John Y. Smith
John Y. Smith Bent Presses a 185 lb. dumbbell
|
It was April 22nd, 1866 when the great strongman John Y. Smith was born. Though not a large man - (5'6" and 165 lbs. in his prime), he
possessed tremendous strength in his hands and forearms.
While, it certainly was not unusual for old time strongmen to possess
greater-than-average grip and forearm strength, John Y. Smith stood head and shoulders above many of his contemporaries in that department.
In 1926 he won the "Strongest Man in New England Contest" which was held on the playing field of the Boston Braves.
The contested lifts included:
two hands continental jerk
two hands continental press
two hands dead lift
right and left hands dead lift
Smith won the contest by 15 pounds.
Sometime in 1903 at around 31 years of age, he was said to have picked up a 220 lb. barbell in his right hand, a 200 lb barbell in his left hand and with these
two weights walked 75 yards!
If this feat doesn't sound all that tough, consider that the diameter of each barbell was 1.5 inches. He was also said to have
been able to hang by one hand from a manila climbing rope while holding a 100 pound dumbbell in the other hand.
In several of the old time strength magazines, it was reported that from his years of heavy grip work that he possessed
hands that resembled "Iron Claws" because the tendons and sinews were so pronounced.
Aside from his grip feats, Smith was very proficient in other lifts as well. He was a tremendous bent-presser with a lift of 275.5 lbs.
(performed at a bodyweight of 160 lbs.) He also lifted a 1640 lb. block of iron in a "hand and thigh" set-up and could overhead
press a pair of dumbbells totaling 225 lbs.
|
