William Bankier Workout and Diet (The Scottish Hercules)

William Bankier was born in Banff Scotland on December 10th 1870. Bankier was a strongman making a name for himself as one of the greatest Bronze Era bodybuilders to ever walk planet Earth. Mr. Bankier became a prominent figure in physical culture.

He ran away from home at age 12 to join the circus were he worked as a stage hand setting up the tents and doing odd jobs to keep the circus running.

Hammering stakes into the ground with a sledgehammer. Carrying metal rods, and rails, and beams. Not to mention all the equipment it takes to run a grand Carnival style production. Manual labor built his foundation from head to toe.

His dad tracked him down and brought him back home where he stayed for a little while until he ran away again and joined a merchant ship.

More hard work as a deckhand hoisting the mast, carrying crates full of spices and trinkets, building, repairs, and maintaining a ship. life on the high seas navigating treacherous water, fighting pirates, etc. will really make a man out of you.

Anyway, he shipwrecked somewhere near Montreal or Quebec in Canada, where he found work as a farm hand.

One thing is for sure this kid had a sense of adventure. And wasn’t afraid of hard work and earning his keep.

These manual labor jobs taught Bankier disciple and molded his body into an absolute Unit. strengthened and hardened his physique building the foundation that would one day become the strongest man on Earth.

By the time he was 15 years old he was billed as a strongman act in Porgie O’Brien’s Road Show.

He got his break as a showman because the headliner strongman would get too drunk to perform. So William Bankier would step in and give the crowd a show. The audience enjoyed his show so much that he got main job.

William Bankier took the stage name Carl Clyndon and was billed as The Canadian Strong Boy.

And he got to work.

He trained in wrestling and integrated it into his act. The origins of the WWE perhaps.

Bankier joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and toured the World for a bit performing stories and stunts.

He continued his aggressive resume building as a talent with the Ginnett Circus. Then he moved again this time to the Bostock Circus. It was here that he really hit his stride.

William Bankier feats of Strength

Now back in his element at the traveling circus, The Scottish Hercules performed incredible strongman feats of strength such as lifting a fucking elephant off the ground. He lifted a 3,500 pound beast off the ground with his raw strength.

He would balance on the back of chairs while holding a grown ass man overhead with one hand while juggling pool balls with the other.

He’d then perform a backward somersault over a bench while holding a 56-pound weight in each hand.

Another popular routine dubbed the “Tomb of Hercules” had Bankier support a baby grand piano with a six-person orchestra and a dancer on top of it.

Last but not least, Bankier would end his performance by offering cash to the audience member who could carry a sack weighing 475 pounds off the stage.

Bankier hustled the shit out of those folks. Never having to pay out since no-one could make the bag budge much more than an inch.

William Bankier’s Workout

Kettlebells were popular training tools in the Bronze Era of bodybuilding. In fact, bells of all kinds were popular among old school strongmen.

Kettlebells in particular have recently had a resurgence due to their ability to sculpt muscle and build strength.

It’s safe to say Bankier trained with kettlebells because history quoted his saying, “Not a single sport develops our muscular strength and bodies as well as kettlebell athletics.”

Floor cleans and press with dumbbells and barbells. One handed lifts, two handed lifts, Indian clubs, chains, rocks, stones… anything to lift and gain gains.

William Bankier Training Approach

As an Elite Victorian Strongman, The Scottish Hercules partook in calisthenics, wrestling, and rudimentary plyometrics help develop his body with strength, flexibility, balance, grace, and explosive power.

As an all around athlete he wrestled, boxed, and even dabbled in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu later in life.

He worked with Jack Kilrain, a heavyweight boxing champion and learned the skills of the sweet science.

Becoming Hercules

Bankier returned to Britain and changed his name to “Apollo, the Scottish Hercules”. He continued to tour the world performing in front of large audiences.

Later life and legacy

After retiring from center stage, Mr. Bankier became a wrestling promoter, teaming up with fellow bodybuilder Monte Saldo to form a school for physical culture and combat sport. They trained wrestling, boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu at a competitive level.

Bankier challenged Eugen Sandow to a test of will and skill – A display of athleticism in the arts of wrestling, running, jumping and weightlifting. Sandow refused the challenge.

Sandow was the top dog of the day and is known as the grandfather of modern bodybuilding. Maybe he didn’t want to dignify his competitor with a response. Or maybe he didn’t want to risk losing to the young buck. Who knows. Eugen was the most popular physical culture icon during the victorian strongman era so he could pretty much do what he wanted.

William Bankier Height and Weight

It’s reported he stood around 5 foot 7 inches tall maybe an inch or two taller. His weight judging from his height and leanness was probably around 175-190 pounds. Maybe up to 200 on a bulk.