Are you stronger or handier than the military men of the 1940’s?
Fitness was a different beast 70 years ago!! Is it just me, or isn’t there an overall feeling that if we took the 20-something version of ourselves, put us against the 20-something version of our grandpas…we would get destroyed.
Military Men in the 1940’s were serious about fitness. They didn’t want it to be complicated, they built most of their own equipment (barbells included!!) and they focused on functional movement.
Sounds right in line with End of Three Fitness!!
I have done, and do, a lot of research on the history of fitness. My love for diving into how things were done back in the day came about when I stumbles across a physical education book from the 1920’s in an old book store, that’s when I wrote, The 1920’s Knew Fitness, We Just Forgot…Now we fast forward 20 years to the 1940’s. So what was the military doing around the 1940’s in relation to fitness?
Fitness and World War II will be a spaced-out series. Today, we talk about DIY strength. First, we are going to start with my personal favorite, The War Club.
The War Club
Right off the bat (no pun intended) I get excited about WWII fitness!!
Why?
Exactly as pictured, it was a club with a handle and it weighed around 20 lb.
Quick and Dirty DIY Instructions:
- 1 large can filled with concrete
- Handle of any convenient wood
- Combine can with handle = War Club!!
War Club Directions for Use:
- Swing violently from right to left and left to right.
- Swing from over one shoulder to down by the ground on the other side, in a chopping motion.
- Swing around the head, one hand at a time.
That’s about as functional as you can get, especially for a war-fightin’ generation. I haven’t done it yet, but I plan to build one of these in the near future.
Functional strength at its finest!!
Grip and Twist
Ahh, grip strength, something often overlooked by most athletes out there. But now your WWII GI!! You may have used something like this before, but I love the ingenuity.
Another DIY project (so financially sound and responsible)
Quick and Dirty DIY Instructions:
- 1 large can filled with concrete (again)
- Attach sash cord, 4 ft. long, in concrete can
- Attach other end of cord to the middle of a handle (I guess use the same kind of wood you used for the War Club)
Grip and Twist Directions for Use:
- Hold arms forward, wind up the weight on the cord by twisting the handle backward, until it is wound. When the cord is completely wound on the handle, unwind the cord slowly, releasing one hand at a time. Then wind the cord up again, this time twisting forward.
This one is a burner!!
DIY Barbell
This is something I have flirted with building on End of Three Fitness…just to see if people think I am crazy, but I have refrained. Well, apparently, in the 1940’s building your own barbell was pretty commonplace.
Quick and Dirty DIY Instructions:
- 1 – 1 in. to 1.5 in iron pipe.
- Any you guessed it…Two cans filled with concrete on either end of the pipe.
- These homemade barbell typically ranged anywhere from 40-60 lb.
Barbell Directions for Use:
- Snatch: Stand close to and grasping the bar with feet 12 to 18 inches apart and straight ahead. Pull barbell upward to the overhead position in one motion. At the same time, split the left foot forward and the right foot backward to a lunge position. The movement is almost like a dropping under the bell. Inhale as the bell goes up. Then recover the rear foot forward to the front foot, and return the bell to the ground in two movements: first to the top of the chest, and then to the ground. Alternate the feet. Repeat as many times as possible up to 20.
- Military Press: Hold bell in front of the upper chest and stand in good posture. Keep palms forward. Inhaling, press the bell upward to the overhead position. Keep trunk erect, and press bell upward and slightly backward over the crown of the head. Then lower the bell slowly to the starting position, exhaling. Repeat as many times as possible up to 20.
- Two Hand Curl: Standing erect, hold bell in front of the hips, keeping arms parallel and palms forward. The chest should be arched. The elbows remain at the sides. Flex elbows, and lift weight until bar touches the upper chest. Inhale with the upward movement, and exhale with the downward movement. Repeat this as many times as possible up to 20.
- Two Hand High Pullup: Stand close to the bar with feet 12 to 18 inches apart and straight ahead. Bend forward with back straight as possible and grasp the bar, palms down, with arms parallel. Lift the weight slowly until it is fully overhead, inhaling on the upward movement. Then exhaling, lower the bell slowly to the ground. Repeat as many times as possible up to 20. Keep back straight throughout.
That’s right people. Don’t let anyone doing Olympic lifts these days fool you…They aren’t new!! Cats were doing high-rep split snatch in the 1940’s. They kept it functional. The above instructions are straight from their training manual. If you want a little more in-depth look at the snatch maybe read my article, So You Want To Learn How To Snatch.
So what do you think? Could you hang with some dudes from WWII?
If this gets you fired up for some DIY fitness, go check out the DIY Corner.
Build it. Use it. Get fit.
-Jerred
Sources: FM 21-20, 1946. photo