Monday, November 30, 2009
Goerner's DeadliftHermann Goerner was a fan of the deadlift... every kind of deadlift you can imagine. He lifted two fingers of each hand, he lifted with only his middle fingers, and he did them with one hand. Shown here is Goerner one arm lifting a stone block of 660 German pfunds - the standard measurement at the time.
Goerner's feat was featured on an advertising poster for the Greco-Roman wrestling championships held in Dresden, Germany from September 8th to the 12th back in 1920.
Labels: Dresden, German Strongman, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Hermann Goerner, One Arm Deadlift
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Sunday, November 22, 2009
Harry GoodLike many strongmen, Harry Good was very talented at feats of grip and forearm strength. Here he lifts a set of heavy farm equipment gears weighing over 300 pounds with one finger. His best performance in this lift was with over 450 pounds.
Labels: Good Brothers, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Harry Good, One Finger Lift
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Adolph Nordquest: "The American Sandow"This rare picture shows why Adolph Nordquest was known at "The American Sandow" ~ the likeness was uncanny. The similarities did not end there, however, what Nordquest also had in common with Sandow was great strength - Norquest could deadlift 638 pounds with an overhand grip (among other feats). This was back in 1915 mind you.
Labels: Adolph Nordquest, American Sandow, Deadlift, Grip Feat, Oldtime Strongman
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Friday, August 21, 2009
Bruce Lee ~ Thumb PushupsThe great martial artist Bruce Lee was a big proponent of physical training and with good reason. He understood... he "got it" ... which is why he also made it a point to train his grip. Building stronger fingers, wrists, hands and forearms is obviously very important in combat settings. Here's Master Bruce doing pushups on only his thumbs in between takes while filming one of his movies - an incredible feat. Can anyone today do this?
Labels: Bruce Lee, Finger Strength, Grip Feat, Strong Grip, Thumb Strength
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
Card Ripping in Oven MittsIf you can rip a deck of cards you're pretty strong, but can you rip a deck of cards while wearing oven mitts? Not only can Dennis Rogers do this, he makes it look easy. See it for yourself in 336 Pounds of Fury.
Labels: Card Ripping, Card Tearing, Dennis Rogers, Grip Feat, Hand Strength, Strongman Feat
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Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Professor A. N. ShaikhProfessor A. N. Shaikh of Pakistan was an expert at pinch gripping. Here he does a 'clean' to the shoulder with a 75 pound smooth weight plate in the early 60s. Not bad, I don't know anyone who could duplicate this feat these days. This record stood until his 18-year old son came along and bested it with a lift of 81 pounds.
Labels: Barbell Plate, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Pakistani Strongman, Pinch Grip, Pinch Lift, Professor A. N. Shaikh
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Wednesday, April 29, 2009
George Jowett: Anvil Lifting"...Talking about feats with an anvil reminds me of a particular feat that I performed impromptu which takes a great amount of confidence as well as strength. It happened at one of the times that I picked up an anvil by the horn in a smithy shop, and after that stunt I pressed the anvil to arm's length by lying it on its broadside upon the flat of my hand, which is not as easy as it sounds. After I had done this I put the anvil on the floor on its base.George Jowett
We began to talk about various anvil feats being so difficult because of its awkward unbalanced construction. One man remarked that it would be some stunt to balance the anvil on the hand upside down. That meant the face would rest on the hand and the heavy wide base on top. Somehow I conceived the notion I could do it, and accordingly I took hold of the face with my right hand, and with the help of the left arm got the weight to the shoulder.
Despite the wide base and the bad balance caused by same and the horn, I not only succeeded in balancing the anvil by its face, but pressed it to arm's length, to the amazement of all. I have done it many times since, and for this volume I performed the same feat, thinking it might interest my readers. The anvil weighed one hundred sixty-eight pounds..."
The Key to Might and Muscle, Chapter 9
Written in 1926
Labels: Anvil Lifting, George Jowett, Grip Feat, Grip Training, Odd Object Lifting, The Key to Might and Muscle
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Monday, April 13, 2009
Pinch-Grip ChinsDoing one pinch grip chin with bodyweight is impressive but doing so with added weight is out of this world. Here's Arthur Metzler, the Navy strongman performing a pinch-grip chin with an extra 75 pounds tied around his waist. If you're interested in training for this feat, that's a pretty nifty setup for doing so.
