Wednesday, June 17, 2009
1946 Mr. America Alan StephanAlan Stephan on the cover of the August 1946 issue of Strength and Health Magazine. As evident by the headline, Stephan was the newly crowned 1946 AAU Mr. America. He also won the IFBB Pro-Mr. America in 1949.
Labels: 1940 Mr. America Contest, 1946 Mr. America Contest, AAU, Alan Stephan, Bodybuilding, Cover, Muscle Magazine, Strength and Health
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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
Monday, June 01, 2009
 The Wrestler's Bridge Pullover and Press | Here's a pretty good exercise for building neck strength that you won't see much any more: the wrestler's bridge pullover and press. Jim Murray, managing editor of Strength and Health Magazine is shown here performing the lift with a 200 pound York set. It was reported that he was able to go up as high as 250 pounds on this lift, a very impressive accomplishment. |
Labels: Barbell Lift, Bent-Arm Pullover, Bridge Press, Build Neck Strength, Jim Murray, Neck Bridge, Neck Exercise, Pullover and Press, Strength and Health, Wrestlers Bridge, York Barbell Club t-shirt
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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, December 26, 2008
 The York Hand Balancing Course | The name York Barbell is synonymous with freeweights -- barbells, dumbbells and the like, but they were all about "Strength" in all its many forms. Hand Balancing was, of course, a very popular method of training even with the typical "barbell" man. Articles with hand balancing techniques regularly appeared in Strength and Health Magazine. And, as many past champions demonstrated, hand balancing was a good method for improving one's barbell overhead press. An advertisement for the York Hand Balancing course is shown at the left. |
Labels: Advertisement, Hand Balancing, Strength and Health, Training Course, York Barbell, York Hand Balancing Course
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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
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
BoscoBosco 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.
Labels: Bosco, Harry B. Paschall, Strength and Health
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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
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Pudgy StocktonPudgy 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.
Labels: Hand Balancing, Muscle Beach, Olympic Weightlifting, Pudgy Stockton, Strength and Health
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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
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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.
Labels: Backlift, Curl, Hand And Thigh Lift, Joe Rollino, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Strength and Health, The Great Joe Rollino
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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
Sunday, May 11, 2008
| 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 |
Labels: Advertisement, Daniel Marvosh, Grip Equipment, Grip Strength, Grip Tools, Iron Man Magazine, Strength and Health, Super Gripper, The Super Gripper
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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
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Harold ZinkinHarold 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.
Labels: Bodybuilding, Cover, Golden Age Bodybuilder, Hand Balancing, Harold Zinkin, Muscle Beach, Strength and Health, Universal Machine
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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
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
The One Arm Chin-UpIt 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...
Labels: Back Exercise, Bodyweight Feat, Bodyweight Training, Exercise, Finger Strength, Grip Exercise, One Arm Chin up, Paul Holloway, Strength and Health, Strongman Feat
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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
Saturday, January 05, 2008
| 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: |  1963 Mr. America Vern Weaver |
Labels: AAU, Bodybuilding, Cover, Mr. America, Strength and Health, Strength and Health Magazine, Vern Weaver, Workout Routine
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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
Saturday, December 08, 2007
 - 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. |
Labels: AAU, Bodybuilding, Chest Development, Chest Expansion, Cover, George Eiferman, IFBB, Mr. America, Mr. California, Mr. Universe, Ribcage Expansion, Strength and Health
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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
Sunday, November 04, 2007
| 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 |
Labels: Globe Dumbbell, Milo Barbell Company, Pudgy Stockton, Strength and Health
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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
Saturday, November 03, 2007
 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. |
Labels: Muscle Magazine, Olympics, Strength and Health, Wally Zagurski, weightlifting, York, York Barbell
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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
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Paul AndersonPaul 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.
Labels: Backlift, Barbell, Bob Peoples, Dumbbells, Gold Medal, Paul Anderson, Squat, Strength and Health
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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
Monday, October 29, 2007
 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. |
Labels: AAU, Bodybuilding, Clean and Jerk, Gymnastics, Hand Balancing, Les Stockton, Muscle Beach, Press, Pudgy Stockton, Snatch, Strength and Health, weightlifting
www.oldtimestrongman.com
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 25, 2007
 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. |
Labels: Bodybuilding, Ellington Darden, Iron Man Magazine, Muscle Magazine, Muscular Development, Strength and Health
www.oldtimestrongman.com
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, September 09, 2007
| 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 |
Labels: Bodybuilding, John Grimek, Mark Berry, Squat Workout, Strength and Health, Strongman
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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, September 07, 2007
| 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.
Labels: Power Rack, Strength and Health, York Power Rack
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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
Thursday, September 06, 2007
 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.
Labels: Barbells Dumbbells, Bob Hoffman, Bodybuilding, Pennsylvania, Strength and Health, York, York Barbell
www.oldtimestrongman.com
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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