The conditioning of gymnasts and the resulting physiques, in my mind, impresses me far more than that of weightlifters. They have trained their connective tissues as well as their muscles for performance. I lift some, but I consider myself just a lazy person compared to gymnasts.

I didn’t put to much faith in resistance bands until I had a bad accident a few years back. On the road to recovery physical therapy made me a believer in the benefits of band training. I, for one, believe his claim. The muscles and the body know time and tension, regardless of what tool is being used

The difference with expanders - especially steel springs - is that the tension never goes. Lifting a weight can end with a locked position and the weight no longer requires muscles to hold it up but skeletal balance. I started with chest expanders with 20 lb springs that held 5 springs. I could bench press well above my body weight but it took a long time before I could just stand upright and force the 100 pound tension across my chest. I still have the set and I think I will go dig them out and start using them again.

No junk food in 1905.

Absolutely love the old strongman videos , i find them way more inspiring than any new age video due to the fact that it strongly emphasises that great chiselled bodies can be achieved naturally !

The bulk of my routine uses what are essentially resistance bands and cables. So its heartening to see what kind of results i can get from this kind of resistance. I'm a homebody and only have 50kg in plates. But my cable multigym can go up to 100kg in resistance.

As a Trainer I used chest expanders and kettlebells exclusively during 2020's Lockdown. These Old school tools gave me a better looking physique than i had while training at the gym. Bronze Era training principles and techniques were effective. In some ways even more effective than todays training practices.

Little known fact: he was also the inventor of modern deodorant.

These old schooler strong men/body builders look like their muscles are stronger and denser than steel

And then people go on the internet and say ‘resistance bands can’t build muscle’. Resistance is resistance. That is all.

It's about progressive resistance the resistance can come in any form body weight, free weights,machines, band's it doesn't matter resistance is resistance the muscles don't know, there's just a demand that is placed on them and as long as you give them the rest and nutrition they need they will respond to the stimulation.

There was an even more impressive physique in the year 1900, and that was Staff-Sergeant Alfred Moss, the British army's physical education and unarmed combat instructor. His upper body was the equal of anyone from the heyday of bodybuilding in the 1960s. In the one of only a couple of photos that have survived he actually looks more impressive than Chuck Sipes! He was an Olympic-level gymnast and also a master in the use of Indian Clubs. I have no doubt that it was his gymnastic training that developed him so massively. He actually entered one of the physique competitions around the turn of the 20th Century but he was heavily marked down because he had tattoos. The written report from that competition said that Staff-Sergeant Moss had twice as much muscle size as anyone else in the room! He was like the Donald Bradman of bodybuilding back then. When I bought my Indian Clubs, they came with a free wall chart, written by Alfred Moss and had a photo of him that was poorly chopped, but you can still see his phenomenal development. Like I previously stated: More impressive than Chuck Sipes!

Fred Rollen and all these early bodybuilders/strongmen are beyond impressive. One of the others whose strength and muscularity that blows me away is Otto Arco.

I remember seeing an interview with Ed Coan and how when he was a child he worked the hell out of his muscles using only spring resistance. It must have set him up well for his powerlifting days. I think the use of spring based resistance works the sinews better than weights do. Rollon is an amazing specimen and as a result of your video I have dug my chest expander out.

I think it's quite likely he accomplished those gains with just rubber bands and cables, especially if he used them in gymnast-like routines with slow reps and holding isometric poses. I remember gaining significant posterior deltoid and tricep strength and mass during my late-teenage years just by doing fully-extended static holds with my chest expander.

The best part of these bronze era pics is these guys still look normal . No bubble guts , synthol arms or surgery.

And to think it's taken people all these years to realize you can build a great physique with just bull workers, chest expanders and resistance bands and bodyweight exercises...

This is possibly my favorite video you have put out,many thanks.

This Channel is a treasure of information 🙏☺️

Fact: The weights lifted him Iron truly does sharpen iron

I got a hernia about a year ago and had to put down the heavy weights for a few months before my surgery and a couple months after my surgery. I did squats push ups cable squeeze light dumbbell overhead press and pull ups everyday Seems to me that heavy weight is easy to break down your muscles but then not give it enough time to heal and grow so reps and reps and reps and static holds seems to do the trick for me Just have to do it all the time. I look and feel better.

Would’ve been cool if there was actual documented exercises he did, and actual workout routine! This is pretty amazing, with elastic bands only!

People can say whatever they want but my best friend growing up had insane genetics. Naturally cut, muscular and bicep peaks like hardballs, was always jealous at the time of what he was blessed with, cheers.

