Hail to the Dinosaurs!
I bought my very first issue of Peary Rader's
IronMan magazine in early 1969. I still have
it.
The first 9 pages were ads for Body Culture
Equipment, which Peary Rader made and
sold. Squat stands, barbells, dumbbells,
plates, benches, chinning bars, lat machines,
leg press machines, grip blasters, the Magic
Circle for squats and Hise shrugs -- it was
like the Sears Roebuck Christmas catalog
for lifters.
On page 9, there's an ad for Iron Man barbell
plates. You could buy a 50 pound plate for 8
and a half bucks, plus freight charges.
The plates were advertised as Olympic type
plates. You could choose the size of the
center hole. It was your choice of 1 1/8 or
two inch holes. The former were for what
we called "exercise barbells" -- the latter
were for Olympic barbells.
If I had been smart, I would have bought
a bunch of those plates. But I was young,
and I didn't have any cash, so I didn't. But
I always looked at that ad (it was in every
issue of the magazine), and I always
thought they would be pretty good
plates.
Fast forward to 2015.
The phone rings.
It's my buddy, John Wood.
He just bought six 50-pound IronMan barbell
plates on eBay -- and the guy who sold them
lives in southern Indiana, just across the Ohio
River from Louisville.
Can I run over and pick them up and keep
them until John gets a chance to travel to
Louisville to pick up his plates?
Of course I can!
It's a treasure hunt -- a treasure hunt for
old iron.
One quick trip later, I have 300 pounds of
old IronMan plates out in the garage. That's
pretty cool. The plates are a direct link to the
past -- and to Peary Rader, the man they used
to call "Mr. Integrity." Heck, maybe Peary Rader
actually touched these plates. They may have
IronMan DNA.
The back story on the plates is this: they were
owned by an eye doctor who worked in a small
town in southern Indiana. He trained with them
well into his 70s (and perhaps longer). He
passed away in his 90s.
His home gym included dumbbells up to 75
pounds. They were made the old-fashioned
way, with small plates. The outer collars were
welded on. I used to lift plenty of barbells and
dumbbells like that when I was younger. It
was what you saw in most gyms back then.
He also had some Jackson Barbell Company
plates. A man in Missouri bought those, and
travelled all the way out here to pick them
up. The Jackson barbell Company was owned
by Andy Jackson, who lived in New Jersey, so
those plates have travelled quite a distance
over the years -- and they're still travelling.
Maybe they'll make it all the way to the
West Coast someday.
The man who owned the plates also had a
pretty good magazine collection. It sounds
like he was quite a lifter -- and quite a
lifting fan. I bet he had plenty of great
workouts over the years -- and I bet
those old plates had plenty of fun
hanging out with him. Plates enjoy
workouts just as much as lifters
do.
I've been doing all Olympic lifting for a long
time now, and I use an Olympic bar and
bumper plates so I don't destroy my lifting
platform. But those old IronMan plates
are awfully tempting.
They have plenty of rust on them, but
maybe I need to clean it off and paint
them with brand new paint (using the
original IronMan blue), and give them
a workout or two while I have the
chance.
I think they'd like that. And I think it
would be the right thing to do.
After all, they're old iron. And old iron
deserves to be lifted once in awhile.
As always, thanks for reading and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a
good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. 2. Here's some terrific courses about old iron
and old school training. They're available in your
choice of hard copy or Kindle e-book:
Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1.
"Exercises, Workouts and Training
Programs"
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html
Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 2,
"How Strong Are You?"
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_02.html
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets2_kindle.html
Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 3,
"How to Use Old-School Progression
Methods for Fast and Steady Gains in
Strength, Muscle and Power"
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html
NOTE: If you want to order all three courses
in hard copy editions, please shoot me an
email and ask for a shipping quote. We can
probably save you some clams, especially if
you live overseas.
P.S. 2.My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Old iron deserves to
be lifted." -- Brooks Kubik
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