Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Louis Cyr vs. Hector Decarie: 102 Years Ago TodayIt was 102 years ago today that Louis Cyr met Hector Decarie in their famous challenge match.
At the end of the night each man had won four events apeice but despite the "tie" Cyr passed on the mantle of "World's Strongest Man" to his young challenger.
Labels: Challenge Match, Hector Decarie, Louis Cyr, Oldtime Strongman Exercises, Oldtime Strongmen
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
 John Grimek | This photograph was taken on May 25, 1940 as John Grimek competed in the Heavy weight class (weighing 183 pounds!) at the weightlifting Senior Nationals at Madison Squar Garden, New York City. In the afternoon he placed 3rd by totalling 860 pounds (including the 285 pound press shown here) Later that day he beat Frank Leight to win the AAU Mr. America bodybuilding title, including the "Most Musclular" and "Best Arms" subdivions. |
Labels: AAU, Best Arms, Bodybuilding, John Grimek, Most Muscular, Mr. America 1940, Overhead Press, weightlifting
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008
 The Iron Shoe Exerciser | The Iron Shoe exerciser was a great oldtime piece of training equipment which has roots going back pretty far into strength history. As you may notice by the design, it is "horse shoe" shaped -- which is meant to mimic an actual horse shoe, the bending of which was a great oldtime feat and a mark of great strength. The "iron Shoe" provided a method of progressive resistance in some of the positions needed for horseshoe bending and trained the body, especially the grip and forearms in a very unique manner. |
Labels: Bent Horseshoes, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Iron Shoe, Oldtime Strength Equipment, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Steel Bending
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Monday, February 18, 2008
| How did the oldtimers train with Kettlebells? The answer might surprise you. In his book The Textbook of Weightlifting, Arthur Saxon lists a few of the different exercises he used: the crucifix, one arm press, and several grip and forearm exercises. Of course, kettlebells also worked pretty well for Combination feats just like this one. (I think that's Kurt Saxon being pressed overhead.) |  Arthur Saxon |
Labels: Arthur Saxon, Crucifix, Feat, Human Lift, Kettlebell, Kettlebell Feat, Kurt Saxon, Muscle Out, Oldtime Strength Equipment, Overhead Support, Supporting Feat, The Textbook of Weightlifting
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| George Eiferman was the 1948 AAU Mr. America and 1962 IFBB Mr. Universe winner and was particularly well-known for his chest development. On of the ways in which he built such a deep and impressive chest was regular trumpet playing. Eiferman used to like to show off a bit too and was fond of playing the "Hawaiian War Chant" on his trumpet with one hand while holding a loaded barbell overhead with the other. -- Talk about core strength. He regularly performed this feat at Muscle Beach. |  George Eiferman |
Labels: AAU, Breathing Exercises, Chest Development, Feat, George Eiferman, IFBB, Mr. America, Mr. Universe, Muscle Beach
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 Hoffman's Super Hi-Proteen | I'm sure many of our viewers won't forget their first taste of Bob Hoffman's Super Hi-Proteen mix which was one of the very first commercially available food supplements. Hoffman's Super Hi-Proteen was available in standard plain, chocolate and vanilla flavors and black walnut and coconut flavors for more adventurous trainee. It was a little rough around the edges, not unlike today. Hoffman's Hi-Proteen is also responsible for many of the greatest "blender bomb" stories ever told (in the pursuit of making it palatable - which, I'm sure, was quite a task.) |
Labels: Bob Hoffman, Food Supplement, Hoffman's Super Hi-Proteen, York Barbell Company
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 Kettlebell Handles | One of the the unique pieces of training equipment that you don't see often these days are ketlebell handles. These were U-shaped handles that could be retrofitted onto dumbbells creating a much more versatile piece of equipment. Kettlebell handles are particularly useful for shoulder specialization work. |
Labels: Dumbbells, kettlebell handles, Kettlebells, Oldtime Strength Equipment, Shoulder Exercise
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 Hand Balancing Made Easy by E.M. Orlick | Professor E.M. Orlick was an outstanding strongman, physical culturist and gymnast who came from a long line of circus performers. Over the years Orlick wrote hundreds of training articles on a variety of topics and was also the editor or "Mr. America" magazine for a number of years as well as the assistant editor of a Boxing/Wrestling magazine. While he was certainly proficient at a number of strength feats but hand balancing was his forte, and he wrote several training courses on the subject. Orlick's training courses include: "Walking and Jumping on Your Hands," "How To Do The One Hand Handstand" and "Hand Balancing Made Easy." |
Labels: E.M Orlick, Gymnastics, hand balancer, Hand Balancing, Oldtime Strongman, Physical Culture, Professor E.M. Orlick
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Sunday, February 17, 2008
John Davis FlagThere's no question that John Davis was one of the greatest strength athletes who ever lived. - He was exemplary at nearly every lift he tried, whether grip feats such as lifting the Apollon wheels or pinch gripping feats or Olympic lifting and other incredible lifts.
