Alexander Ivanovich Zass, stage name “Amazing Samson” or “ Iron Samson"(1888, a farm near Vilna, Vilna province, Russian Empire - September 26, 1962, Hockley, near London, Great Britain) - strongman, circus performer.

The sensational nature of Samson's performances is well known: a man lifts a heavily loaded car by the wheel; catches with his hands a 90-kilogram cannonball fired from a cannon; having threaded one leg through a loop hanging under the circus dome, he holds in his teeth a platform with a piano and a playing musician. And so on... But
Much less attention was paid to the sporting side of his performances. But at the beginning of our century, the strength circus and weightlifting were practically not separated. At that time, weight lifting competitions like today did not exist. The only place where strongmen performed was the circus. The brilliant successes of Russian wrestlers and weight lifters in circus arenas are included in the golden fund of the history of sports. This article will show the training of Iron Samson.
He grew up in a large serf family, worked in the fields, trained independently on “simulators” created by his own hands, and ran away to the city in his youth to attend circus performances. His childhood idol was Evgeniy Sandov. His dream was to “defeat” the circus strongmen, and Sandow himself. His biography also included military service, wounds, being captured and escaping. Subsequently, he met the Italian circus impresario Pasolini and, under a long-term contract with him, performed under the name Samson. He toured in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, England, and Ireland. Since 1924, he lived permanently in England, from where he went on tour to different countries. In England he was awarded the title " The Strongest Man Earth." The last public performance as a strongman took place in 1954, when the artist was 66 years old. Subsequently, he worked as a trainer, he had several horses, ponies, dogs, and monkeys. He also trained elephants and lions at the zoo, and during performances he carried two lions at once on a special yoke. A.I. Zass died in 1962. He was buried near London in the small town of Hockley, where his home was.

In the first years of the circus, Alexander Zass's day began with a three-kilometer run. Then there were trainings with iron rods - he bent them on his knee, tied them in a knot, curled them in a spiral. He learned to break chains in two movements: take two adjacent links, squeeze them with his fingers, turn back and forth until it stops - and the chain breaks.
A lot of time was spent on exercises to develop the pectoral and back muscles. Having loaded the platform placed on his chest with stones, the young athlete took several deep breaths, then rested, after which he stood on the “bridge” and flexed. The morning classes ended with a series of exercises with a bag. The bag was shaped like a sofa cushion and was filled with sawdust. The “pillow” weighed 7 kilograms. Every day Shura poured out a handful of sawdust and added a handful of sand. When all the sawdust was replaced with sand, he began to pour out the sand and add shot. In the end, he trained with a bag filled with lead, weighing about 70 kilograms.
Recalling these trainings, Samson later wrote that large biceps are not a criterion of strength in the same way that a large belly is a sign of good digestion. However, it was the exercises with the bag that helped him develop great muscle mass. This mass was needed not so much for performing routines as for acquiring a “marketable” appearance - after all, according to the owners of the circus, a wrestler could be “sold” to the audience only when his muscles made a threatening impression.
Of course, Samson never denied the role of muscles, and never considered dynamic exercises with a bag or other weights to be useless. On the contrary, always, at all stages of his career, he emphasized the need for exercises of this kind.

Characteristic"systems" of Iron Samson, his isometric exercises- this is muscle tension without contraction, without movement in the joints.
Think about these words, reader: “without movement in the joints.” For a long time, people have been accustomed to associating sport with movement: the rapid jerks and heavy presses of weightlifters seemed to be the most complete embodiment of human physical strength. It seemed natural that the training would be closer to real competition conditions. And during training, the steel projectile goes up and down, up and down, dozens of times. Fans of strength, in the hope of rapid muscle development, lift colossal weights again and again. Force and movement seem inseparable. And suddenly - strength without movement.
Alexander Zass was one of the first to discover that isometric exercises have a significant effect in strength training. Meanwhile, muscle contraction under load was considered the most traditional way to develop muscles. Iron Samson was convinced that moving pounds of iron from place to place during training was not enough. If a person, straining his tendons and muscles, tries to bend a steel rod (although he may not succeed), such apparently unsuccessful attempts will be very useful for developing strength.

DYNAMIC AND ISOMETRIC EXERCISES SAMSON

The cornerstone of Samson's system of physical development is the development of tendon strength - the connecting link between bones and muscles. The epigraph to his system can be the caption under the photograph where Samson carries a horse: “Muscles by themselves will not lift a horse, but tendons will, but they need to be trained, they need to be developed, and there is a way to increase their strength.”
Samson's system is based on a combination of dynamic and isometric exercises.

DYNAMIC EXERCISES

For exercises, a weight is used - a bag (in the form of a pillow), which can be made of leatherette, oilcloth, leather, etc. The bag is filled with sawdust, which, as training progresses, is gradually replaced by sand, and later by shot. After two weeks of training with an initial weight of 4-7 kg, a handful of sawdust is removed from the bag and replaced with a handful of sand. In the future, this replacement is made every 3-4 days. There is no need to rush to increase the weight of the weight. Concentrating on doing the exercise is half the success. Exercises should be performed morning and evening daily.
After each exercise, you need to do several breathing exercises to relax those muscles that bore the greatest load. Breathing exercises are done from a starting position standing, heels together, toes apart, arms along the body: a) taking a deep breath, raise your arms through your sides to a position slightly above shoulder level while simultaneously lifting onto your toes. Return to the starting position - exhale; b) the starting position is the same. Taking a deep breath, raise your arms forward (palms inward) and spread them to the sides. Return to the starting position - exhale.
When performing exercises with a bag, special attention should be paid to proper breathing. Inhalation should coincide with the most favorable conditions for expansion of the chest and with the least effort required when performing exercises. Such conditions are created by straightening the body and spreading or raising the arms.
For exhalation, the most favorable position is to bend the body, bring or lower the arms.
The pace of movements when performing exercises should be slow at first, and as training progresses, it should be medium.
It should be said that this is the initial stage of training; later training takes place according to individual schemes recommended by Samson.

ISOMETRIC EXERCISES SAMSON

“Muscles by themselves will not hold horses pulling in different directions, but tendons will, but they need to be trained, they need to be developed, and there is a way to strengthen them.”
He believed that lifting pounds of iron was not enough to develop the athletic strength necessary for a professional strongman. Something else needs to be added. If, for example, you try to bend a thick metal rod or break a chain, these attempts, with repeated repetitions, will be very effective in developing the strength of the tendons and muscle strength.
This is an example of isometric exercises, in which the muscles, although tense, do not change in length and there is no movement in the joints.

The duration of isometric exercises depends on the degree of muscle tension and fitness. Maximum muscle effort should last 2-3 seconds. As you practice, it can be increased to 6-8 seconds. Each exercise should be repeated 2-5 times. The workout should not exceed 15 minutes.
When including isometric exercises in your training, you should remember that the strength acquired by this method is maximally manifested only in the position of the torso, arms and legs in which it was “developed.” Before starting exercises, you must do a thorough warm-up. Mainly - for the muscles and joints that will bear the greatest load. Otherwise, injury may occur.
At first, the exercises should be performed with little tension, and only after a month of training can you move on to maximum effort. Maximum effort is not applied with a jerk, but with gradually increasing tension. Exercises are performed while inhaling. After each exercise, walk for a minute and do breathing exercises. Relax the muscles where the greatest load was directed. Isometric exercises will give a good effect if you combine them with dynamic exercises (with kettlebells, dumbbells, expanders, blocks, etc.). And in combination with running, swimming, and hardening procedures, they will help improve health and increase performance. For people with a weakened cardiovascular system, suffering from hypertension and having problems with excess weight, isometric exercises are contraindicated.
Samson's isometric system consists of exercises using chains. Handles are attached to the chains, which, depending on the exercise, interlock, thereby shortening or lengthening the chain segment. For some exercises, belt loops are attached to the ends of the chain.
And here are the exercises with chains, which are demonstrated by the author of this system, Alexander Zass (Samson). Those involved in athletics can include certain exercises in their training, and anyone can make sports equipment (a chain with two handles).

9. Stretch the chain alternately on the right and left thigh.
10. Stretch the chain, change the starting position of your legs, arms and torso. (Tilt to the left leg, then to the right.)
11. While lying on the floor, stretch the chain, tensing the muscles of the shoulder girdle and triceps. Keep your body tense.
12. In a handstand, stretch the chain by tensing the muscles in your arms, back, and neck. When balancing, transfer the load to your fingers.
13. Use two loops for this exercise. While stretching the chain, tense the muscles of your neck and back.
14. When performing exercises to develop the muscles of the arms and quadriceps, change the position of the arms and legs.
15. For this exercise, use two loops. As you stretch the chain, tighten your hamstring muscles. Using the same chain, stretch it by moving your leg to the side. Change the starting position of your legs.

