Ancient strongmen. Unbroken records of Russian strongmen. Chan Buddhism and the culture of mental activity ... N. Abaev

"Russian means strong!" There has always been a cult of physical strength in Russia. It is no coincidence that the main heroes of folk legends were hefty heroes. There are too many strongmen in our history.

Kings and governors

Evpatiy Kolovrat

Evpatiy Kolovrat can be called the most powerful Russian governor. The "Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu" tells how Evpatiy and his squad entered into an unequal battle with the hordes of Mongol-Tatars "And Evpatiy beat them so mercilessly that the swords were dulled, and he took Tatar swords and whipped them."

Batu sent his best hero Khostovrul to deal with Evlampy. Kolovrat cut him in half to the saddle. Only with battering guns the Mongol-Tatars were able to defeat the Kolovrat squad, and Batu gave the body of the commander to the remnants of the squad for an honorable burial - a case unique for ancient Russian history.

Skopin Shuisky

Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky was the invincible commander of the Time of Troubles. He suppressed the Bolotnikov uprising, negotiated with the Swedes, began to reform the Russian army, but was poisoned by the daughter of Malyuta Skuratov because of the political intrigues of Dmitry Shuisky.

According to the descriptions of his contemporaries, Mikhail Vasilyevich was distinguished by his heroic build. Skopin-Shuisky's broadsword is kept in the historical museum. A heavy weapon for a very strong person.

Peter the Great

Peter the Great can be safely called the most powerful Russian tsar. His height was 204 centimeters, and his physical strength amazed contemporaries who had seen views.
Peter twisted coins with his fingers, rolled cast-iron pans "into a ram's horn", and personally checked the suitability of a horseshoe for his horse Lisette, breaking one after another. More than one folk tale has been composed about the power of Peter the Great.

Alexander III

Russian Emperor Alexander III had an outstanding physical strength... Since his youth, he did not like secular entertainment, preferring to balls and parties riding lessons and physical education. The brothers said about him: "Sashka is our Hercules."
The emperor had to use his force in an extraordinary situation. October 17, 1888, while returning from the Crimea, the famous crash of the imperial train took place. The roof of the carriage in which the family of Alexander III was located began to collapse.

The emperor took the falling roof on his shoulders and held it until his wife and children emerged safe and sound from the rubble. After the family was rescued, Alexander III did not hesitate and rushed to help other victims.

Wrestlers and strongmen

Grigory Rusakov

Kuryanin Grigory Rusakov became a world famous wrestler after his debut in Donbas, where he worked in a mine. After conquering Russia, Rusakov won the world championships in Argentina (1913) and Paris (1915).
Like other eminent fighters, he was personally freed by Nicholas II from military service.

But not everything was smooth in Rusakov's life. He was prosecuted three times in 1929, 1938, 1944.

Rusakov was also known for repeatedly engaging in demonstration fights with bears, bent horseshoes and rails, and once in London he won a bull fight.

Ivan Poddubny

Everyone knows who Ivan Poddubny is. This is the most famous Russian strongman, weightlifter, wrestler. It is interesting that Poddubny lost his first fight. This motivated him very much: he set himself a tough training regimen, exercised with two-pound kettlebells, a 112-kilogram barbell, gave up tobacco and alcohol, doused himself with cold water. Until the end of his life, he carried a cast-iron cane with him. He never lost again.

Conquered Poddubny and America. There he gathered full houses, competing according to the rules of American wrestling. From the United States, he actually fled, terminating the predatory contract and leaving the Americans the royalties due to him.

Towards the end of his life, Poddubny admitted that the only force that could overcome him was the women: “All my life, a fool, they have been knocking me out of the way.”

Ivan Zaikin

Ivan Zaikin is one of the most famous Russian strongmen. World wrestling champion, weightlifting champion, circus artist, one of the first Russian aviators.

Foreign newspapers called Zaikin "The Chaliapin of Russian Muscles." His athletic performances caused a sensation both in Russia and abroad. In 1908, during a tour in Paris, Zaikin shocked the audience by tearing any chains, bracelets and ties, bending metal beams.

Zaikin carried a 25-pound anchor on his shoulders, lifted a long barbell on his shoulders, on which ten people sat down, and began to rotate it (“live carousel”).

Georg Gackenschmidt

Georg Gakkenschmidt was called the "Russian lion" and "the most powerful man at the turn of the century." He was the World Wrestling Champion and the World Weightlifting World Record Holder.

Since childhood, Georg went in for sports, to strengthen his legs he practiced climbing a spiral staircase to the spire of the church with two-pound kettlebells. The merit that Gakk became a wrestler belongs to the "father of Russian athletics" Dr. Kraevsky - he convinced Georg that he could become the strongest in the world.

And Kraevsky was not mistaken - Gakk conquered Russia, Europe and America.

Gakk squeezed a barbell weighing 122 kg with one hand, squeezed a barbell weighing 145 kg on a wrestling bridge.

