Arm Development Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Sergio Oliva: The Myth

Posted on Friday, June 22nd, 2018 by John Wood

Is there any question as to why Sergio Oliva was known as “The Myth?” Here’s a simple, casual shot playing pool with friends. Even though there may be bodybuilders these days with bigger arms there has never been nor will there ever be anyone more physically impressive that Sergio Oliva. He was simply blessed with the greatest genetics of all time. In addition to several other titles Sergio won the Mr. Olympia crown three times:(1967, 1968, 1969)

The Incredible Arms of Clevio Massimo

Posted on Thursday, May 24th, 2018 by John Wood

It was said that Clevio Massimo’s family was descended from great Roman athletes of antiquity. That certainly isn’t too difficult to believe, Tony was one of the most muscular men who ever lived and excelled at a number of great feats. He could support a piano and player in the Tomb of Hercules position, bend spikes and tear phone books. Massimo was also a great Hand Balancer and wrestler — he only weighed 190 pounds but you would never think it looking at his pictures.

The Dymek EZ Kurl Bar

Posted on Monday, April 9th, 2018 by John Wood

All the Gym Bros of the world owe a debt of gratitude to Lewis Dymek. A man named Lewis G. Dymeck invented the Dymek Curling bar (better known as the “EZ Curl” bar) and was granted the patent for it on May 23, 1950. As the story goes, Dymeck injured his wrist and training with a straight bar was too painful so he invented this unusual bar to work around it. The idea caught on… Soon many strength equipment companies began selling their own version of this piece of equipment and today you’ll find on ein pretty much every gym in the land.

John McWilliams

Posted on Wednesday, November 8th, 2017 by John Wood

John McWilliams was an incredibly strong and powerful bodybuilder of the late 1940’s and 1950’s who was well known for his arm development. While many bodybuilder inflated their numbers, John McWilliams used to offer a reward if anyone could measure his arms at LESS than 19-1/2 inches! He ran a successful gym in Dayton, Ohio (The Dayton Health Studios at 131 E. Third Street) and wrote several training articles for Iron Man Magazine. He also had his own arm development course, “Big Arms for You” which can currently be found in its entirety posted in The Iron League.

Peak Muscle Maker

Posted on Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017 by John Wood

“Peak Muscle Maker” was a nifty bodybuilding magazine out of the UK. The first issue appeared in June of 1969 and they came on a semi-regular basis for the next few years — there were 28 issues in all, although none but the first one were dated. Here’s the Volume II, Number 3 issue with Franco Columbu on the cover, likely in honor of his 1970 IFBB Mr. Europe contest win.

Edward Aston

Posted on Monday, January 23rd, 2017 by John Wood

From 1911 to 1934, Edward Aston held the title of ‘Britain’s Strongest Man’ and judging by this picture, it’s not hard to see why. One of Aston’s “Secrets” was to pay particular attention to strengthening the grip and forearm. He employed a number of different exercises to build his hand strength but one of his favorites was to do one-arm timed hangs from a climbing rope.

Sergio Oliva ~ The Ultimate Physique

Posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2016 by John Wood

…But, regardless of their measurement, Sergio’s arms are so big that they literally must be seen to be appreciated – and some people, upon first seeing them, are almost unable to believe their eyes; in a recent full-length picture of Sergio, the width of the flexed upper arms exceeded the height of Sergio’s head – his arms were literally larger than his head, a size ratio never before approached by anybody else.

Is that, then the “ultimate physique?” For most people, it is far beyond the limits imposed by individual potential; but it is almost certain that somebody will eventually exceed even Sergio’s present size and proportions. I recently measured the “cold” upper arm of a 19 year old boy in New York at 19 1/2 inches, and with continued training this boy can almost certainly exceed Sergio’s measurements – but he is at least six inches taller than Sergio, so even with Sergio’s measurements he would not have Sergio’s almost unbelievable proportions, would not give the “impression of size” that Sergio does.

I am reasonably certain that Sergio could attain even more size with continued training – while maintaining or improving his present degree of muscularity (muscular definition), and if so, then his proportions would be almost unreal. But in the meantime, until he does get larger, or until somebody at least matches his present proportions, Sergio certainly does represent the “ultimate physique.”

Arthur Jones,
Nautilus Training Bulletin #2

Vulcana

Posted on Monday, February 15th, 2016 by John Wood

Kate “Vulcana” Williams, was a Welsh Strongwoman who toured music halls in Britain, Europe and Australia in the early 1900’s. Among her many other feats were a bent press of 125 pounds and an overhead lift (i.e. press) with a 56 pound weight in each hand. She was quite popular in France where Professor Desbonnet verified her feats and was very impressed with her level of strength. As you can see, she sported a pretty impressive set of arms.

Reg Park and The Swing Bell

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

Here’s a very determined looking Reg Park training with a swingbell. You don’t see swingbell training much these days but it is a shame because it is both simple and effective… in other words, swingbell training offers a different way to hit the same muscle groups which is always useful. We’ve covered swingbell training in several prior blog posts.

Giuseppe Lamberti

Posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2015 by John Wood

A look at Giuseppe Lamberti, circa 1905. Unfortunately not much is known about this gent, but in the only resource we have for him he is listed at a wrestling champion. We have not been able to find any more details. Regardless, like most wrestlers of those days, his physical development was impressive, any modern bodybuilder would be happy to have a set of arms like his.