Harry Houdini Never Skipped a Leg Day!
I scroll through social media in bed late at night, which is obviously awful for my insomnia. However, occasionally among the posts full of doom and gloom, misinformation and vitriol, I catch a glimpse of something inspirational and wholesome.
This was the case last night at around 4am. I had just finished a witching hour round of lunges, squats and chin ups because I couldn’t sleep. My plan to physically exhaust myself into sleep mode was working well, until my head hit the pillow! I found myself in phone land, on the app formerly known as Twitter. The first tweet I saw was from an account called Fascinating (@fasc1nate), which often posts really interesting historical and pop culture themed content. They had posted a 1908 photograph of the renowned escape artist, illusionist, and stunt performer, Harry Houdini standing at the edge of the Harvard Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts. He wore a one piece swimsuit and was shackled in chains around his waist and handcuffed, which if you’re familiar with Houdini, is actually a common sight.
Alongside the photograph, the tweet provided background information derived from a Boston Globe article published on April 30, 1908. The paper explains that, “a signal was tooted from a towboat, and Houdini went overboard into the chilly waters below.” He’s quoted in the article stating that, “there is always the possibility that I will be unable to free myself, as one never can tell what will happen to a lock. However, I am a good swimmer, have confidence in myself, and I hope to perform this feat successfully.”
According to the newspaper, at least 20,000 people were gathered on hand for Houdini’s leap of fate. It took him all of forty seconds to resurface, freed from his shackles.
I am very familiar with Houdini’s amazing career as an illusionist and escape artist. In fact, his own grave site, which is in a cemetery not too far from my house in Queens, once eluded my wife and I, who had to give up our search for it and go home (we later found out that the reason being is that the cemetery had been abandoned and left to fall into disrepair). However, I was shocked by one aspect of Houdini’s life that never had dawned on me before: he was jacked! Just look at those well defined legs. He clearly never skipped a leg day at the gym! In all seriousness, I wanted to know what Houdini did in terms of working out, because it was clear that he was a very fit, swole individual.
A late night Google search session revealed Houdini (birth name Erich Weisz) was into fitness and sports at an early age. By nine years old he partook in gymnastic, cross-country track and jiu-jitsu. He was also an avid swimmer and would train in ice cold water. Additionally, he engaged in rigorous stretching and mobility exercises, which helped him to develop an incredibly strong grip and the fluid ability to flex his body in many different directions. He was also incorporating breathwork within his aerobic training, which back then was not quite the trend it is today. All these forms of training constitute what we now call “functional fitness,” a type of exercise that supports our survival and adaptability to everyday life. In the June 29 and July 6, 1924 editions of the Tampa Sunday Tribune, Houdini is featured as a fitness motivator, detailing a variety of exercises and movements that help strengthen abdominal muscles, shoulders and hands. On brand for Houdini, he prompts readers to "imagine that you are trying to free yourself from a straitjacket."
Houdini was amazing for so many reasons, but the element that inspires me most from his illustrious career is his will power to persevere in both mind and body. While 99.9% of us will never engage in the risky business Houdini made a career out of, the moral of his story is that we can overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges by taking a leap of confidence and employing a steadfast determined mindset to succeed. In his own words (quoted in Cox, 2020), "There is no limit to the things you can accomplish when your ambition is backed by strong, willing muscles."
References, Notes, Suggested Reading:
Cox, John. “Houdini is Your new Fitness Coach,” Wild About Harry, 5 October 2020. https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2020/10/houdini-is-your-new-fitness-coach.html
Salkin, Alex, “The Will to Win Trumps Everything,” Medium, 19 January 2023. https://medium.com/@aleks.salkin.sfg/the-will-to-win-trumps-everything-2aae415bd89a
Sinicki, Adam, "Houdini’s Physical and Mental Training,” The Bioneer, 11 June 2019. https://www.thebioneer.com/houdini-training/
I never knew that history. You're right, he was jacked!