Bernarr Macfadden

A young Bernarr Macfadden pressing a 100-pound dumbbell overhead and looking very spry after a 7-day fast. Macfadden was one of the first pioneers of the physical culture lifestyle. His views on the benefits of daily exercise, proper diet and clean living were radical at the time (the early 1900s) but are widely accepted today (although,ironically, probably just as seldom practiced.)

Bernarr Macfadden

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Doug Hepburn

Doug Hepburn
Doug Hepburn's mighty right arm... the same arm he performed a one-hand holdout and 37 overhead presses with a 120-pound dumbbell. It will be a long time before we see the likes of Doug Hepburn again.

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Circus Strongman Pierre Gasnier Rips a Deck of Cards

Circus Strongman Pierre Gasnier Rips a Deck of Cards
Standing only 5'3" and weighing 135 pounds, the "French Hercules" Pierre Gasnier possessed a great deal of strength and power as is evident in this rare picture. He was one of the first, and most influential, of the oldtime Circus strongmen, performing for the Barnum and Bailey circus throughout the 1890s.

Shown here ripping a deck of cards with ease, Gasnier was said to be able to perform a one-arm snatch with bodyweight whilst his ankles were tied together. Gasnier is featured prominently in Alan Calvert's book Super Strength.

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Bert Elliott's 276 Pound Bent Press

Bert Elliott's 276 Pound Bent Press
Bert Elliott performs a bent-press with 276 pounds on a russian Olympic set at a strength show at Pasedena, California in the 60's. This lift was approximately 100 pounds over bodyweight for Bert. That's Pat Casey spotting on the right.

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Maxalding

"Maxalding" was a method of training developed in 1909 by two masters: Maxick and Monte Saldo. This unique training style was a combination of abdominal muscle control and breathing exercises, and required no equipment. Courses on Maxalding proved to be very popular and were sold well into the 1970's. This advertisement is from 1956 and features Monte Saldo's son Courtlandt Saldo.

Maxalding

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The Incredible Arm of Clevio Massimo

The Incredible Arm of Clevio Massimo
It was said that Clevio Massimo's family was descended from great Roman athletes of antiquity. That certainly isn't too difficult to believe, Tony was one of the most musclular men who ever lived and excelled at a number of feats.

He could support a piano and player in the Tomb of Hercules position, bend spikes and tear phonebooks.

He was also a great Hand Balancer and wrestler.

Clevio only weighed 190 pounds but you would never think it looking at his pictures.

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The Leg Press

Sig Klein came up with a number of innovative training ideas. One day he took the board he had often used for the Tomb of Hercules Feat, chained it to the wall and devised an early version of the "Leg Press" machine. He eventually discarded this design as the resistance decreased too much at the top of the movement due to the physics involved.

The Leg Press

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Abe Boshes

Abe Boshes

Abe Boshes of Brooklyn New, York won Bernarr Macfadden's gold medal at Madison Square Garden in 1903 and was featured prominently in MacFadden's "Physical Culture" Magazine. Boshes would go on to become one of Earle E. Liederman's top students. Boshes became an expert in Chest Expanders, wrote several training courses on the subject and eventually employed a young Angelo Siciliano (later becoming Charles Atlas) to demonstrate his wares.

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Loprinzi's Gym

Loprinzi's Gym
A look at Sam Loprinzi and his famous gym in the Portland, Oregon area. Loprinzi took great care in the equipment selection and layout of his gym which is why it was known as one of the top gyms in the country for many years. (I hear it's still in business.)

The pro-wrestler Jesse "The Body" Ventura used to train there early in his career and mentions that he benched 500 pounds for the first time while training at Loprinzi's place.

Loprinzi's gym also was one of the very first gyms in the country with a full set of Nautilus Machines.

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Bob Harley

Bob Harley
Bob Harley, of Sig Klein's Gym was one of the world's greatest masters of the bent press. In fact, Bob Harley was the winner of the New York City Bent Press contest and was one of the few men to bent press the Rolandow Dumbbell.

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Strongman Hammers

Strongman Hammers
Hammers of various kinds have a long tradition in strongman training -- and they are a lot of fun to train with, in fact, I have a collection of several unusual hammers. These huge wooden hammers were originally used by the military for driving tent pegs and re-aligning tank treads.

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The Osman Trio

The Osman Trio
Three great strongmen formed the act known as the Osman Trio. Wilhelm Turck was a butcher by trade who became the World's Weightlifting Champion in 1898. He could perform a two-hands anyhow dumbbell lift of 279 1/4 pounds: 140 lb. DB in right hand, 139 1/4 lb. DB in left hand.

Franz Stahr was one of the first strongmen to lift 200 pounds overhead with one hand.

Georges Jagendorfer was a very popular strongman who performed with Cooke's Circus. The trio often used elaborate stage weights in their performances around Europe.

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Joan Rhodes

Joan Rhodes
The lovely Joan Rhodes looked every bit the blonde bombshell but could perform incredible feats of strength that most men twice her size could not even dream of accomplishing. She left home at the age of 13 to join the circus where she was "adopted" by the Strongman who taught her how to build her strength.

She was featured prominantly in magazines articles and newsreel clips bending iron bars, breaking nails, and tearing phonebooks as shown in this classic shot from the 1950's.

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Tommy Kono

Tommy Kono succeeds in jerking unusual classic barbell at Cayeaux's Paris gym (the same place where Norb Schemansky lifted the Apollon Wheels.) This non-rotating thick-handle barbell weighed 358 pounds and the smaller plates necessitated a longer pull making it quite a challenge. The first two men to clean and jerk this weight were Charles Rigoulot and John Davis.

