Sandows Spring-Grip Dumbbells

Back in 1899, the hottest thing going was Eugen Sandow's Spring-Grip Dumbbells. These weights consisted of two dumbbell "halves" joined together by a series of springs. As one followed the suggested workout movements, they could build their forearm strength by keeping the two halves "crushed" together while they increased the rest of their bodily strength. Sandow's Spring-Grip dumbbells came in a variety of styles and types -- ranging from "Basic Black" to nickel-plated models with leather handles. Some of the later versions had a bell that rung as you squeezed the handles (Left) or were ergonomically fitted to your hand. (Middle)

An Early Ad Sandow's Spring-Grip Dumbbells

The smaller version, shown in the right of the picture, was nickel-plated and had only three springs as it was the "Youth" version.

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