The Mentzer Brothers - Bodybuilders Who Came to a Bad End

Age is not a barrier to training!

Probably everyone knows that testosterone levels in men decrease with age. Thus, anabolic processes deteriorate, and muscles require much more time to recover. With age, the condition of the skin also worsens. The body becomes less flexible and the body more susceptible to injury. This doesn't mean, however, that you have to say goodbye to physical activity.

A living example is the oldest bodybuilders in the world, which we will talk about below. For them, advanced age is not an obstacle to building muscle mass and lifting weights! Bodybuilding for older adults - like any physical activity - is a great way to improve physical fitness. The aging process slows down, the body recovers faster and looks like a 20-year-old. Impossible? See for yourself!

https://youtu.be/KO05Zp317uI

Impressive records of Louis Cyr

Already at that time, the achievements of this unique person impressed his contemporaries. With one hand, Sir lifted a 74 kg weight 36 times in a row. I lifted a weight of 860 kg from the ground with two hands, 447 kg with one hand, 253 kg with one finger. A striking example of the incredible capabilities of Louis Cyr was the performance on September 21, 1891 in Montreal, Canada.

The news of the incredible strength of his compatriot gathered a huge audience of 10 thousand people. Louis, with his arms crossed over his chest, held two pairs of horses (see the staging of the stunt in the film - the link is given below). The animals, under the blows of the grooms, tore in two different directions with all their might. The sire held the horses for 55 seconds.

Louis Cyr - Holding Horses

In 1892, Louis Cyr and his representative Horace Barre went on a tour of England. A lot of work was done in terms of organizing and conducting strength demonstrations. More than 5,000 spectators gathered at London's Royal Aquarium to watch the strongman competition.

Royal Aquarium

It was an exciting performance! World celebrities took part in that brilliant show of strongmen. Spectators watched with interest, and famous strongmen placed bets of up to £1,000. Sir managed to lift a dumbbell weighing 124 kg with his right hand. Many years later, the son-in-law of a famous athlete will borrow this famous dumbbell. More than 500 people will try to lift it, but no one, even with numerous attempts, will be able to lift such a weight. On this tour of the British Empire in January 1892 at the Royal Albert Hall, Louis Cyr pressed a 79 kg dumbbell 16 times in a row while standing on the knee of his left leg.

Royal Albert Hall

Arthur Peacock

He was born in 1935 in London. Served in the Royal Air Force (UK). There he became interested in bodybuilding. He won almost 150 titles in his career. Despite the many illnesses that he had to face, he did not stop preparing for professional bodybuilding competitions. He recently won the title of Mr. Nevada and the national championship. Arthur Peacock is currently retired. However, this does not stop him from continuing to train.

Bertil Fox

Not many have trained as hard as Bertil Fox. In the gym, he turned into a real psycho and sometimes trained even to the point of fainting. At first, his explosive and unbalanced character even helped the guy; thanks to his fanatical work in training, he was able to achieve serious results. But mood swings, which often reached the point of rage, a cruel temper and alcohol ultimately destroyed Fox.

On August 30, 1997, the bodybuilder’s career was interrupted. Another fit of rage ended in real tragedy for Fox. While in a mansion on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, after another scandal, he took up arms and shot his wife and mother-in-law. The bodybuilder was sentenced to death, but then it was commuted to life imprisonment.

Charles Eugster

He was born in 1919 in Great Britain. He worked most of his life as... a dentist! It was only at the age of 85 that he took up sports. Since then, he has won almost 100 awards in the field, including bodybuilding and rowing. In 2010, he won the +80 World Fitness Champion title. Interestingly, this record has not been broken to this day! Despite his advanced age, Charles Eugster still remains physically active. This is an example of how age is not a barrier to improving your skills. In this case, sports can even extend your life.

Filmography and television

Louis Ferrigno is primarily known for his role as the Hulk in the 1979 TV series and film of the same name. In the world of bodybuilding, he is also remembered as an athlete who starred in a documentary film. The 1975 painting Pumping Iron captured Ferigno competing for the Mr. Olympia title.

The films of Louis Ferrigno are largely aimed at displaying his physical parameters, including his career as a bodybuilder. Both “Hercules” and “The Incredible Hulk”, even the role of Lorenzo in the sequels of the “Godfather” project, which did not reach the world level, demonstrated Louis in the role of strong, physically trained people. In addition, Louis Ferrigno played the role of Sinbad the Sailor in the 1989 film of the same name.

