Fitness Quest CA

When I was in the sixth grade and had a paper route, I gathered my earnings once and subscribed to the Charles Atlas ® fitness program! Every month they sent me the latest installment of the series, with new isometric-type exercises to practice. That would have been around 1964. I had no idea they were still active.

I remember that, in addition to the exercises, Charles from time to time would include other tips for living a healthy life and developing a good physical regimen. So, in a sense, you could say he encouraged a holistic approach. He was very positive-minded in his advice to his students.

You know, it's too bad I don't still have all those CA packets. I saved all of them for years, till sometime in college, or perhaps later. They'd be archive classics nowadays, right? Anyway, way back in 1964, Charles Atlas ® was still alive and probably had a personal hand in the monthly exercise packets he was sending me, ha! I believe I may have originally subscribed from one of those ads you'd see in comic books in those days -- you know, "don't let the bully kick sand in your face at the beach," or some such. Brings back lots of memories...

I reckon that comic book ad inspired a whole bunch of us youngsters in those days. It's really too bad that I no longer have those old exercise packets from circa 1964; if I did, I'd donate them to the CA archives...

Whenever people, mostly older men like myself, learn of my association with Chales Atlas ®, they start recounting fond childhood memories and performing an exercise or three that they still retain in memory from the course. Recently I decided to collect these accounts, and post them here. I thank everyone who shared their memories and gave me consent to pass them on. Viva Charles Atlas ® students, past, present and future!