With his arms crossed on his back, Gaak lifted 86 kg from a deep squat. With a 50-pound barbell, the athlete squatted 50 times. Today this exercise is called the hack squat.

Peter Krylov

Pyotr Krylov was a strong man and a permanent winner of competitions for the best athletic figure. Even as a child, he chose his idol - athlete Emile Foss, who entered the arena in silk tights and leopard skin.

Krylov set several world records. In the "wrestling bridge" position, he squeezed 134 kg with both hands, 114.6 kg with his left hand. Bench press in the "soldier's stance": with his left hand 86 times in a row lifted a two-pound weight.

Krylov was called "the king of weights". He was the pioneer of spectacular stunts, which were then repeated by other athletes, and today by paratroopers: bending a rail on the shoulders, driving a car over the body, lifting a platform with a horse and rider.

Grigory Kashcheev

In this photo with prominent and far from small wrestlers, Grigory Kashcheev stands out for his height - 218 cm and his uniform is a simple blouse.

In 1906, Grigory Kashcheev first met world-class wrestlers and became friends with Zaikin, who helped him enter the big arena.

Soon Kashcheev put all the eminent strongmen on his shoulder blades, and in 1908, together with Poddubny and Zaikin, he conquered Paris at the World Championship.

Kashcheev's career, which began so brilliantly, did not work out - the wrestler became a downshifter, refused the most advantageous offers, dropped everything and went to his village to plow the land.

Alexander Zass

Alexander Zass was called the "iron Samson". He carried around the arena a horse or a piano with a pianist and dancer on the lid; I caught a 90-kilogram ball with my hands, which was fired from a circus cannon from a distance of 8 meters; tore off the floor and held in his teeth a metal beam with assistants sitting at its ends.

In the famous amusement ride Man-Projectile, Alexander Zass caught with his hands an assistant flying out of the muzzle of a circus cannon and describing a 12-meter trajectory over the arena.

In 1938, in Sheffield, in front of a gathering crowd, he was run over by a coal-laden truck. Samson stood up and, smiling, bowed to the audience.

Zass was one of the first to introduce training into his system isometric exercises... This allowed him to strengthen the tendons so that, with his low weight, he managed to set records that have not been broken so far.

Ivan Shemyakin

A two-meter giant, Ivan Shemyakin, in his first lesson at an athletic school, was able to push a barbell of only 72 kilograms with both hands, but this did not bother him. He began to train hard.

The training brought results: Shemyakin won the kettlebell competition of the Cycling and Athletic Society and took the third prize at the Russian Championship.

In 1908, in St. Petersburg, Shemyakin showed a unique power number - a metal beam was bent on his shoulder.

In 1913, participating in the world championship held in the St. Petersburg Circus "Modern", Ivan Shemyakin defeated the famous Ivan Zaikin, and the powerful, evil on the carpet, Nikolai Vakhturov, and took first place. Shemyakin also defeated other world-famous wrestlers, but his meetings with Ivan Poddubny always ended in a draw.

Ivan Lebedev

In 1916, Ivan Lebedev (the strongmen called him "Uncle Vanya") published the book "Guide how to develop your strength by exercising with heavy weights." Lebedev not only developed athletics and wrestling in Russia, but was himself a noble strongman. He studied with the same luminary of "Russian power" Vladislav Kraevsky.

Lebedev published the Hercules magazine and was the first promoter in Russia. His notes are interesting today.

Regarding the mode of life, he wrote: “ The human body does not tolerate constraints, but every excess is harmful. As for food, I strongly advise against eating meat: it introduces putrefactive decomposition products into your body and forms uric acid, which poisons the body. The basic rule of thumb for eating is to chew as slowly as possible. Drinking alcoholic beverages and smoking - I do not advise at all. Sleep - 7-8 hours. Dress without wrapping up or wearing warm underwear. Fresh air and water (showers or washings) - are necessary for every person who wants to be strong and healthy».

Vasily Alekseev

Vasily Alekseev is the last hero of the Soviet era. "Russian Bear" (as he was nicknamed by foreign fans) twice became the Champion Olympic Games, six times - World Champion, six times - European Champion, seven years held first place in the USSR championships.

During his sports career, Vasily Alekseev set 80 world records and 81 USSR records. He is also the "eternal" holder of the current world record for the amount three exercises- 645 kg (there are no competitions in this discipline now).

Vasily Alekseev competed with himself, setting new records in the championships from time to time. It was he who opened the era of "six hundred", the first to conquer the six hundred kilogram peak. From 1989 to 1992, Alekseev coached the national team of the country and the United Weightlifting Team. During his coaching none of the team members were injured. One of his devoted fans is Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Yuri Vlasov

Another genius Soviet weightlifter- "iron man" Yuri Vlasov. Olympic champion(1960), silver medalist of the Games (1964), 4-time world champion (1959, 1961-1963), 6-time European champion (1959-1964; in the non-Olympic years, the championships were held as part of the world championships), 5-time USSR champion (1959-1963). Yuri Vlasov set 31 world records and 41 USSR records (1957-1967).
Yuri Vlasov was twice the standard-bearer of the USSR delegation at the opening of the 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games.