Tommy Kono

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Sig Klein's Roman Column

A look at Sig Klein using the Roman Column at his famous gym. It was actually Sig's father-in-law Professor Attila who invented the Roman Column. The Roman Column was actually used more as a demonstration of strength than as a means of developing strength. When used for strength feats, the performer would lower his body directly to the ground, pick up a weight and then sit up with it. Eugen Sandow was a master at this strength feat.

Sig Klein's Roman Column

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Karl Abs

Karl Abs
Known as the father of German Strength Sports, Karl Abs was the first man in Germany to jerk 130 kg. He could also bent press 242 pounds and was a very good professional wrestler, often billed as "The German Oak."

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John Davis Pinchlift

John Davis Pinchlift
The Olympic Champion John Davis pinch-gripping 55 pounds with one finger and a thumb while training as Ed Yarick's Gym.

Try it!

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Slim The Hammer Man's Gym

Slim The Hammer Man's Gym
A unique look into part of Slim the Hammer Man's "dungeon" gym. Slim has been performing for over 50 years and there's a lot of history on those walls - event posters, pictures of The Mighty Atom, memorabilia, famous strongmen and friends, bent horseshoes and nails, chains, and, of course, his famous sledge hammers.

...That's the Mighty Atom's coat on the chair in the foreground.

Yes, it's even more amazing to see it in real life but if you can't make it to Pottstown, PA, you can still check it out for yourself here.

And, like I said, this is only part of Slim's place.

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Joe Rollino

Joe Rollino
"The Great" Joe Rollino bends a spike with his teeth. According to an article in Strength and Health, some of Rollino's best lifts include: a teeth lift of 475 pounds, a one-finger lift of 635 pounds, a deadlift of 585 pounds, a curl of 185 pounds, a back lift of 3200 pounds, and a hand and thigh lift of 1500 pounds -- all at a bodyweight of only 175 pounds.

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The 2-Kettlebell Deadlift

What weighs more than one kettlebell? - Two kettlebells! (How's that for logic?) In many cases the Oldtimers didn't have an easy method to add weight to their equipment -- so they made due with what they could. Hence, why you will sometimes see them holding two dumbbells or two kettlebells in one hand which also added a level of difficulty to their exercises as they trained.

The 2-Kettlebell Deadlift

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Dave Sheppard Training at The York Gym

Dave Sheppard Training at The York Gym
One of the greatest gyms of all time was the old York gym on Broad street. An untold number of champions trained there, among them Dave Sheppard, shown here practicing his high pulls with 360 pounds.

Sheppard used a wide grip, as if snatching, and pulled the weight high enough to touch his chest lightly on each rep. This was one of the key exercises that allowed him to snatch 316-1/2 pounds at a bodyweight of 190 pounds.

John Davis looks on as he waits his turn to lift.

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Steve Stanko Cleans 370 Pounds

Steve Stanko Cleans 370 Pounds
The Mighty Steve Stanko showing the form that allowed him to become the first man to officially total over 1000 pounds in the three Olympic Lifts and the first American to snatch 300 pounds.

The shot was taken during a workout in 1940. A year later Stanko went on to break the 1000 pound barrier. (His bodyweight at the time was only 220 pounds.)

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The Superman Pushup

The Superman Pushup
The "Superman Pushup" is tough enough by itself and few people can perform it. Here is 55 year old J.A. Smyrna performing this incredible feat with an additional 135 pounds. He accomplished this lift at the George State weightlifting championships in 1941.

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Ed Zercher

You might have heard of Ed Zercher from the famous lift which bears his name but the St. Louis native was a master of many different lifts. Here's Ed Zercher deadlifting 536-pounds at a bodyweight of only 155.

Ed Zercher

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The Super Gripper

The Super Gripper is one of the classic pieces of grip training equipment and has actually been around since the early 1940s if you can believe it. The first Super Gripper was invented by a man named Daniel Marvosh of Flint, Michigan and it was advertised in the pages of Strength and Health and Ironman Magazines. This ad is from 1963.

The Super Gripper

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Sig Klein Demonstrates The One Arm Getup

Sig Klein Demonstrates The One Arm Getup
Sig Klein demonstrates one of most popular of the "oldtime" lifts: the one arm getup (also called the Turkish getup.)

This was a favorite lift of the vaudeville performers of yesteryear who performed it with live weight, dumbbell or kettlebell as shown here. The athlete begins with back flat on the floor and the weight pressed to arm's length. Then, through a series of movements, ends up with standing with the weight overhead.

Some performers did not consider the lift completed until the sequence was reversed. This lift requires great stamina and a good sense of balance.

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Bert Assirati

Bert Assirati
Our friends across the pond are sure to recognize the legendary British wrestler Bert Assirati who held the heavyweight championship belt for several years in the 40s and 50s.

Though he was quite stout (5'6", bodyweight of 263) Assirati was one of the strongest and most athletic individuals who ever graced the wrestling ring. He could easily perform a standing backflip, was a master hand balancer and could chin himself three times with either arm, among other feats.

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Louis Cyr's Backlift

Louis Cyr's Backlift
A rare woodcut of the great Louis Cyr's famous backlift. Cyr astonished the world with a lift of 4337 pounds!

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Orville Stamm - The Boy Hercules

Orville Stamm - The Boy Hercules
A top vaudeville attraction for several decades, Orville Stamm, who performed as "The Boy Hercules" possessed many talents. He would often sing a song to the accompanyment of a piano which he happened to be supporting in the "Tomb Of Hercules".

He could also tear cards, played the violin with a 66-pound bulldog tied to the bow, lifted a horse with one hand and performed acrobatic feats.

Sounds like quite a show!

During World War I, Orville Stamm also served as physical instructor to the Navy and one of his students was president-to-be Franklin D. Roosevelt. After FDR was elected, Orville and his wife were often guests at the Whitehouse.

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