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
Showing posts with label will weight training kill you?. Show all posts
Showing posts with label will weight training kill you?. Show all posts
"I Need More Plates!" He Said
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
I was talking to my dad the other day, and
he mentioned that he needed some more plates
for his workouts.
He's been using a combination of dumbbells,
cables and barbell work -- using the old-
fashioned plate-loading dumbbells he's had
since he started training back in the 1960's.
And now he needs more plates.
That's pretty good when you consider that he's
84 years old.
Now, dad's not lifting tons and tons in his
exercises -- but he's (1) training, (2) working
hard to add reps, and then after he's added reps,
to add weight, (3) and he's getting stronger.
He's also getting bigger and more muscular. He's
gained about ten pounds of muscle over the past
year.
A lot of people think you can't make progress
after a certain age. (Some of them peg it as low
as 30 or 35.)
They're wrong.
You can make progress at any age. My dad's clear
proof of that.
My dad also is clear proof of the difference
between an 84 year old man who works out for 45
minutes two or three times a week, and the same
84 year old man who doesn't train.
Last year, dad had stopped training. He lost
weight, he lost muscle and he lost strength.
This year, he started training again. And as I
said, he's doing great. Ten pounds of muscle
heavier, perfect results when he gets his
physical, tons more energy, feels better,
looks better and now he needs more plates
for his dumbbells.
Whatever age you are, you need to TRAIN. You
need to train for strength, and you need to
make it a regular habit. You need to make it
a part of your life. You need to do it in your
teens, your 20's, your 30's, your 40's, your
50's and beyond. Do it for your entire life.
Just like my dad is doing.
And someday, perhaps many long years from now,
some of you will be hitting the iron at age 84,
and you'll be getting stronger -- and all of a
sudden, you'll need more plates for the bar.
That would be pretty darn good.
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. Grey Hair and Black Iron is one of my dad's
favorite books. It's must reading for any older
lifter -- meaning any lifter age 35 and up.
You can find it right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- DVD's -- Dino
Training shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies -- and the
world-famous Dinosaur Files newsletter -- are right
here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
I was talking to my dad the other day, and
he mentioned that he needed some more plates
for his workouts.
He's been using a combination of dumbbells,
cables and barbell work -- using the old-
fashioned plate-loading dumbbells he's had
since he started training back in the 1960's.
And now he needs more plates.
That's pretty good when you consider that he's
84 years old.
Now, dad's not lifting tons and tons in his
exercises -- but he's (1) training, (2) working
hard to add reps, and then after he's added reps,
to add weight, (3) and he's getting stronger.
He's also getting bigger and more muscular. He's
gained about ten pounds of muscle over the past
year.
A lot of people think you can't make progress
after a certain age. (Some of them peg it as low
as 30 or 35.)
They're wrong.
You can make progress at any age. My dad's clear
proof of that.
My dad also is clear proof of the difference
between an 84 year old man who works out for 45
minutes two or three times a week, and the same
84 year old man who doesn't train.
Last year, dad had stopped training. He lost
weight, he lost muscle and he lost strength.
This year, he started training again. And as I
said, he's doing great. Ten pounds of muscle
heavier, perfect results when he gets his
physical, tons more energy, feels better,
looks better and now he needs more plates
for his dumbbells.
Whatever age you are, you need to TRAIN. You
need to train for strength, and you need to
make it a regular habit. You need to make it
a part of your life. You need to do it in your
teens, your 20's, your 30's, your 40's, your
50's and beyond. Do it for your entire life.
Just like my dad is doing.
And someday, perhaps many long years from now,
some of you will be hitting the iron at age 84,
and you'll be getting stronger -- and all of a
sudden, you'll need more plates for the bar.
That would be pretty darn good.
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. Grey Hair and Black Iron is one of my dad's
favorite books. It's must reading for any older
lifter -- meaning any lifter age 35 and up.
You can find it right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- DVD's -- Dino
Training shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies -- and the
world-famous Dinosaur Files newsletter -- are right
here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
WILL WEIGHT TRAINING KILL YOU?
By Brooks Kubik
Last week I received an email from a young man who was under the impression that strongmen die you – in other words, he thought that weight training and weightlifting will kill you.
When I pressed him. He said that Arthur Saxon and Louis Cyr had died young, and so he thought the same was true of all strongmen.
Several days later I received an email from a man who believed that John Grimek had died relatively young. (In fact, Grimek lived to be 88 years old.)
This reminded me of an article I read in an old issue of Peary Rader’s Iron Man magazine. (Vol. 29, no. 5 – June – July 1970) The article was written by Bob Brown, and was titled:
“Will Weight Training Kill You?”
(Note: Let me give a big THANK YOU to Bob Brown for doing this work and putting it into an article back in 1970 – and the same to Peary Rader for publishing it!)
Brown had been stunned to learn that a famous bodybuilder has passed away at an early age even though he appeared to be the picture of good health. It made him wonder if weight training was somehow bad for your health.
So he sat down and compiled a list of 70 famous physical culturists – bodybuilders, weightlifters, professional strongmen, gym owners, mail order instructors, athletes who used weight training to improve in their chosen sport, etc. – and then started to check to see when they died and how old they were.
