Squat Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Milo Steinborn’s Orange Avenue Gym

Posted on Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 by John Wood

Henry “Milo” Steinborn was a 5’8″ 205 lb German wrestler and strongman who became the first man to ever squat 500 lbs. In fact, his world record squat of 553 lbs. (set during the 1920’s) would not be officially bested until the early 1950’s by Doug Hepburn. It was Milo who popularized the heavy deep knee bend as one of the most productive training lifts for anyone interested in building real strength.

In 1952, Milo opened the Orange Avenue Gym down in Orlando, Florida, which makes it the oldest weightlifting gym in America. Along with plenty of weights and barbells, Milo’s Gym had a wrestling ring and other physical training equipment. Milo is flanked here by his sons Dick (left) and Henry (right).

It was here that Milo taught a young Jim Flanagan how to get strong. I was fortunate enough to visit the Orange Avenue Gym on a trip back in 2003 — it still had some of Milo’s original training equipment.

Squatting with Casey

Posted on Friday, December 28th, 2018 by John Wood

If there is a “secret” to super strength it’s hard, intense leg work. Here’s eventual 1971 Mr. America Casey Viator getting in a quick squat workout at the infamous quonset hut in Deland, Florida in the early days of Nautilus. There’s 535 lbs. on the bar — not bad for a “training weight.”

The Mr. America contest was still a few months out, and when the day came, Casey won in the most dominating fashion possible taking not only the overall title, but also five out of six of the subdivision: Best Chest, Best Legs, Best Arms, Best Back, and Most Muscular. The only subdivision that Casey didn’t win was “Best Abs” which went to Chuck Amato.

Paul Anderson’s Silver Dollar Squat

Posted on Monday, December 25th, 2017 by John Wood

One of Paul Paul Anderson’s greatest feats was squatting with over 1200 pounds — but it wasn’t with a traditional barbell, it was with $25,000 worth of silver dollars at his strength show in Las Vegas. There was a standing challenge that anyone who could duplicate the feat could keep the money — needless to say the money was safe.

The Strength of Paul Anderson

Posted on Friday, December 15th, 2017 by John Wood

Back in the mid-1940’s, Paul Anderson started lifting weights to get bigger for football and just kept growing. He eventually became one of the strongest men of all time while establishing many strength records and winning the Gold Medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.

Paul Anderson was also a Senior World Champion and a 2-time Senior National Champion in Weightlifting. He set nine World Records and Eighteen American records during his career and retired undefeated.

He was also incredibly strong in what would eventually become the three Power Lifts: the squat, bench press and deadlift.

Here’s a look at some of Paul Anderson’s record lifts:

* Squat: 1185 lbs.

* Bench Press: 625 lbs.

* Deadlift Record without Straps: 780 lbs.

* Deadlift Record with “Hooks”: 820 lbs.

* Clean & Press: 485 lbs.

* Clean & Jerk: 485 lbs.

* Snatch: 375 lbs.

* Push Press: 545 lbs.

* Back Lift: 6270 lbs.

* Dumbbell Side Press: 240 lbs. x 40 / 300 lbs. x 11

Malcolm “Mac” Richards

Posted on Sunday, December 3rd, 2017 by John Wood

“Mac” Richards started powerlifting when he was 57 years old and within a year set new Masters World Records in each of the three lifts: squatting 425 pounds, benching 308 pounds, deadlifting 479 pounds and totaling 1212 pounds. In the years that followed, he won 18 National titles and four World Powerlifting Championships.

Here were his marks at the age of 75 years and 198 lbs, (Still Masters records for the International Powerlifting Association, by the way.)

* Squat: 440 pounds
* Bench: 330 pounds
* Deadlift: 470 pounds
* Total: 1240 pounds

Mac was inducted into the York Barbell Powerlifting Hall of Fame in the year 2000. He was also a good friend who will be missed.

Paul Anderson’s Progressive Movement Lifting

Posted on Tuesday, October 31st, 2017 by John Wood

“…Some of the above history will certainly seem strange to some of our younger readers, with all the wonderful instruction they have at their fingertips, but living in a small mountain town and not having a subscription to any physical fitness magazines, I had to work many things out for myself. Today I can see this was not a handicap but an advantage, because it made me think and work out new routines. One new routine that I developed is today called Isotonic. I do not claim to be the discovered of this method but I did work out the forthcoming procedure on my own.

