Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Charles Rigoulot: One-Arm SnatchHistory's greatest performer of the One-Arm Snatch was the French weightlifter Charles Rigoulot. His lift of 261 pounds will likely never be surpassed. Here, Rigoulot prepares to one-arm snatch only 220 pounds as an amateur.,
Labels: Charles Rigoulot, French Weightlifter, Globe Barbell, one arm snatch
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Friday, July 03, 2009
Charles RigoulotThe great French Strongman Charles Rigoulot is shown here in a rare shot about to perform a one-arm dumbbell swing with 194 pounds.
Labels: Charles Rigoulot, Dumbbell Swing, French Strongman, French Weightlifter, Globe Dumbbell
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Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Charles Rigoulot: One Arm SnatchCharles Rigoulot was the last great lifter to forgo shot-loaded equipment in favor of plate-loaded equipment. He was the first man to clean and jerk over 400 pounds as well as lift Apollon's Wheels. Rigoulot broke 57 weightlifting records over the course of his career, one of which was a one-arm snatch of 261 pounds. Rigoulot was also a very successful professional wrestler and his greatest match was against Milo Steinborn.
Labels: Charles Rigoulot, Clean and Jerk, Clean and Jerk Record, Globe Barbell, Milo Steinborn, one arm snatch, Plate-Loaded, Professional Wrestling, Shot Loaded
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Friday, February 27, 2009
Rigoulot's Custom BarbellAnother look at Charles Rigoulot's custom barbell and the modern reproduction made by Andy Jackson. In over fifty years, I do not believe that either of these series of pictures have ever been compared side-by-side, except in this post and this one. I wonder if we will ever see a barbell of this type ever again?
Labels: Andy Jackson, Charles Rigoulot, Globe Barbell, Oldtime Strength Equipment
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Thursday, January 29, 2009
Charles RigoulotCharles Rigoulot was the last great strongmen to lift primarily shot-loaded globe barbells. He did so until late in the 20s, well after plate-loaded equipment became the norm. The very last Olympic Games which gave lifters a choice between using "new" barbells and plates and "outdated" Shot-Loaded globe barbells was at the 1924 games held in Paris, France.
...The very same games where Rigoulot won the gold medal in the heavyweight class. He was the only lifter in the contest to choose shot-loaded barbells. Perhaps he knew a secret...
Labels: 1924 Olympics, Charles Rigoulot, French Strongman, Globe Barbell, Shot Loaded, Shot Loaded Barbells
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Sunday, January 04, 2009
Rigoulot's BarbellOne of the most famous barbells in history is the special weight that Charles Rigoulot made his 314-pound snatch and 402-pound clean-and-jerk. Andy Jackson, manufacturer of the famous Jackson Olympic-type Barbells, is here shown with a copy of the famous Rigoulot barbell made up for the strongman 'Sailor' Jim White. The bar is 9' in length, the revolving globes are 18-inches in diameter.
Labels: Andy Jackson, Challenge Weight, Charles Rigoulot, Clean and Jerk, Famous Barbell, Globe Barbell, Jackson Barbell Company, Snatch
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Friday, August 01, 2008
Charles RigoulotIn July of 1924, Charles Rigoulot was crowned the light-heavyweight Champion at the Olympic Games held in Paris, France. Today there are only two Olympic lifts, but things were a little different back then when a variety of lifts were contested.
Here's a look at Rigoulot's championship numbers: One-Hand snatch: 197-1/2 pounds, One-Hand Clean and Jerk: 203-1/2 pounds, Two-Hands Military Press: 187 pounds, Two-Hands Snatch: 225-1/2 pounds, Two-Hands Clean and Jerk: 297 pounds.
As you can see, Rigoulot was a little low in the press at this time but more than made up for it with his snatching ability. Rigoulot's total of 1103-1/2 pounds was the third highest of the entire competition... and, interestingly enough he also used shot-loaded globes instead of normal plate-loaded equipment like his competitors.
Labels: 1924 Olympics, Charles Rigoulot, Clean and Jerk, French Strongman, French Weightlifter, Gold Medal, Olympic Games, one arm snatch, Paris France, Press, Total
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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
| 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 |
Labels: Charles Rigoulot, Classic Gym, Clean and Jerk, Famous Barbell, Jerk, John Davis, Thick Handle, Tommy Kono
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Saturday, December 15, 2007
Globe Barbells at the 1924 Olympic GamesHere's a look at the Globe Barbells that were lined up and ready to be used at the 1924 Olympic Games held in Paris France.
This was the last year that lifters were given the choice between lifting with shot-loaded globe barbells or barbells loaded with the iron disc plates that we use today.
The only lifters to choose the shot-loaded globes at the 1924 Olympic Games were the French Weightlifting team, of which great strongman Charles Rigoulot won the gold medal in the heavyweight class and his teammate Edmond Decottignies took home the gold in the light-weight Class.
