German Strongman Archives - Page 2 of 3 - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Hans Beck’s Barrel Lifting

Posted on Friday, September 29th, 2017 by John Wood

Hans Beck was a German strongman who excelled at barrel lifting feats. In the year 1896, in Munich, Germany, Beck cleaned and pressed a 249 lb. barrel three times and followed it up with another success lift of a 275-1/2 pound barrel — both mind-boggling feats! Shortly after, Beck clean and jerked that barbell sitting in the foreground, becoming the first man to lift 330 lbs. overhead.

Milo Barus as The Human Chain

Posted on Friday, September 29th, 2017 by John Wood

Milo Barus performs “The Human Chain” between a pair of stout looking German automobiles, circa the late 1950’s. Both drivers gave their cars plenty of gas but didn’t move so much as an inch! This feat has been performed by strongmen for well over a century and always thrills the crowd.

Tarzan, The Iron King

Posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2014 by John Wood

Tarzan, “The Iron King” was a German strongman during the 1930’s, and he had BY FAR the best outfit that we have seen yet.

Henry Laft ~ “The Human Skeleton”

Posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2014 by John Wood

Henry Laft ~ "The Human Skeleton"

The German physique artist Henry Laft was so adept at Muscle Control that he was called “The Human Skeleton.” As you can see in this highly unusual pectoral control, Laft could not just control certain muscle groups, but individual muscle insertion points as well!

Henry “Milo” Steinborn

Posted on Monday, April 14th, 2014 by John Wood

Henry "Milo" Steinborn

Henry “Milo” Steinborn was a German strongman and wrestler who came the the U.S. in 1921 and immediately caused a big splash in the world of physical training. At a bodyweight of 210 pounds, he could snatch 220 pounds with one hand, military press 265 pounds and clean and jerk 347-1/2.

Milo was most well-known for introducing hard and heavy squatting to this side of the world.
Milo could tip a barbell loaded to 550 pounds up and onto his back unassisted and then perform five deep reps with it — a feat yet to be duplicated.

Karl Abs at The Winter Circus

Posted on Tuesday, February 25th, 2014 by John Wood

Karl Abs at The Winter Circus

Here’s an extremely rare poster from the late 1880’s, when Karl Abs was the featured attraction at the Cirque d’ Hiver (Winter Circus) exhibition hall in Paris, France. Each night, Abs harness-lifted a horse and challenged all comers in the wrestling ring, (among other feats.) It’s pretty awesome that the Cirque d’ Hiver, which opened in 1852, is actually still going strong to this day.

Gustav Wain

Posted on Saturday, June 8th, 2013 by John Wood

>Gustav Wain was a German strongman who performed in several circuses in the early 1900’s. As you can see by this rare poster, one of the signature portions of his act involved juggling a kettlebell whilst blindfolded.

Arthur Saxon Envelope

Posted on Wednesday, March 27th, 2013 by John Wood

Strength legends are generally treated differently in other countries than they are here. Case in point, here’s a nifty commemorative envelope from Germany, circa 1991, celebrating the great Arthur Saxon. Don’t think we’ll be seeing anything like this on these shores any time soon. In a nice touch, note that the stamps are also related to lifting.

Fritz Brust

Posted on Sunday, March 24th, 2013 by John Wood

Fritz Brust

Here’s a new take on the “human anvil” feat from the German strongman Fritz Brust, circa 1928. Usually an anvil or large rock is placed on the chest of the “hitee” which helps absorb the force of the sledge hammer blows. In Fritz’s case, he does have a rock on his chest, but is also suspended in midair between two cars while assistants pound away with hammers ~ now THAT is tough!