Monday, January 25, 2010
Stefan Siatkowski - The Man of IronStefan Siatkowski a.k.a " The Man of Iron" was a Polish Strongman who excelled in bar bending, nail bending, scrolling and anything else that involved bending metal. He was active as late as the 1960's.
Labels: Bar Bending, Performing Strongman, Polish Strongman, Steel Bending, Steel Bending Strongman, Steel Scrolling, Stefan Siatkowski
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Milo BarusThe great German Strongman Milo Barus, is shown here performing the Human Link feat with a pair of automobiles. Barus performed a tremendous variety of incredible strength feats in his act: Nail Driving, Steel Bending, Harness Lifting, The "Leg Press", Horse Lifting etc etc.
In 1983 a Movie was made about his life and today, a strength competition in his honor takes place in front of his old house at Mühltal Eisenberger. -- The winner receives the "Milo Barus Cup".
Labels: Classic Strongman Feats, German Strongman, Human Link, Leg Press, Milo Barus, Nail Driving, Steel Bending
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Saturday, September 19, 2009
Breitbart: The Iron KingSiegmund Breitbart "The Iron King" shows how he got his nickname. Here, the famous strongman makes short work of a 10-foot long, 1-inch wide piece of flat iron. Note the arm and shoulder development that comes with this type of steel bending.
Labels: Shoulder Development, Siegmund Breitbart, Steel Bending, Steel Bending Strongman, Steel Scrolling
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Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Pat Povilaitis: The Human ViseWhy do they call Pat Povilaitis "The Human Vise" ? One reason is because he is always doing crazy feats like this one: bending a 7" X 5/16" piece of steel with 150 pounds hanging from his head.
Labels: Human Vise, Neck Strength, Pat Povilaitis, Steel Bending
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Stanless SteelStanley "Stanless Steel" Pleskun from South Brunswick, N.J has been quietly performing amazing feats of strength for years. He can lift over 600 pounds with one finger, break chains, drive nails, lever sledge hammers and, incredibly, bend a penny with his bare hands. Stanless attributes his great strength to the ability to harness the power of his own mind.
Labels: Chain Breaking, Coin Bending, finger lifting, Mental Strength, Mind Power, Nail Driving, Oldtime Strongman, Sledge Hammer Leverage, Stanless Steel, Steel Bending, Steel Bending Strongman
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Friday, August 14, 2009
The Young Mighty ApollonJ.C. Tolson, "The Young Mighty Apollon", was a master of many different strength feats, including bending horseshoes as shown here. Tolson was not a large man but had tremendous full-body power. In 1927, at a bodyweight of only 185 pounds, he easily deadlifted 550 pounds, one of the first men to do so.
Labels: Bent Horseshoes, Deadlift, Horseshoe Bending, J.C. Tolson, Oldtime Strongman, Steel Bending, Young Apollon
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Sunday, August 09, 2009
Chain BreakingOne of the feats that Alexander Zass performed in his strength act was to break chains with his hands. "Samson" would let an audience member choose a specific link then twist it back and forth with the strength of his hands until it weakened and broke. (In this case it was the sixth link in the chain.) This twisting caused the chain to become so hot that Samson's fingers ended up blistered afterward but the amazing feat did bring the house down every time - the price of show business!
Labels: Alexander Zass, Amazing Samson, Bending Feat, Chain Breaking, Feats of Strength, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Steel Bending
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Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Dennis Rogers' Steel ScrollingA few years back Dennis Rogers performed in Detroit and gave me the piece of steel he bent during the show. If you look closely you can see that it is dated 11/06/2005 and signed by Dennis.
Labels: Bar Bending, Bending Feat, Dennis Rogers, Steel Bending, Steel Scrolling, Strength Feat
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Monday, July 13, 2009
Steel Bending"The Amazing Samson" Alexander Zass engaging in a bit of steel bending. Though is is certainly not for everyone, steel bending can be quite a workout, one that can make you very strong in some very unusual ways.
Labels: Alexander Zass, Amazing Samson, Bending Feat, Feats of Strength, Full Body Strength, Grip Training, Steel Bending, Wrist Strength
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Friday, May 29, 2009
The Human Vise in action (video has sound)
Check out this video clip for some shots of Pat "The Human Vise Povilaitis in action. If you want to see more footage of 'The Vise' do his thing, check these out: 336 Pounds of Fury and Crazy, But Powerful.
