Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Sandow Grip Dumb-Bell ~ Advertisement"Why Be Weak When You Can Become Healthy and Strong?" ... still a fine question even a century later. Sandow sold thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of his nifty 'Grip Dumb-Bells' over the years and here's an advertisement for them.
Notice that there are actually six different levels, for men, youths, girls, ladies, boys and children. They also came in two different "styles" the basic style, which was just black enamel, and the "deluxe" style which was polished nickel with leather strips on the handles.
Interestingly, just like athletes of today, these dumbbells were not invented by Sandow but he did lend his name and likeness to them which increased their popularity considerably.
Labels: Advertisement, Eugen Sandow, Grip Equipment, Sandow's Grip Dumbbells, Unusual Training 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
Monday, August 10, 2009
Wrist Roller TrainingThe Wrist Roller is a simple but very effective method of building grip strength... and here are two other training ideas which make it even better: stand on an elevated surface to increase the range of motion or use it in a supported manner so that your arm muscles don't give out before your forearms do.
Both of these ideas were written up in The Way to Live by George Hackenschmidt written back in 1908. As a wrestler and strongman "Hack" certainly had use for tremendous grip strength.
Labels: George Hackenschmidt, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Grip Training Equipment, Strongman Equipment, wrist roller, Wrist Roller Training
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Wednesday, August 05, 2009
The Baseball GripA very simple way to build your hand strength is with a simple baseball or softball. This one has been drilled and fitted with an eye-hook which allows weights to be hung from it. It's a surprisingly effective challenge.
Labels: Baseball Grip, Finger Strength, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Hand Strength, Hand Strength 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
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Hand Grippers!Hand Grippers? Yeah... I know a thing or two about 'em. Here's a look at a bit of what's in my collection. Between my personal interests and my business interests I can say with no hesitation that I have handled more grippers than any one person in history. What's more, I'll be sharing some of the things I know very soon...
Labels: Collection, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Grip Training, Hand Grippers, Hand Strength, John Wood
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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 17, 2009
The Millennium DumbbellThe Millennium Dumbbell was created around ten years ago as a tribute to a weight once lifted by the great French Strongman Apollon. At 225 pounds, The Millennium outweighs the famous Thomas Inch dumbbell considerably. Needless to say the 2-3/8 inch thick handle necessitates a tremendous level of grip strength in order to lift.
Labels: Challenge Weight, Famous Dumbbell, Globe Dumbbell, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Hand Strength, Millennium Dumbbell, The Millennium Dumbbell, Thick Handle
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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 10, 2009
The Mystery GripperI've seen this style of gripper before but this particular version is a new animal. In all my collections of old magazines and the like I have never seen this one advertised. This gripper is built extremely heavy and the springs themselves are some of the largest I have ever encountered, not to mention that is is quite a bit tougher than any other grippers like this that I have tried. I would estimate this one to be around the #2 gripper level.
Labels: Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Gripper Training, Hand Gripper, Hand Strength Equipment, Spring Gripper, Spring Hand Gripper
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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, 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
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, March 17, 2009
Small Thomas Inch DumbbellsThomas Inch is famous for the Thomas Inch Challenge Dumbbell which weighs 172 pounds... What most people do not know, however, is that there where actually three other Inch Dumbbells which were smaller and which allowed him to progressively gain strength in order to lift the biggest one. The smaller "Inch" bells weighed 75, 140 and 153 pounds respectively.
Since the original Inch Dumbbell is now sitting in my living room back home, I recently, decided to commission a series of smaller bells which would not only keep that tradition alive but also better help in bridging the gap while training with the 172-pound Inch bell.
These dumbbells were cast in a far off land and brought to the U.S. at great personal expense. They are currently the only bells of this sort on U.S. soil. The two larger ones weigh 53 kg (116.6 pounds) and the two smaller bells in the back weight 40 kg (88 pounds). I wanted to get a pair of each size for farmer's walk training.
You'll be seeing these bells in action soon...
Labels: Globe Dumbbells, Grip Equipment, Inch Dumbbell, Small Inch Dumbbells, Thick Handle, Thomas Inch, Thomas Inch Dumbbells
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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, March 08, 2009
The Dumbbell GripperA highly imaginative combination of a classic wooden dumbbell and a hand gripper.
I have no idea of the story behind this one... It dates to the early 1900's if not earlier. If it was commercially made I have never seen it advertised anywhere and if it was homemade whoever was behind it did an exceptionally good job. Either way, here it is.
Labels: Dumbbell, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Hand Gripper, Vintage Hand Gripper, Wooden Dumbbells
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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, March 01, 2009
Bruce White's Inch DumbbellOne of the most famous grip feats of all time is to deadlift the Thomas Inch Challenge Dumbbell. Replicas were not available until the mid-1990's so if you wanted to lift your own, you had to have your own dumbbell cast, and that is exactly what the great Australian grip master Bruce White did. It took him five years of training to finally accomplish lifting his 172-pound dumbbell. Keep in mind that Bruce White was only 148 pounds at the time, the lightest man to ever do so - a simply phenomenal feat of grip strength.
Labels: Australian Grip Master, Bruce White, Challenge Weight, Grip Equipment, Grip Feat, Inch Dumbbell, Inch Dumbbell Challenge
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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
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Chinese Stone LocksKettlebells go back a long way but Chinese Stone Locks predate them by several thousand years. Martial artists in China have been using stone weights like these to develop their bodies for centuries. There are, of course, many 'kettlebell' exercises that can be done with stone locks, but they carry with them their own specific kind of training -- and a specific set of results. Stone locks training is particularly good for grip and forearm work.
