The following guest article comes from Teiko Reindorf and covers what it takes to become BIG. “Damn bro… you’re huge. You must have been born that way” “It must be nice to be naturally big” “Man, I wish I were your size” Those are just a few of things I …
Eugen Sandow
Eugen Sandow, the man who started it all and the father of modern bodybuilding. His real name was Friedrich Wilhelm Müller, but he took his stage name for two reasons – 1) it was a custom to do so as a stage performer and 2) he left Prussia to avoid …
Pierre Gasnier
Pierre Gasnier was a famous french strongman and a member of Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1890’s, who use to perform various feats of strength, some of which were quite unusual. Aside from regular feats of strength like tearing a deck of cards in half, Pierre used to break chains …
Forearm Exercises with Dumbbells
If you don’t have a wrist roller setup at your home, I’ll show you a couple of great forearm exercises with dumbbells you should be doing if you are looking to strengthen your wrist, fingers and forearm. In my opinion, these work much better than the wrist curl which is …
George Jowett
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 …
Full Squat vs Parallel Squat
A common question about squats is whether you should only go on parallel or do a full squat instead. A full squat with flat feet on the ground is a natural position for humans and everyone should be able to do it. If you cannot get in that full squat …
Which is Better – Deadlift or Squat?
Which exercise is better – the Deadlift or the Squat? Some will claim one over the other, and you can find my answer in the video below. It all depends on you personally and a few other factors including: What you are built for Your personal preference Your goals For …
Types of Isometric Exercises
I received this email from Thomas regarding his isometric training and its evolution with a number of different teachers I’ve been introducing to you in the recent past. As a devoted student he’s been working with many different types of isometric exercises. Hi Logan, Bud, Steve and Stone Paul, I …
Thomas Inch
Thomas Inch had a promising future even in his teenage years, since he won the “Britain’s Strongest Youth” title at 16, followed by “Britain’s Strongest Man” in 1910. Perhaps he was most famous for lifting a dumbbell that weights 172 pounds with one hand, with particularly thick handle ( 2 3/8 inches). …
Bob Hoffman
If you like the ways of old strongmen and you haven’t heard about Bob Hoffman, you must’ve been living under a rock. Bob Hoffman was a weightlifter, athlete, nutritionist born in 1898 on a farm in Tifton. His father liked to show off his muscles and definitely had an influence …
Joe Rollino
Joseph Joe Rollino was a son of Italilan immigrants and during the best days of his career he managed to move more than 3200 pounds using his back, as a part of the “World’s strongest man” movie back in the 1920’s, where he actually dubbed himself! Aside from being a …
Should I Bench Press?
The bench press is probably the second most favorite or the most hated exercise in the world, depending on who you ask. The first one being, of course, the curl. So, should you bench press? It all depends on what you are going for. It’s not a necessary exercise for …
Earle E. Liederman
Earle E. Liederman started his strongman career in 1910 after quitting his job to become a professional athlete. In next eight years, Liederman toured the circuit showing skill and talent in lifting, feats of strength, acrobatics and similar disciplines. Eventually he got tired of that lifestyle and decided to do …
Louis Cyr Movie Trailer
I’m a big fan of oldtime strongmen. I’m a big fan of movies. At last the two will be combined. Here is the Louis Cyr movie trailer. Thanks to Matti Marzel for pointing this out to me. I can tell you what I’m going to be doing in July. I …
Sig Klein
Unlike most boys in his time at the age of 15, Sig Klein wasn’t inspired by a strongman act in a circus, but after reading Physical Culture & Strength magazines back in the 1900’s. Some say he was also inspired to start training by his father, who was a strong …