Stanislaus Zbyszko

The list of champion athletes who have trained with Chest Expanders is quite long. ... Stanislaus Zbyszko happens to be one of them. The great Polish wrestler, was well known for his incredible strength, in addition to his grappling ability. Back then, just as today, Chest expanders, no doubt, allowed him to train some of the smaller muscles that "weights" won't always get to.

Stanislaus Zbyszko

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Simon Javierto

Simon Javierto shows incredible abdominal Muscle Control circa 1922. This feat is acomplished by complete exhalation of the air from the lungs, drawing in the abdominal wall to fill the vacuum, and then, by bending slightly forward, contracting the rectus abdominus. Simon lived in the Philippines and learned his training entirely through Earle E. Liederman's mail-order courses.

Simon Javierto

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Heavy Indian Clubs

Heavy Indian Clubs

Swinging heavy Indian Clubs (or Meels) is a training exercise that goes back thousands of years. It has always been popular with wrestlers and other combat athletes since it builds upper-body strength as well as stamina, especially when done for high repetitions which is the traditional way to swing clubs. This rare photo dates to the late 1890's. That sure doesn't look like the kind of guy you would want to mess with.

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Benoit Cote

Benoit Cote
Benoit Cote was another great Canadian strongman from Quebec and the rival of fellow countryman Doug Hepburn.

The two met head to head at a four-lift (Press, Bench Press, Squat, Deadlift) contest in 1961. While Hepburn bested Cote in the bench press and overhead press, Cote beat Hepburn in the squat and deadlifted 752-1/2 pounds (shown above) to win.

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Just Another Workout at Dr. Ken's Place

Just Another Workout at Dr. Ken's Place
Despite what you may have read, heard or believe, REAL training is about effort -- but the best part is, if you do it right, you'll get out of it exactly what you put into it, maybe even more.

As you can see, when Dr. Ken trains, he gives it his all... and so should you.

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Harry Shafran's Gym

Harry Shafran's Gym
Harry Shafran was an oldtime lifter who owned a couple successful gyms in New York back in the 1920's. Eventually he grew tired of big city lift and retired to a farm near Scranton, Pennsylvania where he converted the large barn in the back of his house into one of the greatest gyms of all time.

Here's a look back in time... Globe dumbbells, climbing ropes, Milo kettlebells, gymnastic rings, swedish bars -- note the double handled kettlebells used for swingbell exercises.

A half-moon bench can be seen in the foreground. This unique piece of equipment was used specifically for chest expansion exercises and used to be quite common.

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Bert Goodrich - The First Mr. America (1938)

Bert Goodrich The First Mr. America

The first ever AAU Mr. America was Bert Goodrich, shown here on an early cover of Iron Man Magazine. Bert got his start by training with Earle E. Liederman's courses and was a tremendous athlete in highschool, excelling in hand balancing, swimming, and track and field events. He went on to became a stuntman in several Hollywood Movies and later opened up his own gym.

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The Dumbbell Side Press

The "side press" is a looser version of the dumbbell press - contrast the picture on the right with the one here. Because it's a bit of an "anyhow" lift, much more weight can be used than a strict dumbbell press. You should be able to press well over a hundred pounds in this manner. Paul Anderson could side press over 300 pounds with ridiculous ease.

The Dumbbell Side Press

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Another Look at John Davis Lifting The Apollon Wheels

John Davis Lifting The Apollon Wheels
I've covered John Davis lifting the famous Apollon Wheels before, but you've probably never seen it from this angle before. This shot is from a French Newspaper and probably hasn't seen the light of day for over five decades.

You saw it here first...

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John Grimek Bent-Presses the Louis Cyr Challenge Dumbbell

John Grimek had his eye on lifting the Louis Cyr Challenge Dumbbell for a long time. Needless to say the ponderous weight defied his attempts to lift it, just as it had for the better part of nearly a century. Finally, Grimek succeeded in bent-pressing the thick-handled dumbbell overhead and added his name to a very short list. You can currently see the Cyr Challenge dumbbell at the York Barbell Hall of Fame in York Pennslyvania.

John Grimek Bent-Presses the Louis Cyr Challenge Dumbbell

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John McWilliams - "Mr. Arms"

John McWilliams - "Mr. Arms"
John McWilliams was an incredibly strong and powerful bidybuilder of the late 1940's and 1950's who was well known for his arm development.

