Power Rack History of Invention, Part 1

Last Updated on May 15, 2024 by grubdunkman

Wikipedia article about power rack history mentions that it was first described in the IronMan magazine in 1964. I was very curious to know what was written there. Since I was not able to find this issue of the magazine anywhere online or in the libraries. I found it on the eBay and a week later it arrived from California to my mailbox. This tiny half letter paper size magazine with a coloured cover, black and white inside doesn’t look anything like the modern publications.

Grab some popcorn, which is a good source of fiber, and let’s start with the complete content of the article first to explore the origin of the power rack. IronMan Magazine 1964 Vol. 23 No. 6 “Power Rack Training For Maximum Muscular Development” written by the editor, owner and publisher of the magazine Peary Rader. Since the subject requires a lot of information to cover it in detail we will break it down into several parts that will be posted in this blog.

Peary Rader’s Introduction to Power Rack Program

The author starts with reminding the readers that the same idea was described in several articles in the magazine over the years. It was not always called the power rack but the principle was the same. These articles were published ten, fifteen and even twenty years prior 1964, so we can see the idea of the power rack was circulating around and forming since the time right after WW2.

The main idea of a power rack was to perform exercises with short movements, but over the years it was a common belief that these exercises made muscles bound and the full potential of power rack exercises was not realized. However now (1964) athletes use these exercises in their training without any loss in muscle flexibility.

Isometronic Program

Next thing the author mentions Frank Spellman and his story. Frank started isometric program on his home made wooden isometric rack, and since the weights were heavy he broke partition between holes, this way by accident slots on the rack uprights were created and Frank realized he can perform lefts with limited movement within these slots, this ended the isometric training for Frank and a new program was created.

Frank found that this type of training worked best for him and he developed the program based on this idea. This type of training got the name isometronic exercises and Peary suggests Frank should get a full credit for it. The system was called isometronic since it combines isometric and isotonic exercises, there is a movement as well as resistance against immovable object.

The system gained its popularity and most power lifters in the USA were using it, it was called The System of the Year. Since so many athletes started using the new system it became proven that it develops muscular mass and helps bulking effectively. It helped athletes to gain muscles while keeping their fat down with a correct healthy diet.

Early Promoters

One of the early proponents of power rack training was Norbert Schemansky who was weighting 265 lbs with the height 5’11 been one of the most impressive looking power lifters. Peary Rader thought he could win physique titles if he focused on bodybuilding in addition to lifting.

Some other famous athletes of those days who switched to isometronic programs also known as the rack work or limited movement include Lou Riecke, Terry Todd and John Gourgott. As of the time of writing Peary says the majority of power lifters have not discovered the advantages of rack work yet. This article was aiming to popularize the power rack exercises.

In the retrospective look at power rack history as described in IronMan magazine article special focus is given too popularization of power rack among bodybuilding community. Since limited movement exercises not only build big muscles, but also help develop strength. It should be the goal of bodybuilders.

The Theory of Maximum Fatigue

Terry Todd in collaboration with Dr. Whitehead developed a program that they called the Theory of Maximum Fatigue. The idea is not new in its entirety, but was further advanced by these gentlemen. They were both enthusiastic trainers on the power rack.

The accepted and popular idea in the day was to use a heavy weight, place it in the middle position, or sometimes in the starting or finishing position. This weight the athlete held as long as possible before replacing it. Todd and Whitehead explored and advanced this method in the following manner.

Power Rack History: The New Method

Training for power they would do three repetitions in a set. They set pins on the power rack limiting movement to 6 inches or sometimes 12 inches depending on the exercise and goal. The bar is loaded to the maximum capacity they can manage. They perform three reps to the upper pin without any hold. On the third rep they would lower the bar almost to the bottom pin about an inch above it and try to hold it for twelve seconds.

After this hold they would try to lift the weight to the upper pin again. This method provides a terrific strength workout. One important suggestion is not to hold the breath while performing twelve seconds hold.

In this post I made an introduction to Peary Rader’s power rack exercises ideas exploring power rack history. In the second part we will keep looking at the Theory of Maximum Fatigue and in the following parts we will study the exercises.