ZASSA TENDON EXERCISES

“Some people with thin legs are stronger than people with thick legs - Why? Because the power lies in the tendons, in those invisible hard tissues that are second in density only to bones. Without tendons, a person would turn into jelly. But the tendons need to be trained. From my experience, one can be convinced that a large man does not necessarily have to be strong, but a man of modest build does not have to be weak.
I don't believe in big muscles unless there's real big tendon power next to them. You can see physical fitness enthusiasts who have quite large muscles. But what good are they if there is no powerful foundation - developed tendons. They cannot fully utilize the strength of their muscles during an actual test of strength. And therefore their power is only an illusion.
Tendons increase their strength best when their power is applied to some almost immovable object. They become stronger from resistance than from movement.”
Alexander Zass, or Iron Samson, created an ingenious system for developing strength.
Here the supporting part of his system is presented: the development of tendon strength.
“I never strived for big muscles, believing that the main thing was strong tendons, willpower and the ability to control my muscles. When I started performing in the circus as an athlete, my biceps were only 38 centimeters. But the public needs a look, and I had to increase them to 42 centimeters through exercises with dumbbells and self-resistance exercises” (from a letter to Yuri Shaposhnikov).
“Big biceps are not a sign of strength any more than a big belly is a sign of good digestion.”
Alexander Zass achieved phenomenal strength density with the help of tendon exercises. Short, weighing 66 kg, at the beginning of his wrestling and athletic career, he caused confusion among the spectators with his exploits: he defeated huge opponents, tore chains and horseshoes, tied metal rods with a bow, restrained horses rushing in different directions... Because of this confusion, it was necessary Zassu needs to gain muscle mass to rid viewers of suspicions of deception. However: throughout his entire circus career, his weight never exceeded 80 kg.
Tendon exercises have been generally known since ancient times. People's strongmen lifted and carried huge stones and large animals, practiced bending and unbending metal rods and horseshoes, dragged tree-boats-carts behind them, restrained rushing bulls and horses... In ancient Rome, athletes dressed in iron robes weighing 200- 300-400 kg and so climbed onto the platform...
But it was Zass who was the first to be lucky enough to recognize the system in the phenomenon and present it to the world.
This happened in 1924.
“We need to develop what underlies the muscle, especially the tendon, not the volume of the muscle.”

In the early 60s, naive Americans rediscovered the Sass effect, calling these exercises isometric and static. Since then, tendon exercises have become part of active sports practice: to develop strength, to overcome dead spots, to form new trajectories of power movements. But here they remain separate, isolated exercises. But the system already exists!
Alas. The authorities of sports and science prefer to keep this fact in the shadows and - as a result - are forced to fool the average person. After all, the tendon system is phenomenal in many ways: it can be practiced with a minimum of space, equipment, and time and with excellent effect. It is no coincidence that the circus strongmen of our time - Gennady Ivanov and Ivan Shutov - used the Zass system as the basis for the development of strength.
That's why experts have to look for sunspots. They will announce that isometric straining is harmful to the heart, blood vessels, and nerves, especially those who are unprepared, such as young people or amateurs (this is not true); then they will tell you how dynamic training (complex!) surpassed isometric training (simple!); then they will remember about potentially all kinds of micro and larger tears in muscle tissue and other irreparable dangers of maximum strain.
Another way: mix concepts. They say this is the same as Anokhin’s volitional gymnastics. Here's a good home isometric complex without projectiles. Only 4-6 seconds and only after a year you can increase the voltage time to 8 seconds. And 12 seconds or more is a direct threat to health. Listen to yourself: if you have a headache, quit this disastrous business immediately. Stress only while inhaling. Train for no more than 15 minutes!
The usual thing is the opposite. The real blemish is the recent history of isometrics. In the early 60s, Bob Hoffman organized the release of miraculous power racks for isometric exercises and in his magazine “Strength and Health” he touted with all his might the cool achievements of Bill March and Louis Riquet, who added several hundred pounds to their all-around competition in six months. Many have made decent progress, but no one has been able to repeat the fantastic breakthrough of March and Rike. And finally it turned out that there was another reason for their rise - steroids. The scandal simultaneously and permanently damaged the reputation of isometrics.
Nevertheless: this was the first large-scale experiment. Equipment was plentiful, and a few years later a scientific study of 175 athletes doing isometrics showed an average weekly 5% increase in strength. Wow!
It was at this time that isometrics became firmly established in world-class sports practice, but at the same time remained narrowly focused, boring and far from ordinary amateurs.

Some moments:

Complex tendon training includes not only statics, but also “pumping” by tensing the entire joint volume. That is, the development of the tendon spring, the development of the connection of the tendons with the joint and with the muscle, the distribution of the tendon force density over the entire motor range of motion, the development of accompanying balances-regulations-controls. And it’s natural to use different modes of tendon training: for example, emphasis, carrying weights, standing as a “pillar” or “rider” or just like that, holding a barbell with your body... warming up, mobilization, maximum...
The danger of straining for health is directly related to disturbances in energy and physiological regimes: first of all, nervous and improper breathing, then a disruption of the processes of prompt and long-term recovery, and finally, this is a practice of narrow-private use leading to distortions in the overall energy exchange. All these syndromes can be reproduced without isometrics - in any activity, and even more so in sports.
Gymnastics Anokhin lives next door and some of her exercises can very well complement tendon gymnastics. But!! - volitional gymnastics is muscular gymnastics. Its closest relatives are Hermes gymnastics, hatha yoga, and stretching.
However, a direct close relative did appear. This is Vladimir Fokhtin’s autonomous gymnastics, self-resistance gymnastics. She, too, has a hard time with experts: they will either declare her to be Anokhin’s gymnastics, or describe her usefulness as tasks for toning up ordinary people or as a temporary means for business trips, or remember the dangers of isometric exercises. Indeed: Fokhtin’s gymnastics develops tendons, develops joints, develops muscles. At the same time, it requires a minimum of space and absolutely no shells. True, the author followed the lead of the experts and somewhat overcomplicated the starting course to 88!!! exercises. It's not even a matter of quantity - it's a complete system, the problem is the structure of presentation of these exercises. Plus, the author carefully distanced his gymnastics from isometrics and self-exertion. But in fact, Fokhtin took the next step in the development of athleticism and tendon gymnastics.
About the 6-second mode, in which the maximum effort is 2-3 seconds. Unfortunately, I don’t know Zass’s own opinion about this. But here's what we know:
a) Zass in prison practiced 15-20 second tensions, therefore, under normal conditions and with normal nutrition, he could use minute tensions.
b) In the first 6-8 seconds, the ATP reserve is burned, then glycogen comes into play and fat is ignited at 40 seconds. The problem is that the isometric way of expending and restoring energy conflicts with the aerobic dynamic way. In general, if you don’t change anything, then you really have to choose “either or”. If you choose isometrics, then naturally 4 modes of tension are revealed: 6 seconds, 15-20 seconds, 1 minute, 3-6 minutes. But they still need to be awakened, treated, developed... Otherwise, it is very easy to overtrain and fall into a viscous pit of distress.

The tendon system of developing strength using chains is original and fresh to this day. The Zass system allows you to quickly increase strength, strengthens ligaments and tendons, creating a foundation for the natural development of muscles.
Note for women: proper performance of tendon exercises does not increase muscle volume, does not enlarge veins, includes subcutaneous fat in the overall energy exchange (promotes resorption and improvement of the skin), improves character and the ability to stand up for oneself. True, you will have to show taste and ingenuity in selecting exercises.
Tendon exercises can be performed using different equipment - a metal rod, chains, a thick cord, a wooden stick. You can use furniture, walls, doorways. Try to bend a thick metal rod or break a chain, squeeze a stick, lift a door frame: muscles and tendons tense, the whole body is involved in a ringing force wave, ripens to maximum density... and smoothly returns back to peace. By repeating these tests several times, we develop and tighten the force wave and with it the strength of the entire body.
Rules for tendon gymnastics
your object is your body, so don’t break the chain - just create a dense body wave, the chain will break itself
breathe calmly, without straining your breathing when making an effort, exercise against the background of calm breathing
the force wave should cover the entire body, from the soles to the working implement; at the same time, as if pressing your body into force - this will increase the volume of the muscle-tendon-joint connection
the wave should be good: smooth-elastic input, amplification without breaks to a fairly maximum density, smooth-calm output
develop the natural power of good nature: minus nerves, minus the result, minus breathing, plus body volume - this way you will avoid all “dangers”, including headaches and protruding veins
we strained our strength - we released it, we listen to the restoration of strength with gain; fat is new energy, you have nothing to realize it, so we focus on recovery + the feeling of uncertainty that accompanies the arrival of strength
perform the exercise 1-5 times with standard pauses from 30 to 90 seconds; with more powerful efforts, you may need longer pauses from 3-5 to 10 minutes (experiment)
if the breathing deepens, the heart is pounding, the power wave breaks or shows bodily discomfort, then it is necessary to stop and calm down, reduce the effort, massage - feel the discomfort with a gentle wave
do not rush, let the total duration, the magnitude of the effort and the duration of the maximum develop naturally; start with short 2-5 second tensions, and enter longer ones more gradually
in a tonic-daily mode, select 5-8 favorite exercises and perform them in 1-3 strains with an effort of 60-90-75% (approximately)
full strength training should be performed no more than 2 times a week and take no more than an hour; here for 5 repetitions you can focus on the following efforts - 75-90-95-90-75% of the satisfied maximum
It’s better to combine daily stress with a mindset for the day or task; strength training is best tuned to the image of the week or goal
Once a week, at the end of a strength training session, I advise you to perform a tonic test: a minute stretch of a stick-chain-towel, with your arms down, with an effort of 95%. After stretching, listen to your hands: if the muscles are healthy, then the hands will rise to the sides and up and hover there for a while (on the side or at the top). The amount of this time - the amount of tonic activity - will indicate to you your weekly progress not only in strength, but also in its quality. If there is no progress, then it means you are doing something wrong: you are not getting enough sleep, you are overeating, you are worried, you are burnt out in business, you did not have time to recover from the previous workout, you pushed yourself too far in this workout. If your tonic activity is less than a minute, be doubly careful with overexertion. If your tonic activity is above 1.5 minutes, then you can be congratulated: you are doing everything correctly and quality progress in strength is guaranteed to you.

