Monday, August 11, 2025

Eugene Sandow hand grip secret of muscle training: more Body Weight training secrets from Paul Wade

 https://dn790001.ca.archive.org/0/items/sandowgetsphysicl00sanduoft/sandowgetsphysicl00sanduoft.pdf

I was thinking about qigong master Jim Nance's dad since I was told how he did a certain training exercise every night for his muscles - based on grip.

 

A Total Gym user advocates using muscle grip attachments to the handles based on Eugene Sandow - very fascinating.

Eugene Sandow used the below "adjustable spring grip dumb bells" - 3 lbs each for his strength training. 30 minutes a day. 

 Eugene Sandow has been called "The Father of Modern Bodybuilding". The Sandow Trophy, which is given to each year's winner of the Mr Olympia Professional Bodybuilding Championship is named for Eugene Sandow. Sandow was renowned for his physique, but also his amazing strength. Sandow challenged and outlifted many professional strongmen, who were much larger and heavier than Sandow was. Sandow was 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 202 lbs. Sandow was able to outlift bigger and heavier opponents because Sandow knew how to recruit more of his muscles than his rivals could recruit of theirs. Sandow sold 3-lb adjustable spring grip dumbbells, which he invented in 1899, using grip compression as the method of progressive overload to develop muscular endurance, size, and strength.

 

 full text is word searchable

A  little  time,  as  has  been  said,  should  be  devoted  to  the  free 
movements,  with  the  dumb-bells,  and  before  entering  upon 
the  exercises  proper.  This  will  accustom  the  hands  to  the  grip 

id  weight  of  the  bells.  Like  putting  a  rifle  into  the  hand 
}f  a  soldier  at  squad-drill,  when  he  has  learnt  his  facings  and 
bhe  goose-step,  it  will  steady  the  recruit  and  give  resistance 
ind  the  requisite  tension  to  the  muscles,  particularly  those  of 
bhe  wrist  and  the  forearm.  The  dumb-bells,  it  must  here  be 

epeated,  should,  for  beginners  especially,  be  of  light  construc- 
Dion,  either  of  wood  or  of  iron  ;  in  the  latter  case,  they  may 
>e  covered  with  leather.  For  women  and  the  youth  of  both 

3xes,  their  weight  should  range  from  two  to  three  pounds 

ich  ;  for  male  adults,  from  three  to  five  pounds  each.  The 
length  of  time  given  daily  to  training  must  necessarily  vary 

ith  the  age,  capacity,  and  physical  conditk  n  of  the  pupil,  as 

201 


well  as  with  the  amount  of  leisure  he  is  at  liberty  to  devote, 
at  any  one  period  of  the  day,  to  the  movements.  If  thirty 
minutes  cannot  be  given  continuously  to  the  exercises,  perhaps 
fifteen  can  be  snatched  twice  a  day  ;  but,  at  the  outset,  any 
one  exercise  should  not  be  prolonged  beyond  the  point  when 
the  muscles  tire,  though  every  exercise  should  be  continued  until 
they  ache,  and  the  mind  should  be  put  into  the  work,  that  the 
muscles  may  feel  the  strain  and  receive  the  full  benefit  of  the 
toning  and  building-up  process. 
 This  is  a  point  that  cannot  be  too  much  impressed  upon  the 
pupil-in-training,  as  it  is  the  basal  fact  upon  which  all  success- 
ful physical  instruction  rests.  There  must  be  a  concentration 
of  the  will-power  upon  the  exercise  in  hand,  and  the  dumb- 
bell must  be  held  and  used,  not  passively,  but  as  a  potentiality 
to  be  actively  and  strenuously  exerted,  that  the  muscles  may 
first  be  loosened  and  then  alternately  contracted  and  relaxed, 
in  the  process  which  Nature  has  designed  for  their  healthy 
growth  and  development.  With  flabby  muscles  there  can 
hardly  ever  be  vigorous  frames  or  sound  health.  Nor  need 
the  possession  of  either  be  a  matter  of  serious  or  difficult 
attainment.  Much  might  be  gained  by  an  exercise  of  an  hour 
or  two  a  week  in  the  intelligent  use  of  a  pair  of  light  dumb- 
bells. Even  out  of  a  daily  "constitutional"  we  might  get 
more  benefit  did  we  impart  energy  to  our  movements,  and  put 
the  muscles  of  progression  to  strain,  in  a  sharp  and  exhila- 
rating walk, — bearing  in  mind  that  the  test  of  having  put  the 
muscles  to  use  is  to  have  tired  them. 

