The emergence and development of athleticism. Part No. 2

Danton, Stehr, Gessler, Sir – unsurpassed champions of the 19th century!

One can respect, albeit with some skepticism, the fantastic achievements of athletes shown in the distant past:

For example, in 1891 an Englishman Danton squeezed a 34-kilogram barbell with both hands 845 times!!! Stehr (Austria) in 1897 - 50 kg weight 25 times. In 1912 Gessler (Germany) lay down and stood up with a bag weighing 250 kg (the bag was filled with metal), Sir (Canada) in 1892, with his right hand, lifted a spherical barbell weighing 440 kg to knee level!

Since 1901, in the States, Canada, Britain, France, Belgium, Germany and other numerous countries, grandiose, international competitions and competitions have been organized for the strongest athletes, at which they (both men and women) demonstrated their absolute strength capabilities, beauty and harmony of the figure. Often competitions were held to music in the presence of spectators. The winners were solemnly awarded with cash prizes and medals and, as a rule, the final crown of such championships was a beauty contest for male athletic build.

World famous Eugene Sandow

A significant contribution to the development and popularization of athleticism was made by our fellow countryman, the legendary compatriot Evgeniy Sandov (also known as Eugene Sandow), who at the end of the century before last voiced a hypothesis about the real practical possibility of correcting figure defects and physique defects.

Evgeniy Sandov training

He was practically and theoretically able to substantiate the main ways of forming a harmonious athletic figure with the help of exercises with weights, publishing in 1903 in England his printed bestseller with the euphonious title “Bodybuilding” (building the body), setting out the established principles that, decades later, laid a solid foundation for modern bodybuilding. And the immediate origin of modern bodybuilding dates back to the period between the world wars, its widespread use - to the first post-war years... Evgeniy Sandov composed his training mainly from a basic set of 18 exercises with dumbbells, used on the principle of gradually increasing loads. Working according to this system, the athlete achieved outstanding achievements for his time, becoming the owner of an excellent athletic figure: a) height 174 cm, b) body weight 90 kg, c) neck volume 44 cm, d) chest 122 cm, e) waist 80 cm , f) pelvis 107 cm, g) hips 66 cm, h) lower legs 44 cm, i) arms (biceps in tension) 44 cm.

Continuation - read in the next article, well, and I, having bought cool sports nutrition in the online store, quickly run to the gym to keep up with the ancient heroes! After all, famous bodybuilders are not born! They become them, pouring out a ton of sweat! So, go to the gym and pour out that sweat!