The actor has repeatedly noted that he always considered a career on television more promising than in the field of bodybuilding. Now Louis Ferrigno is announced as the voice of the Hulk in the film “Thor: Ragnarok”, the athlete continues his acting career, but does not give up sports.

Moon Ray

One of the oldest active bodybuilders in the world. He is already over 80 years old. During his career he competed in bodybuilding competitions in Australia - and he won them! He started getting into bodybuilding a few years ago. Previously, he was... a cook. Despite his illnesses, he did not stop intense training. Ray Moon can be proud of the shape of 50-60 year olds! The example of this bodybuilder inspires and motivates.

Inspirations and ideals

According to the actor, he was always inspired by the hero Hulk from the comic book of the same name. Later, Lou would become famous for playing the role of this character, but then, as a child, the huge green hero occupied all the attention of the future actor, and he readily imitated the hero. Later, the bodybuilder’s range of preferences was also expanded to include comics about The Incredible Spider-Man and films about Hercules (late 50s), played by Steve Reeves.

This actor has inspired many bodybuilders. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who would later become Louis Ferrigno's main competitor in the world of bodybuilding, also stated that the desire to lift iron came to him after the actor learned about Reeves. In 1969, Louis Ferigno graduated from a technical high school in Brooklyn, after which he pursued a career as a bodybuilder.

Wieslaw Czerski

Poland also has some impressive characters. Wieslaw Czerski has been involved in bodybuilding for over 50 years. Despite his age, many bodybuilding adherents can envy his shape. He won the Polish bodybuilding championship many times. In 2009 – the World Championship among veterans. He owes his achievements to training 5 times a week. Wieslaw is able to deadlift 250 kg!

Childhood and youth: Courbevoie – Paris

The third child, born in the summer of 1914 into the aristocratic family of Carlos Luis de Funes and Leonor Soto de Galarza, was named Louis Germain David.
The boy’s parents chose the town of Courbevoie, not far from Paris, as their place of residence after escaping from Spain, where both were born. Their aristocratic relatives believed that the lovers were not a match for each other, and in order to officially get married, Carlos and Leonor fled from Seville to France. In 1906, their first-born, daughter Marie, or, at home, Mina, was born, and in 1910, their eldest son Charles. After the birth of Louis, the family moved and lived in the commune of Bacon-le-Bruyères.

Leonor, mother of Louis de Funes

Here Carlos, a well-known lawyer in his homeland, unable to practice law in France, retrained as a manufacturer of artificial emeralds in order to be able to feed his family. The temperamental Spaniard with an admixture of Portuguese blood began to manage the household and raise three children.

Little Louis de Funes with his sister

The youngest son was her favorite, although he did not match his height or face, but he knew how to make his mother laugh to tears at any moment. Despite all his childhood mischief, Louis managed to study perfectly, but selectively. From an early age he spoke two languages ​​- French and Spanish, and then English was added to them. Exact sciences were difficult for him.

Mina, sister of Louis de Funes

The boy, who has a developed ear for music, learned to play the piano, and he constantly accompanied his talented performances of various works with hilarious facial expressions. You could listen to him play calmly, but you couldn’t watch him and not laugh out loud. Louis demonstrated his artistic abilities everywhere. He could imitate the speech of any person, copy the gait and gestures of not only his relatives, but also the neighboring milkman, market trader, random passerby, his classmates and teachers.

Louis de Funes in his school years

Parody talent more than once played a cruel joke on him at the Coulommier boarding college, where the boy studied. He was a frequent visitor to the director's office for constantly mocking teachers and educators. The Pension de Funes later recalled with a shudder, calling it a real prison. He was sent there when his father, hoping to succeed, went to Venezuela. He wrote home regularly at first, then less and less. Three years later, Leonor left in search of her husband. Taking Louis from college, she entrusted him to Dr. Pouchet, who lived in the Chevreuse Valley and ran a shelter for newborn refuseniks.

It was believed that the doctor was the inventor of a syrup that influenced the rapid growth of children. Louis's mother hoped that the mixture would be useful for the child, in her opinion, very small for eleven years old. At Pouchet's the boy finally felt free. He was happy to live away from Coulommier, helped rock the babies when they cried, gave them pacifiers. He often rode a bicycle and drew a lot.

