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The Double Backlift!
Here's a strength feat that we've never seen before: The Double Backlift! This was performed by Erik Petterson and Arvid Andersonwho were both great Swedish strongmen in the 1920s. I count 23 people,...
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Eugene Waddell
Eugen Waddell was a member of the famed "Jackson Trio" and the only man we know of who could replicate Bob Jones' signature feat of standing atop a series of Indian Clubs and flicking them away...
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Cyclops and Sampson: The Strongest Men on Earth
A rare poster advertising the strongman duo of Franz "Cyclops" Bienkowski and Charles A. Sampson. Sampson's Harness Lift is highlighted.
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Jowett On Finger Strength
A bit on finger lifting from George F. Jowett, circa, 1924: "So far as lifting weights with the fingers goes, I believe that Warren Lincoln Travis is the best man in the world. He certainly is the best...
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Vansittart's Spike
They used to call Charles Vansittart "The Man With The Iron Grip" for good reason -- he could bend an Old English penny, rip a tennis ball in half and bend a spike like the one pictured above. Bending...
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Nautilus Leverage Machines
When most people think of Nautilus Machines they picture cams and weight stacks, which were certainly the case... But later on, Nautilus came out with a series of leverage pieces with the look of...
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Bert Elliott's Classic Strongman Equipment
Bert Elliott was a bodybuilding champ in the 1950's and 60's who had an interest in real oldtime strength training. He even shaved his head and dressed like a turn of the century strongman to complete...
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Josef Manger
Josef Manger was a great German heavyweight lifter during the 1930's He burst on the scene with a Silver medal at the 1934 European championships following that up with a Gold medal in that contest a...
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John Grimek's Bodybuilding Contest History
Here's John Grimek showing his winning form and hardware after taking first in the 1948 Mr. Universe contest (defeating Steve Reeves in the process!) Most bodybuilders are lucky to win one contest in...
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The Nautilus Infi-Metric Bench Press
The Infi-Metric was an interesting training concept which was pioneered by Arthur Jones. It involved pitting the strength of two body parts against each other. In the case of the Infi-Metric Bench...
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Irvin "Zabo" Koszewski
Here's Irvin "Zabo" Koszewski (and his famous abs) on the cover of the March, 1966 issue of Mr. America Magazine. Zabo started competing in bodybuilding contests in 1948 and was still going strong when...
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Steve Reeves' Hack Squat Machine
Steve Reeves trained in York, Pennsylvania for the 1950 Mr. Universe contest. While there, they devised this unique "hack squat" machine for Reeves to train on (this was actually an old hip lift...
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Ferdinand Renier
Ferdinand Renier was a Belgian weightlifter who competed in the featherweight class at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympic Games. He Clean and Jerked 105kg, Snatched 77.5 kg. and Military Pressed 72.5...
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Alfred Danks: "The Chest Expander as a Strength Builder"
"A well-known strongman, world's record holder and ex-world's champion weight lifter has put it on record on several occasions that he never trains for a record lift without a strong chest expander. He...
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Wheelbarrow Lifting
Wheel Barrow LiftingHow's this for an "odd" object lift? Stan Rothwell, the great British All-Arounder trains with a wheelbarrow in the late 1940's. His point for doing so was to show that you can...
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Indian Clubs for Baseball
Indian Clubs for BaseballWe have long been saying that adding Indian Clubs into your workout would be a smart choice for every athlete and here's yet another example of why: The March, 15, 1934 edition...
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Paul Holloway's One Arm Chin-Up
It is estimated that not more than one person in a hundred thousand can perform a chin-up with one hand. Here, Paul Holloway, one of the lesser-known members of the York Weightlifting team, shows the...
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Frank "Cannonball" Richards - From Another Angle
We've featured "Cannonball" Richards before. His iconic image has appeared on the cover of the Van Halen "III" album, been spoofed on an episode of the Simpsons and showed up in dozens of other pop...
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Antonovich Fon-Freindorfer
Meet Antonovich Fon-Freindorfer who is as "oldtime strongman-looking" as they come. Unfortunately, we don't know anything else about him as his exploits have been lost to the sands of time. He was...
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Stanley Radwan: The King of Iron and Steel
Stanley Radwan"The King of Iron and Steel" lives up to his nickname with a bit of scroll work. This rare shot is from a performance on October 10, 1950.
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