Sunday, January 10, 2010
The Lille Athletic ClubIn 1885, Professor Desbonnet established a school of physical culture in his home town of Lille, in northern France. Here's a look at its members and some of their classic equipment, circa 1901. Desbonnet himself is pictured on the far right.
Labels: Block Weights, Chest Expander, Detroit Athletic Club, French Strongman, Globe Barbell, Professor Desbonnet, The Lille Athletic Club
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Monday, November 30, 2009
John GrimekHere's the great John Grimek performing what is commonly known as "the overhead downward pull" with a chest expander. This is an excellent movement for broadening the back muscles, and one that you should be doing if you train at all with chest expanders.
Labels: Back Exercise, Chest Expander, Chest Expander Exercises, Chest Expanders, John Grimek, Overhead Downward Pull, Upper Body Exercise, York Chest Expanders
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Thursday, September 17, 2009
"Classic Equipment"How you you like to train with this classis equipment? I know I sure would. This group of folks is the "Club Athletique de l'Union Sportive Briviste" - friends and students of Professor Desbonnet. Note the ring weight and chest expander among the other globe barbells and dumbbells.
Labels: Chest Expander, Classic Equipment, French Strongman, Globe Barbell, Globe Dumbbells, Lifting Club, Professor Desbonnet, Ring Weights
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Friday, August 07, 2009
Professor Anthony Barker's Herkules ExerciserThe need for great equipment hasn't changed much over the last hundred years which is why chest expanders work just as well today. This ad for Professor Anthony Barker, Herkules Exerciser originally appeared in 1910.
Labels: Advertisement, Anthony Barker, Chest Expander, chest expander training, Equipment, Professor Anthony Barker
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tarzano BreitbartThe great Indian Strongman Tarzano Breitbart vs. one HELL of a spring expander. That must have been quite a feat to see.
Labels: Back Press, Chest Expander, Spring Expander, Strand Pulling, Strand Pulling Feat, Tarzano Breitbart, The Back Press Anyhow
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Friday, April 03, 2009
Joseph VanderzandeJoseph Vanderzande, the great Belgian strongman was a contemporary of Arthur Saxon. Vanderzande is widely recognized as the strand pulling champion of the late 1800s (note the pair of chest expanders on the platform behind him.) He was said to have been able to "pull" several reps with a 20-strand chest expander with a 297 pound level of resistance.
Labels: Arthur Saxon, Belgian Strongman, Block Weights, Chest Expander, Chest Expander Feat, Globe Dumbbells, Joseph Vanderzande, Ring Weights, Strand Pulling, Strand Pulling Feat
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Thursday, January 15, 2009
 Chest Expander One Leg Squat | Weightlifting champ Dick Bachtell demonstrates an exercises that probably hasn't been seen for five or six decades: a One Leg Squat while holding a chest expander. Bachtell was a great all-around lifter so it's no surprise that he was able to accomplish this unique lift. |
Labels: Chest Expander, Chest Expander Exercises, Chest Expander Feat, Dick Bachtell, One Leg Squat
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Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Steve Stanko Cable CurlsSteve Stanko, 1944 AAU Mr. America, often used cables for training his arms. In this shot Steve appears to be using the "flat band"-type of York Chest Expander and I'd say it's doing the job pretty well.
Labels: 1944 Mr. America, Bicep Exercise, Chest Expander, Curl, Steve Stanko
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Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Sandow's Combination OutfitEugen Sandow was quite the entrepreneur in his day. This "combination developer" is a chest expander which also comes with other attachments specifically designed for leg work which you can just make out in the open box. Pretty cool... This one's mint and I got it for a song.
Labels: Chest Expander, Eugen Sandow, Unique Equipment
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Monday, April 07, 2008
Chest Expanders It's hard to tell from this angle but I believe that's 1945 AAU Mr. America Clarence "Clancy" Ross demonstrating one of the very best chest expander exercises.
Just another example in the long line of Champions who have built their strength from using them.
Labels: 1945 Mr. America, Back Exercise, Back Press, Bodybuilding, Chest Expander Exercise, Chest Expander, Clancy Ross, Golden Age Bodybuilder, Mr. America, Shoulder Exercise
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Friday, March 28, 2008
The Back PressThe "Back Press" is one of the best and most effective Chest Expander exercises -- a great one for tricep development and widening the shoulders.
The back press cannot be performed with any other piece of equipment other than a chest expander. That's 1943 Mr. America Jules Bacon demonstrating.
