Charles Atlas developed his training methods by observing the animals in the zoo. This was after he tried weights but made no progress.
For those of you who are into the combative arts, this might be of interest to you. We study the way animals of nature fight, we incorporate what is applicable to the human body and we use it to defend ourselves.
But, if we also take a lesson from Atlas and use these moves to build incredible strength, not only can we be much healthier, we can also be better at our arts. I personally believe this was part of the old masters teachings but has been forgotten due to so called advances in weight training. Interestingly, Atlas also taught fighting arts in his courses like Karate, Boxing, and Wrestling. hmmmm
Many of the “old time” strongmen gained extravagant strength with little to no use of weights. They knew what the Bulgarians have discovered through high-tech experiments. That only moving your body through space releases the right hormones that result in increased strength and fitness.
Here are some feats of strength that Charles Atlas was able to pull off,
o I could do over 30 pull-ups.
o Saved a rowboat full of people who had lost their oars and were stranded in a storm. She swam a mile toward them, tied a rope around her waist, and towed the boat to shore.
o You could do 70 knee deep pushups (Hindu squats) with a 125 pound person on your back.
o He pulled a 144,000 pound train 120 feet!
o Could pull 5 cars for a mile.
o He won a “Most Perfectly Developed Man” contest at Madison Square Garden in 1922.
Stay strong
Jim Brassard Ph.d./Ma.D.Sc.