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German Weightlifter
Berg-Hantell barbells and plates were the inspiration for all modern Olympic sets. Here's one in use by the German lifter A. Wiedmer who shows how it's done in winning this early weightlifting contest...
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Russian Olympic Set
One of the interesting things that you would find in the old strength magazines was Olympic sets from some of the different countries - and they did a fine job. pictured here is a famous Russian...
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John Y. Smith
John Y. Smith, shown above bent pressing a 185 lb. dumbbell, was another great strongman who was small in stature but large in strength. He was 5'7" and weighed around 165 lbs. in his prime yet could...
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Charles Rigoulot's One-Arm Snatch
The great French Strongman Charles Rigoulot snatches 242 pounds with one arm in old, Old, OLD Vienna, circa 1929. Note the continued use of globed barbells and dumbbells long after they went out of...
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Mighty Joe Young vs. 10 Strongmen
The 1949 film 'Mighty Joe Young' features a number of familiar faces. In a memorable scene, Mr. Joseph Young of Africa plays tug of war with 10 strongmen in a nightclub. The strongmen in question are...
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The Nautilus Compound Leg Machine
The 'point' of any tool is to give yourself an advantage that could not otherwise be had... in this case, a machine which will allow a for the performance of a very specialized (and VERY effective)...
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Henry Wittenberg
New Jersey born Henry Wittenberg, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 91, was one of the greatest wrestlers who ever lived. Unbelievably, he never even wrestled until he got to college but by his...
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The 12th Man to lift "The Water Barrel" at Zuver's Hall of Fame Gym
It was on July 1st, 1968 that Dr. Ken Leisner became the 12th man to lift the Zuver's Gym "challenge" water barrel overhead. Nobody knows exactly how much the barrel weighed but it was somewhere in the...
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The Mighty Atom's Shoes
... Speaking of shoes, here's a pair which used to belong to The Mighty Atom. These currently reside in Slim the Hammerman's Dungeon Gym. -- If you're lucky and know a few people who know a few people...
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Levering The Gama Club
To my knowledge, I am the only man in the world to accomplish this feat: a picture perfect to-the-nose-and-back lever of the Gama Club. The "Gama Club" is a modern representation of the trophy from...
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Paramount Barbells
York was always the standard as far as quality Olympic barbell sets... but Muscletown was a long way for some folks to travel. Out on the West coast, a lot of people got their start with Paramount...
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1941 AAU Mr. America Results
Final Placing: 1. John Grimek 2. Jules Bacon 3. Frank Leight 4. Elwood Holbrook 5. Ludwig Schusterich 6. Terry Robinson - Paul Como - Johnny Davis - Roland Essmaker - Melvin Kahn - Constantine Kosiras...
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Wrestling for Boxers
How do you train when you want to be in the meanest possible shape? The answer is invariably "Like a wrestler" which is exactly what boxing champ Jim Jeffries used to do in his training camps. There's...
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Mike Dayton Holds Back a Hot Rod
"Think of the outcome you want and firmly believe in your ability to achieve it." Strongman/Bodybuilder Mike Dayton holds back a Hot Rod for the "That's Incredible!" TV show. He could also break a...
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Breitbart's Muscle Builder
In addition to his training courses and strength performances, Siegmund Breitbart also created some of his own training equipment. To work on his steel scrolling he devised this "muscle builder"...
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You Can Bench Press 400 lbs. by "Big" Bill Anton
Readers of the classic Iron Man Magazine will no doubt remember this ad, it ran there for years. After years of searching, we finally located a copy of "Big" Bill's bench press course and most likely...
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Alyce Yarick's Squatting Feat
Here's a strength feat you probably didn't know about: Alyce Yarick, wife of Ed Yarick (of Yarick's Gym fame) once performed 105 consecutive squats with 115 pounds -- not many people can do that! This...
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Kimon Voyages: Strength and Health Magazine June, 1945
Kimon Voyages on the cover if the June, 1945 issue of Strength and Health Magazine. Kimon once squatted 200 pounds for 100 reps straight - and it certainly shows here. He had won the Jr. Mr. America...
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Paul Anderson's Bench Press Machine
Paul Anderson was ahead of his time in several branches of training. Case in point: in order to specialize on the bench press, he devised this unique machine. Note the many levels of adjustability and...
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Albert Maes' Strong Neck
Albert Maes, Belgian weightlifter and strongman shows his stuff with this VERY impressive feat: a combionation of handbalancing and platform lifting. Considering that's got to be close to half a ton,...
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