Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Otto ArcoAnother look at Otto Arco's rather impressive arm. Arco only weighed 150 pounds or so, and this picture was taken nearly a hundred years ago yet you will rarely - if ever - see an arm as well developed these days. If you are looking for "peak" you may want to give Muscle Control training a try.
Labels: Arm Development, Bicep Development, Big Arms, Muscle Control, Otto Arco
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Monday, June 29, 2009
Classic Polish Globe WeightsGreat equipment practically begs to be used and I would say that would definitely be the case here. These classic Globe Barbells, Dumbbells, Kettlebells and Blockweights from a century ago can be found in a Polish Museum.
Labels: Ancient Kettlebells, Block Weights, Classic Equipment, Globe Barbell, Globe Dumbbell, Polish Weights, Strongman Equipment, Thick Bars
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Sunday, June 28, 2009
A short video slide show featuring some rare images of Eugen Sandow (clip has sound). It's not hard to see how Sandow inspired so many great strongmen of the past - and why his influence can still be felt today.
Labels: Eugen Sandow, Video
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| The York Lifters all used to practice the bent press because the lift built incredible core strength. This, in turn, helped in increasing the Olympic Lifting total. One of the most talented of the bent pressers was Val De Genaro who could lift 215 pounds. Bob Hoffman said that De Genaro had the most perfect bent press technique that he had ever seen. Perhaps due in great part to his bent pressing ability, as a 148 pound lifter, De Genaro could Jerk 290 pounds. He was also an excellent hand balancer who could walk the length of a football field on his hands. |  Val De Genaro |
Labels: Barbell, Bent Press, hand balancer, lightweight lifter, Val De Genaro
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PushupsWith the many ways of training out there the simple pushup is still a great exercise choice. They can be done anywhere, require no special equipment and can be trained progressively by adjusting the form.
Shown here is the great oldime strongman Earle E. Liederman demonstrating pushups in one of his classic courses. Liederman and many of the other early strength authors often prescribed a mixture of bodyweight calisthenics and barbell/dumbbell training since the two styles of training compliment each other very effectively.
Labels: Barbell Training, Bodyweight Calisthenics, Bodyweight Training, Earle E. Liederman, Pushups, Strength Author
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"Ya Gotta Use Your Head!"Steve Jeck is fond of saying that if you want to be a great stone lifter then ya gotta use your head. Here, he shows what he means -- at least in one sense. I don't know the weight of that particular stone but it sure doesn't look light.
Labels: Neck Strap, Neck Strength, Steve Jeck, Stone Lifting
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
Archie VanderpoolIf you want to practice heavy partial deadlifts or hand-and-thigh lifts, you'll want a setup like Archie Vanderpool here. The strongman (and proud member of the York Barbell Club) from Woodbine, Iowa, specialized on a number of unusual -- and very heavy -- lifts. For example, his record in the lift shown was 1840 pounds. He also liked to do things like shouldering a 1100 pound railroad rail and then going for a walk.
He also reported carrying a barbell loaded to 400 pounds for a distance of 80 feet. If this looks and sounds familiar, it's because Archie was good friends with Steve Justa's father.
Labels: Archie Vanderpool, Heavy Partial Movements, Odd Object Lifting, Steve Justa, Unusual Strength, Unusual Training Equipment
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Les BartrasLes Bartras, a European hand-to-hand trio specialized in prodigious stunts like this one which combined brawn with acrobatic skill. Their spectacular feats have brought them fame and prosperity in circus and vaudeville engagements. This trio trained extensively with weights to prepare for their incredible balancing stunts.
Labels: Acrobatics, Balance, Balance Feat, Circus, Circus Act, Hand Balancing Act, Les Bartras, Vaudeville
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My Garage GymI snapped this shot of one corner of my garage gym during last night's workout. Thought it looked kind of nifty - and yes, these aren't for show, everything gets used.
Labels: Barbell Plates, Garage Gym, Globe Dumbbells, Oldtime Strength Equipment, York Dumbbells
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Hermann GoernerHere the great German strongman Hermann Goerner does an improvised curl with a stocky kid (who happens to be Tromp Van Digglen's son, "Lil' Hercules").
