Classic muscle art

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Who is David Gentle, exactly?

Shame on you!  David Gentle is an internationally recognised author and historian of physical culture. For decades, he has been a regular contributor of over 25 of the world’s top muscle magazines.  His prolific writings include over 2,000 articles published in the World Muscle Press.

David was born in 1933 and was a successful bodybuilding and Maxalding practitioner, winning awards for both his physique and muscle control abilities.  He wasn’t a slouch in the strength stakes, either, hitting a double bodyweight bench press of 136kg (300lbs).

David received the John Grimek Life-Time Achievement Award in Italy in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to physical culture and was also awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Physical Culture Award by the Oscar Heidenstam Foundation for services to bodybuilding.

If you’re pushed for time, check out my top ten articles of David Gentle but if you are at a loose end you can read most of his articles at his website.  It contains David’s extraordinary collection of iron works including articles about:

• Muscle groups – David’s insights into training abs, arms and forearms
• Legendary bodybuilders – Marvin Eder, John Grimek et al.
• History of physical culture – a century of muscles
• Bodybuilding – an encyclopaedia
• Insights and reflections – David’s personal thoughts on the iron game
• Weight training – dumbbells, barbells and more
• Unusual feats of strength – tough teeth and other strange things
• Profiles of the greats – Sandow and his friends

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 So what is Classic Muscle Art all about?

It’s an exciting study that explores the art of the muscular body as it has developed and evolved throughout time.  The authors investigate the muscular ideal, as exemplified in sports like weightlifting and bodybuilding, sculpture, painting and photography, movies and cartoons.  Starting with Eugen Sandow, we take a romp through history, finishing with the glorious screen triumphs of Arnold Schwarzeneggar.

It’s a very well-illustrated volume that draws heavily on David’s extensive collection of muscle memorabilia and magazines.  It traces the history of the establishment of physical standards of beauty and aesthetics and the athletic capabilities of the muscular physique.

How are muscles and art related?

David and Alan expore this question in a comprehensive historical commentary packed with lavish artworks, both ancient and modern.  Following their lead, we meet fabulous muscular inspirations, from the greek gods Apollo and Hercules, to oldtime strongmen Eugene Sandow and Arthur Saxon, early bodybuilders Charles Atlas and Steve Reeves, and finally the big screen muscular presences epitomised by Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Slyvester Stallone.

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Sounds great!  Where can I get a copy?

At the moment, the only place you can get hold of it is at Lulu, which is a self-publishing website.  You can easily pay using Paypal and I got my copy downloaded as a PDF in about 10 minutes.

Craig is a student of history in various guises and has a particular passion for both physical and mental health, something that Physical Culture addresses as a single issue.  You can read more about his interests at his blog.

Craig wrote How to Live as an exploration into the general principles that could be extracted from the recommendations of the great physical culturists of the last century.  His intention was to begin a debate into what principles could be agreed on and which should be regarded as marginal.  As such, How to Live is a great introduction to the basic elements of physical culture and for anyone who has had some contact with any of the greats, such as Eugen Sandow, Bernarr MacFadden, Thomas Inch, Earle Liederman, Adolph Nordquest, George Jowett and Prof. K V Iyer.

I found How to Live interesting above all because I had delved into Physical Culture to see what lessons I could learn for strength training from the old-time strongmen.  However, I had not spent so much time looking at their other, more general recommendations about diet, stress, sleep and hygiene.  I was intrigued to find that many of their suggestions in these areas mirrored what I have been reading about in my forays into metabolic medicine and in particular, the suggestions of Henry Bieler, William Wolcott and William Donald Kelley.

However, I was also grateful that Craig is, above all, an historian, and has spent some time thinking about how it was that physical culture came to flourish at this time.  He looks into the state of the Western world at this time, post-industrial revolution and in the time leading up to the two World Wars and produces an attractive analysis of the factors that led to the birth of this remarkable movement.

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OK, sounds interesting.  What does the e-book cover?

