Bosco

Bosco

Bosco was Harry B. Paschall's super strongman cartoon character whose exploits thrilled and entertained readers of Strength and Health Magazine for years. Bosco also starred in Paschall's four great training books: Muscle Moulding, The Development of Strength,Muscular Arms and Shoulders and The Bosco System of Progressive Physical Training.

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Pudgy Stockton

Pudgy Stockton

Pudgy Stockton was about 50 years ahead of her time... Today "fitness models" are a common thing. Pudgy was a consumate "iron lady" back in the 40's. She was adept at hand balancing, olympic weight lifting and even had her own column for years in Strength and Health Magazine. She obviously had no trouble lifting this great Milo Dumbbell down on the sands of Muscle Beach.

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Joe Rollino

Joe Rollino
"The Great" Joe Rollino bends a spike with his teeth. According to an article in Strength and Health, some of Rollino's best lifts include: a teeth lift of 475 pounds, a one-finger lift of 635 pounds, a deadlift of 585 pounds, a curl of 185 pounds, a back lift of 3200 pounds, and a hand and thigh lift of 1500 pounds -- all at a bodyweight of only 175 pounds.

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The Super Gripper

The Super Gripper is one of the classic pieces of grip training equipment and has actually been around since the early 1940s if you can believe it. The first Super Gripper was invented by a man named Daniel Marvosh of Flint, Michigan and it was advertised in the pages of Strength and Health and Ironman Magazines. This ad is from 1963.

The Super Gripper

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Harold Zinkin

Harold Zinkin
Harold Zinkin, shown here on the cover of the June, 1947 issue of Strength & Health Magazine, won the 1941 "Mr. California" bodybuilding contest and was a fixture on the original Santa Monica Muscle Beach scene where he thrilled the crowds with feats of strength, hand balancing and acrobatics.

Zinkin later invented the Universal Gym Machine.

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The One Arm Chin-Up

The One Arm Chin-Up
It is estimated that not more than one person in a hundred thousand can perform a chin-up with one hand. Here Paul Holloway, one of the lesser-known members of the York Weightlifting team, shows the three stages of the feat.

Notice he is chinning himself with only two fingers -- he was actually able to chin himself using only one finger with ease, but had to use two for this series in order to hold himself still long enough to obtain the pictures.

In the October, 1937 Issue of Strength and Health Magazine Holloway outlines his exact training in detail: a series of progressive chin-up exercises until he was able to reach his goal. This training approach should really come as no surprise...

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1963 Mr. America Vern Weaver

Vern Weaver won the AAU Mr. America contest in 1963. He was well known for his superb back development could power clean close to 400 pounds! Here's a look at one of his weekly routines: Monday and Thursday: Decline Bench Press: 6x6 Chins: 6x6 Tuesday and Friday: Parallel Squats : 6x6 High Pulls: 6x6

1963 Mr. America Vern Weaver

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George Eiferman - Chest Development

- George Eiferman - Chest Development

Back in the old days, "chest development" meant chest and ribcage expansion. Here's a look at George Eiferman, a classic bodybuilder, who was famous for his chest development, on the cover of the February, 1948 Strength and Health Magazine. Eiferman won the AAU Mr. America, AAU Mr. California and IFBB Mr. Universe titles. In this picture Eiferman weighed around 190 pounds. You can tell that ribcage and chest expansion contributes greatly to the "look" of strength and power.

Kind of amazing that six decades later most professional bodybuilders out weigh him by 60-70 pounds yet still aren't as impressive.

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Strength and Health Magazine - March 1948: Pudgy Stockton

Here's another look at the lovely Pudgy Stockton gracing the cover of the March 1948 issue of Strength and Health. As was customary in most pictures of Pudgy, she was holding aloft some great weight, in this case, a very nice MILO globe dumbbell. I wonder how many reps she could have gotten?

