History, training and tendon exercises of Alexander Zass

A person's possession of remarkable strength has always attracted the attention of society. General admiration for the physical capabilities of individual unique individuals has not diminished in intensity throughout the entire history of human existence.

Those who have seen with their own eyes the manifestations of the developed abilities of strongmen do not remain indifferent. And everyone asks the question: How is this possible for an ordinary person?

The life story of a magnificent athlete, ways of developing the strength and strong-willed character of Alexander Zass, will reveal the secrets of the amazing abilities of this amazing person.

Short biography. The birth of the power of Iron Samson

Little Sasha was born on February 23, 1888, in the family of a simple peasant. He was the third child in a family of seven people: father Ivan Petrovich, mother Ekaterina Emelyanovna and two more brothers and two sisters Alexander. They lived in the Vilna province of the Russian Empire, on a small farm without a name.

Childhood, youth and circus

Soon after Sasha's birth, the whole family moved to Tula, and then to Saransk, since Ivan Petrovich received the position of clerk. The landowners' estates, which were managed by his father, were located between Saransk and Penza.

The management of bank accounts and household management was completely taken over by the purposeful and strong-willed Ekaterina Emelyanovna. The entire life of the Zassovs was arranged in such a way that each family member worked constantly, as hard as he could. From memories it is known that the family did not need, there was plenty of food and drink, but all this was obtained through hard, incessant work.

Alexander’s childhood was not full of interesting events, but his father had high hopes for his son: he trusted him with the transportation of large sums of money to be credited to a bank account and saw Sasha as a locomotive driver in the future. His father was ready to provide him with a good technical education, but the boy himself was not drawn to this profession.

The soul of the future athlete strived for bright, enchanting circus performances.

One day, after a successful transaction for selling horses at a fair, Ivan Petrovich went with his son to a performance of a traveling circus. The spectacle deeply shocked Sasha with its festive splendor. I especially liked the strongman who bent an iron rod around his neck and easily juggled heavy weights.

The incredible sharpness and intensity of the emotions received at the performance did not allow Sasha to fall asleep that evening. And then he committed a terrible crime - he ran away from the room at the inn where he and his dad spent the night and, at his own expense, watched the artists perform again.

After such disobedience, the father severely punished his son and then sent him to work as a shepherd in a remote village. The boy was 12 years old when he learned to manage large herds of horses, cows and camels, and also gained undeniable authority among six ferocious and capricious wolfhounds, who obeyed him well in his work.

Thoughts about the circus did not leave Alexander all this time. He learned to shoot well, protecting the herds from predators. mastered the basics of training, teaching horses circus tricks. All this was useful to him later.

Returning to Saransk, Sasha began studying the biographies of famous gymnasts, athletes and circus performers. His idol was Evgeniy Sandov, the most famous strongman of the 19th century.

The boy enthusiastically collects literature on the development of physical capabilities and body strength, studies the works of famous athletes, masters exercises using available materials: wood, stones, and carries a calf on his shoulders.

And although Sashenka was a weak, sickly child as a child, regular exercise brings significant benefits to the health and endurance of the body. he feels his muscles strengthen and his body’s strength capabilities expand.

When Alexander turned 20, his father sent him to Orenburg to study as an assistant driver. At the same time, the famous Andrzhievsky circus comes to the city on tour and, of course, the young man goes to the performance.

The boundless love for the circus, the skills acquired through regular training and the desire to realize his lifelong dream add courage to Alexander. And he turns to the director of the circus with a request to hire him. To his surprise, he receives approval with the explanation that for now he will only be hired as a laborer and his life will be very difficult. But the future artist, hardened by difficulties, is not afraid of obstacles on the way to his dream and goes to work in the circus.

At the new place, Sasha does the hardest “menial” work. He meets and begins to help the athlete Kuratkin prepare for power routines. With his determination and perseverance, Zass earned the sympathy of the strongman and he teaches the young man the wisdom of circus performances.

Thanks to self-training and competent mentoring, the young man begins to perform in the arena within a few months.

In the future, Alexander Zass will perform in the Yupatov and Khoitsev circus, constantly improving his athletic abilities.

War, captivity and escapes

The outbreak of the First World War suspended the development of the career of the great strongman. And, after mobilization, Alexander Ivanovich Zass was enlisted in an infantry regiment, and then in reconnaissance, where he made mounted raids behind enemy lines.

