Eugen Sandow is widely regarded to as the first famous bodybuilder the world has ever seen. His physique was incredibly impressive for the 1800s so it should be no surprise to see that thousands of people were paying to see him perform strength shows or just show off his body.
Sandow revolutionized the way in which people trained. He also wrote books, wrestled lions, started a magazine, and taught countless individuals how to train. Among the numerous fitness tips he mentioned, many still apply. Below you can find some you should know about.
Exercising Is Possible While Sitting Down
In the year 1897 Sandow wrote that people can sit down and strain their muscles in order to get a workout. He said that this was just as good as lifting weights. Modern athletes know that a highly-balanced fitness regimen is necessary to remain healthy but Sandow was ahead of the years as he incorporated exercising into daily routine stationary periods.
Women Can Lift Weights
Even during the twentieth century people believed that women can become way too masculine because of weight training. Sandow was among the first to shoot down this idea. He said that the belief is mischievous and a delusion. He did this because he realized how valuable extra muscles were when girls were doing gymnastics. Now we know that strength training has numerous advantages for women.
You Get Colder When You Dry Yourself After You Take A Bath
Nowadays, modern researchers endorse the benefits of cold baths when trying to recover from severe muscle soreness. However, Eugen Sandow always said that followers should not dry themselves after they take a bath. He said the reason was that as you dry off a body part, it becomes warmer but another one becomes colder. Taking cold baths can thus lead to rheumatism and many other diseases. The best thing you can do is to let the body dry at a natural rate. Alternatively, if you have to dry off, do it as fast as you can and be sure that you get dressed equally fast.
Start Enjoying Fitness When Young
Eugen Sandow always said that if he had a boy he will help him start training as soon as he was 2, only to then gradually increase weights. The idea was that weight training needs to be compulsory for the boys. While some of his beliefs were a little extreme, we now know that when you follow a fitness regime when you are young there is a much higher possibility that you will keep being interested in fitness in the future.
Gym Machines Are Overrated
The first famous bodybuilder said that his body was achieved just through the use of dumbbells and barbells. He said he avoided the gym machines. Now we know that these machines are not actually helping us as much as regular use of free weights would, especially when the goal is to build muscle mass. However, it needs to be said that some extra equipment was proven to be quite effective. You have to adapt based on the goals you have.