Louis de Funes in childhood, during the years of his life with Pouchet

This continued until my mother brought home her father, who was sick with tuberculosis in Venezuela. Afraid of infecting the boy, he did not kiss his son, but only gave him a tiny stuffed hummingbird. Louis de Funes took care of this bird for the rest of his life.

Louis would not admit to anyone in the world in his childhood that he most dreamed of becoming a great film actor. Like Charlie Chaplin, whose roles the boy knew almost by heart. He reviewed paintings of him over and over again, copying Chaplin’s famous gait or gestures. The fear of receiving a parental refusal to pursue a career as an actor drove Louis to constant pranks and parodies. His peers nicknamed him FuFyu because of his comical demeanor.

After graduating from school, de Funes tried his best to earn money on his own. He mastered the professions of a draftsman, accountant, furrier, worked as a courier and shoe shiner, and as a window designer.

The future actor made his living as a pianist

A lucky chance brought him to the Horizon bar on the Place de la Madeleine in the Pigalle district - a pianist was needed there. The motley audience quickly fell in love with the tireless and funny tapper, whose facial expressions while playing the piano amused visitors even more than the popular songs of that time: Nevertheless, the dream of acting firmly occupied the young man’s thoughts, and as soon as the opportunity arose, he signed up for drama courses by former member of the Comedy Française troupe Rene Simon. Soon, some theater directors began to hire Louis for small roles in their productions, appreciating the talented and capable student.

Louis de Funes in his youth

In 1939, de Funes was drafted into the army. In the same year, he lost his older brother Charles, who was hit by a fascist machine-gun fire. Heavily experiencing the loss, Louis smoked two packs of cigarettes a day, coughing and expectorating. Army doctors decided that the frail (height 164 cm and weight 55 kg) recruit had tuberculosis and a month later he was demobilized. The actor himself always later said that the doctors simply mixed up his medical record and someone else’s. Despite this, de Funes was called up several more times, as confirmed by the entries in his military ID, and only in 1947 was he finally discharged.

Louis de Funes in 1940

Grzegorz Zielinski

Another Polish bodybuilder. Despite a 10-year break from training, he returned to the sport. In his career, he tried different sports, including track and field and basketball. I started bodybuilding in my forties. He managed to win the European Championship. Grzegorz Zielinski tries to motivate other people of the same age to engage in physical activity. His recipe for great shape is a balanced diet and hard work on the muscles.

Greg Valentino

In pursuit of huge biceps, Greg Valentino is willing to go to great lengths. Arnold Schwarzenegger's biceps measured about 55 cm, but Greg decided not only to surpass Arnie, but to make his arms simply inhuman. He succeeded, the size of his biceps was about 69 cm. Greg Valentino became seriously interested in bodybuilding back in the 80s, and in his best years he had not so small biceps (47 cm). In the early 90s, he discovered Synthol, and it was thanks to large doses of this drug that he brought his hands to this state.

For a long time, Greg Valentino walked proudly with huge arms, but in the early 2000s he began to experience severe pain in the biceps area, and his arms simply stopped bending normally. After surgery, doctors were able to help the bodybuilder, but now Valentino’s hands are covered with a lot of scars and no longer look so impressive.

Ernestine Shepard

The oldest active bodybuilder in the world. She was born in 1936. She was included in the Guinness Book of Records in 2020 and 2020. Despite his age, he still boasts an excellent shape and sculpted figure. Ernestine Shepard is a personal trainer, professional model and active participant in bodybuilding competitions. One of her motivational slogans is: “Age is nothing but a number.” And let's stick to it!

Features of Big Lenny's figure

The unfortunate bodybuilder lives in Florida, and categorically hides his real name even from his closest friends. The strange bodybuilder fuels his keen interest in his own person with extravagant antics, despite his rather impressive age. The fact is that the man has far from bodybuilder forms.

• A distinctive feature is a huge belly, covered with flabby skin that bubbles on the belly.
• Saggy buttocks. The athlete's fifth point resembles a shriveled nut, on which the skin hangs in folds.

• The athlete’s legs were not trained for a long time, which made Big Lenny’s body look disproportionate. Numerous photos in which the big man loves to pose prove the fact that the athlete is not exercising in a balanced manner. The bodybuilder himself confidently insists that it’s all about a lot of cardio.
• The star athlete weighs 150 kilograms of “pure meat,” as Big Lanny calls his figure. When asked what a big belly hides, the athlete jokes that it’s pure muscle.
• Yellow whites of the eyes indicate huge problems with the liver. It’s not surprising, knowing how many supplements Lenny uses daily.
• His face is periodically distorted by a nervous tic, the nature of which is unknown.

