Oldtime Strength Blog - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Leopold Gasseau

Posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2019 by John Wood

Leopold Gasseau was the weightlifting champion of Northern France in the early 1900’s. He was particularly noted for his gripping power, of note of the Régnier and Collins dynamometers on the wall behind him. Gasseau set three official amateur record with these devices: squeezing 127 kg in 1909, 135 kg in 1914 and 189kg in 1919. Gasseau’s marks were better than most professionals, among them many notable strongmen such as Charles Vansart, Emile Deriaz, Batta, Stanislaus Zbysko, and even Apollon himself.

An Epic Pair of Indian Clubs

Posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2019 by John Wood

Cabinet cards were taken of many little known strongmen and circus performers, which on one level was a good thing since we can see a little bit more of some folks whose image we might not otherwise see. The flipside though is that in many cases, an image or maybe two is all we have for some folks, and we will never learn their name or their story. Case in point, it sure would be nice to know more about this gal and her epic pair of Indian Clubs. In all the physical culture ephemera that I’ve come across, I’ve never seen another set of clubs like them. Also of note is the smaller barbell or “wand” by her side.

Joe Bonomo’s Comic Advertisement

Posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2019 by John Wood

Most people remember the Charles Atlas “Insult That Made a Man out of Mac” comic ad from the back of thousands of comic books — and it is indeed one of the best and most effective advertisements of all time. However, Atlas was not the first or the only strongman to use comic advertisements. Here we have a Joe Bonomo ad, circa 1943 and if the possibility of getting your hands on the Vibro-Pressure, Tonic Relaxation, Psycho-Power, Rhythmic Progression course isn’t enough to get you to part with your paper route money, I don’t know what would.

Iron Boots

Posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2019 by John Wood

Before there were leg press machines, a pair of Iron Boots was a pretty good way to condition your lower body. Demonstrating here is professional wrestler Adrienne Nichols from Cleveland, Ohio. This was actually from a photo shoot for Life Magazine in 1948.

P. Ivanov – The Man Who Conquered Nature

Posted on Friday, January 4th, 2019 by John Wood

Physical Culture exists in many forms… Here’s some from “Mother Russia” that you probably haven’t yet heard of: P. Ivanov was a man who born and raised during the troubled years of revolution and civil war in Russia. He often wondered the reasons for such suffering… and one day an idea entered is mind: an answer to his questions.

Ivanov reasoned that suffering and hardship occured when Man tried to divorce himself from nature with artificial environments. Consequently life and survival became dependent on these conditions often breeding struggle, mistrust, indifference or loneliness among people.

Instead Man should strive to live with nature, instead of in opposition to her…

It was then that Ivanov began his experiment, to free himself of these dependencies by gradually conditioning himself to wear less clothes in freezing climates and to go long periods without food or water.

Eventually he became immune to cold weather and disease. He would most of his days shirtless and barefoot in the unforgiving Russian winter. As he spread his ideas, he was often called “Master of Nature” since he no longer concerned himself with the harsh conditions that became commonplace for most people.

The 12 keys to Ivanov’s “Method” are listed below:

1. Twice a day take a cold bath in natural waters so that you feel good. Bathe in whatever you can – lakes, rivers, a bath, take a shower or pour water over yourself. Finish a hot bath with cold water.

2. Before bathing or after it, and if it is possible at the same time, go out in the nature, stand barefooted on the earth or on snow in winter for at least 1-2 minutes. Breathe in the air several times through your mouth and thankfully wish good health for yourself and all the people of the world.

3. Don’t drink alcohol or smoke.

4. Once a week, try to go without food and water for one day.

5. At 12 Sunday, walk barefooted outside and breathe in and out several times and think positive thoughts. After that you can eat all that you like.

6. Love the nature surrounding you. Do not spit around you and do not spit anything out of yourself. Get used to it – this is your health.

7. Greet everyone everywhere, especially old people. If you wish to have good health yourself make it a point to greet everybody.

8. Help people whenever you can especially the poor, ill, hurt or needy. Do it with cheer. Respond to his need with soul and heart. You will make a friend in him which will help the cause of peace in the world.

9. Win over the stinginess, laziness, egoism, fear, falseness and pride in yourself. Trust the people and love them. Do not talk unjustly about them and do not take close to your heart the negative thoughts about them.

10. Free your mind of the thoughts about illnesses, disabilities and death. This is the greatest Victory of your life.

11. Do not separate thoughts from action. You have read – good. But the most important thing is to ACT!

12. Talk of and give the experience of this business to others, but do not brag and think too highly about yourself. Be modest.

You’ll find a bit more on P. Ivanov here.

Nautilus Bulletin No. 1 Iron Man Ad

Posted on Friday, December 28th, 2018 by John Wood

Thought you might like to see this — an advertisement for Nautilus Bulletin No. 1 from the pages of the May, 1972 issue of Iron Man Magazine. If the ad looks interesting, imagine reading the whole book… You can get your hands on all three Nautilus Bulletins on Kindle at this link or as a member of The Iron League.

Squatting with Casey

Posted on Friday, December 28th, 2018 by John Wood

If there is a “secret” to super strength it’s hard, intense leg work. Here’s eventual 1971 Mr. America Casey Viator getting in a quick squat workout at the infamous quonset hut in Deland, Florida in the early days of Nautilus. There’s 535 lbs. on the bar — not bad for a “training weight.”

The Mr. America contest was still a few months out, and when the day came, Casey won in the most dominating fashion possible taking not only the overall title, but also five out of six of the subdivision: Best Chest, Best Legs, Best Arms, Best Back, and Most Muscular. The only subdivision that Casey didn’t win was “Best Abs” which went to Chuck Amato.

Claude “Samson” Champagne

Posted on Tuesday, December 11th, 2018 by John Wood

Another Samson (There are many ‘Samsons’ in this game) This time Claude “Samson” Champagne of Quebec certainly earned his nickname with superhuman feats like this one: letting a five ton truck run over his chest. Wow!

Billy Cannon

Posted on Tuesday, December 11th, 2018 by John Wood

For a number of years strength training was frowned upon with in athletics. Lifting weights was thought to make athletes slower and musclebound… One of the key figures in changing this attitude was Billy Cannon. He was one of the first high profile athletes who regularly lifted weights. Here he is featured on the cover of November, 1959 issue of Strength and Health magazine. A month later he was awarded the Heisman Trophy as the best player in College football which sealed the deal.

“The Tipton Slasher” Benny Yanger

Posted on Thursday, December 6th, 2018 by John Wood

“The Tipton Slasher” Benny Yanger gets in a workout with the wall pulley at an oldtime Chicago gym circa 1906. Note the small dumbbell which has been added to the weight stack. Like most boxers of that era, Benny was also fond of throwing the medicine ball around to build upper body strength and stamina. Over his career, the New York lightweight was 51-9.