Earle E. Liederman was one of the leading strength authorities of his time. He was originally inspired by Eugen Sandow, whom he later partnered in business with. He became the editor of Muscle Power magazine later in life. Secrets of Strength was one of his most well-known books.
Overall I have to say I very much enjoyed this book and picked up a few ideas I had not had before. This is, perhaps surprisingly, the first time I’d read Liederman but he is now one of my favorite of the oldtime strongmen authors. His ideas are very much in alignment of mine and I really look forward to reading the rest of his books.
I should have checked up on this as I thought Secrets of Strength was Liederman’s first book but it’s actually the sequel to Muscle Building, which we’ll be reading next month in the physical culture book club.
The chapters found in this book are:
1 – Inherited and Acquired Strength
2 – Power and Strength
3 – Strength Through Muscular Development
4 – Are Small Bones a Bar to Strength?
5 – Strength Through Natural Advantages
6 – Quality of Muscle the Basis of Strength
7 – Strength Through Symmetry
8 – Strength from Perfect Digestion
9 – The Importance of Big Lungs and a Strong Heart
10 – The Secret of Nervous Energy
11 – Building Vital Force and Reserve Energy
12 – Building Strength
Inherited and Acquired Strength
He starts off the book with a discussion on the differences between inheriting strength and acquiring it yourself. He talks about genetics, without using those words, and how families may or may not breed strength.
“Given equal care, all men could be molded to the thoroughbred type in two or three generations.”
“There are unquestionably some men of gigantic strength who inherit their physical powers.”
“Inheritance plus initiative – the will to be strong.”
Overall the point is that CHOICE is the biggest determinant in whether you’ll become super strong or not. I agree 100%.
He then discusses why laborers don’t become super strong.
“There are three principal reasons why the average work-man is not very strong. The first being that he has too much work, being forced to continue after he is tired, with the consequence that he destroys tissue faster than he can rebuild it. Second – That only few employments require the use of all the muscles, and all-round development is the prime requisite of great bodily strength. Third – It is but rarely that work or labor requires the extreme contractions and the vigorous effort which produce muscles of great size and high quality…A short period of daily exercise, of the right sort, will give a man greater strength, a better shape and better health than he could possibly get by labor.”
This is an important paragraph worth understanding because it shows lots of the principles for success within it.
Exercise Ideas
“Walk for 200 yards, while carrying in each hand a dumb-bell weighing over 200 pounds.”
The farmer’s walk is a great exercise and not one that I’ve practiced in some time. This right here would be an excellent goal to shoot for. It would show a good amount of overall strength, grip strength, holding and carrying ability, plus conditioning.
“I am in favor of the kind of strength that enables its possessor to use it in any kind of muscular work, be it sport of actual labor. In other words I believe that a man who is really strong should be able by virtue of his strength, to lift weight or carry them; to pull a strong oar in a crew; to plunge through the resistance offered by two or three opposing football players – to throw weights, to do difficult gymnastic stunts such as climbing the bar with one hand, or vaulting a seven-foot fence – to swing a heavy hammer all day without tiring – to carry huge trunks or bales, and to do all these things without special preparation or training, simply because of the strength and energy that is in him. At least, that is the kind of strength I try to give to those whom I train.”
An old advertisement of Liederman's
“He claimed that 30 such jumps gave one as much work as ten times as many ordinary squats, and produced much bigger muscles.”
Here was an example on how explosive work is much better for strength and size then just adding repetitions. 30 squat jumps giving you as much as 300 squats? The ratio may not be correct but I would certainly agree with the idea.