He turned out to be a skilled and fearless warrior, his developed fighting qualities and skills ensured a quick promotion, and his brave deeds were legendary.

Thus, the story of how Alexander brought a wounded horse back to his regiment was very popular.

But we didn’t have to fight for long. In the battle, the athlete was seriously wounded and captured. Doctors wanted to amputate both of his legs, but the indecisiveness of the doctors and regular passive exercises from the personal system made such an operation completely unnecessary.

The prisoner, thanks to incessant training, left to his own devices, learned to walk again. After some time, he not only walked on crutches, but also helped care for other patients.

Four escapes from captivity speak of the great perseverance and fortitude of the Russian hero. Each time, overcoming any obstacles, Alexander found himself free and tried to get to his people. Three times he was caught, and, after severe punishment, he was returned to hard work or imprisonment. And only on the fourth time, we managed to break free completely.

Life in Europe and circus acts

Having suffered in the war and in captivity, Alexander Ivanovich decided that there was no place for a soldier of the tsarist army in Soviet Russia and remained in Europe. In the early 20s of the last century, the athlete took the pseudonym Samson, under which he performed in the Schmidt Circus. With his unique abilities he won worldwide fame and enormous popularity among the European public.

He performed briefly in Paris, then at 24 he received an invitation from Oswald Stoll, the head of British variety shows. Having moved to England, he settled there until the end of his life.

Throughout his life, Alexander Ivanovich Zass studied and analyzed the physical capabilities of the human body. He tested his knowledge in practice, proving by personal example the effectiveness of the exercise systems he used, and now we can apply his wealth of experience in improving our body.

Life path. Start

Alexander Zass, whose photo we see in the article, was born into a family of strong men like himself. If we do research and dig deeper into history, we find out that all the Zassas had quite impressive strength. However, it was the hero of our article who managed to surpass all his relatives thanks to constant grueling training. He increased a hundredfold what nature gave him in the beginning.

In his rare interviews, Alexander himself said that perhaps his future fate was determined by one incident that happened in childhood. Then he went with his father to the circus. The little boy was most impressed by two numbers. The first of them is a performance by a trainer together with animals, and the second is a demonstration of the strength of a circus strongman. Alexander said that what he saw shocked and impressed him for the rest of his life. He constantly thought and could not get rid of the thought that he wanted to have the same power.

There was another interesting incident in the life of Alexander. So, he went with his father to the circus, and during the performance the circus athlete bent an iron horseshoe. He succeeded, and the audience was delighted and applauded him. After that, he invited everyone from the audience to repeat this number. Naturally, there were no people who wanted to show their weakness, so no one came out. However, at that moment Alexander’s father stood up and walked onto the stage. He decided to try, which caused surprise not only in the hall, but also on stage. Surprisingly, he was able, like an athlete, to straighten a horseshoe. To say that the audience and the athlete himself were shocked is to say nothing.

This incident shows us that not only Alexander, but also his father loved to demonstrate their strength. However, all this happened most often in the circle of family and friends, while Alexander wanted to conquer the whole world. And he really succeeded, because after this event he could not think about anything else but the circus.

Training principles of Alexander Zass

The athlete started training very early. Little Shura used available means, such as a heavy barrel, stones, and wood. Trying to lift the barrel, he noticed how he was gradually becoming stronger in everyday life, although he had not yet been able to overcome the projectile. Thus, drawing conclusions during the training process, he derived his own principles for the development of strength indicators.

Focus on tendons

The first principle includes the development and strengthening of tendons, which, according to the master himself, are the second strongest tissue in the body, after bones.

Large muscles without a strong tendon base are not a guarantee of great physical strength.

I don't believe in big muscles unless there's real big tendon power next to them. You can see physical fitness enthusiasts who have quite large muscles. But what good are they if there is no powerful foundation - developed tendons. They are unable to fully utilize the strength of their muscles during an actual test of strength. And therefore their power is only an illusion.

Increasing tension, with an action that is obviously impossible, without including motor muscle contraction in the process, is the basis of isometric exercises.

Pushing a wall, trying to lift a truck, breaking a chain, etc. Such efforts best strengthen the tendon system of the body.

