John Grunn Marx: Horseshoe Breaker

John Grunn Marx, known as "The Luxembourg Herculese," broke three horseshoes in the short span of 2 minutes and 15 seconds at an exhibition in Paris around 1905. He was also very proficient at lifting thick-handled equipment and was said to be able to bend coins.

John Grunn Marx: Horseshoe Breaker

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The Saxon Trio Perform at The Ringling Brothers Circus

The Saxon Trio Perform at The Ringling Brothers Circus
Here's a look at a very rare Ringling Brothers Circus Poster featuring Arthur Saxon and the other members of the Saxon Trio.

The poster shows a few of their feats which included several amazing supporting feats - the most impressive being the "human bridge" supporting over six thousand pounds as a car with several passengers drove over a planks that two of the members of the Saxon Trio held up with their feet.

That must have been a great one to see in person.

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Vintage Strength Machines

Oldtime Pullover

I've recently read in a few places that there were "no such thing" as machines back when the oldtime strongmen trained... Here's an oldtime pullover (used for expanding the ribcage and deepening the chest) which was installed at Hemenway Gymnasium circa 1885.

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David Prowse

David Prowse
Before he was Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies, David Prowse was the Britsh Heavyweight lifting Champion in 1962, 1963 and 1964.

At 6' 7 and 265 pounds, he deadlifted 678-1/4 pounds, jerked 335 pound behind the neck as well as competed in bodybuilding, Olympic Weightlifting and tossed the caber in the Highland Games.

He also was the first man other that Donald Dinnie to lift the Dinnie Strones (which he did in 1964.) Prowse also once owned the Inch Dumbbell, having purchased it from Reg Park.

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Wheelbarrow Lifting

How's this for an "odd" object lift? Stan Rothwell, the British All-Arounder trains with a wheelbarrow in the late 1940's. I think Steve Justa would be proud.

Wheelbarrow Lifting

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Squattin' With Milo Steinborn

Squattin' With Milo Steinborn
Pictured is Henry "Milo" Steinborn squatting to win the German National Heavyweight Lifting Championships circa 1920's.

Things were a little different back then: no super suits, wraps, straps or even squat racks -- and I'd say Milo has enough depth on that one.

It's hard to say if this is one of Milo's famous "unassisted" squats but I would not be surprised.

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W.A. Pullum

W.A. Pullum

W.A. Pullum built himself up from a sickly childhood into a World Champion Weightlifter. Throughout his career he won 14 British Amateur Championships at various weights ranging from 9 stone to 11 stone. From 1911 to 1915 he broke no less than 192 World Records earning himself the nickname "The Wizard of Weightlifting."

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Hammers, Maces and Clubs

Sometimes you will need unusual training equipment if you want to build unusual strength -- Here's a look at a few of my favorite pieces: You'll see a few unique sledge hammers and various tools along with some vintage Indian Clubs. Most of the time I'll use this equipment for leverage training like Slim The Hammer Man.

Hammers, Maces and Clubs

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Kettlebell Training with Sig Klein

Sig Klein

It was through Sig Klein's Kettlebell course that I first learned how to train with kettlebells -- and that was over a decade and a half ago -- a long time before "kettlebell" became a household word. I think Sig had the right idea -- he was very proficient in a number of different strength "disciplines" - weight lifting, kettlebell lifting, gymnastics, hand balancing, and all along with an incredible physique to match his great strength.

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Karl Gotch: The God of Pro Wrestling

Karl Gotch a very good amateur wrestler and an even better Professional wrestler after learning the "tricks of the trade" at Billy Riley's "Snake Pit" Gym in Wigan, England.

In Japan he was known as "The God of Pro Wrestling" and many of the most famous Japanese wrestlers are among his students.

What he was even more famous for though was his conditioning -- it was his feeling (and rightfully so) that as a combat athlete "Conditioning is your best hold." He incorporated a number of elements into his training including rope climbing, bodyweight calisthenics, wrestling drills, muscle control and traditional indian physical culture exercises. Gotch once did 9001 straight Hindu Squats to best a training feat by The Great Gama.

Karl Gotch: The God of Pro Wrestling

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Reg Park (1928-2007)

Reg Park
A few classic shots in honor of our friend Reg Park's passing. Reg was a Champion in every sense of the word.

We'll miss you Reg.

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Al Nino - Bag Punching Endurance Record

The speed bag is a fun workout tool and a great way to build upper-body endurance and coordination. During the early 1940's, Al Nino of Darby, Pennsylvania punched a speed bag at a rate of 128 punches per minute for 8 hours and 30 minutes without stopping. Al used barbell training to build his strength.

