Saturday, October 31, 2009
John Valentine, shown here with some of his favorite weights, was a popular strength enthusiast from Leeds, England. He was a pupil of Thomas Inch and actually had a performing strongman act along with Leo Gaudreau. In later years, Valentine imported American muscle magazines such as Strength and Health and Iron Man over to England, being the source for such material over across the pond.
Labels: Barbell, Dumbbells, Iron Master Magazine, John Valentine, Leo Gaudreau, Performing Strongman, Strength and Health Magazine
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, December 02, 2007
| In addition to publishing "THE IRON MASTER" John "Osmo" Kiiha is a former World-Class Olympic Lifter who competed in the 1968 Senior Nationals in the 198 pound class. His bests lifts were: Total: 985, Press: 333, Clean & Jerk: 418, Snatch: 286. Here he is getting ready to incline press a pair of 150 pound dumbbells. | Osmo Kiiha |
Labels: Clean and Jerk, Dumbbell Benchpress, Iron Master Magazine, Olympic Weightlifting, Osmo Kiiha, Press, Senior Nationals, Snatch, Strength Author, Total
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 04, 2007
The Iron Master DumbbellFrom 1989 to 2000, Osmo Kiiha published "THE IRON MASTER" one of the most informative periodicals ever produced on the history of strength training.
What made this publication stand out from anything before or since was the focus on training, -- every issue focused on one or more of the all-time greats but it wasn't just talk, there was always a number of workouts included so that readers could learn exactly how the champs trained.
At one point, Osmo decided to create a further link to the past by coming out with his own classic equipment. He created a series of globe barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells which were reminiscent of the kind of equipment that the MILO Barbell Company had produced a century before.
The "Iron Master" Dumbbell is shown above.
Like the MILO models, these had hollow globes which could be filled either with shot or loded with smaller plates through the handle. They were cast in either aluminum or steel and were machined, one at a time, by hand ~ true works of art.
Labels: Dumbbell, Globe Barbell, Iron Master Magazine, Milo Barbell Company, Osmo Kiiha
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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This is THE PLACE where you will find interesting bits of Iron Game history, lore and training tips from the strongest men of all time.

John Valentine
Osmo Kiiha