A Brief History of Bodybuilding

Subject: A Brief History of Bodybuilding Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:24 pm

How many times have you been to a local school during recess and heard the following statements / questions?

“He-Man’s way stronger than Hercules!

“Oh, yeah? What about Goku then? He can lift a mountain!”

“So what? It’s well known that my dad is the strongest in the world!”

And then raise a wry smile as you realise that it’s your son speaking!

Almost every child these days has been exposed to feats of superhuman strength and bodybuilding thanks to shows such as “Masters of the Universe”, “Dragonball Z” and of course their own parents (especially if they are competition weightlifters or bodybuilders), but it’s nothing new really. People have been fascinated by people who’ve been able to do more than most people since the dawn of time. So if a definitive list was to be drawn up of all the strongest / muscled men who have influenced history, it might look something like this:

Samson (approx 1,120BC – 1,080BC)

Samson was born in Canaan (modern day Israel) at the end of the twelfth century BC, but the question is raised as to whether he existed or not. What we do know is that his birth was preceded by an angel telling his mother that she would give birth to a Nazirite (from a different part of the Middle East) and that whatever was to happen, his hair couldn’t be cut. The reason for this strange request, well, this was demonstrated when Samson was about eighteen when a mountain lion pounced on him. About a minute later, Samson went on his way. And whilst in the Canaanite army, he managed to bump off a thousand Philistines (from what is modern day Georgia) with just a jawbone. This brought him to the attention of the Philistine nation and to one woman in particular named Delilah and when she was told that she’s get a reward for finding out the secret of Samson’s strength leading to some scenes that wouldn’t go amiss in a torture chamber, she found out about his hair and cut it whilst he was asleep. Well, now Samson was as weak as a baby and as a result was humiliated by the Philistines, until a national celebration when the Philistines decided to show off its biggest scalp. But as enough time had elapsed for his hair to grow back, Samson (after praying to God) brought the temple down around their ears and also committed suicide at the same time. When news arrived in Canaan of what happened, Samson’s brothers bought his body back home and he was buried between Zorah and Eshtaol in the same plot as his father.

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If a man can lift a 450lb for ten reps, does that mean he could lift 4,500lbs for one rep? If so, I'd like to interview him!

Last edited by on Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:03 pm; edited 2 times in total

Hercules (approx. 550BC – 500BC)

Like Samson, whilst the debate rages about whether or not there really was a Hercules (the latest suggestion is that he was perhaps a chieftain-vassal of the kingdom of Argos near the Gulf of Corinth in Greece) what can’t be denied is that in terms of superhuman feats, his twelve labours can’t be beaten, but what about his history?

Well, using a combination of the legend and the history of Greece, we can determine that he was born about 550BC and was the result of what could be termed a “liaison dangereux” between Zeus, the king of the Greek gods and Alcmene. Why was this liaison dangerous? Well, firstly both Zeus and Alcmene were married (to Hera and Amphitryon respectively) and secondly, any cross breeding between gods and mortals was always likely to create ructions. The first of which was felt on Mount Olympus, when Hera found out what had happened and well, putting it politely “sought a termination”.

Anyway, Hercules was born (despite Hera’s best efforts) and the name that the parents chose pushed Hera over the edge and she sent two snakes to deal with Hercules. Which would have worked, if the second ruction of a god / mortal breeding programme hadn’t occurred. Baby Hercules thought that the snakes were toys and started to use them as a rattle. The reason? He was possessed of superhuman strength. Hera was furious and spent the rest of Hercules’ life making it miserable as possible.

After several years, Hercules got married to Megara and they had two lovely children. Well, this was too much for Hera to bare and so made Hercules kill his wife and children in a fit of madness. When Hercules recovered and saw what had happened, he made an offering to Apollo (the gods’ version of People’s Court) and asked forgiveness. He was told in no uncertain terms that he would have to work off his debt by performing several tasks and after a consultation with the Oracle at Delphi, he went to see and told him what happened and that the gods had commanded him to be King Eurystheus’s personal slave. Now, this king was no dummy and so ordered Hercules to perform ten tasks

Now as you can imagine, that took Hercules several years, but when reports came back to King Eurystheus that Hercules was on the way back, he panicked and came up with two extra tasks.

