Oldtime Strongman Training

German Weightlifting Club ~ 1919

2010-03-04T12:16:00.004-05:00

German Weightlifting Club ~ 1919

A German weightlifting club and their classic equipment, from 1919.

Weightlifting at the 1906 Olympics

2010-03-03T19:41:00.006-05:00

Weightlifting at the 1906 Olympics

A rare look at the "two arm" lifting event at the 1906 Olympics. Silver Medal winner Joseph Steinbach of Austria is shown here lifting while the eventual winner Demetrius Tofalos of Greece, looks on. (Steinbach took Gold and Tofalos Silver in the "One Hand" event later on.)

Oscar Wahlund, The Strongest Man in Sweden

2010-03-02T14:15:00.002-05:00

Oscar Wahlund, The Strongest Man in Sweden

Who IS the strongest man in Sweden? Hard to say these days but a hundred years ago it was Oscar Wahlund. He is credited with a harness lift of well over 4600 pounds and could clean and jerk 225 pounds for 10 repetitions.

John Davis at Muscle Beach

2010-03-02T13:59:00.003-05:00

John Davis at Muscle Beach

John Davis was among the many famous visitors to Muscle Beach during its heyday. This picture was probably taken during the period of time when Davis spent some time out on the West Coast training at Yarick's Gym. Looks like around 300 pounds on the bar.

Samson: The Strongest Man on Earth

2010-02-26T14:19:00.003-05:00

Samson: The Strongest Man on Earth

A rare look at an advertising poster from Charles Sampson's stint at the Royal Aquarium in London, circa 1899. It was here that he was famously challenged -- and defeated -- by Eugen Sandow. Regardless of the circumstances, you have to admit that this poster still looks pretty sharp.

Maurice Deriaz

2010-02-26T13:29:00.004-05:00

Maurice Deriaz

Maurice Deriaz, of Switzerland was one member of a band of brothers who were all celebrated strength athletes (the others being Emile, Adrian, and Ulysses). Maurice was the finest wrestler of the group and won a number of noted tournaments at the turn of the century.

He was also particular;y adept at dumbbell lifting, having performed a one-arm swing of 202 pounds (just under bodyweight) and a two-dumbbell clean and jerk of 288 pounds. Maurice Deriaz was used as the model for Hercules in works of art by the French painter Gustave Courtois.

Ironman Magazine, Volume 1, Number 6

2010-02-24T22:45:00.003-05:00

Ironman Magazine, Volume 1, Number 6

Here's something you don't see every day, Ironman Magazine Volume 1, Number 6. The first few issues (this being one of them) were produced by Peary Rader on an old mimeograph machine. Only about 50 copies of each were ever printed up so needless to say they are pretty hard to come by. Weightlifter Bill Good graces the cover.

Thomas Inch

2010-02-24T21:18:00.003-05:00

Thomas Inch

In days of yore, one of benchmark tests of strength was a "muscle out" with a 56-pound ring weight. Here's the great British champion Thomas Inch with 56 pounds in the the right hand and a 54-pounds kettlebell in the left.

The Zimmerman Brothers

2010-02-22T16:51:00.004-05:00

The Zimmerman Brothers

Joe and Dick Zimmerman were a couple of tough farm boys who liked lifting weights who also just so happened to be in the right place at the right time: Bob Hoffman was their neighbor in York, Pa.

Needless to say, Bob took a liking to them, partially because they were always doing crazy feats of strength like this one. That's Joe is on the bottom, supporting a barbell loaded to 485 pounds. Dick, bodyweight of 130 pounds, is on top while also holding a 50-pound dumbbell in each hand.

As a finale to this particular act, Dick jumped down onto Joe's stomach, still holding the bells!

The Zimmerman Brothers also performed more traditional feats like teeth lifting, bar bending, hand balancing, and chain breaking.

Ian "Mac" Batchelor

2010-02-22T10:30:00.003-05:00

Ian "Mac" Batchelor

Mac Batchleor Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, came to the US when he was five years old and became one of the more colorful characters in Iron Game History. He was noted for a number of unusual feats of grip strength, and in well over 50 years, was undefeated at "wrist wrestling."

Mighty Mac, was a large man, tipping the scales at well over 300 pounds but was unusually light on his feet, having once ran the 100-yard dash in 11 seconds! You can read more about Mac and some of his exploits in The Keys to Progress by John McCallum.

Steamship Gymnasium

2010-02-20T17:39:00.003-05:00

Steamship Gymnasium

Back in days of yore, the steamship was a very popular method of international travel. Given the upscale nature of their clientel, and that it took several weeks of travel time, these steam ships offered all the amenities of home, including a fully stocked gymnasium like this one with its Indian Clubs, Swedish Bars, Wall Pulleys etc.

This particular gym was aboard the R.M.S. Franconia, which took thousands of immagrants from Liverpool to Boston during the years of 1912 and 1916. It was also owned by the White Start Line, which also owned the Titanic.

Hermann Goerner: The Human Link

2010-02-20T14:40:00.002-05:00

Hermann Goerner: The Human Link

Hermann Goerner was one of the many strongmen who performed The Human Link. Even eight men on each side was child's play for the Mighty German strongman.

George Brosius and his "Frankfort Squad"

2010-02-17T16:05:00.005-05:00

The First International Gymnastic Team

George Brosius (far right) is shown here with his famous "Frankfort Squad". This seven member team was composed of the most talented individuals from the Milwaukee Turnverein of which Brosius was the long time director.

