Vic Tanny Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Armand Tanny

Posted on Thursday, December 6th, 2018 by John Wood

The great bodybuilder Armand Tanny as he looked when in top form. Like many strength athletes of the time, he got his start in Olympic lifting and fared pretty well before making the switch to bodybuilding. One of his favorite lifts was the one arm clean, which he could perform with over 300 pounds — an impressive feat. The Rochester, New York native won the Pro-Mr. America bodybuilding title in 1950 and the Mr. USA title in 1950. His brother was the Vic Tanny of Vic Tanny’s Gym fame.

The New Bodybuilding for Old-School Results by Ellington Darden

Posted on Wednesday, September 28th, 2016 by John Wood

GONE.

The New Bodybuilding for Old-School results is sold out, but we can point you toward this classic Ell Darden title which is available on Amazon Kindle:

Strength and Conditioning for Football by Ellington Darden

Armand Tanny’s Favorite Exercise

Posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2014 by John Wood

Armand Tanny (brother of Vic Tanny) was a very successful bodybuilder in the late 40’s and 50’s, and a regular at the original Santa Monica Muscle Beach scene. Tanny competed in many major bodybuilding contests and won the Pro-Mr. America in 1950. His favorite exercise was: the one-arm barbell clean. Armand lifted 250 lbs. in the rare shot above, and reported doing 280 lbs. in practice. The one-arm barbell clean is a rugged lift that will definitely build plenty of back strength, especially when done “heavy.”

The Smith Machine

Posted on Friday, February 8th, 2013 by John Wood

Rudy Smith and the Smith Machine

You’ve heard of the Smith Machine? Well here’s ‘Smith’ as in Rudy Smith who came up with his machine in the early 1950’s as a manager at Vic Tanny’s Gym in Los Angeles, California. Today a Smith machine can be found in just about every gym in the land. In the picture above, Rudy is sitting on the very first Smith machine ever.