Ivan Denisov

Let's move on to modern strongmen. Traditions kettlebell lifting in Russia are still strong today. One of the strongest kettlebell lifters in the world is a representative of the Chelyabinsk kettlebell lifting school Ivan Denisov - an international master of sports. Ivan Denisov is a multiple Champion of Russia, Europe and the World, multiple champion of Russia, Europe and the World.

In 2005, at the World Championships in Moscow, Denisov set absolute world records in clean and jerk equal to 175 lifts and 281 points in biathlon. Previously, the records belonged to Sergei Mishin and have been unchanged for over ten years.

Alexander Karelin

"San Sanych" Karelin at birth weighed 6.5 kilograms, at the age of 13 he was 178 cm tall and weighing 78 kilograms. Already 4 years after joining the section, Karelin became the world champion among youth.

For his sports career the wrestler collected all kinds of titles, won 887 fights, lost only two times. I took Olympic gold, 9 times became world champion, 12 times - European champion, 13 times took gold at the championships of the USSR, CIS and Russia. Alexander Karelin was awarded the Golden Belt four times as the best wrestler on the planet.

On February 20, 1999, Karelin had a duel with the Japanese fighter Akira Maeda. "Russian Bear" used only his own arsenal in the ring Greco-Roman wrestling... At the beginning of the fight, Maeda managed to carry out several kicks, but not even a minute had passed before he turned into a training dummy for practicing throws.

Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor Emelianenko, " the last Emperor”Has remained undefeated for almost ten years, which is unprecedented in the history of MMA.

Emelianenko - four-time world champion in MMA in heavyweight according to Pride FC, two-time - according to RINGS, two-time - according to WAMMA, four-time world champion and seven-time Russian champion in combat sambo... Honored Master of Sports in Sambo and International Master of Sports in Judo.

Vladimir Gilyarovsky

Another Russian strongman from literature is Vladimir Gilyarovsky.

At sixteen, he ran away from home. Having walked two hundred kilometers on foot from Vologda to Yaroslavl, he hired a burlak artel. At first, the barge haulers doubted whether to take the boy, but Gilyai possessed tremendous physical strength, pulled a nickle from his pocket and easily rolled it into a tube.

Mikhail Chekhov recalled the first visit of “Uncle Gilyai” to Chekhov’s house: “He immediately began to speak with us, invited us to feel his iron muscles in his arms, rolled a penny into a tube, rolled a teaspoon with a screw”.

Two athletes enter the arena. They have powerful torsos and huge fists. Even in appearance, one can say that they are real heroes. Each of them has a bronze helmet on their heads, and thick bandages cover their ears to protect them from blows. The fighters do not have leather boxing gloves, but their arms are braided up to the elbows with belts made of thick bovine leather. There are hard knots and even lead plates on the belts. This makes the blows especially dangerous.

The fight could be fought until one of the rivals falls dead or admits himself defeated. Usually, the fighters did not retreat in front of each other and did not defend themselves: it was believed that it was unworthy of a man to evade blows. Defeat in battle was considered a shame. Therefore, the Spartans who participated in all other competitions never performed in fist fights... It was not always possible to count on victory, and the debt of honor did not allow the Spartan to admit he was defeated.

For many hours in a row, the soldiers stood under the scorching sun, exchanging blows. Any such blow could have knocked down a bull. But the athletes seemed to be petrified, they do not even show that they are in pain, that their consciousness is about to leave them. Victory often depended on the composure and fortitude of the fighter.

Almost not a single fist fight in Olympia ended well. The victors and the vanquished left the arena in bruises and bruises, with folded jaws and broken ribs.

Here is an epigram dedicated to the famous fist fighter of the time, Stratophone:
“Odysseus, when he returned after twenty years of absence to the fatherland, was recognized by his dog Argos. You, Stratophone, after four hours of fistfighting become unrecognizable not only for dogs, but for the whole city. And if you thought to look in the mirror, you would have cried out: "No, I'm not a Stratophone!"

The most famous fist fighters in ancient times were the strongmen from the city of Crotona. Thirteen Olympic winners have emerged from this city located in southern Italy. No wonder they said that the last of the Crotons is equal to the first among the other Greeks.

Milon of Crotonsky was especially famous for his strength - sixfold Olympic winner... He could, for example, take an apple in his palm, and “and one strong man could not open his fingers, despite the fact that he held the apple so gently that it remained intact. When Milo stood on the stone disc, there was no person who could move him, although the disc was oiled.

