Demetrius Tofalos

Demetrius Tofalos

Demetrius Tofalos was a Greek weightlifter who survived a serious childhood injury and went on to defeat Josef Steinbach to win the Gold Medal at the 1906 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The winning lift for Tofalos in the "two-hand barbell lift" (i.e. clean and jerk) was 142.4 Kilograms.

It really was a "clean" and jerk - lifters were penalized if the barbell touched any other part of their body as they brough it to their chest..

Tofalos was also a very successful professional wrestler although a defeat and injury by American Champion Frank Gotch forced his retirement. Tofalos eventually went on to manage Jim Londos, "The Golden Greek."

Today, a sports arena is named in Tofalos' honor in his hometown of Patras, Greece.

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Ernest Cadine

Ernest Cadine

Ernest Cadine was a French Weightlifter who won the Gold Medal at the 1920 Olympic Games held in Antwerp, Belgium. He set six World records over his competitive career.

In 1925, Cadine performed a one-arm swing with 90 kilos which was actually greater than his own bodyweight. He could also right hand snatch 211 pounds and one-hand deadlifted the famous Apollon Wheels.

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The Magic Square

The Magic Square

You've heard of the Magic Circle... but have you heard of the Magic Square?

It was another experiment to make intense leg work more "comfortable." However, like the Magic Circle, it also changed the lifter's center of gravity which was somewhat problematic.

Still, the Magic Square was GREAT for Hise Shrugs and calf work.

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Maxick - Muscle Control

Maxick - Muscle Control

"The serious student of muscle control will soon become aware of the fact that his will-power has become greater and his mental faculties clearer and capable of increased concentration.

Thus, it will be observed that the controlling of the muscles reacts upon the mind and strengthens the mental powers in exactly the same proportion that the control of the muscles strengthens the body and limbs."

- Muscle Control by Maxick, chapter IV, written in 1910
(looks like it works!)

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Karl Norberg: Plate Muscle-Out

Karl Norberg: Plate Muscle-Out

Lifting an old York deep-dish 45-pound plate by the hub is impressive enough, but this feat is out of this world. At 69 years of age, "The Mighty Norseman" Karl Norberg not only pinched the plate, he lifted it and performed a Muscle-Out with it - a simply incredible feat of strength!

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The King's of Arm Strength by George Weaver

Here's an ad for a training course you won't be seeing anytime soon: The Kings of Arm Strength by George R. Weaver and David P. Willoughby This course has all the great ones and covers a variety of feats for building bigger and stronger arms: hand balancing,card tearing, horse shoe breaking and many more... I'm fortunate enough to own a copy (and no, it isn't for sale.) This was actually Weaver and Willoughby's second course on arm building with the first titled: Powerful Arms for You.

The King's of Arm Strength by George Weaver

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The Mighty Atom - A Different Kind of Horseshoe Bending

The Mighty Atom - A Different Kind of Horseshoe Bending

Many of the Oldtime Strongmen bent horseshoes but nobody could do it like The Mighty Atom - Yow! The cool thing is, Slim The Hammer Man still has the Mighty Atom's bending post in his Dungeon Gym.

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Jean Baillargeon - Finger Lifting

Jean Baillargeon - Finger Lifting

Jean Baillargeon, of the famed Baillargeon Brothers lifts what looks to be around 260 pounds with his little finger! Finger lifting was a favorite feat of many Oldtime Strongmen - some men were able to work up to 500-600 pounds in this lift.

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Indian Club Swinging at the 1904 Summer Olympics

Indian Club Swinging at the 1904 Summer Olympics

When you think of the Summer Olympics, the events that most immediately come to mind probably include track and field, weightlifting, swimming, and other popular forms of competition... but Olympic history is full of several unusual sports that garnered much less attention, and which existed as a competitive event for only a brief period.

You may be surprised to learn that at the 1904 Summer Olympics (held in St. Louis, Missouri) indian club swinging made its first (but not only) appearance as an Olympic contest.

Classified as a gymnastics event, the original competition featured only three athletes -- all from the United States: Edward Hennig of Cleveland, Ohio took home the Gold Medal, narrowly edging his countryman Emil Voigt by a score of 13-9. Ralph Wilson took Bronze with a score of "5."

Indian Club Swinging was again on the docket for the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, but that was its last moment in the spotlight, at least on the Olympic stage. We sure won't be seeing any late-night coverage of club swinging from Beijing this year.

Although no longer a competitive sport, club swinging still remains a great way to build upper body strength and stamina even a hundred years later.

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Chuck Sipes Lifting His Truck

Chuck Sipes Lifting His Truck

Chuck Sipes was one of the strongest bodybuilders of all time. Chuck, who won the 1959 IFBB Mr. America, 1960 IFBB Mr. Universe and 1968 Mr. World Bodybuilding titles, could also could perform several incredible feats of strength.

As he was training to accomplish a 600 pound(!) bench press, Chuck used to train using a variety of techniques involving heavy supports and negatives -- he even had a special handle welded to the underside of his pickup truck which he used to lift and support the whole affair.

Sipes would first lift the pickup truck as high as he could with his arms then wedge his legs underneath. In the top position, he estimated that he was supporting 1600 pounds.

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George Hackenschmidt on Recovery

"The natural invigorating remedy for an exhausted body is rest, both in the physical as in the mental direction, and a healthy sleep. This is the only means by which the various organs and muscles may rid themselves of the "fatigue poison" and collect and develop fresh energy." ~ George Hackenschmidt, The Way to Live, Chapter 6

George Hackenschmidt

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45-Pound Plate Hub Curl

45 Plate Hub Curl

Rocky Erickon of Chicago, Illinois performs an incredible feat of grip strength: a hub "lift" and curl of a pair of old York Barbell "deep dish" 45-pound plates. Lifting a 45-pound plate by the hub is impressive, but Rocky takes it to a whole new level with this feat.

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One Corner of Ed Yarick's Gym

One Corner of Ed Yarick's Gym

This picture represents approximately 50% of Ed Yarick's Gym out in Oakland, California. As you can see, there wasn't much to it -- a couple rows of dumbbells, a few platforms, barbells and benches -- but that is all it takes.

These spartan surroundings produced some of the greatest strength champions the world has ever known: Olympic Champion John Davis, THE clasic physique, bodybuilding champion Steve Reeves, Mr. Americas Roy Hilligenn, Clancy Ross and Jack Dellinger all trained there. As did Doug Hepburn and Reg Park when he visited the west coast.

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