The Author.
Big THANKS to Joe Roark for this photo!
Note from Peary Rader:
Our readers have asked for more articles by Hise and they will be pleased with this present one which will be presented in two parts. It will bring a new and revolutionary exercise Mr. Hise has discovered recently and with which he has had considerable success. After we have finished this article we will present letters from fellows who have followed Hise's teachings as his subjects of experiment. They are all loud in their praise of the new methods.
I came to the Cartilage Mass Theory of Growth before I ever read of physiology, anatomy, or knew any anthropologists' opinion of same. I came to the conclusion from studies of body mechanics in "Health and Disease" and by applying same to Grimek.
I believe this is the second edition of the book he refers to.
Grimek excelled all men because he possessed superior body mechanics and has the most cartilage mass. Ergo, to train properly one must have superior body mechanics (most erect body) an to acquire most cartilage volume.
Later I learned that Prof. Bagomoletz, the Russian physiologist had classified cartilage as a member of reticulo-endothelium system (cell mfg. areas) and that its chief duty was creation of connective tissue and a friend, an anthropologist points out that the large cartilage compels large muscles. If this is true and I choose to believe it, all weight exercising men are innocent of it in writing or practice.
Note: this part gets a little weird for some, and leads to possibly looking into antireticular cytoxic serum Bagomoletz (Bagomolets) first developed in 1936. The book "Red Miracle: The Story of Soviet Medicine" by Edward Podolsky has more info on this man's work. It can get weird, what with homogenized cadaver spleen and rib marrow, but if we stick to what Hise is referring to in this article it's not too much so.
The physiologists point out that a muscle is most efficient reacting against resistance. The muscles, when in good condition, will continuously contract, and then "lay out" to rest.
The muscles are the heat creators in the body. It is this "tone" that keeps the body warm without shivering. In body types resistant to cold exposure and unfavorable environment it is greatest in (1) those stocky and of good body mechanics, (2) intermediate body types, and worst in (3) skinny, big eared types.
There is some merry how-dee-do over growing "internal muscles." Those who worry over this seem to think that "sit-ups" will fix it. As a matter of fact, it is the "abdominal tension" that brings growth to an end!
The reason that "dwarfed waists" are plentiful now and were not known a few years back, was that no one knew in those days how to grow a large chest without a "normal waist." Sandow possessed a most superior posture (avoided like poison by lifters and muscle men of today -- the nickname for the muscular marvels of the present day at the beach is "Hunchbacks of Notre Dame"). Of the present crop of muscle men, only Lauriano has a normal waist. Grimek calls it "the only honest waist in America."
One grows muscle -- size -- mass (whatever you choose to call it) by stimulating the cell manufacturing areas, called Reticulo-Endothelium System. Growth depends on mass of "connective tissues." It is the balance of the R.E. System that controls this. Members of the R.E. System are (1) cartilage, (2) bone marrow, (3) lymph nodes, (kuppher cells of liver, (5) spleen and superenal (adrenal) and hypophysal (pituitary glands).
Their balance is important for if they are kept at a normal balance, exercise brings ready increase in size, or increase in strength. Any increase in endurance destroys ability to "grow" in size and strength. This is the reason why multiple exercises are so useless on men who have never learned to grow rapidly and at any time they choose.
Men who have overloaded on endurance feats have to have long layoffs to "soften up" their R.E. balance which they soon destroy when they recommence their wrong methods of exercise.
To keep from destroying this Reticulo-Endothelium balance, EXERCISES FOR GROWTH must be FEW and EASY. EXERCISES TO INCREASE STRENGTH must be FEW and HEAVY. It is true that those with a maximum R.E. system like Grimek can show amazing endurance feats if they have to -- but they instinctively avoid such regimes and performances.
After a man learns to grow readily and rapidly he then adjusts his exercises to suit his taste.
"Few and Easy" exercises are those that throw the load on the postural muscles. Postural muscles are "red muscles" used in mammals and birds for posture, but in man they are also used in motion. "White muscles" are used in motion. They demand great nerve expenditure. Postural muscles are racily [no idea what the word was supposed to be there before it went the printer] old and take one fourth or less nerve expenditure.
Postural muscles are soleus in calf, thigh groups, spinal muscles, the chest, suspensory muscles from neck bones, sterno cleido mastoid and scalene which lifts first rib in every breath, and intercostali externi which lift other ribs up towards the first rib and abdominal muscles.