Well, as you can imagine when that last task was completed, Hercules was not going to be bossed around by anyone and became a freelance agent, dealing with minor emergencies such as preventing the Princess of Troy from being eaten by a sea monster, and even helping his father prevent a “corporate takeover” of Mount Olympus. After all these adventures, Hercules fell in love again and married for the second time. His wife this time was called Deianira and when he came back from his trip to Olympus, she had a present waiting for him. A cloak that she had woven herself with a little added extra. A special balm given to her by a centaur that would make Hercules the most “active” man on earth by ensuring them a fruitful relationship.

However, guess who had given the centaur the balm in the first place? That’s right Hera, and as you might have guessed this wasn’t the 6th century BC’s version of Viagra but was in fact a deadly poison and as soon as Hercules put the cloak on, he’d had it.

He asked his friends to sacrifice him to the gods to prevent the poison from killing him, and as his friends set fire to the funeral pyre, Hera relented. As the funeral pyre burned, Athena was sent down to take Hercules back to his ancestral home and even today can be seen in the stars.

(Hercules as played by Lou "The Hulk" Ferrigno)
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If a man can lift a 450lb for ten reps, does that mean he could lift 4,500lbs for one rep? If so, I'd like to interview him!

Subject: Re: A Brief History of Bodybuilding Fri Oct 19, 2007 2:55 pm

Cool post Welsh Fitness Fan ,thanks for sharing this with us . i agree or great !

Subject: Re: A Brief History of Bodybuilding Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:06 pm

After the Greeks (and to a certain degree the Romans), interest in feats of strength and muscle started to wane a little. Yes, there were still stories of great strength, an example being a king in what is now Romania, lifting and carrying a 425lb stone to assert his authority as king in the 1100’s AD, but it’s not until at least the 1620’s that strength and muscle makes a reappearance (and even then it’s due to someone writing about him in the 1800’s!)

Porthos (approx 1597 – 1661)

Now the more eagle eyed of you might be wondering what a 17th century dandy is doing in a review of strongmen / bodybuilders. Well, despite his foppish appearance, Porthos was anything but. Alexandre Dumas of course wrote him about in the 1850’s, but the story of the Three Musketeers was set in the middle of the 17th century, with Porthos leading the way.

Born in 1597, Porthos is pretty much unassuming as a child, but when he reaches his 18th birthday, his father despatches him to Paris to become a member of the Musketeers. We hear very little from him until 1625 when a certain D’Artagnan arrives in Paris and manages to team up with Porthos as well as Aramis and Athos and it’s here we start to see just how strong Porthos is.

When D’Artagnan is first introduced to Captain Treville (the captain of the King’s Musketeers) we get an inkling of how strong he must be when Dumas writes

Subject: Re: A Brief History of Bodybuilding Sat Oct 20, 2007 1:38 pm

One of the ideas that was reborn during this time was the recognition of the perfection of the human body (as in the classical Greek statues) and if there was one man who embraced this idea completely, it was Eugene Sandow

Eugene Sandow (1867 – 1925)

Eugene Sandow was born in Konigsberg, in Prussia (what is now part of the Baltic nation of Latvia) in 1867 and like a lot of the people profiled so far had a normal childhood. During his teenage years he ran off to join the circus where he developed an interest in acrobatics, but in 1887 in Brussels in Belgium, he met Louis Durlacher (otherwise known as “Attila”). He recognised the young man’s obvious talents and decided to turn this unassuming young man into the world’s first real life muscleman.