“To mount a ladder as Winship did teaches one the knack of strong muscular contractions, because, as you come near the top of the ladder, if you miss you will take a 15 or 20-foot fall. Winship’s muscles grew rapidly in strength; so to give them harder work he would skip a rung at each jump. This produced strength so rapidly that ordinary chinning became child’s play to him and to chin the bar with one arm was no trouble at all. Then he went to going up the inclined ladder using only one arm; and eventually reached the point where he could give such a terrific pull that he could mount three rungs at a time. Think of the prodigious power he must have had. It takes a “Strong Man” to “chin” even once with one hand, but this Winship could actually pull so strongly with one arm that his whole body would be projected vertically upward. Probably he used similar schemes to develop the rest of his body. That his strength was not confined to his arms is shown by the fact that in his exhibitions he would lift from the floor with hands alone, a platform bearing a dozen 100-pound nail kegs. And to do that he must have had immense strength in the back and legs.”
I took note of this story because the one arm chin is one of my biggest goals currently. It’s the same idea of explosive strength. You can gain much more with much less. Although you may not have this ladder setup you can still do explosive pullups and work the rest of the body in a similar manner. Well worth experimenting with.
The Importance of Hand Strength
“Strong wrists are such an advantage that it is impossible to spend too much time at improving their shape and power.”
Here he is not saying that you can’t over-train them. Just at no time should you stop doing exercises to further improve your strength because it is so important and you should always be working to make it even better.
Why is it so important? This quote tells you why:
“You will never be any stronger than your hands and wrists.”
Muscle Quality and Development
“A muscle can be of high or low quality, just as may a steel spring.”
This has deeper meaning then just may be found on the surface.
“There is a way of developing muscle, which gives added size but surprisingly little added strength. There is another way which adds to the muscle’s strength and leaves the size to take care of itself. And there is a third, and it seems to me an ideal way, which not only brings a muscle to its maximum size and greatest beauty of outline but also gives it enormous contractile power.”
Another important statement and I’d say Liederman was well ahead of his time on this one. You can become huge without strength. You can become very strong without size. And you can get both. He definitely favors the last, though I would say, the second has it’s value too. The first not so much in my opinion.
“There are “Strong Men” galore, and I defy you to bring me one who is either small, or weak looking.”
In the book he talks about how some men come to him wanting strength but no size as that is not the fashion. Now you can become insanely strong without becoming huge, but you still won’t look weak. You may have like I do, deceptive strength, but with you won’t be a scrawny and frail looking person.
Tendon, Joint and Fascia Strength
It’s always about muscle building isn’t it? If you get into serious strength training and strongmanism then you’ll hear about tendon, ligament and even bones strength. But what about the fascia?
“I took a physician friend to watch Saxon perform, and when the “bent-press” was made, and Saxon’s body was bent almost double to the side as he forced up a 314-pound weight, my friend exclaimed “that man must have phenomenally strong fascia.””
This is an idea I plan on diving into further in the future. The fascia is much more involved in super strength then it’s given credit for. This example with Saxon is very interesting.
So here we discuss the tendons and what it takes to develop them.
“When he practiced, he would do the sort of stunts which threw heavy work on the full length of the muscles, and on the tendons.”
“To achieve the maximum of strength and beauty, it is necessary to practice exercises which teach your muscles to contract strongly, so as to develop the muscle throughout its full length from tendon to tendon.”
There is also lots of talk of the joint and the strength there. Another important factor for those who would be super strong.
“In the case of any joint, power is located on either side of the joint.”
More Principles of Strength
“Lifting a 300-pound weight from the ground six or eight times will develop the back more rapidly than lifting 500 pounds once. Stretching a 5-strand “exerciser” a dozen times will make the arm muscles bigger than doing the same thing only once or twice with a 7-strand; and much quicker than taking a 2-strander and stretching out 50 times.”
“It has been proven that vigorous movements, repeated only a few times, tend to increase both the size and strength of a muscle much more rapidly than will a violent movement repeated once; or a mild movement repeated one hundred times.”
While I think there can be great success with any rep ranges for the most part this is true. Working in the middle ground for reps does tend to build size best for sure, and can be great for strength too.
“Has it ever occurred to you that his symmetry may account for a large part of a “Strong Man’s” power?”
In the book he talks about the fact that no one becomes completely symmetrical, but by becoming stronger you tend to balance out. And finally this symmetry may be a big key in whole body super strength. I’ve never heard it put this way before.
