Monday, February 22, 2010
Ian "Mac" BatchelorMac Batchleor Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, came to the US when he was five years old and became one of the more colorful characters in Iron Game History. He was noted for a number of unusual feats of grip strength, and in well over 50 years, was undefeated at "wrist wrestling."
Mighty Mac, was a large man, tipping the scales at well over 300 pounds but was unusually light on his feet, having once ran the 100-yard dash in 11 seconds! You can read more about Mac and some of his exploits in The Keys to Progress by John McCallum.
Labels: Grip Strength, John McCallum, Keys to Progress, Mac Batchelor, wrist wrestling
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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 03, 2010
Vansittart: The Man With The Iron GripGiven his penchant for ripping tennis balls in half and bending railroad spikes, it is not hard to see why Vansittart was known as the man with the "Iron Grip. Though this photo is well over a hundred years old, you can still plainly see that Vansittart had the genetics to be a strength champion. You can read about some of Vansittart's favorite exercises here.
Labels: Charles Vansittart, Forearm Development, Grip Exercise, Grip Strength, Iron Grip
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Charles G. JeffersonYou remember the Jefferson Lift? Well meet Mr. Jefferson. Charles G. Jefferson once partially deadlifted 1571-1/2 pounds with this special apparatus. Needless to say, all that heavy partial deadlifting did wonders for his grip strength. At a bodyweight of 170 pounds, Jefferson could also lift a 176 lb. Anvil by the horn.
Labels: Anvil Lifting, Charles G. Jefferson, Grip Strength, Jefferson Lift
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Thursday, January 28, 2010
Anvil LiftingThe anvil has long been a symbol of power and many, many strongmen have built tremendous strength by using it as a training tool. Here we have Mr. Peter C. Morse of Coffeyville, Kansas who likely never touched a barbell in his life. But one day way back when, he wanted to see if he could lift the old anvil in the back of his barn.
At first, he could not, but every few days decided to come back and have a go. Eventually he could not only pick it up but perform this pretty impressive holdout by the horn - something that you won't find many people able to replicate even a hundred years later.
Labels: Anvil, Anvil Lifting, Grip Strength, Hold Out, Odd Object
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Monday, January 25, 2010
Ron Lacy: Wrist Roller TrainingHow does Mr. America build forearm strength? The Wrist Roller, of course. It was a great method then and still a greta method now. If you could peek into the training log of just about every strength champion throughout history, there's a pretty good chance you'll find the wrist roller as a part of their respective programs.
The wrist roller is also a very good choice because it is so simple: Mr. Lacy's here is just a sturdy tree branch with a cord tied to it. You can get more fancy than that if you like but that is minimally all you need.
Labels: Forearm Strength, Grip Strength, Mr America, Ron Lacy, wrist roller, Wrist Strength
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Medart Wrist Strength DeveloperEven back in the day they understood the importance of grip and forearm strength. This wrist developer is by the Fred Medart Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, Missouri who produced gymnastic apparati, playground equipment and steel lockers. This unique piece of equipment dates to the 1920's and was built to last: it's all cast iron and oak.
Labels: Fred Medart Manufacturing Company, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Gymnastic Equipment, Hand Strength, Hand Strength Equipment, St. Louis, Wrist Developer
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Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Whitely Multi-Power Grip-O-SteelBack in the day, pretty much your only option for hand grippers were something like these from the Whitely Company. Needless to say, these aren't particularly difficult. Whitely manufactured a number of other training products as well.
Labels: Grip Strength, Grip Training Equipment, Hand Grippers, Hand Strength Equipment, Spring Hand Gripper, Vintage Strength Equipment, Whitely
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Saturday, December 05, 2009
Shaolin Grip TrainingHow do Shaolin Monks build their incredible levels of grip and forearm strength? ...with the simple wrist roller. Of course, this fellow prefers to do his wrist roller training while standing on large water jars (to increase the range of motion) and using a stone padlock for the weight.
Labels: Chinese Stone Lock, Grip Strength, Grip Training, Shaolin Monks, wrist roller, Wrist Roller Training
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Thursday, December 03, 2009
Hammer StrengthTim Krumrie, the Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro nose tackle is shown here with a classic Globe Barbell in this early advertisement for Hammer Strength equipment. Krumrie was well-known for his incredible hand strength, which should be an essential part of training programs for the game of football. His specific grip routine can be found in this book. Also, this very same barbell can be seen in use by John Grimek here.