The importance of dynamic exercises

The second principle is to increase muscle size through the use of dynamic exercises.

An increase in muscle mass occurs due to monotonously repeated muscle contractions with a gradual increase in the mass of the projectiles used.

Alexander Ivanovich considered increasing muscle volume a priority in achieving a spectacular appearance, giving preference to the development of tendon strength.

Chains are sold in hardware stores.

Handles can be made like this: take two pieces of pipe of a convenient thickness and thread a wire (or cable) into them, bent at the connection into a hook. Leg loops are very important, as they provide comfort for the most powerful tensions of the body (for example, in the atlas pose). Ask ladies you know about old handbags, try using tarpaulin or material for trunks. But first, experiment with the fabric: step on it with your foot and pull its ends up: evaluate the thickness, width, and comfort of the loop. You can use the loops in conjunction with slippers.

Alexander Zass training program

The training program, developed on the basis of personal experience, includes a set of isometric and dynamic exercises. In addition to using special exercises, the master noted the need for a healthy lifestyle without alcohol and nicotine.

Alternating exercise with rest, accompanied by high-calorie nutrition, daily jogging of 3 km, gymnastics.

But the athlete considered the development of tendon strength to be the basis of all success. And only after strengthening the tendons can you begin to improve the muscular system.

A few final words

In a book dedicated to the life of Alexander Ivanovich Zass, the author mentioned one good phrase of the great strongman: “Large biceps is not a criterion of strength, just as a large belly is a sign of good digestion.” It reflects the deep knowledge and invaluable experience of a circus strongman. It’s not without reason that his training methods received a lot of positive feedback from athletes and professional circus performers of the highest level!

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Zass tendon exercises

They consist of two training sessions, developed on the basis of personal knowledge and practical experience of the master. It must be remembered that these exercises create the basis for the successful development of all physical abilities of the body and are dominant in the athlete’s system.

Basic rules for performing tendon exercises

• A positive attitude is required. All exercises are performed with pleasure, readiness for stress and concentration of the whole body.
• The whole body is subject to training. The main goal will be to create a force wave in the body, not lifting weights or breaking a chain.
• Calm, even breathing when tension increases.
• Smooth entry and exit from gain, without jerks or sudden movements.
• Full training no more than twice a week and no longer than an hour in duration. Gains for 5 repetitions would be correctly distributed as follows: 1. - 75%, 2. - 90%, 3. - 95%, 4. - 90%, 5. - 75%.
• The interval between exercises is 30-60 seconds.
• To maintain tone, select 5-8 exercises and do them daily, performing 1 - 3 efforts, with tension distribution: 60% - 90% - 75% for each exercise.
• Maintaining gradualism and consistency.
• Mandatory regularity of classes.
• Paying attention to your well-being.

First set of exercises

Second set of exercises

1. We bend and raise our arms with the chain in front of our chest. elbows at shoulder level. Stretch to the sides.
2. Bent arms behind head. We stretch the chain by changing the grip width.
3. Two chains with loops at both ends. By changing the length of the chains, we pull them straight up to the shoulders, at the level of the head and above it, alternately.
4. We pass the foot of the right foot into the lower loop, and hold the upper loop in our hand. Pull the chain by straightening your arm upward. We perform the exercise alternately and simultaneously.
5. We wrap the chain around the chest while inhaling and secure it. We try to inhale more, expanding the chest.
6. Legs wider than shoulders. Loop on the right foot, bent left arm at waist level, pull the chain. Repeat for the right hand.
7. We attach the chain to the wall at waist level, pull it with our hands, trying to pull it out of the fastening.
8. We attach one end of the chain to the floor, and on the other we attach a handle at knee level. pull, trying to tear the chain out of the fastening. Can be repeated at different grip levels.

Breathing and concentration

Unlike modern strength techniques, Alexander Zass paid a lot of attention to proper breathing and concentration.

Many experts note the similarity of this aspect with yoga training and other eastern methods of self-improvement, where human breathing plays a key role.

Through various breathing techniques, adepts are taught to control the vital energy Qi.

By consciously directing Qi energy to different parts of the body, you can achieve phenomenal development of physical qualities - strength, flexibility, endurance. By the way, this is exactly what the Shaolin monks demonstrate.

