I reread all 17 chapters of Sig Klein’s “My First Quarter Century in the Iron Game” on ditillo2.blogspot.com.
The studio gyms of 100 years ago intrigue me.
They didn’t have squat stands.
The square footage was generally small. With a crowd you’d have to be very precise in your lifting groove.
Without bumper plates you went out of your way to not drop equipment.
I’ve read of multiple spotters being used for overhead max attempts on thick bars for this very reason.
“Don’t catch me, catch the bell! It can’t hit the floor.”
The whole concept reads that there was huge camaraderie in the culture.
They had far less options to vary the weight. If the place had a 220lb glove barbell, that’s what they had.
You did reps, and then tried harder and harder exercises/reps with the same weights.
There were more and heavier kettlebells available, at the time usually referred to as ring weights.
Dumbbells were given more focus.
The mail order equipment company’s sold barbell sets that sound extraordinarily light, see above – they milked that equipment.
A bodybuilder was expected to be more of a strongman, the strongman was expected to be very good at calisthenics like hand balancing.
Regardless of size you would be good at calisthenics.