George Hackenschmidt has been our physical culturist of the month of September. I'm not going to bore you with a biography of "The Russian Lion", that's what Google is for. We're going to bring you the man himself in an exclusive interview. I know what you're thinking, "Didn't George die in London in 1968?".. Of course there's also those of you who are thinking, "Who the hell is George Hackenschmidt?".. To which I would respond: George is one of the top physical culturists of his time, and yes, he did die in London in 1968. But don't forget I am Lurg, an unfrozen caveman born over 20,000 years ago. Let's not get too wrapped up in technicalities, shall we? And with that, I bring you George Hackenschmidt....
Lurg: First of all, George, or should I call you Lion or maybe just Hack? I'd like to thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to meet with the legion of the Tragically Fit for this exclusive interview. It is truly an honor to be in the presence of one of the foremost experts on the physical culture.
George: Thank you, Lurg. You may call me Hack, and honestly, my schedule is not really that full lately. I just rest mostly.
Lurg: (hahaha)... I guess I'd like to start out by asking how you became a physical culturist.
Hack: Well, it was the kind of thing that I think chose me, I didn't necessarily choose it. So far as I can remember from my earliest years, I was devoted to all kinds of bodily exercises and by the time I was 8 or 9 years old I would order about a small army of boys my own age, being admittedly the strongest of them all. I would spend hours in the gymnasium and at the age of fourteen I won the prize of best gymnast. Upon leaving school I became a member of the Reval Athletic and Cycling Club and threw myself heart and soul into cycling, at which I won several prizes. At the time I would not lift heavy weights, preferring all kinds of bodily exercises as well as some dumbbell and clubbell exercises. It was later, at the age of 18 that I began to train with heavy weights and also started wrestling.
My desire was to always be in top physical condition and to be as strong as possible. It is important to remember that health can never be divorced from strength. The second is an inevitable sequel to the first. A man can only fortify himself against disease by strengthening his body in such a manner as will enable it to defy the attacks of any malady. That is what physical culture means to me, doing whatever it takes to make my body as strong and as healthy as possible.
Lurg: Impressive! Let's talk a moment about nutrition. When I was a caveman 20,000 years ago we ate essentially anything we could. Fruit, nuts, seeds and whatever I was able to kill. Today it seems there are 5 million different people trying to sell me a diet that is guaranteed to make me healthier than ever. I'm an unfrozen caveman, I like things simple. I don't believe diet should be complicated. What are your thoughts on nutrition?
Hack: That's a great question Lurg. Man is born without frying pan or stewpot. Therefore, it would make sense that the purest natural food for human beings would be fresh, uncooked food and nuts. Much like what you explained that you ate as a caveman. In my own personal experience, I have learned that food is of secondary importance. There are very strong people who are strict vegetarians while others eat a good deal of meat. Every one should and can find out which diet best suits his constitution and he should avoid all food that disagrees with it.
Lurg: Very sound advice, my friend. Let's talk a little about your wrestling career. Wrestling is truly one of the earliest forms of martial arts and requires great full body strength and mobility. What drew you to wrestling?
Hack: To be honest, I started out mostly in gymnastics and elite cycling. At the age of 18 and a member of the Reval Athletic and Cycling Club I was introduced to wrestling. When it came to the lifting of heavy weights I was the strongest at the club. At one point I was able to swing two 44kg kettlebells from the floor to full arms length. I set several world records in weightlifting. In 1899 I pressed 279 lbs overhead which was an unheard of weight to press at that time. When wrestling was introduced to me I initially disliked it. I wasn't very good at it at first, but my natural athleticism allowed me to last many minutes with some of the top wrestlers of the day. Over time I became very good at wrestling and went on to become world champion winning over 3000 professional matches. I would go years without losing a match and I beat all the top wrestlers of the day. Wrestling, to me, was the ultimate test in a man's ability to use the strength he has developed.
Lurg: Speaking of developing strength, do you have any recommendations as to what a person should do to develop strength.
Hack: I encourage everybody to be able to manage their own bodyweight first. There are many bodyweight exercises that I have outlined in my book "The Way to Live". Once mastery of one's bodyweight has been achieved, I believe that to develop massive strength then one must lift heavy weights. I trained with heavy barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells, performing exercises that required the full body to be engaged. I did not waste time with isolating one muscle from the others like the bodybuilders and posers you see in today's gyms. I trained to develop strength that would translate to better performance in my wrestling matches.
But regardless of whether you are a wrestler or an average man working on the docks, everybody has the ability to become strong and everybody should want to become strong. It may be suggested that there is no reason why a man should go to the trouble to acquire any phenomenal degree of strength. To which I would reply, why should a man desire to be weak? Increase of strength means betterment of health. There are many excuses made, "I am too old", "I have not sufficient time", "My position or my business does not permit..". Let me just say this. If you do not find time to be healthy then you will be obliged to find time to be ill.
Lurg: I couldn't agree with you more. You talk a lot in your book about the mind and it's effect on overall health and wellness.
Hack: True. The determination to become strong is indispensable for success. You must have faith in your ability to make yourself strong. You must govern your thoughts. This rule is absolutely necessary in all stages of life if you wish to succeed, for without concentration of thought, you are courting failure. If you wish to become healthy and strong you must give your thoughts to the full and without restriction in this direction. Concentrate your mind upon the idea of acquiring health and strength!
This is especially important in your training. It has been proven as far back as my day, over 100 years ago that thought constitutes real power. When training, concentrated thought can influence a livelier rush of blood to certain parts of the body. Every wrestler will admit that thoughts are powers. Whilst one is measuring one's strength and skill with an opponent, one's thoughts must be concentrated on the game, otherwise defeat is certain. It is this way with everything in life.
The physical culture pupil will profit by this knowledge, and avoid, for instance, erotic thoughts which channel blood flow into organs of the body that are superfluous for our purposes.
Lurg: Ummm, OK. If you can tell me a way to get an 18 year old boy to think of anything other than what to do with his superfluous organs then I'd like to hear it.
Hack: Hahaha, I didn't say it would be easy..
Lurg: Speaking of superfluous organs, in your book you mention "screwing". You say that "...screwing requires great balance of the body, and great calmness and determination. Screw as slowly as possible.".. It would seem that this is awful contradictory to your previous statements..
Hack: Very funny, Lurg. Of course when I speak of "screwing" I am talking of the Bent Press exercise where you clean a barbell to the shoulder and essentially screw your body away from and under the weight. Once the body is lowered under the weight such that the arm is fully stretched you will raise your body to an upright position, much like standing back up from the bottom position of the windmill..
Lurg: Thanks for the explanation. Well, Hack, I would really like to thank you for joining us for this interview. It was a pleasure talking to you and you are truly a role model for all of the physical culturists that belong to the legion of the Tragically Fit. Champion wrestler, one of the top strongmen of his time, and one of the most influential physical culturists of any era, George, the Russian Lion, Hackenshmidt. Thank you George. Any parting comments to wrap this up?
Hack: Thanks for having me, Lurg. It was my pleasure to conduct this interview. I dedicated my life to achieving the highest level of perfection in all aspects of my life, whether it was wrestling, lifting heavy weights, cycling, or just staying active and healthy.Throughout my career I have never bothered as to whether I was a champion or not a champion. The only title I have desired to be known by is simply my name, George Hackenschmidt.
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