The Mighty Atom

The Mighty Atom

"...The Mighty Atom's encouraging doctrine, and his secrets of long life are not vague. Health and happiness do not beckon alone to youth. It is for people of all ages. Too many of us drift in out later years into a sort of fantasy life, dreaming of our lost youth.

Instead of indulging in self pity for our drab and existing life - do something about it. We live not according to reason, but according to mere fashion and tradition.

The Atom's secrets of youth and longevity are as clear as spring water for those with determination, enthusiasm, and will power.

If we are willing to conscientiously exercise our bodies; if we are willing to push ourselves away from the table before we are stuffed; if we are willing to cut out, or cut down our self- indulgences; if we are willing to meditate each day for tranquility and peace of mind - yes, even in a world of nuclear fallout - a longer, healthier, and stronger life can become a reality.

You will then realize what it is to have a magnificent body to add to the completeness of a human career."

~ The Mighty Atom: His Philosophy of Health By Vic Boff

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The Jowett Institute of Physical Culture Diploma

The Jowett Institute of Physical Culture Diploma
Our friend Carl Falco sent this one in (Thanks Carl!) This is the Diploma that he received in 1959 after completing George Jowett's monthly mail-order training course. Carl is 65 years young and his training hasn't changed much since then. Just goes to show you that great training info never gets old.

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The Inver Stone

The Inver Stone

Scotland is famous for it's Clach Cuid Fir or manhood stones... In Crathie, Aberdeenshire, in the shadow of the Inver Hotel, you'll find one of the most famous manhood stones of them all: The Inver Stone. This famous stone has challenged men for centuries. It is smooth, round, and unusually small for its 265 pounds. Lift it to your chest, and you'll entitle yourself to a free pint at the Inver Pub and a place in the record books.

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The Rolandow Barbell

The Rolandow Barbell
The Rolandow Barbell once belonged to the Swiss Strongman G.W. Rolandow who would bent-press it each night in his performance. This barbell has been lifted by many famous strongmen, including Eugen Sandow.

The Rolandow Barbell has had many famous owners over the years. It was purchased by Professor Attila, then Sig Klein (as shown). The Rolandow Barbell can currently be seen in the York Barbell Company Museum in York, Pennsylvania.

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Indian Club Benefits

Indian Club Swinging at West Point

"... besides the great recommendation of simplicity, the Indian Club practice possesses the essential practice of expanding the chest and exercising every muscle in the body concurrently."

- Indian Club Exercises, by E.B. Warman (1921)

"The effect of these exercises , when performed with light clubs, is chiefly a neural one, hence they are primary factors in the development of grace, coordination and rhythm. As they tend supple the muscles and articulation of the shoulders and to the upper and fore arms and wrist, they are indicated in cases where there is a tendency toward what is ordinarily known as "muscle bound."

– The United States Army Manual of Physical Training(1914)

"[Indian Clubs] cultivate patience and endurance, and operate most happily upon the longitudinal muscle of the back and shoulders, thus tending to correct the habit of stooping."

- The New Gymnastics for Men, Women and Children by Dio Lewis (1867)

"The club exercise will do much to develop the proper outlines of the shoulders back and waist. The man who uses the clubs diligently will never need to have his coats "built out" on the shoulder or padded on the front and rear."

- Indian Clubs by C.R. Treat (1869)

"Indian club exercises have of late years become one of the most universal methods of developing the muscular anatomy of the human body. Schools, colleges and even theological seminaries have adopted their use in their respective institutions with the most beneficial results. For keeping the body in a healthy and vigorous condition there has as yet been nothing invented, which for its simplicity and gracefulness can be favorably compared with the Indian Club exercise."

- Indian Clubs and Other Exercises by M. Bornstein (1889)

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The Iron Cross

The Iron Cross

Much of the origins of strength training and physical culture come from gymnastics. The Iron Cross as performed on gymnastic rings, is one of the most impressive gymnastic feats. It takes a great deal of strength and plenty of skill to perform The Iron Cross properly.