Labels: Curl, Hermann Goerner, Human Lift, Tromp Van Diggelen
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009
MaxickIn 1913, Maxick performed this novel advertising stunt, pressing a 210 pound man overhead while drinking a glass of beer with his free hand. Maxick weighed only 147 pounds. Maxick's manager Tromp Van Diggelen took the picture, and that is also his barrel barbell in the foreground.
Labels: Barrel Barbell, Human Lift, Maxick, Press, Tromp Van Diggelen
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Old School Captains of Crush Hand GrippersWay back in the day, Captains of Crush Grippers came in bags like these instead of the more modern blister packs that you see today. Of course, back then, there were only four grippers: Trainer, #1, #2, #3 and #4. Grippers of this 'vintage' are exceedingly rare - if you have one, hang on to it.
Labels: Captains of Crush, Captains of Crush Hand Grippers, Grip Tools, Hand Gripper, Hand Strength, Ironmind Gripper
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IRON MASTER DumbellsAnother look at one of Osmo Kiiha's great IRON MASTER dumbbells. This one looks well used because of all the deadlifts and shrugs I did with it (and its mate) back in high school. If we decided to bring something like these back, would you be interested?
Labels: Globe Dumbbell, Iron Master Dumbbells, Osmo Kiiha, Strongman Equipment, Strongman Training Equipment
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
| "Do You Wish to Become Strong? "Certainly," you will answer, "That is my intention, that is my wish," to which I should reply that a simple wishing will not do it. You must want to -- in other words, you must act." ~ George Hackenschmidt The Way to Live, Chapter 4 Written in 1908 |  George Hackenschmidt |
Labels: George Hackenschmidt, The Way to Live, Will Power
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Monday, June 22, 2009
Earle E. Liederman on Neck Development"I have always contended that there is absolutely no excuse for anyone to have a scrawny or ungainly looking neck, when a few minutes devoted every other day to the care and welfare of this part of the body would not only make the pupil feel better, but would change his appearance completely."
~ Earle E. Liederman
Labels: Earle E. Liederman, Neck Development, Neck Strength, Neck Training
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John Grimek: One-Arm Barbell SnatchMany people have ascribed John Grimek's well-rounded physique to the fact that he was very well-rounded in his training. He pressed, he squatted, he trained his grip, he used the wrist roller, he even trained upside-down. Here's Grimek performing a one-arm barbell snatch with 145 pounds - a feat that you will rarely see these days.
Labels: Barbell, Grip Training, John Grimek, one arm snatch, Press, Squat, Wrist Roller Training, York Deep Dish 45 Pound Plate
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The York Aristocrat Weight SetThe York Aristocrat Weight Set, circa 1955. Not much more to say other than you can get pretty damn strong with only what is pictured here ~ and many people did!
Labels: Advertisement, Barbell, Barbell and Plates, Dumbbell, swingbell, York Aristocrat Weight Set
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Gregory Paradise: 1-Finger/1-Arm Chin The great strongman Gregory Paradise, from New Hampshire, could perform a middle finger chin up with either arm. He is also one of the few men in history to bent press double bodyweight.
Labels: Bent Press, Finger Strength, Gregory Paradise, One Arm Chin up, One Finger Lift
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Arthur DandurandAt a contest in 1908, the great Canadian strongman Arthur Dandurand pushed a wheelbarrow loaded with 4300 pounds of pig iron for a distance of 23 feet. The Montreal strongman weighed only 190 pounds at the time.
Labels: Arthur Dandurand, Canadian Strongman, Feats of Strength, Grip Strength, Wheelbarrow Lift
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Friday, June 19, 2009
The Warren Lincoln Travis DumbbellAn older Warren Lincoln Travis is shown here with his famous dumbbell. Travis would often hip lift the dumbbell as part of his performances. Empty, the dumbbell weighs 1650 pounds although Travis often loaded it with sand so that it topped out around 3750 pounds. The Travis Dumbbell can now be seen at the York Barbell Company Museum.
