Thursday, November 05, 2009
Klein's GymAnother look at one side of Sig Klein's gym. This was the original location, before he moved to Times Square. Most of the equipment that you see once belonged to Professor Attila. Note the blockweight and Roman Column off to the right. How many famous strongmen can you recognize on the wall? Despite being rather far away, interestingly, you can still pick out many of them.
Labels: Block Weights, Classic Equipment, Classic Strongman Gyms, Dumbbells, Globe Barbell, Roman Column, Sig Klein, Sig Klein's Gym
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Saturday, October 31, 2009
John ValentineJohn Valentine, shown here with some of his favorite weights, was a popular strength enthusiast from Leeds, England. He was a pupil of Thomas Inch and actually had a performing strongman act along with Leo Gaudreau. In later years, Valentine imported American muscle magazines such as Strength and Health and Iron Man over to England, being the source for such material over across the pond.
Labels: Barbell, Dumbbells, Iron Master Magazine, John Valentine, Leo Gaudreau, Performing Strongman, Strength and Health Magazine
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Paramount "Super Deluxe" Bar Bell Gym OutfitThe Paramount "Super Deluxe" Bar Bell Gym Outfit - you don't need much more than what is pictured here in order to get a great workout.
Labels: Barbell Plates, Dumbbell Plates, Dumbbells, Iron Boots, Neck Strap, Paramount Barbells
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Farmer's WalkGrab a pair of dumbbells, some sandbags, some kettlebells or some Iron Suitcases like former New York Giant (and Dr. Ken trainee) Frank Ferarra above and go for a stroll. That's all there is to "The Farmer's Walk" exercise, and you would be hard pressed to find a better exercise for building grip strength and mental toughness. The Farmer's Walk is one of Brooks Kubik's favorite training methods - and for good reason.
Labels: Dinosaur Training Exercise, Dr. Ken Leistner, Dumbbells, Farmer's Walk, Grip Strength, Iron Suitcase, Kettlebells
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Saturday, July 04, 2009
100-Pound York DumbellsAmazingly, 100-Pound York Dumbells like these have become collector's items in recent years; mostly because people tend to cut them up to use as Blobs. Sure, Blobs are nice but so are dumbbells you can actually train with. As you can probably tell, this pair still gets well used (And I have no plans to cut 'em).
Labels: Dumbbell Training, Dumbbells, The Blob, York Dumbbell, York Dumbbells, York Equipment
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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The York Leg Press MachineFive decades ago, the "Leg Press" meant something entirely different. This "Leg Press Machine" from The York Barbell Company was a way to circumvent a few of the issues normally associated with heavy squatting. Note the other pieces of York Barbell training ephemera: The Calflex, Aristocrat Dumbbells, kettlebell handles, Dumbbell handles and the York Chest Crusher.
Labels: Aristocrat Dumbbells, Dumbbells, kettlebell handles, Leg Press, Leg Press Machine, The Leg Press, The York Leg Press Machine, York Barbell, York Calflex, York Chest Crusher
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Friday, March 27, 2009
Sandow's Adjustable Grip Testing DumbbellsA rare look at the box for a later version of Eugen Sandow's grip dumbbells. Unlike earlier versions, which had only springs, these had molded handles and rung a bell when the handles were squeezed together.
Labels: Dumbbells, Equipment, Grip Equipment, Sandow's Grip Dumbbells
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Friday, March 20, 2009
York Aristocrat DumbbellsYork Aristocrat Dumbbells were a pretty nifty regular feature in the pages of Strength and Health Magazine... and great for a quick workout too. The Aristocrat Dumbbells were based on an earlier design by George Jowett.
Labels: Aristocrat Dumbbells, Dumbbell Exercises, Dumbbell Training, Dumbbells, Strength and Health Magazine, York Barbell Company, York Dumbbell
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Monday, February 18, 2008
 Kettlebell Handles | One of the the unique pieces of training equipment that you don't see often these days are ketlebell handles. These were U-shaped handles that could be retrofitted onto dumbbells creating a much more versatile piece of equipment. Kettlebell handles are particularly useful for shoulder specialization work. |
Labels: Dumbbells, kettlebell handles, Kettlebells, Oldtime Strength Equipment, Shoulder Exercise
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Friday, December 07, 2007
Sandow's Chest ExpanderEugen Sandow promoted the very first commercially available strength training equipment. Sandow had a number of different chest expanders through the years. The chest expander above has dumbbells for handles which adds a pretty unique twist to chest expander training.
Labels: chest expander training, Chest Expanders, Dumbbells, Eugen Sandow, Sandows Chest Expander, Training Equipment, Vintage Strength Equipment
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Thursday, November 15, 2007
| It should be no coincindence why the dumbbell overhead press have been featured on this blog several times -- it is truly one of the very best upper-body strength builders you'll ever find. Here's a look at the great Doug Hepburn as he presses a pair of 160 pound dumbbells -- now THAT is strong! At Ed Yarick's Gym in Oakland, California, Doug pressed a pair of 142 pound dumbbells for four repetitions. |  Doug Hepburn Dumbbell Press |
Labels: Doug Hepburn, Dumbbell Press, Dumbbells, Ed Yarick's Gym, Press, Strongman Feat
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Friday, November 09, 2007
 George Zottman | "The very best forearm exercise is the one invented by George Zottman. He used to do it with a pair of 50-lb. Dumbbells, and you can start it with a pair of 20-pounders. Stand erect, with the arms hanging at the sides. Then bend your right arm and bring the bell up in front of your chest, with the palm of the hand up and the wrist bent strongly inward. |
The right hand describes a complete circle.
