“The Iron Man!”
They called him…
“The Iron Man!”
Peary Rader
Founder and Publisher of “The Original” Iron Man Magazine!
One of the truly great pioneers of modern weight lifting was born in 1909.
Peary Rader, strong man, writer, publisher, and founder of the famous Iron Man Magazine gave an open forum to those that wanted to share their methods for success.
It All Started From Humble Beginnings
From humble beginnings in rural America, young Peary Rader had a burning desire to go from a skinny lad to a strong man.
He tried every type of physical training course that his meager allowance would provide.
Nothing seemed to add weight, or strength for that matter, to his scrawny frame.
He decided to experiment on his own with a variety of methods.
After several years of trial and error, young Rader managed to develop his own method for gaining weight and developing strength.
His Results Were So Obvious To Family and Friends That It Earned Him the Nickname, “Iron Man”.
In August of 1936, in the midst of The Great Depression, he began publishing his own magazine to spread the word.
The first issue was called, “Super Physique”, but later changed to, you guessed it…
“The Iron Man”
It was a primitive affair, digest size, with only a few pages and a ‘huge’ first time print run of about 25 copies.
He printed it with an old mimeograph machine found in the trash.
Rader’s new magazine was published bi-monthly and available by subscription only.
It grew dramatically as well as the methods of printing.
Peary Rader’s reputation was personified through Iron Man over the years.
It was a clean magazine that could be left on the kitchen table.
Rader was an elder in his church.
No need to worry about any offensive language or photos in Iron Man.
He wouldn’t have it!
He didn’t preach religion but occasionally would go off on a rant about some of the “modern supplements” used by the big names of the day.
Peary welcomed other points of view in his magazine offering an open forum to anyone who had something worthwhile to contribute.
He gave a start to many successful writers such as Anthony Ditillo, Bruce Page, Michael J. Salvati, Bradley J. Steiner, etc.
What People Have to Say About Peary Rader
“I know I’ll enjoy Peary Rader’s Master Bodybuilding and Weight Gaining System because I always thought he was writing some of the best stuff around back when. My training partner here in Colorado is a 41 year old cop from Alliance, Nebraska. Peary Rader’s place was right around the corner from his house when he was growing up.”
Jack R.
Greeley, Colorado
“I remember the Original Iron Man Magazine from the 1970’s when I was a kid interested in learning about lifting weights. There was only one location in Honolulu, Hawaii, where I grew up, that carried Iron Man. It was a bi-monthly publication and the magazine/bookstore owner would keep Iron Man behind the counter and place the current issue up against the window. I would buy my copy every two months. I remember that the magazine smelled like bubble gum–like the smell of new baseball cards that came with a stick of bubble gum. I used to work out in Timmy Leong’s Gym in downtown Honolulu and he would also read through his copy in his office. The walls of Timmy’s Gym had a few cover shots of Timmy in his prime. Timmy also purchased equipment for his gym from Peary Rader’s Body Culture Company. Looking back now, the training and nutrition information contained in Iron Man was the most honest and straight forward. No BS to sell supplements. And the photos were great too. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Muscle Builder/Power too with it’s flashy pictures of Arnold, Franco, Zane and Larry Scott and Dave Draper. But Iron Man was the real deal, no flash, only substance. Thanks Again,”
Andrew L.
I remember when I would get my copy of Iron Man in the mail.
I would drop whatever I was doing and open the brown envelope.
Immediately, I would go to my favorite author and begin reading.
Great stuff in those days.
Valuable information from a variety of sources.
Yours for greater strength,
Bill Hinbern
Super Strength Training
Peary Rader wrote several weight training courses, 3 of which are still available. They are full of useful information that has stood the test of time, year after year.
Check out these courses by Peary Rader:
(click on any image to read more!)
 The Rader Master Bodybuilding and Weight Gaining System |
 Iron Man Barbell Course |
 Iron Man Dumbbell Course |
The Peary Rader “Iron Man” Collection
For a Limited Time Only…
Order all 3 courses
for only $ 39.90 + S&H
