Strength and How to Obtain It

It is curious to me to look back a year or two and to reflect upon the change in public opinion upon this subject which has taken place in so short a time. When I first began to...

I have already remarked upon the satisfactory progress which the system has made during the last few years. It is probably well-known that my system has practically been adopted...

The statement to which I refer is this--that though by my system a man may increase the size of his muscles, add to his bodily strength, and improve his physique, he does so at...

The answer to this question must depend on the pupil himself--on his leisure and on his inclination. Some persons find the early morning the best and most convenient time; other...

This appliance is very simple and may be described in a few words. It consists of a dumb-bell made in two halves separated about an inch and a half from one another, the interve...

I am sometimes accused of being a bit of a faddist about the use of the cold bath, and possibly the heading of this chapter may give strength to that opinion. But its exhilarati...

It is scarcely necessary for me to say that the benefits to be obtained by conscientiously working upon my system are by no means confined to the young and vigorous. On the cont...

I am exceedingly anxious to remove the impression, which has, I fear, gained ground, that my system is not a thing for women. Now-a-days, when women have practically freed thems...

From the following tables pupils of all ages will be able to see at a glance how many times the movements of each exercise illustrated by the anatomical chart should be practise...

The reader of the second part of this book will see how my professional career was thrust upon me. It came through no seeking of my own, after my defeat of Samson. I accepted it...

None of my departments has shown a more gratifying development than has the correspondence department. Letters pour in from all parts of the world asking for advice and instruct...

The figure will show pupils how to take their own measurements. They are advised to keep a careful record of these month by month, so they can see how they are progressing. The...

From an economic point of view it stands alone, as at a small outlay a Developer can be purchased, which is sufficient for a whole family, and constitutes an entire athletic out...

It is not my purpose in this book to give anything beyond general directions for lifting heavy weights. You can become thoroughly strong and enjoy perfect health by means of the...

It is not necessary, as some may think, to be born strong in order to become strong. Unlike the poet, who, we are told, has to be born a poet, the strong man can make himself. A...

The years of my life between eighteen and twenty-one may be passed over with the remark that they saw a steady gain of strength and some occasional performances as an amateur at...

At the end of my first engagement in London and the provinces, I went to Germany for a holiday. Driving out one day at Aachen, I met a veritable giant. He was a quarryman, and h...

After my engagement at the Royal came a holiday in Paris. It was there I met a very dear school friend, whom I had not seen since I was about ten years of age. My friend’s fathe...

About this time there were many strong men. Each hall in London could boast of at least one. It was also a great weight lifting period. When I lifted my heaviest bell, 280lbs.,...

An old friend and famous pianist, Martinus Sieveking, whom I knew years before in Belgium and Holland, accompanied me to the New World. Sieveking was a brilliant artist, but as...

Although the day we reached New York was the hottest that had ever been known in that great country of wonderful records, no heat, however extreme, could detract from the glorie...

A fortnight after my arrival in New York I commenced an engagement at the Casino, and after each performance, whilst I was still stripped to the waist, I gave lecture on anatomy...

Perhaps the greatest, certainly the most thrilling, of all my experiences is that which I am about to relate. It is the story of my lion fight in San Francisco.

At the end of my engagement in San Francisco I organised my own company for a holiday tour in California. What a lovely country is that; a country of perpetual summer and blue s...

At this stage of the tour I will introduce, with the reader’s permission, my dog Sultan, the holder of seventeen first prizes. This dog, a handsome boar-hound, standing about th...

To begin with there is a tableau, arranged for the purpose of showing muscular repose, with all the muscles relaxed; muscular tension, with all the muscles as firm as steel; the...

As a supplement to the previous chapter it may be stated here, in answer to many inquiries, that my own measurements, etc., at the present time are as set forth below. The first...