Against thousands of the best athletes that Europe had to offer, Brosius' team shocked the world in 1880 by winning six out of twenty-two prizes at the international gymnastic competition held at Frankfort, Germany. They also took first place in a separate German wrestling competition.

Harry Truman's 1948 White House Gym

2010-02-15T10:32:00.004-05:00

Harry Truman's Gym

In honor of President's Day and all, I thought you might be interested in seeing Harry Truman's gym in the White House, circa 1948.

It is sparse, but certainly contains everything someone would need to stay in shape: medicine balls, Swedish Bars, Wall Pulleys, Gymnastic Rings, Rowing machine, health rider bike, situp board, and a rack of dumbbells (more of which are out of the frame.)

Dudley Allen Sargent

2010-02-11T11:38:00.003-05:00

Dudley Allen Sargent

Going back though all the posts on this bog I realized -- amazingly -- that I had not done a post specifically on Dudley Allen Sargent so away we go:

Sargent began his career as the gymnasium director at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine and later, more famously at Harvard where he ran The Hemenway Gymnasium. He was very much ahead of his time, noting that while Calisthenics and Gymnastics had their uses, they also had limitations, and so was among the first individual to devise a series of machines which addressed these shortcomings.

Kettlebell Juggling

2010-02-10T16:57:00.003-05:00

Kettlebell Juggling

Another look at a German Kettlebell Juggling team in action. If you know your kettlebell history, you already know that German Kettlebells had specially designed handles which were more conducive to flipping and catching.

Robert Conrad

2010-02-10T16:20:00.003-05:00

Robert Conrad

The TV actor Robert Conrad, who was best known as Tom Lopaka in "Hawaiian Eye" in the early 1960s, and Jim West in The Wild Wild West" in the mid and late 1960s, was also avidly into weightlifting and physical fitness.

This was long before strength training was en vogue in Hollywood or elsewhere although he did it more for his roles since he also did all his own stunts. Conrad even graced the cover of the October, 1962 issue of Strength and Health Magazine.

Sandow and Goliath

2010-02-09T13:11:00.003-05:00

Sandow and Goliath

Early on in his career, Sandow partered with a man known as "Goliath" who was every bit the Biblical giant. Unfortunately not much else is known about him. Sandow is not a large man, but still, look at the set of mitts on Goliath!

Indian Club Swinging

2010-02-08T22:58:00.010-05:00

Indian Club Swinging

Swinging the light clubs is a training methods that has been practiced for thousands of years in other cultures but has only been going on in the U.S. relatively recently. Traditionally this method has been used to build upper body strength and promote shoulder stability -- and they work just as well today. This sequence is from The Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture.

John B. Gagnon

2010-02-08T14:16:00.003-05:00

John B. Gagnon

John B. Gagnon, of Caribou, Maine, is a strongman that you do not hear much about but laid claim to some very impressive feats which are as follows:
Finger Lift – 794 pounds
One Hand Lift – 1,111 pounds
Two Hand Lift – 1,575 pounds
Two Hand and Knees Lift – 2,195 pounds
Neck Lift – 1,317 pounds
Harness Lift – 2,689 pounds
Teeth Lift – 627 pounds
One Arm Lift – 924 pounds
Two Arm Lift – 1,248 pounds
Back Lift – 4,170 pounds
Total – 16,650 pounds lifted in only 25 minutes

John Robinson's $25,000 Challenge Feature

2010-02-07T16:49:00.005-05:00

John Robinson's $25,000 Challenge Feature

It was during the season of 1898 that Louis Cyr traveled and performed with The John Robinson Circus. According to records, Cyr's measurements at the time were as follows:
Width across shoulders: 27 inches
Neck: 23 inches
Forearm: 19 inches
Bicep: 21.5 inches
Waist: 52 inches
Thigh: 29-3/4 inches
Calf: 24 inches
Chest: 59.5 inches
John Robinson's challenge was whether any man could equal or better any one of Cyr's feats... needless to say, the money was very safe.

Tullus Wright: The American Sampson

2010-02-07T16:38:00.003-05:00

Tullus Wright: The American Sampson

Another rare look at Tullus Wright, The American Sampson and a few of his great stage weights. Note the thick handles on his equipment. He was good friends with George Zottman.

Steve Reeves ~ Hercules!

2010-02-07T15:57:00.000-05:00

Steve Reeves ~ Hercules!

Another classic shot of Steve Reeves as the mythical Hercules. It is a little known fact that Steve did all his own stunts in his movies, including the horse riding and chariot scenes -- this came as a relief to the directors he worked with, after all, finding a stunt double for Steve Reeves would not have been easy!

Chuck Ahrens

2010-02-04T15:30:00.004-05:00

Chuck Ahrens

Chuck Ahrens was never interested in showing off so no one really knew what he was capable of. Things like this had a lot of people wondering just exactly what his limits were. I count twelve 10-pound plates and 2 smaller ones, likely 7-1/2 pounders, for each dumbbell -- that's approximately 135 pounds per hand - and Chuck reportedly pressed them with ridiculous ease. Even dressed in a baggy, flannel shirt, you can tell Chuck Ahrens was built for some serious horse power.

Tug O' War at the 1906 Olympic Games

2010-02-03T16:51:00.005-05:00

Tug O' War at the 1906 Olympic Games

Here's a rare look at the Tug O' War event at the 1906 Olympic Games held in Athens Greece. It looks like the Gold Medal -winning German team is on the right - notable because several of its members were also champion weightlifters, namely Heinrich Rondi and Heinrich Schneidereit. The Greek team took Silver while Sweden took Bronze. Joseph Steinbach was also a member of the Austrian team which finished was fourth.