At that time, there was a custom: a statue was erected to the winners of the Olympic Games. They say that when the statue of Milo-on of Crotonsky was cast from bronze, the athlete himself put it on his shoulders, brought it to Altis and installed it on a pedestal.

Only one person could argue with Milo by force. It was the Thessalian Polydamus. He was also given a statue at Olympia, and his exploits were depicted on the bas-reliefs.

Somehow the Persian king Darius heard about the extraordinary power of Polydamas. He sent an embassy to Greece, which he ordered to bring the strong man to his palace. Polydamus came to Asia and there, in front of the king's eyes, one after another, he defeated the three most powerful giants from the army of Darius in a fist fight.

Famous people also took part in wrestling competitions and fist fights. the ancient world- scientists, writers. He won the fight more than once famous philosopher Plato. The great mathematician of antiquity Pythagoras, before becoming famous for his famous theorem, received recognition from his compatriots for courage and fortitude in fist fights.

The spectators filling the stadium at Olympia are not; have witnessed interesting spectacles. Wrestling and fistfights gave way to pankration. This was the name of the duel in which the techniques of wrestling and fist fighting were used. In its cruelty, pankration even surpassed fistfights. The victory in pankration was considered difficult, but the most honorable. But especially great honors were enjoyed by athletes who managed to win two victories at once: in a fist fight and in pankration. There were only a few such people in the history of the Olympic Games. Their names were entered into special lists and glorified throughout Greece.

One of the most famous fist fighters was the strong man Diagoras from Rhodes. In 464 BC, he was crowned with the victor's olive wreath. Diagora's three sons and two grandchildren have also won Olympic Games more than once.

When Diagoras was a deep old man, his sons again became famous for victories in fist fights and pankration. In the midst of the celebration, they went up to their father, crowned his gray head with palm branches and, lifting him on their shoulders, carried him through the parting crowd.

People shouted enthusiastically:
- Die, Diagoras, die! For you have nothing more to desire, unless you ascend to the gods on Olympus during your lifetime.

And the heart of the old athlete could not stand it: Diagoras died of happiness.

Train like an old school strongman. Iron, muscle and mustache - in our review

The Russian strongman of the early 20th century, Alexander "Samson" Zass, bent iron bars and wore a stage with a piano and dancers on his shoulders. His contemporary Pyotr Krylov smashed stones with his bare hands. “And if one doesn’t believe that the stone is real, turn your head up - let’s try it on it,” he encouraged the audience.

the site understood how the strongmen of tsarist Russia trained, and at the same time found those who train according to the methods of the "old school" in the 21st century.

HISTORY

The date of birth of Russian athletics, according to tradition, is considered August 10, 1885. On this day, a club of athletic amateurs began its existence in St. Petersburg. It was created for the apartment editor Vladislav Frantsevich Kraevsky (who would later be called "the father of athletics in Russia"). Kraevsky saw in exercises with weights a remedy for all diseases. He filled the apartment with weights and barbells, equipped the bars and rings for training. On the opening day of the mug strength exercises weightlifting was demonstrated by a circus strongman from Berlin Charles Ernst.

STRONG TRICKS

The habitat of the strongmen was traditionally a circus. Spectators were surprised by unprecedented numbers. The strongman Ivan Zaikin, a native of the Simbirsk peasants, carried an anchor of 25 pounds (409 kg) on ​​his shoulders, bent iron beams on his own. Muscovite Pyotr Krylov, a former navigator of the merchant fleet, sat in the wrestling bridge - they were hoisted on it wooden platform, where the car was driving. According to legend, Krylov could break stones with his bare fists.

A strongman from Saransk, Alexander Zass, later nicknamed Samson, carried a horse around the arena and held a whole stage with his teeth on a leather belt, on which a piano and several people stood.

Power numbers alternated with gathering. Ivan Zaikin met Ivan Poddubny 15 times: at the world championship in Paris, they fought for 66 minutes without a break. Zaikin lost 10 fights. Five managed to draw - for other wrestlers who bypassed Poddubny, this was tantamount to a miracle.

STRENGTH TRAINING

The 1916 book "Weightlifting", written by the athlete Ivan Lebedev (aka the legendary strongman "Uncle Vanya"), gives such training recommendations.

You should start the morning with light gymnastics - running on the spot (3-5 minutes), stretching the rubber (it was a kind of analogue of our resistance bands) - 10 minutes, and doing light dumbbells for 10 minutes. Then - a walk for 1-2 hours, and sometimes from a step you need to cross the raid. In the afternoon - classes on rings or uneven bars (if there are no bars, the author advises to put two chairs and do push-ups on them). In the evening - a hard workout with kettlebells, one hour. The weight of the kettlebells is not the maximum: if you can squeeze a maximum of 72 kg, start with 32 kg and increase the weight to 56, Lebedev writes. Increase the weight a little at each session. Break the exercises into days: on one day, standing and lying down, on the other, pushing and jerking. Add squats and curls to every workout.

