History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
One
by Dr. Ken Leistner
There are many fundamental differences among the participants
of the various aspects of the iron related sports. The emotional
response and make up of the athletes involved in strongman
competition differs from those who compete in bodybuilding
shows and powerlifters think and often behave very differently
than those who do Olympic weightlifting as their primary
sport. It wasn’t always like this.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training -
Part Two
by Dr. Ken Leistner
One’s choice of lifting activity could have been very
much determined by their geographic location in the 1940’s
through the 1960’s. Referring to the first installment
of this series, while most “training guys” did
the same basic exercises, different parts of the country,
different parts of some specific states, gravitated to one
of the three major types of lifting expression. The most
obvious example of this was the York Barbell Club located
in York, Pennsylvania.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
Three
by Dr. Ken Leistner
In the days before the internet and immediate worldwide communication,
the wonders of bodybuilding, especially in California, was
brought to the attention of the many eager enthusiasts across
the country, through the pages of Joe Weider’s various
muscle building publications. It was necessary to present news
from all of the weight training related activities. There weren’t
enough of any one group of devotees that one could expect to
publish and distribute a “muscle magazine” and
make a living off of it if any particular group was completely
ignored.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
Four
by Dr. Ken Leistner
The New York Scene.
In the New York City area, Olympic lifting was very popular
in the early to mid-1960’s. There were pockets of activity
that spread from The McBurney YMCA basement on 23rd Street
in Manhattan to Lost Battalion Hall in Queens, all the way
out to Suffolk County’s Islip Youth Center. All boasted
good lifters, some like Larry Mintz, a young Artie Dreschler
who is now active as the director of the Association Of Oldetime
Barbell And Strongmen, and Tom Marshall were of national level.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
Five
by Dr. Ken Leistner
A Bit Of Lifting And Training History
From My Perspective.
With the proliferation of health clubs, spas, fitness facilities,
gyms, and the fact that most martial arts and yoga teachers
have somehow branched out into personal training or “their-specialty-specific
lose weight and inches fitness training” it might be
beyond the understanding of the last two generations that there
actually was a time when it was almost impossible to find a
gym that had barbells and dumbbells in it within the confines
of any town or village in the United States.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
Six
by Dr. Ken Leistner
My Introduction to Equipment.
During the first few years of my training, I had little awareness
of the specific qualities that made equipment “good” or “bad.” My
guideline was whatever I saw within the pages of Strength And
Health, Muscle Power, Mr. America (and Young Mr. America),
and by 1964, Iron Man Magazines. Without knowing it, I had
very serviceable equipment to train with, and it allowed me
to learn and perform the basic result producing exercises.
Of the fellows I knew that began weight training, nearly one-hundred
percent had a basic 110-pound barbell and dumbbell set. Some
used a picnic bench to perform the exercises that were illustrated
in the magazines and one or two had a commercial quality bench.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
Seven
by Dr. Ken Leistner
Let's Keep Talking About That Classic
Equipment.
In the early to mid-Sixties, my garage or basement, dependent
upon where I had my limited equipment set-up, would have reflected
the era’s typical “home gym” for a serious
trainee or at least one that wasn’t headed towards physique
competition. The belief, and one that within limits was a legitimate
one, was that a competition level bodybuilder needed more than
the so-called basics and the equipment that could provide those
movements. Thus the high level bodybuilders were seeking a
broad selection of dumbbells, a high and low pulley arrangement,
and numerous angled benches and they considered these to be
necessities.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
Eight
by Dr. Ken Leistner
Early Awareness, Bars and Plates.
As a relatively astute young man whose compulsiveness leaned
towards “having to know everything” about whatever
it was that caught my interest, I often got hung up on minor
details but it assured the completion of any task or project
that was started. This made me a coach’s favorite and
when motivated to go to class, a favorite of most teachers.
Fortunately, there was only a two year period that could be
described as “fallow” relative to my high school
education and I salvaged my class standing in the final few
years by displaying a dedication to academics that reflected
my interest in football and strength training.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
Nine
by Dr. Ken Leistner
York, Weider, and Jackson
If one lifted weights in the late 1950’s and early ‘60’s
when I received my start in the activity, they knew York and
they knew Weider. Both Bob Hoffman who was the owner of the
York Barbell Company and seemingly, most other business and
land holdings in York, Pennsylvania and Joe Weider were the
big names in the lifting and physique game. Their stories and
rise to the top of what resulted in two rather powerful business
empires came from the sale of equipment and nutritional supplements.
Weider also had what he often termed “a publishing empire” that
included gay oriented pornography-type magazines, at least
as they were judged in that time period.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
Ten
by Dr. Ken Leistner
The Jackson Barbell
Doing most of my training in the garage, I had an awareness
of what was going on throughout the country, due to my obsessive
reading habits. I scoured the local newsstands for Muscle Power,
Mr. America, and Strength And Health. When it first hit the
press, York’s Muscular Development became a favorite
because it had a monthly powerlifting/odd lift feature and
unlike what was typical for Strength And Health that focused
upon Olympic lifting, articles about those who specialized
in the bench press, squat, or deadlift. I discovered Iron Man
magazine and because the first issue I saw featured Olympic
lifting champion Norbert Schemansky on the cover, it motivated
me even more to get stronger.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
Eleven
by Dr. Ken Leistner
The Jackson Barbell (Part II)
As noted in the previous Part Ten of this series, Andy Jackson
produced what was considered by many to be the finest Olympic
barbell set in the world as a one man manufacturing force.
That he did it from the basement of his house in New Jersey
made him truly unique. Unlike most involved in weight training,
many fellows from my neighborhood knew the different bars,
plates, and nuances of the available equipment.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
Twelve
by Dr. Ken Leistner
You're Taking Your Life in Your Hands
The date of the odd lift contest I had been recruited to compete
in arrived and not only would this be the first contest of
its type I had been a part of, it would also be the first I
had ever seen. All of us however, were prepared, not just in
our training, but in the “small details” that often
make or break a meet for a lifter. Through many decades, many
of my early powerlifting lessons benefited me and the lifters
I had the privilege to coach and/or handle at major and minor
meets.
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History
of Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Strength Training - Part
Thirteen
by Dr. Ken Leistner
PLUSA and Some California Plates.
Quoting from last month’s History installment, allow
me to remind our readers that the equipment used for both training
and in competition often wasn’t safe. Steve Baldwin,
a very successful long time competitive powerlifter and friend
from Memphis, Tennessee who has an official 628 squat to his
credit at 181 pounds, offered some comments after reading the
June article. Those like Elite Fitness honcho Jim Wendler,
who told me that after his reading of Part 12, as much as he
already appreciated his equipment, “I was ready to kiss
my Monolift and bench press” may be taken aback by Steve’s
description of what passed for “competition conditions” in
the squat.
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