The Tomb of Hercules Feat

The Tomb of Hercules Feat

"A feat of supporting strength that is commonly performed is the one known as "The Tomb of Hercules."

The athlete takes up his position with the hands and feet only upon the floor, and the face looking upwards. The hands are turned back along a line parallel with the body which gives a better arm lock in the elbows.

The body is held up fairly well, but not so high as to have the body level with the line of the knees and the shoulders.

The arms and legs from the foot to the knee must be perpendicular so that no lateral pressure is suggested. Then a platform is placed on the body so that it has four points of rest, both knees and the shoulders.

A number of men are then seated upon the board, which is supported by the athlete for a few seconds. Some athletes make this stunt more spectacular by supporting a whole orchestra while it plays, and others allow an automobile to run over a trestle supported in this manner.

In this latter feat, the machine is only supported a bare fraction of a second, and the fact that the machine is moving across distributes the weight so that actually the entire weight of the machine is not supported all at one time by the body.

But enough weight is supported to make the act very dangerous.

If I remember rightly, Monte Saldo, an English athlete was one of the first to introduce this stunt."

- George Jowett in The Key to Might and Muscle, Chapter 6

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