Christopher - Deceptive Strength

The exercises and advice contained within this book may be too strenuous or dangerous for some people, and the reader should consult with a physician before engaging in them.

The author and publisher of this book are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for the use, misuse or dis-use of the information presented here.

All images, unless otherwise noted, are from my private collection. They are reproduced here under the professional practice of fair use for the purposes of historical discussion and scholarly interpretation. All characters and images remain the property of their respective copyright holders.

Deceptive Strength

All Rights Reserved.

Original Copyright 2013 by Legendary Strength LLC

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Published by:

Legendary Strength LLC

Santa Cruz, California

www.LegendaryStrength.com

Welcome to Deceptive Strength.

A common question I get from people that come to my website is what do I do to stay small while being so strong. A common statement I get from people that see me do many different feats of strength is Wow, but you dont look strong! or something along those lines.

Its not because I wish I was bigger and I just havent been able to figure out how. Far from it. This is on purpose. I like being small. I also like being strong. There is also a methodology to what I do in my training and life to stay small but get stronger and stronger.

In this book youll be learning all about how I train from general ideas to specific exercises. Youll read my thoughts on eating. Youll also get my mindset behind everything I do. Lastly well finish up with workouts that you can follow as is or simply use as idea generators for yourself.

Ive decided to highlight the Key Concepts of what it takes to become deceptively strong throughout this book. Youll find those in special boxed areas so that you can easily find them and understand what they mean. Also theyre compiled all into one place at the end of this book in the Appendix. Feel free to turn there now to get an idea of whats inside, but make sure you read the surrounding information, where theyre first found, to fully understand and be able to utilize the ideas.

Although we will touch on scientific concepts a little bit this is not a technical manual. If youre looking for exercise science then go elsewhere. Ive found that knowing the energy pathways used when exercising, may be fun to know, but isnt all that useful. I would also say that for the most part, those that know the most about the science of exercise, practice the least and they certainly arent the strongest people around. Therefore, Ill be keeping the science to a minimum and instead showing you time-tested principles.

You may read through this and not agree with everything that I say. Thats great. I like thinkers and doers. As long as you gain some useful information from this book than I am happy about that. And Id like you to experiment and find what works best for you, using this info as a starting point.

In this book I will usually be referring to he. I choose to use that single word rather than he or she throughout this book for the sake of brevity. Plus when you add the fact that I am male and I know that most of the readers will be too, it makes more sense. I do not mean to exclude women at all from this discussion. Everything in here applies to women just as well as men. In fact, this may be the best manual for any woman looking to become really strong, without gaining too much muscle (which for the most part is a fallacy in their minds anyway).

Id like to thank all my many teachers in strength, fitness, health, the mind and much more. There are too many name so Ill just leave it at that. This book would not be what it was without you.

What is Deceptive Strength?

The following story on two of the strongest people to ever live perfectly illustrates some of the concepts youll find within this book.

The Mighty Atom is probably my favorite of the oldtime strongman. It was reading his biography, The Spiritual Journey of Joseph L. Greenstein , (although no longer in print its sometimes available at Amazon here) that inspired me to become a strongman in the first place, as it has for many other people as well. There is just something about that book that sets it far and above so many others for really giving you an idea of what strength is about.

The Mighty Atom Bending Some Steel

The Mighty Atom was never a large man. In fact he was short and never weighing more than about 140 pounds. Yet he was one of the strongest people in the world at the feats he performed.

Now Warren Lincoln Travis was also of the strongest people in the world. He was also quite a bit larger at 6 feet tall and around 200 pounds. At his feats he was the strongest in the world. Although he was a much larger man, if you put him next to large weightlifters and bodybuilders of today he would just look like a big man. You would assume he was strong, but may not believe quite the strength he had.

When they met while performing on Coney Island one day Travis said that The Mighty Atom could not be using the term The Worlds Strongest Man, because he held that title. He told him a list of feats that he could do and asked if the Mighty Atom could do any of them. The Atom replied no, but countered with his own list, of which Travis could do none. In the end, they agreed they were both quite strong, just in different ways.

Warren Lincoln Travis with a few of his heavy lifting items

Later on in this book is a section that deals with the idea of The Worlds Strongest Man and ways you can claim that title for yourself, since strength has so many different applications. In the end Travis and the Atom became good friends.

The Mighty Atom absolutely captured the essence of being deceptively strong. In fact, Travis did in some ways too. While he was a bigger man, and fairly muscular, he was nothing compared to many weightlifters of today.

As a side note Warren Lincoln Travis left an open challenge to anyone in the world to top him as The Strongest Man. The great thing about this challenge is that not only does it take tremendous strength (some of which having size would certainly help, but not all), but it requires tremendous longevity in that strength, as it needs to be done for 10 years straight.

The following comes from the USAWA website :

Warren Lincoln Travis Challenge

1. Take a 100 pound barbell from the floor with both hands, and press it overhead 10 times while seated (must be done in 30 seconds)

2. Take a pair of 90 pound dumbbells from the side of the body to the shoulders, and press it to arms length overhead.

3. Teeth lift from the floor, hands behind neck, 350 pounds.

4. Finger Lift from the floor 350 pounds with one finger, eight times in five seconds.

5. Finger lift from the floor 560 pounds with one finger once.

6. Two hand grip lift, straddling the weight, 700 pounds twenty times in ten seconds.

7. Hand and Thigh Lift 1600 pounds once.