Old Time Strongman
FREE Old Time Training Tips
Name:
Email:

  The #1 Blog for Oldtime Strongman Training and Physical Culture

Home    BLOG    Products    Testimonials     Articles    About     Contact   Order Now    Search

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

  • Brosius' Gym

  • What a great gym! - This fantastic facility was established by George Brosius, a pioneer gymnastics coach and famous "Turner" in the Milwaukee area. More on him and his amazing story at a later date. Gotta love the indian clubs, climbing ropes and medicine balls. This pictures dates from the 1920s.

    Labels: , , , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Tuesday, October 14, 2008

  • Klein's Gym
  • I've shown plenty of shots of the inside of Sig Klein's Gym but here's a rare shot of the outside. Klein's Gym was located at 717 Seventh Avenue and was hard to miss with the huge picture of Sig out front.

    Labels: , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Thursday, October 09, 2008

  • Horseshoes at Slim's Place

  • In Slim's Dungeon Gym you'll find every brand of horseshoe known to man. What would you expect from a man who bent horseshoes for a living? Nothing impresses an audience more than bending steel by hand.

    Labels: , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Thursday, June 26, 2008

  • Yet Another Look at Sig Klein's Gym
  • Yes, we have shown it before but Sig Klein's gym never goes out of style.

    Here's another shot clearly showing the rich, oak panneling, great collection of oldtime globe barbells and antique weights and the Persian rug on the floor (better take your shoes off before you train at Sig's place!)

    This shot was taken before Sig had a shelf built around the perimeter of the gym for his world-famous beer stein collection.

    Labels: , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Friday, May 16, 2008

  • Slim The Hammer Man's Gym
  • Slim The Hammer Man's Gym

    A unique look into part of Slim the Hammer Man's "dungeon" gym. Slim has been performing for over 50 years and there's a lot of history on those walls - event posters, pictures of The Mighty Atom, memorabilia, famous strongmen and friends, bent horseshoes and nails, chains, and, of course, his famous sledge hammers.

    ...That's the Mighty Atom's coat on the chair in the foreground.

    Yes, it's even more amazing to see it in real life but if you can't make it to Pottstown, PA, you can still check it out for yourself here.

    And, like I said, this is only part of Slim's place.

    Labels: , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Monday, May 12, 2008

  • Dave Sheppard Training at The York Gym
  • Dave Sheppard Training at The York GymDave Sheppard Training at The York Gym

    One of the greatest gyms of all time was the old York gym on Broad street. An untold number of champions trained there, among them Dave Sheppard, shown here practicing his high pulls with 360 pounds.

    Sheppard used a wide grip, as if snatching, and pulled the weight high enough to touch his chest lightly on each rep. This was one of the key exercises that allowed him to snatch 316-1/2 pounds at a bodyweight of 190 pounds.

    John Davis looks on as he waits his turn to lift.

    Labels: , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Sunday, February 17, 2008

  • Another Look At Sig Klein's Gym
  • Another Look At Sig Klein's Gym Another Look At Sig Klein's Gym

    What a place to train! -- Here's another look at Sig Klein's Gym located in Times Square, downtown New York.

    The thing that makes a gym truly great is the atmosphere -- and Sig's place had it. You can just tell that many great workouts took place here.

    Labels: , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Friday, February 15, 2008

  • Harold Ansorge
  • Harold AnsorgeHarold AnsorgeHarold Ansorge, the great strongman from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was a bent-press specialist.

    He never broke Arthur Saxon's record of 336 pounds but came very close with a lift of 335 pounds.

    Here is Ansorge bent-pressing a great 200 pound dumbbell.

    His gym, the Harold Ansorge Health Studios, was listed at the following addresses: 2124 Plainfield Ave., N.E and 141 28th Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

    Anybody know what's there now?

