Eugen Sandow
Sandow's Grip-Dumbbell
Sandow's Magazine
- April 1903
Sandow's Health Studio
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The origins of strength training go back a long way, but the first great
strength super star didn't come along until relatively recently - 140 years ago, to be exact. April 2nd, 2007
marked the 140th birthday of Eugen Sandow.
Sure there were strongmen before Sandow and there were physical
culturists and physique men too, but Sandow had it all.
He looked like a Greek statue brought to life and he thrilled audiences
around the world with his posing displays, as well as his Herculean
strength.
What's more, he had the charisma to match.
As far as his strength is concerned, Sandow was undoubtedly one of the strongest men of all time.
His act consisted of many amazing feats such as chain breaking, various forms of the 'human bridge' where he supported
several thousand pounds, and bent pressing huge globe barbells and dumbbells as well as 'live' weights (a
barbell composed of a bar and two baskets in which he would have audience
members sit) -- that must have been quite a sight to see. Sandow was also known to walk
across the stage with a live horse at arms length overhead.
These amazing sights inspired Iron Game luminaries George Jowett and
Alan Calvert, among many others.
Eugen Sandow was one of the first, if not the first to commercially manufacture
workout equipment with his grip-dumbbells, wall exercisers and chest expanders.
He established essentially the first personal training program and for a time
published his own physical culture magazine.
Sandow also created the first training centers which focused on building
and promoting the health lifestyle.
Without Sandow, it is unlikely that you would be here today reading these
words (or that I would be here writing them, for that matter.)
Here's a little bit of wisdom written in 1894 by the man himself:
'The Training I, of course, specially commend is dumb-bell training and
bar-bell exercises, and, for beginners especially, very light weights.
(For the generality of people, my experiences would limit the weight to
four or not more than five pounds.)
But walking, rowing, skating, swimming and when where the heart is all
right, climbing and running are very good exercises; football if not roughly
played being also excellent.
Nothing, in my opinion, however, is better than the use of the dumbbell
for developing the whole system, particularly if it is used intelligently
and with the knowledge of the locations and functions of the muscles.
With this knowledge it will surprise most would-be athletes how much
can be done with the dumbbell and what arrangement for the best complexity
of muscles can be brought into play. It has been well said that
the muscular system of command is not made up alone of chest and
biceps; yet to expand the one in the large the other is almost all that is
thought of by the untrained learner.'
Sandow trained with basic exercises and focused on all around
development. Hmmm, there should be a lesson there somewhere.
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