charlesatlas.com

strongman01 wrote:The question is, "How much Strength?" If you dont mind me asking.

ENOUGH TO PULL A TRAIN, TOW 6 CARS FOR A MILE, OR RIP PHONE BOOKS IN HALF. ALL AT A BODY WEIGHT OF 180 POUNDS.

ALL THE BEST IAN

The Atlas program puts me in great shape like I never been in before.

I find both systems have advantages and disadvantages. Obviously the Atlas System is much healthier and builds functional strength. The better of the system is the Atlas Push-up, far better then benching health wise. I would say if one were to do both then I find that cool cause they get the best of both worlds but DT gives more to the mind/muscle connection.

The reality is, the vast majority of us are never going to enter a bodybuilding contest, let alone be Mr. Olympia, or whatever. And most of us aren't going to be NFL linemen. And professional wrestling is bogus. So why bother doing what they do? The vast majority of us will never have the time to workout 4 hours or more every day. Based on my experiences and observations, I have come to the long held conclusion that weights and machines, without the drugs and silicone and synthol, will not impart to the average person anything that Charles Atlas' Dynamic Tension course cannot impart. Its price is extremely cheap compared to the price of gym memberships, weights, machines, etc. So why bother with the others? The only reason I can see would to know how much weight one can lift, as if that is important. The only real value in this knowledge is for bragging rights. And boasting is a character flaw. For most folks, when considering all things, Charles Atlas' Dynamic Tension beats weights.

Ok this is going to be lengthy, so I'll probably make this a part one of my story and veiwpoint of weight training. Now understand I'm not against people who choose weightlifting to improve their appearance, I'm just pointing out that if you don't veiw it in it's proper perspective, it can mess you up psychologically. My father for most of his adult life was a novice bodybuilder. When he was a teen in the early sixties, he was very much like Mac in the ads. Skinny, pitiful, and with a lame haircut. Now his brother, who was a year older, was the oppossite, Tall, broad shouldered, and handsome. (did not work out btw, just had good genetics, I guess) My grandmother described him as being built like a trophy statue. My Dad was always turned down by girls(well, by good looking girls at least), Brother always had a date every friday night. To make matter worst, his brother knew this and always put him down constantly. As you can imagine, he had zero self confidence. This is where he had noticed that the girls he wanted to date were attracted to bigger, well built guys. This stuck with him, so he started to lift weights and diet to gain weight. He read bodybuilding magazines, manuals,and bought equipment to work out at home. By the time he married my mom, He was noticeably bigger and very narcissistic. without going into details here, but I believe part of the reason why my parents marriage fell apart was because of his false self esteem brought on by his obession with his physical appearance. Now he was a good father to me and my brothers, but the one thing I always held against him is the verbal abuse he laid on me about being skinny. He treated it like it was deformity, and was annoyed that I did not share his interests in bodyculture like my brothers did. To be honest the way he carried on about it turned me off to exercise. In fact I did not start working out until I moved out in my twenties(more about that later) Today, My Dad is in his mid sixties, still narccisstic, married 3x's, is barely able to work out because of his back injuries (3 surgeries), arthiritis, and other ailments. But he's depressed because he doesn't have a bodybuilder look anymore and thats caused some problems in his current marriage. This is why I don't care for weightlifting or the whole no pain, no gain mentality. Now I don't blame the bodyculture movement, because my fathers self esteem issues was the disease and weight lifting was just a symptom. This is one of the reasons why I use Bodyweight and self resistance exercises (end of part one)

Hello everyone, both systems are great and work, each will give different results. The truth is atlas did not use weights . You can hurt yourself with either all it takes is to strain and not train to find this out, sloppy form. Listen to your body because each is different. I favor both and advise both to reap the max benifits. Weights the biggest problem is ego. jeff

Wow Paradise68. That's quite a post and you imply there is more to come.

Reading through it I have seen the same scenario played out in several people I know. I'm sorry for what you went through. You are obviously wise enough to see what happened and on the right track yourself.

A good example of the dangers of weight training can be seen on YouTube videos. After watching some of the unfortunate accidents, D.T. makes all the sense in the world.

The Atlas Dynamic Tension System is based on isotonic tension and bodyweight exercises. You use your own bodyweight to provide the resistance. Many of the great fitness gurus of the past used to use very light weights in their workouts, from 5 to 20 pounds tops. Well, by using your own bodyweight for resistance, it is like using light weights in your workouts, without the bother of using any equipment. The military uses this type of exercise in their basic training programs. Why? Because it produces rapid results without any equipment necessary. You can do DT anywhere, as your own body is your gym.