Thomas Topham was a strongman born around 1710 in London, where he was known as “The British Samson”. His strongman career started in his own pub, where he used to entertain the crowd by performing various feats of strength. Topham performed many feats which are still popular today, but a …
Otto Acron
Otto Acron is a strongman from Australia who was born on May 12 1935. As a young boy, Otto read Captain Marvel and Superman comics and that’s what initially pushed him towards feats of strength. At the age of 14 Otto sustained a serious brain injury while boxing in a …
Rack Pull Exercise
Here is another one of my favorite exercises. The rack pull exercise is the name for a partial deadlift usually just the last couple inches. I suppose what I’m doing here may be about a quarter deadlift. In this video which comes from this previous Saturday’s workout I hit a …
Podcast: Deceptive Strength
Learn about what it takes to build super strength without adding size. In this podcast I discuss some of the concepts from my newest book Deceptive Strength. [display_podcast] Is your fate determined by genetics? Missing keys from most people’s workouts who want to get really strong The common fallacy among …
Bob Peoples
John Robert Peoples (Bob Peoples) was born on August 2nd in 1910 and he was never small or weak. He grew up on a farm where he started training at the age of 9, using his father’s 50 pound dumbbells and heavy stuff around the farm he could lift. Until …
Don Dorans
Don Dorans was born in 1912 and he was one of the most, if not the most respected bodybuilders in modern British history. He earned the “Mr. Britan” title in 1943, “Mr. Europe” in his class in 1950 and “Mr. Universe” during the same year. Dorans was recognized as The …
Beast Snatch 50 in 5
Whew! This was a tough one. I decided to go after this goal and I hit it. But it took almost everything I had to get it. 50 reps in 5 minutes in the Beast Snatch Test If you’re following along here’s my progress so far. 34 reps in 5 …
Shovel Lift
The Shovel Lift is my new favorite exercise. I first heard of this one from Steve Justa in his book Rock, Iron, Steel. But besides trying it out one time I don’t think I used it anymore. But since I’ve switched my focus for the time being from bodyweight exercises …
Looking for Fat Loss?
Many people who come to my site are more advanced trainees. And I have fun teaching them the most advanced stuff I can. And there’s also people just looking to get started and get in shape who arrive at my site. Sometimes I receive an email saying “You’re courses look …
Ottley Coulter
Ottley Coulter was born in 1890 as the smallest male in a large family of big men, but through persistent training and good diet he managed to reach the highest strength level of them all. He is one of the few circus performers who had at least some kind of higher education, …
Siegmund Breitbart
Siegmund Breitbart was born in 1883 in a Jewish family and he is best known for his strongman acts as a circus performer. He had a strong background as a blacksmith which was a perfect fit for many feats of strength, including breaking horseshoes in half, bending iron bars & …
First 10 Minute Beast Snatch Test
A few weeks ago I mentioned a new challenge I came up with, the Beast Snatch Test. Back then I did my first work towards it with a five minute version. Last week I went the full ten minutes and managed to get 62 reps. If you watch the video …
Podcast: Forest Vance on Kettlebells
In this podcast I interview Forest Vance, a top kettlebell trainer in the Sacramento, CA area and former professional football player. In it we talk training, kettlebells and much more. [display_podcast] The #1 mistake many trainees are making regarding Metabolic Workouts How pairing your exercises maximizes strength and rest time …
Crazy Animal Flow
My buddy Mike Fitch just released this video yesterday. It’s awesome! I really like the mixture of slow and fast movements. There’s also some great hand balancing after the midway point too. Just watching this makes me want to practice it more! If you’d like to get started with Animal …
Dan Lurie
Dan Lurie, a physical fitness pioneer and father of bodybuilding, was born on April 1st 1923 in Brooklyn. He was a world class bodybuilder during 1940’s and managed to take the “America’s Most Muscular Man” title not once, but four times by 1949. Lurie established the International Federation of …