The man is quite self-confident and very calm about the fact that others joke about him. At the same time, he continues to praise himself and film his activities.

Strong people of the last century - legends of bodybuilding

The current form of bodybuilding dates back to the second half of the 19th century. Then the legendary bodybuilders appeared. They worked on their bodies on primitive equipment, without training plans drawn up by personal trainers. And they achieved - as it seemed then - the impossible.

The German strongman Hermann Goerner (1891-1956) deadlifted 320 kilograms. He lifted this weight with one hand. Another German bodybuilder from the past is Arthur Saxon (1878-1921) “The Iron Master”. He had no problem regularly lifting 130 kilograms above his head with one arm. His record is 167 kg, impressive.

Joe Greenstein (1893-1977) - he was called the “mighty atom.” He was engaged in bodybuilding until he was 80 years old. Interestingly, it was not a problem for him to bend metal with his teeth or break chains. What about the strongmen of the last century? The most recognizable of them is Chuck Ahrens. Its popularity reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. Achievements? From simply lifting a dumbbell overhead with a weight of 72 kilograms (4 times), to a chest press of 181 kg (28 times in a row) and squats with a load of 362 kilograms.

Anthropometry of a bodybuilder

Looking at a photograph of such a giant, many colleagues in the shop are simply jealous of him. After all, not all bodybuilders can lift super-heavy dumbbells. The video training shows how the boy easily copes with an incline bench press using a dumbbell weight of 305 kg.

Sometimes, even during training, he had to order more powerful dumbbells.

The Greatest Strongmen in Mythology

Each of us remembers from school the exploits of strong people in mythology. Gods, titans... Each of them had unimaginable strength (and other abilities). Strength and structure of the male body were cultivated in those days. Currently, sculptures and ancient frescoes testify to this. Remember Atlas? He is one of the Titans, brother of Prometheus. Zeus condemned him for the rebellion and forced him to hold the Earth. Another example is Hercules, the son of Zeus and a mortal. He was distinguished by superhuman strength, bravery and bravery. Everyone remembers his 12 exploits. He managed, among other things, to destroy the Hydra of Lerna and bring Cerberus out of Hades.

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Last years and death

De Funes's workaholism affected his well-being. In 1975, the actor barely survived after two heart attacks happened one after another. Zhanna insisted on listening to the doctors and leaving her for the duration of the shooting so that she could rest.

Chateau de Clermont

They moved near Nantes, to their own castle, Chateau de Clermont, which in the 17th century belonged to the de Maupassant family. Louis bought it for his beloved wife and restored it. The full cost cost the actor more than eight hundred thousand francs. It was there that the two of them settled.

With granddaughter Julia

De Funes intended to sit down to write his memoirs, but he was so carried away by work in his own garden that he decided to put the memories aside. The couple always rejoiced at the arrival of their children and grandchildren, and the comedian enjoyed playing with them. But his favorite pastime was growing and caring for roses. No one bothered to count their number in the lands.

After retiring, Louis de Funes grew roses

Towards the end of his days, the actor acquired several strange, albeit cute, habits. Fearing robbers, every evening he walked around the cellar, garages, and storage rooms like a housekeeper and carefully locked them at night. He opened everything only in the morning, which Zhanna always made fun of, because sometimes she could not even take a saucepan out of a locked cabinet.

Louis de Funes's smile has not changed over the years

At the end of January 1983, de Funes complained to his wife of a burning sensation in the heart area. Early in the morning of January 27, he called his wife, admitting that he was very lonely without her. These were the last farewell words of a loving husband and a brilliant actor.

Patrick, Oliver and Julia de Funes now

Lou Ferigno

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Ferigno was Schwarzenegger's main rival on the bodybuilding stage for many years. This helped him attract the attention of producers and get into films in parallel with Arnie. Of course, he did not become a star of a similar scale, although he was quite successful: his role in the TV series “The Incredible Hulk” brought him the love of millions of television viewers.

David Prowse

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Famed British bodybuilder David Prowse etched his name into cinematic history by playing Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy. True, Vader was voiced by a different actor, but this was by no means due to Prowse’s lack of talent - George Lucas simply decided that the Dark Lord should have a darker voice. Today Prowse is 82 - but he's still in great shape!