Labels: Advertisement, Globe Barbell, Grip Strength, Hammer Strength, Tim Krumrie
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Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Test Your Might!Take a stroll down to the carnival or the boardwalk and you might find a grip tester like this one. This particular grip tester is pretty interesting since it not only tests your crushing grip but also has a separate handle to measure your One Arm Deadlift strength as well.
Labels: Crushing Strength, Grip Strength, Grip Tester, One Arm Deadlift, Unique Equipment
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Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Walt CuzzimanoThink you have a strong grip? The One Arm Deadlift will tell the tale. Here's a classic shot of Walt Cuzzimano lifting 420 pounds in that manner. Walt was also Mr. New Jersey in 1951 and competed in the Mr. America contest in 1952 (finishing 6th) and in 1959 (finishing 13th).
Labels: 1952 Mr. America, 1959 Mr. America, Grip Strength, Mr. America Contest, Mr. New Jersey, One Arm Deadlift, Walt Cuzzimano
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Eagle Claw!One very interesting exercises for building grip strength is to grasp the opening of a large clay jar with each hand. As you get stronger, simply fill the jar with additional sand or rocks to increase weight to make the movement more difficult. This method is simple, but very effective, and martial artists have been using it for centuries.
This type of training had many names, for example, in Okionawan Karate, they are referred to as Nigiri Game, or gripping jars. The fellow above is from 1906, and seems to have things pretty well taken care of in the grip department from using this exercise.
Labels: Eagle Claw, Finger Strength, Grip Strength, Gripping Jars, Martial Arts Training, Nigiri Game, Traditional Exercise
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The Spalding Grip MachineWhat is lost upon many people is that "machines" have as much of a history with strength training as barbells and dumbbells do. Shown here is an interesting piece, The Spalding Grip Machine, circa 1914. This looks like a very well designed machine, one that would be just as effective (and important) nearly a century later.
Labels: Grip Machine, Grip Strength, Hand Strength, Hand Strength Equipment, Machine, Spalding, Spalding Grip Machine, Strength machine, Vintage Strength Equipment, Vintage Strength Machines
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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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Sunday, November 08, 2009
Terry's Wrist Exerciser!Throughout the years there have been a number of devices created for building grip strength. Here's a look at "Terry's Wrist Exerciser!" which was simple but effective. Terry's brand of equipment was most often advertised in the British strength publications.
Labels: Antique Equipment, Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Training Equipment, Hand Gripper, Terry's, Terry's Wrist Exerciser
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Thursday, November 05, 2009
Ironmind Silver Crush GrippersMany, many years ago, when Ironmind first started producing hand grippers, they were known as "Silver Crush" grippers and I'm sure you can see why -- chromed springs and brilliant silver handles. These grippers did not have the numbers engraved into the bottom of the handles, nor the distinctive band, and there were only three strengths: #1, #2, and #3.
Labels: Antique Equipment, Captains of Crush Hand Grippers, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Hand Grippers, Ironmind, Ironmind Gripper, Silver Crush Grippers, Spring Hand Gripper
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009
John Grimek vs. The Weaver StickJohn Grimek was a master of many different lifts, among them the The Weaver Stick. In fact, Grimek set a modern record with a lift of 11-3/4 pounds in the "front" style shown here.
Labels: Grip Strength, John Grimek, Weaver Stick, Wrist Strength
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Collins DynamometerMany of the oldtime strongmen and physical culture pioneers were big on measurement (or Anthropometry, as it was known) for the sake of better understanding their training techniques as well as measuring their improvement over time. The Collins Dynamometer shown here was used for measuring grip strength.
Labels: Anthropometry, Grip Strength, Physical Culture Equipment, The Collins Dynamometer, Unusual Training Equipment
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Thursday, September 17, 2009
Anton Matysek
Anton Matysek preparing to "rock to the shoulder an enormous barbell with 16-in spheres, which weighs 231 pounds empty, and is 7-1/2 feet long over all. After this picture was taken, Matysek placed this bell on the floor, raised it to the shoulder with two hands, jerked it until it rested across his shoulders behind his neck, jerked it aloft again and replaced it on the floor.
The handle-bar is nearly 3-inches thick: it takes a tremendous grip to use a thick handle-bar like this. Some of the athletes who witnesses this feat of Matysek's were unable to lift the bell from the floor.
After performing the above feat, Matysek stood the bell on end, as shown in this picture, rocked it to his shoulder and then pressed it to arm's length with one hand.