Labels: Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Pinch Grip, Pinch Grip Chinup, Pinch Lift
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Saturday, March 07, 2009
Doug Hepburn's Favorite FeatOne of Doug Hepburn's favorite feats was to muscle out a 45-pound plate hanging from his pinky finger -- an amazing display of shoulder and grip strength. As evident here, Hepburn could do this with either hand.
Labels: 45 Pound Plate, Doug Hepburn, Finger Strength, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Muscle Out, Shoulder Strength
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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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Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Steve Reeves DeadliftHere's a unique feat by 1947 Mr. America Steve Reeves ... he may not have invented it but he became very well known for it: The Steve Reeves Deadlift. It involves an extremely wide-grip deadlift performed by grabbing the rim on a pair of York Deep Dish Plates. It's tougher than it looks and a tremendous feat of finger strength.
Labels: 1947 Mr. America, Deadlift, Finger Strength, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Mr. America, Steve Reeves, York Deep Dish 45 Pound Plate
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Sunday, January 11, 2009
 Finger Lifting | Finger Lifting is always popular due to the fact that a person can truthfully prove he can lift more with one finger than another can lift with both hands. Beyond a doubt, the greatest men in the world on this exercise who can handle the greatest poundages are Warren Lincoln Travis, Adolph Nordquest, John Y. Smith and Ottley R. Coulter, who, at 132 pounds could out lift many heavyweights. All four men here owe most of their success in this lift to their knowledge of muscular leverage and know just how to apply their muscular power. |
Labels: Adolph Nordquest, finger lifting, Finger Strength, Grip Feat, John Y. Smith, One Finger Lift, Ottley Coulter, strongman lift, Warren Lincoln Travis
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Sunday, January 04, 2009
J.C. Tolson's Challenge RingweightThe great strongman J.C. Tolson had a Challenge Weight with which he would perform his favorite feat. He could lift this 90-pound ringweight overhead with the little finger of one hand only! Thousands of strongmen tried to duplicate this feat yet failed. Tolson could do it with ridiculous ease.
Labels: Challenge Feats, Challenge Weight, Grip Feat, J.C. Tolson, Ring Weights
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008
An In Interesting Grip FeatGrip Feats come in all shapes and sizes. Here's John Grimek performing an interesting one that can be done just about anywhere: pick up a chair by the leg keeping it level the whole time. Grimek could do it with extra weight, as shown by the barbell plate on the seat.
Labels: Grip Feat, Grip Strength, John Grimek
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Monday, November 17, 2008
| Slim the Hammer Man is primarily known for his hammers but he has much more in his repertoire of strength feats. Slim is an excellent Nail Driver and Horse Shoe Bender. Here he scrolls a long piece of steel into an artistic shape. Needless to say Slim must depend on the strength of his mind as well as his muscles to perform this feat. |  Slim The Hammer Man: Steel Scrolling |
Labels: Grip Feat, Slim The Hammerman, Steel Scrolling
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Monday, July 28, 2008
Karl Norberg: Plate Muscle-OutLifting an old York deep-dish 45-pound plate by the hub is impressive enough, but this feat is out of this world. At 69 years of age, "The Mighty Norseman" Karl Norberg not only pinched the plate, he lifted it and performed a Muscle-Out with it - a simply incredible feat of strength!
Labels: Finger Strength, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Hub Lift, Karl Norberg, Muscle Out, York Deep Dish 45 Pound Plate
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Sunday, July 27, 2008
Jean Baillargeon - Finger LiftingJean Baillargeon, of the famed Baillargeon Brothers lifts what looks to be around 260 pounds with his little finger! Finger lifting was a favorite feat of many Oldtime Strongmen - some men were able to work up to 500-600 pounds in this lift.
Labels: Baillargeon Brothers, Finger Strength, Grip Feat, Jean Baillargeon, One Finger Lift, Single Finger Lifts
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Friday, July 04, 2008
 45 Plate Hub Curl | Rocky Erickon of Chicago, Illinois performs an incredible feat of grip strength: a hub "lift" and curl of a pair of old York Barbell "deep dish" 45-pound plates. Lifting a 45-pound plate by the hub is impressive, but Rocky takes it to a whole new level with this feat. |
Labels: Barbell Plate, Curl, Exercise, Finger Strength, Grip Exercise, Grip Feat, Grip Training, York Deep Dish 45 Pound Plate
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Friday, June 13, 2008
Jack Walsh performing a 1-finger snatch with 115 pounds. When was the last time you ever heard of anyone performing this lift? Notice there's no collars on the bar.
