Critical Bench Review

Weight training is not a phenomenon unique to the 20th Century, or the 21st. Since the days of Sophocles and Aristotle, weight lifters have been using progressively heavier weights to become the athletes they want to be. Legend tells of the days when early Olympic athletes would start their training by lifting a baby calf. The athlete would then continue to lift the calf daily until it had grown into a full-grown bull. At that point, the athlete was considered ready to compete in the Olympic games of the day. These days, weight lifting has progressed a bit and science and a greater knowledge of human physiology comes into play.