Labels: Charles Rigoulot, Globe Barbell, Gold Medal, Olympic Weightlifting, Olympics, Paris France, Shot Loaded Barbells, Strongman Equipment, weightlifting
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Friday, November 16, 2007
Charles Rigoulot's Unique Globe BarbellThe great French Weightlifter Charles Rigoulot used to train with a very unusual globe barbell -- at 8 feet, it was much longer than a "normal" barbell (which gave it quite a bit of "whip"), not to mention that he was using shot-loaded equipment long after shot-loaded globes went out of style.
Given this setup, he was a master of catching the weight "on the bounce" which allowed him to break a number of records -- and I bet that barbell was a heck of a lot of fun to lift with.
Labels: Barbell, Charles Rigoulot, Globe Barbell, Shot Loaded, Strongman Equipment, weightlifter
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Sunday, November 11, 2007
| Milo of Crotona, who lived during the 6th century B.C., was the greatest of the ancient Greek Athletes. He was a six-time wrestling Champion in the ancient Olympic Games and his strength was legendary. Milo built his strength with an unusual method: Each day he would carry a new-born calf and, as the calf grew larger, so did Milo's strength. Eventually Milo was able to carry a full-grown bull the length of a stadium and thus progressive resistance training was born. |  Milo of Crotona |
Labels: Ancient Greece, Charles Rigoulot, Milo of Crotona, Olympics, Progressive Resistance Training, Wrestling
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Friday, October 26, 2007
Charles RigoulotCharles Rigoulot was one of France's greatest weightlifters and easily one of the strongest men of all time. He won a Gold medal at the 1924 Olympic Games, Cleaned and Jerked the famous Apollon Wheels and could snatch 255 pounds with one arm.
At 24 years of age, his measurements were as follows:
Weight: 230 pounds
Height: 5'7-3/4"
Chest: 49"
Waist: 37"
Thighs: 27-1/2"
Calf: 17-1/2"
Neck: 18-1/2"
Biceps: 17-1/2"
Forearm: 14-1/2"
Labels: Apollon's Wheels, Charles Rigoulot, Clean and Jerk, Gold Medal, Oldtime Strongman, Olympics, one arm snatch, Strongman Feat
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Monday, October 15, 2007
Tommy Kono and Classic Globe BarbellTommy Kono was one of the United States' greatest Olympic weightlifters and overall strength athletes.
He not only won two Gold Medals and a Silver over the course of three Olympic games, he also won the Mr. Universe title in Bodybuilding several times.
I'll cover that in more detail on another occasion.
Check out this classic shot from the early 1950's where Tommy Kono narrowly misses completing a jerk with this huge 374 pound globe barbell at Robert Cayeaux's gym in Lille, France. -- Kono had the barbell at arm's length but couldn't quite hold it.
(N.B. This was the same gym where Norb Schemansky lifted the famous Apollon Wheels in 1954.)
...I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that Charles Rigoulot lifted with the very same globe barbell. - Rigoulot favored globe barbells long after they went out of style.
Labels: Bodybuilding, Charles Rigoulot, Classic Strongman Gyms, Globe Barbell, Gold Medal, Mr. Universe, Olympic Weightlifting, Olympics, Tommy Kono
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Friday, September 28, 2007
Charles Rigoulot: One-Arm SnatchThe great French Strongman Charles Rigoulot snatches 242 pounds with one arm in old, Old, OLD Vienna, circa 1929.
Note the continued use of globed dumbbells long after they went out of style.
Just a few years earlier at the 1924 Olympic Games, the athletes still had a choice of either using a solid, revolving, plate-loaded barbell like you would see these days, or the archaic shot-loaded globe barbells of year's past.
All the members of the French weightlifting team, including Rigoulot, chose to lift with the oldtime globe barbells instead of the modern ones... Rigoulot won the gold medal in the light-heavyweight class while his teammate Edmond Decottignies also took home the gold in the light-weight Class.
Perhaps they knew something that others didn't. I think I know what it is... Click here to find out.
Labels: Charles Rigoulot, Globe Barbell, Oldtime Strongman, Olympics, one arm snatch, Strongman Equipment, Strongman Feat
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Norb Schemansky Lifts The Apollon WheelsAt the turn of the century, the French strongman Apollon introduced his famous challenge weight -- a pair of railcar wheels attached by a thick axle.
The whole affair weighed 366 lbs. but the real challenge laid in the 1.93 inch thick axle which meant that only the strongest pairs of hands would ever have a shot at breaking it free of the ground.
Apollon, who likely had the strongest grip in history, was the only man who ever lifted it for decades...
Many a strongman tried but all failed until the great french weight lifter Charles Rigoulot finally achieved the feat in 1930 after having trained for it over the course of several months.
Nearly two decades later the American weightlifting champion John Davis was able to lift the wheels on his second try (after passing out on his first attempt.)
On October 14th, 1954 another American weightlifting champion, Norbert Schemansky, "cleaned" the Apollon wheels and jerked them three times in succession, thus writing his name (again) in the record books.
Labels: Apollon, Apollon's Wheels, Charles Rigoulot, Grip Strength, John Davis, Norb Schemansky, Strongman Equipment, Strongman Feat, Thick Bar
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