Now as we have seen bodybuilding wasn’t exactly new in the late 19th century, but it was rather haphazard. Through a process of trial and error, Durlacher and other German trainers managed to hit on a system that worked and after only a couple of months of training, both Louis and Eugene travelled across Europe and by 1889 was the toast of London after defeating a well known stage strongman called “Sampson”.

Despite the Victorian’s fascination for feats of strength and muscle, they were rather unkeen on the idea of doing it themselves. The blame for this could be laid at the door of Dr. Peter Steinchron who wrote a book in the mid 1870’s stating

Bending over to tie or untie your shoes, bringing the fork to your mouth; the rubdown after a shower; laughing; talking and reading, all these furnish your daily exercise requirements

add to this allegations of “muscle binding” a condition caused by lifting too much weight and causing the muscles to grow so big that it would be possible to literally seize up. The fact that no evidence had even been recorded of this condition was beside the point.

The best place to see these strongmen was the theatre, which was the central point of life in the Victorian era. It would be quite common for them to appear in variety shows juggling cannonballs or even just lifting weights and over the next few years Eugene was a regular occurrence at theatres across the world and just like at contests today, audience members would often come up to him and ask to admire his physique and if there was a chance they could become as strong as him. This got him thinking and in 1897 he launched the first mail order fitness business and by the turn of the 20th century had opened the world’s first bodybuilding gym called a “Physical Culture Studio” in London.

Just like Bill Gates today, you couldn’t move in the early 20th century without coming across Mr. Sandow’s name. You could leave your home in London and go past his physical culture studio, pop into the food stores and buy his Health and Strength Cocoa and even purchase in the clothing shop his Patented Health Corset. And he didn’t stop with the UK, oh no, he went on tours of South Africa, India, Japan, New Zealand and Australia and even managed to bag a position in Buckingham Palace as the king’s personal trainer!

Eugene died in 1925 from the effects of syphilis, but his wife never allowed a gravestone, therefore even to this day, there is a part of Putney Vale graveyard in London that houses the remains of the world’s first bodybuilder, but no one will ever know. It is perhaps though a little sad that for such a supporter of natural bodybuilding, that his likeness is used as the prize for the Mr. Olympia contest.

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If a man can lift a 450lb for ten reps, does that mean he could lift 4,500lbs for one rep? If so, I'd like to interview him!

Subject: Re: A Brief History of Bodybuilding Sat Oct 20, 2007 1:43 pm

But it wasn’t just Eugene that was spearheading the muscle revolution. By the time the world left the Victorian era in 1901, a new muscleman was on the scene, his name was Gustav Fristensky.

Gustav Fristensky (1879 – 1957)

Gustav was born May 7, 1879 in Kamhajek, Bohemia (part of the modern day Czech Republic) and was apparently very sick at the age of one, as was typical of many infants in those days. He was taken care of by village healers and had a hard life in childhood. His father took over the grandparent's farm, so being the oldest son (he had 6 younger siblings, he had to help with the farm work whenever his father had to be away, travelling to town or during the harvest. Sometimes he even had to skip school entirely, but the schoolmaster understood. The stronger the young Gustav (called Gusta) became, the more frequently he missed school.

When he was 14, the family started thinking of his future as the farm work could now also be done by his younger brother Karel, the second son of the family. It was decided that Gustav should learn some trade. Nobody asked young Gustav. His parents decided he would become a blacksmith. This seemed natural, since one of the familiar faces at family get-togethers was Mr. Semerad, a blacksmith from Krechor. But eventually he went to apprentice in Kolin to a Mr. Jech on Sokolska Street. Early in his apprenticeship, he had an accident and severely burned his hand. He went home for three months. During that time, he assisted a local butcher bringing him cattle purchased from Gustav's father. As his hand healed, he became hesitant to return to the harsh conditions at the blacksmith's shop, and he decided to become a butcher's apprentice instead, which to him was a more promising trade.