Labels: Back Press, Chest Expander Exercise, Chest Expander, chest expander training, Jules Bacon, Mr America, Shoulder Exercise
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Wednesday, January 09, 2008
 Earle E. Liederman | Earle E. Liederman began his strength career as a strongman on the vaudeville circuit, traveling the country performing feats of strength and acrobatics. Eventually he grew tired of the traveling life and wrote a series of training courses which became incredibly successful, making him one of the first Mail Order Muscle Barons. His first training course showcased a number of exercises that could be done with chest expanders and bodyweight exercises. Theses courses were very popular since they did not require a lot of equipment and could be done at home. |
Labels: Chest Expander, Earle E. Liederman, Mail Order Muscle Courses, Oldtime Strongman, Strength Author
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Thursday, January 03, 2008
Thomas Inch's Chest Expander FeatThe name Thomas Inch often conjures up visions of his famous "Unliftable" Challenge Dumbbell and other feats of grip strength but he was actually a quite well-rounded strongman with many other types of feats to his credit.
One of Inch's specialties was feats with chest expanders, he even wrote a training course, about them: The Art of Expander Pulling.
Here's Thomas Inch pressing a 30-strand rubber chest expander while supporting two 154-pound men on his outstretched arms.
Labels: Art of Expander Pulling, Chest Expander, Chest Expander Feat, chest expander training, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Rubber Chest Expander, Thomas Inch
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Saturday, December 01, 2007
 Mike Brown | Mike Brown is a modern day Renaissance man who has written several unique books on various aspects of strength training. I'd say Mike looks like he knows a think or two about building strength and power. Here's a look at Mike around the time he wrote Iron Claws: Grip Development and Bench Press Course. |
Labels: Cables, Chest Expander, Grip Course, Iron Claws, Mike Brown, Sticking Point Smashers, Strength Author
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
 All About Strand-Pulling by Syd Devis | It took me three years to find a copy of All About Strand-Pulling by Syd Devis but it was well worth the wait. Many chest expander training courses feature some of the same exercises over and over again -- this one features several unusual chest expander exercises that I had never seen in print before. Syd Devis was the retired undefeated Professional 9 stone & 10 stone World's Champion Strand Puller, Record Holder and Technical Adviser to the British Amateur Strand-Pulling Association. |
All About Strand-Pulling Labels: Chest Expander, Oldtime Strongman, Strand Pulling, Syd Devis, Training Course
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Thursday, October 04, 2007
Noe's Graduated XercisorsIn the 1930's and 40's Roy H. Noe of Memphis, Tennessee sold these rubber "Xercisors" and instructions by mail. Unlike many of the traditonal Chest Expanders you might see with their strands or springs, Noe's Xercisors were a flat piece of molded rubber with handles that clipped on.
Interestingly enough, in the training guide that comes with the equipment it says:
"The rubber used in the Noe Athletic Xercisor are made from Gum Rubber Stock. They will stretch three times their length and are GUARANTEED not to elongate or lose their resistance. Modern chemists have experimented over a period of years to perfect this special rubber strip. These rubber strips will gradually increase in resistance as they age and cure."The Noe Xercisor in the picture is an original from the 1930's, shows no sign of wear whatsoever and stretches just as well today as it did back then.
Labels: Chest Expander, chest expander workout, Noe's Graduated Xercisors, Strongman Equipment
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Thursday, September 27, 2007
"A well-known strongman, world's record holder and ex-world's champion weight lifter has put it on record on several occasions that he never trains for a record lift without a strong chest expander.
He has given full credit to this type of chest expander, and I am quoting him here in order to endorse what I am about to say from my own experience... "With but little training I have made records on the "dumbbell swing," the "single handed press," the "Crucifix" and on some special feats of my own. |  Alfred Danks |
Labels: Alfred Danks, Chest Expander, chest expander workout, Dumbbell Swing, weightlifter
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Sunday, September 23, 2007
 "Developing Grip Strength" | Stronger hands and forearms have always been a very important (but often overlooked) area of training for every athlete. Published back in 1986, Developing Grip Strength by David Gentle and David Webster became an instant classic as it was the first "book" ever written specifically on the subject of grip training. You'll be lucky to find a copy these days -- I've seen them listed at several hundred dollars on some of the used book sites. |
While this book is quite rare, you can learn how to train for many of these feats with the four different courses in our Classic Grip Course Collection
Labels: Chest Expander, David Gentle, David Webster, Grip Strength, Hand Balancing, Hand Grippers, Nail Bending, One Arm Deadlift, Phonebook Tearing, Single Finger Lifts, Sledge Hammer Leverage
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Thursday, August 30, 2007
Thomas Inch and Hints on The Art of Expander PullingJust got a very rare oldtime strength booklet written by Thomas Inch. There's no date on it but I would guess it was printed in the 1920's and as far as rare training courses, this one is simply impossible to find.
I finally tracked one down after four years of searching.
Anyhow, Thomas Inch, who is probably most famous for his incredible grip strength and his "unliftable" dumbbell was actually a very well rounded strongmen who excelled in many different types of feats - and some of his favorites were with chest expanders.
