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Copyright by Jason Paul Shurley 2013 The Dissertation Committee for Jason Paul Shurley Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Strength for Sport: The Development of the Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach Committee: Janice S. Todd, Supervisor Kimberly A. Beckwith Marlene A. Dixon Thomas M. Hunt Thomas R. Pate Mark C. Smith Strength for Sport: The Development of the Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach by Jason Paul Shurley, B.S. Kin; M.S. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2013 Dedication To Valerie, supportive beyond measure, and the highlight of each of my days. To Milo, who always reminds me that you can never be too busy to play with trucks. To my parents, grandparents, and the rest of my family who gave me the room to find my passion and the encouragement to pursue it. Acknowledgements This work would not have been possible without Dr. Jan Todd. Over the last four years she has taught me a great deal professionally and personally. This dissertation would not have been started, much less completed, without her constant encouragement and thoughtful guidance. Along with Dr. Terry Todd, she has created a truly special place in the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports. The resources at the Stark Center are unparalleled and, thanks to the Todds, there is a special, one might say familial atmosphere there. I would also like to thank the members of my committee. Through the Longhorn Powerlifting team and our continued interaction, Dr. Kim Beckwith has taught me more about the mechanics of strength training than any other person. She has been phenomenally helpful over the last fifteen years with everything from strength program design, to letters of recommendation, to her stellar proofreading skills and keen insights on this project. Dr. Thomas Hunt has also been an outstanding mentor and provided thoughtful suggestions for this project and several others. To Drs. Marlene Dixon and Mark Smith, I truly appreciate your willingness to serve on my committee, your meticulous reading and feedback. Finally, I must thank Dr. Tom Pate and the folks at Concordia University - Texas. As the department chair in my first academic position, Dr. Pate has been an exceptional mentor. Concordia University has supported my graduate work materially and financially. The access to the University’s facilities, “Support Services,” and “Helpdesk” has made this project much more manageable and I am deeply indebted to them. v Strength for Sport: The Development of the Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach Jason Paul Shurley, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 Supervisor: Janice S. Todd This dissertation examines the social and scientific factors which fostered the inclusion of strength training as an adjunct to sport preparation programs. It utilizes Thomas Kuhn’s theory of “paradigm shift,” outlined in his 1962 treatise The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, to describe how strength training went from an activity perceived as harmful and deleterious to sport, to one which is now considered an indispensable component of optimal performance. In the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries physicians, physiologists, and physical educators theorized that the body operated under the constraints of fixed capacities. Increased demands by one component of the body necessarily robbed nourishment from other parts. Under this paradigm, increased muscular strain posed a risk to other organ systems and was advised against. Through a thorough exploration of the scientific literature, this work demonstrates the evolution of the understanding of physiology which precipitated the displacement of the old paradigm. In addition to scientific literature, popular magazines are also utilized because of their importance in the erosion of the old paradigm and in laying the groundwork for the vi acceptance of the current paradigm of strength training as an adjunct to athletic performance. Moreover, this work discusses the importance of the Second World War, the Cold War, and the Olympics in hastening the demise of the belief that strength training was physically and athletically harmful. The number of athletes training with weights in the United States dramatically increased in the 1950s and the pace accelerated through the 1960s. The endorsement of the new paradigm was cemented with the hiring of specialists in strength training who went on to create their own literature and sponsor their own research. Completion of the paradigm shift is evident in the contemporary ubiquity of weight training which is performed for nearly all sports, all age groups, year-round, often in highly specialized facilities and overseen by individuals certified as strength and conditioning or performance-enhancement specialists. vii Table of Contents List of Figures ..........................................................................................................x INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 CHAPTER ONE: FROM “TRUCK HORSE MUSCLES” TO CONCURRENT REVOLUTIONS: PHYSICIANS, PHYSICAL EDUCATORS, PHYSICAL CULTURISTS, AND STRENGTH TRAINING THROUGH 1930 ............20 “Strength is Health”: Weight Training Through the 1870s ..........................21 Windship’s Death and the Pushback Against Weight Training ....................38 A Physical Culture “Revolution” ..................................................................49 A Physiology “Revolution” ..........................................................................60 Conclusion ....................................................................................................67 CHAPTER TWO: PROPHETS OF POWER: BOB HOFFMAN, JOE WEIDER, AND THE PROMOTION OF STRENGTH TRAINING FOR SPORT: 1932- 1969...............................................................................................................69 Strength for Sport: Hoffman’s Early Years ..................................................75 Joe Weider’s Introduction to Weight Training .............................................84 Dispelling Notions of Harm ..........................................................................92 Leading by Example – Anecdotal Evidence for the Efficacy of Barbells in Improving Sport Performance .........................................................95 Criticizing and Then, Utilizing, “Experts” .................................................108 All-American Athlete: Bridging the Gap: ...................................................120 Conclusion ..................................................................................................131 CHAPTER THREE: THE SCIENCE OF STRENGTH: SYSTEMATIC RESEARCH ON STRENGTH TRAINING, 1945-1969 .................................................132 World War II, Thomas L. DeLorme, C.H. McCloy, and Initial Investigations of Strength Training in the Post-War Years ...............135 The 1950s: Investigating the Charges Against Weight Lifting ..................153 The 1960s: The Specifics of Strength Training and Applying Strength to Sport ...............................................................................................168 viii Conclusion ..................................................................................................177 CHAPTER FOUR: BARBELLS ON CAMPUS: WEIGHT TRAINING ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES, 1919-1969 .........................................................179 Strength Training at Colleges 1919 - 1945 .................................................184 The Post-War Years and Al Roy ................................................................190 A “distinct advantage” in the Mid and Late 1950s .....................................197 A “necessity” by the 1960s .........................................................................201 CHAPTER FIVE: THE STRENGTH OF NEBRASKA - BOYD EPLEY, HUSKER POWER, AND THE NATIONAL STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING ASSOCIATION ..........................................................................................210 “If anyone gets slower, you’re fired.” .........................................................211 The Evolution of Husker Power .................................................................222 The National Strength and Conditioning Association ................................233 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................245 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................256 Archival Collections ..........................................................................256 Books, Pamphlets, Articles, Journals, Magazines .............................256 ix List of Figures Figure 1. Hippocrates and Galen ...........................................................................22 Figure 2. An illustration from De Arte Gymnastica .............................................24 Figure 3. Fredrich Ludwig Jahn ............................................................................26 Figure 4. George Barker Windship ........................................................................33 Figure 5. Dio Lewis. ..............................................................................................40 Figure 6. Dudley Allen