Training Methodologies of the 1960's by Dr. Ken E. Leistner

There were gangs in the high school and junior high. We had physical intimidation. Relative to most other areas, we had quite a few lifting-related facilities and guys who lifted. This was very unusual for 1958 and 1959, which was approximate ly the time I began to train with weights. I can say from the age of nine, I was interested in lifting weights. But I had no knowledge, no role models, no equip ment and no facility that I was aware of. I didn’t begin to ac tually train until I was approximately 12. My first barbell was a truck axle, with flywheels from the truck, as well as one or two cars that had been abandoned on an empty lot next to our house. Our home in Point Lookout, New York, which at the time was considered to be the ass-end of Long Beach at the very end of the Long Beach barrier island, was an isolated area that served primarily as a summer community with perhaps 200 to 400 people as full-time winter residents. To do anything, we had to hitchhike into the town of Long Beach, as there was no other way to get there unless we had a car. There were a few of the fellows in Point Lookout and certainly in Long Beach who were muscled, looked good, were tough

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