    Labels: , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

  • The York Barbell Broad Street Gym
  • The York Barbell Broad Street Gym The York Barbell Broad Street Gym

    One of the great training halls was the old York Barbell gym, located on Broad Street on York PA. It was an old factory converted to a gym, with nothing but a couple lifting platforms, a climbing rope, a few old dumbbells and plenty of iron.

    It was hot, dark and cramped (just like a great gym should be)and the equipment was old, but solid and it produced an untold number of strength Champions in bodybuilding and Olympic weightlifting.

    That's Ike Berger on the platform working on his press while Bob Hoffman, Tommy Kono and others look on.

    Labels: , , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Wednesday, February 06, 2008

  • Sig Klein's Gym
  • Sig Klein's Gym Sig Klein's Gym

    You've seen Sig Klein's Gym plenty of times on thsi Blog before, but I guarantee you've never seen it from this angle. This candid shot was actually reflected in a mirror. That's the old master Sig Klein in the middle, teaching someone how to use the gymnastic rings.

    To the right, you can just make out Steve Reeves.

    Klein's Gym sure had a lot of character, plenty of dark wood and globe dumbbells. Notice the Sandow and Saxon statues and Klein's world famous beer stein collection.

    Labels: , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Wednesday, January 30, 2008

  • Harry Shafran's Gym
  • Harry Shafrans GymHarry Shafran's Gym

    Harry Shafran was an oldtime lifter who owned a couple successful gyms in New York back in the 1920's. Eventually he grew tired of big city lift and retired to a farm near Scranton, Pennsylvania where he converted the large barn in the back of his house into one of the greatest gyms of all time.

    Here's a look back in time... Globe dumbbells, climbing ropes, Milo kettlebells, gymnastic rings, swedish bars -- note the double handled kettlebells used for swingbell exercises.

    A half-moon bench can be seen in the foreground. This unique piece of equipment was used specifically for chest expansion exercises and used to be quite common.

    Labels: , , , , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Sunday, December 16, 2007

  • Dave's Gym - South Bend, Indiana
  • Dave's Gym - South Bend, IndianaDave's Gym - South Bend, Indiana

    Dave Bjoraas, (pictured far right) the legendary "Dave" of Dave's Gym and Dave's Barbell Club of South Bend, Indiana... for many years the center of strength activity in the Mid-Western United States.

    Dave's Gym in South Bend, Indiana produced many Iron Game champions: 1956 Mr. America Ray Schaefer trained there. So did Jr. Mr. America Doug Lindzy (pro-wrestling's original "Doug Gilbert").

    Dave's Barbell Club Weight-lifting team produced champions like Winston Binney and Mike Burgener. And, most importantly, many of the top football players on Notre Dame's great Irish teams trained with Dave.

    Dave's Gym... one of the top gyms ever... Dave Bjoraas, a fine man and a giant in the world of weights.

    Labels: , , , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Saturday, December 01, 2007

  • Harry Shafran
  • Harry ShafranHarry ShafranHarry Shafran was an oldtime lifter who ran two gyms (one in Brooklyn and one in greater New York City) in the 1920's.

    Eventually Harry got tired of big city life and moved to a farm near Scranton, Pennsylvania where he converted a large barn into a gym.

    His collection of oldtime strength equipment was quite impressive, you can see a bit of it in the picture to the left where Shafran is harness lifting 1500 pounds (at 72 years old!)

    Labels: , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Wednesday, November 21, 2007

  • Vic Tanny's Gym
  • Vic Tanny's GymVic Tanny's Gym

    Just a stone's throw from the original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, California, was Vic Tanny's Gym.

    Shortly after World War II, Tanny converted a 7,000-square-foot USO center, which was located in a basement on 4th Street, into the best-equipped gym in the United States. It was huge, with 15 foot ceilings and, as you can see all kinds of training equipment.

    Vic Tanny's was affectionately known as "The Dungeon" and was the place to train during the 1940's and 1950's -- regular members included Steve Reeves, George Eiferman, Joe Gold (of Gold's Gym fame) and Arthur Jones, along with a whole host of others.

