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528 Chama, N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87108 http://www.cbass.com |
From The Desk Of Clarence Bass
By Clarence and Carol Bass
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What we're reading
1) Jan Todd was featured both online and in the print copy of the New York Times.
Here's the headline: Jan Todd May Be The Reason You Are Lifting Weights with the subheadings: "The Powerlifter that became a professor and changed the game." "Once known as “the world’s strongest woman,” Dr. Todd spent 50 years breaking records — and turning strength into a field of study.
We're giving the link, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/26/well/move/jan-todd-strength-training.html and hopefully you will be able to open this wonderful, well-deserved article which has received many positive comments.
2) Book: On Muscle: The Stuff that Moves Us and Why It Matters by Bonnie Tsui
The book, as the book we previously reviewed is also about MUSCLE. Our previous review: Stronger: The Untold Story of Muscle in Our Lives by Michael Joseph Gross. This 214 page book by New York Times contributor Bonnie Tsui, author of Why We Swim is much more personal than the previously reviewed book. Ms. Tsui's father, an artist who won an Emmy in 1977, was a freelancer who produced commercial work: film posters, print advertisements, and children's book covers. In addition, a core part of his life was exercise (he was an admirer of Bruce Lee and had attended the same school). He lifted weights regularly and taught Bonnie and her brother how to use them from an early age, along with body weight exercises (planks, handstands, bridges, pull-ups, push-ups, etc.) He practiced judo, tae kwondo and karate. By the time she was in high school her father had left the family and returned to Hong Kong permanently, but the "life of physicality he introduced to her" stayed with her and in writing this book On Muscle she explores that legacy through chapters on how muscle is "the vivid engine of our lives." Her content headings include the chapters: Strength, Form, Action, Flexibility, and Endurance - qualities of muscle that she believes we all strive to ideally achieve. Her explorations take her from lifting stones in Scotland, to what muscle looks like in the dissecting lab, to adaptive yoga, among other things. In Chapter 2 under "Strength", she gives a short historical survey of the many ways that mankind has demonstrated a show of strength - from lifting sacks of sand in Egypt, to lifting of the iron cauldron known as a "ding" in China, and even references of the lifting of stones in the New Testament. In Japan, thousands of "strength stones" can be found, and in Iceland, lifting stones were used to qualify men to work on fishing vessels. Strength was something to be celebrated. She takes this a step further as she comments on the idea that strength is sometimes viewed as a proxy for worthiness, a positive representation of character. She gives Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as examples in modern society, and points out that historically tribal choices were made on the basis of a shared traits such as athleticism and strength. But as she also points out, while this has been historically true for men, it was not for women, and in Chapter 3 she uses Jan Todd as the woman who established new ways to think about women and strength (for a history of Jan's accomplishments, see previous review (here). The backstory to Jan's lifting of the Dinnie Stones in Scotland is just as exciting to read about today as it must have been to witness in late summer, 1979. Only a few men had managed to lift the stones, let alone a woman. The two granite stones together weigh 733 pounds, the smaller one 318.5 pounds and the larger 414.5 pounds, with an iron ring for lifting embedded in each. To accomplish the feat both stones must be lifted at one time - and Jan did it! The way she thought about it, trained for it, and did it is a wonderful inclusion in the book. Both this book and the Stronger book are unique additions to sports literature, elevating our thinking about physical performance and encouraging participation at any level. The author makes a final point about muscle and potential, a point that Jan Todd has also made. Ms. Tsui says that lifting gave her a "fundamental pride in self, propelling me through life." July 1, 2025 Comment on this article: FEEDBACK Ripped Enterprises, P.O. Box 51236, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87181-1236 Home | Products Index | Ripped Bks | Lean Adv. Bks | Lean For Life | Recommended Bks | |Consultations | Tapes | To Order | Feedback] Copyright © 2025 Clarence and Carol Bass. All rights reserved.
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