Muscle Control

by Maxick

The classic book on Muscle Control from one of the best ever at the art, Maxick, the oldtime strongman.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Fitness

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 2, 2010

Reviews

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seriously doubt it's the 'secret' to hypertrophy but it does have some funny muscle control exercises, including an abdominal one that I've only ever seen or heard of in Yoga--the Kriya exercise. I'd be interested in learning if Maxick learned of it from a Yogi that somehow found his/her way into the 19th/20th century Western Physical Culture 'scene' or if Maxick developed it on his own. If you're interested in physical culture of the early 1900's, this is an interesting book-- otherwise it's pretty lackluster.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read two books on this system and I will be posting the same review. Each covers the same info, with some individual differences and not much to choose from between the.
Both these books are more than half just lifestyle advise circa 1910. The temperature of your bath/shower, food etc. The last third is the exercise system.

Both are systems used without weights, one uses the body pushing against itself one leans more towards just tensing the muscles.

The system comes out of the light dumbbell system of Sandow/Attila, which was used in tandem with circus strongman lifts. The system as sold to the public did not include heavy lifts, just the muscle tensing. These sorts of systems remained popular for much of the first half of the 20th Century and went out of vogue when testosterone entered the fitness realm, weights with rotating cuffs became the standard for competitive lifting, lifting weights became a sport rather than an entertainment, and inexpensive weight sets could be had at Sears and Roebuck.
The system can build a surprising physique, especially when combined with a bit of heavy lifting. You can do it with almost no equipment and the chance of injury or overtraining is almost zero.

In my teenage years the bodybuilders of the day, Arnold and his ilk, still used parts of these systems, and the posing of bodybuilding came right out the old system. The downside is the need for willpower. If you're lifting a heavy weight, weight and gravity do the work. You don't have to 'make' it hard. This system takes a lot of concentration and drive.

For most people it's going to be a historical curiosity, but it's my jam and I got a lot out of it.

[Levi McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The biographical section of the book is well written. While some parts of his life are likely greatly exaggerated, the pen marks of a good story teller are there.
As for the the training advice the book. Its an extreme. People trust confidence. So if you want that trust you have to act like you know it all. As per usual with self-taught "fitness experts" they don't know it all. Fitness is complicated, and any expert in the field will have their own opinions on this or that. Theres never a clear awnser, but what were seeing in fitness influencers is the Dunning-Kruger effect. These inflencers do not have certifications, they do not have education, and most of all they do not have their fans best interest.
So while I can appreciate this work. Maxick, a man after my own heart, even though he is far before modern fitness influencer culture, he is no better then most of them.

[Joe Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im giving it 3 stars until further notice. I am gonna give the exercises a try and see if anything actually comes of it. Even if this doesn’t provide the mind muscle connection promised it definitely make you much more conscious of your exercises and also lets you flex what muscles you have.

[GORDON · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic book on muscle control by one of the great physical culturists of the early 20th century. Likely the source of much Hatha Yoga material.

[aDaM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting little tome of exercise history from an era long before bodybuilding was mainstream. Some really insightful stuff here, and definitely new exercises for the toolkit.

[Wiktor Klimek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Underrated way of training

[25thsouthside · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique.

[Mark Melendez · Rating 3 out of 5]

ehh