    It was where Bob Hoffman and the York gang trained on West Coast trips.

    Labels: , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Saturday, November 17, 2007

  • Milo Steinborn's Orange Avenue Gym
  • Milo Steinborn's Orange Avenue GymMilo Steinborn's Orange Avenue Gym

    Henry "Milo" Steinborn was a 5'8" 205 lb German wrestler and strongman who became the first man to ever squat 500 lbs. In fact, his world record squat of 553 lbs. (set during the 1920's) would not be officially bested until the early 1950's by Doug Hepburn.

    It was Milo who popularized the heavy deep knee bend as one of the most productive training lifts for anyone interested in building real strength.

    In 1952, Milo opened the Orange Avenue Gym down in Orlando, Florida, which makes it the oldest weightlifting gym in America. Along with plenty of weights and barbells, Milo's Gym had a wrestling ring and other physical training equipment.

    It was here that Milo taught a young Jim Flanagan how to get strong.

    I was fortunate enough to visit the Orange Avenue Gym on a trip back in 2003 -- it still had some of Milo's original training equipment.

    Labels: , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Sunday, November 04, 2007

  • Hemenway Gymnasium
  • Hemenway GymnasiumMain Hall, Hemenway Gymnasium - circa 1880's

    The original Hemenway Gymnasium, which was completed in 1878, was the finest physical education facility ever created.

    It contained every manner of physical training equipment: climbing ladders, tumbling mats, climbing ropes, flying rings, barbells, dumbbells, indian clubs, medicine balls... even early strength building "machines."

    There was a running track, handball courts and rooms for fencing, wrestling, boxing and any other imaginable physical activity.

    At the head of this fantastic gym was Dudley Allen Sargent, who virtually founded the discipline of physical education (more on him at a later date.)

    Labels: , , , , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Thursday, November 01, 2007

  • Classic Gymnasium from 1888
  • Classic Gymnasium from 1888Classic Gymnasium from 1888

    Check out this wood engraving of a classic gymnasium: It was the YMCA at Longacre, London. This particular gymnasium was opened by the Prince of Wales on June 16, 1888.

    Notice the variety of physical training going on: Indian Clubs, Tumbling, Parallel Bars, High Bar, Pommel Horse, Wall Pulleys, Climbing Ladders, Gymnastic Rings, Climbing Ropes and a rack of Barbells along the wall.

    Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Wednesday, October 17, 2007

  • Oldtime Physical Culture Gyms
  • Oldtime Physical Culture GymsOldtime Physical Culture Gyms"Mens sana in corpore sano" - Latin for a sound mind in a strong body.

    It used to be that physical fitness and education went hand in hand; a mindset that is not quite as common these days.

    In these oldtime gyms you would find a variety of training equipment:

  • Traveling Rings
  • Pommel Horse
  • Climbing Ladders
  • Indian Clubs
  • Parallel Bars
  • Wrestling Mats
  • Wooden Dumbbells
  • Trapeze
  • Climbing Ropes
  • Wall Pulleys
  • Medicine Balls
  • Labels: , , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Monday, October 15, 2007

  • Tommy Kono Jerks Classic Globe Barbell
  • Tommy Kono and Classic Globe BarbellTommy Kono and Classic Globe Barbell

    Tommy 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: , , , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Thursday, October 11, 2007

  • Eugen Sandow's School of Physical Culture
  • Eugen Sandows School of Physical CultureEugen Sandow's School of Physical Culture

    There are a lot of strength history "firsts" associated with Eugen Sandow - one of those "firsts" is that he established the very first commercial gym franchise.

    Im 1900, Sandow opened five of his Schools of Physical Culture in London, with others in Manchester and Liverpool. Pictured above is Sandow's School of Physical Culture, 185 Tottenham Court Road, circa 1901.

    Notice sets of Globe Barbells, Dumbbells and Chest Expanders along each wall.

