The Original Body Builders: How Greek Halteres and Celtic Gabal Stone Lifts Built the World's First Strongmen

The Original Body Builders: How Greek Halteres and Celtic Gabal Stone Lifts Built the World's First Strongmen

Fad workouts have been with us for decades, but they go back much further than we realize. Long before CrossFit, Zumba, P90X, Tae Box, Jazzercise or Jack LaLanne, we had 19th century strongmen. These mustachioed showmen were the first global fitness influencers. They hauled trunks of weights onto steamships, toured the world, then sold exercise equipment through the mail. The most famous was Eugene Sandow, who broke chains, and created with his own body a "manned cavalry bridge" where he would lie down while men, horses, and a carriage were driven over his body. He even fought a lion in front of an auditorium and won, although the lion was almost definitely sedated.

Today’s guest is Connor Heffernan, author of “When Fitness Went Global: The Rise of Physical Culture in the Nineteenth Century.” In this episode, we discuss:

  • Ancient Egyptians were basically doing CrossFit thousands of years ago. They trained with swinging sandbags that look exactly like modern kettlebell flows.
  • One of the first exercise practices to experience globalization was Indian club-swinging. Indian club-swinging, originating from the heavy training clubs used by Indian wrestlers and soldiers for centuries, was observed and adopted by British military officers stationed in India during the early 1800s.
  • Early diet culture was a carnival of quack science. Victorian fitness magazines were filled with miracle tonics, starvation cures and pseudoscientific meal plans. Many of our “new” diet trends are rebranded versions of schemes first marketed with sepia portraits and dubious testimonials.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaksot(1075)

How This Union General Who Executed Guerrillas and Imprisoned Political Foes Became the Most Hated Man in Kentucky

How This Union General Who Executed Guerrillas and Imprisoned Political Foes Became the Most Hated Man in Kentucky

For the last third of the nineteenth century, Union General Stephen Gano Burbridge, also known as the “Butcher of Kentucky,” enjoyed the unenviable distinction of being the most hated man in Kentucky....

21 Loka 202154min

The Escape of Jack the Ripper: History’s Most Infamous Serial Killer, and the Cover-up to Protect His Identity

The Escape of Jack the Ripper: History’s Most Infamous Serial Killer, and the Cover-up to Protect His Identity

He was young, handsome, highly educated in the best English schools, a respected professional, and a first-class amateur athlete. He was also a serial killer, the Victorian equivalent of the modern-da...

19 Loka 202143min

Two Revolutions and the Constitution

Two Revolutions and the Constitution

The United States is fraught with angst, fear, anger, and divisiveness due to our current political climate. How did we get here? And where are we headed?Before the American Revolutionary period, Amer...

14 Loka 202138min

Alfred Hubbard Was a 1920s Inventor, Bootlegger, and Psychedelic Pioneer Who Became the Patron Saint of Silicon Valley

Alfred Hubbard Was a 1920s Inventor, Bootlegger, and Psychedelic Pioneer Who Became the Patron Saint of Silicon Valley

Not many people have heard about Alfred Hubbard but he was one of the most intriguing people from the 20th Century. His story begins in 1919 when he made his first newspaper appearance with the exciti...

12 Loka 202156min

The Normans: A History of Conquest

The Normans: A History of Conquest

The Norman’s conquering of the known world was a phenomenon unlike anything Europe had seen up to that point in history. Although best known for the 1066 Conquest of England, they have left behind a f...

7 Loka 202140min

Electric City: Ford and Edison’s Vision of Creating a Steampunk Utopia

Electric City: Ford and Edison’s Vision of Creating a Steampunk Utopia

During the roaring twenties, two of the most revered and influential men in American business proposed to transform one of the country’s poorest regions into a dream technological metropolis, a shinin...

5 Loka 202156min

Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium

Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium

Of all the radioactive elements discovered at the end of the nineteenth century, it was radium that became the focus of both public fascination and entrepreneurial zeal.This unlikely element ascended ...

30 Syys 202149min

An Alternate History of the Lincoln Assassination Plot

An Alternate History of the Lincoln Assassination Plot

How deeply was the Confederate Secret Service involved in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln? Did the Confederate Secret Service assassinate Abraham Lincoln?” There are some strong indications that it d...

28 Syys 202142min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
sita
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
kaksi-aitia
i-dont-like-mondays
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
uutiscast
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
rss-nikotellen
kolme-kaannekohtaa
mamma-mia
rss-murhan-anatomia
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
aikalisa
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-haudattu
loukussa
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
mystista