Got a great topic for today that there seems to be some debate around. Ville asks: I’ve read some of your work on deceptive strength, testosterone and muscle control but mainly I’ve read your articles and emails. It’s good stuff. I’d like your opinions on some things that been floating …
Muscle Control vs. Isometrics
Andy writes in a lengthy email on the topics of muscle control and isometrics with a few different questions. Read it below and then my response to follow… I’ve enjoyed reading your books and recently purchased the Muscle Control Course. I’m trying to figure out how muscle control can be …
Muscle Control and Qi
Maxick talks about an interesting concept in relation to muscle control… “I discovered that by using the Will to control the muscles, not only did I gain development and strength, but that I was storing energy. By giving nothing out, I was slowly conserving energy…so the more energy conserved, the …
Muscle Control Sneak Peek
Muscle control is a popular topic among my readers. Probably because the oldtime strongmen engaged in it and it’s mostly been a lost art since then. It’s also a form of bodyweight training too. I’ve covered this in some other great articles on the blog: All About Muscle Control My …
10 Reasons to Learn from Oldtime Strongmen
I came up with a list of why it may be good for you to read some of the works of the oldtime strongmen from a century or so ago. Here are ten reasons. Some of their feats of strength have not been surpassed to this day. That is quite …
My Unabashed Opinion on Muscle Control
Lately, a number of people have been asking me about muscle control. So, I figured it was time to give my unabashed opinion on it. Muscle control is great…and, at the same time, it’s not quite all it’s cropped up to be. Back around the early 1900’s, there were a …
Soft vs. Hard Muscles
“What is this?? Are you saying a person can build soft muscles rather than hard ones??” -Ricky Two weeks ago, I wrote an email about muscle control to which I received this reply. Now, I’m not exactly sure what he meant by this. But here is what I mean by …
How to Combine Isometric Training with more…
A great question came in recently. And it’s a common question about how to combine different forms of training, if it can be done well at all. Robert asks: First of all: congratulations on your fantastic website!! I’m lovin’ it! Well, I train seriously since two years now, one year …
Advanced Vacuum Exercises
What is shown here is an example of what I do with breathing vacuum exercises as part of my morning routine. Unfortunately, this is not the spot that I typically do this in, but it is a spot I do go to occassionally. I wanted a better back drop for …
Maxick the Superman by Edward Aston
The following is an article written by Edward Aston, regarding the muscle control expert Maxick. In 1909 Maxick descended on London like a meteor in a flash of physical glory, and dazzled us with his most remarkable muscular achievements. He was so very different from what we had been used …
The Finished Athlete of Strength by Siegmund Klein
The following is an article by Siegmund Klein, that was originally published in Klein’s Bell. Recognition as a first class “strong man” is the ambition of many an athlete whose work has never passed the slough of mediocrity, yet almost all of these men will tell you how to train …
Dancing The Spinal Muscles by Alan Calvert
This is an article from Alan Calvert that was originally produced in an issue of Klein’s Bell (Siegmund Klein’s magazine from the 30’s). I thought it was interesting for anyone intrigued by muscle control. It describes a series of muscle controls I’ve never otherwise heard of, or definitely seen before. …
All About Muscle Control
Muscles can do one of two things, either contract or relax, with varying degrees of both. Muscle control is the art of controlling your muscles. More specifically it involves controlling muscles in isolation, in combinations and sequences. As a specific practice it was largely “created” by Maxick (born Max Sick, …
Different Kind of Squats by Sig Klein
I just put up another article at Breaking Muscle in the strongman profile series. Strongman Profile: Siegmund Klein Teaches Us a Different Way to Squat Siegmund Klein was a famous all-around old-time strongman. He was well regarded for his physique and posing skills. In addition to being strong with barbells and …
Muscle Control Routines by Otto Arco
I just put up another article in the Strongman Profile series at Breaking Muscle featuring another small framed strongman – Otto Arco. Strongman Profile: Otto Arco Teaches Us About Muscle Control Techniques Otto Arco was a Polish strongman and wrestling champion. Born in 1881 as Otto Nowosielsky, he didn’t have the …