Labels: 336 Pounds of Fury, Crazy But Powerful, Pat Povilaitis, Performing Strongman, Steel Bending, Steel Bending Strongman, The Human Vise, Video
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Andre ReverdyAndre 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.
Labels: Andre Reverdy, Bent Press, Bernarr Macfadden, Car Pulling, Professor Attila, Steel Bending, Teeth Lifting
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Thursday, April 09, 2009
Bent HorseshoeIn the world of Strongmanism there are bent horseshoes and there are bent horseshoes. This one was turned inside out by the hands of "The Human Vise" Pat Povilaitis.
Labels: Bending Feat, Bent Horseshoes, Horseshoes, Steel Bending, Strongmanism
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Friday, April 03, 2009
Breitbart's Muscle BuilderIn addition to his training courses and strength performances, Siegmund Breitbart also created some of his own training equipment. To work on his steel scrolling he devised this "muscle builder" apparatus, a series of flexible pieces of steel with a handle on either end. This setup allowed for a number of unique training movements similar to traditional steel bending as well as the ability to adjust resistance by adding or subtracting bands.
Labels: Bending Strength, Breitbart's Muscle Builder, Oldtime Strength Equipment, Oldtime Strongman Exercise, Siegmund Breitbart, Steel Bending, Steel Scrolling
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Monday, March 23, 2009
Marijan MatijevicMarijan Matijevic was a great Croatian strongman who was popular during the turn of the century. He won his first medals for strength feats and wrestling when he was 21years old and collected more as the years passed. He had a standing offer that anyone who could defeat him in feats of strength could have his entire collection of medals. He was adept at bending steel, barrel lifting, stone breaking and lifting thick-handled globe barbells.
Labels: Barrel Lifting, Croatian Strongman, Feats of Strength, Marijan Matijevic, Steel Bending, Stone Breaking, Thick Bar Lifting, Wrestler
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Infinity ScrollAll of the great steel-bending strongmen all had their signature scroll. Master scroller Erik Vining calls his "The Infinity Scroll" and is featured above. If you want to find out how to create this unique piece, Erik shows you step by step in Basic Scrolling -- and it aint easy.
Labels: Bending, Bending Feat, Erik Vining, Infinity Scroll, Steel Bending, Steel Scrolling
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Sunday, March 15, 2009
The Human Vise Strikes Again!Why do they call Pat Povilaitis the Human Vise? This collection of bent steel should explain it: About fifty bounds of bent, mangles steel: nails, spikes, horseshoes, rebar, bolts, wrenches, drill bits... nothing is safe when "The Vise" does his thing.
Labels: Bend Spikes, Bending, Bending Feat, Bent Horseshoes, Bent Steel, Bolt Bending, Human Vise, Nail Bending, Pat Povilaitis, Steel Bending
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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, March 13, 2009
| David "Bull" Bonvicin was a popular performing strongman from Montana. He specialized in many of the traditional strongman feats which focused on grip and forearm strength such as ripping phone books, levering sledge hammers and bending spikes (as he is shown doing here.) Note the above average forearm development which obviously came from frequently practicing these oldtime feats. If you want to know more about his training, Bonvicin is profiled in Physical Training Simplified by Mark H. Berry. |  David "Bull" Bonvicin |
Labels: Bull Bovicin, David Bull Bonvicin, Forearm Development, Forearm Strength, Grip Development, Grip Strength, Oldtime Strongman, Phonebook Ripping, Spike Bending, Steel Bending
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Sunday, March 08, 2009
Indian Strongman Monotosh RoyMonotosh Roy was a highly respected strongman, bodybuilder and physical culture practicioner in his native India. He was famed for his tremendous muscularity and won his class in the 1951 Mr. Universe Contest. As a strongman, he was particularly good at traditional strength feats such as bending steel.
