Olde-Time Strength for Modern Longevity

What Olde-Time Lifts Teach Us About Health, Strength, and Aging Well

“The man who is strong is the man who is healthy.”
— Arthur Saxon

One of my favorite social media accounts is James Fuller, aka Strongman Archaeology. James has one of the most complete video archives of olde-time classic feats of strength, such as the bent press and Arthur lift, among others. As his profile states, his mission is “Helping people move better AND stronger with Olde Time Strongman style training.”

When you watch any of James’ videos, you are not only impressed by his exceptional displays of strength, but by his insane flexibility and mobility as well.

The olde-time strongman lifts are a minimalist’s dream. All that is required is a barbell, some plates, dumbbells, and kettlebells. An old bench or stool is a bonus.

While I have not gone anywhere near as deep down the rabbit hole as James, I have spent time reading many of the books written by the founding fathers of the physical culture movement. The works of George Hackenschmidt, Arthur Saxon, Earle Liederman, George Jowett, Alan Calvert, and Sig Klein have given me a solid understanding of their training methods. Emphasis was placed on barbells and dumbbells, large compound movements, and training with heavy weights frequently, but not to failure. Strength was the pursuit, but not at the expense of health.

“A man’s first duty is to make himself strong and healthy.”
— George Hackenschmidt

Most emphasized supplementing heavy work with lighter weights and bodyweight exercises to build lagging muscle groups and improve general fitness. Good, wholesome food, cardiovascular exercise usually in the form of walking or running outdoors, sun exposure, and rest were considered just as important as heavy strength work.

Training methods, along with sets and reps, tended to be vague at best. Double progression on a top set was the most common recommendation, although multiple sets were discussed by some. I believe the idea of rigid sets and reps came about as a way for strongmen to sell programs and provide guidance through books and manuals, as it seems they largely trained by feel.

In a couple interviews I have heard James say that he lifts up to six days per week and simply trains until the work feels done. No hard prescriptions. Simple autoregulation. Pick the movements you want to improve, work them hard but not to failure. Do not be rigid. Some days you may push a little harder, some days you may need to back off. There is real brilliance in the simplicity.

Because many of these men were performing strongmen, they had to lift heavy weights fairly often. This is where the idea of practice versus workout was born. In order to perform heavy feats of strength day after day, they could not max out or run themselves into the ground. Instead, they worked with weights that looked heavy to the average person in the audience, but were weights they could lift with relative ease, even if a bit of strain was involved.

To visualize this, think of using 75 to 80 percent of your best deadlift. This is a weight you would feel, but could demonstrate with a smile to a friend watching you lift. It is a load you should be able to handle multiple times per day, for several days in a row, provided you are eating enough calories, or in the case of the Saxon brothers, beer, and getting solid sleep.

One thing I have heard James emphasize is that the olde-time lifts are inherently safe because they have built-in governors. You can only squat or press what you are able to set up. Without squat racks or bench press stations, the bar must be put in place safely.

For squatting, you either clean the weight and front squat it, or load the bar onto your back using the Steinborn method by standing the bar on end, squatting under it, and rocking it onto your shoulders. In both cases, the limiting factor is how much you can clean or load safely. Compare this to a squat rack, where it is easy to unrack a supramaximal weight and get crushed on the descent.

The same applies to pressing. When you lie on the floor and perform a pullover and press, or press from the bridge position, you are limited by how much weight you can safely pull over. Bench pressing from racks allows you to unrack more weight than you can actually handle, increasing the risk of getting pinned. When the setup itself limits the load, injury risk drops significantly, and you gain the added benefit of extra muscular work during the setup.

I am not suggesting we scrap modern equipment entirely. But if you are not training to be a world champion powerlifter or bodybuilder, and your goals are to move better and build strength that lasts a lifetime, turning the clock back to the early 1900s and experimenting with the methods of the olde-time strongmen might not be a bad idea.

For more inspiration, and to see some truly impressive displays of strength, flexibility, and overall physical capability, check out James Fuller at instagram.com/strongman_archaeology.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s article, and until next time, stay strong and healthy!