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Go For A Walk With Steve Justa

Steve Justa
Steve Justa has some pretty unique ideas about training... Lifting,Barrels, sandbags, rocks, chunks of concrete... all in a day's work for Steve Justa.

One of his theories is that walking with heavy weights will build incredible ligament strength, especially in the ankles.

Walking with a heavy barbell on the shoulders is cumbersome, not to mention dangerous should it fall. Instead, Steve built this piece of equipment which allows him to load up as heavy as needed and be in perfect position to walk every time.

He worked up to walking with well over a ton on his back.

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Ian "Mac" Batchelor

Ian "Mac" Batchelor of Los Angeles, California was a great Oldtime Strongman who specilized in feats of grip and forearm strength. He could easily bend metal bottle caps between his fingers and was for many years recognized as a champion of "wrist-wrestling" (in which he was undefeated.) This picture shows one of his more outstanding feats of grip strength: "walking" his fingers up a long, heavy wine bottle. Try it!

Ian "Mac" Batchelor

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The 20 Official Strand Pulling Movements

In the U.S. we call it chest expander training but over across the pond it's referred to as "Stand Pulling" and there have been a number of books and courses, contests, and even more than one federation that keeps official records.

Here's a look at the 20 official Strand Pulling "pulls":

1. Right Arm Chest Pull 2. Left Arm Chest Pull 3. Two Arms Chest Pull 4. Front Lateral Raise 5. Back Lateral Raise 6. Press Behind Back 7. Press Behind Neck 8. Dislocation (attention) 9. Downward Pull - Knuckles In 10. Downward Pull - Knuckles Out 11. Upward Chest Pull 12. Left Arm Press 13. Right Arm Press 14. Left Arm Push 15. Right Arm Push 16. Left Arm Chest Pull Anyhow 17. Right Arm Chest Pull Anyhow 18. Two Arms Chest Pull Anyhow 19. Dislocation 20. Press Behind Back Anyhow

Strand Pulling All About Strand-Pulling by Syd Devis

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The York Big 12 Special

The York Big 12 Special
This is the weight set that helped put a lot of muscle on a lot of people - The York Big 12 Special as advertised on the back of the June, 1952 issue of Strength and Health Magazine.

That's Jack Delinger (Mr. America, 1949) on the left, and John Farbotnik (Mr. America, 1950) on the right.

This set included 240 pounds of barbell plates, long barbell bar, short dumbbell/swingbell bar, health boots, a head strap for building neck strength, wrist roller, kettlebell handles, collars and four York training courses (York Dumbbell course 1 & 2, Leg Development and Swing Bar Training.)

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Eugen Sandow

It's not hard to see why Eugen Sandow was well received as bodybuilding's first superstar a hundred years ago. Sandow's physique is still impressive by today's standards -- probably even more so. Sandow built his strength with basic exercises and the double-progressive technique.

Eugen Sandow

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Dave's Gym - South Bend, Indiana

Dave's Gym - South Bend, Indiana
Dave Bjoraas, (pictured far right) the legendary "Dave" of Dave's Gym and Dave's Barbell Club of South Bend, Indiana... for many years the center of strength activity in the Mid-Western United States.

Dave's Gym in South Bend, Indiana produced many Iron Game champions: 1956 Mr. America Ray Schaefer trained there. So did Jr. Mr. America Doug Lindzy (pro-wrestling's original "Doug Gilbert").

Dave's Barbell Club Weight-lifting team produced champions like Winston Binney and Mike Burgener. And, most importantly, many of the top football players on Notre Dame's great Irish teams trained with Dave.

Dave's Gym... one of the top gyms ever... Dave Bjoraas, a fine man and a giant in the world of weights.

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Scientific Weightlifting by Thomas Inch

The great British Oldtime Strongman Thomas Inch wrote a lot of training guides you probably never heard of. This one, Scientific Weightlifting was published in the 1920's and covers the finer points of heavy lifting. As you might expect, lots of useful training information is contained within these covers. This particular copy is actually autographed by Thomas Inch himself (No, it's not for sale.)