Here John Davis performs the incredible bodyweight feat "the flag" while training at Ed Yarick's Gym in Oakland,California.
Although Davis makes it look easy, this feat is harder than it looks - try it.
Labels: Bodyweight Feat, Ed Yarick's Gym, Gymnastic Feat, John Davis
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Another Look At Sig Klein's Gym What a place to train! -- Here's another look at Sig Klein's Gym located in Times Square, downtown New York.
The thing that makes a gym truly great is the atmosphere -- and Sig's place had it. You can just tell that many great workouts took place here.
Labels: Classic Strongman Gyms, Globe Barbell, Globe Dumbbells, Oldtime Strength Equipment, Sig Klein, Sig Kleins Gym, Strongman Equipment
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Saturday, February 16, 2008
Al TreloarAl Treloar was a stage assistant to Eugen Sandow who went on to develop his own strongman performance.
Treloar went on to win the title of "The Most Perfectly Developed Man in the World" on January 16th, 1904 at the very first large-scale bodybuilding competition in America which took place at the original Madison Square Garden in New York City.
It was said that Treloar could tear four decks of playing cards at once.
After graduating from Harvard University, Treloar became the director of physical education at the famous Los Angeles Athletic Club in California, a position he held for the next forty-two years.
Labels: Al Treloar, Card Tearing, Early Bodybuilder, Eugen Sandow, Harvard University, Los Angeles Athletic Club, Oldtime Strongman
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| It was said that the great Louis Cyr could pretty much lift whatever he wanted -- this photograph, however, was obviously staged. On May 7, 1896 Louis Cyr is credited with several impresive lifts, and among them was a one-hand Jerk of 254 lbs. Of course, lifting rocks is an altogether different animal. |  Louis Cyr |
Labels: Feat, Louis Cyr, Odd Object Lifting, Overhead Press, Rock Lifting
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| Mac Batchelor was most well-known for his feats of grip strength but he was no one-trick pony -- Mac trained many different lifts and was exceptional in all of them. In this classic shot, "Big Mac" warms up with 30 or 40 reps in the Backlift with half a ton. |  Mac Batchelor |
Labels: Backlift, Mac Bachelor, Mac Batchelor, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Supporting Feat
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Friday, February 15, 2008
Reg Park's Arm WorkoutSome of the most impressive arms in history belonged to Reg Park. Reg built his arms with basic exercises and focused on getting stronger through time. In his many training courses, Reg recommended a lot of overhead pressing for tricep work and the simple barbell curl for biceps.
Labels: Arm Development, Arm Workout, Bent Press, Big Arms, Bodybuilder, Curl, Exercises, Reg Park
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 Harold Ansorge | Harold Ansorge, the great strongman from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was a bent-press specialist. He never broke Arthur Saxon's record of 336 pounds but came very close with a lift of 335 pounds. Here is Ansorge bent-pressing a great 200 pound dumbbell. His gym, the Harold Ansorge Health Studios, was listed at the following addresses: 2124 Plainfield Ave., N.E and 141 28th Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Anybody know what's there now? |
Labels: Bent Press, Classic Strongman Gyms, Harold Ansorge, Oldtime Strongman, Oldtime Strongman Feat
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 Jack Walsh's Bridging Feat | The great strongman Jack Walsh from New Jersey performed some very unique feats of strength over the years. Here he holds 300 pounds in the wrestler's bridge position -- he claimed to have once held 520 pounds like this! |
Labels: Barbell, Feat, Jack Walsh, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Wrestlers Bridge
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 Inch Dumbbell Lift | History is made: John Gallacher of Glasgow becomes the first man in modern history to lift the Thomas Inch Dumbbell at the 1957 NABBA Mr. Universe Contest held in London, England. Mr. Gallacher fully deadlifted the Inch Dumbbell 3 times that night and was awarded the Special Plaque by Thomas Inch himself. As you should know, the famous Thomas Inch Dumbbell weighs 172 pounds and has a 2-3/8th inch diameter thick handle making it a tremendous grip challenge for anyone who attempts to lift it. This challenge weight defied thousands of athletes until Mr. Gallacher came along. |
Labels: Barbells Dumbbells, Challenge Weight, Globe Dumbbell, Inch Dumbbell, Thick Handle, Thomas Inch
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The York Barbell Broad Street Gym One of the great training halls was the old York Barbell gym, located on Broad Street on York PA. It was an old factory converted to a gym, with nothing but a couple lifting platforms, a climbing rope, a few old dumbbells and plenty of iron.