Labels: Bodybuilder, Indian Strongman, Monotosh Roy, Mr. Universe, Steel Bending
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Monday, February 16, 2009
| You've probably never heard of Arthur Santell -- in fact likely nobody has, he was just a kid from Los Angeles with an interest in physical training who was featured in an old newspaper clipping. What we do know of Arthur Santell is that he could drive a 20 penny nail through two 1-inch boards with his fist and scroll a 1-1/2" x 1/4" steel band around his arm. This picture was taken on May 6th, 1930. Santell was 18 at the time. |  Arthur Santell |
Labels: Arthur Santell, Nail Driving, Steel Bending, Steel Scrolling, Strongman Feat
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Friday, February 13, 2009
Siegmund BreitbartHere's an interesting picture of famous oldtime strongman Siegmund Breitbart. It highlights his steel scrolls and hand-bent horseshoes. The structure behind him, however, is the real star, it was created with woodens boards Breitbart nailed together by hand.
Labels: Bending, Nail Driving, Siegmund Breitbart, Steel Bending, Steel Scrolling
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Monday, February 02, 2009
Saxon BrownAs a boy athlete, Saxon Brown was Britain's strongest youth. As a professional, he performed many traditional feats of strength such as Nail Driving, Nail Bending, Card Tearing, The Human Chain and Steel Scrolling. He could also lift a car from the side and would let a motorcycle drive over his neck as a part of his act. Saxon Brown was the first man to pull a bus with his teeth.
Labels: Card Tearing, Chest Expanders, Nail Driving, Saxon Brown, Steel Bending, Steel Scrolling, Teeth Lifting
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
| Siegmund Breitbart was a strongman of many unusual talents... Like many of the oldtime strongmen, he performed feats such as bending steel bars, nail driving, supporting feats etc etc but one type of strength that he was simply in a class by himself was the strength of his jaw. He could pull cars or wagons with his teeth but even more amazing was that he could bite clean through steel chain links. Yes, real steel, real chains, one of which is pictured on the right. This feat is almost to incredible to be true. Amazingly enough, the Mighty Atom was able to accomplish this feat as well. |  The Actual Chain that Breitbart bit through |
Labels: Chain Biting, Nail Driving, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Siegmund Breitbart, Steel Bending, Supporting Feat
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Saturday, September 06, 2008
Doug Hepburn - Steel BendingDoug Hepburn was a man of many strength talents: Champion Weight Lifter, hand balancer, professional wrestler... now you can add Steel Bending to the list as well.
Labels: Doug Hepburn, Hand Balancing, Steel Bending
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Monday, August 18, 2008
Alexander Zass - The Amazing SamsonThe great Russian strongman Alexander Zass a.k.a The Amazing Sampson bending a steel rod in his teeth. Many of the oldtime strongmen bent steel as a part of their act since it was a feat many members of the audience could more easily relate to.
Labels: Alexander Zass, Amazing Samson, Samson, Steel Bending, Steel Scrolling
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Thursday, August 07, 2008
The Human Vise - Pat PovilaitisThe Human Vise aka Pat Povilaitis, doing his thing, bending an Ironmind Red Nail or something of the sort. You may not realize it but bending steel is a full-body worlout, not just upper body. Regardless, you will still need a strong grip and a powerful set of arms.
Labels: Grip Strength, Pat Povilaitis, Steel Bending, The Human Vise
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Sunday, July 27, 2008
The Mighty Atom - A Different Kind of Horseshoe BendingMany of the Oldtime Strongmen bent horseshoes but nobody could do it like The Mighty Atom - Yow! The cool thing is, Slim The Hammer Man still has the Mighty Atom's bending post in his Dungeon Gym.
