Tag: California

The 1932 Olympic Weightlifting Lightweight Class

Posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2014 by John Wood

A look at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic games weightlifting Lightweight Class. From right to left (also in order of final standings): Raymond Suvigny of France (287.5 kg. total, also an Olympic record), Hans Wolpert of Germany (282.5 kg. total), Tony Terlazzo of the United States (280 kg. total), Helmut Schafer of Germany (267.5 kg total), Attilia Bescape of Italy (262.5 kg. total) and Richard Bachtell of the United States (252.5 kg. total).

The Blue Monster

Posted on Thursday, March 6th, 2014 by John Wood

The Blue Monster

The Nautilus phenomenon essentially began in Culver City, California at the 1970 Mr. America Contest where Arthur Jones unveiled “The Blue Monster” — the prototype of what would eventually become his Nautilus exercise machines

“The Blue Monster” was a series of torso machines focusing on training the “pulling” muscles without the disadvantage of having to depend on grip strength to hold the bar, thus being able to develop that musculature far beyond what was capable with that limitation.

This simple observation led to advancements in physical training that had never before even been dreamt of…

To find out more about Arthur Jones and his system of training you will want to pick up a copy of Ellington Darden’s newest book The New Bodybuilding for Old-School Results

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Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Ike Berger’s Press

Posted on Thursday, March 6th, 2014 by John Wood

October 27, 1956 was the date, and the Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California was the place for the final Olympic tryouts, and the excellent lift shown above by Ike Berger. This was his second attempt, a press with 230 lbs. Ike was a featherweight but this lift would be impressive for a heavyweight these days, especially in that style.

A month later, Ike went on to win the gold medal at the 1956 Olympic games in Melbourne, Australia. The Olympic finals were sponsored by Ray Van Cleef’s Gateway to Health gym, and a good time was had by all.