It was hot, dark and cramped (just like a great gym should be)and the equipment was old, but solid and it produced an untold number of strength Champions in bodybuilding and Olympic weightlifting.
That's Ike Berger on the platform working on his press while Bob Hoffman, Tommy Kono and others look on.
Labels: Bob Hoffman, Broad Street Gym, Classic Gym, Classic Strongman Gyms, Ike Berger, Olympic Weightlifting, Tommy Kono, York Barbell Company
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
Chuck VinciChuck Vinci was another great olympic weightlifter from York, Pennsylvania. Though he stood only 4'11" and weighed 123 pounds, he could clean & jerk well over 300 pounds and snatch 220+.
Vinci was a Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (1956 and 1960), Seven-time world Senior National Champion (1954-1956,1958-1961) and set Twelve World Records during his career.
Labels: 1956 Olympics, 1960 Olympics, Chuck Vinci, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Olympic Weightlifting, Snatch, weightlifter, weightlifting, York Pennsylvania
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 Joe Ponder | Of all the recorded oldtime strongmen feats, Joe Ponder may very well have accomplished the most unusual (and maybe the most impressive, all things considered.) Ponder was particularly skilled at feats of teeth and jaw lifting -- here he lifts a 343 pound pumpkin in that manner. Yow! |
Labels: Bending Feat, Jaw Lifting, Joe Ponder, Oldtime Strongman, Teeth Lifting, Unusual Strength
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Alan CalvertA very rare picture of Milo Barbell Company founder and noted strength author Alan Calvert.
Calvert established the Milo Barbell company in 1902, one of the very first training publications "Strength" Magazine in 1914, wrote several training books and courses and helped pave the way for thousands of trainees to develop size and strength.
Gotta love those classic 'bells!
Labels: Alan Calvert, Globe Barbell, Globe Dumbbell, Milo Barbell Company, Strength Author, Strongman Equipment
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 Plate Curls | One of the most effective exercises for developing grip and forearm strength can be done with a simple barbell plate. The steep strength curve from the leverage involved can impose quite a challenge -- even when using a very light plate. |
Labels: Exercise, Forearm Strength, Grip Exercise, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Hand Strength, Plate Curls
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Hermann Goerner's Human Bridge FeatA look at Hermann Goerner's incredible "Human Bridge" stunt where he supports a platform on his shoulders while an automobile loaded with passengers drives over it.
It was said that at the heaviest point in this feat, Goerner supported over 3000 pounds on his shoulders.
This may not be quite as heavy or as dangerous as Lionel Strongfort's Human Bridge Feat but it's still very impressive.
Labels: German Strongman, Hermann Goerner, Human Bridge, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Supporting Feat
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| It's really too bad that many people have closed minds about "machines" -- this is the one that can change strength history: The Hammer Strength Hip and Back Machine. I say this because while squatting or deadlifting, the "weak link" will often be the strength of the lower back. |  The Hammer Strength Hip and Back Machine |
I don't believe it is even still in production as most people misunderstood what it was for and how to use it. Consequently it gathered dust at most gyms. If you ever happen to find one, do yourself a favor and grab it quickly.
Labels: Back Exercise, Hammer Strength, Hip and Back, Hip and Leg Strength, Low Back Machine, Strength machine
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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Titanic Gym Here's something you don't see every day; this is a rare photograph of the workout room from The Titanic -- yes, that Titanic, the one that sunk back in 1912.
It may look familiar as they recreated it for a few scenes in the movie of the same name from a decade ago. -- Looks like they did a pretty good job.
Note the early 2-man Rowing machine and exercise bikes. It's hard to make out but those may be some Zander Machines over on the left.
I have to say, I dig the dark wood paneling.