“I long ago found out that it was the constant use of the back, which gave such great strength to some of those laborers; and my criticism of most “exercise systems” is that they pay insufficient attention to creating back-strength.”
Make sure you’re consistently focusing on back strength. Enough said.
Digestion and Diet of Strong Men
“I have never yet met a “Strong Man” whose digestion was poor…I believe that the almost perfect digestion of those who are very strong is mostly due to the development of the muscles in the neighborhood of the digestive tract.”
I see this too. With many strongmen of today and year’s past, though certainly not all, you can read about there incredible eating habits as well.
Is the theory on why this is the case true? Hard to be sure though I think it is. Working the muscles around the organs, effects those organs, and is sure to help them move and keep things running correctly.
“I sometimes wonder if anyone besides myself ever noticed the similarity of the diets of an invalid and a “Strong Man.” A man recovering from an illness will be given broths, beef tea, milk-and-eggs, ice-cream, milk-toast; and as he gets stronger, meat. That is just the kind of dishes the “Strong Man” naturally prefers. I know professionals who at the end of an exhausting act will consume large quantities of beef tea, or some meat extract. They claim that it immediately restores their strength; the explanation being that the juices of the meat are assimilated very rapidly.”
That first statement is very interesting. To become super strong and big it is wise to go for foods that are easily assimilated. Now I might not agree with everything that is on that list, for instance dairy doesn’t work great for me, but the idea is solid.
Endurance, Lung and Heart Power
“The exertion of great strength for short periods calls for a stronger heart, than mild exertion over long periods. To run 100 yards in ten seconds is harder on the heart than running a mile in six minutes. Now we will get back to the “Strong Man.””
“When a muscle is highly tensed, the blood-vessels which serve it are squeezed together, and it takes a very strong heart to keep the blood flowing through these compressed arteries and veins.”
For true endurance, and conditioning you can’t just do “cardio”. A stronger heart and lungs comes from stronger work. Of course I would say run the 6 minute mile and the 100 yards in ten seconds. (I haven’t done running of that manner in quite some time. I’d be curious where I was at right now.)
“The really “Strong Man” can show three or four times as much lung-expansion as can the average man; and twice as much as most athletes can show.”
This shows the value of “strength” work in building conditioning. Greater lung power allows you to do much else.
“Most people think that the only reason for cultivating the lungs is to promote endurance; whereas big powerful lungs actually add to a man’s strength because they add vastly to his energy.”
Building good conditioning isn’t just important for that fact alone but because it seems to just increase your overall energy too.
Overtraining and Nervous Energy
“This nervous energy is a fine thing to have in reserve so that it can be used in great emergencies; but I am convinced that if a man thus forced his strength, and spent his energy thus prodigally in his daily exercise, or his daily work, he would soon become both muscularly and nervously exhausted…Remember the word “spent,” and be careful when exercising never to spend your energy beyond your power to replace it.”
These days I don’t work that hard in my training. Why? Because I don’t have to. I don’t need to tap into my reserves in order to grow stronger. Like he said, once in awhile is fine. There is an old Chinese maxim that I often quote. It’s okay to become tired but never exhausted. To many people make the point of their workout to reach exhaustion and they will suffer the results because of that.
“While it takes a lot of hard work to develop a muscle to its limit, you can keep it at its limit by only a little work.”
This is an important idea too many don’t seem to realize. Gaining something takes a good amount of work. Keep it there really doesn’t take much. But if you don’t do that bare minimum you will lose it to some degree, and have to then devote work to get it back.
“A prize-fighter preparing for an important contest will spend six weeks in training for the battle. Experience has shown that an athletic man can be brought to the very top notch of condition in that length of time.”
I have found this to be true with myself. When I don’t follow the above and keep things maintained I find that within six weeks I can usually get back to my previous bests in just about anything.
