George Jowett is probably best known for anvil lifting feats, but he was also a famous strongman, bodybuilder, an innovator and an author of numerous books on physical training. His childhood story is somewhat similar to Sandow’s, since he too suffered a serious injury when he fell from his mother’s lap at the age of eight and was told he would never be able to walk again and probably wouldn’t live to be fifteen.
However, George started training when he was eleven years old and at the age of fifteen he was one of the best gymnastists in his age group. Fast forward three years later, he won many boxing world titles as well as “Most perfectly developed man” and “Best developed man in England” titles. One his most notable records is lifting double of his body weight which was unheard of in the USA and he was the first man in the USA ever to achieve this feat. He also succeeded in one-arm swinging more than his body weight when he pulled up 210 pounds, while he weighed 192 lbs. And there is, of course, the anvil lifting you can see in the picture below.
George Jowett manipulating 160lbs Anvil with one hand
George Jowett showing how to do a weighted wrestlers bridge
George Jowett
A workout which affects all muscles of your abdomen.
Instructions for pressing a barrel from Jowett’s book Molding a Mighty Grip
During his lifetime, George Jowett won more than 300 medals and wrote many books like The Key to Might And Muscle, Molding Mighty Legs, Molding a Mighty Chest, Molding a Mighty Back, Molding a Mighty Grip, Molding Mighty Arms, Strongmen Stunts Made Easy and several more.
Comments
I am 88 years old, and have led a challenging physical life as an athletye, infantry and reconnaisanse Marine. y best friend and I, in the early forties, subscribed to a body-building program by George F. Jowett tha was a combination of isometric- no-weight training and parallel bars (for us therails at the top of my attic stairs). I can’t remember what it cost, but we didn’t have much. We both went on to lifetimes of physical fitness and strength. We called our workouts “Georgeing.” My friend is dead, a world-class member of a surgical team. I am a disability retired Marine with handicaps; but I continue to work out in physical therapy for strength. I thank God for George F. Jowett, who started me on this long life of being exceptionally strong.
Lt Colonel Tom C. McKenney USMC (Ret)
Parachutist and Marine Raider
Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Hello.
Can you describe me the training you did I would be interesting in do it.
Best regards
Tom