Labels: Famous Dumbbell, Globe Dumbbells, Hip Lift, Travis Dumbbell, Warren Lincoln Travis, York Barbell Company Museum
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 Wally Allen and Martin Wilson | Years ago, 'weight lifting' was thought by many people to make athletes musclebound and inflexible. Here's a couple gents who certainly proved that wrong. Wally Allen, on the bottom, could press 200 pounds, succeeeded with a pullover of 125 pounds and could bench press 330 - not bad considering he weighed only 175 pounds. The top man Marty allen was also a very good lifter in his own right - both of these men were York Barbell Men all the way, in addition to making their living as professional hand balancers. |
Labels: Bodyweight Feat, Hand Balancing, Hand Balancing Act
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The Russian Olympic SetOne of the interesting things that you would find in the old strength magazines was Olympic sets from some of the different countries - and they did a fine job. pictured here is a famous Russian Olympic set brought in by Leo Stern for use in his gym. Oh yeah, that's also Pat Casey 'unofficially' bench pressing 525 pounds.
Labels: Barbell Exercise, Bench Press, Leo Stern, Olympic Barbell, Pat Casey, Russian Olympic Set, Sterns Gym
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
Hand Grippers!Hand Grippers? Yeah... I know a thing or two about 'em. Here's a look at a bit of what's in my collection. Between my personal interests and my business interests I can say with no hesitation that I have handled more grippers than any one person in history. What's more, I'll be sharing some of the things I know very soon...
Labels: Collection, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Grip Training, Hand Grippers, Hand Strength, John Wood
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Karl MoerkeThe famous German strongman Karl Moerke was a man of many unusual talents. Among them, this unusual and quite impressive "leg press" support of the front end of a fire truck. The weight was said to top 4000 pounds.
Labels: German Strongman, Karl Moerke, Leg Press, Leg Strength, Supporting Feat
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Wednesday, June 17, 2009
1946 Mr. America Alan StephanAlan Stephan on the cover of the August 1946 issue of Strength and Health Magazine. As evident by the headline, Stephan was the newly crowned 1946 AAU Mr. America. He also won the IFBB Pro-Mr. America in 1949.
Labels: 1940 Mr. America Contest, 1946 Mr. America Contest, AAU, Alan Stephan, Bodybuilding, Cover, Muscle Magazine, Strength and Health
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Ernest Cadine ~ Dumbbell SwingIn this classic photo it's not hard to see why the great French weightlifter Ernest Cadine was so formidable. He got this 150 pound dumbbell overhead by way of the "swing". This picture was probably taken at Le Gaulois' place.
Labels: Cannon, Dumbbell Swing, Ernest Cadine, French Strongman, French Weightlifter, Globe Barbell, Globe Dumbbell, Noel Le Gaulois, Oldtime Strength Equipment, Swing
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A Unique FeatI don't know who these guys are or anything about them but I will say that this feat is quite impressive. In all my years, I have never seen this feat performed anywhere else. They certainly make it look pretty easy although it's a lot more difficult that it looks.
Labels: Balance Feat, Bodyweight Feat, Hand Balancing Feat, Unique Feat
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The Millennium DumbbellThe Millennium Dumbbell was created around ten years ago as a tribute to a weight once lifted by the great French Strongman Apollon. At 225 pounds, The Millennium outweighs the famous Thomas Inch dumbbell considerably. Needless to say the 2-3/8 inch thick handle necessitates a tremendous level of grip strength in order to lift.
Labels: Challenge Weight, Famous Dumbbell, Globe Dumbbell, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Hand Strength, Millennium Dumbbell, The Millennium Dumbbell, Thick Handle
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Test Your Grip!Are You Strong or Weak? ~ Don't be a wimp ~ Test Your Grip! To be a true 'strong man' you need a strong set of hands. That's as true today as it was back in the 1920s when machines like this could be found at fairs and carnivals all over the country. You won't find many of these machines these days but you still want to be able to measure up when necessary so it pays to always train your grip.
Labels: Grip Machine, Grip Strength, Grip Tester, Grip Training, Grip Training Equipment
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Monday, June 15, 2009
| "George Hackenschmidt, Born in Russia, 20th July, 1877 and studied engineering, but on the advice of Count Ribeaupierre of St. Petersburg, took seriously to wrestling in 1897. First big match with Paul Pons at the age of twenty one. Acclaimed champion of the World after a forty-six minute bout. He has defeated such men as Petersen, Jenkins, Hassan, Cannon, McInerney, Munro, and Pierri, and everybody will remember the sensational match with Madrali at Olympia which ended with a broken arm for the Turk in 44 seconds." |  George Hackenschmidt |
Labels: Ahmed Madrali, Alexander Munro, Cigarette Card, George Hackenschmidt, Paul Pons, Russian Strongman, The Russian Lion, Tom Cannon, Wrestling
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Shaolin Log LiftingThey may not lift barbells but they still lift "weights". This particular Shaolin Monk is shown building shoulder and upper-body strength with a wooden log. ~ Any kind of object can build strength, so long as it is trained with in a progressive manner.
