Bodyweight Exercise Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Neck Training With Sonny Liston

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

The great boxer Sonny Liston used to strengthen his neck by doing a headstand on a table and working his body back and forth then left and right, in order to hit all four “sides” of the neck. I can say from experience that this method is simple but very effective.

This picture was taken in May of 1963 while Liston was in training to face Floyd Patterson for the second time. Liston knocked out Patterson in the first round just like he did the first time they fought. With this victory Liston retained the WBA, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles and won the vacant inaugural WBC heavyweight title.

Pole Climbing – George Hackenschmidt

Posted on Monday, March 5th, 2018 by John Wood

An incredibly rare snapshot from the training of George Hackenschmidt. In addition to lifting, road work, and wrestling practice, Hack also liked to climb telephone poles to build his upper-body strength. “Hugging” the telephone pole built the perfect kind of strength for throwing and grappling. His training partner Dr. Roller looks on in amazement.

Sandow’s Somersault

Posted on Sunday, July 29th, 2012 by John Wood

Here’s one you probably haven’t seen before… Behold, one of the few images of the great physique star Eugen Sandow doing something athletic: performing a back somersault. Sandow used to do a back somersault was often the exclamation point to finish his act, showing the audience that his muscles weren’t just for show. In fact, many people are more impressed by a back somersault than lifting a heavy weight.

Sandow could perform a back somersault with a 56 pound dumbbell in each hand which is pretty amazing when you think about it.

Like many early strongmen, Sandow’s early training consisted of basic gymnastics movements, calisthenics and hand balancing — all of which continued to serve him well throughout his career.