Craig has divided the book into sensible chapters, each headed with several relevant quotes from one or more of the great physical culturists.  The chapters are as follows:

1. What is physical culture?
   1. Eugen Sandow – Craig begins with the story of Eugen Sandow, perhaps the most recognisable figurehead of Physical Culture.
   2. The body and the Western world – Craig explains how the disassociated audience that existed at the dawn of the 20th century and the development of the media created a perfect seeding ground for the dissemination of the ideas of Physical Culture.
   3. The railroads – Craig gets into the detail of how the railroads changed the world forever, how they altered society and made it possible for us to lead urban lives rather than agricultural ones and how this then paved the way for Physical Culture.
   4. A receptive mass – Taking things a step further, Craig explores the psychology of the new urbanites and how they looked back not to the staid agricultural generations but to the wilder frontiers and the realm of the imagination.
   5. Eugen Sandow (again) – and it was into this realm of entertainment and imagination that Eugen Sandow stepped, a performer, no doubt, but also the receptacle of a generation’s hopes and dreams.
   6. The father of physical culture – and Craig then explores how this psychological need was explored not just through individual performers but also through systems and new product offerings, which allowed people such as Bernarr MacFadden, the father of physical culture, to build up a whole publishing empire.
2. The philosophy of physical culture
   1. Circulation – Craig now builds on the previous chapter by exploring why the physical culturists placed so much weight on the concept of circulation.  Obviously, biological discoveries were important, but clearly, the industrial and transport developments of the modern world mirrored these in the thinking of the time.
   2. Suspicion – And again, Craig looks to the development of the idea of Physical Culture in its world to understand why so much attention was given to the understanding of things that could not be seen, what was hidden.  This was the dawn of scientific discoveries of things that were either too small, too far away or invisible to the human eye, and yet were critical to the development of the modern world.
   3. Nerve Force – Craig explains that the physical culturists believed that the body was ruled by the mind and that there was a significant flow of influence in that direction.  Interestingly, I am now finding that modern science is only just getting to grips with the role of psychological stress and its influence on the immune system and the normal functions of the body.
   4. Aiding nature – and Craig notes that the physical culturists saw themselves working with nature rather than against it.
   5. Form and function – Craig notes that there was no division between bodybuilders and strength athletes amongst the physical culturists, as today.
   6. Sandow’s system – Craig returns to Eugen Sandow to explore further the functional strength that the physical culturists espoused and notes the importance again of the mind-muscle connection, stressing the important role of the mind in Physical Culture.
   7. Liederman’s secrets – and for completeness, Craig also reviewed Liederman’s methods, which again, stress the importance of the nervous system and its role in building strength.
3. The lifestyle
   1. Sleeping – interestingly, Craig explains how the physical culturists placed sleep very high on their list of important factors in attaining good health.  The important of sleep in reducing stress and thereby improving health dramatically is only recently being taken more seriously by scientists and then only at the margins.
   2. Bathing – Craig notes that the physical culturists regarded maintaining good hygiene as part and parcel of health.
   3. Clothing – as natural show-offs, the proponents of Physical Culture reviewed by Craig were fond of minimal clothes and came up with all kinds of reasons to justify this.
   4. Training – Craig notes how perseverance and steady progress were at the heart of the training methods espoused.
   5. Breathing – and the importance of correct breathing is not to be underestimated, notes Craig.
   6. The Viking’s breathing exercises – and so important is the development of correct breathing, that Craig devotes a second section to it, including specific guidance from Adolph “the Viking” Nordquest.
   7. Proper relaxation – again, the importance of reducing stress is not to be overlooked and Craig gives us guidance to their prescriptions.
   8. Inch’s self-massage – and so important is this area, that Craig also gives specific details of Thomas Inch’s self-massage regimen.
4. The diet
   1. Proper digestion – I was intrigued to find that Craig has prioritised correct digestion above dietary choices, following the old adage that you aren’t what you eat, you are what you digest.  Apparently, he has found that this is where the emphasis lay.
   2. How much? – and Craig then explains that the physical culturists did not advocate bulking or cutting but preferred slow and steady gains eating in moderation.
   3. How to eat and drink – but, again, the stress is on correct mastication and digestion for full absorption.
   4. What to eat – Craig gives a list of the key foods preferred by the physical culturists, noting the prevalence of raw foods.
   5. Weight loss, weight gain and health – and again, the key is for absorption and not burdening the body with excess or too little food.
5. Conclusion and the physical culture as a religion – Craig concludes with some fascinating remarks about the historical context of Physical Culture and its origins and the possible influence of the Indian continent and its religious culture that came with the British forays and colonisation.

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I think this e-book by Craig is a sound addition to the body of modern works on the subject of Physical Culture.  Aside from Randy Roach’s monumental work, there is very little being written about the lessons we an learn from the previous generations of physical culture these days.

Craig’s contribution is important, as it demonstrates how much agreement there was amongst the proponents of Physical Culture on a wide variety of issues.  Many of the critics dismiss the physical culturists as advocates of health as they focus on their idiosyncrasies.  But Craig shows that regarding the basics, they often present a consensus view that should be taken seriously.