Labels: Chinese Stone Lock, Equipment, Grip Equipment, Grip Exercise, Kettlebells, Stone Weight
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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, February 22, 2009
| Hand grippers go back a long way, even farther than plate-loaded barbells, in fact. While the materials and spring quality have changed with modern advancements, you can see that the overall design has not changed one bit over the last century. The very first advertisement for spring nutcracker-type hand grippers is pictured on the right and dates to 1901. |  Vintage Hand Grippers |
Labels: Advertisement, Equipment, Grip Equipment, Grip Training Equipment, Hand Gripper, Hand Strength, Hand Strength Equipment, Vintage Hand Gripper
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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, February 04, 2009
John Grimek: Wrist Roller TrainingJohn Grimek trained in every way imaginable and he sure didn't neglect his grip. One of his favorite pieces of training equipment for building grip and forearm strength was the simple wrist roller - and it's still great choice.
Labels: Forearm Strength, Grip Equipment, Grip Exercise, John Grimek, wrist roller, Wrist Roller Training
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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, May 11, 2008
| The Super Gripper is one of the classic pieces of grip training equipment and has actually been around since the early 1940s if you can believe it. The first Super Gripper was invented by a man named Daniel Marvosh of Flint, Michigan and it was advertised in the pages of Strength and Health and Ironman Magazines. This ad is from 1963. |  The Super Gripper |
Labels: Advertisement, Daniel Marvosh, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Iron Man Magazine, Strength and Health, Super Gripper, The Super Gripper
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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
Monday, April 07, 2008
| The great Mac Batchelor had quite a set of strong mitts. As reported in by John McCallum in The Complete Keys to Progress, Mac could pinch a wine cork between forefinger and thumb, press down as shown and split the cork in half. |  An Unusual Grip feat from Mac Batchelor |
Labels: Grip Equipment, Grip Feat, Ian Mac Batchelor, John McCallum, Keys to Progress, Mac Batchelor, Thumb 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
Friday, March 28, 2008
| One of John Grimek's favorite grip training exercises was the wrist roller. Wrist rollers range from a simple piece of wood with a cord tied around it, to a more detailed and durable steel version -- either way a couple rolls in either direction with a wrist roller will give you a great forearm workout. We're currently working on our own version, look for it soon... |  The Wrist Roller |
Labels: Grimek Exercise, Grimek Workout, Grip Equipment, Grip Exercise, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Hand Strength, John Grimek, wrist roller
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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
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
 The Iron Shoe Exerciser | The Iron Shoe exerciser was a great oldtime piece of training equipment which has roots going back pretty far into strength history. As you may notice by the design, it is "horse shoe" shaped -- which is meant to mimic an actual horse shoe, the bending of which was a great oldtime feat and a mark of great strength. The "iron Shoe" provided a method of progressive resistance in some of the positions needed for horseshoe bending and trained the body, especially the grip and forearms in a very unique manner. |
Labels: Bent Horseshoes, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Iron Shoe, Oldtime Strength Equipment, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Steel Bending
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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, December 16, 2007
Iron Man Hand GrippersThere are advertisements for hand grippers going back as far as 1901, but the tradition of the heavy-duty steel hand grippers began in back in 1964 when Warren Tetting's grippers first appeared in the pages of Iron Man Magazine.
These grippers challenged many strongmen and there were four Strengths: "Light", "Heavy", "Extra Heavy" and "Super Heavy". Only the strongest hands could close the "Extra Heavy" gripper and it is unknown weather anyone actually closed the "Super Heavy" gripper level.
The Iron Man Grippers would be advertised for the next 79 issues and eventually became the inspiration for the Iron Mind Captains of Crush Grippers.
Labels: Forearm Strength, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Gripper Training, Hand Grippers, Iron Man Grippers, Strongman Equipment, Tetting Grippers, Warren Tetting
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
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Whitely GIANT Power Grip!| My friend Sarah found this cool old-time hand gripper in an antique shop somewhere in Michigan and snapped it up for a few bucks. – What a steal! There's no date on this gripper but I’ve seen the design before in a lot of old magazines (see right from 1926.) The one above is in mint condition (including the box) and still a pretty good challenge with all six springs. If you need a more modern grip challenge, check these out: Ironmind Hand Grippers |  Oldtime Ad |
Labels: Advertisement, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Strongman Equipment
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, June 22, 2007
| Back in 1899, the hottest thing going was Eugen Sandow's Spring-Grip Dumbbells. These weights consisted of two dumbbell "halves" joined together by a series of springs. As one followed the suggested workout movements, they could build their forearm strength by keeping the two halves "crushed" together while they increased the rest of their bodily strength. Sandow's Spring-Grip dumbbells came in a variety of styles and types -- ranging from "Basic Black" to nickel-plated models with leather handles. Some of the later versions had a bell that rung as you squeezed the handles (Left) or were ergonomically fitted to your hand. (Middle) The smaller version, shown in the right of the picture, was nickel-plated and had only three springs as it was the "Youth" version. |  An Early Ad Sandow's Spring-Grip Dumbbells |
Labels: Advertisement, Antique Equipment, Eugen Sandow, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Hand Strength Equipment, Sandow's Grip Dumbbells, Spring Dumbbell, Strongman Equipment
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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