Scientific Weightlifting by Thomas Inch

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Iron Man Hand Grippers

Iron Man Hand Grippers
There are advertisements for hand grippers going back as far as 1901, but the tradition of the heavy-duty steel hand grippers began in back in 1964 when Warren Tetting's grippers first appeared in the pages of Iron Man Magazine.

These grippers challenged many strongmen and there were four Strengths: "Light", "Heavy", "Extra Heavy" and "Super Heavy". Only the strongest hands could close the "Extra Heavy" gripper and it is unknown weather anyone actually closed the "Super Heavy" gripper level.

The Iron Man Grippers would be advertised for the next 79 issues and eventually became the inspiration for the Iron Mind Captains of Crush Grippers.

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Hermann Goerner 4-Finger Deadlift

Hermann Goerner

The German Strongman Hermann Goerner specialized on unusual feats of grip strength. Here's a great lift you can try -- the 4-finger deadlift (that's using the index and middle fingers of each hand.) This picture shows Goerner lifting 595-1/2 pounds in that manner on November 30th, 1933, in Leipzig, Germany.

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Siegmund Breitbart vs. The Iron Girder

Siegmund Breitbart vs. The Iron Girder
Siegmind Breitbart was a great Oldtime Strongman with a number of incredible strength feats in his repertoire. He was best known as a Steel Bender and a Nail Driver but here's one you probably haven't seen:

Here's Siegmund Breitbart bending a 32-foot Iron Girder over his head. There's 12 people on each side. - YOW! This picture was taken October 29th, 1923 in Cleveland, Ohio.

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Roy Hilligenn - 1951 Mr. America

Roy Hilligenn 1951 Mr. America

Roy Hilligen was a great all-around "iron athlete." As a bodybuilder, he won the Mr. South Africa title in 1943, 1944, 1946 and 1976 as well as the AAU Mr. America Title in 1951. As an Olympic lifter, Hilligenn was the first South African to Clean and Jerk double body weight. His lifts in 1946 were Press: 245 pounds, Snatch: 255 Pounds and Clean & Jerk: 321 pounds. In the early 1950's, and weighing just 173 pounds, Hilligen unofficially equaled the world record in the Clean & Jerk with a lift of 375 pounds.

He eventually Clean & Jerked 405 at a slightly heavier body weight, which was an unofficial world record at the time. It was voted as one of the greatest "lifts" of all time. Hilligenn also "cleaned" a pair of 142-pound dumbbells (but did not press them) at Ed Yarick's Gym in Oakland, California in the 50's.

Interestingly, he was also a life-long vegetarian.

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The "Quad" Phonebook Tear by Pat Povilaitis

The "Quad" Phonebook Tear by Pat Povilaitis
It's hard enough to tear a phonbook once, but check out what Pat Povilaitis can do -- the first (and to my knowledge only) phonebook "Quad" tear.

That's right, Pat tore the same phonebook into five strips -- and this feat can only happen when you can legitimately tear a phonebook.

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German Strongman Karl Moerke

German Strongman Karl Moerke
Karl Moerke was a German Strongman in the early 1900's. At a bodyweight around 250 pounds at a height of only 5'2 Moerke was quite the powerhouse.

He could deadlift 650 pounds, jerk 375 pounds (shown here), and had a 19-inch neck. It was Moerke whom Milo Steinborn defeated to win the German Heavyweight Weightlifting Championship.

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Apollon's Forearm Strength

Apollon

The great French Strongman Apollon was well known for his grip feats. With reported 19-inch Forearms and 9-inch long hands, it's not hard to see why. This allowed him to toy with thick-handled weights that few other strongmen could even budge off the ground.