Tendon exercises with chains
The original Iron Samson system consists of exercises using chains. Triangular-shaped metal handles with hooks are attached to the chains, which, if necessary, are interconnected, lengthening or shortening the chain section. To support the legs, belt loops are attached to the ends of the chain. That is, to start practicing, you need to purchase 2 chains the length from the floor to your outstretched arm and make 2 handles for the hands and 2 loops for the legs.
Chains are sold in hardware stores.
Handles can be made like this: take two pieces of pipe of a convenient thickness and thread a wire (or cable) into them, bent at the connection into a hook. Leg loops are very important, as they provide comfort for the most powerful tensions of the body (for example, in the atlas pose). Ask ladies you know about old handbags, try using tarpaulin or material for trunks. But first, experiment with the fabric: step on it with your foot and pull its ends up: evaluate the thickness, width, and comfort of the loop. You can use the loops in conjunction with slippers.
In the initial position, the chain should be tensioned.
Follow the rules of tendon gymnastics.

Nowadays, super heroes from the world of Marvel are becoming popular, but we forget about great people like Alexander Zass. Let's talk about the great Russian circus performer who performed under the pseudonym Iron Samson.

An incident that occurred in 1938 in the English town of Sheffield will more than clearly demonstrate the possibilities national hero. Just imagine, a man is lying on the pavement and a loaded truck runs over him. Naturally, people observing such a picture are in shock, and the person, as if nothing had happened, gets up and shakes off the dust. I just want to shout: “Glory to the Russian Samson!”

Circus program of Iron Samson

Alexander Zass devoted his entire life to the circus. He became famous as the strongest man in the world. For decades, his pseudonym Iron Samson did not leave circus posters all over the world. It was the domestic circus performer who was the most desired artist or, as they call it, a “circus star.” And this is no coincidence, given his amazing repertoire. Here is a list of just some of his numbers:
1) He lifted the piano, on the top of which a girl was sitting, and carried her around the circus arena;
2) Was able to catch a cannonball, which weighs about 9 kg, with his bare hands. Note that the cannonball was fired at Alexander from a distance of 80 meters;
3) In his teeth he held a metal structure on which 2 assistants were sitting;
4) While under the circus big top (tied with one leg and oars upside down), he held the piano in his teeth;
5) He lay down with his bare back on a board studded with nails. Then, a group of assistants placed a stone that weighed half a ton on his chest. After that, those interested were invited from the audience, who could hit the stone well with a sledgehammer;
6) With just his fingers he was able to break the links of a chain;
7) Was able to drive a nail into a three-inch board using his bare palm. What’s interesting is that he then used his fingers to take them out, clasping the hat with the index fingers of his left and right hands.

Athlete Feature

The athletic performances performed by Alexander Zass always had a great sensation. People were ready to pay for tickets to the circus just to watch the Russian Samson again and again. But his psychically disturbing numbers were not the only thing that attracted attention. Alexander looked like the most ordinary, average man. He weighed only 80 kg, and was no more than 170 cm tall. The volume of his biceps was only 41 cm. That is, he had absolutely no resemblance to the image of a circus strongman, who have huge muscles and massive bodies.

Alexander Zass argued that large muscles are absolutely not an indicator that you are strong. He was sure that the main thing is the ability to feel your body and strong tendons, coupled with extraordinary willpower, make a strongman out of any man.

The path to strength

The most common question Alexander Zass heard was how he managed to become so strong. To which the athlete honestly answered: “My strength is the result of exhausting work, incredible tension not only of all physical, but also of spiritual strength to the last.”
A strict daily routine and constant training, which were followed by performances - this is how Iron Samson’s life path can be characterized. There is an entertaining photograph showing 74-year-old Alexander, who is sitting at home, in the kitchen, and in front of him is a samovar with the inscription “5 minutes of rest.” Interestingly, even at this advanced age, Russian Samson continued to work, but not in the strength genre, but as a trainer. Although, he often diluted his performances with a couple of power tricks. One of the most popular numbers of that time for Alexander was a performance in which he took a yoke with two lions in his teeth and walked around the circus arena.

Choice life path

All the men of the Zass family were notable for their hefty strength. Of course, Alexander, thanks to his training, surpassed his ancestors. Once, when Alexander was very young, he went with his father to the circus. Then little Sasha was delighted with only two numbers - a number with an animal trainer and a circus strongman. It was the event that happened on this day that changed the boy’s worldview and pointed to his life path - to become a circus performer. This is what happened.
After the performance of the circus athlete, he, as was popular, called the audience out of the hall in order to repeat his “feat”. To do this, he suggested bending an iron horseshoe. Of course, there were no takers. But then Father Alexander got up from his seat, approached the athlete and said: “Let me try!” Then he straightened the horseshoe. Alexander, the audience, and the athlete himself were shocked! As it turned out, Father Alexander also loved to demonstrate his strength, but unlike the future Iron Samson, he did it in front of loved ones and guests.
After the event described above, Alexander Zass lived alone with the circus, one might say that he became ill with it.

The first training sessions of the future Iron Samson

In the backyard of his house, little Alexander, with the participation of adults, equipped a whole training ground. There were two horizontal bars installed there, on which trapezoids were installed. Then, gradually, he began to put sports equipment there: weights, dumbbells. I built a barbell. Over time, his backyard turned into a real gym, where Alexander spent all his free time training hard. Even then, at the circus with his father, he carefully memorized the performances of the circus performers, and now his goal was to repeat what he saw there. Alexander, without outside help, mastered such complex tricks as a somersault on a horse, learned to do pull-ups with one hand, but all this seemed not enough to the young man, he understood that there was not enough system here.

Systematic training began for Alexander when his father gave him the book “Strength and how to become strong,” the author of which was the boy’s idol, athlete Evgeniy Sandov. In this book, the author shared incredible details of his biography, for example, a fight with a lion. But that wasn’t what Alexander was interested in, he needed a training system. He found them on the pages of this book. The books contained 18 exercises with dumbbells, which the future Iron Samson added to the list of his workouts. Over time, this was not enough for the young man; he felt that this was not enough, that dumbbells alone were not capable of developing in him the strength that he dreamed of.

Then he found new mentors in the persons of Pyotr Krylov and Dmitriev - Morro, who were famous as famous athletes. It was they who developed a set of exercises for the young man, expanding those that were in the teenager’s arsenal. Dmitriev-Morro made a particularly great contribution to the development of Alexander, who informed the young man about all the intricacies of playing sports with the help of a barbell.
In addition to the fact that Alexander had developed considerable strength by the age of 18, he often attended circus performances in order to once again look at circus strongmen. Over time, Alexander's sports props were supplemented with horseshoes, nails, metal rods and other elements with which circus athletes worked. It was when he began working with this prop that the future Iron Samson realized that it was he who made it possible to develop strength even more than a barbell or weights.

An incident in the war

First World War came just when Alexander was of conscription age. He served in the 180th Vindavsky Cavalry Regiment. The incident described below amazed everyone without exception, even those who knew about Alexander’s abilities.
One day, returning from reconnaissance, Zass was ambushed by the Austrians. The event occurred when he was approaching Russian positions. The Austrian rifleman hit the horse's leg and, apparently realizing that he was near Russian positions, left Zass. The future circus athlete lay down, waiting out the danger, and then got up. Then Alexander, seeing the wounded horse, realized that he could not leave it! There were about 600 meters left to the regiment, but this did not stop the future Samson. He simply put the horse on his shoulders and carried it all the way to the regiment. Over time, when the war ends, this episode will emerge in his memory and will become one of the most striking numbers that he will demonstrate in the circus arena.

How Alexander got into the circus

The war left a number of terrible memories for Alexander Zass throughout his life. One day, he had to beg the doctors not to amputate his leg, which, due to a severe wound, began to fester severely. Alexander was in captivity and escaped three times, two of which ended in failure for the future circus performer, because he was caught and severely punished.
But the third time was successful. Moreover, Alexander's third escape served as the beginning of his circus career. When he managed to escape from captivity, he was able to independently reach the Hungarian town of Kaposvár, where, just at that time, the most famous Schmidt circus in Europe was touring. Then Zass went all-in. He approached the owner of the circus and told him that he was a prisoner who had escaped and said that he had incredible strength. Right then, the circus owner gave him a test by giving him a thick metal rod and an iron chain.
Alexander didn’t eat for several days, but still, having gathered all his spiritual strength, he broke the chain with his bare hands and bent the rod! After which Alexander became a member of the circus troupe, and the news of the strongest athlete spread throughout Kaposvár.
Unfortunately, he will be captured again. One day, the Austrian commandant, who will attend the performance, will be interested in Alexander's biography. Then he finds out that he is a Russian prisoner. After which, the future Samson will be severely beaten and thrown into prison. But here his strength will come to the rescue again! He will break the chains of handcuffs and straighten the bars of the bars.
This time he was able to get to Budapest. In the capital of Hungary, he meets the good-natured wrestler Chai Janos, who will help Alexander get a job in the circus. It is Tea that will influence Zass to become a member of the Italian circus troupe.
The Italian impresario, with whom the wrestler will introduce Alexander, will enter into a contract with the future Iron Samson.

