LITMIR.BIZ

      After reading Charlie’s book and making the declaration of commitment, I became a man on a mission and was able to use his Solitary Legs fitness routine. I saw the drawing of Charlie with the man on his shoulders and wanted to make my legs as strong as his using the same principles. I have used piggybacking to do calf raises, as this is the hardest muscle to do anything with, but on the 45 per cent leg press at my local gym in South Yorkshire I slowly increased the 15kg red weight until I could get no more on. I swapped for the 20kg and filled the top rack and both sides till I could get no more on. The next move was to use the same piggyback as Charlie uses. I asked the smallest man in the gym to sit on the top of the leg press, which added another 11st, and I was repping out eight to ten easily. With the commitment promised, I got the largest male plus weights and Neil Goddard, my training partner, hanging off the leg press and managed two to three reps with ease. I did this until my quadriceps at the front of my thighs were bulging out, and was so well sized that, in my late forties, I could enter UK strongman events. For charities I also did lorry and bus pulls. With a harness made by Leather Lines of Wentworth, I thought I was invincible, until I chose to attempt a record plane pull at the Brize Norton RAF base. The plane was a VC10 re-fuel plane weighing in at 105 tonnes. I used all Charlie’s warm-ups and lunges, using the large wheels to do the one-leg squats. The thing I really needed that day was my mentor Charlie. If he had been there, instead of only moving the plane about four inches, I would have pulled it off the airstrip and to China and beyond.

      To even consider these feats after only a short time took dedication and a book worth reading. When I got to the end of the book, I found a section on the solitary cow punch and thought, Well, I have punched a camel out when it bit me on holiday, and read on. After reading this fantastic bit of info, I used aspects of Charlie’s personal and psychological and spiritual methods to my advantage just before a bus or lorry pull of any kind. It was worth it as, if I failed a pull, there was a lot of dosh for charity that would not get raised.

      All I can say is that, after reading Solitary Fitness and doing it Charlie’s way, I found that anything was possible in life. You don’t need a gym, but they are an advantage. But, if you are shy or overweight and don’t want to be overruled by the big lads on steroids fixes, then you can follow the book and use things to hand from your daily life. You will not go wrong with Charlie Bronson’s Solitary Fitness workouts. The book and visits to Charlie convinced me at 48 years old to fight in unlicensed boxing matches which I have won using my Lunacy Pig Punch power.

      PAUL SMITH JNR – PROFESSIONAL BOXER

      After winning the silver medal in 2002 I was interviewed by BBC TV and the interviewer asked me who was the person I most looked up to. ‘Charlie Bronson,’ I replied. They never broadcast that interview! Charlie trains without fancy gyms or fancy food and I had to shed over 20 pounds in order to get down to the weight for the Games. I admit, I had to eat all the fancy foods, but Charlie does it on porridge. I admire him because he is so fit and I also admire how he keeps himself occupied by training and breaking world records. I first became aware of Charlie in the year 2000 at a charity auction when my uncle won the bid for one of Charlie’s drawings. He gave the artwork to me and, from then on, the man fascinated me. I wrote a letter to Charlie through our club secretary, Alec McGowan, and we’ve been writing to each other ever since.