Hail to the Dinosaurs!
We’ve been buried in feedback about the cover of my new book, Chalk and Sweat – which features a classic photo of John Davis lifting the legendary Apollon Wheels. It’s one of my all-time favorite photos – and it’s perfect for a book called Chalk and Sweat, because the bar is covered with chalk and John Davis is lathered in sweat.
There’s good reason for Davis to have been covered with sweat. The Apollon Wheels weighed 366 pounds and the axle that connected the wheels was just under 2 inches thick. So it was a solid bar with a 2-inch handle. Talk about your heavy, awkward objects!
Davis attempted to lift the Apollon Wheels on September 13, 1949. He tried to clean it three times – but missed each attempt.
He then tried lifting the Wheels with a reverse grip – one hand facing out and one hand facing in – and heaved it up – and when the Wheels were at chest height, he LET GO – and caught the bar with both hands in the correct grip for a standard clean and jerk,
He paused, gathered his strength, and jerked the Wheels overhead.
It was an incredible effort -- and it ranks as one of the greatest feats of strength of all time.
If you watch it on video, you can see that Davis almost passes out at the end of the lift.
That’s why I chose the photo – and that’s why it’s PERFECT for Chalk and Sweat!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Here’s the cover again – just look at the determination on John Davis’ face!
http://brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
