It’s surprising to learn that John Astley Cooper first proposed what has become the Commonwealth Games in 1891: 5 years before the Modern Olympics. The plan was to hold a sports competition every four years “as a means of increasing goodwill and understanding of the British Empire”. Committees were set up throughout the Empire to […]
England at the FIFA World Cup over the years – it’s certainly been a journey! From crushing defeat to glorious victory…to who knows what the 2026 tournament will bring. We’ve still got the fun and great hope of not knowing at this point. The first World Cup took place in Uruguay in 1930. FIFA chose […]
Fitness and Wellbeing in Sportspages’ New Stock Catalogue
Our most recent New Stock catalogue has a huge range of sports as usual. It also has quite a fine line in rare and classic fitness and wellbeing books too. Any of them should help you get ready for the summer!
Be Fit or be Damned!
One of the most direct of the fitness and wellbeing books is ‘Be Fit or Be Damned!’ – published in 1968: the title betrays the not so touchy feely approach to getting fitter: It’s written by the highly regarded spoott rts coach, Percy Cerutty, who trained Herb Elliot and John Landy among others.
The 100-Up Exercise
Another title is by Walter George, one of the most foremost athletes of the Victorian era and holder of the World mile record that lasted for 30 years. The 100-Up Exercise is a rare book, published in 1913. It details George’s amazing career and describes his pioneering training methods, including – of course – the famous 100-Up exercise!
Body-Building, Or Man in the Making: How to Become Healthy and Strong
An even earlier tome on fitness and wellbeing is Eugen Sandow’s book on bodybuilding. The celebrated Edwardian Strongman’s book is scarce and was published c. 1904. He manages to relate his then recent tour of Australasia AND shares his philosophy and systems of fitness and bodybuilding along with recommending a series of exercises.
If you feel like the above books are not ‘talking to you’, we have one final peach that all of us should be fighting to buy: Old Age: its Cause and Prevention. Sandford Bennett, the man, who rolled back time and ‘grew young at 70’ clearly has something to teach us about fitness and wellbeing. Witness his transformation – and how he did it – throughout the book, starting with the frontispiece. That shows him at 50 (apparently), while the front cover shows him at 70. We can only assume this book flew off the shelves when it was published in 1912:
Sandford Bennett…at 70!‘Old Age’ Frontispiece: Sandford Bennett at 50 (apparently)