Labels: Classic Gym, Exercise Bike, Physical Culture Equipment, Rowing Machine, Titanic
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Isaac "Ike" BergerIke Berger is one of America's most successful Olympic Weightlifters -- he was the first featherweight in history to lift more than 800 pounds and the first to press double body weight.
Over his career he was the owner of 23 world weightlifting records, a 12-time United States national titleholder, 2-time World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist at the 1956 Games in Melbourne Australia (along with two more Silver medals at the next two Olympic Games.)
At the 1964 Olympic games, he estabilished a record of 152.5 kg (336 lb) in the jerk, at a bodyweight of only 130 pounds (59 kg). This lift made him pound-for-pound the strongest man in the world, a record that stood for nine years.
Ike Berger was elected to the United States Weightlifter's Hall of Fame in 1965.
Labels: 1956 Olympics, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Ike Berger, Olympic Weightlifting, Olympics, Press, weightlifter, weightlifting, World Champion
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Friday, February 08, 2008
Vasily Alexeev's Unusual TrainingThe Russian Champion Vasily Alexeev is one of the greatest weightlifters who ever lived.
One of Alexeyeev's most unusual training techniques was to practice his cleans in waist-deep water. This famous shot was taken of Alexeev as he trained in the Don River in Mother Russia.
Unconventional... but certainly effective:
Alexeev set the first of his 80 world records in 1970 and was undefeated for the remainder of his career which also included two Olympic Gold medal winning performances (1972, Munich and 1976, Montreal)
Labels: Barbell, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Mother Russia, Olympic Weightlifting, Olympics, Russian Strongman, Unusual Training Equipment, Vasily Alexeev
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Armand Tanny's Favorite Exercise: The One Arm CleanArmand Tanny (brother of Vic Tanny) was a very successful bodybuilder in the late 40's and 50's, and a regular at the original Santa Monica Muscle Beach scene.
Tanny competed in many major bodybuilding contests and won the Pro-Mr. America in 1950. His favorite exercise was one you don't often see these days: the one arm clean.
Its hard to tell how heavy the bar is loaded to in this shot -- I'd say at least 225 or so, and you sure won't find any bodybuilders who could do that these days.
Labels: Armand Tanny, Barbell, Bodybuilding, Feat, Golden Age Bodybuilder, Mr. America, Muscle Beach, One Arm Clean, Pro Mr. America, Vic Tanny
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Thursday, February 07, 2008
| A young Lionel Strongfort, circa 1900, billed as "America's Most Perfect Athlete" (and he certainly looked it.) Actually Strongfort was a great athlete -- he excelled in boxing, wrestling, track and field events as well as feats of strength. He could perform a somersault with a 50-pound dumbbell in each hand along with many other traditional oldtime strongman feats. |  Young Lionel Strongfort |
Labels: Lionel Strongfort, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Somersault, Young
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Peary RaderPeary Rader was the editor and long-time publisher of Iron Man Magazine from 1936 through 1986. It all began when Peary printed the first issue of Ironman (there were only 50 copies) on an old mimeograph machine and distributed it to his friends.
His no-nonsense style and focus on the basics went over well... soon the demand for another issue grew too big to ignore, then another and another. At it's peak, Iron Man Magazine had 40,000 subscribers.
Labels: Iron Man Magazine, Muscle Magazine, Peary Rader, Strength Author
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The EZ Kurl BarThe EZ-Kurl (or Curl) bar is a fairly common piece of equipment these days but there was a time when it wasn't quite so well-known.
| A man named Lewis G. Dymeck invented the Dymek Curling bar (better known as the "EZ Curl" bar) and was granted the patent for it on May 23, 1950. Dymeck invented this unusual bar to train the biceps in a different manner than with a straight bar. The idea caught on... Soon many strength equipment companies began selling their own version of this piece of equipment. That's John Grimek, of course, demonstrating the York Barbell version. |  Dymeck EZ Curl Bar Patent |
Labels: Arm Development, Bicep Exercise, Bicep Strength, Dymeck Curl Bar, EZ Curl Bar, EZ Kurl Bar, John Grimek, Louis G. Dymeck, Training Equipment, Unusual Training Equipment
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Pierre GasnierPierre Gasnier was the quintessential Oldtime Strongman: BIlled as the "French Hercules," He performed feats of strength for the Barnum and Bailey circus in the late 1890's: tearing decks of cards, bending horseshoes, breaking chains, and lifting his special "challenge weight" globe dumbbell shown here.
