John Grimek: Dumbbell Curls

John Grimek: Dumbbell Curls

A workout without curls is like a day without sunshine. As a champion in bodybuilding and weightlifting, John Grimek understood the importance of "all around" strength and trained his arms just as hard as everything else. Bicep training helps balance out the triceps in heavy pressing movements and should always be a part of your program.

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Sig Klein Dumbbell Clean and Press

Sig Klein Dumbbell Clean and Press
Sig Klein called the two dumbbell clean and press THE ONE BEST EXERCISE because of its simplicty and tremendous training effects on upper body strength.

In the 1940's Klein suggested to get started with this exercise with 20 pounds less than your two arm press and build from there. He also questioned whether there were a dozen athletes in the country who could do 10 clean and presses with a pair of 75 pound dumbbells... Hmmm.

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Paul Anderson

Paul Anderson
Paul Anderson began as a skinny teenager with a pair of dumbbells and a stack of Strength and Health Magazines.

Soon, he was scouting out junkyards for heavier weights to lift and by the time he went to college, his lifts were near the American Records. But it wasn't until Bob Peoples taught young Paul Anderson the value of the Squat and deadlift that his strength really took off.

Paul Anderson eventually squatted 1206 pounds, benchpressed 627 pounds, one-arm pressed 380 pounds, and push-pressed an incredible 600 pounds. His Guinness Book of World Records back lift of 6,270 pounds still stands.

He also won the gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and in all, broke 18 American records, 8 world records, and retired unbeaten and unchallenged.

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Strongman Equipment

Strongman Equipment
You've got to hand it to the oldtime strongmen, they didn't mess around when it came to quality equipment. How strong do you think you could get if you were training with the globe barbells, globe dumbbells, blockweights etc, in the above picture?

If you want to get strong and I mean STRONG you have to have good training equipment and that's just how it is.

It all begins with a quality barbell, good plates and a solid pair of collars. If you have nothing else, you must have at least that much. From there, add other equipment as needed.

Other equipment that will help you tremendously includes a solid bench, dumbbells, a power rack, a Gerard Trap Bar, chest expanders, Thick Bars, Hand Grippers and anything else that you will find on our Strongman Equipment Page.

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Joseph Greenstein aka "The Mighty Atom"

Joseph Greenstein aka "The Mighty Atom"
Joseph Greenstein aka The Mighty Atom twisted horseshoes, drove nails through boards with his bare hand, broke chains, bent iron bars, BIT nails in half, he even held back an airplane with his hair...

Find out more about the Might Atom from his #1 student Slim The Hammer Man

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Train Wheel Barbells and Dumbbells

Train Wheel Weights

They say that necessity is the mother of invention... and that's why some of the best training equipment has come about. During the post-war years, our troops located overseas wanted to lift weights but barbells and dumbbells were hard to come by. American troops stationed in Okinawa, Japan fashioned these unique barbells and dumbbells out of narrow gauge train wheels. Can't miss a workout...

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Steve Stanko

On April 19, 1941 Steve Stanko made history as he the first man to break the mythic 1000-pound total in an official weightlifting contest.

Unfortunately Stanko also suffered from painful blood clots in his legs and five weeks later found himself in the hospital. By mid-1942 he regained enough health to begin light upper-body training again. He was told to stay off his legs and could only train while sitting or lying on a bench.

Steve Stanko

Through his specialized upper-body training program he was able to build himself into a bodybuilding champion, winning the 1944 AAU Mr. America and Junior Mr. America, the 1945 Most Muscular Man in America and the 1946 Mr. Universe.

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Abbye "Pudgy" Stockton

Pudgy Stockton

If there ever were a "bar belle" it was Abbye "Pudgy" Stockton. (She aquired the nickname "Pudgy" as a child and it stuck.) "Pudgy" weighed 115 pounds at a height of 5'2" and, as you can see, was quite the physical specimen -- especially impressive at a time when weightlifting for either gender was frowned upon. She and husband Les Stockton were well known at the first "Muscle Beach" at Santa Monica, California where they primarily worked on acrobatics and gymnastic feats for the crowds.

Aside from being a frequent contributor to Strength and Health Magazine, Pudgy also helped organize the very first weight lifting contect for women through the AAU. In that contest, Stockton pressed 100 pounds, snatched 105 pounds, and clean and jerked 135 pounds.

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Anchor Lifting

Anchor Lifting

There are times when lifting heavy, awkward objects are preferable over traditional barbells and dumbbells due to their unbalanced nature -- and there are other times when you lift heavy, awkward objects because its what you have available. Horace Green from Lewes, Delaware shows how to get in a quick workout at the pier by lifting an anchor.

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Bob Jones: Handbalancer Extraordinaire

Bob Jones: Handbalancer Extraordinaire
Equaled in talent only by his mentor Professor Paulinetti, Bob Jones performed feats of handbalancing mastery that will likely never be duplicated.

Pictured above is one of his most famous feats.

-- He began in a full handstand position with an indian club underneath each fingertip.

One by one, he flicked away each indian club until he was balancing on his thumbs alone, an absolutely mind blowing feat of strength and dexterity.

