Professor Schmidt Automatic Exerciser

Anyone ever heard of it? It's basically a leverage device. A class 3 lever, technically. It's actually exactly like bones and muscle!

You take a long lever, let's say 3 feet. You put 50 lbs on one end, secure the other end as a pivot point, and then you have the point you are pulling on somewhere in-between. The farther from the weight you are the more force it takes to lift. So you can effectively lift large loads without owning a billion plates. It's pretty easy to get a ratio of 6 to 10:1, so if you have 100 lbs of weight plates you could work out with 1000 lbs. Excellent for the heavy end of range movements that the old strongmen used to build bone and tendon strength. Over the next few weeks I am going to make one by the end of the month since none of the bars at the gym are going to be able to handle the weights I want to use in a few months. I figured I would mention this because the old-time strongmen were not particularly gigantic men, yet they had absolutely astounding ratios of strength to bodyweight, which can only benefit a gymnast.

This topic will serve to document the construction and use of the device as it comes through the ugly phases of initial design, to a cheap prototype, to a still quite inexpensive but very serviceable production model. I am excited about this project

hmm... :?:

hmm indeed, i'll definitely be checking back here.

Which exercises would you do on this piece of equipment, deadlifts? Sounds interesting anyway. I like homemade equipment, it makes you appreciate it more than the store bought stuff. Maybe that is just me?

You can't buy this. It is no longer in production. One notable person who has used this device tohelp himself achieve completely enormous strength is John Grimek. I came across the device in my research on old-time strongmen.

Back in the day you were expected to be ridiculously strong in all aspects. Hand-balancing, supports, lifts, bending, etc etc. John Grimek is the man that single-handedly destroyed the myth of the "muscle-bound" man. In his day people believed very strongly that any work with weights or heavy exercise would make a man slow and inflexible. So, Grimek visited the professor who was the heart and soul of the "muscle-bound" theory and in front of a huge number of witnesses, including the professor, he and some of his training friends performed just about every feat of athleticism and flexibility imaginable. Handstands on people in handstands, back walkovers, blindingly fast sprints, every stretch in the book to extreme degrees of flexibility(particularly in Grimek's case), tumbling, and so on. At the end of it, the professor, the champion of the muscle-bound theory, completely reversed his stance and said from then on "There is no such thing as muscle-bound." This feat, and the death of the muscle-bound theory, opened the door to athletes using external resistance training and effectively created the field of modern athletic training. Without this event, it is possible that fitness professionals wouldn't exist in the way we know them, if at all.

That's a short, short history of Grimek, who is one of my "idols." I have great admiration for his overall athletic ability and strength. I felt it was important to include here since he used the Automatic Exerciser when he traveled, so that he could continue his heavy work without depending on whatever facilities awaited him at his destinations.

As far as exercises, the machine is best for working abbreviated ranges of motion, at least in the original incarnation. That's mostly due to lever length and arc traveled by the weight, which causes the force required to be slowly reduced as the bar raises from horizontal. In my opinion, while anything can be done on it, the most useful aspect of this machine is the ability to perform extremely heavy partial ROM lifts. For example, when I was in the Navy I topped out in the partial pench press at 675 lbs, because the machine simply couldn't handle any more weight. I then had to start doing high rep work, and ended up doing sets of 30-40 repetitions. With the Automatic Exerciser, there will be no such limitations. I will be able to go far over 1000 lbs in the last few inches of the ROM, and in doing so I will develop tendon and bone strength to a degree only a few men in history have achieved. Not only will this help with the gymnastics directly, but it will also help me achieve my goals of "superhuman" strength in all aspects. When I developed that strength on my ship, my full ROM bench press went from 315 or so to 385 in around 4 months, with no increase in my body weight. During that time I did not do any full ROM work on my bench press. That kind of strength gain would take a lot longer, and at least in my case lead to a gain in muscular size, which I don't want if I don't have to have it. I don't know what the upper limits are, but I'm going to find out. One of the benefits of this training is extremely low frequency, which will allow me to concentrate more of my time on the gymnastics and other dinosaur training while still achieving regular and enormous gains in strength.

I currently intend to do the following exercises with my version of the Automatic Exerciser: Beginning and end ROM arm curls, standing overhead lockouts(top ROM of military press), shrugs, deadlift lockouts, hip lift, "health lift"( hand and leg lift), back lift, bent over row, bottom ROM pullups (eventually... for now I'll be doing them in the gym), end ROM bench press at flat and incline, and end ROM dips. There will be both dynamic and static work done, probably in cycles. There are some exercises there such as the hip lift, back lift, and "health lift" which will be unfamiliar. They were unfamiliar to me too until recently. These require special harnesses to perform correctly, but are in some ways essential for "super strength."