 

 In  all  exer- 
cises with  the  light-weight  dumb-bells,  the  knees  must  be 
bent,  that  the  muscles  of  the  leg  may  feel  the  strain  of  the 
movements  of  the  upper  limbs.  Tighten  the  grip  of  the  hands 
on  the  dumb-bells,  and  make  tense  the  muscles  of  the  arms  ; 
then  alternately  flex  or  bend  each  arm  at  the  elbow  inwards 
and  upwards,  till  the  dumb-bell  is  in  line  with  the  shoulder, 
back  of  the  hand  to  the  front,  shoulders  and  elbows  well 
drawn  down,  and  the  upper  arms  close  to  the  sides.  In 
lowering  the  dumb-bells,  straighten  the  arm  to  its  full  length, 
and  repeat  the  alternate  movements  till  the  muscles  ache. 

 

The  bar  of  the  dumb-bell,  in  these  swing- 
lifts,  must  be  grasped  close  to  the  fore-lying  sphere  until 
the  weight  is  swung  well  up,  when,  by  a  slight  jerk  up- 
wards, the  centre  of  the  bar  and  the  proper  poise  are  gained. 
The  advantage  of  this  is  obvious,  as  the  upper  sphere  of  the 
dumb-bell  will  be  supported  in  the  lifting  movement  by  the 
grip  of  the  closed  thumb  and  fingers,  while  the  lower  sphere, 
swinging  free,  will,  by  its  own  weight,  receive  greater  impetus 
in  the  ascent.  The  pupil  will  now  put  the  movement  into 
practice,  taking  care  to  keep  the  back  as  straight  as  possible, 
bending  the  body  freely  on  the  hips,  and,  as  the  bell  curves 
upwards,  incline  the  body  backwards,  and  move  the  right  foot  a 
little  further  to  the  rear,  to  preserve  the  balance.  The  elevat- 
ing of  the  dumb-bell  aloft,  it  will  be  understood,  is  a  con- 
tinuous movement,  the  right  arm  getting  under  it  when  it  has 
been  swung  up  from  the  floor,  by  a  quick  dip  of  the  knees, 
and  the  instantaneous  straightening  of  the  arm  and  left  leg, 
the  left  arm  bracing  the  body  by  the  support  given  the  hand 
on  the  left  hip.  The  exercise  will  be  good  for  strengthening 
the  spine,  and  the  muscles  of  the  chest,  arms,  and  lower 
limbs. 

EXERCISE  28. 

SLOW  LIFT  FROM  THE  GROUND  TO  THE  SHOULDER. 

This  is  a  slow  lift  from  the  ground  to  the  shoulder,  designed 
chiefly  to  develop  the  biceps  and  forearm. 
Paul Wade books: 
 https://ia600400.us.archive.org/29/items/ConvictConditioning-HowToBustFreeOfAllWeaknessUsingTheLostSecretsOfSupremeSurvival_201711/C-Mass-%20Paul%20Wade.pdf
 The answer has to do with training methodology. Generally speaking—I’m
paraphrasing here, kid—there are TWO types of resistance training, both at
different ends of the spectrum. The first is nervous system training. The second
is muscular system training.
 If size is your goal, you gotta shift your training away from nervous system-
style work to pure muscular work. Stop training like a gymnast, and start training like a
bodybuilder.
................. 

I'm certain, I'd bet money, that the real person behind the name “Paul Wade” was never a convict, but instead, is an ex-gymnast (maybe even a former Olympian) .

Paul Wade says he spent 20 years in prison 

  In fact, Paul Wade does not do interviews and does not allow photographs of himself. Why? Because the "convict" in Convict Conditioning is no joke.

Paul first entered prison in 1979 and spent nineteen of the following twenty-three years behind bars................

Paul Wade telling a prison story: 

He was telling me how lame all the new machines in modern gyms were. “Modern lifters should go old school,” he kept saying. “Less is more. Get rid of the Swiss balls, Nautilus machines, electronic lifting equipment and all that other garbage. Then you'll be able to focus on what matters.” For the most part, I agreed with the dude.

He didn't like current training methods either, and he wasn't afraid to say so. “People focus on every new fad that rolls around.” He spat. “Old-time strongmen didn't do this. They didn't bomb and blitz with high reps, giant sets, or super-advanced periodized routines. They just lifted heavy iron. Real strength is about the basics. Less is more!”

Less is more was a theme of his training philosophy. It's a pretty good theme, usually. So I challenged this guy.

I asked him, “Do you really believe less is more when it comes to strength work?”

“F*** yeah! Absolutely!”, he nodded with total conviction.

“So, if less really is more when it comes to training, why don't you get rid of the barbells and dumbbells?”, I asked.

He looked kind of perplexed, and eventually wandered off.

https://pccblog.dragondoor.com/tag/paul-wade/

https://wildmantraining.com/the-book-convict-conditioning-not-the-real-thing/

 

 

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