It is not known for certain whether Zass was familiar with Eastern esoteric knowledge. It is quite possible that he intuitively came to similar views.

Alexander Zass believed that strength development consists of 4 components:

1. Strength of will
2. Proper breathing when performing strength exercises
3. The ability to manage and control your muscles
4. Strong tendons

Before starting training, Zass recommended focusing as much as possible. At the same time, try to forget about all stress, completely devoting your attention to training.

The focus should not be on breaking the chain, but on improving your body.

Zass believed that throughout training one must constantly learn to feel and control the flow of energy and strength. Which over the years will lead to complete mental control over your muscles.

His breathing recommendations differ from those generally accepted in strength sports. He recommended doing all isometric exercises while inhaling.

It was prohibited to do Zass tendon exercises with holding your breath.

Dynamic exercises

Despite the fact that Alexander Ivanovich placed the main emphasis on tendon exercises, over time he began to note the need for dynamic ones, which play a significant role in acquiring a spectacular appearance. After all, at the beginning of his career, he did not impress the public with his enormous, superbly developed muscles, which, however, did not prevent him from showing miracles of strength capabilities.

The exercises are presented with weights in the form of a special bag, the weight of which was increased by gradually replacing the filler with a heavier one. From 7 kg of sawdust he moved up in weight, gradually replacing them with sand, shot, and then lead so that the final weight reached 70 kg.

1. Feet shoulder-width apart, bag on the floor, slightly bending your legs, lift the weights to your chest in one motion. After a pause, press up above your head and fix the position, then return to your chest and to the floor. (10-15 times).

2. Feet shoulder-width apart, the bag in the palm of one hand near the shoulder, squeeze the weight up, fix the position and rotate the projectile using the wrist as the axis of rotation. Repeat for the other hand. Complication: with the bag raised at the highest point, we make alternating movements with our fingers, as if we are trying to lift the projectile even higher. We perform to the maximum possible repetitions.

3. Standing with your heels together and toes apart, hold the bag on your chest. We squat on our toes, simultaneously squeezing the bag up, and fix the position. Next, we return the weight to the chest, while straightening the legs. (10-15 times).

4. Legs wider than shoulders, bag on the palm near the shoulder. Pushing with the strength of our legs and arms, we transfer it to the other hand so that the projectile describes a semicircle in the air. We gradually increase the force of the push and the magnitude of the flight path (10-15 times).

5. Feet wider than shoulder width, knees slightly bent. We hold the bag at knee level. simultaneously straightening the legs and torso, we throw the projectile up and catch it on the shoulder blades, absorbing the blow with our legs. We throw it to the left and catch it with our hands. Repeat for the right side.

6. Lying on your back, bag behind your head at arm's length. We take the bag in our hands and lift it up with straight arms to a vertical position, lower it onto our chest, then squeeze it up and return to the standing position. (10-15 times).

7. I.p. the same as in ex. 6. The bag is at the level of the ankles of straight legs, take it with your feet and lift it up, transfer it to your feet and do a bench press. We return to IP. (10-15 times).

8. Standing with your heels together and toes apart, hold the bag with your hands on the floor. Raising the projectile up through the left side, we describe an arc above the head and lower it through the right side. Repeat clockwise and counterclockwise. (10-15 times).

First steps

The boy persuaded his parents and set up a fairly spacious area for training in his backyard. At first there were only 2 horizontal bars with trapezoids installed. However, gradually the boy brought more and more sports equipment to his small corner, where he sat for hours. After a while there were weights, dumbbells, and then a barbell appeared.

After a fairly short period of time, the backyard turned into a gym, where Alexander spent almost all his free time doing strength training. He did not just do anything, but tried to repeat athletic performances.

While visiting the circus with his father, he memorized the most interesting tricks and tried to repeat them at home. Surprisingly, he was already able to repeat one of the most difficult tricks of circus strongmen without any help from adults or specially trained people. So, he learned to do somersaults on a horse and pull himself up with one hand.

Even though the guy was praised and admired for his achievements, he realized that something was missing. This is how the training system of Alexander Zass appeared. Naturally, it was not formed immediately, because he changed it for a long time, selected certain elements and constantly improved it. Nevertheless, it was in adolescence that he realized that in order to obtain a truly high-quality result, some kind of orderliness and structure are necessary.