Al Nino

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John Grimek: Military Press

When you see that the many of the strongest men who ever lived all trained with the same exercise, you ought to start paying attention. This picture was taken at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on December 22nd, 1941. Grimek and the York Gang toured the country promoting weightlifting. At these exhibitions, Grimek performed military presses with 290 pounds.

John Grimek: Military Press

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Vic Tanny's Gym

Vic Tanny's Gym
Just a stone's throw from the original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, California, was Vic Tanny's Gym.

Shortly after World War II, Tanny converted a 7,000-square-foot USO center, which was located in a basement on 4th Street, into the best-equipped gym in the United States. It was huge, with 15 foot ceilings and, as you can see all kinds of training equipment.

Vic Tanny's was affectionately known as "The Dungeon" and was the place to train during the 1940's and 1950's -- regular members included Steve Reeves, George Eiferman, Joe Gold (of Gold's Gym fame) and Arthur Jones, along with a whole host of others.

It was where Bob Hoffman and the York gang trained on West Coast trips.

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Apollon: King of Strength

Apollon: King of Strength
Louis Uni, the French Strongman known professionally as "Apollon," was certainly one of the greatest, if not the greatest strongman who even lived.

It was Apollon, along with Louis Cyr who were dubbed "Les Rois de la Force" (Kings of Strength) by Professor Desbonnet because their strength was so far above and beyond the ordinary.

Apollon, who was at his peak during the 1890s, stood 6"2' and in solid muscular condition, around 260 pounds.

While he was certainly thickly-muscled and strong all over, he excelled in grip an forearm feats, especially lifting thick handled weights, such as the Challenge Weight that bears his name.

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The Overhead Press

The Overhead Press
The standing barbell press is a great lift -- one of the simplest, and one of the best -- for building upper-body power.

This exercise should be a part of your program.

Here Doug Hepburn presses 361 pounds at the Pacific Coast Championship in the 1950's.

Anton Matysek Lifting a Classic Kettlebell

You have to admit, classic globe kettlebells like this one make great pictures. Here's famous strongman Anton Matysek lifting a rather large Milo Kettlebell. Interestingly enough, the "traditional" kettlebell exercises such as snatches and clean & Jerks, are often nowhere to be found in most oldtime strongman training literature.

Anton Matysek Lifting a Classic Kettlebell

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York Rubber Chest Expanders

York Rubber Chest Expanders
The York Barbell Company sold several different versions of Chest Expanders over the years and here's a look at one of them.

Pretty ingenius really - a set of detachable hands with progressively harder rubber straps. They came in four levels: "Medium," "Athlete," "Strong" and "Hercules" strength.

On the right that's Mr. America Winner and Champion Weightlifter Steve Stanko demonstrating the overhead pulldown chest expander exercise.

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The Legend: Reg Park

The Legend: Reg Park
Reg park has been featured several times previously on this blog so if you want any more information about either his bodybuilding titles or his workouts and favorite exercises, please check out some of the other posts devoted to him.

Having met Reg several times I can say that you will not talk to a nicer and more knowledgeable guy in the world.

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The Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture

The Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture
Indian Physical Culture has always been a fascinating thing to me. What's puzzling is that even though this tradition goes back thousands of years, there is actually very little written about these ancient training techniques.

For years I had heard of a book written all about it called "The Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture" but copies were impossible to find... but one day I had the opportunity to obtain one for a handsome price.

I took that opportunity without a moment's notice and the book was every bit worth the wait -- over 700 pages of material with numerous pictures and detailed diagrams of training techniques that I never even knew existed -- all in English. (No, it's not for sale, don't even ask.)

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Anvil One-Arm Press

Training with an Anvil is always a lot of fun. Presses and cheat curls for high reps and, for the very strong handed, lifting it by the horn always present a nice challenge. -- Plus, its a lot of fun to lift with something unusual. If you can press a 100 pound anvil like this you are one strong hombre.

Anvil One-Arm Press

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Al Gerard and The Gerard Trap Bar

Al Gerard and The Gerard Trap Bar
Al Gerard was a powerlifter from North Carolina who devised a unique "frame" which allowed him to increase his deadlift without putting undue stress on his back.

He named his invention the "Trap Bar" because of its shape -- using the Trap Bar, Al was able to deadlift over 745 pounds. Soon the Gerard Trap Bar was featured in many strength publications such as Iron Man Magazine, Powerlifting USA and Hardgainer Magazine (above.)

Once people understood its unique advantages, The Gerard Trap Bar became one of the "must have" pieces of training equipment for leg and back development..

