29430 smpb 07

THE LIFE STORY OF

CHARLES ATLAS

By Antonio Salem mb, Sculptor

A $ a boy Charles Atlas was just abaut the same as anyone else—hc likcd to “ play baseball, run, swim and do all the other things that make a young fellows hearr glad. But, unfortunatcly, he was not very hcalthy or strong and was r-ather frail. Conscquemly hc could not enter in all the sports iike other boys.

One day, his school teachcr took him to the Brooklyn Museum of Art and showed him the wonderful statues ot the ancient Greek Gods. l ic was amazed and thrilled. Hc wanted so much to become Iike those marvelousIy built men hc looked upon. Thcn and therc an amhition was bom in him. Apollo, Hercules, and the others were rcally Gods to him and he determined to become Iike thern.

How was he to accomplish such a thing? No modern had a physique that com-bincd all the beauty and muscular devclopmcnt of thosr ancient Grecks. Surcly therc nmst be a differcnce in the way they trained. So he studied and madę care-ful inąuirics about how tlu- ancients attained their manrclous beauty and phcnomcnal strength. He learncd that they had no paraphernalia, no patented exerciscs, no bar-bclls—-nothing that the athlete oi today thinks nccessary to build a perfcct and powerful physique. He found that they knew of natur dl ways of excrcising which hęlped one attain far greater benefits in a surprisingly tjuick timc. So Charles Atlas followcd the same ntethods the ancients used. He added many that lic discovered himsclf.

You know rhc result! Today hc stands supremę, acknowlcdged by all, the MOST PKRFECT MAN WHO EV ER LI VED. Evcn the statues'of Hercules and Apollo fade in medioerity bosi de his wonderful body. Hc also has that perfcct vibrant hcalrli and indominatablc cnergy which mak es him one of the most pleasant and admirablc personalitics 1 havc evcr had the opportunity of mccting.

In strength therc are nonę wito can surpass Mr. Atlas! Perhaps among the leading weight-lifters of the world you will find a few who can outlift him in ccrtain lifts, hut, as an all-round strong man and athlctc, hc stands head and shouldcrs above all others. This, in spite of the fact that he is not a bar-bell man, knows nothing of the science of wcight-lifting and regards Health and a bcautiful physiąuc of far morę value than mero. strength.

Bcsides dupiicating all the stunts that the ordinary strong inen of today boast of, Mr. Atlas has and will perform atty of the following at any time:

(1)    Ile lifts 250 pounds from the floor to abovc the head 5 or 6 times without straining.

(2)    He pulls a tnick fuli of heavy men with his neck a distancc of a mile without straining.

(3)    He bends and brcaks with his barć hands a 120-penny nail (about in. thick). This feat is many times harder than tearing a New York telephone directory in two, yet, Mr. Atlas can perform it morę quickly tltan any other living man. Thcre is no trick to this—intense strength is absolutely nccessary.

(4)    With a 125-pound bar-bell on his shouldcrs he bends his knees 76 times without stopping, A marvelous feat of en d u rance.

(5)    Ile easily lifts ovcr 200 pounds with one hand.

(6)    In the position of the wrestlcrs bridge he lifts 260 pounds five or six times without straining.