A Website Dedicated to the Study of Strength, Health, Fitness and Sport Across Centuries, Countries and Contests.
Conor's Note: For those who don't know, the late David Gentle was one of the foremost collectors and writers on physical culture and weightlifting. David was kind, considerate and incredibly generous in his dealings with others in the strength community. For many years he ran davidgentle.com, which unfortunately no longer exists. David's website contained many... Continue Reading →
That stone had lain in that place as long as the oldest traditions in the village could remember. And from time immemorial it had been the custom of the young men of the village to test their strength by lifting it …[i] Liam O’Flaherty, 1937. Simply titled, ‘The Stone’, Liam O’Flaherty’s short Irish story from... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VOE-8lZydw&list=PLOLn97IoZOb7WhKxje0uP7BYOB8QDbCr4 Continuing my love of old British Pathé videos is today's post on Harold 'the Champion Nail Breaker'. Based in Derbyshire, Harold's feats of strength and not only impressive but also shine a light on a by then disappearing trend in health and fitness. By the time of this video (1963), fewer and fewer individuals... Continue Reading →
Born in England in the early 1900s, Saxon Brown (real name Henry Brown) was briefly lauded during the 1930s as 'Britain's strongest youth' & 'the world's strongest young man'. Though his time in the physical culture spotlight was short lived, Brown's strength was immortalised thanks to the below British Pathé footage. Featuring a number of... Continue Reading →