Here's a few reasons why:

The knees don't interfere with the bar while the lifter assumes a more upright position when starting a lift.

The weight moves directly upward instead of sideways, placing more emphasis on the target musculature.

The lifter has better control of the bar throughout the full range of motion.

The weight moves in line with the ankles which improves leverage.

Lower back stress is reduced while the weight is moved in line with the natural center of gravity.

Shearing forces on spine and knees are reduced.

The shrug exercise is an integral part of every strength athlete's program. Strong upper back, neck and shoulder muscles are essential in all sports. The Gerard Trap Bar makes "shrugs" more comfortable because there is no bar contact with the upper thighs and lower front torso area; thus, more range of movement yields more muscle use and development.

It's easier to maintain good form -- elbow and wrist-joint strain is reduced by eliminating opposite grips, and standing shrugs yield improved trapezius development because the bar never contacts the thighs interfering with range of motion.

The Gerard Trap Bar moves the weight mass 16% closer to the perpendicular plane of the lower back than a conventional straight bar.

Unlike most of the classic equipment that is featured on this blog, The Gerard Trap Bar is still available, and you can get your own right here: The Gerard Trap Bar - It's Back!

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Log Lifting With Brooks Kubik

Log Lifting With Brooks Kubik
It takes a real maniac to lift things like logs, barrels, anvils, etc...

Here's Brooks Kubik doing an overhead press with a log named "Wood's Wood" - a present to my Dad from Dr. Ken and on loan to Brooks's for his Dinosaur Training video: Bags, Barrels and Beyond.

230 Pounds is a very good lift, especially since this log is not perfectly balanced. Notice how Brooks has wrapped chains on the end of the log to add weight. Parallel-grip overhead pressing is a tremendous tricep developer

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John Terpak - Eleven Time Senior National Weightlifting Champion

John Terpak - Eleven Time Senior National Weightlifting Champion
John Terpak was a member of the "York Gang" and one of America's best Olympic-style weightlifters, winning eleven Senior National Weightlifting Titles (1936-1945 & 1947).

Over his career he lifted in three different weight classes (148, 165 and 181.) His best performance occurred winning the 1947 Worlds as a light-heavyweight:

Press - 253-1/2 pounds
Snatch - 264-1/2 pounds
Clean & Jerk - 336-1/4 pounds
Total = 854-1/2 pounds

He also one-hand snatched 154 pounds and one-hand jerked 170-1/2 pounds in some early weightlifting contests when those lifts were still contested.

Terpak was a three-time Olympic Team Member (1936, 1940, & 1948) and a part of nine total Olympic teams and sixty consecutive National Championships as a lifter, judge or coach. He eventually served as an executive for the York Barbell Company.

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The Arm of Casey Viator

At just 19 years of age, Casey Viator became the youngest man to win the Mr. America title. This impromptu shot from 1971 gives you a pretty good idea why. Under the tutelage of Arthur Jones, on May 16, 1971, Casey Viator won the AAU Junior Mr. America contest.

The Arm of Casey Viator

Then, four weeks later, Casey Viator won the AAU Mr. America contest in the most spectacular fashion in the history of such contests.

In addition to the overall AAU Mr. America title, Casey took the Most muscular Man in America title and the subdivisions for Best Arms, Best Back, Best Chest and Best Legs.

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Kettlebell Lifting With Arthur Saxon

Like many of the turn-of-the-century strongmen, Arthur Saxon trained with kettlebells and they are featured very prominantly in some of the books he has written. Here's a few of the kettlebell exercises he recommends: One-Arm Press Hold Out or Muscle Out French Press "Thumb" Press

Kettlebell Lifting With Arthur Saxon

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Squatting With Doug Hepburn

Squatting With Doug Hepburn
Like many of the greatest strength athletes of the last hundred years, Doug Hepburn credits heavy squatting as the foundation of his great strength.

That's twelve 45-pound plates on the bar and Doug makes it look easy.

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Grimek's Forearm

John Grimek was impressive from every angle so you might overlook just how outstanding his development was in some areas. Grimek had a pretty strong grip which should be pretty evident after seeing this picture.

Grimek's Forearm

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Staff Sgt. Moss

Staff Sgt. Alfred Moss

Staff Sgt. Alfred Moss was an early bodybuilder, circa 1900, although his tattoos often disqualified him from several contests despite his obvious muscularity. Sergeant Moss was considered the Strongest man in the British Army, once jerking a 56-pound blockweight 100 times in 2 minutes 52 seconds. He went on to write several training courses covering the parallel bar, vaulting horse, indian clubs, rings, tumbling and other gymnastic subjects.

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