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Old-Time Strength: Eugen Sandow

(This is part of a series looking at old time strongmen and bodybuilders and the training methods and programs they followed. Note: The set, reps and weight used will be left out so you can tailor the program to fit your needs and strength levels.) The most famous bodybuilder in the early days of the sport, indeed perhaps the first modern bodybuilder was Eugen Sandow. Born Friederich Wilhelm Mueller on April 2, 1867. Born in Prussia (now part of Germany), he began his career as a sideshow strongman. Early in life, and with the help of showman Florenz Ziegfeld, Sandow decided it wasn’t enough to simply demonstrate his strength, but to actually display his muscular physique as though it were a work of art. Sandow was quite strong, even for a man of today. In one of his acts, he would walk across the stage carrying a pony (about 350 lbs.) overhead with one arm (and supporting the rest of the animal on his neck and shoulders). He lifted 269 pounds on the bent press. Sandow could also do a standing back somersault while holding a pair of 56 lb. dumbbells. His physique was what truly set him apart from other strongmen, of course. It was to see Sandow’s muscles in his “Muscle Display Performances” that made him one of the most famous men of his day. Sandow passed away in 1925, but his prowess as the first great bodybuilder lives on. Sandow was a big believer in gymnastics and bodyweight exercises as well. He would often combine his training, doing gymnastics and bodyweight mixed in with weight training. Below is an example of one of his methods of training. He would do the exercises with dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells, like most of the old-timers. Overhead Press Snatch Cleans One-Arm Press Bent Press Curls Sit-ups Pushups Dips Squats Notes: Train consistently 2-3 days per week and add weight to the bar whenever possible and get lots of rest, eat good food and drink plenty of water. Understand that to be successful in any weight training program – hard work is a must! Half-hearted effort does nothing for you. If you’re new to weight training or grossly out of shape, consult a physician first. End of disclaimer.

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Video: One-Legged Squats

One of the hardest exercises and truest tests of strength is the Pistol, AKA, the one-legged squat.

It takes balance, strength and stamina to do them well and in this video Extremist Pullup does 15 pistols. Very impressive. Check it out below.

Old-Time Strength: George Hackenschmidt

(This is the fourth in a series looking at old time strongmen and bodybuilders and the training methods and programs they followed. Note: The set, reps and weight used will be left out so you can tailor the program to fit your needs and strength levels.)

Hackenschmidt was was an early 20th-century strongman and professional wrestler. Nicknamed “The Russian Lion”, Hackenschmidt was actually from Estonia.

He became a pro wrestler, back when it was real fighting, after being trained by fellow countryman, Georg Lurich. Hackenschmidt won the European Greco-Roman Heavyweight Championship from Tom Cannon on September 4, 1902 in Liverpool, England. This title gave Hackenschmidt a legitimate claim as the World Champion of professional wrestling, a title that was cemented when Hackenschmidt defeated American Heavyweight Champion Tom Jenkins on May 4, 1905 in New York, New York to become the first recognized World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion.

Hackenschmidt held the title and remained undefeated until his match with Frank Gotch in 1908. He would later lose to Gotch again in a rematch, thanks in part to a badly injured knee. They were the only losses in his professional wrestling career. He had won over 3,000 matches in his career.

He could support an average size horse on his shoulders and walk with it and equally resist the pull of opposing horses. He made many weight lifting records some of which lasted for over 50 years, but continued to practice most of all wrestling which in itself built up great power especially in his neck and lower back.

In weightlifting circles he is perhaps best known for’ his’ version of the squat, I.e. ‘Hack squats’ where the barbell is held behind the thighs. Back in 1902 he made 550 reps with 110lbs in this difficult style.

Equally powerful in the shoulders he could hold out sideways at shoulder length in a style called the Crucifix, 2 x 90lbs dumbbells. Much in line with Martial arts thinking he paid particular attention to leg power and speed and in 1902 for a wager, he jumped over a table, i.e. standing jumps, 100 times in succession. This ability lasted with him even when 85 years of age, he could still do standing jumps over a chair back.

Hackenschmidt died on Feb 19th 1968 at St Francis Hospital Dulwich, England. He was 90 years of age.

Hackenschmidt never had just one training program. He would vary his routines constantly and never had a set regimen. Here is one of the routines he followed.

Overhead Press
Hack Squats
Bodyweight Squats
Bench Press
One-Hand Dumbbell Press
Neck Extensions
Farmer’s Walk

Notes: Train consistently 2-3 days per week and add weight to the bar whenever possible and get lots of rest, eat good food and drink plenty of water.

