Iron boots: The slimming, trimming, shaping equipment that the fitness industry forgot about

I saw a pair of York Iron Boots for sale on my local Craigslist and was compelled to find out what they are. This article reveals some of the history of this piece of workout equipment. It turns out the website also has a lot of neat articles on other aspects of strength training history.

Although typically weighing only 20lb. each, the boots packed a punch. They were the original leg extension and leg curls of their time. Anyone lucky enough to have used the boots will testify that leg curls with the Boots were much more difficult than our modern day machines.

Aside from the obvious leg extensions and leg curls, the boots were also used for leg presses, reverse hyperextensions and a series of abdominal exercises. In later years as more and more people began to use the Iron Boots, manufacturers fashioned it so the boots could be attached to dumbbells or plates, thus increasing the amount of weight that people could use.