Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Doctors have told us for years that
weightlifting was dangerous -- and
specifically, that it raises your
blood pressure.
So here's something that's pretty
interesting. I spotted it in a book
called WEIGHT TRAINING IN ATHLETICS,
written by James A. Murray and Dr.
Peter Karpovich. It was published in
1956.
Someone -- the book doesn't say who --
decided to take the blood pressure of
competitive weightlifters before, during
and after a contest. The purpose of the
testing was to measure the effect of
the contest -- in other words, the
excitement of the contest -- on the
athletes.
The contest was not identified, but it
lasted three days, so it must have been a
major competition -- probably the USA
Senior Nationals or perhaps even the
World Championships.
We don't know the year the study was
performed, but based on the publication
date of the book and other internal clues
it was probably in the 1950 to 1955 range.
So the lifters were elite athletes at the
peak of their training -- with many years
of hard and heavy lifting under their belts.
They were Olympic lifters, so their training
included plenty of low rep work with very
heavy weights on exercises such as the
military press, the incline press, dumbbell
pressing, the squat, the front squat, cleans,
snatches, the clean and press, the clean and
jerk, high pulls, etc.
Their bodyweight would have ranged from 123
pounds on up through the different weight
classes (123/1/32/148/165/181/198 and Heavy-
weight).
The lifters would have been very lean, with
low bodyfat. Even the Heavyweights would have
been fairly light and fairly lean by modern
standards.
It is doubtful that any of the lifters did
cardio training. However, some of them may
have performed 20 rep squats or performed
sets of 5 reps in the clean and jerk or the
snatch -- both of which give you one heck
of a cardio workout. And they may have played
sports in high school or college -- which
means they would have done lots of running
and conditioning work.
It also is doubtful that any of the lifters
used anabolic steroids or other drugs -- and
if they used food supplements, they were
primitive by modern standards. Stuff like
wheat germ oil, vitamin/mineral tablets,
and (horrible tasting) protein powder made
from soybeans.
Their diets varied, but they probably ate lots
of protein (meat, eggs and milk), and lots of
fresh vegetables.
Now, if you asked your doctor what the
average blood pressure for these athletes
was measured at -- and remember, these were
athletes who were doing HEAVY weightlifting --
he'd probably say that it "must have been off
the charts."
He'd be wrong.
The average blood pressure of the weightlifters
was 115/58 the day before the contest.
On the first day of the contest, it went up to
129/54.
On day 2 of the contest, it was 140/66.
On day 3, it reached 146/64.
Two days after the contest, it was back to
normal -- 120/55.
Now, leave aside the increase DURING the contest.
It's only natural to see an increase in blood
pressure if you're in the middle of a National
or World championship.
But look at the average blood pressure before
and after the competition.
120/55 is really good.
I wish we knew more about this study -- and I wish
it could be replicated today. But it can't. You've
got the steroid issue -- as well as the modern day
super supplements -- and that would undoubtedly
skew the results.
But if we focus on NATURAL athletes -- involved in
HEAVY weightlifting -- this study gives plenty of
room for thought.
Maybe weightlifting isn't really all that bad.
And maybe -- just maybe -- it's actually healthy!
Now, one final thought -- and this is important.
Pay attention. If you DO have high blood pressure,
talk things through with your doctor -- and get
your diet, lifestyle and exercise program working
together to help lower it. That's especially true
for anyone over the age of 35 who reads this.
Remember, this was a study of YOUNG athletes --
late teens through mid-20's. So if you're older
and blood pressure is an issue, work with your
doctor to get it down safely and efficiently.
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. Always train for strength AND health. They're
both important -- and old-school training methods
are the best way to build them. For more information,
grab any of my books or courses -- my Dinosaur
Training DVD's -- and the Dinosaur Files newsletter:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 2. Thought for the day: "There's far more people
who do WAIT training than WEIGHT training -- and that's
a shame." -- Brooks Kubik