Of course, for such a regime, the athlete must be free all day, the author sums up.

The magazine "Hercules" No. 14 of 1915 tells about the training of Georg Gakkenschmidt, who became the prototype of the future bodybuilders. Gackenschmidt or "Hack" generally avoided light dumbbells, and devoted most of his time to squats with a barbell.

The collapsible barbell we know existed today, but squat racks weren't invented yet. Therefore, the barbell was first placed vertically, the athlete sat down under it, put the bar on his shoulders, and only then got up into the squatting position. He used the same scheme to shoot the barbell.

NUTRITION OF THE STRONGER

Ivan Lebedev advises strong men to avoid meat: "It brings putrefactive decomposition products into your body." He also recommends eating more eggs and drinking more warm milk with sugar. “Drinking alcoholic beverages and smoking is not at all advisable. Sleep - 7-8 hours. Dress without wrapping up or wearing warm underwear. "

Dr. Krajewski, who took care of the young Georg Gakkenschmidt, on the contrary, fed him large quantities of meat broth. A plate of broth, writes Hercules magazine, was cooked from 6-7 pounds of meat (about 3-3.5 kg). In broth, coupled with the base strength training"Gakk" literally in three months grew 12 centimeters in his chest and began to resemble a statue of Hercules Farnese in its appearance, the newspaper adds.

MODERN STRENGTHS

Petersburg resident Victor Blud is the creator of the show "Strongmen of the Old School", which reproduces the tricks of the athletes of Tsarist Russia and supplements them with new ones.

At the heart of these old-school athletes are hard, basic exercises, and it's important to replicate them with the desire to work, says Blud, who juggles kettlebells, bends nails, tears books, and lifts people in his performances.

Several years ago, during a show, he severely cut his hand when he bent a 300 mm nail, but that did not stop him: Victor Blud's signature trick is to roll a heart out of a nail and present it to a female viewer.

The hardest tricks are those that require a lot of special equipment to be found. Recently we did a trick with "stretching motorcycles", and in the future I would like to try to pull a train or tram, to lift an elephant, - says Victor Blud.

a source: " Soviet sport»

Tokov, Kunchenko and Krylov will fight with the Brazilians. Who to root for this week in MMA This weekend in Ancasville and Brasilia will be the Bellator 241 and UFC Fight Night 170 tournaments. The Tokov brothers, Alexey Kunchenko and Nikita Krylov, will perform at these shows. 03/12/2020 12:00 MMA Sergey Vaschenko

“There were 200 thousand infected in Odessa, the Chernomorets team was isolated, and the city was surrounded by troops.” Sovetsky Sport observer Yevgeny Lovchev recalled the cholera epidemic in Odessa in 1970, and told how the USSR championship was held then. 03/29/2020 17:00 Football Volokhov Yuri

Russia is the favorite at the Beijing 2022 team tournament. Over the year, ours have become even stronger. A year ago, "Soviet Sport" already held a virtual rehearsal of the Olympic team tournament. Checking: how has the balance of power changed over the past season? 03/24/2020 16:00 Figure skating Tigai Lev

Towards each other. Rublev and Khachanov started the tournament in Rotterdam with a victory Russians Andrei Rublev and Karen Khachanov embroidered in the second round of a major ATP tournament in Holland. Rublev defeated the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, Khachanov defeated the Italian Fabio Fonini. 02/11/2020 20:30 Tennis Mysin Nikolay

The audience did not understand much about the specifics weightlifting- forms, technique or exact weight... They were interested in more practical questions:

Can you carry the horse on your shoulders?
And break the chain with your chest?
And what about withstanding a car driving up your neck?
How about lifting the baby elephant up the stairs?

Each strongman tried to develop his own specialization in order to stand out.

John Holtum became famous for catching 23 kg cannonballs. (On the first try, he lost three fingers.)

Alexander Zass ("The Amazing Samson" or "Iron Samson") was famous for his masterly bending of steel bars. This talent is said to have helped him escape from Austrian captivity during the First World War. Once, Alexander Zass carried a horse wounded under him from the battlefield on his shoulders.

Sigmund Breitbart could hammer a railroad spike with his bare hands through five 2.5 cm thick oak planks. In his final show, he accidentally pushed the fasteners into his leg, resulting in fatal blood poisoning.

The spectacular performances have inspired many followers. The training systems that were developed and marketed by such famous strongmen as Evgeny Sandov formed the basis of modern bodybuilding, which now eliminates the exciting risk of death or self-harm.

The origins of bodybuilding in retro photography, 1890s-1940s:

1897. Russian wrestler Georg Gakkenschmidt pulls the rope.

1894. Eugene Sandov in the pose of a Greek statue, whose physique he called to imitate.

1896. Evgeny Sandov posing on a bicycle.

"My exercise is no less regular than sunrise."
Evgeny Sandov, 1924.