Increase of tone is all of these but the abdominals forces cartilage massing on sternum, rib spinal joints, on spinal vertebrae, on dasher, on dancer, on sockets and their cartilage areas, as in throat region and growth and all muscle attachments to bones, forcing larger muscles. This increased postural tone affects bone marrow, lymph nodes, liver, spleen and endocrine glands.
Increased tension in abdomen ends all this growth. (1) By pressing on lymph nodes, (2) reduction of nourishment, and (3) effect on liver and spleen.
Baptiste and Fay well know stimulative exercise but for various reasons have to keep their bodyweight near 150 or so pounds. They say they can gain a pound a day and I believe them.
Full booklet here:
Norman Fay
Postural exercises increase cartilage areas in the body. You may well imagine the astonishment of the men on our job as my voice changed from day to day! GIN (Geo. Irving Nathanson) noticed the same in his case before it showed on me. He has a taste for singing opera and I was amazed at such voice improvement for GIN is what I call "cartilage rich" and is said to sometimes show the Grimek Glow, which GIN considers is caused by "protein utilization" -- that is, a cell is composed of albumen in a mass of slight salt solution. The finer the size of the albumen particles, the more perfectly the cell functions.
More on George Irving Nathanson here:
All men who are "cartilage rich" gain with great speed. Some men who are "cartilage rich" develop endurance from usage of many exercises and lose this speed of growth and strength and or size.
"Stockies" of large bones (for the "pure fats" are round headed and tiny boned individuals) are all "cartilage rich," but if they postural unbalance they take on a lot of moisture (fat). It is humorous to listen to the publicity bull-shooters want to pitch the stage woo with "skinny" singers. The skinny singers (if and when they can sing) are cartilage rich pure intermediates. No great number of excellent female singers can duplicate the bodyweight of Hollywood stars and live. Neither do they have the beauty of their voices. A "Hollywood" (slenderizing) improvement(?) would ruin their voices.
EXERCISES
Those who have never learned to gain weight should never use over 6 or 8 exercises per workout. Only two exercises should be kept: bent-arm round bench pullovers and some of the breathing group of the deep knee bend or squat. The rest of the 6 to 8 chosen exercises should be changed around from every month to six weeks. As soon as some of the latter refuse to show gain toss them away and grab a new set but always keep the first two mentioned.
Do not exercise over three times a week on "growing exercises" and on strengthening exercises (as lifting) not over twice per week. 3 times in 2 weeks is often better.
Must Exercises
For the neck and upper spine group, (1) towel exercise, (2) wrestlers bridge exercise. This group lifts the chest up where it belongs -- like Grimek, Stanko, Sandow. They are not called "hunchbacks" like many "popular" muscle men!
This straight spine pulls the heart into normal position, with strength in scalene sterno cleido mastoid group. It lifts ribs off a battered heart and lifts diaphragm into high position where it assists (1) blood circulation, (2) breathing, (3) digestion. A "hunchback seldom has any use for a diaphragm. This straightening of the spine throws continuous tension on the abdominal muscles. One who has a normal balance of posture has no need of "incline boards" unless he wants to dwarf a normal waist -- which it seems to me is as silly as wanting to "dwarf" the chest or hips.
The diaphragm does 60% of air intake in deep breathing. The costal muscles do 40% of the intake. Hunchbacks have little normal use of the diaphragm.
The erectness of the spine and height of rib box has direct effect on longevity. Stockies with perfect mechanics have the greatest longevity. Intermediates have greatest average longevity and asthmatics no longevity.
The second most important group is the "breather" group. Usually squats -- but Chas. Tiffin found that they are not ever compulsory. From Fred Howell:
"One day Hise saw a young man, Charles Tiffin, put a light barbell across his shoulders and then do shrugging movements while taking deep breaths. Joe's inventive mind went to work and reasoned that maybe a heavy barbell would be better and increase chest size and improve posture. This was the start of the Hise Shrug."
The breathers are
(1) the Dinky Squat as written up by Bruno and Hise
here:
and:
-- used extensively in the health studio practice of Eells and Fay.
(2) the Dinky squat in Splits. A discovery by me -- although Rader had discovered it in heavy squats two years before. The set of 20 squats is 60 breaths split into 3 or 4 groups with one minute rests with bar laying on rack.
