A step-by-step look at the 2-Hands Anyhow. It has been said that this lift is the ultimate test of strength, endurance and agility: it is the method by which the greatest weight has ever been lifted overhead with one hand, the complete lift lasts 12-15 seconds, and it requires practice, balance and the perfection of having to do two things at once. Once the lifter completes a Bent Press an additional weight, in the form of a dumbbell or kettlebell, is then cleaned to the shoulder and pressed overhead. The greatest performance of all time in this lift is 448 pounds, lifted by Arthur Saxon in 1905.
Three great strongmen formed the act known as the Osman Trio. From left to right: Wilhelm Turck was a butcher by trade who became the World’s Weightlifting Champion in 1898. He could perform a two-hands anyhow dumbbell lift of 279 1/4 pounds, a 140 lb. dumbbell in the right hand, and a 139 1/4 lb. dumbbell in the left. Georges Jagendorfer was a very popular strongman who performed with Cooke’s Circus. Franz Stahr was one of the first strongmen to lift 200 pounds overhead with one hand. The trio often used elaborate stage weights and costumes in their performances around Europe. There were several different lineups of the Osman Trio over the years.
Paul Pons won what is recognized as the very first wrestling world championship in 1898. Pons would go on to win several more world championships in 1899, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1904 and 1910. Like most wrestlers of the day, Pons was also a strongman, and, as a matter of fact, Apollon’s training partner. Though Pons put most of his focus toward his wrestling, he did accomplish several notable strength feats, among them briefly holding the world record in the “Two Hands Anyhow” with a lift of 129 kg. For most of his life, Pons ran a wrestling and physical training gymnasium in Paris where he, Apollon, Batta and many other great French strength athletes trained.
The 2-Hands Anyhow
