George Fiusdale Jowett was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England on December 23, 1891. In his early childhood, Jowett suffered an accident, which after years of hospitalization left doctors assured that he would never walk again or live beyond his 15th birthday. Yet, around the time he was turning 11 years old, Jowett's uncle to him to see the strongman show of Eugen Sandow, where little George learned that Sandow was also proclaimed fatally ill in his youth. This sparked something within the young Jowett, and he went on to become a very successful strongman and prolific promoter of physical culture. You can read the "A Brief Biography of George F. Jowett" supplied by Jowett's great, great niece, Kathleen Lawry for a more in depth account. Much can be learned of overcoming adversity by following the examples laid out by these great men.
Jowett knew a thing or two about hand strength. Here he is lifting an incredible 168 pound anvil by the horn to his shoulder and pressing it overhead. Makes you wonder what he did all those years spent as a blacksmith. He later went on to create the Jowett Institute for Physical Culture, which resulted in the printing of many of his classic mail order booklets. Jowett's "Molding Mighty Muscles" sold 25 million copies at 25 cents a piece. The "Molding Mighty Men" series contains at the very least one title that every aspiring gripster should read thoroughly.
"Molding a Mighty Grip" includes what Jowett feels necessary to be "the proud owner of a mighty arm and [that] will have in each hand the vice-like crushing grip of a steel bear-trap." I found Jowett's discussion on hand size particularly amusing as it is very common to hear people nowadays complain that a particular feat is beyond their reach because they have small hands. If you ask Jowett his opinion; "Personally, I do not think this should enter into the subject at all." Jowett also comments on the spirit of competition in bringing out abilities buried inside of you that you may have never known you possessed otherwise.
This booklet is an interesting read when examining the tools used by Jowett versus their modern equivalents. The front lever with the broom and a brick, for example, is now mostly performed with a sledge hammer. I'm willing to bet most every household has some sort of broom tucked away in a closet, and I'm sure there is also something of moderate weight nearby you can place on the sweeping end. That is a nice savings from a set of Ludell sledges - I think I paid around $35 for my 12 pounder. In fact, a lot of the exercises Jowett talks about in "Molding a Mighty Grip" can be implemented cheaply and easily with a variety of household items and a little creativity. So really, you have no excuse.
One item you most likely do not have laying around is a barrel. Jowett was a huge fan of barrel lifting, stating; "barrel stunting is beyond a doubt the supreme test of your grip strength." The booklet goes on to show various lifts one can perform with a barrel and contains illustrations that were even borrowed by Brooks Kubik in Dinosaur Training. Jowett's work is a fascinating trip with accounts of famous old time strongmen like Louis Cyr and Ottley Coulter. The training information in "Molding a Mighty Grip" has proven timeless and answers many of the questions that get repeatedly asked in today's Internet culture.
"Molding a Mighty Grip" - George F. Jowett
Part I
Part II
Part III
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