Eventually, he completed his apprenticeship and it was decided that he would then move away from home to gain some experience. He moved to Brno, and became interested in various sports clubs in Sokol, eventually taking up the sport of weightlifting in his free time. Gustav visited the town of Vyskov, where there was an exhibition and on that occasion found several wrestling matches scheduled. He entered and won the first prize in his competition. Further trips to sporting events followed shortly. He defeated wrestlers from various Prague and German clubs in Brno. He then won the championship of Austria defeating all Viennese wrestlers. His ambition was fulfilled when he had been paired in matches with foreign wrestlers in the European Championship at Rotterdam in Holland. Gustav was very powerful and could do the continental press with 308 lb with his strength, he grew an impressive physique. He was to win a World Physique Championship in 1903 at 6 foot tall and weighing 220 lbs. with extremely low body fat. Gustav was one of the best built of the Victorian bodybuilders and his physique would be remarkable even today. He possessed near perfect genetics for bodybuilding.

He eventually married Miroslava Ellederova, who was the daughter of a prosperous brewer and a famous as a singer in her own right. They had no children. Gustav had served in the artillery during the Great War, and was so famous as an athlete at that time; the new president gave him property in Litovel, in what is now the Czech Republic. He was prosperous throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Unfortunately, like so many others, Gustav was sent to a German concentration camp during much of WW II. He had suffered in health, but due to his being in such good health beforehand, was later able to regain his strength after the war and died on April 4th 1957 at the age of 78. There is a statue of this great champion in a Prague museum with the title written beneath as "Mr. Czechoslovakia" and many of his medals are also displayed there.

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If a man can lift a 450lb for ten reps, does that mean he could lift 4,500lbs for one rep? If so, I'd like to interview him!

Subject: Re: A Brief History of Bodybuilding Sat Oct 20, 2007 2:06 pm

Charles Atlas (1892 - 1972)

Born Angelo Siciliano in Acri, in Calabria, Italy, he moved to Brooklyn, New York at a young age. Initially a small, weak child, Siciliano worked hard to develop his muscles, using a variety of weights. He acquired a physique that earned him the nickname "Charles Atlas", after the mythical Atlas, the Titan who held up the heavens.

In 1922, the publisher of the magazine Physical Culture dubbed him "The World's Most Perfectly Developed Man" in a contest held in Madison Square Garden. He was chosen by a cross-disciplined group of health and medical experts, educators, anthropologists, scientists and medical doctors who viewed Atlas as the "perfect male body" and placed his physical measurements on file for posterity. Atlas's physical measurements are buried in the Crypt of Civilization, a time capsule at Oglethorpe University.

He later filed for and received trademark status for the name. He soon took the role of strongman in the Coney Island Circus Side Show. Contemplating the strength of a tiger in a zoo, he had conceived the idea of working muscle against muscle, rather than working out with weights. This system was later dubbed Dynamic tension.

Atlas developed his own muscle-building mail-order business through the use of advertisements in popular periodicals. His first business partner was Dr. Frederic Tilney who wrote the course which first appeared in 1922. Tilney had discovered Atlas while Atlas was demonstrating spring exercisers in a department-store window in New York. Tilney worked for Bernard MacFadden and introduced Atlas to MacFadden. MacFadden sponsored the two perfect man contests that Atlas won and his publishing empire helped promote Atlas and his course. In 1928 Charles Roman bought out Tilneys interest in the business and took over the marketing of the business and coined the term "dynamic tension" to describe Atlas' use of muscle-against-muscle resistance exercise, now generally known as Isometric exercise. Atlas had originally been introduced to that form of exercise when he took the "Conscious Evolution" course of Alois P. Swoboda which featured Dynamic Tension type of exercise. Atlas said "everything that I know I learned from A.P. Swoboda."

The Charles Atlas advertisements popularized the phrase "98-pound weakling". His most famous advertisement featured a weak scrawny kid who decides to bulk up after getting sand kicked in his face at the beach. Although the original ads stated "I turned myself from a 97 pound weakling into the World's Most Perfectly Developed Man", the phrase was most commonly rendered in the media as 98 pounds, possibly due to trademark issues. It may also derive from the British usage "seven-stone weakling": 7 stone = 98 pounds.