And please note: I wasn’t there, and I’ve never talked to the man, and I don’t know how he picked the 70 men. So you may think he selected men who would prove something one way or another. But we can all sit down and do a different list – or a bigger list – and the results would probably be about the same. For example, Peary Rader (who passed at age 82), John Grimek (who passed at age 88), Milo Steinborn (who passed at age 95), Jack Lalanne (who passed at age 97), and the Great Rollino (who passed at age 104) should go on the list.
And also note: we’re dealing with men who practiced old-school physical culture. They were all lifetime natural – one hundred percent drug free.
He broke the results down into three groups:
A. Early Death (age 65 and under)
B. Average Life Span (age 65 to age 75)
C. Long Life (age 75 and older)
I’ve updated his results because some of the men on his list were still living when he wrote his article back in 1970. He placed them in the group for “Average Life Span” but they outlived that category, so I’ve moved them to the “Long Life” group.
Here are Brown’s updated findings:
EARLY DEATH (AGE 65 AND UNDER)
1. Floyd Page (heart attack) 38
2. Ray Van Cleef (heart attack) 54
3. Karl Moerke 52
4. Alois Sebos 38
5. Dr. Krajewski (Apoplexy) 63
6. Eugene Sandow 58
7. Arthur Saxon 43
8. Roger Eells (heart attack) 54
9. Ronald Walker (cancer) 40
10. Louis Cyr (kidney disease) 49
11. Wally Zagurski (heart attack) 50
12. Vic Nicolette (heart attack) 50
13. Harry Paschall (heart attack) 60
14. Tony Terlazzo (heart attack) 53
15. Karl Swoboda (heart attack) 50 (?)
16. Charles Rigoulot (heart attack) 59
17. Jack Kent (heart attack) 52
18. Bobby Pandour 38
19. Wm. Oliphant 60
AVERAGE LIFE SPAN (AGE 65 to 70)
1. Warren Lincoln Travis (heart attack) 65
2. Charles “The Biceps” Poire 69
3. Hector Decarie 70
4. Antone Matysek 71
5. Alan Calvert 69
6. Paul Von Boechmann 73
7. The Great Batta 73
8. Henry Blackman 70
9. W.C. Pullum 73
10. Albert Taucher over 73
11. Prof. William J. Hermann over 70
12. Win Franklin over 72
13. Sam Kramer 75
14. Charles Atlas 77
LONG LIFE (75 AND UP)
1. Sig Klein 85
2. Bob Hoffman 87
3. Albert Taucher
4. Cannon Ball Richards 82
5. Dr. Frederick Tilney 82
6. Sanford Bennet 85
7. George Hackenschmidt 90
8. Oscar Mathes over 80
9. Prof. Attila 80
10. Lou Poulton over 81
11. Prof. Anthony Baker 103
12. Frank Jerson over 81
13. Paul Bragg 81
14. Wilf Diamond 86
15. The Mighty Atom 80
16. Thomas Inch 82
17. Ottley Coulter 80
18. Lionel Strongfort 92
19. Bernarr McFadden 88
20. Father Lange over 82
21. Buermeyer 83
22. Earl E. Liederman 84
23. George F. Jowett 79
24. Maxick 79
25. Al Treolar 86
26. Otto Arco 82
27. Stanislau Zbyzcho 88
28. John Y. Smith 90
29. Adolph Nordquest 80
30. Otis Lambert 87
31. Roy White 108
32. Prof. Siebert 95
33. Herman Saxon 80
34. Tom Aston 80
35. Carl Busch 80
36. Jim Jeffreys 78
37. Karl Norberg over 80
ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
In a group of 70 randomly selected famous weight trainers and weightlifters, we have:
* 19 (about 27 percent) who died young
* 14 (about 20 percent) who had an average life span
* 37 (about 53 percent) lived a long life
* 5 (about 7 percent) lived to age 90 or above
* 2 (about 3 percent) lived to age 100 or more
(Note: In 1970, the USA had roughly 200 million people and an estimated 4800 centenarians per U.S. Census figures. What were the odds of finding TWO centenarians in any randomly selected group of 70 persons?)
Brown believed – and I agree -- that was pretty good proof that weight training will NOT kill you – and in fact, that regular exercise, coupled with good nutrition, will add many years to your life.
So, I ask – Will weight training kill you?
Look at the data, and draw your own conclusions.
FOR MORE ABOUT OLD-SCHOOL PHYSICAL CULTURE AND ITS AMAZING BENEFITS, SEE MY BOOKS AND COURSES – AVAILABLE AT:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
Last week I received an email from a young man who was under the impression that strongmen die you – in other words, he thought that weight training and weightlifting will kill you.
When I pressed him. He said that Arthur Saxon and Louis Cyr had died young, and so he thought the same was true of all strongmen.
Several days later I received an email from a man who believed that John Grimek had died relatively young. (In fact, Grimek lived to be 88 years old.)
This reminded me of an article I read in an old issue of Peary Rader’s Iron Man magazine. (Vol. 29, no. 5 – June – July 1970) The article was written by Bob Brown, and was titled:
“Will Weight Training Kill You?”
