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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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The Man in The Gymnasium
The Man in The Gymnasium... unfortunately his name is lost to the sands of time. We do know two things though: he had excellent taste in equipment AND was a snappy dresser. This picture was taken around 1900.
Ike Berger
A classic shot of Ike Berger cleaning and jerking 325 pounds to set the world record and win the Gold Medal in the featherweight class at the 1958 Senior World Weightlifting Championships (held in Stockholm, Sweden.) Berger was known for his flawless technique in all three lifts.
Chiezel: The Man Who Walks On His Head
Adrian Chiezel, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin developed the unusual talent of being able to "hop" long distances on his head. He then did what anyone with such an unusual talent would do; he ran off and joined the circus. In his act, "Chiezel: The Man Who Walks On His Head" hopped up and down this platform as shown, which seems like a pretty amazing show of neck strength (and balance) if you ask me.
Risa Bey, The Turkish Strongman
Now THAT is a show that I'd like to see! The Turkish strongman/wrestler Risa Bey incorporated all manner of exciting elements into his act, including teeth-lifting, knife throwing, rock breaking and firing off a live cannon cradled in his arms.
Zander Machines
Gustav Zander was a Swedish physician who created over 70 different exercises "machines" at the turn of the century. Zander's machines were very meticulously designed with a very intricate system of pulleys, pendulums and counter-balances which accounted for the leverages of the human body.
Each machine developed a particular area of the body. The machine shown above was for training forearm extension.
Also, despite their obvious similarities in appearance, Arthur Jones had no prior knowledge of Gustav Zander or his machines when he designed the Nautilus Machines. (Which actually function quite a bit differently.)
Andy Jackson and The Jackson Barbell Company
Some of the finest strength equipment that the world has ever known was made in the basement of an unassuming three-story house located at 17 Bryant Avenue in Springfield, New Jersey. This was the home of Andy Jackson and the Jackson International Barbell Company.
Jackson did all the work himself in the machine shop in his basement (shown above.) Other companies certainly sold quality equipment but it was Jackson's incredible attention to detail which set him apart. Each barbell was hand- crafted by Andy Jackson himself. In order to make sure his barbell plates were accurate, he weighed each one and if need be, he adjusted the weight accordingly until the weight was true.
Sandow's Grip Dumb-Bells
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Back in 1899, the hottest thing going was Eugen Sandow's Grip Dumb-Bells which consisted of two dumbbell "halves" joined together by a series of springs. While they were not the first piece of mail order strength equipment, Sandow's Grip Dumb-Bells were very close -- and they were certainly one of the most well known. Also, according to several of the advertisements, regular training with these dumbbells also improved will power and concentration. The ad at the right is from 1907. |
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Karl Hipfinger
Karl Hipfinger, the Austrian weightlifter and bronze medalist in the Middleweight class at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games, is shown here completing what is probably a 1-arm snatch with around 145 pounds. Not bad considering that is almost bodyweight.
Charles Rigoulot
Another look at the great French champion Charles Rigoulot. In October, of 1928, at the famed Voltaire Gymnasium, shown here, Rigoulot set two world records: a clean and jerk of 360 pounds and a snatch of 282 pounds. Rigoulot preferred shot loaded "globe" equipment long after they were out of fashion.
The large globes shown here pointedly maintained the same bar distance from the floor as the newly established barbell plate standard, so Rigoulot's lifts were recognized as official records.
1915 German Weightlifting Club
A look at a German weightlifting club, circa 1915 and a rather large selection of their truly excellent training equipment. This club was clearly a big fan of kettlebell training. The large, squared handles would indicate that they did a lot of kettlebell juggling. Look close and you'll see at least one, possibly two rotating barbell sets - a rarity for the time.
