Ernest Caldine was a bronze-era strongman and an Olympic athlete who won gold for his home country. He represented France in weightlifting at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium and crushed the competition.
Early Life
Ernest Caldine was born in July 1893 in Saint-Denis. He trained as a vehicle mechanic as a teenager. He learned how engines and machinery parts move and interact with one another. I’m sure this translated into his understanding of biomechanics. Which has obvious benefits when it comes to physical training.
It was later said that Caldine had a handshake as strong as a bench vice. I know a mechanic with forearms like bowling pins and a crushing handshake. Twisting a wrench all day builds serious grip strength. Around that same time he started training as a swimmer, gymnast, wrestler, and weightlifter.
Ernest Caldine’s Career as a Weightlifter
Ernest Caldine competed in the French National weightlifting championships in the early 1900s. He once attained third place in the middleweight division just before World War 1.
At the time he could do a hand swing 141 pounds, do a two-hand snatch with 187 pounds, and a one-hand dumbbell swing with 170 pounds.
In 1918 he performed a dumbbell swing with 176.4 pounds when he weighed only 165 pounds.
Caldine served in an artillery regiment during the Great War. One he returned home he resumed competitive weightlifting in 1920 after the war.
As previously mentioned, he won gold in the light-heavyweight category of the 1920 France National Championships. He also won gold in the Summer Olympics in the same year.
Between 1920 and 1925, Caldine set three world records in the clean and jerk and three world records in the snatch. He gained lots of fame and recognition for his one-hand dumbbell swing, clean & jerk, and deadlift performances.
After 1925 he ditched weightlifting competitions to become a professional strongman.
In 1978, Ernest Caldine received the French National Order of Merit for his contributions to French culture.
Ernest Caldine’s World Records
Caldine broke a total of 6 world records in the Light Heavyweight category. These are:
Date Location Lift Type Weight
28 Aug 1920 Antwerp Clean & Jerk 135 lbs.
27 Aug 1921 Paris Clean & Jerk 140 lbs.
27 Aug 1923 Paris Snatch 105 lbs.
27 Aug 1923 Paris Snatch 108 lbs.
18 Oct 1923 Paris Clean & Jerk 140.5 lbs.
31 Jan 1925 Paris Snatch 108.5 lbs.
He performed a 366 pound one-hand deadlift using the famous Apollon’s wheels. This was a specially-made makeshift barbell with a thick bar attached to train wheels on both sides as weights. Although not sure if this was a record it was certainly impressive.
Career as a Strongman
After a career as a professional weightlifter, Ernest Caldine stopped competing internationally around 1925. He became a strongman performing in music halls all over France and other parts of Europe. He also posed as a model for artists and magazines.
By 1924, fans had started billing Caldine as ‘the strongest man in the world’ after he defeated Arthur Giroux. However, he was beaten by Charles Rigoulot in 1925, and they became friendly rivals throughout their strongmen careers. He had a running rivalry with Charles Rigoulot, another famous French strongman. They would have weightlifting shootouts and showdowns and the people loved it.
It’s noteworthy that Caldine was almost 20 years older than Rigoulot, an inch shorter, and more than 15 pounds lighter. Rigoulot looked like a giant next to Caldine yet they were almost a match when it came to strength.
Ernest Caldine’s Workout Regime
Ernest Caldine mainly trained for weightlifting and gymnastics. He was a great overall athlete who also mixed in swimming and wrestling.
During the Bronze Era, bodybuilding was in its infancy and most physical culturists trained mainly for strength. Like many other strongmen, Caldine’s workout routine consisted of:
- Olympic weightlifting exercises
- Gymnastics exercises
- Wrestling
Weightlifting moves included basic Olympic lifts such as deadlifts, clean and jerk, and the snatch. He also regularly did the press, squats, and odd lifting.
Odd lifting was a widely practiced training method where someone would carry odd-shaped objects of different sizes to mimic real-life situations. For example, carrying a huge boulder, lifting beer barrels, or moving heavy furniture.
Odd lifting worked to stabilize muscles, strengthen one’s grip, and improve one’s balance and flexibility. It was the ultimate functional fitness training exercise.
For strongmen such as Caldine, swimming and gymnastics were excellent cardio exercises which helped create muscle definition and achieve the shredded look. That’s part of the reason why these old school strongmen got so ripped without ever doing modern day cardio and HIIT exercises. The other reason being their food quality.
Ernest Caldine Diet
Ernest likely ate much like the other old school strong men like Eugen Sandow and Arther Saxon.
Milk, eggs, and meat. Beef, mutton, and pork chops where on the menu.
Saxon stated that elite athletes of the time swore by a cup of hot Bovril before and immediately after a training session. And that Oatmeal with milk was one of the best muscle builders. So were cheese, beans and peas of all kinds.
Ernest Caldine’s Physique
It’s clear that Caldine had enormous muscles and a well-developed physique. He was ripped by anyone’s standards, past or present.
He had clear definition in his deltoids, arms, obliques, quadriceps, and shoulders. His arms are massive and the striations on his biceps, triceps, and forearm are quite visible. All of this was achieved through strength training.
Was Ernest Caldine Natty or Juiced?
It’s inevitable that this question will always come up whenever we see someone exhibiting super strength with an extraordinarily built body. So, did Ernest Caldine use any steroids to build his strength and muscles?
Absolutely not! Ernest Caldine was 100% free of anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.
Strongmen of the bronze era had no access to anabolic drugs. Synthetic testosterone and other synthetic hormones hadn’t been produced yet. It would be decades before any such drugs would be available for top labs, let alone athletes.
Conclusion
Ernest Caldine started training in different athletic interests in his teenage years. His interests included weightlifting, swimming, gymnastics, and wrestling. He became one of the most iconic French weightlifters of his time.
Caldine broke 6 weightlifting records and even won gold for France in the Antwerp Olympics. He built a strong body with well-defined muscles without using steroids or any anabolic agents. Caldine is a true testimony of what our natural bodies are capable of even today.
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