I appropriately called this procedure “progressive movement” lifting. In the squat, I progressed as follows: by putting a 55-gallon oil drum on each side of an eight-foot barbell and loading the drums with weights up to a poundage of about 200 pounds better than my best squat, I made my basic apparatus. This makeshift weight was placed over a hole in which I stood being at a height where I could lift the weights in a quarter-squat position. In this first position, I would perform about 20 repetitions; then every week, I would add about two inches of dirt to the hole, making my lifting movement longer and cutting down on my repetitions. By following this procedure, I was soon lifting the weight from a full squat position for a single repetition.

Let me point out two very important things about the “progressive movement” routine. The first thing to remember is to never get impatient and try to progress too fast. The second is to always start out with a weight you can handle for many repetitions and it will only be natural that you drop the number of reps as you lengthen the movement…”

– Paul Anderson

The Mark Berry Bar Bell Courses Poster Set

Posted on Friday, September 15th, 2017 by John Wood

“Something NEW for your Gym Wall!”

Give your weight room an OLD SCHOOL look with the Mark Berry Bar Bell Course training posters:

Mr. America ’68, Jim Haislop

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

Jim Haislop, the popular bodybuilder from Tampa, Florida, shows the foundation of his development: squats. Haislop had quite a career, winning Mr. Florida in 1965, Mr. North America in 1966, Mr. Northern States and Mr. USA in 1967, Mr. America and Junior Mr. America in 1968 and took first in his class at the 1969 NABBA Mr. Universe contest.

William Boone’s 1937 Training Program

Posted on Thursday, September 29th, 2016 by John Wood

William Boone’s 1937 Training Program

by Brooks Kubik

William Boone was a tremendously powerful lifter in the 1930’s and 40’s. He first achieved fame when reports were published of his astonishing gains on a program of heavy, high-rep squats, which he was inspired to follow after reading about what a similar schedule did for his Herculean contemporary, Joseph Curtis Hise. If memory serves correctly, Boone gained something like 80-100 pounds on the squat program.

William Boone Training in his back yard

Boone eventually built up to a bent-press of close to 300 pounds … a deadlift of 700 or so … a partial dead lift of 900 pounds … and a jerk from the rack of 420 pounds, which certainly ranks him as one of the strongest men in the history of the world.

I believe that he made these lifts in the mid-to-late 40’s, or the very early 50’s. These achievements are all the more remarkable because Boone worked a very hard, hot, heavy job digging water wells in Louisiana and Texas.

According to Boone, one job digging wells on a ranch in Texas was so hot that the men had to drink 4 gallons of water per day just to keep from overheating under the scorching southwestern sun! …And yet, Boone often would work all day and THEN do his training!

Where did Boone train? In his backyard! He didn’t even have a garage or basement in which to train. He lifted huge weights standing on the grass or on a dirt surface.

So don’t let anyone tell you that you need to quit your job and lay around all day in order to make good gains …and don’t let anyone tell you that you need to train at some sort of super-duper training center jammed with all of the latest miracle machines.

Boone’s training was very unique. He always followed what I refer to as “abbreviated training programs.” A 1937 issue of Mark Berry’s little magazine, “Physical Training Notes,” contains a letter from Boone to Berry with the following update on Boone’s training.

The following information is from a period when Boone was building up to the really big lifts mentioned above:

I have been doing only three exercises, namely the Two Arm Press, Two Arm Curl, and the Deep Knee Bend…”

“Here is my last workout. I work only once a week on pressing and twice a week on squatting. Monday and Friday — D.K.B.’s (i.e. squats); Wednesday — pressing. My workouts average about an hour in length …”

“Wednesday: press –240 five times; 240 seven times; 250 four times; 260 three times; 270 twice; 275 once; then reduce the weight to 240 for four repetitions and again with two more presses; 212 pounds six times and then four times; 182 six and then four times. Then reverse curl twelve times with 136 pounds and regular curl 160 ten repetitions and then again twice.”

“My arms measure better than 18 inches now and I have hopes of pressing 250 pounds ten times and 300 pounds once.”

“Here is my last workout on the squat, which is also my best: once each with 405, 435, and 470; three times with 515; short rest; sixteen times with 400; short rest; eight times with 400. On October 21st I did my best, or rather highest, D.K.B. —
525 pounds.”

Yours in strength,

Brooks D. Kubik

Alyce Yarick’s Squatting Feat

Posted on Wednesday, July 27th, 2016 by John Wood

Here’s a strength feat you probably didn’t know about: Alyce Yarick, wife of Ed Yarick (of Yarick’s Gym fame) once performed 105 consecutive squats with 115 pounds — not many people can do that! This feat occurred at one of her husband’s variety shows.