The dumbbell had a handle of 2" in diameter and weighs 236 French Livres (which equals 260 pounds) Gasnier weighed only 138 pounds at a height of 5'3" yet was able to lift the weight with ease, a feat that such other noted strongmen such as Sebastian Miller, Hans Beck, and Franz "Cyclops" Bienkowski could not duplicate.
Labels: Bent Press, Challenge Weight, Circus Strongman, Cyclops, Franz Bienkowski, French Strongman, Globe Dumbbell, Hans Beck, Oldtime Strongman, Pierre Gasnier, Sebastian Miller
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The Mighty Atlas You've probably seen the old feat of strength where a strongman puts an anvil or large stone slab on his chest and lets someone hit it with a sledge hammer...
I guarantee you haven't seen this feat before though, -- "The Mighty Atlas," Morris Shapiro, a professional wrestler from Brooklyn, New York, teeth-lifting an anvil while someone else hits the anvil with a sledge hammer.
Now that's impressive!
Labels: Anvil, Anvil Lifting, Mighty Atlas, Oldtime Strongman, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Teeth Lifting, Wrestler
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Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Sig Klein's Gym You've seen Sig Klein's Gym plenty of times on thsi Blog before, but I guarantee you've never seen it from this angle. This candid shot was actually reflected in a mirror. That's the old master Sig Klein in the middle, teaching someone how to use the gymnastic rings.
To the right, you can just make out Steve Reeves.
Klein's Gym sure had a lot of character, plenty of dark wood and globe dumbbells. Notice the Sandow and Saxon statues and Klein's world famous beer stein collection.
Labels: Classic Strongman Gyms, Gymnastic Rings, Sandow Statue, Saxon Statue, Sig Klein, Sig Kleins Gym, Steve Reeves
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 John Grimek Hip Lift | The "hip lift" is an oldtime exercise where a very heavy weight is moved only a few inches with the aid of a a leather harness attached to a stout bar. With a setup like this, a tremendous amount of weight can be moved, sometimes even a ton or more. The great John Grimek demonstrates it here. You'll probably recognize this picture from the front of the Mark Berry Barbell Courses |
Labels: Hip Lift, John Grimek, Leg Development, Oldtime Lift
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Paul Anderson SquatsA young Paul Anderson squats with 660 pounds in an exhibition at the 1952 Mr. World bodybuilding contest (Won by Jim Park)
Doug Hepburn bested it shortly afterwards with 665 pounds but Paul Anderson followed that up with a squat of 714-1/2 pounds and from there it was off to the races.
Eventually Paul Anderson squatted with 1200 pounds, a feat that has yet to be broken in the manner which it was originally performed.
Labels: Doug Hepburn, Jim Park, Mr. World, Paul Anderson, Squat
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 Arthur Dandurand | Arthur Dandurand was yet another great Canadian Strongman. It was said that he had a 16-inch forearm at a bodyweight of only 185 pounds and it certainly looks that way in this classic shot. Dandurand was often called the "Canadian Sandow" and some of his best lifts were as follows: In addition to these feats, Dandurand was very good at juggling and bent-pressing human weights. He also could shoulder a 406 Pound truck engine and at a contest in 1908, Dandurand pushed a wheelbarrow loaded to 4300 Pounds for a distance of 23 feet. |
Labels: Arthur Dandurand, Bent Press, Canadian Strongman, Forearm Strength, Kennedy Lift, Military Press, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Reverse Curl, Wheelbarrow Lift
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Norb Schemansky A true Champion in every sense of the word - the Great Norb Schemansky lifting at the 1954 World Championships in Vienna. At this meet, Schemansky totaled 1074 pounds.
Labels: Clean and Jerk, Norb Schemansky, Olympic Weightlifting
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| William Boone was a well-known lifter in the 1930's and 1940's who became tremendously strong training by himself in the back yard with nothing more than a set of squat racks and some rusty weights. He also liked to perform his overhead pressing with a specially made 10-foot olympic bar, shown right. |  William Boone |
Labels: Barbell, Oldtime Strongman, Overhead Press, WIlliam Boone
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Bill Pettis Big ArmsAnother look at Bill Pettis' 23-1/4 inch arms. Bill actually did compete in a few Bodybuilding contests in the 1970's, finishing as high as third in the IFBB World Pro Championships.
Maybe, just maybe, Bill's arms didn't quite stretch the tape that far, but they certainly are impressive. Bill's not too shabby in the forearm department either...