I will have to buy the harnesses from Iron Mind, as they make the best stuff. THeir hip belt holds "3500 lbs with ease" so it's good for at least 7000, which is probably more than anyone will lift ever. That's based on testing procedures being that a device must hold twice the rated "safe weight" for ten minutes without deforming or otherwise losing its integrity in order to be officially rated at a certain weight as a "safe working load."

The one partial ROM workout that I did in the gym last week has already made my elbows feel better, I don't really have any pain!!! Quite exciting.

With 100 lbs, apply a 10:1 ratio, attach belt, attempt Bulgarian dips.

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HAHAHAHA, now THAT would be entertainment!

I do also plan to do heavy weighted ring supports in the future, once this thing is done. I've made the initial arrangements with a few friends and we'll be collecting welding materials tomorrow. I've already got pipe for the prototype, tomorrow we will draft a reasonable prototype blueprint.

I am a mechanical engineer and this sort of stuff interests me greatly. I am not a gymnast but have rings which I love, I also use weights in my training. I enjoy this forum since it focuses more on BW exercise and most have a proper understanding of leverage forces etc. While on many weightlifting forums they are wanting to increase weight lifted, people here or on other BW type sites want to keep the same weight but in effect increase the resistance exertred on the body.

slizzardman said:

You take a long lever, let's say 3 feet. You put 50 lbs on one end, secure the other end as a pivot point, and then you have the point you are pulling on somewhere in-between. The farther from the weight you are the more force it takes to lift.

A google image search found this.

The same principle is already used on this pinch grip trainer.

http://www6.mailordercentral.com/ironmi ... umber=1243

Many of these items seem to be becoming more popular, returning to "old strongman" methods. Like the macebell

the further you hold if from the end the harder the exercises are. This is easily simulated by using a barbell loaded on just one side (though I would advise good collars!).

Some of the DIY equipment sites will have clever devices which use leverage. This is an excellent site

http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/shenandoah ... grunt.html

I am surprised that with all the static holds involved in gymnastics that isometrics are not used more, they seem quite related to me. On problem people have with isometrics is the lack of actual data/numbers, you can hold a gymnastic hold it can be measured in seconds, angles etc, but have no real figure with isometric holds.

slizzardman said:

In my opinion, while anything can be done on it, the most useful aspect of this machine is the ability to perform extremely heavy partial ROM lifts.

This is what I find important. I have done isometric holds which were really partial rom lifts. I can attach my rings onto a heavy barbell, then adjust the length of the webbing straps until I am doing a "1inch deadlift", which I can then hold. I have webbing straps without rings and can do similar movements, like the straps on my shoulders to perform 1" squats, with heavy weight. But I have outgrown my 140kg of plates so am interested in leverage devices, and always have been, as a cheap way to increase resistance.

Another measurement tool would be a loadcell or weighing scale, e.g. if you stand on a weighing scale and have your rings under it and pull you will exert a force and can read it on the scale. This is a more advanced version of this

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slizzardman said:

These require special harnesses to perform correctly, but are in some ways essential for "super strength."

I will have to buy the harnesses from Iron Mind, as they make the best stuff. THeir hip belt holds "3500 lbs with ease" so it's good for at least 7000, which is probably more than anyone will lift ever.

I have the ironmind hip belt and would recommend it, I have had over 100kg on it doing hip belt squats. Also I have done isometric squats with it and imagine I have gone WELL over 100kg, I stood on a wooden platform with webbing attached to the belt and stood up, I was sweating profusely afterwards and on a second go I broke the wooden platform since I pulled so hard.

I have experimented with bicycle inner tubes as a cheap form of resistance band, these can be calibrated to show the forces, I think I worked out that 10 of my tubes would be 120kg in the upright position with the tubes under my feet and over my shoulders. Webbing is incredibly strong and making your own harnesses is an option, you can use upholstery needles & thread to attach them, or knots. This is a good site on knots, this page shows a good knot for webbing

http://www.animatedknots.com/waterknotr ... dknots.com

You can get extra wide webbing which would be more comfortable on the shoulders, and shoudler pads to slip onto the webbing. Rock climbing stores would have good ideas but are usually expensive as quality is paramount.

This site is good and have a store on www.ebay.co.uk too http://handystraps.co.uk/

Wow, awesome post! Rubadub, your idea with the rings is completely genius!!! That's an awesome idea, I can't believe I never thought of that!

I love the pics you got off of google, thank you for linking those in! I laughed pretty good when I read that you broke the wooden platform you made Good work! You HAD to have felt cool after that

Well, as an update, we've got some up the pipes and the welding gas has been ordered! It can take 8 days to 3 weeks for the gas to come in, we'll be held up a little by that.