Jack WalshLabels: Fingertip Strength, Grip Feat, Jack Walsh, One Finger Lift, One Finger Snatch
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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
John Davis PinchliftThe Olympic Champion John Davis pinch-gripping 55 pounds with one finger and a thumb while training as Ed Yarick's Gym.
Try it!
Labels: Ed Yarick's Gym, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, John Davis, Pinch Lift
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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
| What do you get if you are the first and only man to lift the "unliftable" Thomas Inch Challenge Dumbbell" since Thomas Inch himself? You get this award -- the award given to Mr. John Gallacher when he did just that at the 1957 NABBA Mr. America contest. Mr. John Gallacher fully deadlifted the Inch Dumbbell three times that night -- the only man to do so (besides Thomas Inch) in almost six decades! (A Big Thank you to John Gallacher for sending in the picture and filling us in on that fateful day.) |  "Winner - Inch Dumbbell ContestNABBA Mr. Universe Contest 1957" |
Labels: Grip Feat, Inch Dumbbell, Inch Dumbbell Challenge, John Gallacher, NABBA, Thick Bar Lifting, Thomas Inch
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Sunday, May 04, 2008
Steve Stanko and The Hub LiftOne of the classic classic grip feats was to pick up a York Deep-Dish 45 Pound barbell plate just by the hub, something weightlifting and bodybuilding champ Steve Stanko could do with ease, even with an added 10 pounds. Steve's best was with over 90 pounds!
Labels: 45 Pound Plate, Bending Feat, Finger Strength, Grip Feat, Hub Lift, Steve Stanko, York Barbell, York Deep Dish 45 Pound Plate
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Friday, April 25, 2008
Art WalgeOne of the greatest grip exercises is also one of the simplest: the one arm deadlift performed with an Olympic Barbell.
Here's Big" Art Walge doing just that: deadlifting 400 pounds with one hand. Art stands 6'6", weighs 275 and held the World Record for the bent-arm pullover.
Labels: Art Walge, Bent-Arm Pullover, Grip Exercise, Grip Feat, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Olympic Barbell, One Arm Deadlift
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| Charles Batta, or, as he was more commonly known "Batta" was an oldtime strongman famous for his incredible grip strength. Standing at 5'10" and a bodyweight of only 200 popunds, Batta was the only man who duplicated one of the Apollon's greatest feats: the lifting of four 44-pound blockweights overhead -- each tied to a finger of one hand. It was also written that Batta cleaned (but did not jerk) Apollon's famous railroad wheels - an incredible feat in its own right, but even more so due to his light bodyweight. |  Batta |
Labels: Apollon, Apollon's Wheels, Batta, Blockweights, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Oldtime Strongman, Oldtime Strongman Feat
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Sunday, April 13, 2008
Thomas Inch's Challenge"Can you lift it?" - That's what Mr. Inch's challenge boiled down to. Here's the great historian David Webster with a placard announcing Mr. Inch's Challenge at the Aberdeen Sports Review in the early 1950's -- and Mr. Inch's famous Challenge Dumbbell.
The prize for lifting the Inch Dumbbell was announced as 30 British Pounds -- adjusted for inflatation that's over $450 in today's dollars. Whether then or now, to conquer the Inch Dumbbell's thick handle, you'll need a tremendous grip.
Labels: Challenge Weight, David Webster, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Inch Dumbbell, Inch Dumbbell Challenge, Thick Handle, Thomas Inch
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Cyclops The Coin BreakerAnother look at Franz Bienkowski, aka Cyclops, whose fingers were so powerful that he could bend and break coins with his bare hands. On the right is one of the 10 centimes coin that Cyclops broke, a feat witnessed and authenticated by several other notable strongmen.
Cyclops possessed considerable strength and possessed a 14-1/2-inch forearm, 18-inch upper arm and 52-inch chest. He often partnered with Charles Sampson.