World fame

This contract entailed the world fame of Alexander Zass. Having signed the contract, he goes on a European tour. It was in England, after Samson’s performance, that the great athletes of that time started talking about him. No matter how they tried to repeat what Alexander did, they did not succeed, and the English public was wildly delighted with the performances of Iron Samson. Mr. Pullum, the world's most famous sports journalist, argued that Zass is the only person in the world who has learned to use both physical and mental ability. He also claimed that if he had not seen Alexander in action, he would never have believed that it was possible to do what this athlete does on the circus stage, given physical parameters Alexandra.

Completion of life's journey

After Pullum's statement, the world's newspapers scrambled to interview Iron Samson. In the years that the circus troupe attended, with Alexander's participation, there was a wild excitement. From that time until the end of his days, Alexander Zass was a circus performer.
In total, Russian Samson spent more than 60 years in the circus arena. Despite his grueling training, the domestic athlete lived to an old age in good health.

In the article we will talk about Alexander Zass. This incredible person, who at one time was very famous due to his physical performance. Otherwise, he was called “Iron Samson.” The man was a circus performer and strongman, known for his outstanding physical fitness.

Childhood

So, who is he - Al Alexander Zass? Let's start looking at the biography of this man with the fact that he was born in March 1888 in the Vilna province. He spent his childhood in Saransk, where his family moved shortly after the boy was born. Already in childhood he demonstrated his amazing qualities. Weighing 66 kg, he did bench press right hand, loaded with 80 kg.

Life path. Start

Alexander Zass, whose photo we see in the article, was born into a family of strong men like himself. If we do research and dig deeper into history, we find out that all the Zassas had quite impressive strength. However, it was the hero of our article who managed to surpass all his relatives thanks to constant grueling training. He increased a hundredfold what nature gave him in the beginning.

In his rare interviews, Alexander himself said that perhaps his future fate was determined by one incident that happened in childhood. Then he went with his father to the circus. More than anything little boy I was impressed by two numbers. The first of them is a performance by a trainer together with animals, and the second is a demonstration of the strength of a circus strongman. Alexander said that what he saw shocked and impressed him for the rest of his life. He constantly thought and could not get rid of the thought that he wanted to have the same power.

There was another interesting incident in the life of Alexander. So, he went with his father to the circus, and during the performance the circus athlete bent an iron horseshoe. He succeeded, and the audience was delighted and applauded him. After that, he invited everyone from the audience to repeat this number. Naturally, there were no people who wanted to show their weakness, so no one came out. However, at that moment Alexander’s father stood up and walked onto the stage. He decided to try, which caused surprise not only in the hall, but also on stage. Surprisingly, he was able, like an athlete, to straighten a horseshoe. Say that auditorium and the athlete himself was shocked - to say nothing.

This incident shows us that not only Alexander, but also his father loved to demonstrate their strength. However, all this happened most often in the circle of family and friends, while Alexander wanted to conquer the whole world. And he really succeeded, because after this event he could not think about anything else but the circus.

First steps

The boy persuaded his parents and set up a fairly spacious area for training in his backyard. At first there were only 2 horizontal bars with trapezoids installed. However, gradually the boy brought more and more sports equipment to his small corner, where he sat for hours. After a while there were weights, dumbbells, and then a barbell appeared.

After a fairly short period of time, the backyard turned into a gym, where Alexander spent almost all his free time doing strength training. He did not just do anything, but tried to repeat athletic performances.

While visiting the circus with his father, he memorized the most interesting tricks and tried to repeat them at home. Surprisingly, he was already able to repeat one of the most difficult tricks of circus strongmen without any help from adults or specially trained people. So, he learned to do somersaults on a horse and pull himself up with one hand.

Even though the guy was praised and admired for his achievements, he realized that something was missing. This is how the training system of Alexander Zass appeared. Naturally, it was not formed immediately, because he changed it for a long time, selected certain elements and constantly improved it. Nevertheless, it was in adolescence that he realized that in order to obtain a truly high-quality result, some kind of orderliness and structure are necessary.

Handbook by Alexander Zass-Samson

The construction of his own system began after his father brought him a book called “Strength and how to become strong.” The author of this publication was a fairly well-known athlete at that time, Evgeniy Sandov. For the teenager, he was a real idol, so he accepted the gift with incredible delight. This book was very interesting and became a reference book for Alexander.

He said more than once that thanks to her he was able to accurately determine his choice in life and understand many decisive moments for a circus performer. In the book, Evgeny Sandov talked not only about training and tricks, but also shared special moments from his biography.

So, he talked about a fight with a lion that happened in his life. However, Alexander was determined, practical information was important to him, so he did not pay attention to special attention for interesting cases, I tried to take a grain of truth from the book. And he found it. The author talked about 18 exercises that must be performed with dumbbells. It was these that the future Iron Samson, Alexander Zass, took note of. The training method now consisted of his own exercises and the new 18. However, as time went on, the young man realized that even this was not enough for him. He clearly realized that exercises with dumbbells could not develop in him the incredible strength that he so aspired and dreamed of.

Search for mentors

They were quite interesting and famous athletes, impressing the audience with their performances. It was they who created a certain set of exercises for the young man that would help him achieve the desired heights. It should be noted that the training method of Alexander Zass, which he originally came up with, has been preserved. In other words, athletes recognized its effectiveness and simply supplemented it with certain exercises. It is believed that Morro-Dmitriev made the greatest contribution to the development of Samson’s future, because it was he who told the young man about all the features, subtleties and tricks of working with a barbell.

By the age of 18, the young guy had developed enormous strength. He regularly visited the circus in order to watch circus strongmen and learn something new from them. When he reached a certain peak, he decided to develop himself further. He didn’t want to stop, so he added nails, metal rods, horseshoes, etc. to his props.

All this was new to him because he had not encountered such elements before. Nevertheless, he understood that if he stopped there, he would remain a developed and strong, but ordinary athlete. He himself admitted that it was when he began working with non-standard props that he realized that this is what greatly develops physical spiritual strength, and not weights and barbells. In order to work with such unusual instruments, you need much more strength, endurance, patience and will.

Path to glory

A man performed for the first time in a circus in 1908 on the Orenburg stage. And his entire further path was inextricably linked with this. He became famous for being the strongest man in the world. For several decades he adorned all circus posters. Alexander Zass - Iron Samson was a welcome guest in every city and every country. They called him rising star. This is not surprising, given how unusual and varied his circus acts were. He tried to be original and create something new, avoiding working as a carbon copy. He succeeded very well because his performances delighted and shocked the audience at the same time.

The incident that made this man famous occurred in 1938. Until that time, he was engaged in physical development, worked in the circus, but was not a star for the general public. So, in 1938, in a small town in England, he clearly demonstrated his capabilities. Alexander Zass was lying on the square and a packed truck ran over him. All this was observed by people who were shocked and delighted by the capabilities of Iron Samson. After that, he simply stood up without a single scratch or dent on his body.

The war has come

The First World War began precisely at the time when the guy entered conscription age. He served in the Vindava Cavalry Regiment. It was during the war that an incident occurred that impressed not only ordinary people who were not aware of the guy’s strength and capabilities, but even his friends and relatives who knew what he was capable of.

One day the guy was returning from reconnaissance and was ambushed by the Austrians. An Austrian soldier injured his horse's leg, but realized that he was near the Russian border, so he quickly hid away from problems. Alexander behaved quietly and meekly for some time to wait out the danger, and after that he stood up to move on. It was then that he saw that his horse had been wounded quite seriously in the leg, and he realized that he could not leave it to die. The walk to the regiment was about 600 m, but even this fact could not stop the man. He hoisted the horse onto his shoulders and carried it straight to the regiment.

After some time, when the war ends, Alexander will again remember this incident and use it in his performances. It is he who will bring him fame and become one of the most striking and impressive numbers. However, the war was a rather terrible event for the man, which left many sad memories for the rest of his life.

So, one day he seriously wounded his leg, and it began to fester. As a result, the doctors decided on the necessary amputation, but the man begged them not to do this. He himself did not like to remember this moment, because it was very tragic for him, and this is quite understandable.

Captivity

Also, Alexander 3ass was captured 3 times and escaped each time. However, he was caught twice, after which he was punished quite severely, which discouraged hunting for some time. But only for a while. The third time the escape was successful and it was this that became the reason for the man’s ascent to the circus Olympus. Before the war, he was simply a fairly famous athlete, but did not perform in the circus regularly. He worked simply for himself, although sometimes he visited the circus to watch this or that act.

Having escaped from captivity, he reached a small town in Hungary, where Schmidt’s circus was touring at that time. It was the most famous circus in Europe, which everyone wanted to get into. Alexander decided that this was his chance. He began negotiations with the owner of the circus, sharing with him information that he was a captured and escaped soldier. At the same time, he spoke about his capabilities and enormous power. During the first meeting, the owner decided to check the guy. He gave him a large metal rod and an iron chain so that the guy could show his capabilities.

It should be noted that before this, Alexander lived for several days without food and water, because he was on the run. However, he understood that his future depended on whether he could prove himself. Therefore, he gathered all his physical and spiritual strength and was able to break the chain with his bare hands, and then bend the rod. Immediately after this, the circus owner accepted him into the circus troupe, and news of an incredibly strong athlete spread throughout the city.

However, not everything was so smooth. Alexander Zass's training continued to excite and interest the public. He became an increasingly popular and interesting circus performer. But at one point the Austrian commandant drew attention to his performance. He was impressed by Alexander’s numbers, so he became interested in his biography. Then he learned that Zass was a Russian prisoner who had escaped from captivity by the Austrians.