Career as a professional athlete

Upon returning to his native Quebec, Cyr decided to start a family. He married a little girl, Melina Courtois. From the outside, this married couple looked very unusual: a large strongman and a petite girl. His weight was on average in the range of 145-155 kg, while his wife did not exceed 45 kg.

Thanks to the support of his family and friends, Louis finally decided to connect his life with the professional development of himself as a strongman athlete. Even despite his data, this path was quite difficult. He began with a tour of the province of Quebec with the production of “The Troupe Cyr”. Along with him in the power show were also a representative of boxing, wrestling and an athlete. This did not bring any special finances.

Considering his great height and weight, Louis was quite nimble and ran quickly, so he could easily get a job in the Montreal police. He spent only 2 years in service.

Interesting fact! Louis was hired by the police after he, as a civilian, caught two criminals and literally brought them in his hands to the police station.

A little later, he transferred to a voluntary patrol with police officers in the city of Ottawa. Be that as it may, he still could not cope with his craving for sports, so he bought the tavern and equipped it as a gym. Soon it was chosen by local sports fans and weightlifters. Naturally, the equipment at that time was as primitive as possible (ball barbells and weights), so the technique for performing the exercises was as simple as possible. Competitions were often held in the form of basic lifting of weights from the ground.

It is impossible not to note the great help of the famous promoter at that time, Richard K. Fox, thanks to whom more and more people learned about Louis, and he, in turn, broke one record after another. Among the great record holders at that time they lost to him:

• Richard Pennell;
• August Johnson;
• Sebastian Miller.

Gordon Scott

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Bodybuilder Gordon Scott was found by a talent agent in Las Vegas, where he was doing odd jobs. And then luck smiled at him: for his excellent figure and handsome face, he immediately received the main role in the TV series “Tarzan,” popular in the 1950s. However, Gordon did not stay in Hollywood: a few years later he went to Italy, where he starred in a whole series of films from the life of Ancient Rome, shining in the roles of gods and heroes.

An unmatched display of strength

Tales of Sir's remarkable achievements grew into legends. Each narrator tried to further exaggerate our hero's abilities. However, there are undeniable facts about the reliability of the records set by the Canadian, which were recorded in documents.

Upon returning from England to his homeland, the outstanding athlete set more and more new records. In September 1892, Sir lifted a weight weighing 253 kg with the middle finger of his right hand. And in May 1895, in Boston, he became the first to perform the most difficult and incredibly difficult back lift. This was his best backlift. For 5 seconds he held a platform on his back, separated from the supports, on which 18 people could fit. This unique record was 1967 kg. Almost 2 tons - without steroids, other hormones, various pharmaceutical chemicals and even sports nutrition!

The last recorded achievements of Louis Cyr date back to May 8, 1896. They were installed in Chicago. The athlete held a dumbbell weighing 44 kg in his right hand (crucifix hold) in a “cross” for 10 seconds, and 40 kg in his left hand. That evening he became the first person to lift more than 860 kg to his knees. In addition, at the same competition, he was among the leaders in lifting weights weighing 447 kg with his right hand. He had no equal when he squeezed and swung a dumbbell weighing 74 kg 36 times in a row with his right hand.

Louis Cyr's Records (weight in pounds)

In all sources, Sira's records differ by a couple of kilograms back and forth, which is due to different rounding when converting from pounds (1 pound = 453.6 grams) to kilograms. Perhaps the measurements were in French livres (1 livre = 489.5 grams). But I think this small error has absolutely no effect on the majesty of his records.

Bolo Yeung

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Chinese bodybuilder and martial artist Bono Yeung, thanks to the diversity of his talents, has firmly occupied the niche of the main Eastern movie villain in Hollywood. “Enter the Dragon”, “Game of Death”, “Bloody Sport” - the names of the paintings seem to tell us about the direction of the artist’s talents. However, martial arts professionals believe that it is extremely organic in its niche.

Dave Bautista

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Batista was born into a poor family, lived in a disadvantaged area and became involved with crime from a young age. Now he says that it was wrestling and bodybuilding that kept him from going down the wrong path. They brought him real success: the fame of a wrestler and bodybuilder helped him get into Hollywood, and for many years now he has been starring in the roles of villains - in particular, in films such as "Riddick", "Avengers: Infinity" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" "