I'm Such A Loser

Image by dogwelder via FlickrI think most of you are too young to remember, but back in the 60's and 70's, I remember seeing advertisements in comics for Charles Atlas' Dynamic Tension muscle building system, as well as Mike Marvel's Dynaflex system.

Both of these systems are isometric training. Charles Atlas apparently had better marketing so it was more famous. Mike Marvel, while not as famous, is also a known name (to me anyway).

I was pleasantly surprised to find a full, free copy of Mike Marvel's Dynaflex system available on the internet as I was surfing around recently. That website, Transformatics.com, had scanned the entire Dynaflex system and made it available.

If you also have a copy of Charles Atlas' Dynamic Tension system, you can compare the exercises and see how different or similar they are.

I have also compiled all the pages into a PDF file. If you want it, download it here.

Sorry I don't have Charles Atlas' Dynamic Tension system for download. Even if I had, I don't know if it would even be legal to do so.

As a side note, I know many people frown upon isometric training. What I can say is that "it works". Why?

Way before I had Bodylastics, I had the Steel Bow from Bowproducts.com. The Steel Bow is essentially a modern version of "Bullworker". When I started on my workout back in November 2007, all I had was the Steel Bow. The Steel Bow, or "Bullworker" if you prefer to call it that, is an isometric training device.

To cut the long story short, I lost weight and gained muscle on it. In 2 short months I lost about 6kg or so, and as I stated in a previous entry here, I went from zero pushups to 20+, proper form. In other words, isometric training works. You don't really need weights to build muscle. With the proper guidance and training routine, you can increase your fitness and build muscle/lose weight.

I am sure if you put your mind to it, and followed the Dynaflex system, you will probably improve your fitness too, at the very least. Even if you don't get a "he-man body", you will have already increased your fitness level.

Personally, I'm not following the Dynaflex system right now. I still have my Steel Bow with me, and I also have my Bodylastics. For now, I'm going back on the Steel Bow and following a new 25-step routine which I have discovered in the bullworker forums.

Labels: workout