Strongmen

                 

                       

                          Men with Mustaches and Biceps Stronger Than Your Entire Body

The term ‘strongmen’ was given to strength based athletes in the 19th and 20th century. The strength levels of these athletes was so high that their biceps were considered to be stronger than most athletes bodies. The best part of this, they never lifted weights to gain there strength levels. 

Some of the most famous strongmen of the 19th and 20th century were Charles Atlas, Arthur Saxon, William Bankier, Joe Greenstien, Eugen Sandow etc. 

These strongmen performed spectacular feats of strength that can’t be replicated today. For example Arthur Saxon holds a mind blowing record of bent pressing 175 kgs (385 lbs). William Bankier held a sandbag weighed at 475 kg in front of a live crowd. Joe Greenstien could break chains wrapped around his chest by expanding it. Charles Atlas could do a one- arm overhead press with 266 lb. Eugen Sandow could bent press an entire cow in front of a live crowd. 

These feats of strength was so spectacular that no modern day athletes using weight training to raise their strength levels will never be able to replicate it. This is mainly because weight training reduces your Range of motion and flexibility. The feats on strength displayed by these strongmen were the ultimate test of their bodyweight. Also, it’s worth noting that these strongmen simply used weight training as means to refine their skills rather than make it the sole basis of their training. The kind of training they performed instead gave them a foundation of strength that is almost rare these days. 

Calisthenics is what these strongmen used to train. This kind of training involved intense sessions that gave them a foundation of bodyweight strength that rendered them indestructible. 

Exercises in Calisthenics involved Pull-ups, Pushups, Squats, Dips, Planks etc. All these exercises helped them master their bodyweight that resulted in performing such feats of strengths. 

The strength levels were not the only mesmerizing aspect of these strongmen. They were also extremely athletic and flexible. William Bankier was nicknamed “The Scottish Hercules”. He created a variation of the almighty rope climbing exercise that resulted in him gaining phenomenal results. He could had immense athleticism.