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"HOW TO BUILD SUPER STRENGTH
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 Oldtime Strongman Thomas Inch training with a set of Rubber Cables circa 1920 |
The Oldtime Strongmen of decades past were usually pictured lifting a heavy globe barbell or dumbbell overhead - which they certainly used - but there was another kind of training tool that many of the oldtimers used that built incredible strength and power from every angle ... and it wasn't made of iron... Click above for a short slide show featuring some of the great strongmen of the past using chest expanders (Video has sound) |
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They had many names - chest expanders, strength cables, and over in the UK there was even a competitive sport known as strand pulling.
But no matter what name you use, they all mean one thing - STRENGTH.
Chest Expanders were a part of the training of many of the greatest Oldtime Strongmen - Eugen Sandow, Alfred Danks, Professor Attila, Edward Aston,
The Mighty Atom, Thomas Inch (pictured at left), Fred Rollon, Saxon Brown, Earle Liederman, John Grimek, Sig Klein, and Reg Park, just to name a few.
Many of the most well-known modern "Strongmen" like Dennis Rogers, John Brookfield, and "Big" Bob Karhan make strength cables a big part of their training too. Since many of the strongest and best-developed men in history trained with chest expanders, don't you think it would be a good idea to include some of this kind of training in your routine? You bet! Now you can now bring this great oldtime strength tradition into your own workout and train just like many of the greatest Oldtime Strongmen. |
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Please don't misunderstand me - weights have their place in your training and always will, but chest expander training has certain advantages
which can help you build a unique kind of strength that weights simply can't match.
Let me give you a few good examples. The most obvious advantage to chest expander cables is probably their portability - a full set of chest expander cables can easily fit in a gym bag and travel with you. Chest expanders are a perfect choice for the busy traveler. |
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The second advantage has to do with the nature of the chest expander itself, since it provides variable resistance
which weights do not (due to gravity).
This means that strength cables can not only provide resistance from many different angles, but they can also function to make exercises "harder," and therefore more productive. For example, if you are doing a bicep curl with a 50 lb. dumbbell, the exercise actually gets easier as your forearm and the dumbbell get further above a parallel line to the floor. This is due to the leverage of your elbow assisting in the exercise. With strength cables, the resistance increases as the cable is stretched, offsetting the leverage of your elbow. There are many areas of the body which can be developed much better with chest expander movements - areas that simply cannot be trained as effectively with weights. Try the "back press" for super tricep development and you will see what I'm talking about. Finally, how many times have you been in a gym and seen someone "throw" the weight up and "catch" it on the way down. This is not a good way to exercise - cables provide a much smoother exercise through the entire range of motion, and that means more strength for you in less time. |
 Alfred Danks |
| Think about training your shoulders - how many different directions can you move your arms? With weights, your options are limited since the resistance can only come from one direction - straight down as a result of gravity. With chest expanders, you can work your muscles from every conceivable angle, including directions you have probably never trained them before, and that means more muscle growth for you. |
Training with Chest ExpandersHow can you train with chest expanders? You are only limited by your imagination. Modern strongman Dennis Rogers likes to combine hand gripper training with chest expander training to build strength from a variety of angles in order to improve his steel bending strength.Champion armwrestlers have also been known to use high-rep chest expander cable training to improve tendon strength. Martial artists often use chest expanders to build grappling and striking power - they prefer the "live" feel of chest expanders over traditional weights. We have currently found over 300 different upper and lower body chest expander movements. The possibilities are endless. |
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There have been many different versions of chest expanders over the years, most of which used either rubber tubing or steel springs as resistance.
While the steel spring versions were durable, the springs often got caught in loose skin or clothing during use - ouch! (Please use extreme caution if you are still training with these). Almost all of the oldtime strongmen trained with rubber-cabled chest expanders because they were lightweight, effective, and didn't have the potential to "bite" that the steel-springed versions had. |
 Eugen Sandow's Chest Expander ca. 1903 (note the dumbbell handles) |
Lifeline Chest Expanders: The Old-Time Strength Tradition is RebornToday, the oldtime tradition of chest expander training has been reborn, and the most well-known chest expanders in the strength world are made by Lifeline USA.Now you too can train just like the oldtime greats. These Chest Expanders feature 9 different interchangeable resistance levels made of high-quality rubber tubing, ranging in resistance from 10 pounds to 90 pounds. Each set comes with 3 cables and two handles, so if you ordered all nine, you would get 27 cables (3 of each strength) and 18 handles (nine sets of two). The soft handles also enable you to grip them comfortably and you can even slide your feet into them for a variety of lower body movements with these cables. |
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If you are new to cable training and are only interested in ordering one set of cables, I would recommend starting with one
the first three resistance levels: Teal, Purple, or Pink.
The reason is that cables are most effectively used to strengthen the smaller muscle groups that don't get a lot of direct work during a normal workout. These muscles are generally very weak, and should be trained with a routine incorporating lighter resistance levels and higher reps. Please keep in mind that the lighter strengths can still be quite challenging even for the "power" moves. Each individual Chest Expander order includes the following: 1. Sample workout pamphlet 2. A pair of (2) Lifeline Chest Expander handles 3. Three (3) cables of one resistance level (of the same color) of your choosing
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Individual Chest Expander Order Form:
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The great oldtime strongman Hermann Goerner had an exercise technique called "Die Kette" (that's German for "The Chain").
This technique consisted of beginning at one end of a rack of kettlebells, performing a number of exercises with them. Once that set of exercises was finished, he moved on to the next heavier pair and so on. He changed the exercises based on the resistance level until he had "run the rack." Goerner could deadlift over 700 lbs. with one hand and was one of the strongest men who ever lived, so this technique bears further examination. The "Die Kette" workout is something that lends itself very well to a full set of strongman cables. No need to change resistance, just grab the next set and go from there. However, I like to do the opposite of Goerner and begin with the heavier cables and move my way down to the lighter ones. I have always felt this was the way to go but either way, I always get a heck of a good workout. If you want to train like this, I suggest ordering a full set of Lifeline Cables (all 9 colors) and you can do so by clicking the "Order Now" button below. |
 Order by phone: 1-800-978-0206 |
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