![]() ![]() ![]() The same can be said about a good sprint coach. They know that you’re done for the day at that point. A good pitching or tennis coach would not let you continue on when your speed starts slowing down and your form gets sloppy. That’s why all of the great old time strongmen, like Louis Cyr, Eugene Sandow and Earle Liederman called their workouts “practice.” Lifting was their sport so they understood, as does a good pitching coach, that you can not continue practicing in a fatigued state or you ingrain bad habits. You are training your nervous system to be more efficient. When you think about it that way the whole thing becomes much easier to grasp. I’m gonna repeat that because it’s so important that you understand it… The single most important concept for people to understand is that strength is a skill and you need to treat it as such. But in a world where bodybuilding has been confused with strength training this concept could very well be the key to mind blowing gains. It’s been long forgotten in the days of “high intensity training” and Rocky Balboa YouTube montages. This is a concept that the old timers understood very well. To more clearly answer the question of why old time strongmen were able to perform feats that would still be impossible for most mortals today we need to address one critically important concept. The only way that could have ever been possible was by making sure he never came close to failure or “trained on the nerve,” as they used to refer to it. He traveled around and performed massive feats of strength for audiences on a routine basis, several times per week. ![]() He always stopped while he was fresh because he knew he had to perform again the next day. One of the ways Saxon got so strong was that he practiced his lifts with lighter weights and perfect technique. Then why is it so hard in this day and age for people to match the feats of strength performed by guys like George Hackenschmidt? How many people, in 2010, can put up close to 400 pounds overhead with one arm like Arthur Saxon did in 1906? I mean, science, technology and training equipment must have improved, right? Plus the addition of high tech supplements and steroids has to make a big difference as well, no? People who know about my obsession with old time physical culture and the early days of strength training often ask me why there are so few people today who can perform the feats of strength that the greats were capable of over a century ago. How Were the Pioneers of Physical Culture Able to Get so Strong? Part 2 of the Training to Failure series…Thank you to Jason Ferruggia at Renegade Gym ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |