# NEW MEMBERS - TAKE A MINUTE AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF HERE! > PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE PICTURES >  My new Hero. Manohar Aich photo is my avi

## VegasRenegade

Manohar Aich, (born 1912) is an Indian bodybuilder. He won the 1952 Mr Universe championship. He is also three-time Asian Games gold medalist in body building. Being only 5' tall, he was given the name "Pocket Hercules". He currently lives near Kolkata and has retained an excellent physique even at the age of 97 years.His chest measured 54 inches with a waist of 23 inches giving him the best v-cut.

Aich continues to train for 90 minutes at his own gym Studio de Physique in Kolkata which has produced Indian champs like Satyen Das, Satya Pal and Hitesh Chatterjee. Aich's diet: dal, bhaat, curry and maach (fish).

He is blessed with 2 sons one of whom manages the akhara and his other son manages the more conventional fitness center at the same location.

at 75



at 82

at 89

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## VegasRenegade

Asked to spell out the secret of his good health at an advanced age, Aich said: 'When you are born, you have to die one day. But still, if one eats in a measured amount and has a daily workout, he can have a long life. I have led a disciplined life all through. 

'I eat only as much as is necessary to live. I exercise daily,' said Aich, thrice Asian Games gold medal winner in body building. 

Recalling his earlier interactions with Basu, Aich said : 'Oh! We have talked so many times. Thirty years back we even met at Madras (now Chennai).' 

Born in 1912, Manohar Aich won the 1952 Mr Universe championship and was given the name 'Pocket Hercules' for his five-foot frame. 

Aich still trains for 90 minutes at his own gym in Kolkata which has produced Indian champions like Satyen Das, Satya Pal and Hitesh Chatterjee.

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## scrunnyronnie

wow! what an inspiration.

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## VegasRenegade

Manohor Aich (born 1912) grew up in a village near Comilla, in present-day Bangladesh. Even as a little boy, two things interested him above everything else: music and bodybuilding. He would sit for hours watching the local boys practice with lathi (sticks) and dumbbells at fitness clubs. Caught up in that tradition, Aich, drank in the principles of bodybuilding with a passion. Aich started his training at the age of 15 with a very simple routine and virtually no equipments. His first routines contained just two exercises – Dips and squats. Slowly, he started adding in the Press, bench and curls to his routine before dabbling with the Olympic lifts. Standing a tiny 4 feet 11 inches and weighing 7 stones, at his peak, Aich had a personal best of 550 (total) on the Olympic lifts.

When Bengal split into two, Aich came to live in West Bengal. Bodybuilding continued to be his dream, though he found himself a job as a fitter and rigger in the Air Force in 1941. That ended abruptly with a brief spell in jail during the Indian freedom struggle and the subsequent partition of India. When released, he had no money. It was then that an American magazine caught his eye and he read about the Mr Universe contest. No one helped him. “I don’t believe in God,” Aich says, still disgruntled about having to scrape together the money for his fare to London. He found himself a job in the railways there while he prepared for the contest. 

His first major success in bodybuilding came in 1951, when he placed 2nd in the NABBA Mr Universe contest (short height category). The next year, he won his height class along with the “most improved bodybuilder” award. In addition to the Mr Universe titles, he also won three gold medals in the Asian Games when bodybuilding was a part of these games.

While largely unknown to the western world, Aich stays a legendary name in Indian bodybuilding, and not just for his Mr Universe win in 1952. Often known as the “pocket Hercules”, now aged 97, Aich still trains regularly for 90 minutes or so in his gym, Studio de Physique and has a physique that much younger men would be proud of. Aich gives his profession the credit for having kept him healthy. He has never been hospitalised and has only been ill twice, once at 12 with malaria and once with cholera at 22. Today, his profession also brings him money as never before. His two sons run the gyms in his home, one upstairs and one downstairs. The monthly fee is Rs 200. He keeps the equipment he trained with to show what it was like before motorised treadmills.

As far as the great supplement myth in bodybuilding is concerned, Aich's typical diets centered solely around rice, pulses, vegetable curry, fish, chicken, milk and some fruits. No modern day miracle supps ... 

Career highlights
1951, Mr Universe (short) – 2nd
1952, Mr Universe (short) – 1st
1955, Mr Universe (short) – 3rd

Total – Olympic lifts: 550 lbs
At the age of 93, and weighing less than 7 stones:
Bench press – 180 lbs
Squat – 245 lbs

Sources –
Harmony Org
Aich, Monohar
Monohar Aich

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