Bosco's Strength Notebook by Harry Paschall

[drob357]

HISTORY OF PHYSICAL CULTURE LIBRARY
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Volume 1 No 2, Date Unknown
FULL REPRODUCTION
Enjoy this 111-page reproduction in dynamic font. Includes weightlifting exercises and detailed instructions plus the ever popular, "BACKSTAGE WITH BOSCO"

Excerpt from book: “That was the year that John Grimek won the Mr. America title, and also participated in the lifting. The day after the contest we were in Sig Klein’s gym when Johnny Grimek and Steve Stanko came in and we watched cynical Sig put his “steel” tape measure on their biceps to get a reading of 18 inches. I will never forget Sig saying, after the two York Stars had departed, “There go a couple of MEN.” – Harry Paschall

[sticksb]

Harry was an influence on what I produce . The Bosco booklets are priceless . He
could have used a joke writer as Hoffman would have flopped in Vaudeville . Bob
was funny as a broken leg . Paschall had to mirror some of Hoffman's aversion to
bodybuilding in his cartoons , making sport of beach musclemen . This evaporated
when hoffman realized how many bodybuilding customers he had when bodybuilding
started to be accepted mid-60s on . I think Joe Weider published his sales figures in
a mid 60s issue of Muscle Builder .Hoffman read it and spit his coffee across the room
... and he never drank coffee ...LOL

[sticksb]

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[peter yates]

Thanks Diane, I know that like most of what you post,this required a great deal of work. Paschall was a very interesting character and a main player in the iron game for many years.From what i can gather he was very much in favor of bodybuilding which he called 'muscle spinning' but with the provision the muscle developed should be useful and not for show.I remember reading an article he wrote in which he was berating lifters who had no muscle to build some and bodybuilders who had muscle to do some lifting and strength feats. Contrary to what has been written,and many believe, Hoffman was of a similar opinion. He was not anti muscle building as his early courses point out, build the body first,then do something useful with it.
Regards,Peter.

[sticksb]

Hoffman used derisive language in print regarding bodybuilders all the time
post mid 40s . Muscles for muscles sake was the vibe that evaporated once
he got some serious sales competition ...

[peter yates]

Hi Chris, exactly. Hoffman was not against muscles, just muscles for show only. Leiderman, Jowett, Klein, Inch etc. all emphasized building up the body first, eliminating weak links then using those muscles for lifting or other sports. Hoffman was the same until Weider came along and really promoted physique for its own sake. Interesting though Joe really respected strength but he knew what the majority of trainees were really interested in,looking good. Joe had a great knack of seeing where trends where going and got in there quick to lead the pack.
Regards,Peter.

[David Gentle]

I bought all the Bosco books via uk rep John Valentine, also had Strength and Health which i swopped with a mate for Weiders mags, plus actually bought most of the UK pc mags, although some were a bit too bodybeautiful for my tastes. Modern guys would be suprised just how many pocket size "muscle mags" were around in those days. The Strength Notebooks carried some nice basic routines which we all followed and made progress with, although old uncle joe came out with a new system or schedules every month, after a while just too much to keep up with resulting in mental and physical fatigue, hence reason for giving weights a rest and going into Maxalding or strands. Mind you , as soon as we felt fit again, it was back to the iron, nothing like hearing the clang of weights being added to the bar for nostalgia. Re Klein, i think he also said "Train for shape and strength will follow" so not sure how that adds up with power training. You really need to know exactly what your goals are. Pumping iron, or humping iron. David Gentle

[peter yates]

Hi David, i have mentioned this elsewhere about Klein but will repeat it here.After reading a lot about Klein and his training i feel that his phrase has been mostly misunderstood. My own opinion, based on his writings, is that he was referring to first of all building the total body and as much as possible eliminate any weak points. This will then provide a good foundation for then moving into lifting heavy for records etc.Klein himself followed this practice, the main portion of his time being spent on development of his physique,then when he felt he would like to challenge existing records, make new ones or be in competition with other lifters he would spend some time focusing on the lifts being contested.Often it may be only one lift, yet at other times he would do several record attempts in an evening. However once the records were established or contest won, he would go back to a more comprehensive routine. He reasoned, and not without validity, that constant training for record lifting and competition would wear the body down and create imbalance. Actually more than one Olympic lifter or Power lifter has trained in a similar way.Tommy Kono comes to mind, he would have spells of several months were he would only focus on bodybuilding, giving his body a rest and time to heal from the constant stress,wear and tear of lifting near limit poundage.
Regards,Peter.

[peter yates]

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Hey Chris, this guy would look great on the front of a T-shirt. Any ideas?