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John Grunn Marx Horseshoe Bending

John Grunn Marx was well known as a strongman who could bend and break horseshoes. Many oldtime strongmen faked their feats but this photo proves that John Grunn Marx really did understand how to bend horseshoes. The technique shown in this photo is how to actually bend horseshoes as demonstrated by Pat Povilaitis in 336 Pounds of Fury

John Grunn Marx

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Globe Barbells at the 1924 Olympic Games

Globe Barbells at the 1924 Olympic Games
Here's a look at the Globe Barbells that were lined up and ready to be used at the 1924 Olympic Games held in Paris France.

This was the last year that lifters were given the choice between lifting with shot-loaded globe barbells or barbells loaded with the iron disc plates that we use today.

The only lifters to choose the shot-loaded globes at the 1924 Olympic Games were the French Weightlifting team, of which great strongman Charles Rigoulot won the gold medal in the heavyweight class and his teammate Edmond Decottignies took home the gold in the light-weight Class.

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Squatting With Paul Anderson

Squatting With Paul Anderson
If there ever were a man who was born to squat, it was Paul Anderson.

"Big Paul" often had a hard time finding bars which could hold enough weight so he had to improvise. He built this "barrel barbell" from a design pioneered by his friend Bob Peoples.

Paul would also train the squat in an unusual way:

He would dig a pit in the back yard and load up the bar to for over his normal full-squat max, then he would do partial movements, filling in the hole with dirt an inch at a time for each successive workout until he was working with a full movement.

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Warren Lincoln Travis' Challenge

Warren Lincoln Travis

If you wanted to win the Richard K. Fox Heavyweight Strongman Champiionship Belt you had to beat Warren Lincoln Travis at his own game in a challenge match. Here's the list of Travis' ten strength challenges: 1. 100 lb.barbell brought from the floor with both hands, pressed overhead with both hands, while seated(thirty seconds). 2. Pair of ninety pound weights brought from side of body to shoulders, then slowly pressing to arm's lengh over the head. 3. Teeth Lift from floor, hands behind back, 350 lbs. 4. 350 lbs. from floor with one finger, eight times in five seconds. 5. One finger lift from floor, 560 lbs. once. 6. Two-hand grip lift, straddling the weight from floor, 700 lbs. twenty times in ten seconds. 7. Hand and knee lift from floor, 1600 lbs. once. 8. Back lift, 3660 lbs. once. 9. Harness lift, 3580 lbs. once. 10. 2000 lb. back lift, 250 times, seven minutes.

(Did I mention all these lifts must be accomplished in 30 minutes or less if you want to win the belt?)

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G.W. Rolandow

G.W. Rolandow was a Swiss Strongman who publically challenged Sandow to a contest on several occasions only to have Sandow turn him down each time. Rolandow accomplished the following lifts: One Arm Snatch - (Right Arm) 180 pounds Bent Press - 298 Pounds Partial Deadlift 1650 Pounds Tomb of Hercules Support - 3500 Pounds Card Tearing - three card decks at once

G.W. Rolandow

Rolandow could also jump over a table, 36 inches high and 25 inches wide while holding a 75 pound dumbbell in each hand.

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Fred Rollon Card Tearing

Fred Rollon

Fred Rollon was a strand pulling Champion but he excelled in a number of other traditional strongman feats. Fred Rollon is shown here in the act of tearing a deck of cards in half.

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Doug Hepburn The Pro-Wrestler

Doug Hepburn

Here's something you don't see every day, a Doug Hepburn Wrestling trading card from the mid-1950's. Doug Hepburn had a short professional wrestling career in Canada once his weight lifting career came to an end. Doug would often perform feats of strength before his matches and his finishing move was an inverted bear-hug, squeezing the life out of his opponents until they had no choice but to submit.

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Heavy Indian Club Swinging

Swinging heavy Indian Clubs is a very intense workout and has been a part of Kushti (Traditional Indian Physical Training) for centuries where they are known as "Gadas". Indian Clubs also appear in many other ancient physical training programs including Iran, where they are known as "Meels." These Indian Clubs are about three feet long and weight 26 pounds apeice.

Heavy Indian Club Swinging

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