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| John Davis hits a heavy jerk - it looks like 400 or more pounds - at Muscle Beach. Davis used a Secret Weapon to build overhead strength when he trained at the old York Barbell Club Gym. |
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Back in the 1930's and 1940's, the old
York Barbell Club Gym on the second
floor of the Strength and Health build-
ing at 51 N. Broad Street in York, Pa.
was probably the most famous gym
in the world.
John Grimek trained there.
Steve Stanko trained there.
John Davis trained there.
Tony Terlazzo trained there.
All the York champions trained there.
And one of the things they did when
they trained was heavy partials.
It was so effective that they called it
"The Secret Weapon."
They rigged up two chains hanging
from the ceiling - and they used them
to do super heavy military press lock-
outs - and super heavy jerk supports.
Two men in particular worked extra
hard on these two movements.
One was John Davis.
The other was John Grimek.
Both men worked up to 800 or 900
pounds - sometimes even 1,000
pounds - on standing military press
lockouts and jerk supports.
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| Like John Davis, John Grimek did plenty of overhead supports and jerk lockouts with super-heavy weights while training at the old York Gym. |
Just picture that.
Davis standing there with 800 pounds
locked firmly overhead.
Then Grimek does the same.
And then they add more weight to the
bar - pushing it up all the way to an
even 1,000 pounds - half a ton.
Davis became the greatest weightlifter
of his generation - and the strongest
man in the world, as witnessed by his
two Olympic gold medals in the Heavy-
weight class in weightlifting.
He also, by the way, once saved a man's
life.
He was working in a garage. A jack
slipped and a co-worker was pinned
under a 3,00 pound truck.
Davis ran over - and shifted the truck up
and over just enough so they could pull
the man out from under it.
So yes, those heavy partials built some
serious strength.
Grimek won the Mr. America and Mr.
Universe titles - and was undefeated
in bodybuilding - and was undoubtedly
the top bodybuilder of his generation.
He was also no slouch in the strength
department. He set American records
in the military press - and even set two
unofficial World records in the press.
So there you have it.
The strongest man in the world - and
the top bodybuilder in the world - both
training on heavy partials.
I continue that tradition in my new
Dinosaur Strength and Power course -
which covers heavy partials - and gives
you three different workouts using them.
Go here to grab the little monster - and
train shoulder to shoulder with John Davis
and John Grimek:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurstrengthandpower-02.html
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
