Gym Equipment Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

John Gibson Barbell Plates

Posted on Tuesday, September 19th, 2017 by John Wood

Ever hear of John Gibson Barbell plates? Not many people have. Johnnny Gibson was a barber from Tucson, Arizona who got shot through the lung fighting in the Battle of The Bulge in WWII. As he convalesced in England, he had the good fortune of making the acquaintance of the great William Pullum who introduced him to lifting. His interest and a life-long career in physical training grew from there.

Back in the states, Gibson placed very high in many local AAU lifting meets in the southwest and west coast. He was the 148-pound Arizona champion for eight years running and at the 1955 Southwest United States AAU Weightlifting championships, he set a record that he had been pursuing for over 15 years: a clean and jerk of 250 pounds — pretty good for a light weight. Gibson also did a little bodybuilding, winning Mr. Arizona in 1950 and Mr. Tucson in 1951. At any rate, eventually, he founded “Gibson Gym Equipment Co.” which manufactured and sold gymnastic supplies and sporting goods, among them weight sets, where this plate came from.

Wellesley College Gymnasium, 1905

Posted on Thursday, March 23rd, 2017 by John Wood

A look at the Wellesley College Gymnasium, circa 1905. This awesome facility was outfitted by A.G. Spalding & Bros. and consisted of 6 Counterbalanced Booms, 42 Stall Bars and Benches, 35 Italian Hemp Climbing Ropes, 12 Rope Ladders, 3 Vaulting Boxes, 3 Vertical Window Ladders, and 12 Balance Beams.

The Smith Machine

Posted on Friday, February 8th, 2013 by John Wood

Rudy Smith and the Smith Machine

You’ve heard of the Smith Machine? Well here’s ‘Smith’ as in Rudy Smith who came up with his machine in the early 1950’s as a manager at Vic Tanny’s Gym in Los Angeles, California. Today a Smith machine can be found in just about every gym in the land. In the picture above, Rudy is sitting on the very first Smith machine ever.

York Isometric Power Rack

Posted on Sunday, October 23rd, 2011 by John Wood

Isometrics were all the rage in the 1960s although you don’t hear much about them these days.

Here’s a special rack made by The York Barbell Company created just for performing Isometrics (model W.W.) This is also the very same type of rack that Bruce Lee trained on.