Old Olympic Lifter
10-18-2005, 01:12 AM
Hi everyone
As I previously mentioned to JeffS in a seperate post,the noted Iron Game historian,David P.Willoughby,took the bodily measurements of the ten competitors at the 1979 WSM contest in Los Angeles,using a tape which had been first checked for accuracy against a steel tape.
Two of the largest men measured by Willoughby at this contest were powerlifting stars Don Reinhoudt and Bill Kazmaier.Reinhoudt,the contest victor,stood around 6'3"and weiged 345lbs at the time.His large boned measurements included a 9.4" wrist with a 17.2" forearm (measured in STRAIGHT position) and a 22" biceps,also a 20" neck,59.5" chest (measured normal),31.5" thigh,and a 19" calf.
Kaz,who was probably the most 'muscular' superheavyweight lifter of all time,stood 6.2" and weighed about 320lbs at this particular contest.His 8.8" wrist swelled the tape out to a 17" forearm and 21.5" biceps,along with a 22" neck,58.5" chest,42.2" waist,31.5" thigh,and a 20.4" calf with 11" ankles.
Swedish powerlifter Lars Hedlund,who at his peak bench pressed 628lbs in competition(NO bench shirt),stood 6'3" and weighed around 315lbs in relatively trim condition.He was lighter boned than his rivals with an 8" wrist,15.1" forearm,20" biceps,18.7" neck,56" chest,and a 29.2" thigh.Willoughby commented on the exceptional size of Hedlund for his relatively small bones,with a biceps 2.5 times that of his wrist size,and a chest SEVEN times as large!!!.
Amongst the 'smaller' competitors measured by Willoughby was former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker,Jon Kolb.At 6'3" and 'only' 255 lbs,Kolb had an 8.4" wrist,14.5" forearm,18" biceps,18.1" neck,49.7" chest,27.5" thigh,and an 18.1"calf.The interesting point about these measurements was how close Kolb came to the oldtime so called 'classical' standard of ideal bodily proportions where the biceps,neck,and calf were all supposed to measure the same.
The largest man at the contest by far was the arm wrestling giant from Georgia,Cleve Dean,who reputedly stood 6'7" and weighed in the vicinity of around 450lbs!!.His huge measurements included a massive 10.2" wrist,18" forearm and 23.2" biceps,along with a 23" neck,62" chest,and a 37" thigh.Willoughby commented that these were definitely the largest measurements that he ever took of any man.
In addition to the ten competitors,Willoughby also measured several of the 'spectators' present,including the massively muscular bench presser,Doug Young.At about 5'11" and 265lbs,the mighty Texan's measurements included a 7.7" wrist,15.7" forearm,20.5" biceps,21.2" neck,56" chest,29.1" thigh,and a 17.1" calf.The remarkable thing about Doug's measurements were his incredible proportions:a neck 2.75 times his wrist size,a biceps-wrist ratio of 2.66,a phenomenal forearm-wrist ratio of 2.04,and a chest 7.27 times his wrist size!!!.Needless to say,these were the highest ratios ever measured by Willoughby.
I hope that the above statistics might be of some interest to fellow members of this forum,as IMHO they give an accurate indication of the REAL muscle size attainable for a large man,as opposed to the grossly exaggerated claims made through the years by many bodybuilders,etc.
Regards and best wishes
Ron Mann
As I previously mentioned to JeffS in a seperate post,the noted Iron Game historian,David P.Willoughby,took the bodily measurements of the ten competitors at the 1979 WSM contest in Los Angeles,using a tape which had been first checked for accuracy against a steel tape.
Two of the largest men measured by Willoughby at this contest were powerlifting stars Don Reinhoudt and Bill Kazmaier.Reinhoudt,the contest victor,stood around 6'3"and weiged 345lbs at the time.His large boned measurements included a 9.4" wrist with a 17.2" forearm (measured in STRAIGHT position) and a 22" biceps,also a 20" neck,59.5" chest (measured normal),31.5" thigh,and a 19" calf.
Kaz,who was probably the most 'muscular' superheavyweight lifter of all time,stood 6.2" and weighed about 320lbs at this particular contest.His 8.8" wrist swelled the tape out to a 17" forearm and 21.5" biceps,along with a 22" neck,58.5" chest,42.2" waist,31.5" thigh,and a 20.4" calf with 11" ankles.
Swedish powerlifter Lars Hedlund,who at his peak bench pressed 628lbs in competition(NO bench shirt),stood 6'3" and weighed around 315lbs in relatively trim condition.He was lighter boned than his rivals with an 8" wrist,15.1" forearm,20" biceps,18.7" neck,56" chest,and a 29.2" thigh.Willoughby commented on the exceptional size of Hedlund for his relatively small bones,with a biceps 2.5 times that of his wrist size,and a chest SEVEN times as large!!!.
Amongst the 'smaller' competitors measured by Willoughby was former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker,Jon Kolb.At 6'3" and 'only' 255 lbs,Kolb had an 8.4" wrist,14.5" forearm,18" biceps,18.1" neck,49.7" chest,27.5" thigh,and an 18.1"calf.The interesting point about these measurements was how close Kolb came to the oldtime so called 'classical' standard of ideal bodily proportions where the biceps,neck,and calf were all supposed to measure the same.
The largest man at the contest by far was the arm wrestling giant from Georgia,Cleve Dean,who reputedly stood 6'7" and weighed in the vicinity of around 450lbs!!.His huge measurements included a massive 10.2" wrist,18" forearm and 23.2" biceps,along with a 23" neck,62" chest,and a 37" thigh.Willoughby commented that these were definitely the largest measurements that he ever took of any man.
In addition to the ten competitors,Willoughby also measured several of the 'spectators' present,including the massively muscular bench presser,Doug Young.At about 5'11" and 265lbs,the mighty Texan's measurements included a 7.7" wrist,15.7" forearm,20.5" biceps,21.2" neck,56" chest,29.1" thigh,and a 17.1" calf.The remarkable thing about Doug's measurements were his incredible proportions:a neck 2.75 times his wrist size,a biceps-wrist ratio of 2.66,a phenomenal forearm-wrist ratio of 2.04,and a chest 7.27 times his wrist size!!!.Needless to say,these were the highest ratios ever measured by Willoughby.
I hope that the above statistics might be of some interest to fellow members of this forum,as IMHO they give an accurate indication of the REAL muscle size attainable for a large man,as opposed to the grossly exaggerated claims made through the years by many bodybuilders,etc.
Regards and best wishes
Ron Mann
