Neck Bridge Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Raicevich’s Neck Bridge

Posted on Thursday, June 17th, 2021 by John Wood

We’ve covered Giovanni Raicevich before. Raicevich was known for his thick, strong neck — which is obviously of great use in the mat game for a variety of reasons. Here, Raicevich performs a wrestler’s bridge with at least 200 lbs.

Theodore Lang

Posted on Thursday, May 23rd, 2019 by John Wood

Here we have Mr. Theodore Lang of Macassar, Dutch Indies, showing his stuff circa 1930. It was said that two buddies and another 160 pounds of fully-loaded barbell totaled around 400 pounds which he held in a top-of-the-head bridge — not bad!

Henry Cooper’s Bridge

Posted on Thursday, March 28th, 2019 by John Wood

British Heavyweight Boxer Bert Cooper is shown here doing neck bridges during a workout in December of 1960. Less than a week later, Cooper defeated Alex Miteff on points after 10 rounds at Wembley Arena. You’ll find other boxers similarly training their necks here and here.

Clevio Massimo Strongman Poster

Posted on Friday, February 2nd, 2018 by John Wood

An old poster of the strongman Clevio Massimo during the time he appeared on the stage throughout the country, depicting some of the feats of strength he included in his act: harness lifting, the One Arm get Up, Kettlebell Crucifix, card ripping, hand balancing etc. He included quite a variety; many not illustrated here, and his ability as a showman only enhanced his fine performances. Massimo also played the violin in one portion of his act to prove he was a capable musician as well as a genuine strongman.

Training for Gotch

Posted on Sunday, December 10th, 2017 by John Wood

George Hackenshmidt drew a crowd while in training to face Frank Gotch for the second time, in Chicago in 1911. Hack is shown here building his neck strength with the the wrestler’s bridge. His training partners Dr. Benjamin Roller and Gus ‘Americus’ Schoenlein, look on.

Ditka’s Neck Training

Posted on Monday, April 10th, 2017 by John Wood

It is important for football players to increase their neck strength in order to be better prepared to play the game. This was a fact not lot on “Da Bears” as shown by this rare training camp shot. Check out the guys bridging in the background, and yes, that’s Mike Ditka himself doing a headstand. Look closely and you’ll see that his whistle has fallen down around his face. If you have no other equipment available, a simple headstand like this can be an excellent method for building neck strength.

Chuck Davis

Posted on Monday, February 29th, 2016 by John Wood

Here’s one you don’t see every day: the man under the barbell is Chuck Davis, doing an impressive neck bridge lift of 350 lbs. This feat happened at a show in March of 1959 and was featured in the Knoxville News Sentinel. This clipping was sent in by Chuck’s good friend Bob Simpson (spotting on the right above.) Bob tells us that Chuck rarely did this lift, perhaps only a dozen times but accomplished 400 lbs. at 200lbs bodyweight. Having done a little of this kind of training, I can tell you that this is IMPRESSIVE. Chuck was also featured in Strength and Health.

Vsevolod Kherts ~ Another Angle

Posted on Tuesday, July 14th, 2015 by John Wood

Another look at the great Russian Circus strongman Vsevolod Kherts and his incredible 300+ lb. neck bridging, this time, from another angle. And check out that nifty globe barbell rack in the background.

Hackenschmidt’s Bridge

Posted on Monday, January 19th, 2015 by John Wood

A look at George Hackenschmidt demonstrating perfect form in the wrestler’s bridge around 1910. This exercise has obvious merit for wrestlers but can be an awesome method for developing neck and upper-back strength. Bridging will also strengthen the spine and may even make you slightly taller so it’s a good one to have in your bag of tricks.

Farmer Burns on the Wrestler’s Bridge

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

“I wish to impress upon all my students the great value of physical training connected with the bridge exercise. I want you to practice bridging every day, for you can find nothing that will develop the neck and back muscles to such an extent as bridging will do.

You already realize the importance of a very strong neck and it is entirely up to you to have a wonderful neck or not, depending entirely on the amount of study, and time of practice that you give the subject. A strong, well-developed neck is not only valuable to health and your personal athletic appearance, but important in wrestling as well.”

~ Farmer Burns, 1912