In his strongman act he used to do a standard press out with a 56 lb. kettlebell hanging on each thumb, and the expander generally had 30 strands on it.
Not bad at all...
Heres a few hints from the master:
"The first thing to do is to make sure your expander is of the detachable kind."All good info, and all very useful if you happen to be paying attention.
"The Secret to great strength is gradual progression, and as there is no doubt whatever that a large majority of physical culturists only use expanders so that they may become stronger than their fellows, it behoves them to practice themselves in a position to practice on the right lines and this means using handles which will take several strands."
"When starting out, enter the number of strands you find comfortable and easy to exercise with, going right through your movements without a pause, if possible, thus developing endurance as well as mere muscle."
"Start with, say, only five or six repetitions each hand of each exercise, and gradually work up to ten each hand. Keep at ten for a week or two, then return to five or six repetitions, and add another strand."
"The weight lifter will be advised to use a strong pull in every day work, and each day, or every other day, try himself out on strength tests I have previously quoted with a view to increasing pushing power for different lifts."
Just goes to show you that sound training info never gets old. Chest Expanders, of course, make a great addition to any training program.
If Thomas Inch were alive today, here's the expanders he would be training with: Strongman Chest Expanders
Labels: Chest Expander, Kettlebell, Strand Pulling, Strongman, Strongman Equipment, Strongman Feat, Thomas Inch
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, August 19, 2007
David WebsterBefore he became one of the world's most well known strength historians and authors, David Webster was quite a "Strongman" himself. In fact, David won the Strand Pulling World's Title back in 1954. He wrote two books specifically on strand pulling (Modern Strand Pulling (1962) and Strength Lore and Strands (1978))
Here's a look on something he wrote in The Complete Physique Book (1963):
"Much has been said in favor of the chest expander for the man who trains at home in limited space, for the person who has to travel around the countryside and for the person who just wants to keep fit or develop big muscles and herculean strength.
Most certainly strand pulling is ideal for these people but it can be also
be adapted to suite all other physical culture purposes.
Great progress has been made since the first days of the "Chest Expander" - as it was known. Nowadays, the strands are used for everything from remedial work in hospitals to competitive sport and there is considerable evidence to consider evidence to indicate that strands are sold in greater quantities than weight-lifting equipment.
There are a number of reasons why strands are so popular:
1. They are inexpensive, and are now available in numerous strengths ranging from 5-50 pounds.
2. In use or in storage little space is necessary.
3. They have several resistance properties which are not present in other forms of resistance exercises. Some of these properties are a bit too involved for discussion, kinetic recoils and oscillation having a rather specialized application but one great asset will immediately appeal to the enthusiast who is well-versed in the subject.
4. The tension of the springs or bands increases as they are stretched thus "peak contraction" or heavy inner range muscle work is done in every exercise.
For those who are not particularly interested in championship honours it should be stressed that it is not my intention to claim that you should devote all your time to strand-pulling. I believe by strand-pulling, the average person can cram lots of exercises into a short workout and those who practice weightlifting, hand balancing and so on would profit greatly by adding a few strand pulling exercises for variety and all around work."
Labels: Chest Expander, Davd Webster, Strand Pulling, Strongman Equipment
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Friday, August 17, 2007
Fred Rollon
Many old timers built powerful bodies with Chest Expanders, and of them, Fred Rollon was the greatest.
While many strongmen frowned upon Chest Expanders as a means of testing strength, prefering weights instead, Rollon was never beaten at cable pulling.
For sheer muscular separation in the upper body, no one has yet surpassed Rollon. A look at this photo has started many bodybuilders and young trainees into more vigorous training with Chest Expanders and other strength cables.
Labels: Bodybuilding, Chest Expander, Fred Rollon, Strand Pulling, Strongman Equipment
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, July 22, 2007
| I was flipping through the November 9, 1928 Issue of Health and Strength (With Thomas Inch on the cover!) and found this pretty cool picture. Over in the UK, chest expanders or "Strand pulling" is much more popular and many of the fitness magazines from over there feature some kind of chest expander workouts, new, updates etc. Obviously this was an attempt to figure out a way to put a "number" on someone's chest expander performance by putting some sort of tensiometer on the cable. I've captioned it exactly as it appears in the magazine: P.S. You should be doing this movement in your chest expander workout. |  A.W. HOWE 9 stone amateur Champion of the World, a Warwick pupil, performing a World's Record Right Hand Military Press using the "Machine Expander" |
Labels: Chest Expander, Strand Pulling, Strongman Equipment
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
 German StrongmanHermann Goerner Here's a peek into the training area of one of the greatest of the oldtime strongmen: Hermann Goerner. Notice the rack of kettlebells which were likely used for the famous "Die Kette" workout. |  Goerner's Gym |
Labels: Chest Expander, Classic Strongman Gyms, Globe Barbell, Hermann Goerner, Kettlebells
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
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