Iron Man (magazine)

Last updated
Iron Man
IRONMANLOGO.JPG
CategoriesFitness
FrequencyMonthly
Founder Peary Rader and Mabel Rader
Year founded1936
CompanyIron Man Publishing
CountryUnited States
Based in Oxnard, California
LanguageEnglish
ISSN 0047-1496

Iron Man is an American publication which discusses bodybuilding, weightlifting and powerlifting. It was founded in 1936 by two Alliance, Nebraska natives, Peary Rader and his wife, Mabel Rader.

Contents

History

The magazine's first print run of fifty copies was done via a duplicating machine which sat on their dining room table. Iron Man started out as an educational vehicle to inform and enlighten those people who were interested in weightlifting, bodybuilding and eventually, powerlifting. The magazine is published in Oxnard, California and printed in Kentucky. [1]

The focus of Iron Man Magazine during its first fifty years was on all three sports, with emphasis on weight training in general as a life-enhancing activity. Iron Man at one time stressed the health and character building aspects of weight training, though it later shifted its focus to hardcore bodybuilding.

In the early 1950s, Iron Man Magazine was the first weight-training publication to show women working out with weights as part of their overall fitness regimen. It even went so far as to show a pregnant woman training with weights and educating readers on the benefits of exercise during pregnancy; thoroughly modern concepts decades ahead of their time. In the late 1950s to early 1960s, Iron Man was the first to talk about high-quality proteins derived from milk and eggs as well as liquid amino acids. By this time, the bimonthly magazine had acquired over 30,000 subscribers simply on the strength of its information. The Raders never worked at expanding its circulation. It grew by word of mouth; fueled by Iron Man's ability to provide reliable information.

By 1970, Arthur Jones had created the first Nautilus prototype. He was eager to share his exercise concepts with the world, but every magazine except Iron Man turned him down. Peary Rader saw the potential of the Nautilus concept and in keeping with Iron Man's goal to remain an open forum for ideas, Rader embraced Jones' enthusiasm and ideas. Iron Man was the leader in bringing Nautilus to the marketplace and the only publication to stand behind it. The entire exercise machine industry today was built on the shoulders of the Nautilus.[ citation needed ]

By the early 1980s, the Raders (now in their seventies) had spent nearly fifty years working long hours to put out a bimonthly publication. In 1986, the Raders sold the magazine to John Balik, who repositioned the magazine as a hardcore bodybuilding publication. Iron Man Magazine has featured covers with athletes from both hardcore and natural bodybuilding including: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jay Cutler, Sebastian Siegel, Michael O'Hearn, Bob Paris, Scott Steiner in 2000,Lee Haney and Lee Labrada. It's also famous for publishing numerous swimsuit issues.

In 1993 the editorial offices of Iron Man magazine moved to Oxnard, California. [1]

In 2015 Swedish bodybuilder and entrepreneur Binais Begovic and his spouse, plastic surgeon Catherine Begovic, purchased Iron Man. They stated their intention to turn the magazine into a source for "credible information" about health and fitness and "a platform to launch new athletes into their fitness careers". [2] The magazine's content abruptly shifted from bodybuilding and training to a focus on the Physique and Bikini classes and competitors of fitness competitions.

In 2018 the magazine changed owners again, purchased by Denny Kakos, founder of the International Natural Bodybuilding Association. [3] Iron Man's long-time slogan of "Inspiration, Information, Transformation" was replaced with the phrase "Natural Bodybuilding, Nutrition, Fitness and Health," and the magazine went from a monthly to a quarterly (seasonal) publication schedule.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bodybuilding</span> Control and development of musculature

Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses on physical appearance instead of strength. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In professional bodybuilding, competitors appear in lineups and perform specified poses for a panel of judges who rank them based on symmetry, muscularity, size, conditioning, posing, and stage presentation. Bodybuilders prepare for competitions through the elimination of nonessential body fat, enhanced at the last stage by a combination of extracellular dehydration and carbo-loading, to achieve maximum muscular definition and vascularity; they also tan and shave to accentuate the contrast of their skin under the spotlights.

Weight training Common type of strength training and body building

Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the force of gravity in the form of weighted bars, dumbbells or weight stacks in order to oppose the force generated by muscle through concentric or eccentric contraction. Weight training uses a variety of specialized equipment to target specific muscle groups and types of movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powerlifting</span> Sport

Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effort of a barbell loaded with weight plates. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as "odd lifts", which followed the same three-attempt format but used a wider variety of events, akin to strongman competition. Eventually odd lifts became standardized to the current three.

Barbell Type of exercise equipment

A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting and strongman, consisting of a long bar, usually with weights attached at each end.