“If after your exercise, your bath and your rub-down, you feel fit to battle for a kingdom, then your schedule is right. If, on the contrary, your exercise so exhausts you that it is hours before you again feel brisk, then the work is too heavy, and you must either take a rest, or else reduce the severity and amount of the exercise.”
The litmus test for if your training is right or not.
“Literally he has worked himself out, and that is exactly the thing the strength-seeker cannot afford to do. If your idea of training is that you must dash from one exercise to the next with the sole purpose of “getting up a sweat,” then I can tell you right here that you will never get very strong, or well-developed until you give up that idea.”
Working out and becoming strong are not the same thing. There can be different approaches for each.
“Beware of rigid schedules. It would be exceedingly pleasant if you could go on forever gaining at the same rate of speed, but nature simply won’t work that way.”
You must listen to your body. Nature does not move linearly. If you schedule yourself that way it will not work out.
Performing as a Strongman
This book even has tips on performing. It has everything!
“The secret is, that the performer has carefully arranged his stunts in such order that a hard feat will be sandwiched in between two comparatively easy ones. And always the “big feature” – the feat which requires a terrific output of strength and energy comes right at the end of the act. That happens to be the correct thing to do from the theatrical standpoint, since an act should always be arranged as to “work the audience up” to a grand finale.”
A very helpful tip on showmanship and how to structure your act to make it easiest on you.
Like I mentioned before I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one. There was much more gold in Secrets of Strength then even I mentioned here, so be sure to read it yourself if you haven’t already.
I’d love to get your questions and comments below.
Comments
Inherited and Acquired Strength
Personally I think it is important to address this question thoroughly. The well intentioned instructor will say that genetics are not as big a component as most think. I don’t believe that is true. Genetically we have a set strength limit and a rate of progress. Our genes determine everything about us. Once we have reached the limit of our height, there is nothing we can do to exceed it. Unlike our height however, at adulthood, our strength is not set at our limit. It is a trainable quality but only within our personal genetic boundaries. Achieving our limit strength is difficult from many angles. To overcome these obstacles we require education as well as certain personal qualities.
“He then discusses why laborers don’t become super strong.”
Probably we agree on this and it is just the expression of it that differs. I think labourers are strong but that labouring is a poor program for developing genetic limit strength. This is not surprising as this is not the intention of manual labour. This discussion in the book however is just a vehicle to highlight his training ideas, which I agree on.
Exercise Ideas
“Walk for 200 yards, while carrying in each hand a dumb-bell weighing over 200 pounds.”
I remember John Brookfield saying in one of your podcasts that holding something like a stone at chest level and walking with it was the best exercise. I too have left this exercise drop for a number of reasons but will rotate it back in at some point.
“Another thing I’m in big agreement with Liederman on is the idea of all around strength. This is my idea of being a Physical Culture Renaissance Man.”
Obviously I am in agreement as well but this exactly is the reason I wanted to comment on labourers not being strong. Their strength is the most practice or lets say functional. Man has to have the capacity to go at it all day, not just for short periods at max loads.
“Here was an example on how explosive work is much better for strength and size then just adding repetitions.”
OK this is something very interesting to me as it is something I have not paid much attention to date. I have been thinking about it but have not yet implemented it. I know this is something that Dragon Door teaches but pretty much just ignored until Pavel said something that struck a cord in me. He spoke about training “power endurance.” That for the first time made sense to me. I will start this at some appropriate point in my training.
The Importance of Hand Strength
Agree. The whole chain will only get stronger if you train the weak links.
Muscle Quality and Development
“A muscle can be of high or low quality, just as may a steel spring.”
I have read the science behind this and understand what is meant. I know Pavel was talking about being “as strong as you look,” and being small and strong. My perspective is that it is much more about your genetics than about what exercises you do or how you do them. I have seen a few men who were very much large than me but weaker and we were all doing the same bodybuilding exercises. Likewise I have seen others that were far skinnier than me and lifting double the weight; once again with a background of the same exercises and programming.
I spent some time writing on genetics above because I think it answers a lot of questions and clarifies the situation if we give genetics it’s due.
