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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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, December 01, 2009
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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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, 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
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, June 24, 2009
Old School Captains of Crush Hand GrippersWay back in the day, Captains of Crush Grippers came in bags like these instead of the more modern blister packs that you see today. Of course, back then, there were only four grippers: Trainer, #1, #2, #3 and #4. Grippers of this 'vintage' are exceedingly rare - if you have one, hang on to it.
Labels: Captains of Crush, Captains of Crush Hand Grippers, Grip Tools, Hand Gripper, Hand Strength, Ironmind Gripper
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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
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, 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
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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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, 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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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, 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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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, 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
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, 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
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
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 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
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
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
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
Monday, December 10, 2007
 John Y. Smith | John Y. Smith was a great strongman in the New England area in the early 1900's. Among his many impressive feats were a right hand bent-press of 275-1/2 pounds (which broke Louis Cyr's mark) and a left hand bent-press of 248 pounds (Which stood as an American record for many years.) It was said that Smith's hands resembled "Iron Claws" due to his extensive training with Thick Bars. |
Labels: Bent Press, Hand Strength, Iron Claws, John Y. Smith, Oldtime Strongman, Thick Bar Training, Thick Bars
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, December 07, 2007
| From 1911 to 1934, Edward Aston held the title of Britain's Strongest Man. Judging by this picture, it's not hard to see why. One of Aston's "Secrets" was to pay particular attention to strengthening the grip and forearm. He employed a number of different exercises to build his hand strength but one of his favorites was to do one-arm timed holds on a climbing rope. |  - Edward Aston - Britain's Strongest Man |
Labels: Britains Strongest Man, British Champion, Edward Aston, Forearm Strength, Grip Strength, Hand 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
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