There is a company that has recreated the Automatic Exerciser already, they directly inspired me with some ideas since they have such good pictures They also have some absolutely incredible equipment for sale, it's all in-house stuff pretty much, and if you are an active customer you can order their skunkworks as well. Webpage for that is http://www.fractionalplates.com/equipment/skunkworks.html and it's worth reading just to learn what a "skunkwork" is!

The old strongman methods add a whole new dimension of functionality to training, I for one am glad they are rising in popularity again. I hope to one day bring them back into the spotlight, mostly because they just plain produce better athletes when integrated into a program, but also because the equipment is cheap! All you need is a keg, some pipes, and some wrench collars. Hell, if you want to be cheap all you need is threaded bolts! You can make your own indian clubs, sledgehammers or maceballs, kettlebells, etc, etc.

I am also extremely excited at the prospect of one day owning shot-loaded dumbbells. I'll probably end up making those myself lol OOOOOh, I get all giddy inside thinking about it. I've come up with an easy way to make almost all the parts for our version of the Automatic Exerciser, and I will put a step-by step guide together when it's done, along with some ideas for how to do it without welding as well. The most simple method will require two or three different sized metal drill bits and possibly a clamp as the only tools needed besides an adjustable (or appropriately sized) wrench.

LMAO

A lot of people have called me a bullshitter and an asshole who doesn't know anything recently. I suggested this EXACT method of training. Reminds me of a kung fu movie, which I used to demonstrate a point...

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oh yea man, a lot of people are fools. They talk all this shit about how this and that are bad for you, when they can't even crush an empty coke can with their hands. Then you get me ripping apples in half and they're like whoa whoa whoa, what?!?! And I'm like yea, and by the way your sister is hot! And then there's 400 babies because I drank my powerthirst! It's the thirst! QUENCHER!!!! I am now too energetic for normal sports

But seriously, when I rip apples in half people boggle and I'm like look man, you have to do the old style shit to get old style strong.

Hmmmm, I am going to have to work on ripping apples in half . . . now thats a party trick/random lunch with friends trick that would lead to lots of stares. 8) Now how can I work on it without my roommates seeing me? I crush cans all the time but I think thats more technique than anything else. . .I mean I get them REALLY flat, it looks like I stepped on it! I get a few 'whoa whats' from that but I have been doing it for years!

And nice powerthurst reference. . . 'its like a fighter jet made out of biceps!'

lol I just tried to rip a random apple in half that was in my kitchen and it split a little and then I just mashed it. . . :roll: . . .I might be able to do it fresh but I just got back from the gym and I did the WOD posted and my SSC so my forearms and hands are dead, I wouldnt really call the apple fresh either. :wink:

Any technique tips for the apple? A video would be sweet lol.

For the apple, the funny thing is that certain types of apples are really, really freaking hard. Rome apples are by FAR the hardest I have found, and I have to be fresh in order to do it. Of course, I do the ripping in half exclusively with my thumbs, to gauge their strength, but that's me. You can do it with your fingers too. When I was in class with my girlfriend before I really knew her, we were sitting next to each other and I asked her if she wanted half of my apple. She was hungry, but didn't like eating after people. I literally snapped it in half, and her eyes almost fell out of her head. It was really, really funny. To be honest, it must have been a weak apple, or I somehow did it perfect, because it usually doesn't just crack like a dinner plate. They peel apart usually. I'll do a video soon. I would start with Fuji or Gala apples, they are both in the middle of the difficulty range in my opinion. I do this every time I eat an apple, and I eat at least 2 apples a day.

You just quoted my absolute favorite line of all time!!! I can't wait to be a fighter plane made out of biceps!!!!!

When I tried I just stuck my thumbs where the stem was a pulled. My thumbs were still dead from the fatbar lifting and ring work tough so they just kind of went jello on me I think I will try this every day until I get it and then I will just do it every time I pick up an apple. It would be sweet if I could get it to where I didnt have to try that hard. I could just walk up to the apple bin at the dining hall, pick up an apple, snap it in half and just start walking and eating without breaking stride. I think people would lol for sure!

It'll come It's always tougher after fat bar days for me too.

slizzardman said:

Rubadub, your idea with the rings is completely genius!!! That's an awesome idea, I can't believe I never thought of that!

I have also just used a second empty barbell with webbing straps on it, i.e. you have the straps near the plates and pull using the empty barbell, I found I could lift more like this than with the rings. I also use rope, you could use a couple of strong beach towels too.

slizzardman said:

I read that you broke the wooden platform you made Good work! You HAD to have felt cool after that

Felt good alright, I could hear it giving way and just pulled harder. Also was a shame since I had to pick it out in work and cycled all the way home with it! After that I used a tricep bar like this

I lay it flat on the ground with the webbing where the plates would be, then I can stand on the middle of the bar, either in thick boots or with wood on top which forms a buffer/platform.