Understand that to be successful in any weight training program – hard work is a must! Half-hearted effort does nothing for you. If you’re new to weight training or grossly out of shape, consult a physician first. End of disclaimer.

Old-Time Strength: Henry “Milo” Steinborn

(This is the third in a series looking at old time strongmen and bodybuilders and the training methods and programs they followed. Note: The set, reps and weight used will be left out so you can tailor the program to fit your needs and strength levels.)

Henry “Milo” Steinborn was a German strongman who brought the squat, then called the deep knee bend to American soil.

The 5-9, 220-pound strongman arrived in America in 1921 and brought with him the speed and quick lifts to these shores. Prior to his arrival in America in 1921, the most popular lifts performed here rotated around “power-type” lifts such as bent presses, two arm presses, deadlifts, and curls.

Steinborn astounded the weight-lifting world with his prodigious strength, skill and dexterity. He was then lifting 375 pounds in the two arm clean and jerk; 220 in the one arm snatch; 240 pounds in the one arm clean & jerk; and two arm snatching 265 pounds. The squat was his real gift to us. He was incredible, performing five full squats with 550 pounds in rapid succession. Steinborn performed this lift unassisted without any supports or wraps. He just lifted the huge barbell on one end and leaned under, hoisting it across his shoulders. He was capable of this fantastic lifting ability most of his athletic life.

Aside from his great lifting abilities, he was an accomplished feats of strength performer. Because of his tremendous leg power, Milo would lie on his back with his upraised legs acting as human pillars, supporting one end of a bridge, while an auto filled with passengers (weighing about 5000 lbs) passed over.

According to Vic Boff, Steinborn could still squat 300 pounds even at 80-years old! Milo Steinborn, strongman, wrestler and visionary, died in 1989 at the age of 95.

Steinborn never had just one training program. He would vary his routines constantly and never had a set regimen. Here is one of the routines he followed.

Clean & Jerk
Snatch
One Arm Snatch
One Arm Clean & Jerk
Curls
Squats

Notes: Train consistently 2-3 days per week and add weight to the bar whenever possible and get lots of rest, eat good food and drink plenty of water.

Understand that to be successful in any weight training program – hard work is a must! Half-hearted effort does nothing for you. If you’re new to weight training or grossly out of shape, consult a physician first. End of disclaimer.

Old-Time Strength: Arthur Saxon

(This is the second in a series looking at old time strongmen and bodybuilders and the training methods and programs they followed. Note: The set, reps and weight used will be left out so you can tailor the program to fit your needs and strength levels.)

Famous before the turn of the nineteenth century, German Arthur Saxon was considered, at one time, to be the strongest man in the world. At 5-10, 204 pounds, Saxon personified the ideal of the strongman at the end of the 19th and into the early 20th century.

Mustachioed, muscular, and lean, Saxon performed feats of strength that men heavier and more muscular couldn’t come close to matching.

Saxon was able to snatch 193 lbs, military press 252 lbs (with no jerk or leg movement, heels together and after holding the weight at the chin for four seconds before pressing) and one-hand slow press (bent press) 370 lbs. Saxon also did something called the “double-handed anyhow” where he raised a 336 lb barbell overhead with his right hand and then bent over, picked up a ring weight weighing 112 lbs that he lifted to his shoulder and then overhead for a world record total of 448 lbs.

The 370 pound bent press (show below) was, and still is, a world record that has never been matched. Saxon served in World War I and apparently suffered greatly from malnutrition during the conflict. He attempted to carry on his strongman act at the end of the war, but this was almost impossible in his weakened condition. He never really recovered from the deprivations of the war, and grew weaker with unsuspected tuberculosis. It was because of this that he became an easy prey to pneumonia. Arthur Saxon eventually died from complications on August 6, 1921. He was only 43 years of age.

Like most of the old-timers, Saxon believed in working one-handed lifts just as much as two-handed. The bent press is hardly performed anymore with heavy weight, simply because it’s too damn hard! If you do try this workout, I suggest you eliminate the bent press or use very light weight.

Saxon never had just one training program. He would vary his routines constantly and never had a set regimen. Here is one of the routines he followed.

Overhead Press
One-Arm Press
Bent Press
Snatch
Cleans
One-Arm Snatch
One-Arm Clean & Jerk
Deadlift

Notes: Train consistently 2-3 days per week and add weight to the bar whenever possible and get lots of rest, eat good food and drink plenty of water.

Understand that to be successful in any weight training program – hard work is a must! Half-hearted effort does nothing for you. If you’re new to weight training or grossly out of shape, consult a physician first. End of disclaimer.

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