Excellent post as usual, Carlos! Rollon was indeed a specimen and role model. I'd be curious if any of his training routines/methods survived. Another strand pulling great was Alfred Danks. Danks did compile his methodologies into a system and published several books on the subject in his lifetime. I read through a couple of them on the old Sandow Plus site while it was operational. It would be interesting to compare Danks' and Rollon's methods. Both built impressive physiques purportedly using cables exclusively.

Any theories as to why the bronze era guys were more ripped than the silver era? Sure the silver era guys were bigger and bulkier, but these bronze era bodybuilders were ripped to the bone.

Sweet. I have a full set of Expanders I got from John Wood many years ago. We use them often....usually with Chest , Delts and triceps and occasionally on biceps.

Resistance is Resistance the Muscle can’t differentiate,the Cables give constant tension too

I quit the gym over lockdown and bought very basic equipment, cables, light dumbells and chin up bar etc… and I’m in better shape now than I was in the gym cos having such little equipment has brought out creativeness in my workouts and it varies all the time. That is the key 🔑

I have stumbled upon some very old chest expanders that strongmen/wrestlers used in Greece back in the 1960s. These guys were something like Rollon giving shows, wrestling and performing feats of strenght (trucks going over them, tearing decks etc.) Needless to say those things are not cables like the ones in modern gyms, they are hard and thick springs that require huge force in order to stretch whilst pushing grip strenght to its max. If someone is to tie them somewhere and do rows, step on them and do curls etc. they can train perfectly without weights. Only disadvantage is that over time they become loose and have to be replaced.

I really WANT to like this channel, I really do. But at times it seems a little “light” on content. The videos are nearly 40% commercials.

Good stuff, I started out about a year ago (Not my first time working out, but that was when I got consistent again) with just a barbell, some leg weights, and body weight exercises. I bought some DBs, pull up bar, and a bench, which helped a lot. But recently I bought some more plates/weight, and I also picked up a set of resistance bands, from 10lbs-150lbs of tension depending on the bands used, and I think it has really taken my training to the next level, you get a great contraction, and consistent resistance, even at the top of the rep, which is great. I like to do band work after I do my heavier lifts, and it always burns me out. For example, today I did Biceps and back; So pull-ups, then chest supported barbell rows, then one arm banded rows. Shrugs in the middle. Then DB curls, followed by Barbell curls, followed by banded curls. Great video btw, I subscribed. I'm not sure if I believe he NEVER did any weight training, but I'm sure you could build a good physique with only Cables/bands/chest expanders etc.

To be sincerely honest in my humble opinion without being sentimental and of course, without offending anyone who thinks differently from my opinion but rather looking into this serious matter with perspective distinction and without condemning anyone's point of view, I honestly think and believe that I have nothing to say.

Thought: The food, back then, was more nutrient dense. Also, environmental toxins/contamination and estrogen exposure, was much (much) less. In general, natural testosterone levels were much higher.

Ah YES... The G.O.A.T. of Chest Expander Training, by FAR! And also ONE of my ALL-TIME Favourite LEGIT Oldetime Strongman as well! Interestingly & cool enuff though, since I've been focusing & concentrating like crazy on HEAVY Duty Chest Expanders in my OWN Ferocious & Hardcore to the Bone Training as well, my Back Development started to resemble that of Comrade Fred over here, big time! I definitely digg it! 😎💪👊✊️⚔️🔥

I used to train with them a lot. There is a big jump in difficulty when you add a spring. 3 springs are very hard at some exercises. 4 and 5 are really superhuman strength. I found that the best way to train with springs is with high reps. When you add a spring always start with low reps and build from that. I also found that combining springs with low reps (5-7) but lots of sets (15-25) of pull-ups and dips is very good. Today I can do pull downs with 120 kg for reps, with perfect form . I have no doubt that the unique resistance of cables gave me more power at the gym. Also very important, when performing with springs, always pull with straight elbows. Learn to use your core. The point is to stay stable under expending tension and resistance.

A brilliantly made video. I had never heard of this gentleman until now. I had trained with weight for years (+15) and over the last 10 years weaned off weights abd just exclusively train with resistance bands, from very this to very thick (heavy) resistance. And my exercises vary from many angles safely. Now I'm a few years away from turning 50, I don't mind saying, my physique and training is on par (at least) with younger guys training with weights, and though I am aging, it has helped that I have not given up training since the mid 90s. I hope many people find the same joy I take in resistance training for many years

CHARLES ATLAS WAS NO SLOUCH EITHER, HIS DYNAMIC TENSION GAVE YOU INSTANT RESULTS!!!

I trained a lot with chest expanders when I was younger, but I kept getting my chest hair caught in the springs :(

I should think that alot of these guys worked at manual labour jobs of some kind which would have helped build their physical body to a point I have done manula labour myself and it has helped.

