Odd Object Lifting Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Shaolin Log Lifting

Posted on Thursday, November 29th, 2018 by John Wood

They may not lift barbells but they still lift “weights”. This particular Shaolin Monk is shown building shoulder and upper-body strength with a wooden log. ~ Any kind of object can build strength, so long as it is trained with in a progressive manner.

Giving Bob Hoffman a Lift

Posted on Thursday, November 29th, 2018 by John Wood

Sometimes Bob Hoffman had to call up the York Gang when he needed a lift… That’s Steve Stanko on the right and Stan Stanczyk on the left lifting an “MG” with Bob Hoffman sitting in the driver’s seat to give it a little more weight.

Chuck Sipes Lifting His Truck

Posted on Friday, October 26th, 2018 by John Wood

Chuck Sipes was one of the strongest bodybuilders of all time. Chuck, who won the 1959 IFBB Mr. America, 1960 IFBB Mr. Universe, and 1968 Mr. World Bodybuilding titles, could also could perform many incredible feats of strength.

As he was training to accomplish a 600 pound(!) bench press, Chuck used to train using a variety of techniques involving heavy supports and negatives — he even had a special handle welded to the underside of his pickup truck which he used to lift and support the whole affair.

Sipes would first lift the pickup truck as high as he could with his arms then wedge his legs underneath. In the top position, he estimated that he was supporting 1600 pounds.

Steve Justa: The High Plains Heavy Metal Iron Master

Posted on Friday, October 19th, 2018 by John Wood

Out in the Nebraska cornfields you’ll find a man who lifts anything he can get his hands on — barrels, rocks, scrap iron, even trucks. He will push, pull, carry and drag the heaviest weights he can, and regularly moves half a ton, if only a few inches, its still impressive. Steve Justa is his name and his training philosophy is anything but conventional… “Don’t Have a Weight Set? – Lift a Tractor!”

De Arte Gymnastica by Hieronimus Mercurialis

Posted on Saturday, February 17th, 2018 by John Wood

It doesn’t get any more “Old School” than De Arte Gymnastica by Hieronimus Mercurialis. Published in 1569, this is the oldest book ever written on physical training. It describes exercises as practiced by the classical Greeks and Romans: the value of walking, throwing the discus, climbing ropes, training with heavy balls (i.e. Medicine Balls) and, as seen in the wood cut above, dumbbells and heavy stone tablets called “plummets” — history’s first odd object lifting!

William Pagel

Posted on Tuesday, December 26th, 2017 by John Wood

The German Strongman William Pagel used to perform an amazing feat of strength: carrying a 1050-pound horse to the top of two 18-foot ladders by the use of a harness. Even more amazing was that he did this for 10 shows a day. Notably, Pagel could clean 225 pounds with one arm, jerk it to arm’s length and while holding it aloft, lay down flat on the ground and then return to a standing position, barbell still overhead. Pagel was also a great wild animal trainer.

Sandbag Lifting

Posted on Friday, December 8th, 2017 by John Wood

The Oldtime strength athletes figured out a long time ago that sometimes lifting unbalanced, awkward objects build a very different type of strength than traditional barbells and dumbbells. This Italian wrestler was lifting sandbags back in 1906 and doesn’t look like a fellow that you would want to mess with.

Odd Object Lifting in Ancient Japan

Posted on Friday, November 10th, 2017 by John Wood

Barrel lifting goes back a little farther than Dnosaur Training… The Japanese painter Hokusai is best-known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji and his most recognized print The Great Wave of Kanagawa. Among his many drawings was this one, “Sakadaru o sashiageru otoko” showing a man lifting a sake barrel overead with one arm. This drawing was completed sometime around the year 1810 but the one-arm press is certainly still a great exercise.

Mac Batchelor

Posted on Friday, November 10th, 2017 by John Wood

Mac Bachelor was well-known for his feats of grip strength but he was a fine all-around strength athlete. Here’s ‘Big mac’ getting in an impromptu “odd object” workout while working at his tavern in California. Mac’s thick bone structure is evident, it should come as no surprise why Mac was never defeated at armwrestling.

Barrel Lifting

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

Lifting Barrels and Kegs has long been a Oldtime strongman Tradition since it builds a unique kind of strength — especially is the barrel is only partially filled… If water (or beer) is sloshing around inside the barrel, it becomes a “live” weight, and a tremendous test of strength — and it takes a lot less weight than you think. A partially-filled barrel weighing as little as fifty pounds can give you a tremendous workout.

Suggested barrel lifting exercises include:

* Curls
* Overhead Pressing (shown)
* Shouldering
* Bear Hugs
* Carrying for Distance
* Throwing (steel keg only!)