The Roots of Classic Physique Building: Sig Klein!

(Photo Above: Early Classic Physique Builder, Sig Klein on the cover of the Feb 1945 issue of Strength & Health)

Although our primary focus is on the champs and methods of the pre-roid, Golden Age of Classic Physique Building (the 1940s and 50s), it is important that we understand the history and roots of that Age. These roots extend as far back as the ancient Greeks (as we have covered in previous posts), but more immediately, the period of the late 1800s and early 1900s (up to 1939). In this post, CPB Contributor Ibrahim introduces Sig Klein - Strongman, Weightlifter, Classic Physique Builder and one of the forerunners of the pre-roid, Golden Age! (CPB - Anthony).

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Sigmund Klein (1902-87) was born in Thorn, West Prussia Germany on August 10, 1902. In 1903, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Having inherited a strong body, coupled with a desire to improve his physique, Sig started his bodybuilding career in Cleveland at the age of 17.

In the year of 1924 he relocated to New York City and operated the famous Attila studio, founded originally in Germany in the 1860s. The reputation of Professor Louis Attila was world-wide as a trainer of great athletes and strongmen. He was most famous as the discover, trainer and manager of the fabulous Eugene Sandow. Unfortunately, Professor Attila passed away shortly before Klein's arrival in New York. Klein's success with the studio was immediate. After a span of 50 years, Sigmund closed the gym and divided his vast muscle memorabilia among private collectors.

Also he was one of the early lightweight & middleweight weightlifting champions of America. His best lifts were:

strict military press - 229 1/4 pounds
strict press behind the neck - 206 pounds
one-arm snatch - 160 pounds (the first time bodyweight was surpassed in this lift by an American athlete)
one-arm clean-and-jerk - 190 1/2 pounds
crucifix - 126 3/4 pounds total
two-arm see-saw press - 100-pound dumbbell in each hand 10 consecutive times
bent press performed with one arm - 209 pounds
side press - 174 1/2 pounds
plus several more unusual lifts with a bodyweight that he maintained at 147-150 pounds during his entire career.

His Measurements were:

Weight – 150 lbs
Neck – 16 inches
Upper arm (flexed) – 15¾
Forearm (straight) – 12 ¾.
Chest (normal) – 44
Chest (expanded) – the same
Waist – 32
Thighs – 22
Calf – 14½.
Ankle – 8½
Hips – 36

It is the strongmen of the late 1800s and early 1900s, like Eugen Sandow, Sig Klein, and others that paved the way to the pre-roid, Golden Age of Classic Physique Building (of the 1940s and 50s).

Ibrahim
CPB Contributor

P.S. For a free, 1 year subscription to Classic Physique Builder (CPBzine) - a pdf zine patterned after the muscle mags of the pre-roid, Golden Age of Bodybuilding (the 1940s and 50s) - just email your name, the name of your city (not your address), state/province, and country to us at cpbzine@gmail.com. That's it! Any info you send us is strictly confidential. We don't share our info with anyone. So you won't get on any unwanted lists or receive unwanted, automated email (even from us!).

Eugen Sandow: Founder of Modern, Classic Physique Building!

(above left: Eugen Sandow; above right: Farnese Hercules)

If we were to look to a founder of modern, classic physique building, our search would take us back to Eugen Sandow. Sandow was a very popular strongman of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who lived most of his life in England. Unlike some other strongmen of his era, his physique was not rotund or ponderous, but instead was muscular, symetrical, and well-defined. He soon realized that his popularity was due as much to his classic physique as it was to his feats of strength.

With Sandow, we see all the elements that would later flower in the Golden Age of Classic Physique Building (the 1940s and 50s). He started his own magazine, Physical Culture (later renamed as Sandow's Magazine of Physical Culture), published books and courses on training, sold exercise equipment, opened his own gyms (Physical Culture studios), posed for physique photos, and even sold his own supplements (Sandow's Health and Strength Cocoa). He also sponsored the first, large-scale, national physique contest called "The Great Competition" (in 1901) which involved a series of qualifying contests at the regional level.

In the photos above, it is significant that you can see Sandow (left) recreating the pose of the Farnese Hercules (an ancient Greek sculpture). This demonstrates Sandow's clear recognition and promotion of the classic ideal in physical development. From this beginning, classic physique building would flower in the Golden Age (the 1940s and 50s) and then decline and dissappear in the 1960s as chemically-enhanced bodybuilding took over the scene.

It is our hope that through our efforts, and with your help, we can bring about a Renaissance of Classic Physique Building in the 21st century! To learn more about Sandow, please visit http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/ and http://www.sandowmuseum.com/. - CPB