(Note: Let me give a big THANK YOU to Bob Brown for doing this work and putting it into an article back in 1970 – and the same to Peary Rader for publishing it!)
Brown had been stunned to learn that a famous bodybuilder has passed away at an early age even though he appeared to be the picture of good health. It made him wonder if weight training was somehow bad for your health.
So he sat down and compiled a list of 70 famous physical culturists – bodybuilders, weightlifters, professional strongmen, gym owners, mail order instructors, athletes who used weight training to improve in their chosen sport, etc. – and then started to check to see when they died and how old they were.
And please note: I wasn’t there, and I’ve never talked to the man, and I don’t know how he picked the 70 men. So you may think he selected men who would prove something one way or another. But we can all sit down and do a different list – or a bigger list – and the results would probably be about the same. For example, Peary Rader (who passed at age 82), John Grimek (who passed at age 88), Milo Steinborn (who passed at age 95), Jack Lalanne (who passed at age 97), and the Great Rollino (who passed at age 104) should go on the list.
And also note: we’re dealing with men who practiced old-school physical culture. They were all lifetime natural – one hundred percent drug free.
He broke the results down into three groups:
A. Early Death (age 65 and under)
B. Average Life Span (age 65 to age 75)
C. Long Life (age 75 and older)
I’ve updated his results because some of the men on his list were still living when he wrote his article back in 1970. He placed them in the group for “Average Life Span” but they outlived that category, so I’ve moved them to the “Long Life” group.
Here are Brown’s updated findings:
EARLY DEATH (AGE 65 AND UNDER)
1. Floyd Page (heart attack) 38
2. Ray Van Cleef (heart attack) 54
3. Karl Moerke 52
4. Alois Sebos 38
5. Dr. Krajewski (Apoplexy) 63
6. Eugene Sandow 58
7. Arthur Saxon 43
8. Roger Eells (heart attack) 54
9. Ronald Walker (cancer) 40
10. Louis Cyr (kidney disease) 49
11. Wally Zagurski (heart attack) 50
12. Vic Nicolette (heart attack) 50
13. Harry Paschall (heart attack) 60
14. Tony Terlazzo (heart attack) 53
15. Karl Swoboda (heart attack) 50 (?)
16. Charles Rigoulot (heart attack) 59
17. Jack Kent (heart attack) 52
18. Bobby Pandour 38
19. Wm. Oliphant 60
AVERAGE LIFE SPAN (AGE 65 to 70)
1. Warren Lincoln Travis (heart attack) 65
2. Charles “The Biceps” Poire 69
3. Hector Decarie 70
4. Antone Matysek 71
5. Alan Calvert 69
6. Paul Von Boechmann 73
7. The Great Batta 73
8. Henry Blackman 70
9. W.C. Pullum 73
10. Albert Taucher over 73
11. Prof. William J. Hermann over 70
12. Win Franklin over 72
13. Sam Kramer 75
14. Charles Atlas 77
LONG LIFE (75 AND UP)
1. Sig Klein 85
2. Bob Hoffman 87
3. Albert Taucher
4. Cannon Ball Richards 82
5. Dr. Frederick Tilney 82
6. Sanford Bennet 85
7. George Hackenschmidt 90
8. Oscar Mathes over 80
9. Prof. Attila 80
10. Lou Poulton over 81
11. Prof. Anthony Baker 103
12. Frank Jerson over 81
13. Paul Bragg 81
14. Wilf Diamond 86
15. The Mighty Atom 80
16. Thomas Inch 82
17. Ottley Coulter 80
18. Lionel Strongfort 92
19. Bernarr McFadden 88
20. Father Lange over 82
21. Buermeyer 83
22. Earl E. Liederman 84
23. George F. Jowett 79
24. Maxick 79
25. Al Treolar 86
26. Otto Arco 82
27. Stanislau Zbyzcho 88
28. John Y. Smith 90
29. Adolph Nordquest 80
30. Otis Lambert 87
31. Roy White 108
32. Prof. Siebert 95
33. Herman Saxon 80
34. Tom Aston 80
35. Carl Busch 80
36. Jim Jeffreys 78
37. Karl Norberg over 80
ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
In a group of 70 randomly selected famous weight trainers and weightlifters, we have:
* 19 (about 27 percent) who died young
* 14 (about 20 percent) who had an average life span
* 37 (about 53 percent) lived a long life
* 5 (about 7 percent) lived to age 90 or above
* 2 (about 3 percent) lived to age 100 or more
(Note: In 1970, the USA had roughly 200 million people and an estimated 4800 centenarians per U.S. Census figures. What were the odds of finding TWO centenarians in any randomly selected group of 70 persons?)
Brown believed – and I agree -- that was pretty good proof that weight training will NOT kill you – and in fact, that regular exercise, coupled with good nutrition, will add many years to your life.
So, I ask – Will weight training kill you?
Look at the data, and draw your own conclusions.
FOR MORE ABOUT OLD-SCHOOL PHYSICAL CULTURE AND ITS AMAZING BENEFITS, SEE MY BOOKS AND COURSES – AVAILABLE AT:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
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