Labels: Feat, Horseshoe Bending, Steel Bending, The MIghty Atom, Unusual Strength
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008
 The Iron Shoe Exerciser | The Iron Shoe exerciser was a great oldtime piece of training equipment which has roots going back pretty far into strength history. As you may notice by the design, it is "horse shoe" shaped -- which is meant to mimic an actual horse shoe, the bending of which was a great oldtime feat and a mark of great strength. The "iron Shoe" provided a method of progressive resistance in some of the positions needed for horseshoe bending and trained the body, especially the grip and forearms in a very unique manner. |
Labels: Bent Horseshoes, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Iron Shoe, Oldtime Strength Equipment, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Steel Bending
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Monday, January 07, 2008
| Stanley Radwan was a catch wrestler and strongman who performed during the 40s and 50s in the Cleveland, Ohio area. He is not especially well known outside of the Cleveland area but very well known and well loved inside the Cleveland area especially among the Polish community. This event poster from 1949 advertises him pulling cars with his teeth, biting through steel, breaking chains, bending horseshoes, bend nails and spikes, nail driving by hand, tearing decks of cards, and performing the human link feat. It was said he could also bend coins with his hands. |  Stanley Radwan |
Labels: Bending Feat, Coin Bending, Nail Bending, Nail Driving, Oldtime Strongman, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Polish Strongman, Stanley Radwan, Steel Bending
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Saturday, December 15, 2007
| John Grunn Marx was well known as a strongman who could bend and break horseshoes. Many oldtime strongmen faked their feats but this photo proves that John Grunn Marx really did understand how to bend horseshoes. The technique shown in this photo is how to actually bend horseshoes as demonstrated by Pat Povilaitis in 336 Pounds of Fury |  John Grunn Marx |
Labels: Bending Feat, Bent Horseshoes, Horseshoe Bending, John Grunn Marx, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Steel Bending
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Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Steel Bending With The Young Mighty ApollonYou just can't be a strongman without a strong grip. J.C. Tolson, who took his stage name from his favorite strongman Apollon, had some of the strongest hands of all time and was a very talented steel bender. He bent this bolt (pictured actual size) to win a bet in the 1920's.
Labels: Bending Feat, Bolt Bending, Grip Strength, J.C. Tolson, Steel Bending, Strongman Feat, Young Apollon
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Friday, November 30, 2007
| John Grunn Marx, known as "The Luxembourg Hercules," broke three horseshoes in the short span of 2 minutes and 15 seconds at an exhibition in Paris around 1905. He was also very proficient at lifting thick-handled equipment and was said to be able to bend coins. |  John Grunn Marx: Horseshoe Breaker |
Labels: Bent Horseshoes, Broken Horseshoes, Coin Bending, Grip Strength, John Grunn Marx, Steel Bending, Strongman Feat, The Luxembourg Hercules, Thick Bar Lifting
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Friday, November 16, 2007
The Mighty Atom - Steel ScrollingThough he was only 5'4" and barely 150 pounds, Joseph "The Mighty Atom" Greenstein one of the greatest steel scrolling strongmen whoever lived.
More than anyone, "The Mighty Atom" understood that you must first bend the steel with your mind before you can bend it with your hands...
Go here to find out more about other great steel benders and scrollers.
Labels: Joseph Greenstein, Mind Strength, Steel Bending, Steel Scrolling, Strongman Feat, The MIghty Atom
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Saturday, November 10, 2007
A Classic Oldtime Strength Feat: Steel ScrollingSteel Scrolling, also called "coiling," is a classic Oldtime Stength Feat that involves bending long steel bars by hand into artistic shapes.
The list of great oldtime steel scrollers is actually quite extensive: Siegmund "Iron King" Breitbart, Alexander "The Amazing Samson" Zass, Indian Strongman Monotosh Roy, and, of course, Joe "The Mighty Atom" Greenstein.
This lost art is still kept alive by several modern strongmen such as Slim The Hammerman, Dennis Rogers and Erik Vining.
Labels: Alexander Zass, Dennis Rogers, Erik Vining, Monotosh Roy, Siegmund Breitbart, Slim The Hammerman, Steel Bending, Steel Coiling, Steel Scrolling, Strongman Feat, The MIghty Atom
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Thursday, November 08, 2007
Charles Vansittart: Bent Steel NailThey used to call Charles Vansittart "The Man With The Iron Grip" for good reason. -- he could bend an Old English penny, rip a tennis ball in half and bend pieces of steel like the one pictured above.
Steel bending has always been a traditional Oldtime Strongman feat, not only do many people find it incredibly impressive as a feat, merely doing it will build tremedous strength throughout the entire body.
You can tell that rectangular stock (like the nail above) was actually hand bent by the shape. If a piece of steel was truly hand bent, it will bend on the angle, not the flat edge.
Labels: Charles Vansittart, Grip Strength, Iron Grip, Nail Bending, Steel Bending
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Friday, November 02, 2007
Horseshoes Bent by The Mighty AtomThe Mighty Atom bent these horseshoes and iron bar at the 1962 York, Pennsylvania Interstate Fair. That year marked his 42nd consecutive appearance at that particular fair.