I also like to do heavy negatives and was wondering if there was some way to easily do negative short ROM deadlifts or squats, i.e. lowering a very heavy weight 1", getting the weight up in the first place is the problem. I am thinking a car jack could some how be used along with the leverage device.

I will put a step-by step guide together when it's done, along with some ideas for how to do it without welding as well.

I look forward to seeing this. I have access to welding equipment but for those restricted I will see if I can come up with other ideas for attaching, adjustable webbing straps have a million uses!

The http://www.fractionalplates.com site is very good, I have seen those helmets on another site, if you click the "images" link on google it shows pictures and links to the webpage they come from. This is a good way to find these specialist sites, type in vague searches like "squat device" or "isometric device" etc and you can find some goldmine sites.

slizzardman said:

Rome apples are by FAR the hardest I have found.... I would start with Fuji or Gala apples, they are both in the middle of the difficulty range in my opinion. I do this every time I eat an apple, and I eat at least 2 apples a day.

I can imagine you in your local shop "your usual bag of galas sir?", "no thanks, I'm pleased to say I have progressed onto the Romes now"

HAHAHAHA... oh, man. I was actually caught off guard by how hard those things are to rip open. I picked one up, applied the usual force, and the apple didn't even budge. I tried as hard as I could and it still took a couple times of me resetting my grip to get the thing completely in half. I don't know what is different about them, maybe a billion times more Kevlar than the average apple?

I'm going to find me one of those tricep bars, I really like that idea. I'm planning on using a similar bar for the Automatic Exerciser. I figure using chains is the smartest thing to do for connecting the pull point to a lifting bar, since that way I can measure by links and have two attachment points that are the exact same length.

Car jack for negatives would work, you'd just need a foot-pedal hydraulic jack and a partner to let it out once you get in support!

slizzardman said:

I'm going to find me one of those tricep bars, I really like that idea.

It is not ideal, a stronger platform of wood would be preferable to me. Like this,

details here

http://rosstraining.com/blog/2009/02/23 ... tric-tool/

I also hang that bar from a chinup bar with the webbing, this allows you to hold the centre bars and do neutral grip pullups (palms facing each other), it also adds instability since it is free to rotate.

need a foot-pedal hydraulic jack and a partner to let it out once you get in support!

I was thinking there might be one where you could raise the weight, hold on and press a release pedal with your foot, so no partner would be needed. With the lever system there might be another way though, it could be lifted up with ease into position, secured in place with webbing, then you might be able to release the webbing buckle so you experience the full force, but it can only drop 1" so is all safe. I will have to get my thinking cap on....

I got it

You put a block under the weight to hold it, something small and low-friction. You put an eyebolt through the side so that you have a pull point, and you connect that to a neck harness, going through a small pulley on the platform so you have a perfect sideways pull on the supporting block. So when you start your lift by grabbing the weight, a short tug with your head will pull the block free, leaving you holding the weight!!! Sounds good, no?

slizzardman said:

Sounds good, no?

Sounds plausible, I was thinking that the weight acting on the bock would be too much, but forgot the weight could be relatively small.

Another idea could be that once you are in position you move the weight on the lever. Like if you had some sort of bearing system then the weight could slide along the bar. It could have a moveable device to stop it going to far, imagine a track with a bowling ball rolling down it. I am also thinking of pulley systems that could be used.

Some gyms might already have devices, but people like to lift large bits of steel! if this guy moved towards the fulcrum it might need very little weight.

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HAHAHAHAHA!!! That guy is terrible!!! He used straps for 180?!?!?! Pathetic. And he didn't bend over either. That may not have been his goal, but it makes him look like a complete weakling. He obviously posted that video because he thinks it is a major accomplishment, but the way he did it is embarrassing, especially since with his build he should be able to manhandle that weight.

Slizzard, not exactly in the topic, but already mentioned by you the use of heavy partial reps to strengthen tendons and ligaments - do you or anybody else know about this DVD and think it's worth having?

Tendon & Ligament Strength Training: Course #1 DVD

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=VID005

I have never heard of this before!!! I can already see that all of the lifts that I have started doing are going to be on there, and I'll bet there are some isometrics as well as the harness lifting. In my opinion this is a good dvd, though I haven't seen it. I probably already know most of it, but I will probably get it anyways Thank you.

Believe it or not, there's a technique to ripping apples in half.

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or you could do it like dan hodge... its hard to tell in the clip but he starts with a regular apple and only uses one hand... i've seen it in person... he was a great wrestler and he is a great guy...