Does it matter if he lifted lumps of cast iron or bags of sand or pulled on rubber strands? Resistance training is resistance training look at the bow flex of body elastic as examples.

I love strands. Used a chest expander/speargun tubing for years. They will give you sort of a lanky muscularity compared to weights. I gained 10 lbs in a month when I switched to a home barbell set Depends on what you are going for.

Studies show that men's testosterone levels have been declining for decades. The most prominent, a 2007 study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, revealed a “substantial” drop in U.S. men's testosterone levels since the 1980s, with average levels declining by about 1% per year.

Weighted stretch has been shown to be a very effective tool for hypertrophy. I see someone else mentioning gymnasts, and this is essentially what they do just by doing a lot of their training movements (like the iron cross, which is a whole body movement, but for biceps specifically, it is indeed a weighted stretch). With an implement like those chest expanders, you are training the concentric, the eccentric, and the weighted stretch at the end range of motion. A fantastic tool, really.

Yes , he build without using barbells and dumbells .. He used Smith Machines, rowed, ran, swim ,pulled train carts ect. ( still is resistance exercises) ..At one time used ketels .. I red all that in library years when i was researching on training methods for self applications.

That is truly impressive! He had to have been 5% or less body fat to have striations like that. It looks like he might’ve done pull ups along with the cables due to that development in his back. Really amazing!

This guy's my dream. Strong, light weight, ripped.

My grandfather was a farm boy and he was jacked and had no weights either it's amazing how these old school guys looked

What builds muscles? Time under tension. What give the better time under tension? Springs. What portion of "traditional" weight lifting is overlooked? The negatives. A chest expander demands force to be opened, force to be held open, and force to retract it. The force demanded is linear, it becomes harder throughout the movement up until full ROM then it becomes easier throughout the negative portion, the tension is never released throughout the entirety of the rep. The only problem with chest expanders are that few companies (actually only Baraban's company) are selling really strong chest expander. But, if you're one crafty individual you can basically build a stronger set of chest expander on your own. I think the captain of crush hand devices are great to build some insane grip along with those rollers thingy with weight, I built one myself with a really thick piece of wood (better for grip) and the concept is similar, a continuous and linear time under tension with a weight hanging from a rope that has to go up and down. Also, I'm sure power twister are great for chest, but you have to get some heavy one to get a good training, or, even better (but these are really expensive) a "chest Krusher", with seems to be the endboss of all springs focused exercise, it's basically a power twister (or a humongous nuts crusher) with up to seven short, and really heavy, springs. I'm rethinking my workout, KB swings are the best of both world regarding low impact cardio and resistance training, springs centered devices seem to be the way to go as they represent a perfect mix of continuous time under tension (both concentric and eccentric), but also isometric contraction if wanted. Once again, the modern age bring solutions to problems we didn't had and created more problems than we had in the first place that have to be addressed by looking back in the mirror to see how things were done before the snake oil salesmen came into that town called "western world". Cheers.

Absolutely amazing. Proves you don't need alot of equipment to gain alot of muscle

I believe that he could, in fact, develop this type of physique with just cable or pulley resistance. For the last two years, as I trudge through middle age, I have stopped using maximum poundage and using full range of motion, for workouts that stress "mind- muscle connection" and "time under tension" principles. I started training my arms mainly with cables when I realized the cables kept each repetition under tension throughout the entire movement. I do believe he achieved this in that manner, and although his physique was fantastic, it looked like it was very "realistic, perhaps a "48 inch" chest and "15 or 16" inch arms.

Brilliant video mate respect YNWA brother

I don't know if the man was a liar or not. But he's definitely inspired me to pick the ol' expanders and start working out again. Great video. I'll sub now

I changed from weights to bands, although I still use weights to warm up.. :)

Would love to see a video on Manohar Aich, aka India's Pocket Hercules. Extremely impressive physique, and one of the oldest serious bodybuilders that has ever lived.

The million dollar question is. .did he use chest expanders and resistance cables ONLY during that 1905 period or was he using dumbbells as well by that time. .

The body responds to resistance…doesn’t matter what the method is. And of course every individual responds differently…there is no magic here 😯

Yes. As long as you have some kind of resistance your body will respond with growth.

Bronze and silver era is the real shit. I fuggin love it!

Any kind of resistance training delivers results so long as the resistance is progressively increased, even something as elementary as adding stones to a pail used to lift over the head, curl, row, et al.

Some heavyweight boxers also had tremendous physiques while claiming to have never lifted weights. Examples Ken Norton, Mike Weaver and Mike Tyson. However , there is the possibility they are lying or used steroids in conjunction with boxing training which would build some muscle. Hitting heavy bags, pull ups, push ups, ab work etc. Also the possibility that these men were genetically gifted. Nevertheless a fascinating subject

Yes to everything said , yet we must remember he was a Genetic freak and would build large muscle by merely looking at weights, like all the 5% genetic freaks of the world .

