Building Beautiful Legs

by Atomic Athletic on Monday, October 31, 2011 at 5:22pm

When a woman becomes serious about building a great set of legs, there is nothing that will stop her.   When I bought this set of “Iron Boots”, they had to be pulled out for a Retro Photo shoot, 1950's picnic style.   Marie is using a genuine pair of antique Joe Weider Beuti-Boots “For lovely legs – straight and shapely.”

EXERCISE

Try the exercise out that you see in the photos.  It if very important for you to have as little support under the hamstrings as possible.  That will allow for the most abdominal and hip flexor work.  You will also find the without supporting the leg, like on a leg extension machine, you will also give much better work for the quads, both around the knee and in the middle front.  That will provide a shape to a woman's leg that you won't believe.

Live strong,

Roger

PS.  Marie went nuts over the 1950's retro look, but clearly had no problem using them.  First time hauling them out of the box we could tell she needed more weight, but those old boots were NOT adjustable like our larger Iron Boots.

Free T-Shirt with Order

by Atomic Athletic on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 5:00pm

Atomic Athletic is giving away a FREE T-shirt with every order of $50, or more.  This deal starts now and ends on Tuesday November 1, 2011, or when we run out of shirts.

We are cleaning out the shirt bins so that we can get more cool styles printed.  We just have too much apparel in back stock, so you get a deal.

All you have to do is place your order of $50 or more (before shipping costs) on-line and you get a free T-shirt.  Make sure to put your size in the “Customer Instructions” section.  The style of shirt will be our choice.  Those of you who forget to put in your size will get a size we think you might fit into. How will we know your size? Telepathy? Guessing? You get the idea.

Get your order in now!

“Today is a good day to lift!”

Roger LaPointe

Vic Boff Collection

by Atomic Athletic on Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 5:14pm

Includes:

Vic Boff's Body Builders Bible

Amazing Memorabilia DVD

Feats of Strength Book

"Feats of Strength" is the booklet you could buy, if you were in the right place at the right time. Now is your time. Don't miss out.

You've heard the stories about Vic Boff, the founder of the Association of Old Time Barbell & Strongmen, giving certain individuals a book that he was "selling"?

Well, those stories are true. Vic had this book, which he really "put together". It is a real How-To Book that has many of the various classic strongman feats of strength. If some of these look familiar, with some familiar art and stories, there is a good reason for that. Vic was a ghost writer for a number of publishers, so this will look like a strange publication.

With 33 pages of content, we have remained faithful with formatting, except that it is done on higher grade paper with a spiral binding, instead of the saddle stitching of the original. That allows it to lay flat if you are using it as the hands on manual it was written to be.

Live Strong

Roger LaPointe

Partial One Hand Deadlifts

by Atomic Athletic on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 5:21pm

I had a great call from a customer about the Kettlebell Handles.

He has been working his One Hand Barbell Deadlifts.  Well, one classic way to increase poundage pretty quickly is to train with partials.  He found that the Kettlebell Handles can kill two birds with one stone.

He set up a couple of standard size bars, in a semi-permanent type situation, with a kettlebell handle in the center of the bar.  This way he doesn't need to do test lifts to find the center of the bar, while he is also turning the lift into a partial movement.  The Kettlebell Handle raises the “starting height” by about four inches.  He then uses our Allen Collars on the inside edges of his kettlebell handle, so there is even less that can catch on his leg.

Try this out.  It is a pretty cool way to lift.

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

Kettlebell Handles

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=KBC1

Allen Collars

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=COL04

DIY Farmers Walks

by Atomic Athletic on Monday, October 17, 2011 at 5:24pm

Variations on the Farmers Walk Event are almost endless.  You can measure distance, time or weight.  Of course, the rules can also vary.  For example, some events let you drop the units and pick them back up again, while many don't; once a unit touches the ground then you are done.  Occasionally, you will see a farmers walk event where they allow lifting straps, which pretty much eliminates grip strength from the contest.  Finally, you have the objects themselves, the variations of which can be endless.

Making your own farmers walk units is easy with Atomic Athletic.  We do have our own competition grade Farmers Walk Units.  However, if you are the typical garage gym guy, then you are looking for versatile units that can be made up on the spot, possibly with parts you already have.

Here is what I recommend:

Pair of Kettlebell Handles

2 Sets of 4 Allen Collars

Pair of Long Dumbbell Bars (the type without welded inside collars)

2 Pair of Wrenchless Screw Type Collars

Lots of Standard Size Plates

Of course, you could always just grab a pair of dumbbells and start walking.