Labels: Charles Sampson, Coin Bending, Coin Breaking, Cyclops, Finger Strength, Fingertip Strength, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Paris France
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Tuesday, April 08, 2008
| The Mighty Norseman Karl Norberg could perform many incredible strength feats -- one of which involved a simple Olympic barbell. Norberg could do a front holdout with the bar (which is pretty impressive by itself.) |  Karl Norberg Olympic Bar |
Labels: Barbell, Forearm Strength, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Hand Strength, Karl Norberg, Leverage Feat, Oldtime Strongman, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Olympic Barbell, Wrist Power, Wrist Strength
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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
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Sunday, April 06, 2008
 Al Berger | Al Berger was a great strength athlete and classic bodybuilder during the 1940's. Berger was a very good bodybuilder but was most well-known for his ability to perform incredible feats of strength while "pinch gripping" rafters in his basement. |
Im addition to his pinch-gripping feats, Berger could perform a reverse curl with 165 pounds.
Labels: Al Berger, Bodybuilder, Finger Strength, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Hand Strength, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Pinch Grip, Pinch Grip Chinup, Pinch Lift, Rafter Chinup, Reverse Curl, Thumb Strength
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
 Plate Curls | One of the most effective exercises for developing grip and forearm strength can be done with a simple barbell plate. The steep strength curve from the leverage involved can impose quite a challenge -- even when using a very light plate. |
Labels: Exercise, Forearm Strength, Grip Exercise, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Hand Strength, Plate Curls
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Friday, February 01, 2008
Mac Batchelor"I was in L.A. about ten years ago. I went into one of the gyms and asked about a man named Mac Batchelor. They told me how to find the tavern where he worked and that night I drove over to see him.- from "Grip and Forearm Development"in The Complete Keys to Progress by John McCallum
The tavern was full of thirsty customers, but there was no doubt who was Batchelor. He weighed about 330 and most of it was muscle. I climbed up on a bar stool and introduced myself.
"Tell me Mac, "I said, "You still the world's best arm wrestler?"
He laughed. "I think so." He propped an arm like an elephant's leg up on the bar.
"Wanta try?"
I looked at the arm. "No Thanks."
He looked surprised. "No? How come?"
Mac, I'll tell ya, I said. "You might break my arm and I don't think my insurance would cover it."
He smiled broadly. "You know," he said, "you're one of the very few people who ever walked in here and didn't think they could beat me.
"Good grief," I said," I ain't too bright, but I'm not crazy. I tell you what I would like, though. I'd like to see some of those strength feats of yours I've heard about."
"Sure," he said. "Here." He reached under the bar and brough our four bottlecaps. He jammed one betwen each finger on his right hand and held his hand out. "Watch." He squeezed lightly and the four caps crumpled like Kleenex..."
Labels: Bending Feat, Bottlecap Bending, Grip Feat, John McCallum, Keys to Progress, Mac Bachelor, Mac Batchelor
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Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Apollon One of the barbells that the great French Strongman Apollon used to lift during his performances had a 2-1/2 inch thick diameter handle and was made up of two hollow spheres which could be loaded with sand to adjust the weight.
This barbell weighed 143 pounds empty and filled with sand it tipped the scales at 198 pounds. Just before he was to perform, a rival strongman played a trick on Apollon and replaced the sand-filled spheres with solid iron ones which brought the weight of the barbell to 341 pounds.
During the performance, Apollon lifted the barbell with ease... Apollon's strength was so great that he did not even notice the difference!
Labels: Apollon, Globe Barbell, Grip Feat, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Thick Handle
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Friday, January 04, 2008
The Quarter-Sized Deck Tear by Dennis RogersEvery Strongman should be able to rip a deck of playing cards in half, but you truly need a whole other level of strength to accomplish this feat.
Like only Paul Von Boeckmann before him, Dennis Dennis Rogers is able to tear this quarter-sized chunk out of a deck of playing cards - a simply incredible feat of finger strength.
Labels: Card Ripping, Dennis Rogers, Finger Strength, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Paul Von Boeckmann
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Thursday, January 03, 2008
Slim The HammermanLevering a Sledge Hammer is a simple exercise, performed with a simple tool that will build incredible wrist strength. Keep practicing and maybe you'll do 28 pounds like Slim The Hammerman (Yeah Right!)
Labels: Grip Feat, Hammer Training, Sledge Hammer Exercise, Sledge Hammer Leverage, Sledge Hammer Training, Sledgehammer, Slim The Hammerman, Wrist Strength
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Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Arthur Saxon's Incredible Plank FeatIf you needed further proof that Arthur Saxon was one of the strongest men who ever lived, behold the following:
Arthur and the other members of the Saxon Trio used to perform several supporting feats in their act and for these feats, they employed a large, heavy wooden plank.