Neato. That’s some good knowledge to see. It’s interesting how many eras have so much to learn from but it isn’t as widely emphasized due to the commercial norm of how people just want to bulk up instead of actually exercise their bodies

Lot of the gymnast are in great shape without lifting weights. Using the rings and pommel horse would do that.

I agree.. push yourself hard.. just go all out with dumbells, barbells, cables and go for a enjoyable jog, in the morning

It seems possible because of all the time under tension he had training similar to gymnasts.

Calisthenics as resistance training and cables.

I found myself during the first lockdown that resistance bands can be just as effective at building muscle you just have to train a little differently in terms of exercise selection, range of motion, volume and intensity. I actually after years of being at the gym quit going a few months ago and now do only strictly resistance bands, for me it was about saving time and not spending so much time during the week at the gym but also thanks to that lockdown experience knowing I can still make gains with bands

That condition is impressive even for someone on the juice. And those upper traps... how did he build them without weights!

Charles Atlas claimed he never used weights but that was a lie... however his Dynamic tension courses had Merit... so the lawsuit against him was dismissed!

The guy was a legend and figured out isometrics win every time imo

Who else ordered a chest expander before the video was over?

It amazes me how some people would most likely scream ‘steroids’ if this guy’s pics were posted today and yet some people also unironically believe Cbum is natural

I read that actor Charles Bronson trained with cables.

Been watching your channel for a while and love it. Unfortunately for me, I recently learned I have some wacly diseases which are probably going to be unable to lift weights again. So I'm glad to learn about these alternatives like muscle control. I'd love to learn more about it and the programming involved.

Interesting person for sure. Just like Bobby Pandour.

Just discovered this type of stuff and it is very interesting and inspiring(the natural bronze era athletes)

Dope history on body building good work!

each man has a chance to achieve unique physique based on hes genetics naturally. Only thing needed is a will

Great video sir. Drew Baye have done some amazing training with only machines..... I know his newschool

There is always an emphasis on how important diet is and that it's responsible for most of our success/gains...Yet it never seems to get a mention

I really like the "Bronze Age", as we can actually see what a healthy man can gain.

I have used his training methods and had fun doing them and performing them in parts of my oldtime strong man entertainment live shows. Tension and resistance training while doing work is what gets strong results, it isn't just about what we call weight.

Yes, All is true, My granddad used this training system back in 1910

The best back, double biceps photo is that of Victor Delamarre

at 2:30 that Tarzan guy in the lower right looks perfect body builder.

There was another man who built an impressive upper body using expander cables named Bank or Banks (I forgot if he was English or American). He peddled a mail-order expander course (methinks circa 1920s/30s).

I had a friend in the 1980 use to use a chest exspander to build his triceps up. We both used weights but when he started using them his build started to change

I believe it, I've used cables for arms an chest, and I have seen faster improvement than using free weight, though I still use free weight with cables

Love this channel!!!

I think for him to standing press and floor press with so much weight he must have done some training in order to grease the groove on those movements. I also read that he carried his brother up and down stairs to build his legs. Very impressive individual

Reminds me of a book by Dr. John Jaquish: “Weight Lifting is a Waste of Time”.

Fred is shredded

Bronze era... no roids era. Real men

Building lean and thick muscle is definitely a result of training with some form of resistance whether that be with body weight, resistance bands, or weights. Obviously these guys with their impressive physiques did not have access to the myriad of supplements and PED's that are on the market today. I would be more interested in what these guys were eating on a daily basis. Training AND diet get results. You know the saying; "It's 10% training and 90% diet." In these days they did not have foods loaded with antibiotics, steroids, etc. Is there any documentation on the diet these guys were using in those days? I think that would make a great video. Thanks for the content. Keep up the good work!

would be amazing to hear him explain the technique of his mastery

This guy probably has high natural test levels too

I love the Bronze Era because it showcases what the human body can look like without PEDs or modern training, diet and knowledge. Just pure dedication, genetics and willpower.

It often more important the diet and quality of training as opposed to any ONE style of training.

Having used a chest expander the past few weeks I'm already seeing improvements in my shoulders, upper back, biceps, triceps, and strength in my core to a fair degree. I was able to get an all steel one and a rubber one with the former having 154 pounds of resistance and the latter around 264 pounds of resistance. Training with the things has been exhausting and very, very challenging. I only wish I had had them during the 2020 pandemic. I could have made some serious gains. I believe his claims 100 percent.

What is baffling to others is quite normal in many instances in many nations. For example the Pacific Islands are full of people who looked just like this and even bigger.