Bryant - Built To The Hilt: The Strength and Power Edition

by JOSH BRYANT

BUILT TO THE HILT

The Strength and Power Edition

BY

Josh Bryant

DISCLAIMER:

Before starting any new exercise or nutritional program, be sure to talk to your doctor. Before implementing any of the advice, tips, and strategies found in the book, be sure to get your physicians consent.

Special thanks from the publisher and author to
Michael Neveux, Kevin Jordan, Dr. Sal Arria, Dr. Fred Hatfield, Betty Abrantes, and Lynette Smith

PUBLISHED BY

The Creative Syndicate

BOOK INFORMATION: www.BuiltToTheHilt.com

PHOTOGRAPHY BY Michael Neveux

MODEL: Kevin Jordan

LAYOUT & DESIGN: Betty Abrantes

COPYEDITING: Lynette Smith

Copyright 2013 by The Creative Syndicate

The Creative Syndicate

10400 Overland Road, Suite 143

Boise, Idaho, USA 83709

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. All trademarks are the exclusive property of the publisher.

ISBN (Print): 978-1-937939-42-7

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-937939-43-4

Library of Congress Control Number 2015941704

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

This publication is written and published to provide accurate and authoritative information relevant to the subject matter presented. It is published with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering legal, medical, or other professional services by reason of the authorship or publication of this work. If legal, medical, or other expert assistance is required, the services of such competent professional persons should be sought. Moreover, in the field of strength, power, and conditioning, the services of such competent professionals must be obtained. The materials presented in this book are offered to provide a full discussion of the matters under review. No endorsement of any service, product, or substance is made or intended by reason of the authorship or publication of this work. No discussion herein is designed to encourage the use of any product or substance which is banned by law or regulation or which is illegal under United States federal law or any state law or the law of any other sovereign state internationally.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION:
HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS

The history of strength and humankind is filled with stories that inspire and provide a glimpse into how todays strength training formed its roots and evolved.

A few notable ones come to mind.

Milo of Crotona was a champion Greek Wrestler from 532 BC to 516 BC. Milo built his strength from lifting a baby calf from when it was born all the way to when it was a bull, thus building strength through the overload principle of physiology prior to its invention (Roach).

Some Historians believe, in the 6th century BC, Emastus, the Son of Critobulus, lifted a 1,056-pound stone off the ground. No modern strongman could come close to duplicating this feat, if true (Roach).

By the 1880s, Pec Snyder & Co. was publishing sporting good catalogs that included dumbbells (Roach).

In England in the 1860s, there was a movement for the strong Christian. Religious leaders encouraged Christians to train with barbells for the acquisition of strength (Roach).

In England in 1886, MacMillan Magazine published an article by Archibald MacLaren called National Systems of Bodily Exercise. MacLaren advocated training with barbells and dumbbells; he had been training the British Military with them (Roach).

From 1122249 BC, during the Chou Dynasty, soldiers in the Chinese Army had to pass weight-lifting tests). Formal strength-training in Chinese textbooks dates back to 3600 BC (Siff, Supertraining).

Hippocrates explained the principle behind strength training when he wrote, That which is used develops, and that which is not used wastes away, referring to muscular hypertrophy and atrophy. Another Greek, the physician Galen, described strength training exercises using the halteres (an early form of dumbbell) in the 2nd century. Ancient Persians used the meels, which became popular during the 19th century as the Indian club, and has recently made a comeback in the form of the clubbell (Strength Training).

An inscription on a 316-pound stone dating to the 6th Century BC read, Bybon son of Phola has lifted me over (his) head with one hand (National Strength and Conditioning Association).

There is abundant evidence that weight training was used in ancient Egypt and India, while the Greeks left numerous sculptures and illustrations of their athletes training with stone weights. The 6th century BC was known as the Age of Strength, where competitions involved the lifting of huge stones. Mel Siffs treatise, Preservation of Health, even classified exercises into quick (exercises without weights) and violent exercises (performed with weights). The Roman poet Martial (40104 AD) pondered, Why do the strong men labour with their stupid dumbbells? A far better task for men is digging. In 1544, Joachim Camerius, a lecturer at Leipzig University, wrote several books recommending weight training as an essential activity for the model school (Siff, History, 2009).

In 1569, physician Hieronymus Mercurialis wrote De Arte Gymnastica Aput Ancientes, a compilation of theories on medicine and exercise. Mercurialis advocated exercising with halteres and heavy sand-filled bags, the precursor of the modern medicine ball (Bourne).

Thomas Jefferson trained with dumbbells to strengthen an injured wrist (Dumbbell).

Dumbbells are a precursor to the barbell, having come about by using a rod to attach two bells that were called dumb because they made no sound, as the clappers were removed. This occurred in the 18th century, and these hand weights were used for exercise. The earliest mention of this form of training is 1731; it was also alluded to by Benjamin Franklin in letters to his son. Franklin wrote that I live temperately, drink no wine, and use daily the exercise of the dumb-bell. (Finger, p. 307).

In 1849, Hippolyte Triat opened a large gym in Paris, France, featuring bars with large globe weights attached to the ends, or spherical barbells (The History of Barbells, Livestrong.com).

In 1910, Franz Veltum invented the revolving barbell, which became known as the Berg barbell. In 1928, the manufacturer, Kaspar Berg, invented a new type of revolving barbell that was immediately adopted by the Olympics. Shortly thereafter, Bob Hoffman copied this set; a variation of that barbell, the York barbell, is still being manufactured more than 75 years later. (ibid.)

In the 2nd century A.D., a Greek physician wrote about the value of exercise in a medical text that remained influential until the 19th century (The History of Weightlifting Equipment, Livestrong.com).

In Italy in the 16th century, a doctor named Merecurialis, the personal physician to Emperor Maximillian II, wrote texts that revived the training of the Ancient Greeks, including early forms of barbell training. By the 19th century dumbbells were routinely used in group exercise classes for both men and women (ibid).