Nathan Say Posted January 24, 2002 Share Posted January 24, 2002 I know Hepburn wasn't known for his grip, but I've read somewhere that it was really good. The Super Athletes is the only source I've got on him though & that doesn't have much on his grip except to say that it almost matched his lifting strength. Hepburn said he would have cleaned & pressed (!) Apollon's Wheels if he had the chance & he also lifted Cyr's big-handled (~1 1/2") shot-loading dumbell when it weighed ~250lbs. Did he do anything with any other thick-handled stuff or close a tough grip tester (like CoC), etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woody36 Posted January 24, 2002 Share Posted January 24, 2002 Nathan, look at Doug's website. http://www.doughepburn.com/ i'm sure Joe Roark will have some info as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roark Posted January 24, 2002 Share Posted January 24, 2002 Doug, toward the end of his life (died Nov 2, 2000) [oops, Nov 22, thanks Sybersnott] apparently tired of some of the claims attributed to Paul Anderson, and on his website explains about the 160 thick-bar curl, which he was able to do, and Anderson could not budge. Hepburn was fantastic in the reverse curl on regular bar, able to lift/curl more in this manner than most strongmen could in the regular curl. At 240 body wt he reverse curled 170 lbs. He cleaned and pressed a 90 lb dumbell with his right hand by using ONLY the index finger!! Try this! Can you do it with a 35 lb dumbell? Also did a one-finger holdout of 50 lbs, and later 61 lbs. In Your Physique July 1952 Willoughby says that Hepburn was fast approaching Cyr's strength levels. There's more but that's a quick sample. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woody36 Posted January 24, 2002 Share Posted January 24, 2002 Joe, on his website,i'm sure there's a pic of him holding two 45s with his finger in the manner you describe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted January 25, 2002 Share Posted January 25, 2002 Roark, I believe the date of his death was November 22, 2000. I had a chance to coorespond with Doug right before his death, and he was apparently working on some sort of a "comeback", wanting to break strength records for his age in the 75-and-over bracket, and saying that 2001 was going to be his year to do that. I'm not really familiar with his grip strength, and he never brought up the subject in his letters to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roark Posted January 25, 2002 Share Posted January 25, 2002 Sybersnott, Yes, thank you, Doug died Nov 22, not as I put it Nov 2. I'll edit my post to the correct date. Woody, I have not checked his website in months, but will soon, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Say Posted January 25, 2002 Author Share Posted January 25, 2002 Roark, where do you get your info? I mean how can I find this stuff out for myself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roark Posted January 25, 2002 Share Posted January 25, 2002 Nathan, In 1970, following back surgery, being unable to do much, I filed the articles in the one hundred or so muscle magazines that I owned. I now have about 6,000 mags (haven't counted them in years but it was 5,600 years ago and I get so many monthly, that 6,000 is a conservative count) and I have most of those filed. I began with thousands of index cards, and later typed all those into a computer. If the article was: How Dorian Yates developed his forearms by Peter McGough, the piece would be filed under Yates, under McGough, and under forearms. Also have contests filed, ANY contest from Mr. YMCA 1941 to Mr. Olympia and with each contest I have noted where more information can be obtained about it- perhaps 6 magazines covered the event. Sometimes the mags re- ported different results, and that gets confusing if it is an older event that cannot be easily checked, then one must read subsequent articles about the various entrants to see if the text reveals any more about how they placed. AMAZINGLY, chatting with some of the older entrants does not help always; they simply get it wrong. I had one man tell me that he competed against Grimek only twice- I have articles and photos describing at least three times. I also have books filed in the same way, and I check the net though this is NOT a good source for older material. The first thing I notice in checking history is WHO wrote it. There are some authors who simply cannot be relied upon. Sorry to ramble, but quite frankly, short of gathering a huge collection of magazines and filing them, I do not know of a source similar to mine- sorry of that sounds wrong. There is an internet site that lists contests but it contains enough errors to be only a good starting place to be doublechecked, particularly when dealing with contests older than the mid 1950s. I have a friend and fellow researcher who refuses to even check the site because he has found so many errors there. Short answer: I do not know of another source filed similarly to my system- there may be some but not to my awareness. Certainly much knowledge can be gained from what I call the 'core' library of books by David Webster, David WIlloughby, and Leo Gaudreau. These are simply the 'shoes' with which to begin the walk. Sorry for the long post but there is much else I could add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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