Unbeknownst to many, they also used this plank as a training tool to develop grip strength, each taking turns lifting it in various ways between their shows. While the other brothers did their best to deadlift it, Arthur Saxon could actually snatch the plank overhead with ease, something no one else could duplicate and a feat which humbled noted Strongman Siegmund Breitbart who visited the Trio at the Bush Circus in 1922 Berlin, Germany.
Kurt Saxon considered this to be Arthur Saxon's greatest strength feat... pretty impressive condsidering some of Arthur's other record achievements.
Labels: Arthur Saxon, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Plank Lifting, Saxon Trio, Siegmund Breitbart
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Tuesday, December 18, 2007
| Ian "Mac" Batchelor of Los Angeles, California was a great Oldtime Strongman who specilized in feats of grip and forearm strength. He could easily bend metal bottle caps between his fingers and was for many years recognized as a champion of "wrist-wrestling" (in which he was undefeated.) This picture shows one of his more outstanding feats of grip strength: "walking" his fingers up a long, heavy wine bottle. Try it! |  Ian "Mac" Batchelor |
Labels: Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Ian Mac Batchelor, Mac Bachelor, Mac Batchelor, Oldtime Strongman, wrist wrestling
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Sunday, December 16, 2007
 Hermann Goerner | The German Strongman Hermann Goerner specialized on unusual feats of grip strength. Here's a great lift you can try -- the 4-finger deadlift (that's using the index and middle fingers of each hand.) This picture shows Goerner lifting 595-1/2 pounds in that manner on November 30th, 1933, in Leipzig, Germany. |
Labels: Deadlift, German Strongman, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Hermann Goerner
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The "Quad" Phonebook Tear by Pat PovilaitisIt's hard enough to tear a phonbook once, but check out what Pat Povilaitis can do -- the first (and to my knowledge only) phonebook "Quad" tear.
That's right, Pat tore the same phonebook into five strips -- and this feat can only happen when you can legitimately tear a phonebook.
Labels: Grip Feat, Pat Povilaitis, Phonebook Tearing, Strongman Feat
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Thursday, December 13, 2007
 Fred Rollon | Fred Rollon was a strand pulling Champion but he excelled in a number of other traditional strongman feats. Fred Rollon is shown here in the act of tearing a deck of cards in half. |
Labels: Card Tearing, Fred Rollon, Grip Feat, Strand Pulling, Strongman Feat
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Monday, December 10, 2007
Franz Bienkowski - "Cyclops" - The Coin Breaker Franz Bienkowski was a Polish wrestler and strongman who performed in the late 1800's. It was reported that his grip and finger strength was so powerful that he could bend and break coins.
Labels: Circus Strongman, Coin Bending, Cyclops, Franz Bienkowski, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Oldtime Strongman, Polish Strongman, Strongman Feat
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Sunday, December 09, 2007
Bruce White - Rafter Pinch Grip Chin UpsAnother Pinch Grip Feat - It's hard enough to just hold your bodyweight off the ground by pinch gripping rafters. Far beyond that is doing a rafter pullup... and even farther beyond that is this feat:
Here Australian Grip Master Bruce White chins himself on rafters with 70 extra pounds tied to his waist. -- an unbelievable feat of grip strength
Now THAT is Strong!
Labels: Australian Grip Master, Bruce White, Chinup, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, Pinch Grip, Pinch Grip Chinup, Rafter Chinup, Strongman Feat
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| John Davis had a mighty grip to go along with his incredible strength. -- He would need a pretty terrific grip to lift the Apollon wheels. Davis could also perform three one-arm chinups with either hand. Pictured here is Two-time Olympic Gold Medal Winning Weightlifter John Davis performing a unique grip feat: pinching a pair of York "Deep Dish" 35-pound barbell plates. Not many people practice pinch gripping, or gripping a smooth surface with the fingers extended. Pinch gripping modern barbell plates is hard enough, what Davis is doing here is very impressive considering those particular plates are twice as wide as any barbell plates you'll find these days. |  - John Davis - Pinch Grip Feat |
Labels: Barbell Plates, Grip Feat, Grip Strength, John Davis, Pinch Grip, Strongman Feat
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