His company did so well that it emerged from the Stock Market Crash of 1929 unscathed. As many as 30 million people have bought his mail order course, which is still offered today. "Charles Atlas" was selected by Forbes Magazine as one of the 20th Century's "Super Salesmen", and named one of the Most Influential People of the Twentieth Century by Times Sunday Magazine. Known throughout the world as a strongman, he is considered a founding father of modern-day body-building and fitness, and of isometric exercise. His company is now owned by Jeffrey C. Hogue.

To show what an impact Charles Atlas had on the world of bodybuilding, you only have to look at the pop culture influences that stemmed from him:

"I Can Make You a Man" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=z9ZSzTCgpCU

The "Dynamo Tension" Advert from Monty Python
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0uXhmgqaf1U
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If a man can lift a 450lb for ten reps, does that mean he could lift 4,500lbs for one rep? If so, I'd like to interview him!

Subject: Re: A Brief History of Bodybuilding Sun Oct 21, 2007 7:16 pm

Tony Sansone (1905 - 1987)

Anthony Joseph Sansone was born Sept 19, 1905 in New York City. His parents were both immigrants from Sicily (off the coast of Italy). At an early age, Sansone had contracted scarlet fever and then typhoid fever, leaving him with a fragile build. At 14, he took an interest in sports and began working out at a nearby park, doing running, chin-ups, handstands, and other acrobatics. At 16, he came across magazine pictures of physique star Tommy Farber in Physical Culture magazine and became interested in physical development. He trained under the tutelage of bodybuilding publisher Bernarr Macfadden and a certain Charles Atlas.

In October 1923, Sansone, 18, won a physique contest sponsored by Atlas. He did not pursue competitive bodybuilding as a career, however, and has never earned any titles like Mr America. Much of Tony Sansone's enduring fame in bodybuilding history was the result of his success as a model.

Sansone began modeling when he was still a teenager. During the Depression, Sansone profited by selling pictures of himself through mail-order ads. He became a much sought-after model who posed for paintings, photographs, and sculpture. He was featured on many magazine covers, both American and European. He modeled for statues by James Earle Fraser, Arthur Lee and Malvina Hoffman. Sansone published several photo books. By 1936, he had sold over 15,000 copies of Modern Clasics and Rhythm combined.

In the mid 1920s, Sansone began studying dance as an exercise. He was selected by Alexandre Gavrilov to perform in "Ballet Moderne" which debuted in April 10, 1928. He also toured with Polish-Yugoslavian ballet dancer Desha Podgorska. His dance career was cut short by a knee accident, but the training influenced his style of posing.

From 1928 to 1929, Sansone performed in David Belasco's elaborate sci-fi theater production of "Mima." The show ran for 180 performances before being closed down due to money problems.

Among the spectators of "Mima" was photographer Edwin F. Townsend. Townsend took a great interest in Sansone and began photographing him in 1929. He went on to become Sansone's principal photographer.

In 1929, Sansone got a small part in director John W. Harkrider's Glorifying the American Girl which co-starred Eddie Cantor. But like competitive bodybuilding, Sansone never pursued acting as a career. Sansone owned and operated three gyms (which he referred to as "body culture studios") in New York.

Tony Sansone stood 6 feet tall and weighed 185 lbs. His muscles were highly defined but did not display the massive bulkiness common in modern bodybuilding. Sansone, in fact, took no interest in measurements, preferring a look that was more slender and flexible. His training included weightlifting, running, swimming, and gymnastics. Sansone was especially strong in parallel bar work.

Sansone was photographed mainly in the nude, and was celebrated for his creative posing. Although naturally tan, Sansone enhanced his "bronze" look with body makeup. Charles Atlas called him "The Most Beautiful Man in America." Physical-culture historian David Gentle has said, "If Sansone had been born in Greek antiquity, he would have been immortalized as a god."

