Gord Venables

Gord Venables

Gord Venables, one of the original members of the York Gang strikes a heroic pose on the cover of the February, 1936 issue of Strength and Health Magazine. A one-hand barbell snatch of 145 pounds was impressive then but even more-so today.

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Jim Park - 1952 Mr. America

Jim Park - 1952 Mr. America

1952 AAU Mr. America Jim Park, on the cover of the June 1952 Iron Man Magazine. Park also won the 1952 Mr. World and 1954 Mr. Universe bodybuilding contests.

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Jack LaLanne, Strength and Health Magazine, January 1947

Jack LaLanne

Jack Lalanne on the cover the of the January, 1947 issue of Strength and Health Magazine. Jack is still going strong at 94 years of age!

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Mr. America 1960 Red Lerille

Mr. America 1960 Red Lerille

It all began with a skinny, red-haired kid from Louisiana who wanted to grow up to be Mr. America -- and he did it!

That skinny kid was Lloyd "Red" Lerille, shown here on the cover of the March 1961 issue of Strength and Health magazine. Red was famous for his chest development which is evident in this picture. In 1963 Red opened his first gym and went first class all the way. Through the years it has grown into one of the finest gyms/health clubs in the country. If you're ever in the Lafayette, Louisiana area, be sure to stop by and get in a workout (and tell Red we said "Hi!")

(Bonus points for noticing the first appearance of "Protein from the Sea" in this issue.)

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Klein's Bell

For over four decades, Sig Klein owned and ran his famous gym in downtown New York city and something that he did for a while was put out his own newsletter: "Klein's Bell."

This short 4-8 page publication was distributed to members of Klein's gym and highlighted training articles, physique photography and any other topics of interest and it was actually a pretty radical idea for the time. This is the cover of the August 1932 issue featuring the "15-inch Arm Club" - Also goes to show you don't need a huge arm to be impressive.

Klein's Bell ran for 19 issues although in 1933 it merged with Alan Calvert's THE STRONGMAN Magazine

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Norb Schemansky

Norb Schemansky

Champion Olympic Weightlifter Norb Schemansky as he looked pressing 160 kg at the 1960 Rome Olympics (where he won Bronze) and on the cover of the September, 1962 issue of Strength and Health Magazine.

Over his career Schemansky was an Olympic Champion in 1952 (Helsinki), Three time World Champion (1947, 1962, 1963) and set 26 World Records.

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Tommy Kono

Tommy Kono

Tamio "Tommy" Kono on the cover of the August, 1955 issue of Strength and Health Magazine. A year later he would go on to win the Goldmedal at the 1956 Olympic games in Melbourne, Australia with a 447.5 kg total (140+132.5 + 175).

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Dick Bachtell - Weightlifting Champion

Dick Bachtell - Weightlifting Champion
The great weightlifting Champion Dick Bachtell as he appeared on the cover of the January, 1936 issue of Strength and Health Magazine.

Dick Bachtell was a seven-time National Champion (1929-1931, 1934-1935, 1937, and 1943) and competed in the 1932 Olympic games in Los Angeles, Claifornia.

For his last National Title, he totaled 630 pounds in the 60-Kg class.

In addition to his Olympic Weightlifting exploits, Dick Bachtell could also one-arm snatch 154 pounds, squat 350-pounds, deadlift 425-pounds, one-arm press 92-pounds, pullover 100-pounds, swing 137-pounds and bent-press 180-pounds.

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Frank Leight - Mr. America 1942

Frank Leight - Mr. America 1942
Frank Leight, AAU Mr. America 1942, with some classic globe barbells and kettlebells on the cover of the July, 1942 issue of Strength and Health Magazine.

Frank Leight finished 2nd in 1940 (losing to John Grimek and 3rd in 1941 (again behind Grimek, and Jules Bacon)before finally winning the Mr. America contest himself in 1942.

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David Willoughby

David Willoughby

Strength author and historian David Willoughby gracing the cover of the January, 1936 edition of the British physical culture magazine "Superman." Willoughby was the AAU Southern California AAU weightlifting champion from 1923-1926 and eventually went on to author countless books, articles and training courses. He also owned a successful gym in the Los Angeles area, the same gym where Bert Goodrich got his start.

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Walt Baptiste

In 1934, Walt Baptist and his wife Magana established the first training center of its kind, which combined the disciplines of physical culture, yoga, weight training, meditation, and breathing exercises. Walt and his wife also appeared on the cover of many bodybuilding magazines in the 1940s and 1950's such as Strength and Health and Iron Man Magazine. For a while, he even had his own physical culture magazine, Body Moderne, pictured here.

Walt Baptiste

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Bert Goodrich - The First Mr. America (1938)

Bert Goodrich The First Mr. America

The first ever AAU Mr. America was Bert Goodrich, shown here on an early cover of Iron Man Magazine. Bert got his start by training with Earle E. Liederman's courses and was a tremendous athlete in highschool, excelling in hand balancing, swimming, and track and field events. He went on to became a stuntman in several Hollywood Movies and later opened up his own gym.

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Harold Zinkin

Harold Zinkin
Harold Zinkin, shown here on the cover of the June, 1947 issue of Strength & Health Magazine, won the 1941 "Mr. California" bodybuilding contest and was a fixture on the original Santa Monica Muscle Beach scene where he thrilled the crowds with feats of strength, hand balancing and acrobatics.

Zinkin later invented the Universal Gym Machine.

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1963 Mr. America Vern Weaver

Vern Weaver won the AAU Mr. America contest in 1963. He was well known for his superb back development could power clean close to 400 pounds! Here's a look at one of his weekly routines: Monday and Thursday: Decline Bench Press: 6x6 Chins: 6x6 Tuesday and Friday: Parallel Squats : 6x6 High Pulls: 6x6

1963 Mr. America Vern Weaver

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George Eiferman - Chest Development

- George Eiferman - Chest Development

Back in the old days, "chest development" meant chest and ribcage expansion. Here's a look at George Eiferman, a classic bodybuilder, who was famous for his chest development, on the cover of the February, 1948 Strength and Health Magazine. Eiferman won the AAU Mr. America, AAU Mr. California and IFBB Mr. Universe titles. In this picture Eiferman weighed around 190 pounds. You can tell that ribcage and chest expansion contributes greatly to the "look" of strength and power.

Kind of amazing that six decades later most professional bodybuilders out weigh him by 60-70 pounds yet still aren't as impressive.

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