Live Strong

Roger LaPointe

Garage Rope Climbing

by Atomic Athletic on Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 5:25pm

I am tired of hearing about guys who “can't” do rope climbing because they don't have the ceiling space.

You simply don't need twenty foot ceilings to work rope climbing. I have many customers who hang a rope off their rafters, in their standard garage and practice rope climbing. The dedicated ones even get to the point of doing “Touch'N Go” style climbing in an L-Sit. One guy started off weighing 300 pounds and not able to hang from a chin-up bar. A hundred pounds of bodyweight down the drain and he is doing one hand chins and those “Touch'N Go” Climbs.

Cool dude.

If you can't do a chin-up, start with any kind of pulling/rowing exercises on our Rack Ropes and assisted chins and pull-ups. You will be ripping out 10 dead hang pull-ups in a hurry. You just have to dedicate yourself. You may have to lose some weight at the same time. You know what to do. Dedicate yourself.

The first time you hit ten reps, everyone will see that accomplishment in the way you walk. It's up to you.

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

Rack Rope

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=ROPE09S

Rope Page

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/category.aspx?categoryID=755

Chin-up Page

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=BMO0451

There's a Cold Wind Coming

by Atomic Athletic on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at 5:21pm

I am really excited about the insulation we are installing at the Atomic Athletic Warehouse Gym.  You see, the Warehouse Gym is in our UNHEATED Warehouse.  This will cut down on the breeze.  Once that place gets cold, it will just stay that way.  We have to work with it.

Hats are an absolute necessity at the warehouse.  I fell in love with the York Barbell Club Knit Hats last year.  They are not too bulky and they keep the heat from blowing right out the top of my shaved head.

They are black with white letters.  That's it.  They look great with any other winter clothes.

Once you get warm-up, nice and hot, they will get sweaty just like anything else.  I think they do a great job going through the laundry.  Maybe you have your favorite, but this is mine.  

We have about half a dozen in stock right now.  Get yours now, because there is a cold wind blowing and it is coming for you.

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=YH01 

Pure Rebellion

by Atomic Athletic on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 4:44pm

Picking up the phone I heard silence, followed by the distinctive sound of an old man clearing his throat.  I still answer the phone and talk to customers.  I used to love it, but in today's world of instant gratification I rarely hear from anyone with a clue about how to hold a conversation.  This guy was different.  I knew I could help him out.

Still lifting sixty or more years after he first picked up a barbell, he told me of a time when that act alone was pure rebellion.  It was an age before Arnold.  No one had a gym membership, because you were lucky if there was even a YMCA in your town, regardless of whether or not there was a set of weights in the basement.  Almost all the gyms were garage gyms, because commercial ones didn't really exist.

Tough guys in motorcycle jackets lifted weights and wore white undershirts, to show off their rebellion.  Today, everybody wears t-shirts, with or without a clever picture or slogan. 

Athletes, you defied your coach if you lifted weights, because weightlifting made you “muscle bound”. 

I never considered my weightlifting to be an act of rebellion, but this old guy remembered that first day he picked up a barbell.  That thing could have been red hot out of the foundry, burning the experience into his brain because it screamed rebellion. His older brother learned to lift weights in the navy, the one who had come home with the tattoo of a hot red head pin-up girl, not his brother the army officer.

I guess things have come full circle.  When you lift in your garage, instead of a commercial gym, you are rebelling.  If you lift free weights, instead of running on treadmills and lifting with machines, you are rebelling.  Heck, just lifting heavy low reps is considered an act of rebellion today.  “Cut abs” seem to be more important than a strong back.

That old guy was building a gym for his grandson.  He sent me a couple photos and told me to match his gym as closely as possible.  You guessed it.  He hadn't updated anything since the 1950s: lots of standard sized iron, bars, kettlebell handles, speed bag & heavy bag, thick handles, iron boots.  You get the idea.

Now, you ask, why wasn't the kid doing this project himself?  I asked the same question.  The quick answer was that he had, but because of a divorce, Mom did not approve.  It was up to Grandpa to help instill a little rebellion in the kid.

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

PS.  The old guy had also included a picture the red head tattoo and he was right about it, she did have the right amount of curves.  I made sure to point out that Red Head Retro Pin-Up poster we did.  It's now framed in the kid's bedroom.

 

Pin Up Girl

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=POS08

Iron Boots/Workout In A Backpack

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=ROPEBP

Garage Gym Guide

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=BK1000

Kettlebell Handles

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=KBC1