Tony Sansone retired from the gym business after thirty years. He went on to do volunteer work, especially teaching underprivileged children and died January 13, 1987 after a five-year struggle with colon cancer.

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If a man can lift a 450lb for ten reps, does that mean he could lift 4,500lbs for one rep? If so, I'd like to interview him!

Subject: Re: A Brief History of Bodybuilding Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:36 pm

After the Second World War, a new substance was discovered that when administered allowed muscle to grow substantially faster in conjunction with training than just training along. This substance was termed "anabolic steroids" and ever since there has been a battle between those who advocate it's use and those who don't. One of the most promiment people to advocate against it's use is:

Dave Draper (born 1942)

Born in Secaucus in the state of New Jersey, Dave started weight training at the age of 10 and was pumping serious amounts of iron by the mid 1950’s. His training helped him in his school wrestling, gymnastics and swimming career. In 1963, he won the Mr. New Jersey title and didn’t look back (moving six months later to work for the Weider Barbell Company) and then moved into the motion picture industry.

Not that he stopped doing contests during that time. Far from it! Between 1962 and 1970, he won 4 contests and came in the top 5 in another three and even managed to place in the top five at the 1967 Mr. Olympia!

And just like muscles today, he was featured in films galore. “Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?” from 1963, “Lord, Love a Duck!” in 1966, “Three on a Couch” in 1966, “Walk, Don’t Run!” from 1966 and in 1967, “Don’t Make Waves”. Also in 1967, he appeared in “The Beverly Hillbillies” as himself in the episode called “Mr. Universe Muscles In” and appeared as Lorenzo Bush in 1969 in “Here Comes the Brides” and if that wasn’t enough he even managed to find time to write two books, “Brother Iron, Sister Steel” and “Your Body Revival: Weight Loss Straight Talk” and still finds time to run his own website at http://www.davedraper.com/

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If a man can lift a 450lb for ten reps, does that mean he could lift 4,500lbs for one rep? If so, I'd like to interview him!

Subject: Re: A Brief History of Bodybuilding Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:43 pm

And so we conclude our journey with the modern era and in a world dominated with people like Ron Coleman, cartoon series like "Dragonball" as well as films with muscle bound characters, as well as all the possible temptations put in the path of bodybuilders, I'd like to finish with a young man who is committed to not only being a natural champion, but is giving serious thought to entering the qualification process for the Team USA Freestyle Wrestling squad for Bejing 2008

Timothy Smith (born 1982)

Timothy (or "Tim" to his mates) is a resident of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania and has been keeping fit the majority of his life, firstly by wrestling and then moving into bodybuilding about six years ago. He may only be 22 years old now, but weighing 226lbs at a height of 6ft he's clearly more than a match for most people, except maybe for his brother (who's 3 years older and 20lb heavier) but they get on like true American brothers. And when you add a cousin who's only 16 but already weighing 165lbs, it's clear this is one very muscled family!

Tim graduated from Penn State University in 2005 and is currently on a work experience course in electrical engineering but is determined to tread the natural bodybuilding stage (along with his brother) and win the Mr. Pennsylvania title for the junior classes.

His main influences in the world of bodybuilding are his brother, Dennis Newman and the Menzter Brothers, and he also cites the Feldman Brothers as another influence on his training.

When asked in an interview for an online bodybuilding group in 2005 what nickname he would like to be known as in the future he replied "The Pythons" to which he later added, "Mind you I quite like the sound of the MusCeteers!"

So, we started off with Samson in the 12th century BC and now have Tim in the 21st century AD. Who knows where bodybuilding will next go? For all we know, the next big name in bodybuilding could be reading this very article and say “Yeah, I’m a bodybuilder and I want to be the body of natural bodybuilding for others to look up to”!
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If a man can lift a 450lb for ten reps, does that mean he could lift 4,500lbs for one rep? If so, I'd like to interview him!