Labels: Log Lifting, Martial Arts Training, Odd Object Lifting, Shaolin Log Lifting, Shaolin Monks, Upper Body Exercise, Wooden Log
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Friday, June 12, 2009
The Half-Moon BenchTo the oldtime bodybuilders and strength athletes "Chest Development" used to mean stretching and enlarging the ribcage, not working the pecs (which is what it has become today.) The theory behind this was simple, the deep breathing from intense leg work (i.e. squats combined with light pullovers did so very effectively. Enlarging the rib box meant wider shoulders and a much greater potential for upper-body growth.
To make the technique more effective, a half-moon bench was often used. These unusual pieces of equipment used to be commonplace in many gyms although you're more likely to win the lottery than find one these days.
To find out more about leg work, pullovers and chest expansion techniques, you'll want to check out: Super Squats by Randall J. Strossen, The Complete Keys to Progress by John McCallum and The New Bodybuilding for Oldschool Results by Ellington Darden.
Labels: Bench, Chest Expansion, Ellington Darden, Equipment, Half Moon Bench, John McCallum, Keys to Progress, New Bodybuilding for Old School Results, Pullover, Randall J. Strossen, Super Squats
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Joe Kinney's Secret WeaponIn order to build the incredible strength needed to close the Iron Mind #4 gripper, Joe Kinney devised a unique piece of grip training equipment he dubbed the "Secret Weapon." This allowed him to perform severe negatives which is a type of training which is incredibly effective but definitely not for the faint of heart. It worked... no man before or since has closed the #4 with so much authority.
Labels: #4 Gripper, Grip Strength, Grip Training Equipment, Hand Strength, Joe Kinney
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Rocky Marciano in training (photo credit LIFE Magazine)"...Of all boxers it seems to have been Rocky Marciano who trained with the most monastic devotion; his training methods have become legendary. Marciano was willing to seclude himself from the world, including his wife and family, for as long as three months before a fight.
Apart from the grueling physical ordeal of this period and the obsessive preoccupation with diet and weight and muscle tone, Marciano concentrated on one thing; the upcoming fight.
Every minute of his life was defined in terms of the opening second of the fight. In his training camp the opponent’s name was never mentioned in Marciano’s hearing, nor was boxing as a subject discussed. In the final month Marciano would not write a letter since a letter related to the outside world. During the last ten days before a fight he would see no mail, take no telephone calls, meet no new acquaintances.
During the week before the fight he would not shake hands. Or go for a rid in a car, however brief. No new foods! No dreaming of the morning after the fight! For all that was not the fight had to be excluded from consciousness.
When Marciano worked out with a punching bag he saw his opponent before him, when he jogged he saw his opponent close beside him, no doubt when he slept he 'saw' his opponent constantly—as the cloistered monk or nun chooses by an act of fanatical will to 'see' only God. "Madness?-or merely discipline?- this absolute subordination of the self. In any case, for Marciano, it worked."
Joyce Carol Oates
"On Boxing"
Labels: Boxing, Boxing Training, Boxing Workout, Conditioning Workout, Rocky Marciano, Stamina
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Mystery GripperI've seen this style of gripper before but this particular version is a new animal. In all my collections of old magazines and the like I have never seen this one advertised. This gripper is built extremely heavy and the springs themselves are some of the largest I have ever encountered, not to mention that is is quite a bit tougher than any other grippers like this that I have tried. I would estimate this one to be around the #2 gripper level.
Labels: Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Gripper Training, Hand Gripper, Hand Strength Equipment, Spring Gripper, Spring Hand Gripper
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Bob HoffmanOne of Bob Hoffman's favorite lifts was The Bent Press - and he was exceptionally good at it. Here's Bob bent-pressing 260 pounds on Christmas Eve of 1940 at Vic Tanny's Gym in Santa Monica, California.