Sample: 8 squats in 24 breaths -- rest 1 minute then 7 x 21 breaths -- rest 1 minute then 5 x 15 breaths. This split group system is compulsory on weak, or exhausted-from-work men. It is also superior to a straight set of 20 reps with 60 breaths.
Note: So many people seem to think they know Hise's work after reading a wee bit on the heavy 20-rep squat with labored, multiple breaths in the latter stages of the twenty, written by later authors with little or no explanation as to the reasoning behind them. There's so much more to it.
Also, it saddens me to know of what led to his death, which is worth looking into and finding out if you don't yet know. All those years of work, study and experimentation destroyed at the hands of the medical profession. I for one know of many people, online and in person who have put their trust in doctors and come out of what should be a simple procedure with their health either ruined for good or for years. Be wary of those pharma-connected.
(3) 10 "heavy" Dinky squats in 30-breath time. Repeat if you choose after 20 or 30 minute rest. This is being worked on in Health and Strength and they consider it superior to 20 consecutive squats, for reasons I will offer later.
(4) Flat-backed squats -- these are compulsory on those with "long spines" -- short thigh bones or both. This style is intensely hated by all with normal spines and long thigh bones.
(5) Half squats -- due to variation in thigh leverages many men prefer this style. Such men as Grimek, Abele, Terlazzo, etc., like full squats but such men as Terpak etc., prefer half or quarter squats. Terpak's answer to "how much can you squat with" was "Just as little as possible." Full squatters likewise "sneer" at half squatters because the latter have to be "learned." They are useful for chest-building reasons I'll explain later.
(6) Symbolic squats (without the squats).
To be continued next issue. These symbolic squats are Mr. Hise's latest and most sensational discovery.
Note: I am fortunate enough to have that second part in front of me.
Until I can get it on here, a second look at this article by Arnold Spector
may be useful in your studies on Hise:
I tells ya, Buddy, the more I learn about J.C. Hise and his methods, the more I realize I've only scratched the surface so far. It's very refreshing, relative to the "quick study" and "four hour bullshit" books some believe have worth. You are going nowhere . . . what is your hurry? Get in the deep end of something and study it till you're breathless. At least attempt to grow more than your muscles. Or not.
Enjoy Your Lifting!
"Trials of a Professional Weightlifter" 2019. 275 pages.
By Mirek Korkowski.
I want to read this book but don't have access to it yet.
There's a very small sample online, but don't judge a book by its
sample. Or a film by its trailer.
Refuse to fall for the "short and quick" approach to anything.
Avoid the hook, line, sinker, rod and reel of quick "learning" and study.
Leave that to the tuna in your can, and look at where it got them buggers!
"How did a smalltown kid from Poland become one of the most respected coaches in Canadian weightlifting? What did it take to develop the technical, physical, and psychological skills of a professional Olympic weightlifter? What were the key lessons?
Mirek shares the details of his professional weightlifting journey to answer these questions. Backed by years of detailed record keeping, his book illustrates the amount of effort and commitment necessary to continuously improve results. Experimenting with various training methods, collaborating with other professional athletes, increasing capacity through education, and the differences they made.
His experiences identify crucial elements of successful long term training plans. They reinforce the importance of training environment, technique efficiency, and strength training variety. Mirek also shares over 70 weeks of real weightlifting programming, created using the concepts presented.
The possibilities are endless."
May 2025. 200 pages. Libraries, William Marx tells us, are mental realities, and, conversely, our minds are libraries. We never read books apart from other texts. We take them from mental shelves filled with a variety of works that help us understand what we are reading. And yet the libraries in our mind are not always what they should be. The selection on our mental shelves -- often referred to as canon, heritage, patrimony, or tradition -- needs to be modified and expanded. Our tangible libraries should incorporate what Marx calls the dark matter of literature: the works that have been lost, that only exist in fragments, that have been repurposed by their authors, or were never written in the first place. Marx suggests methods for recovering this lost literature, but he also warns us that adding new titles to our libraries is not enough. We must adopt a new attitude, one that honors the diversity and otherness of literary works.
We must shed our preconceptions, and
build within ourselves a mental world library.
And I believe J.C. Hise would agree.
"Adolph & Marlene" 1977. 84 minutes. When Hitler sees Marlene Dietrich in a movie, he falls in love with her. He persuades her to come back to Germany to be with him, but upon her arrival she constantly insults him until he eventually, on her command, bites the carpet to bits. This ain't "The Great Dictator."