After this, Alexander was severely beaten, and he ended up in prison. However, he found a solution to this problem, again thanks to his strength. With his bare hands he breaks the chains and unbends the bars. This time he manages to escape and get to Budapest. There he meets a fairly famous and good-natured wrestler named Chai Janos, who helps him get a job at the local circus. In the future, it is thanks to this person that the man will join the Italian circus troupe.

Touring in Europe

Alexander Zass's training, as well as his amazing tricks and performances, impressed the Italian impresario, so he offered the man a contract. It was this agreement that in the future brought world fame to Alexander. He signed it and went on a European tour.

There, a man demonstrated acts with lions, horses, lifting a piano and exercises with a belt. Alexander Zass tried to improve every time in order to surprise the audience again and again. As a result, it was after a great performance in England that the greatest athletes of that time started talking about him. The most amazing thing is that they themselves tried to repeat certain numbers, but could not. The audience was delighted with Samson (Alexander Zass).

Numbers

So, let's look at the main circus acts performed by strongman Alexander Zass:

• He easily lifted the piano on which the girl was sitting. He not only lifted them, but also carried them around the arena.
• I caught a cannonball weighing more than 9 kg with my bare hands. It should be added that the cannonball was thrown from a distance of 80 m, so during flight it acquired additional heaviness.
• He could hold in his teeth a metal structure on which two people or two large animals were sitting.
• He also tied himself under the circus big top by one leg, hanging upside down. In this position he held the piano in his teeth.
• Without a shudder he could lie down with his bare back on a surface with nails and needles. After that, a stone weighing about 500 kg was placed on his chest. But the test did not end there. Usually they invited spectators from the audience, who could hit the stone with a sledgehammer with all their might. Alexander Zass did all this absolutely calmly, without a grimace of pain or even discomfort.
• Could break the links of a steel chain with just his fingers.
• He skillfully hammered nails into thick boards with his bare palms.

Peculiarities

The athletic numbers that the man showed created a huge sensation. People paid a lot of money to admire Iron Samson - Alexander Zass.

It must be said that his numbers and performances attracted attention not only because they excited the worldview normal person. The highlight was that in appearance the man was a completely ordinary ordinary person. He weighed about 80 kg with a height of 170 cm. The volume of his biceps was approximately 40 cm. In other words, we can say that in no way did he resemble a standard circus strongman who boasts huge muscles and a massive body.

Alexander Zass himself said that the presence of a pile of impressive muscles does not mean a person’s strength. He argued that the most important thing is the ability to feel your body, skillfully control it and cultivate willpower. The man believed that these qualities could make anyone a real strongman.

Training and performances

As the circus performer himself recalled, most often he was asked the question of how he could become so strong. He answered honestly, without embellishment or exaggeration. He said that strength is the result of exhausting work and strong tension not only of physical, but also of spiritual strength. He was always honest about the fact that his success was entirely based on constantly working to the limit.

Alexander Zass never shrouded himself in any fables and myths that he was born with such incredible strength and is a miracle of nature. He simply persistently pursued his goal. Alexander Zass's system will impress anyone, because all his life he adhered to a very strict regime and constantly trained. If we try to briefly and succinctly describe his life, it will consist of periods of training and performances. In fact, these are the two main activities that occupied the talented and persistent man throughout his life.

It seemed simply incredible that this man remained true to himself and his views even in his old age. So, in old age he continued to work. Of course, he could no longer demonstrate any strength numbers, but nevertheless continued his activities as a trainer. And yet, he could not resist showing off several power tricks during his performance, which only further warmed up and excited the audience. Around this age, he was still shocking onlookers by holding a structure with his teeth on which two lions sat. He could not only hold them, but also walk on stage with them.

However, the last public performance took place when the circus performer was 66 years old. After that, he only worked behind the scenes and trained animals. He really enjoyed working with horses, dogs, monkeys and ponies. He also trained large animals such as lions and elephants.

Book

His book, published in 1925 in London, which is in fact his memoirs, was incredibly popular. It sold out very quickly and a new edition was needed. It was called “The Amazing Samson. Told by him... and more." It appeared in Russian translation only in 2010, much to the regret of our compatriots. So, in addition to the text, there were about 130 illustrations, which were photographs of various documents, posters and real photographs of Alexander.

Inventions

After concluding a contract with the Italian circus, Alexander remained a circus performer until the end of his days. In total, he spent about 60 years in the arena. Interestingly, in addition to his unsurpassed performances and exercises, he left behind some inventions.

So, he invented a hand dynamometer and a cannon that fired a person. He is also the author of the idea of ​​“man-projectile” attractions. In one of the rooms, he caught a girl who was flying out of a cannon he invented. Surprisingly, before falling into his hands, she flew about 12 m.

Few people know that this man spoke several European languages ​​at a high level. And this destroys the modern stereotype that “if you have strength, you don’t need intelligence.” There are a large number of excellent examples that this statement - complete delusion. Alexander is clear proof of this.

Memory

The great circus performer died in 1962. He was buried in the small town of Hockley near London. It was in that area that he lived until old age.

In honor of his great achievements, a monument to Alexander Zass was erected in front of the Orenburg Circus in 2008. Grand opening The monument was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Zass’s first performance in this circus with power tricks.

To summarize, we note that Samson is a man of incredible willpower. He was one of the most outstanding athletes of his time. Until now, not every athlete and strongman can repeat his numbers. Alexander Zass’s gymnastics are still very popular, and many novice athletes try to practice according to his system. However, we must remember that it is not only about physical effort, but also about developing mental toughness.

He was called "Iron Samson". He believed that his strength was that he was Russian. Alexander Zass escaped from German captivity, carried a wounded horse from the battlefield, bent horseshoes and broke chains.

Zass and Rezazad: who is stronger?

Alexander Zass is considered a legendary Russian strongman. And in fact, everything that he showed on the circus stage did not fit into the minds of ordinary people. For example, in one of his performances, “Iron Samson” lifted a horse weighing 500 kilograms. For comparison, the most outstanding result in modern weightlifting belongs to the Iranian Hossein Rezazadeh, who pushed 263.5 kilograms. And this despite the fact that the weightlifter from Tehran weighs twice as much as Zass. Of course, there is a difference between carrying a horse on your shoulders and lifting a barbell. However, the scale of the physical capabilities of the Russian circus performer still amazes the imagination.

A man of his time

Meanwhile, in Tsarist Russia there were many other athletes who earned their living by performing strength training in circus tours. For example, Evgeny Sandov easily squeezed 101.5 kilograms with one hand. Ivan Zaikin surprised by the fact that he carried a ship's anchor weighing 409 kilograms. And “Russian Lion” Georg Hackenschmidt easily spread his arms with two-pound weights to the side.

At that time, every Russian boy dreamed of becoming a circus strongman. By the way, Alexander Zass himself said in his memoirs that he was greatly impressed by the circus performer Vanya Pud, who lifted huge barrels of water. This happened at the age of seven, and young Shura - as he was called in the family - played circus strongman, trying to lift a wooden tub.

Get over yourself

In his childhood games, Zass took on weights that he could not even lift adult. The boy did not succeed, but Shura did not give up and pushed for a long time with all his strength. In essence, he performed isometric-static exercises, concentrating muscle tension through willpower. The result was not long in coming. After some time, the future “iron Samson” easily lifted the saddle, although quite recently he needed considerable effort to do this. He saw an obvious correlation between desperate attempts to achieve the "impossible" and increasing strength. However, recognized athletes of that time did not see the point in such training, preferring to “pump up” their muscles with dynamic exercises.

Scientific explanation

It will take decades of scientific research to explain this “Samson” phenomenon. It turns out that human energy depends on metabolism in the body, which is carried out in two ways - aerobic and anaerobic. Dynamic variable exercises such as squats stimulate the aerobic system. And with static loads - anaerobic, the same one that is the biochemical basis of strength capabilities.

Raise the horse, break the chain...

Since Alexander Zass mainly trained using static methods, he developed unique strength capabilities that he himself was not aware of. In 1914, as a cavalryman of the 180th Vindavsky Regiment, he was ambushed by Austria. He himself was not injured, but his horse was wounded in the leg. Without thinking twice, he picked up his four-legged friend and carried him half a kilometer to the camp where the regiment was located.
Having done this, Zass believed in the unique capabilities of his body and in the strength of his spirit. Finding himself in captivity, the strongman, shackled, broke the chain and straightened the bars of the prison bars. Later, recalling his escape, “Samson” admitted that without the concentration of moral strength he could hardly have accomplished this. Later, this property was noted by the director of the English Camberwell Athletic Club, Mr. Pullum, writing about the “Russian strongman” as “a man who uses his mind as well as his muscles.”

Strength of mind

Nowadays it has been proven that moral strength actually significantly increases a person’s energy. In particular, scientists from the American Sports Association experimentally established that the muscular abilities of a person under hypnosis, when he was told that he has incredible strength, are significantly higher than when doping is injected into the blood. The fact is that the force of muscle contraction depends on the power of the electrical impulse coming from the brain through the central nervous system. The more intense this impulse, the more calcium ions are released, affecting a person’s strength.
Alexander Zass did not know all these scientific intricacies, but he believed that the concentration of mental strength increases physical strength. And he also believed that the “strength of spirit” in the Russian people is strong.

A Love Called Betty

Having joined the English circus, Alexander Zass developed a unique circus act in which pianist Betty Tilbury acted as an assistant. The act consisted of the strongman hovering under the circus dome and holding a rope in his teeth, on which was suspended a platform with a piano and a girl playing music.
Soon love broke out between them, lasting ten years. However, Zass liked other women and had fleeting affairs. “We can’t fix you, we’ll remain just friends,” Betty once told him and married the clown Sid. But the “Russian Samson” never found his family. He wrote to his sister Nadezhda in letters that he was endlessly lonely.

Alexander Zaas is one of the most powerful athletes and wrestlers of the early twentieth century. He was best known under the pseudonyms ‘Samson’, ‘Iron Samson’ and ‘Amazing Samson’. According to some sources, he is considered the first pre-revolutionary Russian heavyweight champion.

The life of a great strongman. Biography of Alexander Zass.

Childhood and youth

Alexander was born in 1888 in Vilno (Vilno now Lithuania), then part of Russian Empire.
Alexander Zass was born on February 23 (old style) 1888 on an unnamed farm in the Vilna province, part of the Northwestern region of the Russian Empire. Shura was the third child in the family. In total, Ivan Petrovich and Ekaterina Emelyanovna Zassov had five children: three boys and two girls.

Soon after the birth of Alexander, the Zass left the Vilnius region and moved to the outskirts of Tula, and when the boy was four years old, the family moved to Saransk. The reason for the change of place was that my father received the position of clerk. Despite the fact that the landowners' estates, which were managed by Ivan Petrovich, were located between Saransk and Penza, the Zasses lived mainly in the city itself. It is curious that both the town house itself and the bank accounts were registered not in the name of the head of the family, but in the name of the mother, who was a very purposeful and strong-willed woman. It is known that she even ran and was elected to the Saransk City Duma. Ivan Petrovich, skillfully managing the household, involved all his children in work. Later, Alexander Ivanovich recalled:

My childhood was spent in the fields, for our family was essentially peasant. There was plenty of food and drink, and yet we had to work hard for everything we had.

By his own admission, Alexander’s childhood years were not particularly interesting and consisted mainly of hard work. As he grew older, his father began sending him on long trips on horseback with large sums of money, which he had to deposit in the bank into the account of the owner of the estates. In the future, his father wanted to give Alexander a technical education and dreamed of seeing his son as a locomotive driver. Zass himself did not have the slightest desire to drive locomotives. Traveling around different cities and villages, he had the opportunity to see quite a lot of traveling troupes and tent circuses, for which Russia was famous in those days. The life of a circus performer seemed to him the most beautiful in the world. However, Alexander could not allow himself even a hint of such thoughts - his father was very strict and could mercilessly flog him for disobedience.

One day, Ivan Petrovich took his son with him to the fair to sell horses. In the evening, after a successful transaction, they went to a performance of a traveling circus located nearby. The sight he saw struck the boy to the core: To the music, screams and laughter, people soared in the air, horses danced, jugglers balanced various objects. But he especially liked the strongman who could easily lift heavy weights, break chains and twist iron bars around his neck. Many spectators, including Father Alexander, following the invitation of the presenter, got up from their seats and tried without special success repeat these tricks. Returning to the inn, father and son had dinner and went to bed. But sleep did not come to Alexander, slipping out of the room, he rushed to the circus tent and, having paid the required amount from his pocket money, went in to watch the performance again.

He returned home only the next morning. The father, having learned about his son’s absence, took a shepherd’s whip in his hands and flogged him. Alexander spent the rest of the day and all night in a separate room without food or sleep, tormented by a fever. Early in the morning he was given some bread and told to go to work immediately. Already in the evening, the father informed his son that he was sending him to a distant southern village for a year as a shepherd. There, a twelve-year-old teenager had to help shepherds graze a huge herd - almost 400 cows, 200 camels and over 300 horses. From morning to night, he was in the saddle under the scorching sun and made sure that the animals did not fight, did not wander off and did not climb into other people's possessions.

All the time spent away from home, Alexander did not stop thinking about the circus and its wonderful life. He learned to shoot well - more than once or twice the shepherds had to fight off wolves. Communication with animals also gave a lot to the future circus actor. He tried to teach horses the same tricks that he noticed from riders in the circus, and improved in horse riding and vaulting. Soon the boy began to feel as confident on the horse’s back as on the ground. However, what especially surprised the shepherds and what Alexander himself considered his main victory was his friendship with the guard dogs. He managed to find mutual language with six huge, ferocious and merciless wolfhounds, who then accompanied him everywhere.

After returning to Saransk, Zass began collecting magazines and various instructions “on improving the figure and developing strength.” Reading them, he tried to understand the intricacies of sports and circus terminology, learned athletic exercises, learned about famous wrestlers, gymnasts and strongmen. Alexander's favorite hero was the outstanding athlete of the nineteenth century, Evgeniy Sandov.

Zass's early day now began with gymnastics and jogging. He spent his free minutes in the backyard of the house, devoting them to performing various exercises. He didn’t have any dumbbells or weights, so the guy tied stones of varying weights to wooden sticks. In addition, he carried cobblestones, trying to hold them only with his fingers, and jogged with a calf or foal on his shoulders. Zass also trained with thick tree branches - he tried to bend them without support with just his hands. Later, he made two horizontal bars for flying from one bar to another.

The first successes came as a reward for hard work - Alexander felt his body getting stronger and filled with strength.

He learned to “spin the sun” on a bar, do one-arm pull-ups, and catch 8-kilogram stones thrown from a throwing board.

There were also injuries. One day he failed to hold a stone projectile and fell with a broken collarbone. After spending a month with his arm in a sling, he started all over again.

Having become older, Zass turned for help to famous athletes of that era - Pyotr Krylov, Dmitriev, Anokhin. They all reviewed the young man's letters and sent him their guidelines. By training according to their exercise systems, Alexander Ivanovich further developed his abilities. None of his peers could do what he did. Weighing 66 kilograms, the young man confidently twisted 80 kilograms with his right hand and juggled 30-kilogram weights. Rumors about his extraordinary strength quickly spread throughout the surrounding villages and villages. They began to invite him to various parties and celebrations, where people were not averse to measuring their strength with him. However, for all his outstanding abilities, Alexander Ivanovich grew up as a surprisingly calm and not pugnacious person; in the summer he took care of his father’s affairs, and in the winter he attended school.

Work in the circus

The turning point in his fate came in the summer of 1908 (when he was 20 years old). Despite Alexander’s timid protests, Zass Sr. sent the twenty-year-old guy to Orenburg to the local locomotive depot to study as a fireman, or, if he was lucky, as an assistant driver. And at the beginning of October, Orenburg newspapers announced the arrival in the city of “the first-class Andrzhievsky circus with its huge troupe.” Alexander, of course, came to watch the performance. A couple of days later, Zass, having mustered up the courage, appeared before the director, to whom he told about how he was attracted to such a life. Dmitry Andriyuk, and this is how Andrzhievsky was actually called, was himself an excellent trainer and wrestler, and performed athletic performances. To Alexander’s great surprise, he said: “Do you want to work in the circus? Well, okay, you can join us as a laborer. You will help where needed. But life here is difficult, no doubt about it. You will work long hours, and it may happen that you will have to go hungry. Think carefully." However, Alexander did not hesitate.

Andrzyevsky Circus

At first, the young circus performer really had a hard time. In addition to various “menial” labor such as cleaning animals or cleaning the arena, he helped the athlete Kuratkin during his performances. Over time, Kuratkin became attached to the young man - he taught him the various intricacies of circus strongmen, and trained him in balancing with heavy objects. And a few months later, Alexander received his own, small act - demonstrating strength, he threw a huge stone over his head from hand to hand.

He wrote to his family that he was diligently studying to become a locomotive driver.

This was only partly a lie - Zass really put his whole soul into the hard work of a circus performer.

Andrzhievsky's circus tent operated for six months in Orenburg and nearby settlements, and as soon as the fees began to fall, the troupe got ready to go. Zass had to make a difficult decision - to go to his father in Saransk and inform him of his choice of life path or to openly continue his circus career. Andrzhievsky, having learned about this, ordered Zass to return home, repent and trust in his father’s mercy. He refused all the young man’s requests to take him with him.

However, Zass did not go home at all. He took the train to Tashkent, and upon arriving in the city he immediately went to the circus of the famous entrepreneur Yupatov. He had heard a lot about Philip Afanasyevich. Yupatov kept his circuses in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara; his troupes included the most famous “stars”, each of them an unsurpassed specialist in his genre.

The performance of the Tashkent troupe made a huge impression on Zass. After the Andrzhievsky Circus, the performances performed amazed us with their unique technique, brilliant invention and purity of execution. When the performance ended, the young man went to the ringmaster to talk. Introducing himself as an artist from the Andzhievsky Circus, he explained his desire to get a job with Yupatov very simply: “I want to earn more.” Half an hour later he was already invited for negotiations with the director of the circus, who, barely looking at Zass, announced that he was ready to hire him as a laborer on the condition that he pay a “deposit of integrity” of 200 rubles. Alexander did not have that kind of money, and he was given a week to get it.

The very next morning he wrote a letter to his father, saying that he had found a promising job with a good salary. He wrote that a large enterprise offered him training, but required him to pay 200 rubles as proof of integrity. Four days later, the required amount of money came from his father along with congratulations, and Zass became a full participant in Yupatov’s performances.

Circus Yupatov

Initially, he became an assistant to the legendary trainer Anatoly Durov. After six months of working on his team, Alexander was unexpectedly transferred to the cashier position. The salary in this place was higher, and Zass even managed to repay the debt to his father, who now did not particularly delve into the essence of his son’s “profitable” work. And soon he was returned to the arena, but not to Durov, but to the troupe of horse riders. As soon as Alexander got comfortable in this friendly and cheerful company, he was transferred to the aerialists. This is how Philip Afanasyevich raised young circus performers. In order to identify their true inclinations, and also to have replacements if necessary, he “passed” them through many specialties. Zass, despite the fact that he liked the work, did not stay with the trapeze gymnasts for long and was sent to a group of wrestlers led by the 140-kilogram giant Sergei Nikolaevsky.

Some time later, after numerous discussions, a plan was born for Alexander to perform independently, not related to wrestling matches. The basis was strength exercises, in which Zass was especially good - breaking chains with the force of his chest and hands, bending iron rods. These tricks were complemented by less difficult numbers, but also very effective. For example, demonstrating strength pectoral muscles, Alexander lay on his back, and on his chest there was a platform that could accommodate up to ten people. And Alexander could successfully hold the platform in his teeth on which the two heaviest wrestlers were sitting.

People flocked to Yupatov's performances, and the box office was excellent. However, the happiness of circus performers is short-lived. One dark August night, the circus menagerie caught fire. Perhaps the matter was not without competitors, but it was not possible to find out. The damage from the fire was catastrophic - most of the animals were burned and property was lost. There was nothing to pay the artists, and the troupe disbanded. Horse riders left for the Caucasus, Durov went to St. Petersburg, and Alexander Zass, along with six wrestlers, went to Central Asia. Along the way, athletes earned their living by performing, and the arena for them was, at best, the central square of the village, and more often a street or road. Thus, the emaciated and weakened strongmen reached Ashgabat, where they got a job in the circus tent of a certain Khoytsev.

Khoytsev Circus

With the advent of Yupatov’s artists, Khoytsev’s circus became mainly a wrestling circus, since against their background all other genres were losing. Performing in various cities and villages as an ordinary wrestler, Alexander continued to train intensively. His day began with a three-kilometer run, then there were exercises with breaking chains and with iron rods - he bent them on his knee, curled them in a spiral, and tied them in a knot. He devoted a lot of time to developing his back and pectoral muscles. Having finished morning workout, Zass rested and trained for the second time in the evening. During these classes, the athlete practiced horseback riding with vaulting, practiced balance, developed jaw and neck strength by lifting 170-kilogram steel beams from the ground.

Such activities helped him gain more muscle mass, which was necessary not so much for performing various tricks, but for obtaining a “marketable” appearance, since Zass was not taken seriously in the arena for a long time. Indeed, in an era when in world athletics 150- and 170-kilogram heroes were considered the embodiment of physical power, the short and thin Zass with his 168 centimeters of height and 75 kilograms of weight had a hard time compared to them. Later, Alexander Ivanovich will write that “large biceps cannot be considered a criterion of strength, just as a large belly is not a sign of good digestion.” He claimed that

a large man does not have to be strong, and a modestly built man does not have to be weak, and all the strength lies in the tendons, which is what needs to be trained

During a tour of the Khoytsev circus, Zass finally found a summons ordering him to report for military service.

Military service

Recruits were called up according to their place of birth, and Alexander had to go to Vilna, where he was from. There his forehead was shaved and he was assigned to serve in the 12th Turkestan Infantry Regiment, located on the Persian border. During his three-year service, he worked as a gymnastics instructor and also continued to practice wrestling and horse riding.

Life in Krasnoslobodsk

At the end military service Zass went to Simbirsk (Ulyanovsk), where he was offered a position as a coach of women athletes, and after some time he moved closer to his family in the city of Krasnoslobodsk, where he and his father purchased a cinema. However, things didn’t work out for him, and he was forced to turn to weightlifting again. Zass began performing solo numbers, and at the same time developed new unique power tricks. The first job offers came from a number of circuses, but then the First World War began.

War

Mobilization took place hastily, and Zass ended up in the 180th Vindavsky Infantry Regiment, which was transferred from Saransk to Lublin at the beginning of the war. Alexander Ivanovich was enlisted in regimental reconnaissance and, as part of a small group, carried out horse raids on enemy rear lines. A pedant and an ardent “regime official” in peaceful life, at the front he turned into a stern and dashing warrior. It is known that he was promoted to rank for his bravery in combat. There is also a legend about how

During the next foray, the stallion Zass was wounded in the front leg. The athlete did not abandon the animal in trouble, waiting until nightfall, he put the horse on his shoulders and went out with him to our trenches

Alexander Ivanovich did not fight at the front for long - during the next battle, a shell exploded next to him, hitting both legs of the Russian hero with shrapnel. He woke up in an Austrian hospital. There he was operated on, but the first operation was unsuccessful, and soon Alexander Ivanovich underwent a second and third. The wounds did not want to heal properly, and doctors warned the athlete that he might have to lose his legs. Left to his own devices, Zass used some of the principles of his passive exercises. He continued to work hard every day until all fears of losing his legs completely disappeared. Full recovery did not come immediately. At first, Alexander Ivanovich learned to move on crutches and helped care for other prisoners. And when he was able to move without crutches, he was transferred to a prisoner of war camp.

Captivity and first escape

In this “institution” everything was different. They fed poorly, forced to work a lot - from morning to evening, prisoners were busy building roads and temporary hospitals for the wounded on both sides, who continued to arrive in countless numbers. Zass spent about a year in this camp. The place was well guarded, the barracks were surrounded by barbed wire. Together with another prisoner named Ashaev, Alexander Ivanovich began to prepare to escape. With great difficulty, the friends managed to get a map of railway tracks without roads and a small, almost toy compass. They also managed to save some provisions. The last barrier to escape was barbed wire, completely hung with hundreds of bells and tins. Straining their brains in search of a way out, the prisoners very soon came to the conclusion that they had only one way beyond the wire - to make a tunnel. On moonless nights, Zass and Ashaev dug a hole, and when it was finished, they escaped. By dawn, tired and exhausted, they ran to the forest and took refuge under the shade of trees. There was no chase. The goal of the fugitives was to reach the Carpathians, where, in their opinion, the forward posts of the Russian army were located. However, these plans were not destined to come true; on the sixth day they came to the attention of a field gendarmerie patrol. They tried to escape, but they were caught up and, after being brutally beaten, they were taken to the nearest commandant’s office. After interrogation, Zass and Ashaev, to their surprise, were not shot, but were sent back to the camp. There the fugitives were brought before a military court, which gave them a relatively “mild” decision - they were sentenced to thirty days of solitary confinement on bread and water. At the end of the punishment, the prisoners were returned to their old duties, but were transferred to another, more guarded part of the camp. Here Alexander Ivanovich stayed for several more months, and then, due to a lack of male strength, he was sent to Central Hungary to an estate that was breeding horses.

Second escape

Life here turned out to be much easier, and after a couple of months, taking advantage of the carelessness of the guards, Zass and a Cossack named Yamesh left this place. This time the Russian athlete was much better prepared, had a reliable map and compass, and enough money. They remained free for two and a half months, until a patrol caught them near the Romanian city of Oradea. The friends were placed in the city prison, and when it was revealed that this was Alexander’s second escape, he was put in a dark underground casemate for six weeks. After this, he was transferred to a regular cell and was engaged in minor prison work. And then he was transferred to street work, which pushed Alexander Ivanovich to another attempt escape.

Third escape, work in the circus and again captivity

This time, having already learned from bitter experience, he did not try to break through to the Russian units. Zass reached the Romanian town of Kolozsvar, where the famous Herr Schmidt circus was located and asked to meet with the owner. Alexander Ivanovich openly told the director of the troupe about his troubles, as well as about his activities in Russian circuses. Fortunately, Schmidt's program did not include any strength athletes or wrestlers. Zass's stories about the tricks he could show convinced the owner. Schmidt was pleased with the first performances of the Russian hero, who, by the way, was far from in his in better shape, helped him buy new clothes and paid him a huge advance. However, Alexander Ivanovich's luck was not destined to last long. Circus posters announcing the appearance of "The Most strong man on the planet" attracted the attention of the local military commandant. Curious why such a fine fellow did not serve in the Austrian army, he arrived at the circus, and by the evening of the same day he found out that Zass was a Russian prisoner of war. Taking into account that Alexander Ivanovich did not kill or maim anyone during his escapes

the military tribunal limited himself to imprisoning him in the fortress until the end of the war

Zass was placed in a damp and cold basement, into which air and light penetrated through a tiny window located at a height of six meters and overlooking a moat with water. The legs and arms were shackled, which were removed only twice a day during feeding.

Fourth and final escape

Escape seemed impossible, but the Russian hero did not lose heart. Pulling himself together, he began to train. Shackled in arms and legs, he worked hard - he did goose steps, backbends, squats, tensed his muscles, kept them “on,” and relaxed. And so many times a day. The ostentatious humility and obedience somewhat changed the conditions of his detention. Three months later, Zass was allowed a daily half-hour walk around the territory of the fortress, and after a while, knowing about his circus past, he was offered to train local dogs. Alexander Ivanovich agreed, thereby freeing himself from the leg shackles and gaining some freedom for his hands. This turned out to be quite enough for him. After some time, the Russian strongman successfully made his next, final escape.

He successfully reached Budapest, where he got a job as a port loader. Zass stayed at this job for quite a long time, gradually regaining his strength. And when the Beketov Circus came to the city, he turned there, thinking of getting a place as an athlete or wrestler. But the circus director, who was experiencing financial difficulties, refused him, nevertheless giving him a letter of recommendation for the famous wrestler Chai Janos, who had his own troupe. This good-natured Hungarian treated Alexander Ivanovich with attention. After listening to the story of the Russian hero and testing him in a duel, he took him into his team.

Life in Europe - Iron Samson

For three years after this, Zass performed in the wrestling troupe of Chai Janos, alternating fights on the carpet with acts with dogs. He visited Italy, Switzerland, Serbia. Zass did not return to Soviet Russia, believing that, as a soldier of the tsarist army, the path there was closed forever. In the early twenties, tired of wrestling, the athlete moved to the circus of his old friend Schmidt, where he began performing athletic tricks that later brought him world fame. At the director’s suggestion, he took the stage name Samson, under which the European public knew him for many decades.

In 1923, Zass received an unexpected offer to work in Paris. He signed a contract, but did not stay long in the French capital. A year later, at the invitation of the head of British variety shows Oswald Stoll, he went to England, where he lived until the end of his life. It is curious that Stoll’s representatives, who met the famous strongman at London’s Victoria Station, at first did not pay any attention to the inconspicuous, stocky man who did not know a word of English. However, soon photographs of the Russian athlete took over the front pages of local newspapers. He visited Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh... His fame grew, and his performances aroused fantastic interest.

Circus acts by Alexander Zass

Zass was truly unique; common sense refused to believe in the numbers he performed. To demonstrate the gigantic load on his shoulders, he built a special tower. Being at the top, he held suspended platforms with people on his shoulders. In one of the photographs, Zass holds thirteen people on his shoulders, including Winston Churchill. Zass developed another unique number, “Projectile Man,” from a trick shown by other strongmen.

They were catching a nine-kilogram cannonball fired from a cannon, but the Russian hero chose a ninety-kilogram projectile for himself. Then, together with foundries and blacksmiths, he developed a particularly powerful cannon capable of throwing this cannonball so that it would slide along a given trajectory over the arena. By the way, Alexander Zass’s technical studies brought him considerable benefit in the future. Many years later, he developed the wrist dynamometer, first as a competition device and then as a training device. Successful performances with cannonball catching were not enough for him; Zass knew well how to conquer the audience. After much thought and calculation, a miracle gun was created that fired not cold metal, but girls. Flying eight meters across the stage, they invariably fell into the hands of the athlete.

Working with a jack, Alexander Ivanovich easily lifted trucks off the ground on one side. He generally had a craving for cars - in one city or another in England he loved to organize “road shows”. The strongman lay down on the ground, and cars filled with passengers passed over him - along his lower back and legs. In public, Zass also practiced stretching with horses. At the same time, he held back two horses rushing in different directions.

Putting future karatekas to shame, Zass broke through concrete slabs with his fists, and bent iron beams into a pattern more intricate than on the gates of Westminster Abbey. Alexander Ivanovich’s traditional performances were: hammering huge nails into a thick board with the palm of his hand, flying under the circus dome with a 220-kilogram beam in his teeth, carrying across the stage with a 300-kilogram horse on his shoulders. Many famous British athletes tried unsuccessfully to repeat Zass's tricks. And the Russian hero challenged anyone who was ready to knock him down with a punch in the stomach. Professionals have also participated in this more than once. There is a photo of the world heavyweight boxing champion, Canadian Tomi Burns, trying to knock down the Russian hero.

The repertoire of power routines by Alexander Zass was varied. For example, he carried a piano around the arena with a musician and a dancer playing it. The total weight of his burden was about 700 kilograms. He lifted two dozen people on the platform, lying with his bare back on a board studded with nails, holding a stone weighing 500 kilograms on his chest.

Life in England

In 1925, Zass met the dancer Betty - she became a participant in one of his numbers. The athlete hung upside down under the circus dome and held in his teeth a rope on which a platform with a girl playing the piano was suspended. Later a short time they began to live together. In 1975, 68-year-old Betty would say: “He was the only man I truly loved.” But Alexander Ivanovich was always popular with women and reciprocated. Betty forgave him a lot, and only ten years later life together in 1935 they decided to end their relationship and remain friends. Later she married Zass's best friend - clown and circus rider Sid Tilbury.

Shortly before the war, Alexander participated in filming in the small town of Hockley, located a forty-minute drive from London. Here he saw a site on Plumberow Avenue that he really liked. In 1951, Zass, Sid and Betty purchased this house for three. Alexander Ivanovich lived there on short visits, during breaks between tours. In 1954, Zass worked as the chief administrator of the New California Circus in Wokingham, and also performed with his famous Scottish ponies and dogs. On August 23 of the same year, the BBC television company organized the athlete's last public performance with power tricks. And although he was already 66 years old, the numbers shown were impressive. After this, Zass continued to work tirelessly, but as a trainer. Nevertheless, he liked to include strength numbers in his programs as entertainment for the public. For example, at the age of seventy he carried two lions around the arena in a special yoke.

Connection with the Motherland

In the summer of 1960, Alexander Ivanovich received a letter from Moscow from his sister Nadezhda. A correspondence began between them. In his messages, Zass asked if he could come and visit his relatives, stay in Russia, get a job there as a coach or physical education teacher. And in 1961, when the Soviet circus came on tour to London, the athlete met with Vladimir Durov, the grandson of the legendary Anatoly Leonidovich, for whom he worked as an assistant in his youth.

Death and memory of the legendary strongman

In the summer of 1962, there was a fire in Zass's caravan. 74-year-old Alexander Ivanovich bravely rushed into the fire to save his animals. In doing so, he received serious burns to his head and damaged his eyes. These injuries broke him greatly. He felt that he did not have much time left in this world, and gave Betty detailed instructions regarding his own funeral. One of the main wishes was the time of burial - “in the morning, when the sun begins to shine.” It was at this time that circus performers used to leave their seats and hit the road. Alexander Ivanovich died on September 26, 1962 in a hospital in Rochford, where he was taken the night before with a heart attack. He was buried in Hockley in accordance with his wishes.

In 2008, on the centennial anniversary of the artist’s first performance with power routines, a monument to Alexander Zass, made by sculptor A. Rukavishnikov, was unveiled and installed in front of the Orenburg Circus building.

In 1925, the memoirs of Alexander Zass were published in London, and in 2010 they were published in Russian translation by the Orenburg Book Publishing House. In the book “The Amazing Samson. Told by himself... and not only” also includes more than 130 illustrations - photographs, documents, circus posters.

Strength records

The most common question Alexander Zass heard was how he managed to become so strong. To which the athlete honestly answered:

My strength is the result of exhausting work, incredible tension not only of all physical, but also of spiritual strength to the last

• he carried a horse or a piano around the arena with a pianist and dancer located on the lid;
• caught with his hands a 9-kilogram cannonball flying out of a circus cannon from an eight-meter distance;
• he tore a metal beam with assistants sitting at its ends from the floor and held it in his teeth;
• having threaded the shin of one leg into the loop of a rope fixed under the dome, he held a platform with a piano and a pianist in his teeth;
• lying with his bare back on a board studded with nails, he held a stone weighing 500 kilograms on his chest, which was hit by those from the public with sledgehammers;
• in the famous attraction “Projectile Man” he caught with his hands an assistant flying out of a circus cannon and describing a 12-meter trajectory above the arena;
• he broke the links of chains with his fingers;
• He hammered nails into 3-inch boards with his unprotected palm, and then pulled them out, grasping the head with his index finger.
• with his own weight of 66 kg, young Zass twisted (press with torso deviation) with his right hand 80 kg.

Books about Alexander Zass

“Amazing Samson. Told by him... and more"

I offer the reader a translation of “The Amazing Samson” into Russian. As illustrations, the book uses materials donated in 2006 by the Orenburg Eurasia Charitable Foundation to the Orenburg History Museum, State Archives Orenburg region, photographs of Igor Khramov, Rustem Galimov, Oleg Kudryavtsev, Sergei Zemtsov, photographs and documents provided by Richard and Leslie Wingow, Dan Leonard, Jacqueline Ricardo (Great Britain), copies of documents provided by Yuri Vladimirovich and Liliya Fedorovna Shaposhnikov (Moscow)

"The Secret of Iron Samson"

Rarely a boy in the Soviet Union did not hold in his hands the book “The Secret of Iron Samson” by Alexander Drabkin and Yuri Shaposhnikov. A fascinating story about an athlete, with youth dreamed of working in a circus, worked hard on his own and eventually became legendary Samson, opened the world of strength and sports for many thousands of children. It was this wonderful book, published in a hundred thousand copies in 1973, and even later publications of “Letters from Hockley” by one of its authors - Alexander Zass’ nephew Yuri Vladimirovich Shaposhnikov - that were sorted into quotes on the Russian-language Internet.

• • in the USSR, almost until the death of Alexander Zass, practically nothing was known about him - “Samson” was considered “alien” to the Soviet system.
  • When performing in Europe, he was the most sought after artist.
  • at the end of his life, he invented a hand dynamometer, designed and manufactured a circus cannon for the “Projectile Man” attraction.
  • developed own system training - aimed at strengthening tendons. This system was successfully used by martial artist Bruce Lee
  • in the family of Alexander Zass, besides him, they were distinguished by their extraordinary strength - father, brother and sister

Photos by Alexander Zass

“I don’t believe in big muscles unless there is real strength in the tendons.”

“Big biceps are not a sign of strength, just as a big belly is not a sign of good digestion.”