Iron Man Magazine is a publication

Publication

To publish is to make content available to the public. While specific use of the term may vary among countries, it is usually applied to text, images, or other audio-visual content on any medium, including paper or electronic publishing forms such as websites, e-books, Compact Discs and MP3s...

 which discusses bodybuilding

Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive and professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their...

, weightlifting

Weight training

Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the weight force of gravity to oppose the force generated by muscle through concentric or eccentric contraction...

 and powerlifting

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...

. It was founded in 1936 by two Alliance

Alliance, Nebraska

-External links:* * *...

, Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

 natives, Peary Rader

Peary Rader

Peary Rader was an early bodybuilder, Olympic lifter, writer, and magazine publisher from Nebraska.- Biography :Rader was born on October 17, 1909. He started lifting weights at age 12, but in 1933, he weighed just 128 pounds at a height of 5'11.5"...

 and his wife, Mabel Rader.

History

The magazine's first print run of fifty copies was done via a duplicating machine

Duplicating machines

Duplicating machines were the predecessors of modern document-reproduction technology. They have now been replaced by digital duplicators, scanners, laser printers and photocopiers, but for many years they were the primary means of reproducing documents for limited-run distribution.Like the...

 which sat on their dining room table. Iron Man started out as an educational vehicle to inform and enlighten those people who were interested in weightlifting, bodybuilding and eventually, powerlifting.

The focus of Iron Man Magazine during its first fifty years was on all three sport

Sport

A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

s, with emphasis on weight training

Weight training

Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the weight force of gravity to oppose the force generated by muscle through concentric or eccentric contraction...

 in general as a life-enhancing activity. Iron Man at one time stressed the health

Health

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...

 and character building aspects of weight training, though it later shifted its focus to hardcore bodybuilding.

In the early 1950s, Iron Man Magazine was the first weight-training publication to show women

Woman

A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...

 working out with weights as part of their overall fitness

Physical fitness

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...

 regimen. It even went so far as to show a pregnant

Pregnancy

Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...

 woman training with weights and educating readers on the benefits of exercise during pregnancy; thoroughly modern concept

Concept

The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...

s decades ahead of their time. In the late 1950s to early 1960s, Iron Man was the first to talk about high-quality protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

s derived from milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

 and eggs

Egg (food)

Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

 as well as liquid amino acid

Amino acid

Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group and a side-chain that varies between different amino acids. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen...

s. By this time, the bimonthly magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 had acquired over 30,000 subscribers

Subscription business model

The subscription business model is a business model where a customer must pay a subscription price to have access to the product/service. The model was pioneered by magazines and newspapers, but is now used by many businesses and websites....

 simply on the strength of its information. The Raders never worked at expanding its circulation. It grew by word of mouth

Word of mouth

Word of mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication. Storytelling is the oldest form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and...

; fueled by Iron Mans ability to provide reliable information.
By 1970, Arthur Jones

Arthur Jones (inventor)

Arthur Allen Jones was the founder of Nautilus, Inc. and MedX, Inc. and the inventor of the Nautilus exercise machines, including the Nautilus pullover, which was first sold in 1970...

 had created the first Nautilus prototype

Prototype

A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...

. He was eager to share his exercise concepts with the world, but every magazine except Iron Man turned him down. Peary Rader saw the potential of the Nautilus concept and in keeping with Iron Mans will to remain an open forum

Open forum

Open Forum may refer to:* Forum , a United States constitutional law term* Open Forum , Australian E-Democracy site...

 for idea

Idea

In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...

s, Rader embraced Jones' enthusiasm and ideas. Iron Man was the leader in bringing Nautilus to the marketplace

Marketplace

A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...

 and the only publication to stand behind it. The entire exercise machine

Exercise machine

An exercise machine is any machine used for physical exercise. These range from simple spring-like devices to computerized electromechanical rides to recirculating-stream swimming pools...

 industry

Industry

Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

 today was built on the shoulders of the Nautilus.

By the early 1980s, the Raders (now in their seventies) had spent nearly fifty years working long hours to put out a bimonthly publication. In 1986, the Raders sold

Sell

Sell can refer to:*A verb relating to sales*Sell *One of several people named Edward Sell *Mary Elizabeth Sell, New York City Ballet dancer*Friedrich L...

 the magazine to John Balik, who repositioned the magazine as a hardcore bodybuilding publication. Iron Man Magazine has featured covers with athletes from both hardcore and natural bodybuilding including: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....

, Jay Cutler

Jay Cutler (bodybuilder)

Jay Cutler is an IFBB professional bodybuilder. He has won the title Mr. Olympia four times.-Vital statistics:* Height: 5'9" * Thighs: * Calves: * Arms: * Neck:...

, Sebastian Siegel, Michael O'Hearn

Michael O'Hearn

Michael O'Hearn is an American bodybuilder, actor, powerlifter and fitness model. He has been featured on over 470 magazine covers, was Fitness Model of the Year seven times, was a champion in judo and tae kwon do, and was a four-time Mr. Natural Universe title holder...

, Bob Paris

Bob Paris

Bob Paris is a writer, actor, public speaker, civil rights activist and former professional bodybuilder. Paris was the 1983 NPC American National and IFBB World Bodybuilding Champion, Mr. Universe....

, Lee Haney

Lee Haney

Lee Haney , is a former American IFBB professional bodybuilder most famous for being the current joint record holder, along with Ronnie Coleman, for winning the most Mr...

 and Lee Labrada

Lee Labrada

Lee Labrada is a former IFBB professional bodybuilder winning 22 major titles and a former Mr. Olympia competitor, published author and current CEO of Labrada Nutrition. Labrada was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2004...

. It's also famous for publishing numerous swimsuit issues.

External links

• Iron Man Magazine Online version includes access to archived editions