George Levasseur - Ringling Brothers Circus Strongman

George Levasseur - Ringling Brothers Circus Strongman

This spectacular elephant lifting stunt of
George Levasseur's turns the calander back to the year 1907 when the Ringling Bros. billed the Detroit-born strongman as "The Strongest Man on Earth."

Levasseur was the center ring attraction with this and other dramatic displays of his strength such as allowing a large motor car filled with passengers to drive over his body.

Another sensational stunt was known as "The Human Chain where the daring strongman would resist the pulling powers of two teams of horses tugging in opposite directions in vain to seperate his clenched arms.

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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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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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Backlifting with Mac Batchelor

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

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Warren Lincoln Travis' Challenge

Warren Lincoln Travis

If you wanted to win the Richard K. Fox Heavyweight Strongman Champiionship Belt you had to beat Warren Lincoln Travis at his own game in a challenge match. Here's the list of Travis' ten strength challenges: 1. 100 lb.barbell brought from the floor with both hands, pressed overhead with both hands, while seated(thirty seconds). 2. Pair of ninty pound weights brought from side of body to shoulders, then slowly pressing to arm's lengh over the head. 3. Teeth Lift from floor, hands behind back, 350 lbs. 4. 350 lbs. from floor with one finger, eight times in five seconds. 5. One finger lift from floor, 560 lbs. once. 6. Two-hand grip lift, straddling the weight from floor, 700 lbs. twenty times in ten seconds. 7. Hand and knee lift from floor, 1600 lbs. once. 8. Back lift, 3660 lbs. once. 9. Harness lift, 3580 lbs. once. 10. 2000 lb. back lift, 250 times, seven minutes.

(Did I mention all these lifts must be accomplished in 30 minutes or less if you want to win the belt?)

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Paul Anderson Backlift

Paul Anderson Backlift
Paul Anderson's 6270 pound record backlift stands alone as the heaviest weight ever lifted by a human being and certainly one of the greatest strength feats of all time. This is not a picture of Anderson's record lift but one of many backlifts he performed in front of crowds as he traveled the country giving speeches. Including the human weight and weight of the platform, this is probably close to a ton and "Big Paul" makes it look easy.

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Paul Anderson

Paul Anderson
Paul Anderson began as a skinny teenager with a pair of dumbbells and a stack of Strength and Health Magazines.

Soon, he was scouting out junkyards for heavier weights to lift and by the time he went to college, his lifts were near the American Records. But it wasn't until Bob Peoples taught young Paul Anderson the value of the Squat and deadlift that his strength really took off.

Paul Anderson eventually squatted 1206 pounds, benchpressed 627 pounds, one-arm pressed 380 pounds, and push-pressed an incredible 600 pounds. His Guinness Book of World Records back lift of 6,270 pounds still stands.

He also won the gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and in all, broke 18 American records, 8 world records, and retired unbeaten and unchallenged.

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Circus Strongman George Levasseur's Classic Stage Weights

Circus Strongman George Levasseur's Classic Stage Weights

George Levasseur was the "Strongman" at the Ringling Brothers Circus during the early part of the 20th century. He was famous for his Backlifting ability but he performed all manner of classical strongman feats, including lifting several unusual "stage" weights as pictured here: Globe barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells.

Notice the Thick Handles on the globe barbells.

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Circus Strongman George Levasseur Backlifting 3257 Pounds

Circus Strongman George Levasseur Backlifting 3257 Pounds
George Levasseur was the "Strongman" at the Ringling Brothers Circus during the early part of the 20th century where he performed many of the traditional Strongman feats. These include bending horseshoes, lifting heavy globe barbells, dumbbells and other assorted weights and, as shown here, the backlift.

Undoubtedly this photograph was staged as at that period of time, taking a photograph involved having to hold still for long periods of time.

