Mythic Physique Feats_of

When you exercise without purpose, your progress is slow as you lack direction.

Having established a firm foundation for strength, I was faced with choosing a discipline. Would it be bodybuilding, powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting or Strong Man?

Each path offered distinct benefits. After much deliberation, I chose the path of the Strong Man as it was the most Herculean of power paths.

However I can, and will, continue to learn much from the paths I've not chosen, but with my new focus I can finally move forward.

Part of what appealed to me about the path of Strongman were the feats of strength performed by its practitioners. The Charles Atlas (R) course provided instructions on several, and I found a few more online, but what I needed was a how-to comprehensive text book.

I found one in Feats of Strength and Dexterity by Charles Mac Mahon. There are 193 Feats described, including such traditional favorites as the tearing of phone books and the bending of spikes.

The Feats fall roughly into several categories. Many can be integrated into one's daily exercise regimen to increase dexterity and strength, some can best be described as magic tricks, a few are gymnastic demonstrations and others are contests of strength.

In cases like Coin bending, the author admits to being stumped but offers an alternate technique using a vice that will allow you to actually succeed at the stunt.

I am already able to bend bottlecaps with my fingers, twist open difficult jars, hold a basketball with one hand and perform a handful of the other Feats described in this book. That being said, were I to master one additional Feat a month (and some definitely require more time than that), it would take me over 15 years to master every stunt contained in this book. I better get a move on it then!

Originally published in 1927, this timeless classic is a must-have for anyone wishing to shine in the strength game. What am I personally starting with? Card tearing and integrating the stretching exercises into my workouts. What am I looking forward to mastering? Chain breaking and car lifting.

Review by Hercules Invictus