While many bodybuilder inflated their numbers, John McWilliams used to offer a reward if anyone could measure his arms at LESS than 19-1/2 inches!

He ran a successful gym in Dayton, Ohio (The Dayton Health Studios at 131 E. Third Street) and wrote several training articles for Iron Man Magazine. He also had his own arm development course.

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Lionel Strongfort

Lionel Strongfort

Lionel Strongfort, (Real name Max Unger) began his strongman career as a pupil of Professor Attila Strongfort went on to thrill audiences all over the world with his incredible and very dangerous Human Bridge feat where he supported over 7,000 pounds in the Tomb of Hercules position. Strongfort was also one of the most successful Mail Order Muscle Barons and his training courses on "Strongfortism," which only required bodyweight and some light dumbbells, were incredibly popular in the early 20th century.

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Nautilus Omni Machines

Nautilus Omni Machines
The Nautilus Omni machines were used primarily during the Colorado Experiment and provided training advantages that no other piece of equipment ever provided - a footpedal that allowed the trainee to perform the exercise in a negative only or negative accentuated manner in the most efficient way possible.

These were the only machines, before or since, that allowed all five distinct methods of training to be performed.

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Ivan Poddubny - "The Russian Hercules"

Ivan Poddubny was one of the greatest of the Russian Strongman wrestlers. He was born in a small village and worked hard jobs even from a young age. After some training, he joined the russian circus, performing feats of strength and wrestling all comers. After 40 years, he retired undefeated on both counts. He is still a well-known sports hero in Russia with several big wrestling tournaments bearing his name.

Ivan Poddubny - "The Russian Hercules"

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Monte Saldo

Monte Saldo
As a young man, Monte Saldo apprenticed at one of Eugen Sandow's Gymnasiums and eventually became a performing strongman himself.

Saldo's incredible motor car support feat (which put him in considerable danger if something were to ever get out of hand) made him one of the top earning strongmen of the day.

As you can see, he was pretty rugged.

Saldo went on to become of the great masters of Muscle Control and teamed up with his friend Maxick to establish the Maxalding system.

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Kevin Tolbert

Kevin Tolbert
Kevin Tolbert is Dr. Ken Leistner's adopted son - and easily one of the strongest men who ever lived. If you've read any of Dr. Ken's writings, especially The Steel Tip Newsletter, you know Kevin's name pretty well.

Kevin went on to play running back at the U.S. Naval Academy. At 5'9" and 220 pounds, Kevin could run a legit 4.5 forty yard dash. As for his marks in the weightroom, here's a few:

23 reps with 375 lbs. and 15 x 405 lbs. in the bench press at a bodyweight of 230 lbs.

510 lbs. max-Bench Press in a legal, competitive style

Squat: 30 x 600 lbs. at a bodyweight of 248 lbs.

Those aren't misprints...

Here's Kevin doing a couple anvil curls while finishing up a workout in Dr. Ken's basement in the mid-1980's. I was fortunate to have Kevin as a strength coach at the University of Michigan for a few years.

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Indian Clubs

Lest we forget, that Indian Clubs actually did come from India... This sequence is from The Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture and is featured as a method for keeping the shoulders strong and flexible. It was suggested that children especially should be taught the Indian Club exercises in order to build a foundation of strength as well as good posture.

Indian Clubs

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Hans Beck

Hans Beck
Hans Beck was a great German weightlifter and Strongman toward the end of the 1890's. He won two German championships and a European Championship from 1895-1897 and was the first man to "continental" and jerk 330 pounds (as pictured.)

Like many German Strongmen, he was also very good at barrel lifting feats pressing a 249 pound barrel overhead for three repetitions and a barrel filled to 275-1/2 pounds for one rep.

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Joe Nordquest

Joe Nordquest

Joe Nordquest was one of those rare individuals who seemed to posses incredible strength at whatever lift he tried. He could perform a one-finger and holdout with a 70-pound dumbbell and his record 388 pound "shoulder bridge press" still stands, (at least to my knoweldge.) Here is Joe Nordquest in mid-bent press. (He could bent press nearly 300 pounds with ease.) -- Gotta love that globe barbell.

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Edward Aston, Britain's Strongest Man

Edward Aston, Britain's Strongest Man
Edward Aston was The World's Middle-weight Weightlifting Champion, British Heavy-weight Champion Weightlifter, and Britain's Strongest Man from 1911-1934 (Retiring undefeated.)

