Strongwoman Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Madame Yucca

Posted on Monday, December 5th, 2022 by John Wood

Mary Anna Carson was known as Madame Yucca in various circuses in the late 1800’s. One of relative few performing strong women, Yucca was also billed as “The Female Sandow,” “The Female Samson,” or “The Female Hercules” — take your pick. Yucca was, however, the real deal in the strength department, she could lift a 1200 lb. horse with the aid of a harness and a 170 lb. man sitting in a chair — or a 300 lb. anvil — with her teeth. Above, a rare shot of Yucca hoisting a globe barbell. She was also quite fond of lifting kettlebells.

We did a very cool Madame Yucca Mug which you can get here, plus here’s a video feature:

Vulcana ~ Kate Roberts

Posted on Wednesday, June 9th, 2021 by John Wood

Another look at the lovely Vulcana, also known as Kate Roberts. She was sometimes called “The Female Sandow.” Once, when a pickpocket made the unfortunate decision to attempt to make away with her purse, the strongwoman grabbed the lout by the arm with a grip of iron and knocked him cold with one blow of her mighty right fist. Learn more about Vulcana here and here.

Vulcana

Posted on Monday, February 15th, 2016 by John Wood

Kate “Vulcana” Williams, was a Welsh Strongwoman who toured music halls in Britain, Europe and Australia in the early 1900’s. Among her many other feats were a bent press of 125 pounds and an overhead lift (i.e. press) with a 56 pound weight in each hand. She was quite popular in France where Professor Desbonnet verified her feats and was very impressed with her level of strength. As you can see, she sported a pretty impressive set of arms.

Miss Bliss

Posted on Friday, July 17th, 2015 by John Wood

Here’s a look at Miss Bliss, a French Strong woman from 1901. Don’t know much else about her other than she has a strong set of choppers. It would be easy to think that this photo was faked but if you look closely, you’ll see that her neck development would indicate that she has trained for and is actually performing this rather amazing feat. It’s also worth noting that she has a larger and likely stronger neck than several football players I know.

Joan Rhodes

Posted on Saturday, January 24th, 2015 by John Wood

There weren’t many woman strength acts but there were a few and the most notable was London-born Joan Rhodes. For decades, “The Iron Lady” bent steel bars and ripped phone books with the best of them ~ all even more impressively while wearing high heels!