At one time Siegmund Klein held world records in lifting and was considered one of the best built men in the world. His admonition of moderation in youth and later life is worth considering.
Why do I, a man who has done so much heavy lifting in the past and who has trained so hard, talk of moderation? From long experience and talking with many lifters over a period of some 50 years I have found that most lifters during their careers will injure themselves in one manner or another. Of course this situation is not confined to lifting but is more or less common to all sports.
This is almost inevitable. A man feels he must make a new record, he has to beat everyone else. These men are driven to excel both by their inner ego and by friends and coaches and by their competitive spirit. There is a compulsion that demands self satisfaction. Usually this can’t be stopped because the lifter will not heed the advice of his predecessors nor will he learn from the experiences of other professionals.
Olympic lifting, in my estimation, is not the solution to world peace (nor are any of the other sports) as is so often stated. One has only to listen to the complaints and arguments of the losers to realize that there is little of the so-called sportsmanship in their hearts, nor has it endeared them to their competitors, the winners.
Neither does it make the winner the “Strongest Man” in his particular class even though he may have made the highest total. Some of his competitors may have exceeded him in some of the lifts. My question is, “What can he do in the other lifts such as the dead lift, crucifix, squat, one arm pressing, to name only a few?” To be classified as the strongest man in the world a man should be capable of surpassing any other man in the world on any feat of strength that anyone else can perform.
Back to our thinking on moderation. How often in a man’s life is he called upon to exert all his strength? Very seldom, perhaps never, in many cases. Then why should he exert all possible strength so often in training and competition, calling on every ounce of his muscle and nerve in an all out effort?
The muscle builder, too, will work out to the point of almost complete exhaustion. I am thinking now of the men who train specifically to win physique contests, etc. They often train daily and for four or more hours at a time in order to get bigger arms than anyone else, or a larger chest, or a little more definition or shape. They train so hard that they are exhausted and become listless and can’t function for anything else. And for what? Just to win a contest.
Many of these fellows as they grow older will not have the energy left to train so hard and maintain their development and so often they finally give up and with their relaxation from hard training and overeating they become fat and soft. Often, family responsibilities or their jobs will not permit the long hard sessions of training to maintain their former condition. So often, “old timers” come into the gym to visit me and I’m often shocked to see how they have changed, from their former superb physiques to fat, soft old men, often physically incapacitated. This does the game no good.
These things do not happen to the man who trains moderately and continues to do so all his life. This man will have lots of energy and will usually continue his training throughout a long and useful life. He does not have to train so hard to maintain a huge development in good condition. I have seen these moderate trainers who looked much better and enjoyed better health in later years that the fanatics who were winning titles when young.
One should not train with weights just to win contests while he is young or to surpass the world in lifting or size, but rather for good health and good condition throughout his entire life. The problem is that they have selected the wrong objective or goal.
Lionel Strongfort wrote a pamphlet many years ago called “The Conservation of Health, Strength and Energy” and this ought to be the aim of all training.
A man should train for COORDINATION or the harmonious relation between all body parts when in motion; for AGILITY, or the ability to change body direction quickly while moving; for FLEXIBILITY, or the ease and freedom of movement of the body joints and a good range of motion; for ENERGY, which might also be termed strength – or the ability to expend energy violently against great resistance. He should strive for these things – not so that he can win physique or lifting contests or excel others, but rather so that he can enjoy good health, function efficiently in his daily living and maintain this condition throughout his entire life. He should train hard enough to obtain and maintain these qualities but should not be driven to extremes such as is done in competition or competition training. He should adjust his training to intelligently conform to advancing years. If he will do this he will maintain a high degree of condition and health to the end of his days.
This article originally appeared in Iron Man magazine
To learn more about the training methods of Siegmund Klein click on the following link:
Siegmund Klein – “Renowned Old Time Strongman, Physique, and New York City Gym Owner”
