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Modern Samsons!

Posted on Friday, October 19th, 2018 by John Wood

Back in 1902 when Alan Calvert established the Milo Barbell Company this is the type of equipment he started out with: a canister shape which had a compartment for barbell plates as well as a compartment which could be shot-loaded for micro progression. The Milo Barbell Company switched to the more practical Globed equipment shortly afterwards. The $7.50 price tag in 1902 equates to around $180 in today’s money when adjusted for inflation.

Professor Anthony Barker’s Herkules Exerciser

Posted on Friday, May 4th, 2018 by John Wood

The need for great equipment hasn’t changed much over the last hundred years which is why chest expanders work just as well today. This ad for Professor Anthony Barker, Herkules Exerciser originally appeared in 1910.

Vigoral

Posted on Thursday, March 29th, 2018 by John Wood

Vitamins, supplements and other forms of “special foods” are big business these days, but also nothing new. There have been many other examples through the ages and here is one of particular interest from 1899: Vigoral, from Armour & Company out of Chicago. As the ad says, it was both meat AND drink – delicious!

Near as we can tell, Vigoral consisted of concentrated beef extract mixed with some pulverized beef and strongly flavored with celery salt and sported an impressive 60 grams of protein per serving. It was advised that you could guzzle it straight OR put it on a salad, use it as a dipping sauce, etc. Vigoral was one of the first “special foods” to use weightlifters and physical culture imagery in their ads and at one point, had one of the first celebrity endorsements.

1909 Henry Titus Advertisement

Posted on Friday, February 16th, 2018 by John Wood

Check out this great H.W. Titus advertisement circa 1909. Titus name drops pretty much every great strongman of the day as well as President William Howard Taft. Who knows if any of these gents actually used it, but the fact remains that the Titus course is excellent.

Another Look at the Iron Shoe Exerciser

Posted on Monday, November 13th, 2017 by John Wood

Another look at the “Iron Shoe.” There’s nothing better than an Iron Shoe for building “short-range” strength and learning how to bend horseshoes. The full course for this apparatus is posted in The Iron League

The Guy On The Float…

Posted on Thursday, October 19th, 2017 by John Wood

The Guy On The Float Who Gets My Vote is The WEIDER-TRAINED MAN!

Ahh, if nothing else, Joe Weider’s advertisements were fun to read… and certainly a tale as old as time: more muscles=more girls. There’s certainly some truth to that from an evolutionary standpoint. This was still when the Master Blaster’s home base was in Union City, New Jersey. The sweet set of weights from the afor-mentioned advert included a barbell, weight plates, dumbbell handles, a set of Iron Boots, some kettlebell handles, collars, a wrist roller, a neck harness, workout charts from the world’s greatest bodybuilders — certainly enough to get the job done and become “a real American He-man, ready for anything!” Remember: a Weider-trained man is ALL ACTION! Thanks Joe!

Universal Bodybuilding Course – POWER

Posted on Wednesday, June 7th, 2017 by John Wood

Another great vintage ad for the Universal Bodybuilding Course ~ The most fantastic muscle-building system known to man! The Universal Bodybuilding Course is available HERE on Kindle or also in The Iron League.

The Reg Park Muscle Builder

Posted on Wednesday, August 17th, 2016 by John Wood

The Reg Park Muscle Builder! You got a 10-strand cable outfit … a wall pulley attachment … a headstrap … foot stirrups … two hand grips … a mighty chest exercises … a rowing machine … and some free courses which gave instructions on how to uses it all. All in all, a pretty sweet deal. Who knows how many youngsters got started on the road to health and strength with this setup? Quite a few, I bet.

Neil Lewis Arm Wrestling Trainer Advertisement Featuring Chuck Sipes

Posted on Sunday, January 10th, 2016 by John Wood

Here’s a real blast from the past: an advertisement for the famous Neil Lewis Arm Wrestling Trainer featuring Chuck Sipes. You’d often find the Neil Lewis trainer in the pages of Iron Man magazine. They must have sold THOUSANDS of them…

Titus Built This Arm!

Posted on Monday, December 7th, 2015 by John Wood

Titus Built This Arm! – how awesome is this advertisement from Professor Henry W. Titus, circa 1927? I’ll take panther muscles over clumsy beef any day.