If you decide to take a look at How to Live, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  As for me, I am looking forward to see what Craig comes up with next…

David was kind enough to pay a visit to my site and commented on the post about Martin “Farmer” Burns.  Obviously, I was completely star-struck and babbled some incoherent reply.  Unsurprisingly, I didn’t hear from him again.

Anyway, moving on.

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So who is David Gentle, again?

David Gentle born in 1933 and was a successful bodybuilding and Maxalding practitioner, winning awards for both his physique and muscle control abilities.  He has his own website, where you can read about his life and see some of his articles.  He wasn’t a slouch in the strength stakes, either, hitting a double bodyweight bench press of 136kg (300lbs).

Perhaps more importantly for our generation, he is a prolific physical culture and bodybuilder author, having written over 2,000 articles for various magazines and publications, as well as a few books along the way.

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David’s biographies and articles about oldtime strongmen

I’ve already mentioned these in my series about the oldtime strongmen but here they are for completeness, along with a brief summary about each man:

• Apollon - Apollon was born J C Tolson in Dewsbury, Yorkshire in 1903 and enjoyed a successful career on stage before writing a popular strength training postal course.  He took the stage name “Apollon” from the French strongman of the same name, Louis Uni.
• Louis Cyr - Cyr was born in 1863 and died in 1912 in Quebec, Canada.  At the age of 17, he already weighed 230lbs (104 kg).  In 1886, during a competitionagainst the reigning Canadian strongman, David Michaud, he lifted a 218lbs (99 kg) barbell with one hand to win the title of strongest man in Canada.
• Don Dorans - Dorans was born in London in 1912.  He won Mr Britain in 1943, followed by Mr Universe in 1950.  He ran a successful weightlifting school in Ealing in the 1950’s and his pupils excelled in various weightlifting and bodybuilding competitions. 

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Some of David’s other articles

• Confessions of a mag swapper - Stop! Don’t flick over this one and go straight to “how strong are you?” or “a history of the bench press”.  I know you want to look at those more exciting articles but first take a minute to read this short piece about David’s first-hand experience of the early muscle-building courses and the early magazines and see what drives him as a collector and historian.  All I can say is, for the health of my wallet, thank goodness for the internet!
• How strong are you? David takes a look at what weights might be good targets for the “unassisted” lifter.  Some interesting numbers, some of which look a little low by today’s standards (like the maximum weight deadlift) and some (like the number of one-arm chins) really made me sit up, blinking.
• The ever changing face of strength and health - read David’s review of the evolution of the leading physical culture magazine, Health and Strength.
• Economy schedules - for those without a moment’s spare time to exercise, David provides the solution in the form of short, hard but effective workout plans.
• Increase muscle strength to gain muscle size - David gives some solid numbers for when you need to start thinking about isolation exercises.  Before that, stick to the big compound lifts.
• Leo Stern tribute - David takes a look at the large but underestimated influence of Leo Stern on the world of physical culture and bodybuilding.
• Who are you going to choose? - if you are curious about how judging bodybuilding contests works and are interested in hearing David’s first-hand account of how judging has changed over the years, this might be what you’re looking for.
• Workout recovery - read about the importance of rest and recovery.
• An inspiration to us all: Clarence Ross - David takes a long, hard look at the man who beat Steve Reeves, twice.
• The Legendary Steve Reeves: an obituary - speaking of Steve Reeves, here is David’s obituary of the great man.
• On John Grimek talking about squats - this is an article posted on the T-Nation forum (you have to scroll down a little way) that talks about John Grimek’s squat programme.  I like it when he mentions doing one-legged squats with 180-200lbs.
• A history of the bench press - OK, admit it, you scrolled all the way down to this link and clicked on it, didn’t you!  Go back to the top and read “confessions of a mag swapper” first.  But definitely come back and read this when you’re done.  Find out about the beginnings, with the floor press as performed by George Hackenschmidt and Joe Nordquest.  Follow the rollercoaster past the heights of Doug Hepburn and his record-breaking bench press of 500lbs right up to the great Bill Kazmaier’s lift of 661lbs.  If you’re interested in bodyweight plus feats, like I am, you’ll be most amazed by Marvin Eder’s dip of 435lbs plus his bodyweight.  I guess that must be triple bodyweight.  I thought I was the bees knees for hitting double bodyweight!

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I hope you find these as enjoyable to read as I have.