Pudgy Stockton

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Strength and Health Magazine #1

Strength and Health Magazine #1

Just in case you ever need to know who was on the cover of Strength and Health #1, the answer is Walter "Wally" Zagurski. Zagurski was an original member of the "York Gang" who lifted back when it was called the "York Oil Burner Athletic Club." He competed in the 1932 Olympics, won the 1933 Sr. National Weightlifting title at 165 pounds and was a very good all-around strength athlete. He was also one of the few men who could lift the Louis Cyr Challenge Dumbbell overhead.

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Paul Anderson

Paul Anderson
Paul Anderson began as a skinny teenager with a pair of dumbbells and a stack of Strength and Health Magazines.

Soon, he was scouting out junkyards for heavier weights to lift and by the time he went to college, his lifts were near the American Records. But it wasn't until Bob Peoples taught young Paul Anderson the value of the Squat and deadlift that his strength really took off.

Paul Anderson eventually squatted 1206 pounds, benchpressed 627 pounds, one-arm pressed 380 pounds, and push-pressed an incredible 600 pounds. His Guinness Book of World Records back lift of 6,270 pounds still stands.

He also won the gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and in all, broke 18 American records, 8 world records, and retired unbeaten and unchallenged.

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Abbye "Pudgy" Stockton

Pudgy Stockton

If there ever were a "bar belle" it was Abbye "Pudgy" Stockton. (She aquired the nickname "Pudgy" as a child and it stuck.) "Pudgy" weighed 115 pounds at a height of 5'2" and, as you can see, was quite the physical specimen -- especially impressive at a time when weightlifting for either gender was frowned upon. She and husband Les Stockton were well known at the first "Muscle Beach" at Santa Monica, California where they primarily worked on acrobatics and gymnastic feats for the crowds.

Aside from being a frequent contributor to Strength and Health Magazine, Pudgy also helped organize the very first weight lifting contect for women through the AAU. In that contest, Stockton pressed 100 pounds, snatched 105 pounds, and clean and jerked 135 pounds.

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Ell Darden

Ell Darden

Ell Darden was a champion bodybuilder who graced the cover of several different magazines in the 1970's. He made the cover of Strength and Health Magazine and Muscular Development Magazine several times but he never did make the cover of Iron Man Magazine... He did, however, make the back cover of Iron Man as shown here from the November 1970 issue. He went on to write countless training articles and a few books. You can see his latest book here: The New Bodybuilding for Oldschool Results.

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John Grimek

There were few men more naturally impressive that John Grimek. It was no surprise why he graced the cover of a number of so many strength magazines throughout his life (The January 1940 Issue of Strength & Health pictured right.) Grimek had a physique better than any Greek statue but he was also a very accomplished Olympic Weightlifter, having represented the United States at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The foundation of his strength and physique development was intense squatting, as taught to him by Mark Berry.

John Grimek

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York Isometric Power Rack

If you are serious about getting stronger, you need a power rack. - Squatting, Supports and Heavy Partials are all major "Power" Builders and a rack allows you to do them quickly and safely. If you've had a chance to see the pictures of my Garage Gym you may have noticed the power rack in the top picture. Here's what it looks like when fully assembled -- from the March 1966 issue of Strength and Health Magazine.

This was listed as the "Model W.W." Power Rack. The crossbeam is lost and the base has rotted away so it will be a project getting this rack back in working order. I sense a lot of good workouts once it finally is put together though.

There's some good mojo when training with the classics.

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Bob Hoffman and York Barbell

Bob Hoffman

At a time when just about everyone frowned upon weight lifting, Bob Hoffman was one of the few that understood its benfits. He made high-quality training equipment and sound training advice available to everyone and under his leadership York, Pennsylvania (a.k.a Muscletown USA) became the center of the Strength world. Hoffman's "boys" were Champions, plain and simple. Among them: John Grimek (God of Bodybuilders, Mr. America of 1940 and 1941), Steve Stanko (first man to break the 1000 lb. barrier in Olympic Weight Lifting) and Tommy Kono (2-time Olympic Gold Medal Winner.)

Hoffman's books, training courses, and magazines ("Strength and Health," and Muscular Development) taught millions of young men the thrill of strength.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to Bob Hoffman.

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