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1901 Sandow Grip Dumbbell Poster
Sandow's Grip Dumbbells were one of the earliest pieces of commercial training equipment, and the most popular as well. Here we have a nifty advertising poster for them from 1901 that not many folks...
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Kettlebells in Iran, circa 1897
Kettlebells are thought by many people to be uniquely Russian. While there is no question that they have very strong roots there, kettlebells have a long tradition in other areas of the world as well....
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Bruce Lee's grip Machine
Bruce Lee was described by many as a "forearm fanatic" which makes perfect sense when one is devoted to the martial science - stronger wrists and forearms translate to harder punches and better...
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Billie Miske
Here's a classic shot of boxer Billie Miskie training with a medicine ball, circa 1920. Miskie was deep in training to face the great Jack Dempsey for the World's Heavyweight title in Benton Harbor,...
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The Arm of Apollon
In case you might be wondering why the great Apollon was known as a true 'King of Strength' and could eaily lift weights that others couldn't even budge, here's a pretty clear illustration. On the...
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Mr. America Magazine, January, 1959, Larry Cianchetta Coverman
Larry Cianchetta (later known as Larry Powers) from Staten Island, New York graced the cover of the January, 1959 issue of Mr. America Magazine. He went on to win a number of bodybuilding titles...
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Dimotrios Tofalos 1906
A look at Dimotrios Tofalos lifting an excellent globe barbell... this is thought to be taken sometime in 1906 when Tofalos was training for what would later become known as the 'Intercalated Games.'...
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Yet Another Way to Lift a Horse
George Jagendorfer demonstrates one of the many ways that he lifted a horse while performing for Hengler's Circus in the 1890's. You have to have a pretty strong set of choppers for this one.
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Humberto Selvetti on 'El Grafico'
Here's a rare look at the great Argentinian weightlifter Humberto Selvetti on the cover of the February, 1952 issue of 'El Grafico' magazine (also published in Argentina.). A few months later, Selvetti...
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Bruce White's Inch Dumbbell
One of the most famous grip feats of all time is to deadlift the Thomas Inch Challenge Dumbbell. Replicas were not available until the mid-1990's so if you wanted to lift it, you had to either travel...
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Mr. America Magazine, September, 1965, Don Howorth Coverman
A look at the September, 1965 issue of Mr. America magazine with the great Don Howorth on the cover. Howorth was well known for having some of the broadest shoulders in the business and has an article...
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Nikola Petroff
Here's a rare shot of the great Bulgarian wrestling champion, Nikola Petroff and, like most wrestlers of the day, Petroff was impressive from a physique standpoint as well. Petroff became the World...
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Joe Weider, Lifting a Globe Barbell
Here's Joe Weider, The 'Master Blaster' himself lifting a pretty awesome globe barbell at a weightlifter gathering in Montreal sometime in the 1930's. The only weight stated was "over 200 pounds."
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Iron Teardrops
People often say there's nothing new under the sun but I would disagree. Case in point, here's a unique training idea from a muscle magazine from about 20 years ago that I have never seen before or...
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Alexandre' Maspoli
The great French lifter Alexandre' Maspoli was born in Lyons in 1875 and was an amateur champion an astounding 19 years in a row (1901 to 1920). He won a Bronze Medal at the 1906 Olympic Games. He also...
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Early York Barbell Co. Advertisement - "We Build Mighty Men"
Here's an ad for the York Barbell Company from 1934 making it a very early one. Notice Bob Hoffman -- with hair! -- and the famous picture of Wally Zagursky and Tony Terlazzo getting in a quick workout...
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Attila: The World's Greatest Physical Culture and Athletic Instructor
Here's a rare and pretty nifty advertisement for Professor Attila's Studio of Physical Culture from 1903. Not many people have seen this one.
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The King Brothers - Herculean Comedy Athletes!
Edward Traver and Robert Shank were two lads from Schenectady, New York who ran off and joined the Vaudeville circuit as "The King Brothers - Herculean Comedy Athletes!" The duo performed...
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Sandow Cigars
To promote his first tour of America in 1894, Sandow lent his image to his own brand of cigars. Sandow knew what he was doing and this tactic clearly worked as his shows were all well attended. This...
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Cadine's Leverage Bells (?)
Now here's a curious one: We have several rare shots of the great French weightlifter Ernest Cadine with these interesting pieces of equipment. You could make the case that they have the trappings of...
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