Here Aston demostrates his unique version of the "clean pull" - note the position of the elbow. -- This simple adjustment in technique will allow you to "pull" up to 15% more weight!

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Paul Anderson Winning the 1956 Melbourne Olympics

Paul Anderson Winning the 1956 Melbourne Olympics
With this lift, Paul Anderson won the Gold Medal in the heavyweight class at the 1956Olympic Games held in Melbourne, Australia.

It sure didn't come easy...

Big Paul was suffering from an ear infection at the time which caused him to lose his balance and stagger once he had the weight overhead, thus missing several lifts he would normally make with ease.

Here's how he ended the day:

Press - 369 pounds

Snatch - 319 pounds

Clean and Jerk - 413 pounds

Though he totaled, 1101 pounds, it was far from his best. Still, it was a gold medal winning performance, and one that cemented his name in the history books.

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Karl Norberg Bench Presses 380 Pounds at 69 Years Old

Karl Norberg

Next time you are thnking that you are "too old" just take a look at Karl Norberg, shown here bench pressing 380 pounds at 69 years of age. Norberg could bench press over 300 pounds well into his 80s. (Wow!) At the same event where this picture was taken, Karl Norberg also military pressed 230 pounds with ease.

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Bert Assirati - Hand Balancing

Bert Assirati Does a One-Hand Handstand, circa 1948
While many hand balancers experts are of the smaller, "gymnastic-type" physique, there were actually several larger strength athletes who could perform hand balancing feats with ease.

The great Canadian Champion Doug Hepburn was a great hand balancer, as was the famous British strongman and Professional wrestler Bert Assirati, (shown here.)

At a young age, Bert was taught how to do all manner of hand balancing feats by an ex-circus performer. You can certainly tell by this picture that he has power to spare.

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Anton Matysek And The Reverse Curl

I count the reverse curl as one of the true "secret" exercises -- it is simple to do, very effective and will hit one of the most important areas of your body that no other exercise will match. To do it, simply curl with your palms facing down instead of up -- Keep your elbows tight, the bar should move in a semi-circle, this is not a "clean." Anton Matysek could perform this lift with a 3" thick-bar loaded to 88 pounds and tied a belt around his arms to keep it strict.

The Reverse Curl - Anton Matysek

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"Good" Dumbbells

"Good" Dumbbells

Harry Good (of Good Brothers fame) established the Good Barbell Company in the late 1930's and ran it all the way into the 1970's. With the nature of the business back then, the "Good equipment" was more prominent locally. These 75-pound Good Dumbbells sat in a cental Pennsylvania YMCA for the last 50 years.

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Clevio Massimo's Forearm Development

The oldtime performing strongman Clevio Massimo possessed one of the most rugged physiques of all time. His dense musculature and thick ligaments are evident in this picture. You can find out more about Clevio Massimo in The Mark Berry Bar Bell Courses.

Clevio Massimo's Forearm Development

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Chuck Ahrens and Bert Elliott

Chuck Ahrens and Bert Elliot

Two fixtures in the Santa Monica, California Muscle Beach scene share a laugh in the late 1950's - Chuck Ahrens and Bert Elliott. Chuck Ahrens was a man of immeasurable power, and Bert Elliott was a champion weightlifter and bodybuilder (He won the 1954 Sr. Nationals Weightlifting Title in the 165 Plound Class (totalling 765 pounds), the 1953 "Iron Man" bodybuilding contest as well as the 1954 AAU Mr. Southern California.) At their feet is Bert Elliott's 201 pound "challenge" dumbbell which he could bent- press with ease.

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The Muscle Out

The "Muscle Out" is an oldtime lift where a weight is held at arms length to the front or side of the body. Generally a block weight or ring weight was used. This lift is quite a test of shoulder strength. If you can accomplish this feat with a 56-pound weight, like the French gentleman on the right, you are indeed strong.

The Muscle Out

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The Zander Machines

The Zander Machines
Gustav Zander was a Swedish physician who created over 70 different exercises "machines" at the turn of the century. His machines were very meticulously designed with a very intricate system of pulleys and counter balances in order to account for the physics of the human body.

These machines are from a 1906 catalogue. The machine pictured on the left was for forearm flexion/extension and on the right, a machine which trained leg flexion and extension.