Max Sick

Max Sick (28 June 1882 – 10 May 1961) was a German strongman and gymnast who performed as Maxick. With Monte Saldo, he developed the Maxalding system of bodybuilding through muscle control.

Early life Born in Bregenz in Austria in 1882 to Swiss parents, Sick's father died at the age of 24, and his mother then married a Bavarian, Herr Sick; later Max Sick became a naturalized German citizen. Sick trained as a mechanic at a local engineering works but at the age of 23 he left that employment and decided on a career that could better use his physical attributes, moving to Munich where he joined a gymnasium and where he quickly found work as an artist's model. He was just under tall and weighed around .

Strongman

Sick began to appear in German music halls, and as part of his stage routine he would make his various groups of muscles twitch in time to music. Reputedly, he also would take a man heavier than himself and lift him into the air sixteen times with one hand, while holding a mug of beer in the other hand without spilling it. His tremendous physique made him a very popular performer.

Publications

Muscle Control (1910) Health Strength and Will Power (with Monte Saldo)