Labels: Bent Press, Bob Hoffman, Vic Tanny's Gym
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Felice NapoliOne of the earliest of the Oldtime Strongmen, Felice Napoli of Italy was performing incredible feats of strength in Wallshlager's Circus in the 1850's. Napoli dressed as the mythical Hercules as he performed and certainly lived up to it: Napoli's act consisted of his having a cannon shot off while held on his shoulders, bending iron bars, lifting heavy weights while hanging upside down from a trapeze, The Tomb of Hercules, and performing feats while hanging on a vertically suspended rope, a type of feat known as "The Spanish Web'. Plus, he had an excellent goatee.
Labels: Bar Bending, Cannon, Circus Strongman, Felice Napoli, Hercules, Italian Strongman, Oldtime Strongman, The Spanish Web, The Tomb of Hercules
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Tuesday, June 09, 2009
The Bench PressNon-Functional? Please... When performed correctly, the bench press certainly can be an excellent upper body strength builder. John Davis certainly wasn't any worse for the wear for bench pressing in his routine, and he was one of the finest Olympic weightlifters and all-around strength athletes in history.
The bar looks to be loaded to around 400 pounds and Davis seems to be handling it pretty easily. Note the fact that there are no uprights. This shot was taken at Yarick's Gym in Oakland, California.
Labels: Bench Press, Ed Yarick's Gym, John Davis, Oakland California, Upper Body Exercise
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Monday, June 08, 2009
"Boards"Any University of Michigan football player from the last ten years will break down and cry at the sight of this picture. Needless to say, physical conditioning is a big part of the game of football and one of the 'top secret' conditioning tools that we used can be seen here. Think of it as a portable, one-man version of the traditional wooden sled.
We called 'em "Boards" and they were one of Mike Gittleson's evil creations. We used to push these boards up and down the field 2 minutes on/1 minute off for about 45 minutes or so (that was only about half the workout though.) The friction of the field turf or grass made this "extra fun" and one hell of a conditioning workout.
Labels: Conditioning, Conditioning Workout, Mike Gittleson, Sled Pushing, University of Michigan, Wooden Sled
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Mustafa ToosiThe great Iranian champion Mustafa Toosi holding a pair of heavy Meels. Each of these Meels are about 4 feet long and weigh around 60 pounds (27 kg). It's impressive just to be able to hold them in this position, let alone swing them.
Labels: Heavy Clubs, Iranian Wrestler, Meel Swinging, Meels, Mustafa Toosi, Traditional Exercise, Traditional Physical Training
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Viktor SolovyevViktor Solovyev, the great Ukrania strongman and wrestler, is shown here looking quite impressive in this rare picture take around 1906. As far as his lifting feats, he was able to 'slow clurl' 165 pounds, perform a Crucifix Lift with 60 pounds in each hand and could jerk 293 pounds. As a wrestler, he defeated Franz 'Cyclops' Bienkowski, the French Giant Louis 'Apollon' Uni, George Lurich, Pyotr Krylov and many others on the way to winning several world championships.
Labels: Apollon, British Wrestler, Curl, Cyclops, Franz Bienkowski, George Lurich, Oldtime Strongman, Pyotyr Krylov, Slow Curl, Ukranian Strongman, Viktor Solovyev
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| Originally hailing from Ashtabula, Ohio, Adolph Nordquest began his performing strongman career in Buffalo, New York in 1901. A year later he moved to New York City to study and train under Professor Attila. Due to Nordquest's similarities to one of Attila's former students he was dubbed the "American Sandow." Teaming with another great strongman, Otis Lambert, Nordquest performed very successfully in music halls and vaudeville for the next decade and a half. When his performing career came to an end, Nordquest focused very intently on his strength training, so much so that he briefly held the world deadlift record with a lift of 638 pounds. He was also very good at finger lifting. His brother Joe Nordquest was also a famous strongman with many records to his credit. |  Adolph Nordquest |
Labels: Adolph Nordquest, American Sandow, Deadlift, Deadlift Training, Eugen Sandow, finger lifting, Joe Nordquest, Oldtime Strongman, Performing Strongman, Professor Attila, Vaudeville
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Klein's SteinsSig Klein was as famous for his stein collection as he was for his lifting ability. As you can see, his stein collection was quite extensive, and many of which understandably featured physical training motifs with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells and ring weights etc (One actually had a ringweight-shaped lid!)
Sig kept his steins on a high shelf which ran around the top of his gym and you can see them in the background in a few classic shots.