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Louis Cyr and Horace Barre' - John Robinson's $25,000 Challenge Feature

Louis Cyr and Horace Barre' - John Robinson's $25,000 Challenge Feature
During the 1898 Circus Season, Canadian Strongman Louis Cyr and his assstant/protege' Horace Barre performed their unique feats of strength all around the country in the John Robinson Circus.

As they criss-crossed the map, John Robinson put up $25,000 for any person who could duplicate any one of either of their feats.

Their performance included the back lift, Cyr's Barrel Lifting Feat, supporting feats, and lifting other heavy dumbbells or blockweights of various sizes and shapes.

Adjusting for inflation, that would be nearly $600,000 today, and, ironically enough, their money would still be safe...

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Henry Holtgrewe: The Cincinnati Strongman

Henry Holtgrewe: The Cincinnati Strongman
Henry Holtgrewe was born in Hanover, Germany in 1872 but came to live in the United States at an early age. He settled in Cincinnati, where he ran a saloon near old Chester Park in Northside.

In his spare time he delighted in performing feats of strength, especially lifting barbells and dumbbells with thick handles -- which not only confounded smaller-handed competition, but also allowed Henry Holtgrewe to build a tremendous 15-1/2 inch forearm in the process.

Holtgrewe also out "pressed" the great Louis Cyr with a single-arm lift of 287 pounds. It was said that each time Eugen Sandow performed in Cincinnati Holtgrewe challenged to a lifting contest -- and each time Sandow refused.

In 1904 Holtgrewe backlifted two opposing baseball teams at Redlands Field in Cincinnati. The combined weight was estimated at 4103 pounds easily placing him among the strongest backlifters of all time.

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The Strength of Paul Anderson

The Many Strength Feats of Paul Anderson
Back in the mid-1940's, Paul Anderson started lifting weights to get bigger for football and just kept growing. He eventually became one of the strongest men of all time while establishing many strength records and winning the Gold Medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.

Paul Anderson was also a Senior World Champion and a 2-time Senior National Champion in Weightlifting. He set nine World Records and Eighteen American records during his career and retired undefeated.

He was also incredibly strong in what would eventually become the three Power Lifts: the squat, bench press and deadlift.

Here's a look at some of Paul Anderson's record lifts:

Squat: 1185 lbs. Bench Press: 625 lbs. Deadlift Record without Straps: 780 lbs. Deadlift Record with "Hooks": 820 lbs. Clean & Press: 485 lbs. Clean & Jerk: 485 lbs. Snatch: 375 lbs. Push Press: 545 lbs. Back Lift: 6270 lbs. Dumbbell Side Press: 240 lbs. x 40 / 300 lbs. x 11

Paul Anderson Deadlifting

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Strongman Breaks Cobblestones With His Hands

It was on this date back in 1891 that Louis Cyr defeated Sebastian Miller in a back lifting contest 3192 pounds to 2400 pounds.

If you've spent any time on the site so far you are pretty well acquainted with Louis Cyr but you probably aren't as familiar with Sebastian Miller.

Heres a bit about him from the Cambridge (Ohio) Jeffersonian newspaper dated January 3, 1899:

-- Strongman Breaks Cobblestones With His Hands --

Sebastian Miller
"A strongman has turned up on Philadelphia. He calls himself Sebastian Miller and a distinguished gathering of physicians and Professors witnessed some of his feats of strength in the Pennsylvania hospital a day ago.

Miller stripped to the waist in order that the physicians might see the workings of his gigantic muscles, and he stepped to a light pine table on which were placed several cobblestones.

A large stone was held in place and Miller, giving three powerful swings with his right arm, brought his fist down on the stone.

The first blow cracked it, the second broke it, and the third shattered it into bits.

In doing this, Miller wrapped a piece of cloth around his hand to protect it from being cut.

But Miller's strength is not all in his arms. With a harness he has raised 3500 pounds and with his hands he can lift 1800 pounds. With three successive blows of his fist he has broken a block of Quincy granite 5 feet long, 4 feet broad and 6 inches thick."

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