Don't Neglect Your Dumbbell Training, Part One - Bob Hoffman (1947)

Father H.B. Lange coaching.

A little more on him here:

https://nd1970.blogspot.com/2020/06/fr-bernard-h-b-lange-csc.html 

And here's a Father Lange chest training article from 1921:

https://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-big-is-your-chest-father-hb-lange.html

Thanks for the heads up on this one, John! 

Several years ago, a great guy sent me rough scans of almost every Grimek article published for York. I printed them right away and found 'em finally while the reno here was going on! They're not really ordered well, the pages are in no particular order, BUT, it'll be fun to try to put 'em together and go through them all. 

The strongest and best built men, past and present, have trained regularly with heavy dumbbells. Readers of this magazine (Strength & Health, March 1947), who might be classed as old timers due to their interest over a period of years are familiar with such names as Saxon, Sandow, Nordquest, Apollon, Goerner, Hackenschmidt, Swoboda, Cyr, Steinbach, Miller, Pennel, Curtis, Turck, and Rigoulot. Regular readers, new or old, are familiar with the names, Grimek, Stanko, Leight, Stephan, Bacon, Lauriano, Goodrich, Klein, Paschall, Terlazzo, Terpak, Spellman, Stanczyk, and Davis. 

I had not seen this Arnold photo till today . . . 

There is one thing in common between these great old timers, and the best build, the strongest, the champion lifters of the present, and that is heavy dumbbell training. 

In the old days, the famous men of might and muscle trained chiefly with heavy dumbbells. Their reputations as strong men were made far more with the heavy dumbbell than with the barbells. 

This is not funny and in no way connected to the previous photo:

The great strong men of various times set world's records in dumbbell lifting, many of which still stand. As an example, Father Bill Curtis made a record in the two dumbbells curl in 1868 which remains on the books today. 

Yes, Bill Curtis (reincarnate) and the Fatback Band created this hiphop song a half year or so before "Rapper's Delight" . . . 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojQqAnlrW_M

It was not an accident that these old timers created strength records which are on the books today, not an accident that most of the men enumerated were at some time classed as the strongest man in the world. Not just a mere chance that the best build old timers were dumbbell men, for heavy dumbbell training has the unusual ability to build great strength, muscle and an admiration-creating (admirable?) physique. 

Sandow in particular was the inspiration of millions, he made millions of dollars through the excellence of his physique and without heavy dumbbell training it is doubtful if he would have been heard of outside of a few European countries where he was known as a wrestler when he was a young man, instead of being a household word, a word that is synonymous with strength and development, in every part of the world today, 22 years after his death. 

 

William Buckingham Curtis, center. 

The Mister America's enumerated in the second group of strength athletes, the champion lifters, would not have attained such great fame for their splendid physiques and lifting records were it not for heavy dumbbell training, for the dumbbell has been used more by these men than even its more famous partner, the barbell. 

All one needs to do is visit any of the leading gymnasiums of the nation, particularly the York Barbell Club gym or the warmup room before any of the "best build man" contests, to see that dumbbell training predominates, takes up the majority of the training time of the men who are striving for additional renown for their fine physiques. 

Unfortunately there was a lengthy gap between the great old timers and the more recent greats in the world of strength and muscle. While the old timers developed their great strength, their splendid physiques, their muscular development chiefly with heavy dumbbell training, some of them, notably Sandow, later went into the business of selling muscles by mail. 

Note: His "spring grip" dumbbells were even marketed with a bell, as in bells and whistles, that would ring when gripped tightly. Hell, you could just as easily grip a piece of wooden dowel and get the same results, but that's beside the money point here I guess. Come to think of it, the Weiders had a reason for choosing Sandow the Sandwina for their little Olympia trophy. He was deep into marketing, money, and rampant self-promotion. just like Ben and Joey! 

Finding it expensive and difficult to sell heavy weights, they sold the gullible public upon light spring dumbbells and the spreading of syphilis in sexual partners, just as one of the train by mail professors today has made much money promising great things in a physical way with a system of dynamic exercises which he (Charles Atlas) is supposed to have learned by watching his dog and cat, and the animals at the Bronx zoo performing. 

Thanks to Jan D. for the Atlas material . . . it's coming!  

People seek the easiest way, so when they were told that the real secret of Sandow's strength was these three and five pound spring dumbbells, they fell for his system in a big way [a couple guys I have corresponded with still did!]. 

"Making the American Man: How Eugene Sandow, Charles Atlas, and Bob Hoffman Defined the Interwar Man in America" 

57 page thesis from May 2023 by Dayne Lesperance:

https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1305&context=major-papers 

More on the Atlas business here:

"The Most Enduring Fitness Scam in History":

https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/charles-atlas-ads 

There was also a court case between Hoffman and Siciliano, over whether or not Mr. Dynamic Tension used weights and not just dog and cat coaches. 

Little in the way of favorable results was obtained, so the muscle building pastime plunged to a very low state in the early years of this century. The most accepted method of body building by weights in the early years of this century included a single dumbbell and a pair of kettlebells . . . 

. . . with which some of the best heavy dumbbell exercises could be performed. But it was not until the advent of the York system of training in the late 1920s that dumbbell training again came into its own, its former state of result producing glory. Heavy dumbbell training was made a part of the York courses and has played a very important part in developing the outstanding strength athletes of today.  

Note: Here are the exercises/lifts in York Course Number Five

from the York Advanced Methods of Weight Training: 

1) Thumbs up curl (hammer curl), two dumbbells

2) Two dumbbell press

3) Two dumbbell swing

4) Bent arm pullover, two dumbbells

5) Side bend with one dumbbell

6) Deep knee bend and press, one dumbbell

7) Bentover row, one dumbbell

8) Dumbbell supine press

9) Raise on toes, one dumbbell

10) Continuous pull up and press

11) Situp on bench with dumbbell

12) Deep knee bend, dumbbell overhead. 