Arthur Jones (inventor)

Arthur Allen Jones was the founder of Nautilus, Inc. and MedX, Inc. and the inventor of the Nautilus exercise machines, including the Nautilus pullover, which was first sold in 1970. Jones was a pioneer in the field of physical exercise i.e. weight and strength training. He was born in Arkansas, and grew up in Seminole, Oklahoma.

Bill Pearl American bodybuilder

William Arnold Pearl is an American retired professional bodybuilder and athlete. During the 1950s and 60s, he won many titles and awards, including winning the Mr. Universe contest five times, and was named "World's Best-Built Man of the Century." He later became an expert trainer and author on bodybuilding.

Power rack Weight training equipment

A power rack is a piece of weight training equipment that functions as a mechanical spotter for free weight barbell exercises without the movement restrictions imposed by equipment such as the Smith machine. Its general design is four upright posts with two adjustable horizontal bar catches on each side. Many power racks also have accessory attachments, such as a chin-up bar, pulldown cable attachment, or pegs for storing weight plates.

Dinosaur training is a philosophy of weight training / physical culture promoting a return to traditional strongman types of exercises and training.

Peary Rader was an American early bodybuilder, Olympic lifter, writer, and magazine publisher from Nebraska. He was the founding publisher of Iron Man from 1936 to 1986.

Outline of exercise Overview of and topical guide to exercise

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to exercise:

Dona Oliveira was a professional female bodybuilder from the United States. She competed from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s.

Robert Kennedy was the founder of Robert Kennedy Publishing, based in Mississauga, Ontario.

Clarence Bass American lawyer

Clarence Bass is an American writer, fitness expert, and retired lawyer. He is best known for his book and DVD series Ripped, which chronicle his fitness, including becoming a past-40 bodybuilding champion. Bass was a writer for Muscle & Fitness where he had a question and answer column. He has continued to write, documenting his fitness over a span of approximately 60 years in various books that he has released since 1980. He is featured in the books Second Wind and Legends of the Iron Game. In the June 2017 issue of Men's Health, Bass was named "one of America’s greatest fitness visionaries."

Todd Joseph Smith

Todd 'The Bod' Smith is an American body builder, personal trainer, health and exercise writer, and businessman.

Harry Haureliuk

Harry "Hang-Ten" George Haureliuk was an Australian professional Bodybuilding champion competing under the International Natural Bodybuilding Association (INBA). In 2008, Harry was the first Australian recipient to be inducted into the International Bodybuilding Hall of Fame, no other INBA athlete has competed at such a high level.

Roy Hilligenn South African bodybuilder (1922–2008)

Roy Stanley Hilligenn was an American bodybuilder who was awarded the title of Mr. South Africa for four years, as well as AAU Mr. America in 1951. Famous for his strength, vegetarianism, and smile, Hilligenn mixed bodybuilding and weight training in his fitness programs. He appeared on famous magazine covers such as Strength & Health and Iron Man during his bodybuilding career. Standing at only 5'6"(167.64cm), Hilligenn was the shortest person to ever win the Mr. America title.

Fitness culture Sociocultural phenomenon surrounding exercise and physical fitness

Fitness culture is a sociocultural phenomenon surrounding exercise and physical fitness. It is usually associated with gym culture, as doing physical exercises in locations such as gyms, wellness centres and health clubs is a popular activity. An international survey found that more than 27% of world total adult population attends fitness centres, and that 61% of regular exercisers are currently doing "gym-type" activities. Getting and maintaining physical fitness has been shown to benefit individuals' inner and outer health. Fitness culture has become highly promoted through modern technology and from the rising popularity of social media platforms.

Siegmund Klein American bodybuilder and gymnasium owner

Siegmund Klein was a German-American strongman, bodybuilder, magazine publisher, and gymnasium owner prominent in physical culture. He was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2006.

Repetition (repeat) — re-performing a specific movement exercises with the burden in one approach (set) in bodybuilding, powerlifting, weightlifting and some other strength sports. The repetition of the exercises is a kind of methods and principles of strength training, which are resorted to by athletes with a long experience of training for the new "shock" of muscles, contributing to the release of "stagnation", the continuation of muscle growth, as well as recovery from overtraining, or, conversely, consciously bringing yourself to a state close to overtraining, for example, before performances, when you need a gradual increase in the intensity of training and muscle to strength fixation and / or “drying” for performance in competitions — lifting extra-large weights or demonstrating muscle relief.

References

  1. 1 2 Jack Searles (6 April 1993). "Ironman Magazine Moves to Oxnard Headquarters". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  2. "Iron Man Magazine Announces New Ownership", Cision PRweb January 5, 2015. https://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/01/prweb12422440.htm
  3. "What is Iron Man Magazine?" Iron Man Magazine.Com Accessed June 28, 2021. https://www.ironmanmagazine.com/about/