Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Oscar Wahlund, The Strongest Man in SwedenWho IS the strongest man in Sweden? Hard to say these days but a hundred years ago it was Oscar Wahlund. He is credited with a harness lift of well over 4600 pounds and could clean and jerk 225 pounds for 10 repetitions.
Labels: Clean and Jerk, Harness Lift, Oscar Wahlund, Swedish Strongman
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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, February 08, 2010
John B. GagnonJohn B. Gagnon, of Caribou, Maine, is a strongman that you do not hear much about but laid claim to some very impressive feats which are as follows:
Finger Lift – 794 pounds One Hand Lift – 1,111 pounds Two Hand Lift – 1,575 pounds Two Hand and Knees Lift – 2,195 pounds Neck Lift – 1,317 pounds Harness Lift – 2,689 pounds Teeth Lift – 627 pounds One Arm Lift – 924 pounds Two Arm Lift – 1,248 pounds Back Lift – 4,170 pounds Total – 16,650 pounds lifted in only 25 minutes
Labels: Back Lift, Challenge Feats, finger lifting, Harness Lift, John B. Gagnon, Neck Lift, One Finger Lift, Performing Strongman
www.oldtimestrongman.com
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Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Paul KronusAs a young man, Paul Kronus of Germany was inspired to become a strongman after watching a performance by Karl Abs. During the 1920's Kronus traveled throughout Europe and the U.S. performing feats of strength, among them this harness lift of a car said to weigh 3600 pounds.
Labels: Car, German Strongman, Harness Lift, Karl Abs, Oldtime Strongman, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Paul Kronus, Supporting 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
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Charles A. SampsonStep right up... a rare ticket from Charles A. Sampson's performance at Royal Albert Hall, London England, on Novemnber 22nd and 23rd, 1899. If you had been in attendence, you would have seen Sampson perform his signature feats: harness lifting, coin bending, lifting heavy thick-handled globe barbells and breaking chains wrapped around his bicep.
Labels: Chain Breaking, Charles Sampson, Coin Bending, Harness Lift, Royal Albert Hall
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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, 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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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, January 13, 2009
Sandow's Harness Lifting One of Sandow's favorite leg exercises was harness lifting a heavy weight. He would adjust the length of the chain to different lengths in order to train different leg muscles. Not only was this a very productive movement in itself, it also allowed him to become accustomed to heavy weights and practice some of the feats for his strength performances.
Labels: Eugen Sandow, Harness Lift, Harness Lifting, Leg Exercise, Performing Strongman, Supporting 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, June 23, 2008
The Pro Wrestler "The Mighty Atlas" often performed feats of strength before his matches, many of them unusual, and not performed by any other strongmen before or since.
Here's one you don't see every day: breaking a 3/4" manila rope with a harness lift. That's a "gut buster" for sure!
A Strength Feat by the Might AtlasHere's one you don't see every day: breaking a 3/4" manila rope with a harness lift. That's a "gut buster" for sure!
Labels: Harness Lift, Manila Rope, Mighty Atlas, Pro Wrestler, Strength Feat
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, May 07, 2008
Mac batchelor's 2000-Pound Hip LiftMac Batchelor was well-known for his grip strength but he excelled at many other different types of strength feats.
Here's Mighty Mac performing a harness or hip lift with over 2000 pounds.
Labels: Harness Lift, Hip Lift, Mac Batchelor, Oldtime 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
Friday, April 18, 2008
Cyclops and SampsonA rare poster advertising the strongman duo of Franz "Cyclops" Bienkowski and Charles A. Sampson. Sampson's Harness Lift is highlighted.
Labels: Charles Sampson, Cyclops, Harness Lift, Horse Lifting, Oldtime Lift, Supporting Feat
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, April 07, 2008
 Warren Lincoln Travis | You aren't a real Oldtime Strongman until you lift a Cannon... The great Warren Lincoln Travis shows he's still got it as an old man, Harness Lifting a Cannon and a Globe Barbell - combined weight: over 1500 pounds. |
Labels: Cannon, Cannon Lifting, Harness Lift, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Supporting Feat, Warren Lincoln Travis
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, March 30, 2008
Charles SampsonCharles Sampson was a turn-of-the-century strongman who, unlike any of his contemporaries, claimed his great strength was not from physical training but a result of having been struck by lightning as a small child!
As noted in Physical Training Simplified by Mark Berry, Sampson did perform a Harness Lift with 4008 pounds and frequently collaborated with the famous coin breaker Franz "Cyclops" Bienkowski.
Sampson and Cyclops were both handily defeated by Eugen Sandow in a famous challenge match in 1889.