Labels: Arm Development, Bicep Strength, Big Arms, Bill Pettis, Bodybuilder, Bodybuilding, Tricep Work
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 David Willoughby | Strength author and historian David Willoughby gracing the cover of the January, 1936 edition of the British physical culture magazine "Superman." Willoughby was the AAU Southern California AAU weightlifting champion from 1923-1926 and eventually went on to author countless books, articles and training courses. He also owned a successful gym in the Los Angeles area, the same gym where Bert Goodrich got his start. |
Labels: AAU, Cover, David Willoughby, Strength Author, Superman Magazine, weightlifting
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1938 Mr. America Bert Goodrich With Strongman Stage Weights
One of the great things about the history of strength training is that many of the early strength athletes had their own personal training equipment made up which lent quite a bit of character to their training.
Here is a very rare picture of 1938 Mr. America Bert Goodrich with some very interesting oldtime equipment, a globe barbell and kettlebell.
Labels: AAU, Bert Goodrich, Globe Barbell, Kettlebell, Mr. America, Strongman Equipment, Vintage Strength Equipment
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| The well-known bodybuilder John McWilliams wrote his own arm development course entitled "Big Arms for You" which he advertised in Iron Man Magazine for years. As you can see, his arms were quite impressive. -- McWilliams wasn't all show though, he also had a 710 pound deadlift to his name. |  John McWilliams - Big Arms For You |
Labels: Arm Development, Bicep Exercise, Bicep Workout, Big Arms, Bodybuilder, Bodybuilding, Deadlift, Golden Age Bodybuilder, Iron Man Magazine, John McWilliams, Strength Author, Training Course
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 Reg Park | There's not too many folks who are instantly recognizable from the back but any iron fan knows that this is undoubtedly Reg Park. Here's Reg pressing a pair of 110-pound dumbbells at the original Muscle Beach. I sure couldn't think of anyone better than Reg to play Hercules in the movies. ... The two-dumbbell press is a great shoulder builder, as you can see. |
Labels: Bodybuilding, Dumbbell Press, Dumbbell Exercise, Golden Age Bodybuilder, Hercules, Muscle Beach, Reg Park, Reg Park Workout, Shoulder Exercise, Two Dumbbell Press
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Tuesday, February 05, 2008
The Mighty Samson's Nail DrivingAlexander Zass, aka "The Mighty Samson, was one of the greatest of the Nail Driving strongmen. He used the unorthodox style pictured above to drive the nail through a 3" wooden board -- and, like no other strongman I know of, also used to pull the nails out as well.
Labels: Alexander Zass, Mighty Samson, Nail Driving, Oldtime Strongman Feat
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| The great strongman G.W. Rolandow was very well known for his traditional feats of strength and the oldtime equipment that bears his name but he also excelled at feats of jumping. Shown here, he could hold a 75 pound globe dumbbell in each hand and jump over a table that was 36 inches high and 25 inches wide. He could also turn a somersault holding dumbbells in each hand. |  G.W. Rolandow |
Labels: Feat, G.W. Rolandow, Globe Dumbbells, Jumping Feats, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Somersault
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| The Gada, or Mace, is one of the traditional pieces of training equipment in Indian Physical Culture. The Gada consists of a heavy iron or stone ball attached to the end of a stick. Maces of various weights and heights are used depending on the athlete's strength and skil llevel. For training purposes, the Gada is swung behind the back in several different ways and is particularly useful for building grip strength and shoulder endurance. |  The Gada (Mace) |
Labels: Equipment, Gada, Indian Physical Culture, Kushti, Mace, Training Equipment, Unusual Training Equipment
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Friday, February 01, 2008
| In 1934, Walt Baptist and his wife Magana established the first training center of its kind, which combined the disciplines of physical culture, yoga, weight training, meditation, and breathing exercises. Walt and his wife also appeared on the cover of many bodybuilding magazines in the 1940s and 1950's such as Strength and Health and Iron Man Magazine. For a while, he even had his own physical culture magazine, Body Moderne, pictured here. |  Walt Baptiste |
Labels: Body Moderne, Breathing Exercises, Cover, Muscle Control, Muscle Magazine, Physical Culture, Walt Baptiste, Yoga
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| In 1995, Steve Jeck toured Scotland to lift many of its most famous manhood stones. Of course, the Dinnie Stones were tops on the list. Here's Steve warming up wth the smaller of the two stones which weighs 340 pounds. Did Steve lift 'em both? You'll have to turn to page 76 of his book to find out. |  Steve Jeck vs. The Dinnie Stones |
Labels: Challenge Weight, Clach Cuid Fir, Famous Stones, Lifting Stones, Steve Jeck, Stone Lifting, Testing Stone
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The Tomb of Hercules Feat"A feat of supporting strength that is commonly performed is the one known as "The Tomb of Hercules."- George Jowett in The Key to Might and Muscle, Chapter 6
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."
