Oldtime Strength Blog - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Vintage Indian Clubs

Posted on Monday, June 18th, 2018 by John Wood

Here’s a few members of the Proviso (Illinois) Township High School Basketball team clowning around. That’s Cunningham on the left, Jarus in the middle, and Warren on the right. What I’m more interested in is the Indian Clubs on the wall in the back – Wow, what a selection! This picture was taken in 1922 – and back then sights such as this were common place.

The Iron Jawed Man

Posted on Monday, June 18th, 2018 by John Wood

Another look at Signor Lawanda: The Iron jawed Man. The top picture shows Lawanda at 20 years old and his neck and jaw development is quite dramatic.

Sledge Hammer Training

Posted on Monday, June 18th, 2018 by John Wood

Sledge hammer training has always been a very popular way of building forearm and wrist strength among many oldtime strongmen. Based on the leverage principle the sledge hammer makes a very efficient workout tool as it can provide a great deal of resistance without the need for a lot of weight. Here, Murl Mitchell of Los Angeles, tests his wrist strength with a pair of very interesting looking sledge hammers. Look closely and you’ll see that Mr. Mitchell is wearing glasses which he just slightly and gently tapped before levering the hammers back to the vertical position. It was said that these hammers weighed 25 lbs. apiece — Superb. Mitchell also placed second at the Sr. Nationals Weightlifting Championships in 1945 in the 123 lb class with a 470 lb. total.

Strongfort’s Monthly

Posted on Monday, June 18th, 2018 by John Wood

Lionel Strongfort was among the many strongmen who had their own monthly periodical. It ran for 14 issues. Copies, however, are pretty hard to come by.

Lung and Muscle Culture by Paul Von Boeckmann

Posted on Monday, June 18th, 2018 by John Wood

A look at Paul Von Boeckmann’s highly unique Lung and Muscle Culture Course. His big thing was Breathing Gymnastics in relation to muscular development. This certainly makes a lot of sense, the more oxygen you can get to the muscles, the stronger they will be. Also of note is the fact that this is the 12th edition – most strength books rarely make it to a second reprinting.

The Scottish Hercules William Bankier

Posted on Monday, June 18th, 2018 by John Wood

William Bankier, also billed as “Apollo, The Scottish Hercules” Was born the eldest son of a weaver and after becoming fascinated by the idea of becoming a circus performer, ran away and did just that at twelve years old. At first, Bankier did hard labor and whatever else the circus life required to earn his keep. Bankier was particularly enamored by the strongman and kept a close eye on his act. One day, when the strongman had a little too much to drink, Bankier stepped in and gave a satisfactory performance. He was fifteen years of age at the time.

The bosses were impressed and his reputation spread. Over the next few years, Bankier performed with several different circuses. Among other feats, for his act, Bankier would harness lift an elephant and perform a backward somersault over a chair while carrying a 56 lb weight in each hand. Bankier had a rather interesting method for building bicep strength and size which is covered here.

Hermann Goerner

Posted on Saturday, June 16th, 2018 by John Wood

Hermann Goerner was never too far from the weights, even when he was on vacation. Here he snatches 190 pounds with one arm, in street clothes, and standing ankle deep in loose sand. — Now that’s strong.

George Eiferman

Posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 by John Wood

George Eiferman, ’48 Mr. America and ’62 Mr. Universe is shown here in his natural environment: the sands of Muscle Beach, Santa Monica, California. Needless to say he was famous for his chest development.

Custer’s Dumbbell

Posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 by John Wood

General George Custer first came to Kansas in 1866 as Lieutenant Colonel of the newly formed 7th U.S. Cavalry. He spent late spring of 1867 at Fort Hays, where the 7th camped until they had accumulated adequate supplies and ammunition for a summer campaign. Time in camp was quite boring and to pass the hours, as well as keep physically fit, Custer commissioned the fort’s blacksmith, Thomas Kennedy to make this dumbbell for him sometime in 1867. It is made of bronze and weighs around 25 pounds. Custer’s Dumbbell currently resides in the Kansas Museum of History.

Omni Machines

Posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 by John Wood

A rare look at Casey Viator training during The Colorado Experiment. Many of the machines used during the Colorado Experiment, dubbed the “Omni Machines” revolved around “negative” training techniques. The one Casey is using, for example, was an overhead press machine. On the right is the infamous “Mr. Happiness” negative bench press machine. Both of these machines were prototypes and never made it to actual production.