1893. Evgeny Sandov demonstrates his physique in the studio.

1900. Strongman Evgeny Sandov - the founder of modern bodybuilding.

1920. Galen Goch under the wheels of a car prepares for the World Strongman Championships in New York.

1925. Greek boxer and strongman Just Lessis bends an iron bar around his neck.

1925. Circus strongman Stefan demonstrates his strength by dragging a car through the streets of Berlin with his teeth.

1927. Edward Rees demonstrates his strength. He supports four actresses by hanging between two chairs.

1927 K. Attenborrow of the Royal Horse Guards was considered the strongest man in the British army. In the photo, he is holding a friend with one outstretched hand.

1935. Garry Swansea Pelta, 21, is a 21-year-old tailor named Welsh Strongest Man.

1927. Edward Rees holds the weight of two women with his teeth.

August 1, 1930. " Strong boy"Lewis Clark showcases his back muscles.

May 28, 1932. 14-year-old "Samson Boy" supports a 91-kg motorcycle and biker.

June 3, 1932. J. Rolleano carries the weight of a Citroen as it rides across his chest.

June 3, 1932. J. Rolleano pulls a truck with his teeth.

February 26, 1932. Tom Joyce declared himself the strongest man in Bristol. Here's how he demonstrates his power: four men pull on a rope wrapped around his neck.

August 1, 1934. "The Strongest Man in the World" Samson Brown lets a motorcycle ride over his body.

August 14, 1934. Joe Price nails the ad with a 23 kg hammer.

September 20, 1941. 60-year-old British soldier lifts 227 kg (two people plus a barbell).

March 18, 1935. London strongman George Challard allows a partner to bend a piece of iron around his neck.

People who differ from the majority inevitably attract the attention of others, especially if they are distinguished by physical strength.
Bogatyrs have always been held in high esteem by all peoples: defenders of their native land, fighters for truth, warriors of good. And the root of this word in Russian hints at a gift from above, from God.

HANS STEIER (Bavaria, 1849-1906), standing on two chairs, raised 16 pounds with his middle finger (threaded into a ring). His "live horizontal bar" was a success with the audience: with his straight arms, Steyer held a 70-pound barbell (31.7 kg) in front of him, on the bar of which he did gymnastic exercises his son, who weighed 90 pounds (40.8 kg).
Steyer was famous for his eccentricity. His cane weighed 40 pounds (18 kg), the snuff box, which he held in the palm of his hand, weighed 100 pounds (45 kg). Sometimes he put a top hat weighing 75 pounds (34 kg) on ​​his head and, when he came to a cafe, left it on the table, then asked the waiter to bring his top hat (Recall: 1 pound Russian = 409 g; commercial pound = 453 g; 1 pood = 16.38 kg).

At the beginning of the 17th century, the athlete TOM TOFAN was very popular in England. Of medium height, proportionally folded, he easily tore stones weighing up to 24 pounds (393 kg) off the ground with his hands, tied an iron poker around his neck like a scarf, and in 1741, in a square crowded with spectators, lifted it with the help of shoulder straps. three barrels of water weighing 50 poods (819 kg).

In 1893, a competition for the title of "world champion in weight lifting" was held in New York. The strongest athletes of that time came to the competition. Louis Cyr came from Canada, and Evgeny Sandov came from Europe. American James Walter Kennedy twice lifted an iron core weighing 36 pounds 24.5 pounds (almost 601 kg), tearing it off the platform by 4 inches. None of the athletes could repeat this number. The set record turned out to be fatal for the 33-year-old athlete: he overstrained and after that was forced to perform only with a demonstration of muscles. The athlete died at 34.

SERGEY ELISEEV

The world record holder, Russian athlete Sergey Eliseev, took a 61 kg kettlebell in his right hand, lifted it up, then slowly lowered it on a straight arm to the side and held his hand with the kettlebell in a horizontal position for several seconds. Three times in a row he pulled out two loose two-pound weights with one hand.

IVAN PODDUBNY

Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny ("champion of champions", 1871-1949) had great physical strength. They say that on one outstretched arm he could hold three people. Without training specifically in athletic numbers, he lifted the biceps - cleanly, without chitting - 120 kg! His wrestling career was very long - at 66 he was still on the carpet. Despite the fact that he met with the strongest wrestlers of his time, he died without ever having been on the shoulder blades. The total weight of the medals received is over 2 pounds.

The huge success of the Estonian strongman world champion Georg Lurich was brought not only by records, but also by the harmony and beauty of the physique. He has posed more than once for such sculptors as Rodin and Adamson. The sculpture of the latter "Champion" won the first prize at the 1904 World Exhibition in America.
In the arena, Lurich showed the following numbers: standing on the wrestling bridge, he supported four men, and at that time he was holding a barbell of 7 pounds. He held five people on one hand, held two camels with his hands, pulling in opposite directions. Raised right hand a barbell of 105 kg and, holding it at the top, he took a 34 kg weight from the floor with his left and lifted it up.