These bent horseshoes are currently on display at the York Barbell Company museum in York, Pennsylvania.
It takes quite a bit of grip and forearm strength to be able to accomplish that strength feat. To see footage of horseshoes being bent by modern Strongman Pat Povilaitis, you'll want to check out 336 Pounds of Fury.
Labels: Bent Horseshoes, Pat Povilaitis, Steel Bending, Strongman Feat, The MIghty Atom, York Barbell, York Barbell Company
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Thursday, October 25, 2007
Dennis Rogers: Hand-Bent Wrenches"Now THAT is strong..." You can expect that kind of reception when you can bend a wrench by hand like Dennis Rogers. You'll notice the wrench pictured above center has actually been bent twice -- an unbelieveable feat of hand and wrist strength.
And in case you're wondering there's no monkey business here, all these wrenches are name brands bought at the local hardware store.
If you want to learn how to bend a wrench, you'll want to check out Dennis Rogers' Odd Object Bending DVD Set.
Labels: Bent Wrenches, Dennis Rogers, Oldtime Strongman, Steel Bending, Strongman Feat
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Friday, October 19, 2007
 Siegmund Breitbart | Many of the Oldtime Strongmen were strong enough to bend their own horseshoes by hand. On the left you'll see see a piece of square stock hand-bent by the famous Oldtime Strongman Siegmund Breitbart. Notice that it has bent on the edge, not the side, which is how you can tell this piece of steel has legitimately been bent by hand. |
Labels: Bent Horseshoes, Siegmund Breitbart, Steel Bending, Strongman Feat
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
The Mighty StefanSteve "The Mighty Stefan" Sadicario is undoubtedly the most talented man in Strength-Show Business! "Mighty" keeps the great strongman feats of the past alive, but he adds a bit of his own personal style.
The Mighty Stefan tears phonebooks, breaks chains, twists horseshoes, bends steel bars, sings opera -- and he raps... in Yiddish!, no less.
You may have seen The Mighty Stefan on the MTV "White Rapper" TV show a few months back where he wowed all the judges by bending a nail while spittin' his crazy rhymes. Steve also EM-CEEs the Association of Oldtime Barbell and Strongmen (AOBS) Annual Dinner and Reunion each year and does a fantastic job.
Labels: AOBS, Bent Horseshoes, Mighty Stefan, Oldtime Strongman, Phonebook Tearing, Steel Bending, Steve Sadicario, Strongman Feat
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Monday, October 15, 2007
J.C. Tolson - The Young Mighty ApollonJ.C. Tolson was a British performing strongman in the 1920's who took the name "The Young Mighty Apollon" after his hero, the great French Strongman Louis "Apollon" Uni.
As he traveled the continent, he issued a strength challenge to all which included the following feats:
Few accepted his challenge.
Labels: Apollon, J.C. Tolson, Oldtime Strongman, Overhead Press, Steel Bending, Strongman, Strongman Feat, Young Apollon
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Monday, October 01, 2007
Pat Povilaitis - The Human VisePat Povilaitis is the current link in the long line of Strongmen going all the way back to the Mighty Atom.
"The Human Vise" (as he is professionally known) bends nails and horseshoes, rips phonebooks, lifts stones, rips decks of cards and closes the #3 Iron Mind hand Gripper... sometimes all at the same time!
You can catch Pat Povilaitis in action along with his mentor Dennis Rogers in 336 Pounds of Fury
Labels: Bent Horseshoes, Pat Povilaitis, Steel Bending, The Human Vise
www.oldtimestrongman.com
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Friday, September 07, 2007
 Strongman Stunts Made Easy by George F. Jowett | This training booklet, along with five others, appeared sometime around 1930 and George Jowett claimed to have sold hundreds of thousands of them all over the world. Like much of Jowett's writings, the material is surprisingly timeless, of course, this booklet is devoted specificaly to feats of strength -- the Bent Press, lifting a human being, finger lifting, steel bending, how to tear a deck of cards etc. In what should also not be a surprise, George Jowett describes the training for each feat in great detail. |
Labels: Bent Press, Deck of Cards, finger lifting, George Jowett, Human Lift, Mail Order Course, Oldtime Strongman, Steel Bending, Strongman Stunts Made Easy
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