Labels: Challenge Match, Charles Sampson, Cyclops, Eugen Sandow, Franz Bienkowski, Harness Lift, Oldtime Strongman
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 14, 2007
 WarrenLincoln Travis | If you wanted to win the Richard K. Fox Heavyweight Strongman Champiionship Belt you had to beat Warren Lincoln Travis at his own game in a challenge match. Here's the list of Travis' ten strength challenges: 1. 100 lb.barbell brought from the floor with both hands, pressed overhead with both hands, while seated(thirty seconds). |
Labels: Backlift, Challenge Feats, Dumbbell Lifts, Harness Lift, Oldtime Strongman Feat, One Finger Lift, Warren Lincoln Travis
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
Saturday, December 01, 2007
 Harry Shafran | Harry Shafran was an oldtime lifter who ran two gyms (one in Brooklyn and one in greater New York City) in the 1920's. Eventually Harry got tired of big city life and moved to a farm near Scranton, Pennsylvania where he converted a large barn into a gym. His collection of oldtime strength equipment was quite impressive, you can see a bit of it in the picture to the left where Shafran is harness lifting 1500 pounds (at 72 years old!) |
Labels: Classic Strongman Gyms, Harness Lift, Harness Lifting, Harry Shafran, Oldtime Strongman, 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
Thursday, October 11, 2007
 Harness Lifting 1875 Pounds | Harness lifting was very popular with many old time strongmen. It was a very simple way to move a lot of weight and with the heavy weights and short range of motion, it builds tremendous strength in the bones and ligaments as well as the muscles. You can also see John Grimek performing this exercise on the cover of The Mark Berry Barbell Courses |
Labels: Harness Lift, John Grimek, Mark Berry, Strongman Feat, Supporting Feat
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
William Bankier was a performing strongman and wrestler at the turn of the century who went by the name of Apollo, The Scottish Hercules.
For his act he would harness lift an elephant and perform a backward somersault over a chair, carrying a 56 lb weight in each hand.
According to David Willoughby, The Scottish Hercules had a rather unusual method for building his biceps:
(Looks like it worked!)
For his act he would harness lift an elephant and perform a backward somersault over a chair, carrying a 56 lb weight in each hand.
According to David Willoughby, The Scottish Hercules had a rather unusual method for building his biceps:
"Rope climbing, using a rope one a half or two inches in diameter would be difficult to improve upon as an exercise for developing the arms and grip. If climbing rope in the vertical direction should prove beyond one's strength, the bottom of the rope could be fastened so as to fix the rope at any desired angle. This climbing of the rope on an angle is an exercise which "Apollo" ( aka William Bankier) aka "The Scottish Hercules" used to develop his bicep strength. From a single climbing and descending of a 30 foot rope each day (which took about two minutes) he obtained infinitely better results than did an acquaintance who devoted a half hour each day to light exercises especially for the biceps." |  William Bankier |
(Looks like it worked!)
Labels: Bicep Training, David Willoughby, Harness Lift, Oldtime Strongman, Rope Climbing, Scottish Hercules, Strongman Feat, William Bankier
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, July 02, 2007
It was on this date back in 1891 that Louis Cyr defeated Sebastian Miller in a back lifting contest 3192 pounds to 2400 pounds.
If you've spent any time on the site so far you are pretty well acquainted with Louis Cyr but you probably aren't as familiar with Sebastian Miller.
Heres a bit about him from the Cambridge (Ohio) Jeffersonian newspaper dated January 3, 1899:
-- Strongman Breaks Cobblestones With His Hands --
Sebastian Miller
"A strongman has turned up on Philadelphia. He calls himself Sebastian Miller and a distinguished gathering of physicians and Professors witnessed some of his feats of strength in the Pennsylvania hospital a day ago.
Miller stripped to the waist in order that the physicians might see the workings of his gigantic muscles, and he stepped to a light pine table on which were placed several cobblestones.
A large stone was held in place and Miller, giving three powerful swings with his right arm, brought his fist down on the stone.
The first blow cracked it, the second broke it, and the third shattered it into bits.
In doing this, Miller wrapped a piece of cloth around his hand to protect it from being cut.
But Miller's strength is not all in his arms. With a harness he has raised 3500 pounds and with his hands he can lift 1800 pounds. With three successive blows of his fist he has broken a block of Quincy granite 5 feet long, 4 feet broad and 6 inches thick."
If you've spent any time on the site so far you are pretty well acquainted with Louis Cyr but you probably aren't as familiar with Sebastian Miller.
Heres a bit about him from the Cambridge (Ohio) Jeffersonian newspaper dated January 3, 1899:
Sebastian Miller"A strongman has turned up on Philadelphia. He calls himself Sebastian Miller and a distinguished gathering of physicians and Professors witnessed some of his feats of strength in the Pennsylvania hospital a day ago.
Miller stripped to the waist in order that the physicians might see the workings of his gigantic muscles, and he stepped to a light pine table on which were placed several cobblestones.
A large stone was held in place and Miller, giving three powerful swings with his right arm, brought his fist down on the stone.
The first blow cracked it, the second broke it, and the third shattered it into bits.
In doing this, Miller wrapped a piece of cloth around his hand to protect it from being cut.
But Miller's strength is not all in his arms. With a harness he has raised 3500 pounds and with his hands he can lift 1800 pounds. With three successive blows of his fist he has broken a block of Quincy granite 5 feet long, 4 feet broad and 6 inches thick."
Labels: Backlift, Harness Lift, Louis Cyr, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Sebastian Miller
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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