Tendon, Joint and Fascia Strength
Logan this is something I know nothing about and would like to hear everything you have to say on the topic. In a practical sense, I can’t see how to train tendon, joint and fascia other than through muscle training. Training the fascia, to me could only be through training slings or chains of muscles through whole body exercises, which is what I am currently doing. In my own programming, I emphasis progression in load and volume and as my knowledge starts to increase, through exercise selection.
There is also lots of talk of the joint and the strength there. Another important factor for those who would be super strong.
“In the case of any joint, power is located on either side of the joint.”
I find this an interesting point but have no idea how to introduce it into my training or if anything other than whole body or body integration would be beneficial.
More Principles of Strength
“Has it ever occurred to you that his symmetry may account for a large part of a “Strong Man’s” power?”
A very interesting section. I try to cover this in my training, once again, by only doing whole body exercises. In this way, muscles are trained in proportion.
From above we know that muscle size and muscle strength are two different things. I feel it is genetically possible that I have large traps, or large biceps (in comparison to my whole body). So I won’t visually look symmetrical but strength wise be symmetrical.
“In the book he talks about the fact that no one becomes completely symmetrical, but by becoming stronger you tend to balance out. And finally this symmetry may be a big key in whole body super strength. I’ve never heard it put this way before.
I am finding now after 4-5 years of continuous training (in the same area) that the same exercises are having a different effect on me. I feel the reason for this, is that my body has learnt to work as a single unit; and as I have gotten stronger and the load significantly increased there are muscles now working to stablise me, and assist in an action, that simply were not working before, or not noticeably working before. Is this symmetry in action? I think so.
“I long ago found out that it was the constant use of the back, which gave such great strength to some of those laborers; and my criticism of most “exercise systems” is that they pay insufficient attention to creating back-strength.”
Make sure you’re consistently focusing on back strength. Enough said.
It is not just back strength. The back is 55% slow twitch in general. It works isometrically to stabilise while the power comes from the glutes. What is needed is for the body to work as designed and integrate it’s effort with the rest of the body. Once again practice whole body exercise.
Digestion and Diet of Strong Men
“I have never yet met a “Strong Man” whose digestion was poor…I believe that the almost perfect digestion of those who are very strong is mostly due to the development of the muscles in the neighborhood of the digestive tract.”
I am finding now I am eating even more food (meat and vegetables) than every before. I am yet hungry again in as little as 2-3 hours after a heavy meal. Food is being eliminated very quickly.
Endurance, Lung and Heart Power
“When a muscle is highly tensed, the blood-vessels which serve it are squeezed together, and it takes a very strong heart to keep the blood flowing through these compressed arteries and veins.”
Now that is very cool to read. Makes all the sense in the world. This is just the way I train.
“Most people think that the only reason for cultivating the lungs is to promote endurance; whereas big powerful lungs actually add to a man’s strength because they add vastly to his energy.”
Agree totally. Breath needs to be integrated with the movement and true cardio requires load.
Overtraining and Nervous Energy
I train until I am spent. It is something that is on my mind. I do eat well and sleep long and will not train again until I have achieved super compensation. So I am making progress. Is it possible to continue the gains I am making and stop at an earlier point in a session? I don’t know the answer to that and I don’t trust others enough to try at this point. I know a little about periodisation but don’t understand it well and also don’t trust it. I have no interest in maintaining either. I have no time for that.
Hope I haven’t banged on for too long. All the best.
hello there @ anthony, your mind is the most important factor in gaining super strength, unless you are severly handicapped you can alter your genetic expression with training and mental exercises in order to upgrade your power levels. this is obvious because i know people from the same family one being very strong one not at all.
@Anthony: Wow Anthony, thanks for writing so much. Genetics are important but you also have to look at the field of epigenetics, and how we can influence the results of our genes through nutrition, training and the mind. I’d say true genetic potential only really comes into play at the most elite levels, but the average person doesn’t really even need to think about their genetics.