Labels: Anton Matysek, Bent Press, Bent Press Feat, Grip Strength, Thick Bar, Thick Bar Lifting, Thick Handle
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Thursday, August 20, 2009
Rolled Frying PansRolling up a frying pan is one of the classic feats of strength and one that always knocks 'em dead during a live performance. Dennis Rogers makes it look easy but the feat requires tremendous fingertip strength to accomplish. You can always tell the frying pans that Dennis has rolled because they are rolled so tight that they can easily fit through the straps of a wrist watch.
Labels: Bending Feat, Classic Strongman Feats, Dennis Rogers, Feats of Strength, Fingertip Strength, Frying Pan Rolling, Grip Strength
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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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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 11, 2009
The Shafran DumbbellHere's a famous dumbbell which you have probably never heard of... This unique dumbbell once belonged to the great strongman Harry Shafran who lifted it during his Vaudeville performances. Like many stage weights, the Shafran Bell is hollow so the weight can be made much heavier by filling it with shot, if need be and also features a thick handle which necessitates a great amount of grip strength in order to lift. You can visit the Shafran Bell at the York Barbell Company Museum.
Labels: Antique Equipment, Dumbbell, Famous Dumbbell, Grip Strength, The Shafran Dumbbell, Thick Handle, York Barbell Company Museum
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Monday, July 06, 2009
The Weaver StickThe great strength author George Weaver came up with a unique strength challenge which now bears his name: The Weaver Stick.
You can easily make your own with a broom stick. An official weaver stick is exactly 42 inches long with the challenge being to grasp the end of it, no closer than 5-1/2 inches from the opposite end, and lift a weight from the floor, all the while keeping the stick perfectly level.
A lift of 6-8 pounds in this manner is exceptional. The great weight lifting champion John Davis for example, could lift 8 pounds, while John Grimek set the modern record with 11 pounds.
Labels: George R. Weaver, Grip Challenge, Grip Strength, John Davis, John Grimek, Weaver Stick, Wrist Strength
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Monday, June 22, 2009
Arthur DandurandAt a contest in 1908, the great Canadian strongman Arthur Dandurand pushed a wheelbarrow loaded with 4300 pounds of pig iron for a distance of 23 feet. The Montreal strongman weighed only 190 pounds at the time.
Labels: Arthur Dandurand, Canadian Strongman, Feats of Strength, Grip Strength, Wheelbarrow Lift
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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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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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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Test Your Grip!Are You Strong or Weak? ~ Don't be a wimp ~ Test Your Grip! To be a true 'strong man' you need a strong set of hands. That's as true today as it was back in the 1920s when machines like this could be found at fairs and carnivals all over the country. You won't find many of these machines these days but you still want to be able to measure up when necessary so it pays to always train your grip.
Labels: Grip Machine, Grip Strength, Grip Tester, Grip Training, Grip Training Equipment
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Joe Kinney's Secret WeaponIn order to build the incredible strength needed to close the Iron Mind #4 gripper, Joe Kinney devised a unique piece of grip training equipment he dubbed the "Secret Weapon." This allowed him to perform severe negatives which is a type of training which is incredibly effective but definitely not for the faint of heart. It worked... no man before or since has closed the #4 with so much authority.
Labels: #4 Gripper, Grip Strength, Grip Training Equipment, Hand Strength, Joe Kinney
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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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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Rope Climbing for Grip Strength Sig Klein was always outspoken as far as the importance of grip strength... One of Sig's favorite exercises was to hang by one hand from a thick climbing rope. It's still a good one.
Labels: 2" Climbing Rope, Grip Exercise, Grip Strength, Sig Klein, Thick Climbing Ropes
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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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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
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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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Monday, April 06, 2009
Mac BatchelorMac Bachelor was well-known for his feats of grip strength but he was a fine all around strength athlete. Here's 'Big mac' getting in an impromptu "odd object" workout while working at his tavern in California. Mac's thick bone structure is evident, it should come as no surprise why Mac was never defeated at armwrestling.
Labels: Arm Wrestling, Grip Strength, Mac Batchelor, Odd Object Lifting
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Monday, March 30, 2009
Bruce White's Custom Cricket Ball DumbbellLike many grip masters, Australia's Bruce White was very creative in finding new ways to strengthen his hands. In doing so, he came up with this unique challenge: a cricket ball attached to a dumbbell handle. His best performance on this piece of equipment was 190 pounds - performed while keeping the bar perfectly level throughout the entire lift. He was 49 years old and weighed less than 150 pounds at the time .
Labels: Bruce White, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Hand Strength, Hand Strength Equipment
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Friday, March 27, 2009
Bruce WhiteIt should be pretty obvious that strong hands make a stronger body. A great example of this concept is Australian grip master Bruce White. In what should come as no surprise, White was a tremendous deadlifter in addition to his prowess at grip feats. Above he deadlifts 633 pounds at a bodyweight of only 148 pounds.
