Sunday, February 07, 2010
Tullus Wright: The American Sampson Another rare look at Tullus Wright, The American Sampson and a few of his great stage weights. Note the thick handles on his equipment. He was good friends with George Zottman.
Labels: Classic Equipment, George Zottman, Globe Barbell, Globe Dumbbell, Performing Strongman, The American Sampson, Tullus Wright
www.oldtimestrongman.com
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, November 29, 2009
George ZottmanA very rare picture of strongman George Zottman just about to perform the exercise which bears his name. George was about 55 years old at the time that this picture was taken. Look closely, years of performing Zottman curls helped him develop forearms almost as large as his upper arms.
Labels: Big Forearms, Forearm Development, Forearm Exercise, George Zottman, Grip Exercise, Oldtime Strongman Exercise, Zottman Curl
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, August 13, 2009
George ZottmanThe Oldtime Strongman George Zottman devised his own method for building forearm strength and size which obviously works very well, as you can see above. Check out a copy of Super Strength by Alan Calvert for complete instructions on how to perform the Zottman Curl. Zottman was also very good at the dumbbell overhead press, achieving lifts of 160 lbs with his right hand and two reps with a pair of 100-lb dumbbells.
Labels: Big Forearms, Dumbbell Press, Forearm Development, Forearm Strength, George Zottman, Grip Exercise, Oldtime Strongman, Zottman Curl
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Reverse Curl"One of the greatest tests of forearm strength is to curl a thick bar with the over-grip. Once I bought a round steel bar, about 3 feet long and 2 inches thick, which weighed 65 lbs. To do a two-arm curl with this steel bar was a cinch if you used the under-grip; but when you tried to curl it with the over-grip, the bar would slip out of your hands when the arms were bent half way.
Lots of lifters who could do a back-hand curl easily with a thin-handled 100-lb. bar-bell, utterly failed to do the same thing with the thick 65-lb. bar. Anton Matysek could do it easily; Juvenal, the oarsman, could do it with even greater ease; and Zottman simply played with it.
In order to curl the bar successfully, it was necessary to have tremendous gripping power in the hands and great strength in the muscles on the outside of the forearm; but the gripping power was more important.
This stunt interested me so much that I had a special bar made, which consisted of a 2 inch pipe, and from each end of that pipe projected a 1-inch iron rod. We could load up the handle by slipping plates over the 1-inch rods. At one of our exhibitions Matysek demonstrated the exercise while I explained the principles involved.
Joe Nordquest, who was present, demanded that he be allowed to try his strength, and soon there was a competition in progress. According to our rules, the lifter had to stand bolt upright and keep his elbows at his sides, in order to prevent him from getting any advantage from a swing of the body or a movement of the upper arms.
One of the two claimed that the other one was not playing fair; so before each attempt we bound a belt around their upper arms, as in shown above. Matysek finally won with 88 lbs., which was harder than curling a thin-handled 125-l.b bar-bell. Tests like that interest me far more than lifts in which a man's ability is dependent on skill as well as strength."
~ Alan Calvert
Super Strength, Chapter 17
Labels: Alan Calvert, Anton Matysek, Forearm Exercise, Forearm Strength, George Zottman, Grip Exercise, Grip Strength, Joe Nordquest, Reverse Curl, Super Strength
www.oldtimestrongman.com
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, April 05, 2009
Milo SteinbornOn October 19th, 1921, at Hermann's Gym in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Alan Calvert, George Zottman and others witnessed Henry "Milo" Steinborn perform the following lifts:
He concluded these lifts with six full squats with 402 pounds... even more impressive from the standpoint that he loaded and unloaded the barbell onto his shoulders unassisted!
Labels: Alan Calvert, Clean and Jerk, George Zottman, Henry Milo Steinborn, Hermann's Gym, One hand Snatch, Snatch, Squat
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, April 10, 2008
George Zottman Globe BarbellsA rare picture of a young George Zottman with some of his great oldtime stage equipment. Grip strength is a premium for any oldtime strongman. Gotta love those thick-handled globe barbells and dumbbells. You can tell a lot of great workouts happened with those.
The globe dumbbell in the foreground weighs 175 pounds -- and the dog's name was Sphinx. Tullus Wrtght "The American Sampson" is pictured sitting on the left.
Labels: Dumbbell, George Zottman, Globe Barbell, Globe Dumbbell, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Oldtime Strength Equipment, Thick Bars, Thick Handle, Tullus Wright, Vintage Strength Equipment, Zottman Curl
www.oldtimestrongman.com
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, 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
www.oldtimestrongman.com
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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