Labels: George Jowett, Monte Saldo, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Supporting Feat, The Key to Might and Muscle, The Tomb of Hercules
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| Originally from Hazard, Kentucky, Ron Lacy was the winner of the 1957 AAU Mr. America Contest. He also won the 1955 Mr. Kentucky Contest and finished first in the medium class in the NABBA Mr. Universe contest. Ron was also well known for his leg development and once squatted 300 pounds for 50 consecutive reps. |  Mr. America 1957 Ron Lacy |
Labels: AAU, Bodybuilding, Golden Age Bodybuilder, Mr. America, Mr. Universe, NABBA, Ron Lacy, Squat Workout
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The Famous Rolandow DumbbellThe Rolandow Dumbbell has a very interesting history. It was originally cast by the McLoughlin Iron Foundry in Brooklyn, New York in 1896 at the request of Warren Lincoln Travis who wanted to use it in his act.
The dumbbell was supposed to be 200 lbs. but came out of the mold just over it at 209lbs.
A few years went by and fellow strongman G.W. Rolandow offered to purchase it from Travis, on the condition that Travis deliver the bell himself.
Travis grabbed the bell, hopped on the nearest street car, transfered twice and carried the bell two blocks and up two flights of steps to Rolandow's office.
Rolandow then stated that unless he could lift the dumbbell, there would be no sale. And with that, we walked over to it, hefted it to his shoulder and commenced to bent-press it no less than seven times!
After several decades, Rolandow closed his gym and his famous dumbbell eventually became acquired by Sig Klein who featured it as a challenge weight in his gym.
If someone could succeed in bent-pressing the Rolandow Dumbbell, Klein put their name on an Honor Roll, here's how it looked:
(1) G.W. Rolandow...................1900
(2) John Grimek.........................1934
(3) Bob Hoffman........................1936
(4) Wally Zagurski..................1936
(5) John Davis............................1936
(6) Jack Kent..........................1937
(7) Frank Bates........................1937
(8) Bob Harley.........................1937
(9) Siegmund Klein...................1939
(10) Aurele Velleux..................1939
(11) George Hobby...................1940
(12) Elwood Holbrook...............1941
Labels: Bent Press, Challenge Weight, Famous Dumbbell, G.W. Rolandow, Globe Dumbbell, John Davis, Rolandow Dumbbell, Sig Klein, Sig Kleins Gym, Strongman Equipment, Wally Zagurski, Warren Lincoln Travis
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 The One-Hand Balance | "The experience gained in learning a one-hand balance can play a very important part in your gymnastics program, both in practice and in competition. For the feeling and coordination necessary to balance on one hand will increase your gymnastic ability on all other apparatus. In competition, a one-hand balance can be used to advantage in your free calisthenics or parallel bar routine. In free calisthenics, a one-hand balance on the floor is rated high in difficulty and will bring you points if you hold it for at least three counts, holding your other hand to your side and using good form." |
Labels: Bodyweight Feat, Bodyweight Training, Calisthenics, Gymnastics, Hand Balancing, Hand Balancing Feat, One Hand Balance
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Mac Batchelor"I was in L.A. about ten years ago. I went into one of the gyms and asked about a man named Mac Batchelor. They told me how to find the tavern where he worked and that night I drove over to see him.- from "Grip and Forearm Development"in The Complete Keys to Progress by John McCallum
The tavern was full of thirsty customers, but there was no doubt who was Batchelor. He weighed about 330 and most of it was muscle. I climbed up on a bar stool and introduced myself.
"Tell me Mac, "I said, "You still the world's best arm wrestler?"
He laughed. "I think so." He propped an arm like an elephant's leg up on the bar.
"Wanta try?"
I looked at the arm. "No Thanks."
He looked surprised. "No? How come?"
Mac, I'll tell ya, I said. "You might break my arm and I don't think my insurance would cover it."
He smiled broadly. "You know," he said, "you're one of the very few people who ever walked in here and didn't think they could beat me.