World fame Zass

With his unique abilities, Iron Samson won enormous popularity and love from the audience. The contingent of his admirers spread from ordinary people to nobles. The fame of the amazing athlete thundered throughout the world.

The phenomenon of Iron Samson haunted many. Imitators of the amazing athlete appeared. The artist's international tours were extremely popular with viewers.

His photos appeared on the covers of magazines next to images of Evgeniy Sandov, who forever remained Zass’s idol.

Books dedicated to the Russian hero were published: “The Amazing Samson” - published in London in 1925.

All his life until his death, Alexander Ivanovich Zass remained an active, strong man. He demonstrated his last strength performance at the age of 66, subsequently training animals.

This wonderful man died as a result of an accident. While rescuing animals from a burning van, he suffered serious burns to his head and was taken to hospital. A few days later, Alexander Ivanovich died of a heart attack and was buried in Hockley, near London in 1962.

Search for mentors

After some time, Alexander was guided not by books, but by the recommendations of real people. So, he had long been worried about the idea of ​​finding mentors and people who had achieved something and could share their valuable knowledge with him. His teachers were Pyotr Krylov and Morro-Dmitriev.

They were quite interesting and famous athletes, impressing the audience with their performances. It was they who created a certain set of exercises for the young man that would help him achieve the desired heights. It should be noted that the training method of Alexander Zass, which he originally came up with, has been preserved. In other words, athletes recognized its effectiveness and simply supplemented it with certain exercises. It is believed that Morro-Dmitriev made the greatest contribution to the development of Samson’s future, because it was he who told the young man about all the features, subtleties and tricks of working with a barbell.

By the age of 18, the young guy had developed enormous strength. He regularly visited the circus in order to watch circus strongmen and learn something new from them. When he reached a certain peak, he decided to develop himself further. He didn’t want to stop, so he filled his props with nails, metal rods, horseshoes, etc.

All this was new to him because he had not encountered such elements before. Nevertheless, he understood that if he stopped there, he would remain a developed and strong, but ordinary athlete. He himself admitted that it was when he began working with non-standard props that he realized that this is what greatly develops physical spiritual strength, and not weights and barbells. In order to work with such unusual instruments, you need much more strength, endurance, patience and will.

Records of Alexander Zass

The amazing capabilities achieved with the help of a independently developed unique system of exercises still amaze the imagination:

• He carried a horse and a piano with people on his shoulders.
• He withstood the weight of a truck loaded with coal moving over him.
• I caught a cannonball weighing 90 kg, fired from a distance of 8 m.
• He was holding an iron beam with people in it with his teeth.
• Lying on a board with nails, he held a cobblestone weighing 500 kg on his chest, which anyone could hit with a sledgehammer.

The most important thing is self-control. I have been on the verge of death dozens of times. And only the ability to pull myself together, remain calm, and make a sound decision kept me alive.

The hero himself always said that strength lies in a person’s character and will, as well as in the strength of tendons and the ability to control muscles. Iron Samson left a trail of glory shining in history and his memory will never disappear.

Inventions

After concluding a contract with the Italian circus, Alexander remained a circus performer until the end of his days. In total, he spent about 60 years in the arena. Interestingly, in addition to his unsurpassed performances and exercises, he left behind some inventions.

So, he invented a hand dynamometer and a cannon that fired a person. He is also the author of the idea of ​​“man-projectile” attractions. In one of the rooms he caught a girl who was flying out of a cannon he invented. Surprisingly, before falling into his hands, she flew about 12 m.

Few people know that this man spoke several European languages ​​at a high level. And this destroys the modern stereotype that “if you have strength, you don’t need intelligence.” There are a large number of excellent examples that this statement is a complete fallacy. Alexander is clear proof of this.

Get over yourself

In his childhood games, Zass took on weights that even an adult could not lift. The boy did not succeed, but Shura did not give up and pushed for a long time with all his strength. In essence, he performed isometric-static exercises, concentrating muscle tension through willpower. The result was not long in coming. After some time, the future “iron Samson” easily lifted the saddle, although quite recently he needed considerable effort to do this. He saw an obvious correlation between desperate attempts to achieve the “impossible” and increasing strength. However, recognized athletes of that time did not see the point in such training, preferring to “pump up” their muscles with dynamic exercises.