German Kettlebell Jugglers

Posted on Tuesday, April 13th, 2021 by John Wood
A team of German kettlebell jugglers. German kettlebells were notable because of their square handle which was more conducive to throwing and catching.
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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.

German Athletic Sports Club, 1909

Posted on Friday, April 9th, 2021 by John Wood
A look at the Athletic Sports Club Zelisheim (Germany), and their awesome training equipment, circa 1909. As was typical of the day, this sports club taught wrestling as well as weight lifting. Note the squared handles of their kettlebells — a typical feature of German kettlebells as they were more conducive to juggling. Evidently this sports club is still going strong in 2021!
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
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.

German Weightlifting Club ~ 1905

Posted on Sunday, December 3rd, 2017 by John Wood
A German weightlifting club circa 1905 with a selection of classic equipment. Of note are the large and rather impressive kettlebells. If you are familiar with your kettlebell history you know that the Germans were particularly fond of kettlebell juggling which is the reason for the squared off handles.
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
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.

Kettlebells for ‘Different’ Development by Sig Klein

Posted on Wednesday, November 26th, 2014 by John Wood

I’ve seen it written that kettlebells were completely unknown in the US until the late 90’s but that’s not exactly true… I wouldn’t say that they were tremendously popular, but people have certainly known about kettlebells on these shores and trained with them for many years prior. Sig Klein was always big fan of kettlebells and discussed them often in his articles and courses. To give you one example, this article, “Kettlebells for ‘Different’ Development” appeared in Strength and Health magazine in the late 1950’s.

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
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.

1904 German Lifting Team

Posted on Thursday, September 18th, 2014 by John Wood

Here’s a rare look at a German weightlifting team circa 1904, and below, a closer look at their outstanding equipment. As was standard for the time period, the kettlebells had large, open handles as they were frequently used for juggling.

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
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.

The Treubund Sport-Club, 1903

Posted on Monday, March 24th, 2014 by John Wood

The Treubund Sport-Club, 1903

A look at the members of the Treubund (Lüneburg, Germany) Sport-club, circa 1903, and their fantastic equipment.
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
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.

Kettlebell Juggling

Posted on Thursday, January 2nd, 2014 by John Wood

Kettlebell Juggling

Another look at a German Kettlebell Juggling team in action. If you know your kettlebell history, you already know that German Kettlebells had specially designed handles which were more conducive to flipping and catching.
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
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.

1915 German Weightlifting Club

Posted on Friday, November 30th, 2012 by John Wood

1915 German Weightlifting Club

A look at a German weightlifting club, circa 1915 and a rather large selection of their truly excellent training equipment. This club was clearly a big fan of kettlebell training. The large, squared handles would indicate that they did a lot of kettlebell juggling. Look close and you’ll see at least one, possibly two rotating barbell sets – a rarity for the time.

German Kettlebell Club, 1903

Posted on Thursday, April 26th, 2012 by John Wood

German Kettlebell CLub, 1903
A look at a German kettlebell club from the turn of the last century and a selection of their awesome equipment.  German strength athletes were particularly fond of juggling their kettlebells, hence “German” kettlebells had much larger and more pronounced handles.  Also of note is the fact that most of the barbells have thick handles.

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.