When your right hand is in front of your shoulder, start your left hand coming up. Both hands work at the same time, but as the right hand is coming down the left hand is coming up, and vice versa.
The elbows should be kept close to the sides throughout the whole exercise."
- From Super Strength by Alan Calvert (1924)
Labels: Alan Calvert, Dumbbells, Exercise, Forearm Strength, George Zottman, Grip Strength, Strongman Feat, Super Strength, Zottman Curl
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Thursday, November 08, 2007
Pat Casey Incline Press With 210 Pound Dumbbells On March 25th, 1967 Pat Casey became the first man to break the 600 pound barrier in the bench press with a lift of 615 --- and that's without a bench shirt, elbow wraps or other nonsense.
Of course, he was no one-lift specialist as he was also the first man to squat over 800 pounds and total over 2000 pounds in an official contest.
For his workouts, he used to grab a pair of 210 pound dumbbells, haul them over to the incline bench, get the dumbbells into position, perform his reps, then return the dumbbells to the rack -- all unassisted -- quite a feat of strength in its own right.
Labels: Bench Press, Dumbbells, Incline Press, Pat Casey, Powerlifting, Squat, Total
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Wednesday, November 07, 2007
| Presses and Curls... Shrugs and Deadlifts... Rows and Bench Presses... everyone loves training with dumbbells. In fact, dumbbell training has actually changed very little since the days of the ancient Greeks. I'm sure this old pair of York Globe 100's has seen many good workouts... |  Dumbbell Training |
Labels: Bench Press, Deadlift, Dumbbell Shrug, Dumbbell Training, Dumbbell Workout, Dumbbells, Dumbbells Row, Globe Dumbbells, Press, Tricep Curls, York
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
 John Grimek: Dumbbell Curls | A workout without curls is like a day without sunshine. As a champion in bodybuilding and weightlifting, John Grimek understood the importance of "all around" strength and trained his arms just as hard as everything else. Bicep training helps balance out the triceps in heavy pressing movements and should always be a part of your program. |
Labels: Bicep Training, Bodybuilding, Curl, Dumbbells, John Grimek, weightlifting
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sig Klein Dumbbell Clean and PressSig Klein called the two dumbbell clean and press THE ONE BEST EXERCISE because of its simplicty and tremendous training effects on upper body strength.
In the 1940's Klein suggested to get started with this exercise with 20 pounds less than your two arm press and build from there. He also questioned whether there were a dozen athletes in the country who could do 10 clean and presses with a pair of 75 pound dumbbells... Hmmm.
Labels: Clean and Press, Dumbbells, Globe Dumbbells, Overhead Press, Press, Sig Klein, Strongman Feat
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Paul AndersonPaul 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.
Labels: Backlift, Barbell, Bob Peoples, Dumbbells, Gold Medal, Paul Anderson, Squat, Strength and Health
www.oldtimestrongman.com
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Monday, October 29, 2007
Strongman EquipmentYou've got to hand it to the oldtime strongmen, they didn't mess around when it came to quality equipment. How strong do you think you could get if you were training with the globe barbells, globe dumbbells, blockweights etc, in the above picture?
If you want to get strong and I mean STRONG you have to have good training equipment and that's just how it is.
It all begins with a quality barbell, good plates and a solid pair of collars. If you have nothing else, you must have at least that much. From there, add other equipment as needed.
Other equipment that will help you tremendously includes a solid bench, dumbbells, a power rack, a Gerard Trap Bar, chest expanders, Thick Bars, Hand Grippers and anything else that you will find on our Strongman Equipment Page.
Labels: Barbells, Blockweights, Chest Expanders, Dumbbells, Globe Barbell, Globe Dumbbells, 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
 Train Wheel Weights | They say that necessity is the mother of invention... and that's why some of the best training equipment has come about. During the post-war years, our troops located overseas wanted to lift weights but barbells and dumbbells were hard to come by. American troops stationed in Okinawa, Japan fashioned these unique barbells and dumbbells out of narrow gauge train wheels. Can't miss a workout... |
Labels: Barbells, Dumbbells, Equipment, Strongman Equipment
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Friday, September 28, 2007
Oldtime Dumbbell Training With John GrimekHere's a nice little dumbbell workout by John Grimek:
1. Two Hands Snatch w/dumbbells
2. Upright Rowing Motion
3. Side Bends
4. Shoulder Shrug
5. Lateral Raise
6. Dumbbell Swing
Grimek was using a pair of adjustable York Dumbbells but feel free to use a solid pair if that's what you have. You can find out more about some of the ways that Grimek trained in The Mark Berry Bar-Bell Courses
Labels: Dumbbell Shrug, Dumbbell Swing, Dumbbell Workout, Dumbbells, Dumbbells Row, Equipment, John Grimek, Lateral Raise, Sidebends, Snatch, Strongman Equipment, Workout
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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, September 05, 2007
Antique Wooden Dumbbells| Dumbbell training takes all shapes and forms -- in the late 19th and early 20th century, most dumbbell training was performed with light wooden dumbbells. |  |
Keep in mind there is more to dumbbell training than just adding weight...
The dumbbells pictured above weigh in at just over 4 pounds apeice -- unusually heavy as far as those antique dumbbells go. Also notice the ergonomic handles.
Before you scoff at how "easy" this type of training is, I suggest you try such a routine for yourself... If you know what you're doing, it is surprisingly challenging.
Labels: Dumbbells, Strongman Equipment, Wooden Dumbbells.
www.oldtimestrongman.com
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