I read with interest the article in the mail about Buster and his dad of almost 50. I'm sure I found a picture of his dad in a body builders pose but I can't find it again. He reminded me of a chap called Leroy Colbert, a champion body builder who was the idol of body builders when I started weightlifting. Leroy Colbert was the first body builder to develop 21 inch upper arms and, if memory serves me right, could do alternate one arm biceps curls with 1 cwt ( 112 pounds, a sack of coal ) in each hand.
I started weightlifting when I were a lad of 16. I can't remember who or what stirred my interest but I do clearly remember the wooden shack I used to go to and at well under 10 stone, certainly not a big lad, I got hooked. As I said Leroy Colbert was the driving force for the big lads but another world champion. "precious" MacKenzie was the inspiration for us tiddlers. Precious MacKenzie was a prodigious weight lifter with super human strength for only a little chap - 4 foot 9 when fully grown. As a child he was often ill and was "precious" to his parents and the affection stayed with him.
Sorry about the imperial weights folks but we didn't have these foreign weights when I were a lad. Everything was in proper units, pounds and ounces and feet and inches. 16 ounces to a pound - lb for short, 2240 pounds to a ton, 112 pounds to a hundredweight - CWT for short and 14 lbs to a stone. To give you an idea of height I am almost 5'9" tall ( short ) and 12 and a half stone - 175 pounds - in weight.
At 16 I was not far off 5'9" but I weighed well under 10 stone. Busters dad, Syd, Leroy MacKenzie and "precious" MacKenzie didn't develop their physique without a lot - and I mean a lot - of hard work.
I have sampled the pleasure of rapid strength gain, the frustration of seemingly unassailable "sticking points" - where it seems impossible to lift more weight than you know you can, the joy of overcoming those sticking points until you find that final sticking point which is the maximum you can lift in any discipline, ie bench press, squats.
At a weight of 9 stone 7 pounds, I had 15 inch upper arms, a 42 inches chest, and a waist of 24 inches and, along with a club mate regularly attended BAWLA ( British Amateur Weightlifting Association ) weight lifting competitions. There were two of us tiddlers from my club who more often than not entered in the 13 stone class - and often won - because there was no one to touch us in our weight range. At my peak I could dead lift 450 pound - a fifth of a ton - bench press 300 lbs and perform a two hand lift of 250 lbs above my head. I could also manage a one hand lift of 1 cwt ( 112 lbs ).
When I joined the army I was a natural in basic training bouncing around the gym like a monkey, climbing ropes without using feet and performing one arm pull ups just to impress the other lads. Unfortunately after I qualified as an aircraft technician and was posted to my unit there were no gym facilities and I soon lost my edge. I still had my "party" pieces though. I could crack nuts with my bare hands, even Brazil nuts occasionally; could tear a telephone book in half - they were 3 inches thick in my days; won more arm wrestling than I lost and could withstand any punch on my six pack.
In my early days there were three forms of "weightlifting". There was simple weightlifting, which I did, where the intent was to develop overall strength. This was achieved through repetition exercises, usually 3 x 8 sets (a minute between each set) of a given weight where the weight was not increased until one could manage the full 3 sets; power lifting, where the intent was sheer strength in a specific area. This was achieved through less repetition, usually 3 x 3 sets but with those sets the weight was significantly higher; and body building, where the intent was to try and achieve all of the weightlifters targets, some of the power lifters targets, but primarily to gain bulk and in particular muscle definition.
Clearly, Buster's dad Syd has done well, indeed is still doing well in all those fields and I applaud him. I even envy him and wish him well in everything he strives for.
Me. I'm an old man now with a wonderful wife, a few teeth still left, a 1 pack rather than a 6 pack and a super rugby club with many friends to attach myself to. I intend to be around for a long time yet.
God Bless everybody. Which leaves just one more comment,
Come on Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose
I read with interest the article in the mail about Buster and his dad of almost 50. I'm sure I found a picture of his dad in a body builders pose but I can't find it again. He reminded me of a chap called Leroy Colbert, a champion body builder who was the idol of body builders when I started weightlifting. Leroy Colbert was the first body builder to develop 21 inch upper arms and, if memory serves me right, could do alternate one arm biceps curls with 1 cwt ( 112 pounds, a sack of coal ) in each hand.
I started weightlifting when I were a lad of 16. I can't remember who or what stirred my interest but I do clearly remember the wooden shack I used to go to and at well under 10 stone, certainly not a big lad, I got hooked. As I said Leroy Colbert was the driving force for the big lads but another world champion. "precious" MacKenzie was the inspiration for us tiddlers. Precious MacKenzie was a prodigious weight lifter with super human strength for only a little chap - 4 foot 9 when fully grown. As a child he was often ill and was "precious" to his parents and the affection stayed with him.
Sorry about the imperial weights folks but we didn't have these foreign weights when I were a lad. Everything was in proper units, pounds and ounces and feet and inches. 16 ounces to a pound - lb for short, 2240 pounds to a ton, 112 pounds to a hundredweight - CWT for short and 14 lbs to a stone. To give you an idea of height I am almost 5'9" tall ( short ) and 12 and a half stone - 175 pounds - in weight.
At 16 I was not far off 5'9" but I weighed well under 10 stone. Busters dad, Syd, Leroy MacKenzie and "precious" MacKenzie didn't develop their physique without a lot - and I mean a lot - of hard work.
I have sampled the pleasure of rapid strength gain, the frustration of seemingly unassailable "sticking points" - where it seems impossible to lift more weight than you know you can, the joy of overcoming those sticking points until you find that final sticking point which is the maximum you can lift in any discipline, ie bench press, squats.
At a weight of 9 stone 7 pounds, I had 15 inch upper arms, a 42 inches chest, and a waist of 24 inches and, along with a club mate regularly attended BAWLA ( British Amateur Weightlifting Association ) weight lifting competitions. There were two of us tiddlers from my club who more often than not entered in the 13 stone class - and often won - because there was no one to touch us in our weight range. At my peak I could dead lift 450 pound - a fifth of a ton - bench press 300 lbs and perform a two hand lift of 250 lbs above my head. I could also manage a one hand lift of 1 cwt ( 112 lbs ).
When I joined the army I was a natural in basic training bouncing around the gym like a monkey, climbing ropes without using feet and performing one arm pull ups just to impress the other lads. Unfortunately after I qualified as an aircraft technician and was posted to my unit there were no gym facilities and I soon lost my edge. I still had my "party" pieces though. I could crack nuts with my bare hands, even Brazil nuts occasionally; could tear a telephone book in half - they were 3 inches thick in my days; won more arm wrestling than I lost and could withstand any punch on my six pack.
In my early days there were three forms of "weightlifting". There was simple weightlifting, which I did, where the intent was to develop overall strength. This was achieved through repetition exercises, usually 3 x 8 sets (a minute between each set) of a given weight where the weight was not increased until one could manage the full 3 sets; power lifting, where the intent was sheer strength in a specific area. This was achieved through less repetition, usually 3 x 3 sets but with those sets the weight was significantly higher; and body building, where the intent was to try and achieve all of the weightlifters targets, some of the power lifters targets, but primarily to gain bulk and in particular muscle definition.
Clearly, Buster's dad Syd has done well, indeed is still doing well in all those fields and I applaud him. I even envy him and wish him well in everything he strives for.
Me. I'm an old man now with a wonderful wife, a few teeth still left, a 1 pack rather than a 6 pack and a super rugby club with many friends to attach myself to. I intend to be around for a long time yet.
God Bless everybody. Which leaves just one more comment,
Come on Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose
