1. Thomas Inch was a British Strongman, who held the titles of Britain's Strongest Youth, Britain's Strong Man and the originator of the Thomas Inch dumbbell challenge.
15 Facts About Thomas Inch
1. 2.
In 1902, aged 20, Thomas Inch was declared by a major 'Strongman' publication as the "World's Strongest Youth," enhancing his notoriety.
3.
Thomas Inch's inspirations included Eugen Sandow, having seen the German ripping a pack of cards in half and throwing the split deck into the audience.
4.
Thomas Inch was said to have caught one half of the pack, proceeded to split that in half in the audience, and throw it back at Sandow.
5.
Unlike many professional Strongmen of his day, Thomas Inch focused on standard lifts with barbells and dumbbells and left the hoisting of wooden barrels, heavy sacks of grain, pianos, or holding back a team of horses, to his contemporaries.
6.
Thomas Inch realized in order to advance his fame and fortune as a world class strongman, he needed to meet the prerequisite of publishing a well-written book pertaining to physical fitness.
7.
Thomas Inch accomplished this by publishing Scientific Weightlifting in 1905 and by authoring "Thomas Inch on Strength" in 1907.
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Eugen Sandow 8.
Thomas Inch had previously launched a mail order muscle course in 1903 which went on to sell over 40,000 copies.
9.
Thomas Inch went on to win the title of Britain's Strongest Man on 11 June 1910.
10.
At the age of 68, Thomas Inch was still capable of deadlifting 540 pounds, an unofficial world record.
11.
However, by 1910 Thomas Inch had become a heavyweight and so relinquished his middleweight title to Edward Aston, and a competition was quickly arranged against Sick.
12.
Inch is known for his Thomas Inch dumbbell, known as '172' or the 'unliftable' challenge dumbbell.
13.
Thomas Inch claimed that he never encountered anyone else who could lift it from the floor using only one hand, let alone 'both' to lift it and overhead press it using only one hand.
14.
Thomas Inch died in Cobham, Surrey on 12 December 1963 of coronary thrombosis.
15.
Thomas Inch's family did not keep any of his bodybuilding memorabilia following his death.