John McWilliams Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

John McWilliams

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

John McWilliams was an incredibly strong and powerful bodybuilder of the late 1940’s and 1950’s who was well known for his arm development. While many bodybuilder inflated their numbers, John McWilliams used to offer a reward if anyone could measure his arms at LESS than 19-1/2 inches! He ran a successful gym in Dayton, Ohio (The Dayton Health Studios at 131 E. Third Street) and wrote several training articles for Iron Man Magazine. He also had his own arm development course, “Big Arms for You” which can currently be found in its entirety posted in The Iron League.

John McWilliams – “Mr. Arms”

Posted on Monday, April 13th, 2015 by John Wood

Some of the most impressive arms of all time belonged to Mr. John McWilliams. He happened to have a pretty good head start in the arms department thanks to Mother Nature, but what also helped McWilliams stretch the tape was a focus on basic exercises. That, and because he drank plenty of water… since muscle tissue is composed of mostly water, he believed that glugging down that H20 went directly to his arms! While this belief is a little simplistic, drinking enough water IS a good idea (most people don’t get enough and no doubt actually DID contribute to his impressive results.

John McWilliams

Posted on Saturday, October 25th, 2014 by John Wood

The man with some of the biggest arms around was John McWilliams from Kenton, Ohio. While many bodybuilders used to inflate their measurements, he had an open challenge to anyone who could measure his arm at less than 19-1/2 inches… and the money was always safe. In case you are wondering about the “secrets” to his arm development, they were hard training, correct nutrition and proper recovery ~ along with more than a little bit of help from mother nature, of course.