Nowadays, it seems like everybody goes to the gym, but that wasn’t always the case.
In the olden days, it used to be that just living your daily life made you stronger – hunting and gathering, farming, and other backbreaking physical labor were typical activities. But it wasn’t until the early 1900s that bodybuilding as a hobby or a method of sculpting one’s body became popular.
While many of these historical strongmen and bodybuilders’ feats still stand out today as impressive, others look like a guy you may have seen at the bar the other day.
1
An unknown bodybuilder flexes. Circa 1900.
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The manager of Eugen Sandow’s bodybuilding school, known as Mr. Eggleton. Circa 1905.
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A Russian bodybuilder poses for the camera. 1900.
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A Russian strongman plays tug-of-war. 1900.
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A strongman performs for a crowd in Paris, France. Circa 1900.
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William Murray, winner of the Sandow bodybuilding competition circa 1905.
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An unknown strongman shows off his back muscles.
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Strongman Gus Lasser bends an iron pipe using his mouth. 1920s.
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Lionel Strongfort, 1901
Lionel Strongfort, whose real name was Max Unger, was a German bodybuilder. He was known for his ‘human bridge’ act, where a car full of passengers would drive over a plank of wood balanced across his body.
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An advertisement for Lionel Strongfort's 'human bridge act'
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An advertisement for Strongfort’s fitness magazine.
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Strongman Tom Joyce resists the force of four men pulling a rope wrapped around his neck.
15
Katie Sandwina, 1895
Katie Sandwina, or ‘The Great Sandwina’ as she was most commonly known as, claimed the title of ‘The Strongest Woman in the World’ in the early 1900s. She performed many feats of physical strength and endurance in various appearances over the years.
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An advertisement for a performance by Katie Sandwina
20
Eugen Sandow, 1900
Eugen Sandow was known as the ‘father of bodybuilding.’ He helped stage the world’s first bodybuilding show in 1901. He believed in the ‘Grecian ideal’ and modeled his physique after classical Greek statues.
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A 1902 advertisement for Sandow's Magazine of Physical Culture
25
George Hackenschmidt, 1902
George Hackenschmidt was an Estonian strongman and professional wrestler. He was the first world heavyweight champion of professional wrestling. He is also credited with creating and popularizing hack squats.
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Charles Atlas, 1938
Charles Atlas was a bodybuilder best remembered for his incredibly successful marketing campaign which claimed he had transformed himself from a ‘97-pound weakling’ into a muscle-bound strongman. He developed the very successful bodybuilding program Dynamic Tension.
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A strongman lifts a dumbbell over his head. 1910.
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A strongman pulls a car with his teeth in Washington DC. 1921.
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A strongman attempts to break a chain with his bare hands. Date unknown.
