Steve Stanko Cleans 370 Pounds

Steve Stanko Cleans 370 Pounds
The Mighty Steve Stanko showing the form that allowed him to become the first man to officially total over 1000 pounds in the three Olympic Lifts and the first American to snatch 300 pounds.

The shot was taken during a workout in 1940. A year later Stanko went on to break the 1000 pound barrier. (His bodyweight at the time was only 220 pounds.)

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Steve Stanko and The Hub Lift

Steve Stanko and The Hub Lift
One of the classic classic grip feats was to pick up a York Deep-Dish 45 Pound barbell plate just by the hub, something weightlifting and bodybuilding champ Steve Stanko could do with ease, even with an added 10 pounds. Steve's best was with over 90 pounds!

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The Barbell Pullover

Steve Stanko Demonstrates The Barbell Pullover

It used to be that benches didn't have uprights on them which mean if you wanted to do "the bench press" (or the supine press, as it was originally called), you had to do a pullover off the floor with the weight to get it in the proper position. ... And it was found that the pullover by itself turned out to be a fine exercise. That's Mr. America and Mr. Universe winner Steve Stanko demonstrating the barbell pullover off a 16" bench with 322 pounds -- pretty impressive!

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York Rubber Chest Expanders

York Rubber Chest Expanders
The York Barbell Company sold several different versions of Chest Expanders over the years and here's a look at one of them.

Pretty ingenius really - a set of detachable hands with progressively harder rubber straps. They came in four levels: "Medium," "Athlete," "Strong" and "Hercules" strength.

On the right that's Mr. America Winner and Champion Weightlifter Steve Stanko demonstrating the overhead pulldown chest expander exercise.

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Steve Stanko

On April 19, 1941 Steve Stanko made history as he the first man to break the mythic 1000-pound total in an official weightlifting contest.

Unfortunately Stanko also suffered from painful blood clots in his legs and five weeks later found himself in the hospital. By mid-1942 he regained enough health to begin light upper-body training again. He was told to stay off his legs and could only train while sitting or lying on a bench.

Steve Stanko

Through his specialized upper-body training program he was able to build himself into a bodybuilding champion, winning the 1944 AAU Mr. America and Junior Mr. America, the 1945 Most Muscular Man in America and the 1946 Mr. Universe.

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