Labels: Klein's Steins, Ring Weights, Sig Klein, Sig Klein's Gym
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Sunday, June 07, 2009
25 Pound Sledge HammerEver seen a 25 pound sledge hammer? Now you can say 'yes' if someone else asks you that question. Note the thicker reinforced handle on this beast. This hammer is used for levering and not for clobberin' stuff - and it's a good one. You won't find these at a local hardware store, this hammer was actually imported from a foreign country.
Labels: 25 Pound Sledge Hammer, Grip Tools, Hammer Training, Levering Tool, Sledge Hammer Leverage, Sledge Hammer Strength, Sledge Hammer Training, sledge Hammers, Unusual Training Equipment
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Saturday, June 06, 2009
Basque Stone LiftingYou can find Stone Lifting in many different cultures but none are more famous -- or stronger - than the Basque people of Northern Spain where stone lifting is their ethnic sport known as Harrijasotzaileak.
The Basques compete in stone lifting in several ways, either the heaviest possible stone for a single repetition or a lighter stone lifted for maximum repetitions in a short amount of time. In either case, a completed 'lift' is from the ground to the shoulder or upper chest. They also lift several different standardized shapes of stones, each with their own unique challenge. I will cover those at a later date.
By the way, the current record for shouldering the heaviest possible stone is 329 kg by Mikeltxo Saralegui. - That's 724 pounds!
Labels: Basque Stone Lifting, Basque Stones, Harrijasotzaileak, Mikeltxo Saralegui, Odd Object Lifting, Stone Lifting, Traditional Exercise, Unusual Strength, Unusual Training Equipment
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Thursday, June 04, 2009
Pete GeorgeTo build real power, you have to handle heavy weights. Here the great Olympic Weightlifter Pete George practices his Continental lifting with around 400 pounds. He got the bar to his chest but missed the jerk. Not bad considering he weighed only 165 pounds at the time.
Labels: Barbell Lift, Continental, Continental and Jerk, Olympic Weightlifing Exercise, olympic weightlifter, Pete George
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Cross-Grip Training1948 Mr. America George Eiferman demonstrates a very interesting looking technique: Cross-Grip Training. These are just a few of the exercises which have been mentioned, you can use this technique with many others, and this is certainly a way of hitting your muscles from a new angle. I would imagine that it takes some getting used to though...
Labels: 1948 Mr. America, Barbell Exercise, Cross-Grip Training, George Eiferman
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Arthur Snell - The Northwest HerculesArthur Snell, The Northwest Hercules, does one-finger clean and press with an 85-pound dumbbell. You will have to try this lift to fully appreciate it.
In 1948 Snell opened the very first weightlifting gym in his home town of Tacoma Washington: The Cascade Health Studio. He could also squat 300 pounds for 50 reps, an impressive feat in any decade.
Labels: Arnold Snell, Cascade Health Studio, Dumbbell Lift, One Finger Lift, Squat, Squatting Feat, Tacoma, The Northwest Hercules
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Bill GoodThe great American Weightlifter Bill Good circa 1934. The Reamstown, Pennsylvania native was a seven-time National weightlifting Champion (1930-1935, 1937) and competed in the 1932 and 1936 Olympic Games. He was also the owner and namesake of The Good Dumbbell which he famously hip lifted on many occasions.
Labels: 1932 Olympics, 1936 Olympics, Bill Good, Hip Lift, National Champion Weightlifter, olympic weightlifter, The Good Dumbbell
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Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Nail-Studded MeelsIndian wrestlers swing heavy clubs known as Jori to build their upper body strength and stamina. As if the heavy clubs are not enough of a challenge, just to keep things extra strict, the strongest wrestlers are able to swing heavy nail-studded meels such as these.
Labels: Heavy Clubs, Heavy Indian Club Swinging, Heavy Indian Clubs, Indian Physical Culture, Jori, Meels, Nail Studded Meels
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The 1947 U.S. World Weightlifting TeamThe 1947 U.S. World Weightlifting Team:
Back Row: John Davis, Norb Schemansky, Stan Stanczyk and Harold Sakata.
Center Row: Tony Terlazzo, Frank Spellman, Pete george and John Terpak
Front row: Emerick Ishikawa, Bobby Higgins, Joe DiPietro and Richard Tom
The 1947 World Weightlifting Championships were held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and were the first such competition ever held on U.S. soil. This team of American lifters scored 27-3 victory over everyone else and equalled or exceeded 12 World records. This event was also held in conjunction with the very first Mr. Universe contest where Steve Stanko took home the crown.
