Thursday, September 13, 2007
Henry Holtgrewe: The Cincinnati StrongmanHenry Holtgrewe was born in Hanover, Germany in 1872 but came to live in the United States at an early age. He settled in Cincinnati, where he ran a saloon near old Chester Park in Northside.
In his spare time he delighted in performing feats of strength, especially lifting barbells and dumbbells with thick handles -- which not only confounded smaller-handed competition, but also allowed Henry Holtgrewe to build a tremendous 15-1/2 inch forearm in the process.
Holtgrewe also out "pressed" the great Louis Cyr with a single-arm lift of 287 pounds. It was said that each time Eugen Sandow performed in Cincinnati Holtgrewe challenged to a lifting contest -- and each time Sandow refused.
In 1904 Holtgrewe backlifted two opposing baseball teams at Redlands Field in Cincinnati. The combined weight was estimated at 4103 pounds easily placing him among the strongest backlifters of all time.
Labels: Backlift, Dumbbell, Eugen Sandow, Henry Holtgrewe, Louis Cyr, Oldtime Strongman, Strongman Feat
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Friday, August 24, 2007
Barrel Lifting for Unusual Strength It has been well written that many so-called "feats of strength" had their roots in manual labor. Back in the beer halls of Bavaria and old, Old, OLD Vienna I'm sure a couple of robust beirmeisters once sat around shooting the breeze when one bet another that he could lift the biggest barrel -- and it's all been down hill from there.
Many of the old timers were well-known for their barrel or keg lifting feats, including Louis Cyr (who was said to have been able to lift a 400 lb. barrel to his shoulders) and George Jowett who included a Barrel Lifting Course in his Molding a Mighty Grip training guide.
I would imagine the "Cincinnati Strongman" Henry Holtgrewe lifted a few barrels and kegs in his time. He owned a tavern down in the neighborhood of Northside in Cincinnati just after the turn of the century.
| Several modern day strongmen have included barrel lifting in their training. Probably the two most well known are Steve Justa and Brooks Kubik who wrote extensively about barrel lifting in Dinosaur Training. Keep in mind that lifting a 200 pound FULL barrel is actually easier than lifting a 150 pound HALF-filled barrel. |  Brooks Kubik |
Labels: Barrel Lifting, Brooks Kubik, Dinosaur Training, Henry Holtgrewe, Steve Justa, Strongman Equipment, 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
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