, while the attitude in the West was that weight training would slow down athletes and limit their range of motion. Consequently, Russia dominated the Olympics, especially in Olympic weightlifting, at the same time that aerobic doctrine became the gospel in the West.
Russian dominance has often been attributed to the use of anabolic-androgenic drugs, but sports use of these drugs was first introduced in the West. It is probably more accurate to say that the Eastern nations dominated because of their special force science and understanding of comprehensive sports conditioning. On the subject of drug use, no one uses more drugs than professional bodybuilders, who are predominantly American.
In the West today, most gyms, trainers, academies, and trainers are still misinformed when it comes to fitness and sports. The madness of aerobic endurance still dominates in most cases, however this makes up a small part of fitness. All you have to do is study the science and the abundant evidence supporting the many health and fitness benefits of a proper strength training program to realize its importance.
References
Siff, MC (2000) Super Training. Mel Siff.
Copyright 2005 Jamie Hale