Curl Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

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.

Viktor Solovyev

Posted on Monday, January 1st, 2018 by John Wood

Viktor Solovyev, the great Ukranian strongman and wrestler, is shown here looking quite impressive in this rare picture take around 1906. As far as his lifting feats, he was able to ‘slow curl’ 165 pounds, perform a Crucifix Lift with 60 pounds in each hand and could jerk 293 pounds. As a wrestler, he defeated Franz ‘Cyclops’ Bienkowski, the French Giant Louis ‘Apollon’ Uni, George Lurich, Pyotr Krylov and many others on the way to winning several world championships.

Joe Nordquest, The Ashtabula Strongman

Posted on Monday, June 4th, 2012 by John Wood

Joe Norquest, the strongman from Ashtabula, Ohio, lifts a heavy globe barbell overhead.

One of the true unsung strongmen is undoubtedly Joe Nordquest from Ashtabula, Ohio. His name is rarely mentioned at the top of the list of all-time greats yet his strength feats would certainly rank him among them.

Joe Nordquest could jump from a table to the floor while maintaining a handstand position, curl 180 pounds and bent press 277-1/2 pounds. He could military press 124-1/4 pounds with one hand, an American record at the time and did a “bridge press” with 388 pounds (breaking Arthur Saxon’s record.) Keep in mind that he did all this and more on only one leg, having lost a limb in an accident as a boy. Joe’s brother Adolph was also an excellent strongman.

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.

Doug Hepburn

Posted on Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 by John Wood

Doug Hepburn was born in Vancouver B.C. on September 16th, 1927. He was of average height and build and took up weight lifting to bulk up. Soon it became very apparent that Doug wasn’t so average after all…Although Hepburn had a slight handicap (a club foot) that did not stop him from becoming one of the most powerful men in history. Hepburn became a Senior World Champion in 1953 and set eight World Records during his career.

Here’s a look at his best lifts:

Right Hand Military Press: 175 lbs.
Two Hands Press (Off Rack): 440 lbs.
Behind Neck Press : 350 lbs.
Two Hands Curl: 260 lbs.
Bench Press: 580 lbs.
Jerk-Press (Off Rack): 500lbs.
Two Hands Snatch: 297-1/2 lbs.
Two Hands Clean & Press: 381 lbs.
Squat: 760 lbs.
Two Hands Deadlift: lbs.