CHARLES ATLAS, DYNAMIC TENSION, ISOMETRICS, CALISTHENICS.

[Guest guest]

Atlas synthesized a course that incorporated all the best

aspects of the non-apparatus methods he had used to build his

physique and offered it as a course. Over the years more than thirty

million people have purchased it worldwide. If anyone has ever

bothered to see the pics of his students thru the years, one knows

the system works. The pics you will see are photos of men after just

three or four months training with DT but they look like men who have

lifted weights for a couple of years.

The Dynamic Tension course consists mainly of Dynamic Tension

exercises. These are exercises that pit one muscle group against

another in a full range of movement. Modern exercise physiologists

have demonstrated that these exercises follow an almost perfect bell

curve of effort, unlike weights. In weightlifting the resistance

remain the same throughout the movement. That's not good because

one's strength varies throughout any movement. By using one's own

muscles to work one's own muscle, the resistance varies perfectly

with the fluctuations in strength throughout movement. A near perfect

bell curve. Isometrica are also included in the Dynamic Tension

course, though DT is not isometrics. However, all DT exercises can be

and should be performed in an isometric manner as well as isotonic

ally, just as Atlas did. The Atlas Course also includes calisthenics,

most of a more advanced nature, such as pushups between chairs and

one-legged knee bends.

Look online for pics of Marlon Birch, an all-natural bodybuilder such

as myself. He uses the Dynamic Tension system of Atlas:

Exercises that pit one muscle group against another, isometrics, and

advanced calisthenics. Marlon Birch came up with some tremendous

advances in isometrcis that a certain author used without paying

Marlon or giving him credit. The author lured Marlon to his home with

talk of a book deal, and then simply put Marlon Birch's ideas in his

own book. Leaving Marlon holding the bag. Great guy, huh? He is

certainly a man to idolize and look up to.

Not.

Marlon Birch does not use steroids. That's the whole point of natural

bodybuilding. His development is the equal of any natural bodybuilder

using weights. This entire mind set that one has to use weights to

become large and muscular (if one chooses to be large) is fallacious,

disproved by thousands of Atlas students.

This author that I mentioned recommends exercises that I will refer

here to as " Looney Pretend Exercises. " In these " exercises " one is

told to visualize lifting weights, and then flex the muscles and go

thru the exercise motion as one pretends one is lifting a weight.

This book also hands out left handed compliments to Atlas,

and leaves out many of the most important Atlas exercises. I called

my chiropractor, Dr. Gray, as well as my former physical

therapist, Jeanine, and asked if they had heard of these exercises

(by the real name of the " exercises " ) Dr. Gray told me that he had

heard of the exercises because he had purchased the same book I had,

and that the exercises are sheer bunk They did not work for Dr, Gray

or any of his patients. He is not only a chiropractor, but is now

himself a physical therapist. Jeanine said the same about the Looney

Pretend Exercises but added laughter, and she liked my name for these

faux exercises. She called it " physiological snake-oil " and told me

she too had been foolish enough to try these exercises with a few of

her patients.

They don't work. They're horse feathers.

I began the Atlas System of Dynamic Tension thirty-three

years ago and gained 25 pounds of muscle in about four months! I

wound up putting on 70 pounds of muscle over a period of six years.

Admittedly I have unusual genetics, and I also accomplished this by

doing a far more extensive workout with DT than the " perpetual

lesson " of ten exercises that Atlas recommends to his students at the

end of his course. I also invented ten of my own Dynamic tension

(muscle pitting) exercises that closely mimic important barbell

exercises known to add muscular bulk. Neither my DT exercises, nor

those of Atlas, are easy by any stretch of the imagination. I

also incorporated isometrics into my routine, of course, since the

Atlas course course includes some ALL of the Atlas Dynamic Tension

exercises can and should be performed both isotonically and

isometrically.

I worked out for about ninety minutes to two hours every other day

during that six year period, then went on a maintenance program. The

exercises are not easy by any stretch. I proved, however, that the

same results can be had using the Dynamic Tension course of

Atlas as using weights. The " muscle pitting " exercises can be

performed at varying speed and intensity, cycling one's training back

and forth from bodybuilding (lighter intensity/pressure, greater

speed, more reps) to strength training (higher intensity/pressure,

slower speed, resulting in less reps). This cycling back and forth

over a period of months is in fact the best way to train with

progressive resistance, giving the trainee the best of both worlds.

Having purchased my first copy of the Atlas system over

thirty-three years ago, and again just a month ago as a PDF, I can

attest that the course is written very clearly. The positive thinking

and motivational material is inspiring indeed, and the nutritional

advice has been updated. The old info was accurate, but more needed

to be added. Some of the course has been reworded. The description of

the exercises is clear, and supplemented by sufficient photography.

Right now the Atlas Ltd company is struggling, but has plans

to produce and exercise DVD within several years.

Beware of books and individuals that give left-handed compliments to

ANYONE, Atlas included. The author I mentioned is one such

source of left handed compliments. The author praises Atlas in his

book, then runs him down on his web-site. Atlas performed feats of

strength and endurance utterly beyond that author, such as pulling a

train car weighing 145,000 pounds for 112 feet. He carried a 500

pound barbell for a city block to demonstrate his strength when

Bob " I walk on my thumbs " Hoffman (The now dead founder of York

Barbell Co.) took him to court saying that no one can develop

strength without barbells. Hoffman lost and was ordered to shut the

hell up by the court, to cease and desist defaming Atlas. The

document is posted on the Atlas web site. Atlas also swam

over a mile through a storm to rescue a row boat full of women who

had lost their oars. He tied the boats rope to himself and pulled the

boat to shore by swimming with it behind him. This was witnessed by

Ripley of Ripley's " Believe It Or Not. " Atlas also pulled a

line of heavy 1940s sedans for several miles.

Let those who claim to be as strong or stronger, as fit or more fit,

than Atlas PROVE it with equal or greater feats of strength and

endurance! Not by demonstrating pretend exercises and their physique

which is far inferior to that of Atlas. Otherwise, let them simply

shut up and buzz off, leaving the ranks of real men behind to go and

sit with the ladies and swap recipes.

Now as to what this has to do with BW, I agree with Rich that BW

training can be a very helpful addition to Dynamic Tension. Or to

weights, Bo-flex, or anything else.

Namaste,

Nate