Labels: Australian Grip Master, Australian Strongman, Bruce White, Deadlift, Grip Strength
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Monday, March 23, 2009
| Leverage exercises are a great method for building wrist and forearm strength, something that John Grimek certainly understood very well. You can use a simple dumbbell handle loaded on one end just like Grimek is using... a sledge hammer works well too. Either way, leverage exercise are a very good way to train with a very high resistance level without needing a lot of actual weight. This also makes them a perfect choice for getting in a quick workout while traveling. Another great option is the Weaver Stick. When it comes to sledge hammer levering though, the man to beat is Slim the Hammer Man... his World-record front lever lift with a pair of hammers - 56 pounds on 31 inch shafts -- totaled 1,736 inch pounds of resistance. |  Leverage Exercises |
Labels: Grip Strength, Leverage Exercises, Leverage Feat, Sledge Hammer Leverage, Sledge Hammer Training, Wrist Strength, York Barbell Club t-shirt
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Friday, March 13, 2009
| David "Bull" Bonvicin was a popular performing strongman from Montana. He specialized in many of the traditional strongman feats which focused on grip and forearm strength such as ripping phone books, levering sledge hammers and bending spikes (as he is shown doing here.) Note the above average forearm development which obviously came from frequently practicing these oldtime feats. If you want to know more about his training, Bonvicin is profiled in Physical Training Simplified by Mark H. Berry. |  David "Bull" Bonvicin |
Labels: Bull Bovicin, David Bull Bonvicin, Forearm Development, Forearm Strength, Grip Development, Grip Strength, Oldtime Strongman, Phonebook Ripping, Spike Bending, Steel Bending
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Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Thomas Inch Challenge GripperThomas Inch is probably most famous for his Challenge Dumbbell but what a lot of people don't know is that he had a challenge gripper as well. Above shows Mr. Inch on a visit to the Viking weightlifting club in England. Even though he was 68 years old at the time Inch was still the only man in the place who was successfully able to close it.
Labels: Challenge Weight, Grip Strength, Gripper Training, Hand Gripper, Hand Gripper Training, Thomas Inch, Thomas Inch Gripper, Vintage Hand Gripper
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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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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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Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sig Klein: Train Your Grip!"Bodybuilders do not have the grip they should have. I know. For many years I have found that few of them possess the grip that their large biceps would indicate..."That was written by Sig Klein about sixty years ago, and it's still true today. Although bodybuilder or not, everyone should train their grip. Sig's equipment of choice is a simple pinch block, attached by a chain to one of his "Klein Bells. Sig really liked the pinch grip exercise since it was such a favorite of many Oldtime Strongmen.
In fact, at his gym, Sig had a 20 Kilo French blockweight which he placed a $10 bill under, and which had an open challenge that anyone who could pinch-lift the blockweight could keep the bill. The prize was safe for many years until a football player named Harry Kloppenburg finally lifted it!
Labels: Blockweights, Challenge Feats, Grip Strength, Hand Strength, Pinch Grip, Pinch Lift, Sig Klein, Sig Kleins Gym
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thomas Inch: Two hands Anyhow The great British strongman Thomas Inch was well known for his Grip Strength and his famous Challenge Dumbbell but he was also a great all around strength athlete.
Here is Mr. Inch half-way through a Two Hands Anyhow lift, one of his specialties. The barbell was first taken to the shoulders, jerked, then switched to the right hand. The kettlebell at his feet, which weighed 90 pounds, was then brought overhead with the left hand.
Labels: British Strongman, Grip Strength, Kettlebell, Kettlebell Lift, Thomas Inch, Two Hands Anyhow
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Friday, February 20, 2009
John Grunn Marx"The Luxembourg Hercules" John Grunn Marx was descended from a long line of blacksmiths. He was famous for his tremendously powerful hand strength and his ability to break horse shoes. In 1905, he performed a harness lift with 4410 pounds.
Labels: Grip Strength, Harness Lift, John Grunn Marx, The Luxembourg Hercules
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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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Friday, February 13, 2009
 Charles Batta | A very rare picture of oldtime strongman Batta - this prop was meant to simulate the tree stump event from the mythology of Milo of Crotona. Unlike Milo, Batta was successful in prying the two sides of this faux tree stump apart in a dramatic manner, an act which highlighted his incredible grip strength. |
Labels: Batta, Grip Strength, Milo of Crotona
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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
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