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Sledge Hammer Training

Sledge Hammer Training

Sledge hammer training has always been a very popular way of building forearm and wrist strength among many oldtime strongmen. Based on the leverage principle the sledge hammer makes a very efficient workout tool as it can provide a great deal of resistance without the need for a lot of weight. Here Murl Mitchell from Los Angeles tests his wrist strength with a pair of very interesting looking sledge hammers. Of course, the undisputed King of Sledge Hammer lifting is Slim The Hammer Man.

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Charles Rigoulot

Charles Rigoulot
Charles Rigoulot was one of France's greatest weightlifters and easily one of the strongest men of all time. He won a Gold medal at the 1924 Olympic Games, Cleaned and Jerked the famous Apollon Wheels and could snatch 255 pounds with one arm.

At 24 years of age, his measurements were as follows:

Weight: 230 pounds
Height: 5'7-3/4"
Chest: 49"
Waist: 37"
Thighs: 27-1/2"
Calf: 17-1/2"
Neck: 18-1/2"
Biceps: 17-1/2"
Forearm: 14-1/2"

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Henry "Milo" Steinborn

Henry "Milo" Steinborn

Henry "Milo" Steinborn was a German strongman and wrestler who came the the U.S. in 1921 and immediately caused a big splash in the world of physical training. At a bodyweight of 210 pounds, he could snatch 220 pounds with one hand, military press 265 pounds and clean and jerk 347-1/2. He was most well-known for introducing hard and heavy squatting to this side of the world.

Milo could tip a barbell loaded to 550 pounds up an onto his back unassisted and then perform five deep reps with it. -- a feat yet to be duplicated.

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General Custer's Dumbbell

General Custer's Dumbbell

General George Custer first came to Kansas in 1866 as Lieutenant Colonel of the newly formed 7th U.S. Cavalry. He spent late spring of 1867 at Fort Hays, where the 7th camped until they had accumulated adequate supplies and ammunition for a summer campaign.

Time in camp was quite boring and to pass the time, as well as keep physically fit, Custer comissioned the fort's blacksmith, Thomas Kennedy to make this dumbbell for him sometime in 1867.

It is made of bronze and weighs around 25 pounds.

Custer's Dumbbell currently resides in the Kansas Museum of History.

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Sergio Oliva: The Myth

Sergio Oliva: The Myth

Is there any question as to why Sergio Oliva was known as "The Myth?" Here's a simple, casual shot playing pool with friends. Even though there may be bodybuilders these days with bigger arms there has never been nor will there ever be anyone more physically impressive that Sergio Oliva. He was simply blessed with the greatest genetics of all time. In addition to several other titles he won the Mr. Olympia title three times:(1967, 1968, 1969)

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Dennis Rogers: Hand-Bent Wrenches

Dennis Rogers: Hand-Bent Wrenches
"Now THAT is strong..." You can expect that kind of reception when you can bend a wrench by hand like Dennis Rogers. You'll notice the wrench pictured above center has actually been bent twice -- an unbelieveable feat of hand and wrist strength.

And in case you're wondering there's no monkey business here, all these wrenches are name brands bought at the local hardware store.

If you want to learn how to bend a wrench, you'll want to check out Dennis Rogers' Odd Object Bending DVD Set.

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Ell Darden

Ell Darden

Ell Darden was a champion bodybuilder who graced the cover of several different magazines in the 1970's. He made the cover of Strength and Health Magazine and Muscular Development Magazine several times but he never did make the cover of Iron Man Magazine... He did, however, make the back cover of Iron Man as shown here from the November 1970 issue. He went on to write countless training articles and a few books. You can see his latest book here: The New Bodybuilding for Oldschool Results.

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Paul Von Boeckmann: Chest Expansion Specialist

Paul Von Boeckmann was a strongman from New York City toward the end of the 19th century.

Paul Von Boeckmann: Chest Expansion Specialist

Over time, he developed a unique system of chest expansion methods which allowed him to build "the largest and most powerful lungs in the world" according to his advertisements. On the left the strap around his chest is the same length in both pictures. He was able to inflate and deflate his chest to an incredible degree: an 11-1/2 inch difference. His lung capacity was listed at 410 cubic inches.

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All About Strand-Pulling by Syd Devis

All About Strand-Pulling by Syd Devis

It took me three years to find a copy of All About Strand-Pulling by Syd Devis but it was well worth the wait. Many chest expander training courses feature some of the same exercises over and over again -- this one features several unusual chest expander exercises that I had never seen in print before. Syd Devis was the retired undefeated Professional 9 stone & 10 stone World's Champion Strand Puller, Record Holder and Technical Adviser to the British Amateur Strand-Pulling Association.

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Classic Indian Clubs

Classic Indian Clubs
Indian Club swinging is believed to have originated in India by soldiers as a method of improving strength, agility, balance and physical ability.

During the annexation of India, British officers witnessed the graceful motions and essential property of expanding the chest and exercising every muscle of the body.

The British brought the Indian Clubs to Europe where the Germans and Czechs adopted club swinging into their physical training systems. German immigrants brought the clubs to the United States in the mid-1800s, where they were soon introduced into both American school physical education programs and military physical readiness training.