Labels: Emerick Ishikawa, Harold Sakata, Joe DiPietro, John Davis, John Terpak, Norb Schemansky, Olympic Weightlifting, Richard Tom, Stan Stanczyk, The 1947 U.S. World Weightlifting Team, Tony Terlazzo
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Chest Development with Gymnastic Rings"... And finally, "he said, "another exercise that's a little different. You need two flying rings for this one. Suspend them from the ceiling with good strong rope. They should be about two feet apart and three feet off the floor.
Hold one in each hand, and put your feet on a bench so that you're facing the floor. you should be in the same position you'd be in if you were going to do push ups.
Now, let the rings out to the sides and your body drop between them. Go as low as you can and then pull the rings back together again so that your body levers up to its original position. It's something like an upside down flying exercise, only more so.
Bend your arms slightly at the start and try to keep them bent to the same degree during the whole exercise. Build up to five sets of ten and you'll know what pec work really is..."
- John McCallum, in Keys to Progress
Shown demonstrating in the photos above is the first Mr. Olympia Larry Scott performing the described exercise at Vince's Gym.
Labels: Chest Development, Gymnastic Rings, John McCallum, Keys to Progress, Larry Scott, Vince's Gym
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Monday, June 01, 2009
Elmo SantiagoElmo Santiago on the cover of the July, 1959 issue of Ironman Magazine. He won the AAU Junior Mr. America contest that year.
The popular (and quite prolific) New York bodybuilder also won the AAU Mr. New York Metropolitan contest in 1953, Mr. New York City in 1954, Mr. Eastern America in 1958, Mr. North America in 1960, and the 1965 NABBA Mr. Universe title.
Labels: AAU, Bodybuilding, Cover, Elmo Santiago, Iron Man Magazine, Jr. Mr. America, Mr. New York City, Mr. New York Metropolitan, Mr. Universe, NABBA
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Grimek Training With The Automatic ExerciserJohn Grimek loved to train with just about everything. Here's the man getting in a quick set of deadlifts with one of Professor Schmidt's Automatic Exerciser machines. Schmidt machines were a pretty nifty idea even back then, someone should see about bringing them back...
Labels: Antique Equipment, Deadlift, John Grimek, Professor Schmidt, Schmidt Machine
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Bert Goodrich, The First Mr. America, Trained With KettlebellsAmong the many strength athletes who have trained with kettlebells is the very first Mr. America Bert Goodrich. Each of these 'bells weighed 56 pounds, and he used them primarily for shoulder work.
Labels: Antique Equipment, Bert Goodrich, Kettlebells, Mr. America
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 The Wrestler's Bridge Pullover and Press | Here's a pretty good exercise for building neck strength that you won't see much any more: the wrestler's bridge pullover and press. Jim Murray, managing editor of Strength and Health Magazine is shown here performing the lift with a 200 pound York set. It was reported that he was able to go up as high as 250 pounds on this lift, a very impressive accomplishment. |
Labels: Barbell Lift, Bent-Arm Pullover, Bridge Press, Build Neck Strength, Jim Murray, Neck Bridge, Neck Exercise, Pullover and Press, Strength and Health, Wrestlers Bridge, York Barbell Club t-shirt
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The Middle Finger DeadliftIt's not often that one of Hermann Goerner's records is broken, let alone broken by over 100 pounds (!) but that is exactly what you are witnessing here. John McLoughlin, a 198 pound lifter from the German American A.C. in New York City is shown here deadlifting 411 pounds with the middle fingers of each hand.
This lift broke Goerner's old record of 308 pounds which he set back in the 1920's. I can say from experience that this type of lifting ain't exactly a walk in the park.
Labels: finger lifting, Finger Strength, Hermann Goerner, John McLoughlin, Single Finger Lifts, The Middle Finger Deadlift
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Stone CarryingLooking for a good test of mental strength? Try picking up a heavy stone and going for a walk. Carry as long as you can, the exercise only ends when you decide it does. Needless to say Steve Jeck is a big fan of this one.
Labels: Odd Object Lifting, Steve Jeck, Stone Carrying, Stone Lifting, Weight Carrying
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