    Labels: , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Wednesday, October 10, 2007

  • The MILO Barbell Company Showroom
  • MILO Barbell Company ShowroomThe MILO Barbell Company Showroom

    A look at one corner of Alan Calvert's MILO Barbell Company showroom circa 1915. - Globe and stage dumbbells as far as the eye can see. That must have been a great place to train.

    Labels: , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Saturday, October 06, 2007

  • A Look Inside Hermann Goerner's Oldtime Gym
  • A Look Inside Hermann Goerners Oldtime GymA Look Inside Hermann Goerner's Oldtime Gym

    If you're a true strength fan, you can't help but love shots of classic gyms filled with classic equipment. Here's a look at one corner of Hermann Goerner's classic gym. Notice the Globe Barbells, thick-handled equipment, row of kettlebells likely used for the "Die Kette" workout.

    Also notice the throwing weights attached to the wall and the Arthur Saxon circus poster on the upper left.

    That must have been one hell of a fun place to train...

    Labels: , , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Monday, September 10, 2007

  • Bob Peoples' Dungeon Gym
  • Bob Peoples Dungeon GymBob Peoples'"Dungeon" Gym

    Bob Peoples was the first man to officially deadlift over 700 pounds and did so back in the 1940's without any suits, wraps or other assorted foolishness.

    When the weather was warm he trained outside but when Winter came, he moved inside into the training area he literally carved out of stone in his basement which he called "The Dungeon."

    It was here that Bob Peoples pioneered many of the pieces of equipment and training techniques that are commonplace these days including the power rack, negative training, and heavy supports and partials.
    Bob PeoplesBob Peoples

    Notice the Milo Kettlebells and the makeshift circular "Trap Bar" leaning against the far wall. This allowed Bob to stand on a platform and increase his range of motion.

    You can read more about Bob Peoples and his training techniques in Developing Physical Strength

    Labels: , , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Sunday, September 09, 2007

  • Sig Klein's Gym
  • Sig Kleins GymSig Klein's Classic Old-Time Gym

    Here's another look at one of the classc gyms we have featured before: Sig Klein's place in New York City. This was the original location -- he moved into a facility overlooking Times Square later on.

    Notice the mirror on the right revealing a set of globe barbells on the far wall, block and ring weights in the foreground and you can just make out a Roman Column on the extreme left.

    There's nothing like Classic Equipment to make your training special. You can tell a lot of great workouts happened down at Sig's Place.

    Sig Klein inherited much of the equipment after he married Professor Attila's youngest daughter in 1927. Professor Attila, of course, was the man who taught Eugen Sandow how to train.


    Labels: , , , , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Monday, August 27, 2007

  • Arthur Saxon: The Iron Master
  • Arthur Saxon: The Iron MasterArthur Saxon: The Iron Master

    Just before the turn of the century Arthur Saxon put more weight overhead with one hand than any man before or since -- a 371 pound bent-press.

    Saxon is long gone, so too unfortunately, is the bent press -- however, his two great training books still live on: The Development of Physical Power (1906) and The Textbook of Weight-Lifting (1910)

    Here's a few things that Arthur Saxon would like you to know about training:

    "Genuine strength should include not only momentary strength, as proved by the ability to lift a heavy weight once, but also the far more valuable kind of strength for endurance..."

    "Neither do I consider a man a really strong man if he is in certain parts developed out of proportion to others. If a man has tremendous arms and chest and weak legs then he is only half a strong man..."

    "A man with 15 inch biceps and a strong wrist will raise a heavier weight in any position than another man with a 16 inch biceps who has a small and weak wrist."

    "Do not make the mistake of limiting your practices to any one set of lifts... Practice everything."

    Labels: , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved

    Wednesday, June 27, 2007

  • Hermann Goerner's Gym
  • German Strongman
    Hermann 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
    Doesn't this place make you feel like training? Here's some more Classic Strongman Gyms

    Labels: , , , ,


    www.oldtimestrongman.com

    <<< BLOG Home
    All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2008 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced
    without permission, All Rights Reserved