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Welcome to the World's Strongest Blog!
This is THE PLACE for incredible feats, classic and unique equipment, advertisements, magazine covers, Olympic Champions, gymnastics, myths and legends, oldtime physical culture and everything else you can think of having to do with the history of physical training! -- There aint nothin' like it anywhere else! You'll want to check back several times per day, we update often.
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Physical Culture Magazine: April, 1906
A look at the cover of Bernarr MacFadden's Physical Culture Magazine from April of 1906. Macfadden's arm graces the cover and while his methods were unconventional (even by today's standards) they were certainly effective.
Jackson Barbell Company Plates
You are more likely to win the lottery than come across any equipment from the The Jackson Barbell Company. We are incredibly fortunate to have several full sets in our facility. This equipment is a true joy to train with as Andy Jackson's immense attention to detail is evident over every square inch.
Anchor Lifting
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Don't have a weight set?
No worries, grab anything with some reasonable heft and you should be in business, as this gent demonstrates in lifting a very cool "Popeye" anchor while on holiday at the beach. Barbells and dumbbells were made to be lifted so they are perfectly balanced, but at times it pays to lift awkward, unbalanced objects and I'd say this anchor certainly fits the bill nicely. |
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Siegmund Breitbart Newspaper Clipping
 Siegmund Breitbart |
The great strongman Siegmund Breitbart
Here's a clipping from the Chicago News, October 22nd, 1923, showing Breitbart demonstrating his nail driving ability -- pounding a nail through a one-inch thick oak board with nothing but his bare hand. Nail Driving
every time but also one that builds tremendous strength in the shoulder and upper body. Several "oldtime" boxers actually practiced nail driving in order to build striking power. |
Luigi "Milo" Brinn
Milo Brinn (born Luigi Borra) performed feats of strength and took on all comers as a wrestler at the famous Folies Berger in Paris. Brinn's act at the Folies consisted of tumbling and gymnastics, hand balancing,
As a wrestler, Brinn won the amateur world's title in 1887 and supposedly once defeated Sandow in a match. |
You Can Banish Weakness...
 Lionel Strongfort
His "Strongfortism" system, which involved mostly body weight movements and light dumbbells, was incredibly popular in the early 20th century. Strongfort was originally a pupil of Professor Attila.
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The Gymnasium of the Romania College of Physical Education
Here's a quick look at The Gymnasium of the College of Physical Education in Bucharest, Romania. Their most well-known graduate is the famed gymnastic coach Bela Karolyi.
Sandow and Goliath
Rene Duverger
The French weightlifter Rene Duverger won the Gold in the lightweight class (67.5kg) at the 1932 Olympic games in Los Angeles, California. Duverger's total was 325kg on the day and comprised of a 97.5 kg press, a 102.5 kg snatch and a 125 kg clean and jerk.
Thomas Inch and The Evolution of A Biceps
I believe that advertisements tell as much about strength history as the books and courses, hence the reason I reproduce many of them here -- (and you sure won't find them anywhere else!) Here's a fantastic ad from deep in the archives: Thomas Inch's "Evolution of a Biceps."