IVAN MIKHAILOVICH ZAIKIN (1880-1949)

The famous Russian athlete, wrestler, one of the first Russian pilots. Zaikin's athletic numbers caused a sensation. Foreign newspapers wrote: "Zaikin is the Chaliapin of Russian muscles." In 1908 Zaikin toured Paris. After the athlete's performance in front of the circus on a special platform, the chains broken by Zaikin, an iron beam bent on his shoulders, "bracelets" and "ties" tied by him from strip iron were displayed on a special platform. Some of these exhibits were acquired by the Parisian Cabinet of Curiosities and were displayed along with other curiosities. Zaikin carried a 25-pound anchor on his shoulders, lifted a long barbell on his shoulders, on which ten people sat, and began to rotate it ("live carousel"), an I-beam was bent on his shoulders.

GRIGORY KASHCHEEV

This man was of tremendous strength. Almost a fathom height (218 cm), Kashcheev, if he were a foreigner, would earn a lot of money, surpassing all foreign giants in strength. In 1906, he met world-class wrestlers for the first time. He made friends with Zaikin, who helped him enter the big arena. Soon Kashcheev put all the eminent strongmen on his shoulder blades, and in 1908, together with Poddubny and Zaikin, he went to Paris for the World Championship. Our heroes returned to their homeland with victory. It seemed that Kashcheev's real wrestling career had begun, but he still gave up everything and returned to his village.

IVAN SHEMYAKIN (1877-1952)

In 1905, huge posters were displayed on the streets of Paris announcing that "The terrible Russian Cossack Shemyakin lifts six Japanese with one hand." The posters were wrong about one thing: although Ivan was dressed in a Cossack costume, he did not belong to this brave tribe. Actually, this was his first overseas tour, and it was a triumph. For several evenings in a row, along with athletic numbers, he demonstrated a power trick on a topical topic (after all, the Russian-Japanese war was in full swing), with one hand he lifted six uniformists dressed in Japanese suits.

Louis Cyr - The American Miracle, (1863-1912).
This strongest man on the American continent was striking in his size. With a height of 176 cm, he weighed 133 kg, chest volume 147 cm, biceps 55 cm. Curious is the case of 22-year-old Louis in Montreal, where he served as a policeman: once he brought two hooligans to the police station, holding them under his arms. After this incident, at the insistence of friends, he began to develop strength and perform with athletic numbers, in which he did not know competitors for a long time. He lifted 26 pounds (425.8 kg) to his knees with one hand, lifted a platform with 14 adult men on his shoulders. He held in front of him on outstretched arm for 5 seconds a weight of 143 pounds (64.8 kg).

FRENCH ATHLETE APOLLO (Louis Yuni) lifted five weights of 20 kg each with one hand. He lifted a barbell weighing 165 kg with a bar, 5 cm thick.Only 20 years after Apollo this bar (axle from the trolley) was able to lift the champion of the 1924 Olympic Games Charles Rigulo, who, by the way, holds the world record in snatch with his right hand - 116 kg ... In the famous "release from the cage" trick, Apollo pushed the thick rods apart with his hands and left the cage.

EVGENY SANDOV

Evgeny Sandov (Frederick Miller, 1867-1925) enjoyed immense popularity among the British. He was called "the magician of the pose" and "the strongest man". Weighing no more than 80 kg, he set a world record by squeezing 101.5 kg with one hand. I did a back somersault, holding 1.5 poods in each hand. Within four minutes, he could do 200 push-ups on his hands. In 1911, King George V of England awarded Sandow the title of professor of physical development.
A golden statuette depicting Sandova was presented to the winner
athletic competition in 1901 (now it is awarded to the winner of the "Mr. Olympia"). In 1930, one of his many books, "Bodybuilding", was published, giving the sport its name in all English-speaking countries.

ALEXANDER IVANOVICH ZASS

Russian athlete, better known as Samson, or Iron Samson.
Some of his accomplishments include:
Suspended from a crane with one foot, he held a metal beam with his teeth while he was moved to the top of the building with a crane. A 300-kg horse carried about half a kilometer. He carried the piano with the pianist and dancer on the lid. Lying with his bare back on a board studded with nails, he held a 500 kg stone on his chest, on which those who wished from the public beat them with sledgehammers. Passing the shin of one leg through the loop of the rope, fixed under the dome of the circus, he held in his teeth a platform with a piano and a pianist. I caught with my hands a 9-kilogram cannon that flew out of the circus cannon from 8 m. I tore it off the floor and held in my teeth a metal beam with assistants sitting at its ends. In the famous amusement ride "Projectile Man" I caught with my hands an assistant flying out of a circus cannon and describing a 12-meter trajectory over the arena. Tore apart the links of the chains with my fingers; hammering nails into 3-inch boards with his bare palm, and then pulling them out, grabbing the cap with his index finger.

