Some men are strong, and some are muscular. However, Franco Columbu was both and left a huge legacy behind him. In Germany, he used to be a so-called powerlifter, which means he trained for strength & power. Franco’s story is a special one of emigrating to a country without speaking its language. He was born …
I checked the Internet, and every website uses Stock-Photos of Fitness-Models to explain the exercise. It’s a shame that nobody is making reference to its origin. I own many historical fitness magazines dated back to the 1900s, and what used to work in the past will work out today. The guys from the Golden Era, …
Recently I saw unbelievable before and after pictures of German bodybuilder Hubert Metz. At the left, he’s around 32 years old, and on the right, you see a 65-year-old and jacked Hubert Metz. Age is just a number, and Hubert proved it. He was able to maintain and conserve his whole muscle appearance over decades! In …
Franz Bach won the title of “Mr. Germany” in 1981 but to him, having a real-life job and working 12 hours a day was more important than bodybuilding. He was truly a hard-working German. Recently, I watched an emotional interview with Franz Bach at the Loaded Cup competition in 2015. The interviewer Matthias Botthof asked …
In 1968, Arnold Schwarzenegger deadlifted a record-breaking 310kg in Germany. I never cared about that record and never asked myself, ‘how long did the record last?’. One day, to escape boredom and motivate myself, I discovered a German magazine with a great story about the man who broke Arnold’s deadlift record. The story was called, …
I am collecting old magazines and digitalizing them on my computer; further, I am downloading a lot of old material from forums and paid-membership websites, so I have a ton of information. In this article, I want to compile all old-time bodybuilders who had an opinion about steroids and further talked about steroid abuse. Of …
Mathias Busse is a German photographer and journalist. He is doing an incredible job keeping the legacy of German bodybuilding history alive. In 2016, he went to the legendary gym Clocks Fitness in Gießen, Hessen. That gym produced some impressive giants, like Schlierkamp, Rühl, Roland, and a lot of Mr. Germany Champions. Says Gunter Schlierkamp, …
The YouTube video entitled “Arnold Schwarzenegger German Lesson” obtained just an incredible number of views. Arnold is counting in German: “One, two, three,” while Franco is benching. Then, Arnold said, “That’s enough for today.” Franco started laughing and couldn’t finish the bench press. Franco replied, “Du miststück” (“You son of a bitch”) and was able …
Currently, I am reading an old and historical magazine published by Albert Busek, a long-time friend of Arnold. That magazine consists of insightful and private content about Schwarzenegger’s thoughts, training and diet. Furthermore, it contains rare snapshots of Schwarzenegger, one of which shows him at Oktoberfest with bodybuilding legends Franco Columbo and Ed Corney, smiling …
Gabriel Wild is truly a fan of the classics. As a teenager, he avidly read and studied books by the German-Swiss author, Hermann Hesse. His passion for classical music such as Beethoven, Wild proved it by underlaying it with his posing routine. In the 70s and 80s the blond german bodybuilder was truly a star. …