For the fascia, you’re right in that you’d train it the same way, but what if you specifically thought in terms of slings and whatnot, instead of muscles. Would that train how you train at all? Just an idea, lots more experimenting to see if there’s value to it.
Also on your last point I’ve written about this in my Master Keys book. If you don’t train as intensely you can train more often. But if you do train all out, the one thing you must do is recover completely between workouts to make it work, and most people don’t
@ anthony, your mind is the most important factor in gaining super strength, unless you are severly handicapped you can alter your genetic expression with training and mental exercises in order to upgrade your power levels. this is obvious because i know people from the same family one being very strong one not at all.
Anthony, periodization is a tool used for competitive sports; ie, powerlifting, football, fighting, etc…It gives you an easy starting point gradually ramping up until you time your peak with your competition. It is all about timing and recovery for the sport. Every sport requires an off season, pre-season, maintenance cycle. You don’t want your training to interfere with the game or match.
Logan,
Thanks for the great info.
Could you elaborate on the ladder setup.
I would imagine it was climbing a ladder from underneath using just arms.
I would imagine a bachar ladder would up the challenge quite a bit, but may be to dangerous.
@Bryan: From what I got from the book the ladder was setup at an angle and the climbing was underneath it so he had to pull up to gain height with each step.
@quan: I agree with you on the power of the mind, though there can be some genetic issues, especially at elite levels, that can’t be overcome with mind power along.
@ Dan and Logan. I agree that it is only at advanced levels that genes make a difference and that for the average person it doesn’t at all. Because when you look at the average person, they are at a very low level.
Have you see this book?
https://www.amazon.com/Manthropology-Science-Modern-Male-Used/dp/1250003229/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341400988&sr=1-1&keywords=manthropology
What people are capable of, is a very high level above what they are operating at.
@Logan My training is heavy sledge hammer, tyre dragging, the swing, Battling Rope, i’ll add walking with a weight, and diagonal sandbag shoulder. I try to do natural movements that incorporate the whole body. I think in terms of movement patterns, though I don’t have an advanced understanding of this. I don’t think about slings or chains of muscle. I have the book Anatomy Trains but have not read it yet. It is interest to read and learn and compare this to what you do in your training. However, I think that this line of investigation can at best clarify what you are doing, or provide a viewpoint from a different direction. I don’t think that it should dictate what you do because what you do, should be a reflection of natural movement. I always think about the person that works in an office all day. After work they might go to the local gym to train on machines. After a year, they will be lifting heavier weights and they will notice that their muscles are bigger. I think about this because it is a totally false reality because these gains can’t be used in everyday activities.
I remember the day a car broke down at the traffic lights in front of me at the crossing. I helped the owner push his car around the corner and up a slight incline through the driveway of a petrol station (gas station?). The distance was only about 25 metres. I made it but it was my absolute physical limit. I realised then that I had to change my training.
I am sure if I didn’t train so intensely, I could train more often. But I know training more often would not mean an increase in development.
@Dan. Thanks for your comment. I know generally what periodization is. I know it’s goals and purposes. I don’t know if it aligns with my personal needs. I would definitely like a way to reduce my level of fatigue; and so I am working on the recovery side of the equation. So far, not much luck LOL. The stronger and fitter I get, the heavier I go, and the more volume I do. So my relationship with fatigue is always running parallel to me. If I can recover a day earlier; then I just go bury myself again.
Staying fresh and sparkling all the time would be great but there is something else at play. It is the; what you need to do to survive the tough training sessions; that means a lot to me. The mental side of it. I would even say spiritual side. To never have to push yourself; to never have to fight to hang on; to never have to take another 20 or 30 min to walk around to come down from, and enjoy they high. I don’t want to bypass that. I think this means something. I want to keep experiencing this and see where it leads.
All the best
@Anthony: Haven’t seen that book but I’ll check it out. Like you I have the Anatomy Trains book but haven’t read it. Yes, I agree I think it’s still best to think in terms of movements, not muscles or not fascia, but there may be some uses in there.
