Bicep Strength Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

George “Rasso” Stanglemeier

Posted on Friday, April 20th, 2018 by John Wood

George “Rasso” Stanglemeier was an early German strongman famous for his arm strength and development. In fact, he was one of the first strongmen to curl over 200 pounds. He was the leader of the group of strongmen known as The Rasso Trio (who were famously defeated by Apollon.) Here, Stanglemeier lifts a cannon and two more fellows along for the ride. Stanglemeier was particularly adept at heavy supporting feats and I bet this one went over very well during his performances.

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.

Dennis Rogers’ World Record Dumbbell Curl

Posted on Tuesday, January 9th, 2018 by John Wood

At 5’9″ and a bodyweight around 160 pounds, Dennis Rogers sure doesn’t look like your average strongman… But when it’s time to lift some iron, Dennis can do some things that will shock and amaze you. One of Dennis’ unusual abilities is his incredible bicep strength.

At Memorial City Mall in Houston, Texas, Dennis Rogers’ established a World Record One Arm Dumbbell Curl record of 98 pounds x 10 Reps with an Iron Master Dumbbell- he weighed 148 Pounds at the time. Not many heavyweights can even come anywhere close to such a display.

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.

Gernulf Garbe, Mr. Germany 1963

Posted on Thursday, March 1st, 2012 by John Wood

Gernulf Garbe

In days gone by, bodybuilders used to be as strong as they looked… Casein point: here’s a classic shot of the 1963 Mr. Germany, Gernulf Garbe, curling what looks to be around 180 pounds. Garbe went on to become a famous physician and authored several books on bodybuilding.