Classic Equipment Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

John Grimek and Classic Weights

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

When you work at the York Barbell Company you get to lift some classic weights any time you want to. Here’s John Grimek about to do just that. The top one is the famous Louis Cyr Challenge Dumbbell. The middle one is a giant dumbbell which belonged to the great French strongman Apollon. You can see the football player Tim Krumrie lifting it here. The bottom globe barbell may have belonged to Warren Lincoln Travis.

Competitive Strandpulling

Posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2014 by John Wood

Competitive Strandpulling

A look at the setup used for competitive Strand Pulling which made its way from across the pond many moons ago. Unlike competitions involving a barbell, in strand pulling contests, the strands were adjusted for each lifter’s dimensions. For example, if one lifter had a 2-inch longer “wingspan” than the strands would be adjusted to be 2″ longer. More info on the 20 official “pulls” can be found HERE.

Reg Park Kettlebell Handles

Posted on Friday, April 11th, 2014 by John Wood

You can count Reg Park among the many strength athletes who trained with kettlebells, in fact, Reg sold his own set of plate-loaded kettlebell handles through his equipment company. The above advertisement is from 1956.

It should be noted though that Reg et al, performed bodybuilding movements with kettlebells, (usually shoulder and arm work) and did not train with them in the kettlebell methods that are widely promoted today.

Sig Klein on Kettlebells

Posted on Friday, November 29th, 2013 by John Wood

Sig Klein on Kettlebells

I have always found the kettlebell to be one of the most useful and fascinating pieces of weight training apparatus. It can be handled in so many diverse manners that its application in the field of body -building exercises is almost without limit. You will have to hunt for a long time to find a more versatile piece of training equipment. – Sig Klein

Sig Klein

Posted on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 by John Wood

Sig Klein with some classic barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells.

Sig Klein inherited much of his great equipment when he married Professor Attila’s daughter and took over his gym in New York. Of course, Sig had pretty good taste in equipment and often had custom-made barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells fashioned to train with.

The Milo Barbell Company Showroom, circa 1915

Posted on Saturday, January 21st, 2012 by John Wood

The Milo Barbell Company, circa 1915

A look at one corner of Alan Calvert’s MILO Barbell Company showroom circa 1915… Globe barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells as far as the eye can see. That must have been a great place to train… Many performing strongmen of the era commissioned Calvert to make special stage ‘bells for their act.

Unknown Strongman #1

Posted on Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 by John Wood

There were hundreds, if not thousands of strongmen who were very successful yet never got their due since the flow of information back then is certainly not what it is today. Consequently, there are many examples of oldtime strongmen whose images remain but whose names are lost to history. Here’s one example of an image you probably haven’t seen before and won’t see anywhere else. We don’t know who this guy is, but he certainly had excellent taste in equipment.

German Weightlifting Club ~ 1919

Posted on Saturday, August 27th, 2011 by John Wood

A rare shot of a German weightlifting club and their classic equipment, taken around 1919. Also notice the particularly large and wide handles on their kettlebells. This style of handle served a specific purpose as the German strength athletes were particularly fond of juggling and throwing and catching their kettlebells.