Gymnastic Rings Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Harry Truman’s 1948 White House Gym

Posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2018 by John Wood

A look at Truman’s gym in the White House, circa 1948. It is sparse, but certainly contains everything someone would need to stay in shape: medicine balls, Swedish Bars, Wall Pulleys, Gymnastic Rings, Rowing machine, health rider bike, situp board, and a rack of dumbbells (more of which are out of the frame.)

Shafran’s Gym

Posted on Wednesday, December 6th, 2017 by John Wood

Harry Shafran was an oldtime lifter who owned a couple successful gyms in New York back in the 1920’s. Eventually he grew tired of big city lift and retired to a farm near Scranton, Pennsylvania where he converted the large barn in the back of his house into one of the greatest gyms of all time.

Here’s a look back in time… Globe dumbbells, climbing ropes, Milo kettlebells, gymnastic rings, swedish bars — note the double handled kettlebells used for swingbell exercises. A half-moon bench can be seen in the foreground. This unique piece of equipment was used specifically for chest expansion exercises and used to be quite common. Also note the handbalancing stands on the right, with a dumbbell in between, presumable for lifting in the teeth at the same time — that’s old school! Look closely and you’ll also see a 150 lb. kettlebell.

Von Krajewski’s Gym

Posted on Wednesday, November 8th, 2017 by John Wood

Here’s a unique look at Dr. Vladislav Von Krajewski’s Gym in St. Petersburg, Russia, circa 1901. This is the place where an untold number of strength champions trained, most notably George Hackenschmidt. I know that I could sure get strong in a place like this.