"Good grief," I said," I ain't too bright, but I'm not crazy. I tell you what I would like, though. I'd like to see some of those strength feats of yours I've heard about."
"Sure," he said. "Here." He reached under the bar and brough our four bottlecaps. He jammed one betwen each finger on his right hand and held his hand out. "Watch." He squeezed lightly and the four caps crumpled like Kleenex..."
Labels: Bending Feat, Bottlecap Bending, Grip Feat, John McCallum, Keys to Progress, Mac Bachelor, Mac Batchelor
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 John Y. Smith | Gotta love some of the unique and usual weights that many of the strongmen found to lift. Here's a rare shot of the great Oldtime strongman John Y. Smith as he shoulders an unusual barbell, in his later years. Smith was a very good bent-presser (with a lift of 275 lbs. at a bodyweight of just 160 lbs.) so that is probably what he is getting ready to do. |
Labels: Barbell, Bent Press, John Y. Smith, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Strongman Equipment, Unusual Training Equipment
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Jack Johnson, Throwin' The Medicine Ball AroundMedicine Ball exercises have been part of the training programs of oldtime boxers and wrestlers for well over a century because they provide a great workout and build strength in a way that no other piece of equipment can match.
Here's the famous Heavyweight boxing champ Jack Johnson throwin' a medicine ball around a Chicago courtyard circa 1910, in his training to defend the Heavyweight title against Jim Jeffries.
That's a powerful looking man -- Do you think he's getting a workout for the all-important waist muscles? You sure wouldn't want to be on the business end of one of his punches.
Labels: Boxing, Boxing Workout, Jack Johnson, Medicine Ball Training, Oldtime Boxers, Physical Culture Equipment
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 Hector Decarie | Hector Decarie was another great Canadian strongman. He met Louis Cyr in a challenge match on February, 26th, 1906 at Sohmer Park, in Montreal. Cyr was 44 years old and in poor health, but at the end of the contest the results saw both men tied a 4 wins apeice (out of the 8 events.) Despite his showing, Cyr conceeded the title of "Strongest Man in the World" to Decarie right then and there. |
Labels: Canadian Strongman, Hector Decarie, Oldtime Strongman, Quebec, Quebec Strongman
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 Hack Squat | The Hack Squat, (or Hack Lift) is a behind-the-back deadlift, as demonstrated by Oldtime Physique star Walter Donald in the pages of Super Strength by Alan Calvert. This movement is not named after George Hackenschmidt but gets its name from "Hacke" the German word for ankle, which is roughly where the bar touches before the commencement of the lift. Several lifters have been able to perform this movement with nearly 800 pounds. |
Labels: George Hackenschmidt, Hack Lift, Hack Squat, Oldtime Strongman Exercises, Walter Donald
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Frank Gotch Step Over Toe HoldFrank Gotch's step over toe hold was the most feared submission move probably of all time. It could be applied quickly and efficently from almost any angle and few people knew how to defend it -- his opponents never knew what him 'em.
He used it to dispatch the likes of George Hackenschmidt, Benjamin Roller and Stanislaus Zbyszko.
Gotch, as masterfully trained by Farmer Burns had two main weapons: a precise execution of his moves and holds, and an almost superhuman level of conditioning.
Labels: Benjamin Roller, Conditioning, Farmer Burns, Frank Gotch, George Hackenschmidt, Gotch vs. Hackenschmidt, Stanislaus Zbyszko, Step Over Toe Hold, Wrestling, Wrestling Hold
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Arthur Saxon's Leg Press Support FeatHeavy supporting feats were very popular with the oldtime strongmen. They could often support incredibly heavy weighst which always impressed the audience.
Here's Arthur Saxon supporting nine men on his feet, and two more (the other members of the Saxon Trio, Kurt and Herman) on a globe barbell held at arms's length.
It's been said that a feat such as this where Arthur Saxon held several thousand pounds was his greates strength feat, even topping his 448-Pound Two-Hands-Anyhow record.
Labels: Arthur Saxon, Globe Barbell, Herman Saxon, Kurt Saxon, Leg Press, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Saxon Trio, Supporting Feat
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Archie VanderpoolThe Mysterious Mr. Vanderpool performs a pretty unusual feat of supporting strength... With his back against a stone wall, Archie braced his legs against a car driven at full throttle for 52 seconds. -- The tires were worn to ribbons!
Labels: Archie Vanderpool, Feat, Supporting Feat
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