Indian CLubs are especially useful in exercises for rounding out and deveoping the shoulders and arms.

They also help to improve the chest and back muscles and develop grace and coordination of movement as well as good carriage. And, keep in mind, this is a method of training altogether different than traditional "weight" training -- you wouldn't think that only a few pounds of wood could provide such an effective workout...

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Sandow Cigarette Card

Eugen Sandow

Things were just a little different back at the turn of the century -- if you had a persistent cough a doctor might tell you to take up smoking. In any case, here's a look at one of several different Eugen Sandow Physical Culture Cigarette Cards that you would get if you took up the habit a hundred years ago.

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Squat!

Olympic Champion John Davis - Squat!
If you are truly interested in size and strength, you need to train your legs. -- and one of the best leg exercises is the barbell squat. In fact, heavy squats have built the foundation of some of the greatest strength athletes in history.

Here's a look at the great John Davis squatting at Ed Yarick's Gym in Oakland, California in the 50s -- and that's how you should be squatting: full and deep.

No monkey business there, just pure power development.

I don't recommend squatting with a board under the heels but it seems to work for John Davis, who was Twice Olympic Weightlifting Champion (1948 and 1952) and Six Time Senior World Weightlifting Champion (1938, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951).

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Dennis Rogers World Record Dumbbell Curl

Strongman Dennis Rogers

At 5'9" and a bodyweight around 160 pounds, Dennis Rogers sure doesn't look like your average strongman... But when it's time to lift some iron, Dennis can do some things that will shock and amaze you. One of Dennis' unusual abilities is his incredible bicep strength. At Memorial City Mall in Houston, Texas Dennis Rogers' established a World Record One Arm Dumbbell Curl record of 98 pounds x 10 Reps with an Iron Master Dumbbell- he weighed 148 Pounds at the time. (Above)

The screen caps on the left are from his 336 Pounds of Fury Strength Feats DVD.

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John Davis Lifts The Apollon Wheels

John Davis Lifts The Apollon Wheels
September 13th, 1949 -- American Olympic Weightlifting Champion John Davis succeeds in cleaning & jerking the famous Apollon Wheels. This weight once belonged to the great French Strongman Louis "Apollon" Uni who would lift it each night in his act.

The wheels themselves weigh 366 pounds connected by a 1.93" diameter axle making this feat an incredible test of grip strength. The widest diameter of each disc is 26 inches.

After passing out on a previous attempt, (dropping the weight and slightly bending the axle) John Davis cleaned the ponderous weight with a mixed grip, switched hands in mid-air, and jerked it overhead.

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Circus Strongman George Levasseur's Classic Stage Weights

Circus Strongman George Levasseur's Classic Stage Weights

George Levasseur was the "Strongman" at the Ringling Brothers Circus during the early part of the 20th century. He was famous for his Backlifting ability but he performed all manner of classical strongman feats, including lifting several unusual "stage" weights as pictured here: Globe barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells.

Notice the Thick Handles on the globe barbells.

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Sig Klein One Arm Dumbbell Press

Sig Klein One Arm Dumbbell Press
The One Arm Dumbbell Press is a great power builder for the shoulders and upper body. -- You should include it in your program and work up to well over a hundred pounds. Here's a look at the great Sig Klein pressing an old Milo Globe Dumbbell. At a bodyweight of only 150 pounds, Sig Klein could do a ten reps with each arm in a 'see-saw' press with a pair of 100 lb. dumbbells.

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Dennis Rogers Airplane Human Link

Dennis Rogers' Death Defying Airplane Human Link Feat
The strength feat that put Oldtime Strongman Dennis Rogers on the map was when he successfully prevented a pair of Airforce T-34 Airplanes from taking off in the human link feat.

That's 285 horsepower on each arm -- and one wrong move meant they would be scraping Dennis off the runway. This amazing feat earned the Association of Oldtime Barbell and Strongman's (AOBS) highest award from Vic Boff.

You can see the footage with your own eyes in Dennis Rogers' 336 Pounds of Fury. DVD

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The Hand Bent Horse Shoe

Siegmund Breitbart

Many of the Oldtime Strongmen were strong enough to bend their own horseshoes by hand. On the left you'll see see a piece of square stock hand-bent by the famous Oldtime Strongman Siegmund Breitbart. Notice that it has bent on the edge, not the side, which is how you can tell this piece of steel has legitimately been bent by hand.

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The Mighty Stefan

The Mighty Stefan
Steve "The Mighty Stefan" Sadicario is undoubtedly the most talented man in Strength-Show Business! "Mighty" keeps the great strongman feats of the past alive, but he adds a bit of his own personal style.

The Mighty Stefan tears phonebooks, breaks chains, twists horseshoes, bends steel bars, sings opera -- and he raps... in Yiddish!, no less.

You may have seen The Mighty Stefan on the MTV "White Rapper" TV show a few months back where he wowed all the judges by bending a nail while spittin' his crazy rhymes. Steve also EM-CEEs the Association of Oldtime Barbell and Strongmen (AOBS) Annual Dinner and Reunion each year and does a fantastic job.

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