GEORG GAKKENSHMIDT ("Russian Lion") - world champion in wrestling and world record holder in weightlifting, squeezed a barbell weighing 122 kg with one hand. He took 41 kg dumbbells in each hand and spread his straight arms horizontally to the sides. He squeezed a barbell weighing 145 kg on the wrestling bridge. With his arms crossed on his back, Gaak lifted 86 kg from a deep squat. Today this exercise is known as "gaak-exercise" or simply "gaak". Already 82, Gackenschmidt jumped over the rope stretched over the backs of two chairs, pushing off the floor with both legs at the same time.

JAKUBA CHEKHOVSKAYA

In 1913, at weightlifting competitions in Petrograd, in the former Mikhailovsky arena, athlete Yakub Chekhovskoy demonstrated a sensational power trick - he carried six soldiers of the Guards regiment in a circle on one arm, for which he was awarded an honorary "golden belt". This record number has not yet been repeated by any athlete in the world. Chekhovskoy himself demonstrated it constantly in his speeches. Other numbers of the athlete are no less surprising. Making the "bridge", Yakub Chekhovskoy was carrying ten people. A platform was installed on his chest, which housed a brass band of 30 musicians. On the shoulders of the athlete, 40 people bent an I-beam. 3 trucks with the public were driving through his chest. During his service in the hussar regiment he carried a horse weighing 400 kg on his shoulders.

PETER KRYLOV ("The King of Weights").

One of the strongest athletes at the beginning of our century. His love for the circus made him change the profession of navigator of the merchant marine to the profession of an athlete. The path of a young strong man was not easy. At first, he performed in booths, traveled to fairs in provincial cities, where several times a day he not only showed athletic performances, but also wrestled on belts with amateurs from the public. Soon the name of Krylov becomes famous - he begins to perform in large circuses, where his performances are used huge success... Along with the demonstration of power tricks, Krylov performed in French wrestling championships and won prizes, and in competitions for the best athletic figure he invariably received first prizes.
Peter Krylov has set several world records. In the "wrestling bridge" position, he squeezed 134 kg with both hands, 114.6 kg with his left hand. Press in a soldier's stance with the left hand of a two-pound kettlebell - 86 times in a row. He created a number of athletic numbers that have become widespread: bending the rail on the shoulders, driving a car over the body of an athlete. Was a passionate propagandist physical culture... He lectured on athletic sports.

NIKOLAY VAKHTUROV

Nizhny Novgorod hero.
"Nikolai Vakhturov! - and from the" parade ", smiling affectionately, the colossal figure of the Nizhny Novgorod hero appears ponderously. A reckless Russian fighter who breaks everyone who falls into his arms. Even a very restrained parterre bursts into applause, which turns into a real storm in the gallery, "wrote the Hercules magazine (1913) about him.
Sometimes Vakhturov demonstrated power tricks: he unbend horseshoes, carried a load weighing 24 pounds, and threw a two-pound weight over a railway carriage.
This is how the world champion, student of Ivan Poddubny, Nikolai Vakhturov, entered the history of Russian sports.

WILLIAMS MOHOR-ZNAMENSKY (Alexander Znamensky, 1877-1928), Moscow.

A professional circus athlete, performed record power numbers: he did somersaults with two-pudoviks in each hand, carried a grand piano with a taper on his back, held a platform with an orchestra on his chest, pressed 132 kg from a wrestling bridge, squeezed two two-pudoviks with his right hand, placing them one on top of the other. Contained a paid arena. He had an attractive appearance and a powerful figure: height 170 cm, weight 88 kg, rib cage 118cm, waist 82cm, neck 46, biceps 43, calves 40, thigh 61cm.

VLADISLAV PYTLYASINSKY (1863-1933), Petersburg, Warsaw.

A pupil of Kraevsky, he himself became a professional trainer - in 1898 he opened a paid athletic school in St. Petersburg, and in 1911 - in Odessa. Successfully performed in international championships wrestlers and athletes. He achieved high results for those times: he squeezed 98 kg with his right hand, pushed with two 115 kg without tying, pulled out two two-pound kettlebells with one hand, squatted with a weight of 175 kg. His measurements in 1903: height 184 cm, weight 105 kg, biceps 44 cm, neck 46, chest 128, thigh 69, calves 44 cm.

In 1807, in a battle with the Turks, Captain D.A. Lukin, nicknamed "Russian Hercules" in the Navy. Eyewitnesses describe his victory with 12 sailors over a crowd of several hundred people. He easily broke horseshoes, could hold pood kernels in outstretched hands, and pressed nails into the wall with his finger.

"Petersburg leaf" dated July 3, 1893, wrote about a certain Ivan Chekunov, who, in the presence of a crowd of people, freely lifted an anvil weighing 35 poods (560 kg).