Here's York Course Number 8, "ONE Heavy Dumbbell Course":

1) Toe touching, one dumbbell overhead

2) Bentover backhand curl

3) Bentover regular curl

4) One arm pull up and press

5) One arm swing

6) Upright row

7) One hand military press

8) One hand swing and split

9) One hand snatch without moving feet

10) Side press

11) Bentover row

12) Side to side bend

Here is a York Arm Developing Course with Dumbbells

note the lifting movements at Number Six: 

1) Regular two arm curl

2) Regular press

3) Row

4) DB bench press (they're all dumbbell exercises)

5) Bentover stiff arm side swing. Bent over triceps exercise. Standing with feet a comfortable distance apart, knuckles back, arms bent slightly, straighten arms to the rear. Hold dumbbells in front of body, twist the dumbbells to the right, to the left in a circular motion, raise and lower as a wrist exercise. 

6) LIFTING MOVEMENTS: one arm snatch, one arm swing, one arm clean & jerk, one arm military press, side press, bent press, etc., etc., etc . . .

Oops, got a little off on a tangent there. 
Returning to the original article . . . 

There are two distinct forms of dumbbell training in the various York course, what we term light dumbbell training, consisting largely of forward and lateral raises both standing and lying, and exercises which permit the use of much heavier weights such as the clean and press, the deep knee bend and press, the two hands swing, the upright rowing motion, the bentover rowing motion, the alternate press, press in the supine position on a bench or on an incline, alternate or regular curl and press, and the very excellent [bordering on most excellent] single dumbbell exercises, many of which are a part of the York Swingbell Course. 

Yes, you can adapt and do the swingbell course exercise/lifts with dumbbells. Here: York Swingbell Course exercises, course number 13: 

1) Rotating swing bell, held overhead. Rotate the upper body in a full circle while holding the bell overhead.  

2) High pull up to overhead. Starting with the bell (or dumbbells in this case) across the front of the thighs, with arm and shoulder strength alone, pull the bell up past the top of head to arms' length overhead. 

3) Forward raise without body movement. 

4) Swing from side to side in arc overhead. Hold the bell with the knuckles front. Turn to the side and bend and twist so that the bell touches or comes near to the floor to the right of the body with the bell perpendicular to front. Hold the arms as straight as possible as you lift or swing the bell up and over in a huge circle until it touches the floor in a position similar to the starting position but on the other side of the body. Back to starting position and repeat, rather confused the first time trying, no worries, learning anything new makes us all look like useless boobs at first. Who cares. Not I. It's fun. So there. "Can I get a form check on my "swing from side to side in arc overhead, guys? There's a meet coming up and I wanna go for the gold, silver and bronze in this one-man competition. Should be doable according to my figures." 

5) Swinging weight as in turning a wheel. Hold the bell in the usual starting position in front of thighs, knuckles front. With little or no movement start the bell in a circle toward the left, up and around to the right describing a circular or wheel like movement. Perform a series to the left, then one to the right. 

6) Stiff arm full body swing. Stand with the feet a comfortable distance apart, knees kept STRAIGHT throughout the movement until the bar approximately touches the floor between and behind the legs. Swing the bell up in a half circle, keeping the arms STRAIGHT throughout. This movement should be performed comparatively slowly to obtain the maximum benefit. [This is an exercise, not to be treated as a lift, done very strictly and under full control. Just think of it as a bodybuilding thing. 

7) Swinging exercise, gun type. Start in the usual position of bell, hands, and feet, but with the body leaning slightly forward. Swing from this position to the side and overhead, turning the body and rotating on the balls of the feet as the weight goes overhead and to the side, then back to the starting position and movement to a similar position on the other side of the body. When this movement is performed with a regular cadence, a big half circle will be traced from a position overhead on the right to a similar position on the left. With practice and the use of heavier weights you will put your entire body into action with some movement of the legs and considerable raising and lowering of the body. 

8) French, a.k.a. triceps press. 

10) Swing from center to side overhead. Similar to Number 6 above. 

It differs in the fact that instead of merely extending the bell overhead, it is lifted or swung up to a position at the right, body twisted so that the bar is perpendicular to the front, then back to the low position at center, and swung with stiff arms and turning the body far up to the left. This form of swinging is somewhat similar to the gun swinging type except that it is done with the arms and shoulders and without the movement of the legs and back which are a part of Number 8. 

Okay . . . Bob Hoffman's "How to Be Strong, Healthy and Happy." 

I got a nice hard copy of it to read in the tub while having a drink during my unpaid vacation here. He took 10 days to write the whole thing . . . and that I imagine is before it was edited by other unfortunate souls. 

456 pages after the trim and edit. 

This would be Bob Hoffman's version of the Kerouac "On the Road" race against time and typewriters, likely fueled by protein from the sea, western Chinese food and plenty of click-clacking out them symbols through the night, while dreams of sugar plums dancing the polka, as well as thoughts of sex and death cavorted in his head. I guess that kind of horrid powdered stuff still has selling power . . . 

When in the right mood, i.e., two drinks into a soak in the tub after a bowl (the stress is killin' me here), it's actually very enjoyable for me . . . I can see and hear Mr. Hoffman going on right there in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet with the lid down as I hear his words and as he attempts and succeeds without doubt in defining just what the term "verbose" means. It's a good time! 

Speakin'-a which, it's about time for more of that . . . 

continued from here at 11, not the time silly, in Part Two: 

Teetotum or Twisting Deadlift.