Cultivating Physical Culture

IRON MAN ’s purpose is to be a facilitator. We are enablers by design. “We know training” is our mantra—training meaning all the facets of the process that can help you attain your physical-culture goals.

Physical culture was once the center of our collective identity. Iron Man’s founders, Peary and Mabel Rader, saw the magazine as an information center that would get the word out about the benefits of physical culture. As the physical-culture world splintered into bodybuilding, Olympic lifting and powerlifting, the core was diminished. The original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, California, featured all aspects of physical expression. There were circus people, hand balancers, gymnasts and lifters, the last-named being practitioners of all three iron-related disciplines. It was a family of the culture of the physical. Today’s physical culture as defined by IRON MAN is what we call training.

As I look through this issue’s table of contents, I see a modern embodiment of the Raders’ tradition of a “how-to” information-based magazine. IRON MAN’s readers are primarily doers—some may be fans of bodybuilding competition, but more than 85 percent of you buy the magazine for its information and inspiration. Everything starts with inspiration. You must have the belief that you can get bigger, stronger and leaner faster.

Eric Broser speaks to the 40-plus bodybuilder in his “40 Is the New 20,” which begins on page 174 and includes an innovative program that stresses recovery while maximizing size and strength.

At the other end of the spectrum, in this month’s installment of Only the Strong Shall Survive, Coach Bill Starr addresses strength training for teenagers. As usual, he’s got the right balance of authoritative information and the all-important inspiration. You’ll find it on page 266.

Our regular columnists also specialize in the how-to element of weight work. In Smart Training, starting on page 44, Coach Charles Poliquin reminds us that as essential as the workout is, it merely sets the stage for growth through recuperation. He also discusses cardio mistakes and antagonist-muscle training.

Steve Holman, IRON MAN’s editor in chief, is always looking for ways to make his workouts and yours more productive. In his Critical Mass column, beginning on page 86, he discusses how the stretch can etch in new muscle detail, and he also suggests how to prioritize your upper pecs to create a more balanced upper body. In his Train, Eat, Grow entry, which appears on page 64, he and Jonathan Lawson analyze static-hold training, an innovative technique for helping you build more muscle mass.

That’s but a taste of the full menu that awaits you in this month’s IRON MAN. Enjoy! IM