Tuesday, September 01, 2009

  • Professor Leo Stevens


  • Thanks in large part to Professor Attila, New York City was a hotbed of strongman activity during the early 20th century. One of his pupils was Professor Leo Stevens who is shown here balanced precariously on a few chairs with a heavy barbell strapped around his neck at the same time. Professor Stevens was sickly for most of his life and took up regular physical (at 46 years old!) to cure his ills - it looks like it worked.

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    Tuesday, September 01, 2009

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    Monday, June 08, 2009

  • Adolph Nordquest

  • Originally hailing from Ashtabula, Ohio, Adolph Nordquest began his performing strongman career in Buffalo, New York in 1901. A year later he moved to New York City to study and train under Professor Attila.

    Due to Nordquest's similarities to one of Attila's former students he was dubbed the "American Sandow." Teaming with another great strongman, Otis Lambert, Nordquest performed very successfully in music halls and vaudeville for the next decade and a half.

    When his performing career came to an end, Nordquest focused very intently on his strength training, so much so that he briefly held the world deadlift record with a lift of 638 pounds. He was also very good at finger lifting.

    His brother Joe Nordquest was also a famous strongman with many records to his credit.
    Adolph NordquestAdolph Nordquest

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    Monday, June 08, 2009

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    Tuesday, April 14, 2009

  • Andre Reverdy


  • Andre Reverdy was a Massachusetts strongman who was most active in the 1920's. He weighed only 113 pounds but could bent press 168 pounds, tear cards, bend steel and, as shown above, pull a car with his teeth. He was coached in these classic strongman feats by Professor Attila.

    The above photo was taken at one of Bernarr Macfadden's Physical Culture shows held at Madison Square Garden. Reverdy pulled this car full of passengers -- with his teeth -- the entire length of the arena.

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    Tuesday, April 14, 2009

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    Wednesday, April 08, 2009

  • The Roman Board


  • Professor Attila created several pieces of training equipment for building ab strength. Among them, the Roman Chair, the Roman Column and the Roman Board, seen here demonstrated by Sig Klein. Sig is lifting 35 pounds here in the "layout," a terrific test of abdominal power.

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    Wednesday, April 08, 2009

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    Friday, December 12, 2008

  • Sig Klein

  • Sig Klein inherited much of his great equipment when he married Professor Attila's daughter and took over his gym in New York.

    Of course, Sig had pretty good taste in equipment anyway often having custom-made barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells made.
    Sig KleinSig Klein

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    Friday, December 12, 2008

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    Tuesday, May 20, 2008

  • Sig Klein's Roman Column

  • A look at Sig Klein using the Roman Column at his famous gym. It was actually Sig's father-in-law Professor Attila who invented the Roman Column.

    The Roman Column was actually used more as a demonstration of strength than as a means of developing strength.

    When used for strength feats, the performer would lower his body directly to the ground, pick up a weight and then sit up with it.

    Eugen Sandow was a master at this strength feat.
    Roman ColumnSig Klein's Roman Column

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    Tuesday, May 20, 2008

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    Tuesday, January 29, 2008

  • Lionel Strongfort

  • Lionel StrongfortLionel StrongfortLionel Strongfort, (Real name Max Unger) began his strongman career as a pupil of Professor Attila

    Strongfort went on to thrill audiences all over the world with his incredible and very dangerous Human Bridge feat where he supported over 7,000 pounds in the Tomb of Hercules position.

    Strongfort was also one of the most successful Mail Order Muscle Barons and his training courses on "Strongfortism," which only required bodyweight and some light dumbbells, were incredibly popular in the early 20th century.

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    Tuesday, January 29, 2008

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    Saturday, January 05, 2008

  • The Roman Column

  • The Roman ColumnThe Roman Column

    As mentioned several times on this blog, it was Professor Attila who invented the Roman Column.

    Shown here, the Roman Column is an actual column in which the traineee hangs suspended vertially and moves to a horizontal position using the power of his legs and abdominal muscles.

    Eugen Sandow used to perform this feat either holding a heavy barbell or a human being.

    On the left is the original Roman Column, in one corner of Sig Klein's Time's Square Gym.

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    Saturday, January 05, 2008

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    Friday, January 04, 2008

  • Professor Attila

  • Professor Attila was one of the true innovators of the Iron Game. It was Attila who came up with the idea for hollow equipment which could be loaded with shot to increase the weight.

    Professor Attila also invented several oldtime strongman exercises such as the bent press, the Roman Chair, the Roman Column and the feat of tearing decks of poker cards in half.

    It was also Attila who inspired a young Eugen Sandow to start strength training after Sandow watched Attila's strongman performance -- eventually, Attila became Sandow's mentor and coached him to even greater heights.
    Professor AttilaProfessor Attila

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    Friday, January 04, 2008

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    Wednesday, December 19, 2007

  • The Rolandow Barbell

  • The Rolandow BarbellThe Rolandow Barbell

    The Rolandow Barbell once belonged to the Swiss Strongman G.W. Rolandow who would bent-press it each night in his performance. This barbell has been lifted by many famous strongmen, including Eugen Sandow.

    The Rolandow Barbell has had many famous owners over the years. It was purchased by Professor Attila, then Sig Klein (as shown). The Rolandow Barbell can currently be seen in the York Barbell Company Museum in York, Pennsylvania.

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    Wednesday, December 19, 2007

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    Thursday, October 11, 2007

  • Louis Durlacher aka Professor Attila

  • Professor AttilaLouis Durlacher aka Professor Attila

    It was Louis Durlacher aka Professor Attila who trained a young Fredrick Mueller and changed his name to Eugen Sandow.

    It was also Professor Attila who invented many of the feats of strength we know today, such as the Roman Column, the Roman Chair, supporting feats in the human bridge position, tearing packs of playing cards; and the the hollow globe-ended barbells and dumbbells we know today.

    Attila was also the first man to bent press over 200 pounds and in addition to Sandow, Professor Attila could also list many other famous strongmen among his students:

    Including: Warren Lincoln Travis, Anthony Barker, Horace Barre, Arthur Dandurand, Lionel Strongfort, George Rolandow, Louis Cyr, Bobby Pandour and Adolph Nordquest.

    In 1894, Professor opened his famous Studio of Physical Culture in downtown New York city. His daughter, Grace, later married Sig Klein.

    If Eugen Sandow was the "Father" of Oldtime Strongmen, surely Professor Attila, was the Grandfather.

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    Thursday, October 11, 2007

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    Sunday, September 09, 2007

  • Sig Klein's Gym

  • Sig Kleins GymSig Klein's Classic Old-Time Gym

    Here's another look at one of the classc gyms we have featured before: Sig Klein's place in New York City. This was the original location -- he moved into a facility overlooking Times Square later on.

    Notice the mirror on the right revealing a set of globe barbells on the far wall, block and ring weights in the foreground and you can just make out a Roman Column on the extreme left.

    There's nothing like Classic Equipment to make your training special. You can tell a lot of great workouts happened down at Sig's Place.

    Sig Klein inherited much of the equipment after he married Professor Attila's youngest daughter in 1927. Professor Attila, of course, was the man who taught Eugen Sandow how to train.


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    Sunday, September 09, 2007

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