This stately looking fellow is Thomas Inch. Thomas Inch was a prominent figure in physical culture. He was Britain’s Strongest Man and known as The Scarborough Hercules.
Thomas Inch was the greater of the famous “Inch Dumbbell” as well. From a young age he had the Brains, brawn and ambition to create a physical culture empire. Which he did.
Inch was born in 1881 in North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. He took to physical culture at a young age as he did a lot manual labor in his youth. He looked up to Eugen Sandow, much the same as many physical cultists and bodybuilders of the Bronze Era did.
Rumor has it that while attending a performance by Eugene Sandow, Thomas Inch caught a deck of cards the Sandow ripped in half. And Inch ripped it in half again then threw it back at Sandow while on stage.
Hilarious and cheeky. Anyway, Inch went on to write his first book Scientific Weightlifting in the early 1900’s. Then went on a world tour performing feats of strength, demonstrations and training clinics to build his brand and sell some books.
He also became the first Englishman to sell muscle building programs through the mail. This was a big hit and made Inch quite wealthy.
What is the Inch Dumbbell?
The Inch Dumbbell was a massive weight invented by Thomas Inch. It looked like two massive cannonballs connected by a beer can.
The bar is almost 3 inches thick, making it very hard to grip. Large hands help but exceptional grip strength is necessary to even have a chance.
The bar doesn’t rotate so you need grip strength from all angles and altitudes. This changes the lifting mechanics and bar path considerably. Even your weak points need to be strong. Very little leverage can be used with this legendary lift.
How much does the Inch Dumbbell weight?
The Inch Dumbbell is 172 pounds 9 ounces – that’s 78.25 Kg, or 12.35 stone.
What’s the Dumbbell made of?
Cast iron.
The Thomas Inch Dumbbell lift
A floor clean and press overhead.
Dumbbell One arm swings were used to train through sticking points and get used to the heavy poundage.
Who lifted the Inch Dumbbell?
- Thomas inch himself
- Mark Henry the WWE wrestler.
These are the only two people in the last 100 years to lift the Inch Dumbbell overhead. Many other victorian strongmen like George Hackenschmidt tried to hoist the massive bell but couldn’t muscle it u
How to lift the Thomas inch Dumbbell
First and foremost you must be brutally strong. And have the grip strength of a silverback gorilla. Let’s talk about that.
Grip strength
You must be able to lift the amount of weight with one hand to begin with. Then you need to be able to grip the Inch Dumbbell.
Most people couldn’t lift it off the ground, and if they could they’d drop it in a few seconds.
How to train your grip
There are a few ways to train your grip strength. We will just cover a few here and now. More later.
Train with an Axel bar, just like granddad used to hoist.
Alternatively, Fat Gripz are probably one of the best pieces of training equipment you can buy.
There are many other ways to improve grip strength such as, pinch work, finger lifts, wrist work (with emphasis on full flexion and contraction). Wrist curls, hammer curls, rope climbing. Rock climbing and bouldering are great grip builders as well.
For the ultra dedicated, you can get a Fingerboard pull up bar to build finger, wrist and hand strength.
Training philosophy
Lift heavy weights to develop the body to its best.
Nature knows best
Get plenty of fresh air, fresh water, and walking.
Go outside. Hike in nature. Get some sunshine on your skin. Get plenty of fresh air. Train in a well ventilated area. Open the windows if you work indoors. Dead air wont do you any favors. You need fresh air flow.
Drink a lot of fresh water. Mineral water is best. Naturally filtered by Earth’s perfect system. Well water is probably good in a pinch.
City water is better than nothing. Bottled water is ok. Opt for distilled water. Or mineral water in glass bottles is the best.
Be a multi sport athlete
Thomas Inch took a well rounded approach to training. Basically it boils down to: be athletic.
Engage in a few sports. Have one sport help the other.
This is true if you want more athleticism and overall suppleness. For example, basketball will develop lateral movement, balance and endurance.
Which will improve your lifting by increasing stability and muscles which are often neglected.
Lifting will give you strength and resilience to bang down low and scrap on the basketball court. You’ll wear your opponent down and resist injury
Boxing
Throw fisticuffs. Speed work.
Thomas Inch trained with the toughest boxers of the era. He helped them hit harder and move quicker. Sparing is great for the lungs and reflexes.
Hit the ball and hit the bag.
Run, skip rope to build endurance and wind.
Make sure you stretch to stay agile, nimble, and light on your feet. A wellrounded routine makes you supple and symmetrical.
Innovative Workouts and Training Techniques
Static holds. Negative reps and holding weights overhead for long periods of time. Dumbbell One arm swing. Bent press. Two by any way. Lifting humans three at a time.
Full muscle contractions. Maximum contraction holds and unwavering focus on concentration.
Thomas Inch Height and weight and Hand size
The records are unclear. If you know this information kindly let me know in the comments.
Professional accomplishments
Thomas Inch authored many books. He stared a Mail order fitness business that grew to a respectable size. It was one of the first and largest company of its kind for almost half a century. He was an entrepreneur and helped many people improve their health and life.
Some notable items Thomas Inch is credited with are:
Using weights to fix physical deformities. To improve breathing respiratory function.
Thomas Inch books
He wrote many books about strength and how to acquire it. Physical development of the body. And cultivation of willpower.
- Developing the Grip and Forearm
- The Art and Science of Lifting
- Scientific Weightlifting – Inch’s debut book.
- Thomas Inch On Strength
- Self Resistance Training – Strength training using body resistance and calisthenics.
- Strength Secrets
- Instructions on Advanced Exercises
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