I’d be careful if you’re always fatigue from training. Even without overtraining you’re more likely to injure yourself that way. You can’t always go heavier AND more volume. The mental toughness side is important, but realize you really don’t need to be training that quality all the time. In fact, in my experience it sticks around so you only need to train it every once in awhile.
” Genetic Potential ”
You cannot go past your genetic potential, in strength or size unless you use Synthetic Testosterone .
Everyone has different limits to strength and size.
I have read numerous articles that everyone can build a 16 inch upper arm ( bicep ), if they sleep so and so take in so and so calories , Ingest 1gram of protein per lb of bodyweight ,don’t over train, don’t under train don’t work the nerve very often ( failure training ).
I have been training for over 30 years and never achieved past a lean (hard)15 inch upper arm nor past 23 inch legs, 43 1\2 chest, 15 inch neck, at12%body fat at a bodyweight of 155lbs 5’8″ . My Chest is big for bodyweight from expanding rib box as a teen .
When trying to go past 160 my waist would increase at 180 lbs fat as a pig
Secret’s of strength..Outstanding Read !!!
@Logan. Thanks for your response. The book is very interesting. It is not all on human performance but I think you would enjoy reading it. You might find it in a library. I bought it a while back but recently saw it in the library.
I am working hard on recovery. I won’t train again unless I know I can achieve a PR. Weight is the last thing I will increase. When I do increase weight, it will actually be an easy training session.
One of the things I will also do, is place some easier exercises between the more draining ones. Things like the tyre drag and Battling Ropes. While you can still work to the limit of you physical ability they do not cut so deep into your resources as heavy swings or hammer training.
Now I am thinking we are at mid year and it might be time for me to take my 4 weeks break. Or maybe I will try to do some lighter exercise.
Secrets of Strength does seem like a very good book.
The Importance of Big Lungs and Strong Heart
I thought I would just pull this chapter heading out.
“When a muscle is highly tensed, the blood-vessels which serve it are squeezed together, and it takes a very strong heart to keep the blood flowing through these compressed arteries and veins.”
I love the clarity of the explanation.
Logan I bet your KB Snatching had a profound effect on your heart and lungs. Have you tried heavy sledge hammer? I measured my heart rate one night about a week ago and found my rested rate was 45 bpm. I have never seen it that low before. Sitting here it is up to 53 now though. Have you noticed any significant changes? Anyone else?
@Anthony: Yeah my heart rate is usually somewhere in the 50’s but I haven’t been monitoring it much at all lately. I’ve done some sledgehammer swinging, but not a whole bunch of it.
My HR is naturally low. Even when I am fat and untrained. Looking at the Snatch video you did sometime back, I would guess you are definitely in the super human range.
Our there any old time strongmen who focused on sledge hammer? I am interested in any comments anyone might have in the area of sledge hammer training.
I just found a link to this book and others by Liederman.
https://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Liederman/liederman-index.htm#sos
@Anthony: I’m well aware that all these books are available online I just prefer the hard copies, as do many other people.
There’s Slim the Hammerman, but I don’t know any besides him. If you’re not familiar with him I would do some research.
Thanks Logan.
” Genetic Potential ”
You cannot go past your genetic potential, in strength or size unless you use Synthetic Testosterone .
Everyone has different limits to strength and size.
I have read numerous articles that everyone can build a 16 inch upper arm ( bicep ), if they sleep so and so take in so and so calories , Ingest 1gram of protein per lb of bodyweight ,don’t over train, don’t under train don’t work the nerve very often ( failure training ).
I have been training for over 30 years and never achieved past a lean (hard)15 inch upper arm nor past 23 inch legs, 43 1\2 chest, 15 inch neck, at12%body fat at a bodyweight of 155lbs 5’8″ . My Chest is big for bodyweight from expanding rib box as a teen .
When trying to go past 160 my waist would increase at 180 lbs fat as a pig
Secret’s of strength..Outstanding Read !!!