Sig Klein's Gym Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Arthur Leslie

Posted on Wednesday, April 18th, 2018 by John Wood

Arthur Leslie was just a guy who trained at Sig Klein’s Gym in New York City. The reason Leslie began training in the first place is that he became tired of being weak and overweight. At 46 years years old he had never touched a weight before but soon after he began training he began to see tremendous results. In fact his results were so dramatic, Sig Klein featured him in several occasions in his publication Klein’s Bell. Here he is with a great Thick-Handled show barbell. Leslie was 59 years of age when this picture was taken.

Elwood Holbrook – Master of the Bent Press

Posted on Sunday, April 8th, 2018 by John Wood

Elwood Holbrook took 4th at the 1941 AAU Mr. America Contest AND took home the “Best Arms” award (He had also competed in the afternoon’s weightlifting contest where he finished 6th with a 715-pound total in the 165-pound class.)

While Holbrook was a very talented strength athlete and equally good at bodybuilding as well as weightlifting, his real gift was the bent press — he won the national Bent-Press Championship in a contest held by Sig Klein.

Holbrook was also one of the few men to bent press the famous Rolandow Dumbbell – a feat which he did on his first try and without a warmup. Here’s a shot of a 48-year old Elwood Holbrook bent-pressing 240 pounds — 75 pounds above his bodyweight. That unique dumbbell belonged to Paul Anderson.

Sig Klein’s Gym (Exterior)

Posted on Monday, December 26th, 2016 by John Wood

I’ve shown plenty of shots of the inside of Sig Klein’s Gym but here’s a rare shot of the exterior. Sitting atop Gruppe’s School of Music and Romeo’s Spaghetti Kitchen, Klein’s Gym was located at 717 Seventh Avenue in New York City and was hard to miss with the huge picture of Sig out front. The building is still there, if you know where to look. Wonder if the current occupant has any notion of Sig’s place?

The Jackson Trio

Posted on Wednesday, August 20th, 2014 by John Wood

… Easily one of the most amazing photographs ever taken. Jimmy “Muscles” Jackson (Frank Kirigin), Gene “Jewell” Waddell, and Charley “Jarley” Jackson were known professionally as the “Jackson Trio” as they traveled the country performing on the Vaudeville circuit. (At times, they were also known as “The Three Jacksons,” “The Jackson Brothers” or “The Three Zeckos”.)

On August 21st, 1934, with the news reel cameras rolling, the Jackson Trio balanced precariously on a ledge of the 86th floor of the Empire State Building while this famous picture was taken. The Jackson Trio got their start opening for Houdini on the vaudeville circuit and when in New York, the trio always trained at Sig Klein’s Gym!

John Garan

Posted on Friday, November 29th, 2013 by John Wood

John Garan began serious physical training after meeting the famous New York strongman Abe Boshes and went on to build one of the most incredible physique of all time.
At a height of 5’5″ and bodyweight of only 155 pounds Garan could easily squat with over 300 and was also an excellent wrestler. He regularly trained at Sig Klein’s Gym and was featured in “Klein’s Bell.” Garan is a perfect example of very impressive results, developed without supplements or growth drugs

Sig Klein

Posted on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 by John Wood

Sig Klein with some classic barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells.

Sig Klein inherited much of his great equipment when he married Professor Attila’s daughter and took over his gym in New York. Of course, Sig had pretty good taste in equipment and often had custom-made barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells fashioned to train with.