The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

STRONG MEN AND THEIR FEATS OF STRENGTH. 27 go. With one handD. Dinnie putup to stretch of arm above is head 168lbs., G. Davidson 180 lbs.; while R. A. Pennell, an American, has put up 2oi|- lbs. A Mr. Spencer Leese, writing to the Daily News during the Sampson-Sandow furore, put for­ ward his record of 160 lbs., put up slowly from the shoulder to arm's length above thehead—not jerked orput upwith a swing, and adds, " I have never yet seen or heard of my record having been broken with a single dumb-bell by anybody." This gentle­ man puts great stress onthe dumb-bell being slowlyraised, and objects to jerking or swinging. Now, the following were the methods used by Dinnie, Davidson, and Pennell : Dinnie raised his 160 lbs. at one sweep from the ground to stretch of arm above his head, never touching the bell but with one hand; Davidson, using onlyone hand throughout, raised his 180 lbs. by one movement to the height ofhis shoulder, then jerked it to stretch of arm above hishead. Penneil required both hands to put his 201 lbs. shoulderheight, butonce therepushed it slowly up with one handto stretch of arm above his head, in short, beat Mr. Spencer Leese 40 odd lb. by his own method. Whether the dumb-bell is swung, jerked, orpushed slowlyhas nothing to do with the merit of the feat. The meritdepends on the weight put up, not on the method of putting itup. I do not know for Mr. Leese, but Pennell could do the feat by the slowmethod only. He couldnot put 200 lbs. up by jerk or swing, which shows clearly that the slow method is the easiest way to some who get into thatmethod properly. As to which ofthe perform­ ances was the best, the fact remains that Dinnie could not do the feats of Davidson and Pennell in their style,Davidson could not do the feats of Dinnie and Pennell, and Pennell couldnot do the feats of Dinnie and Davidson. If it is maintained for i'ennell that he put up the heaviest weight, it must be remem­ bered that he put it up with one hand only part of the way. Dumb-bells arenot found floating in the airat shoulder height; in all genuine weight lifting the weight must rest on the ground or floor to begin with, and if a feat is to be done with one hand