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Designing Your Own Training Program - John Christy

June 17, 2019, 6:21 pm
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Originally Published in This Issue 
Back Issues Available Here: 






If you have been a reader of HARDgainer for a while, and have studied the material, you should have no problem designing your own training program. I average five calls a week from readers wanting me to take them on as consultation trainees. Some of these people can benefit from my personal instruction, but many don't need it. If yu want my intstruction - or any other author's - instruction, just study the articles in the magazine. 

In this article I am going to cover all the considerations of designing an effective training program. Keep in mind that these recommendations are based on 23 years of lifting experience and 11 years of professional strength coaching. There are, however, very good coaches who have different but effective approaches. 


Keep Things Simple

An effective training program doesn't have to be, and shouldn't be, complicated. So don't try to find or develop some super secret program that is more effective than anything ever used before. As a matter of fact, let me let you in on the biggest secret in all of weight training - there are no secret programs.  


The Two Most Important Factors

The most important design considerations of any program are that it can be performed consistently and progressively. If you don't train consistently, your body won't get the stimulation it needs to get stronger and bigger. So, for any program to be effective, it has to allow you to train as consistently as possible, and to add weight to the bar on a planned basis.

The frequency, volume, and intensity of a training program are determined based on maintaining consistency and progression. You need to be able to recover from workouts so that you don't over-train and end up getting hurt or sick. If either of these occur, you'll miss workouts.

If your workouts are too frequent, your joints will take a beating and you'll likely end up with some form of long term joint inflammation, and you'll miss workouts. If your workouts are too frequent, your immune system won't be able to recover and you'll wind up getting sick all the time and, once again, you'll miss workouts. And if you are not training consistently, you can't add weight to the bar, so then you are not being progressive. 

I hope you're getting the point. 
YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS WORKOUTS. 
PERIOD. 


Frequency

The frequency of workouts has to be based on several factors the most important being the ability to recover between workouts. Your ability to recover between workouts is influenced by a number of factors, including the type of job you have (if you're young enough, or rich enough), family responsibilities, how much rest you get every night, how well you eat, and if you're involved in any strenuous sports.

For someone who has a job and family, I have found that two workouts per week works great. I've had others who handle three times per week and make progress, although these workouts have to be specially limited in the number of exercises. 

For the trainee who is in high school or college, three workouts per week works well, although two per week may still be more effective over the long haul. The two weight training workouts per week also allow for 2-3 bouts of aerobic work and/or sports activities each week.

It still amazes me that some people still can't believe that at 5' 10" and a weight of 235 lbs. I still only train two times a week. This allows me to do aerobics two times per week as well as wind sprints and baseball skill work (I still play semi-professional baseball during the summer). 

I also should mention that I don't believe in training someone to become just big and strong. I believe people should become big and strong athletes. What I mean by this is that they should be able to run and jump and move in different directions. In essence, I believe that your strength and size should be functional.

Weight training two times per week will allow you the physical time, as well as the recovery time, to do aerobic work. It also gives you the flexibility to move a workout if you have to miss for family or work, or if you simply haven't recovered from the previous workout. For instance, if you usually work out on Tuesday and Friday, and you can't make Friday's workout, you can easily move it to Saturday and stay on track. This way you get Sunday and Monday to rest, and can still be recovered by Tuesday's workout.

The goal of training is not to see how much torture the body can stand, but 
to stimulate the body and then let it recover.      

So why tolerate training three times per week and make gains, just because you think more is better? If you can train two times per week and continually get as strong (or stronger) as you would training three times per week, with less chance of injury, and hence maintaining consistency over the long haul, what benefit does three times per week weight training offer? 


Volume

How much training should you do? Well, this is based on the number of exercises you do, the number of sets, and the rest interval between sets.

You should be keeping a good pace throughout the workout, and even though you are resting 4-5 minutes between the live (work) sets, you should be able to complete a workout in about one hour, or inside 90 minutes without question. This time does not include initial warmup time or stretching. The clock starts at the beginning of your first exercise and stops at the conclusion of your last live set. When I say a good pace, I mean that you're not sitting around shooting the breeze between exercises. But you need to take the proper rest interval between work sets.

When a trainee is at the point where he is training hard, I don't feel that any more than 2 work sets of any exercise are necessary to stimulate growth.

As far as the number and type of exercises is concerned, I feel that a compound leg movement (squat, deadlift, leg press), a compound upper-body pressing movement (bench press, overhead press, dip), a pulling movement (row, pulldown, high pull), a crunch (for the abs), and and some grip work should cover it. You also need to include calf work and some direct biceps work once a week. That does it. 

Designing a program is not hard.
Maintaining the effort and consistency is! 

I think what happens is that many of you are under the illusion that you will find a better way. Well let me tell you - THERE ISN'T ONE. 


Intensity 

How hard should you train? This subject has been battered around for eons. So, I'm going to give you my opinion. I've had tremendous success with putting this opinion into practice. My definition of training hard is training to the point where there is possibly one more rep left in you. In other works, I feel you should train right up to the edge of momentary muscular failure, but not over the edge. 

The goal of weight training is to lift progressively more weight each session,
not to go to failure. 

After 23 years of training (reaching a maximum weight of 252 lbs. at 5' 10") combined with 11 years of training over 600 people, I know for an absolute fact that you can get progressively stronger and hence bigger without going to failure. But - 

You have to get to the point where the last rep in a set THREATENS to make you fail.  

Another way to say this is that you need to challenge yourself to make your prescribed reps and beat failure. And then the real challenge is to train at this level for many months by adding a small dose of iron to the bar every workout. 

Okay. I cant stand it any more.

Look at this stuff! 

Yes!!!

https://store.kabukistrength.net/collections/bars 

Check out that trap bar designed with a built in bar jack - 
and other cool features too! 




And the Transformer Bar, with 48 different positional variations - 



You gotta watch the videos to really see what you can do with this one. 

Outstanding equipment innovations over there. 

Okay . . . I'm better now. 


Starting Weights and Rate of Progression

At the start of a program you should use a weight that allows you to complete 5 reps more than the goal of the set. For instance, if you want to perform 2 work sets of an exercise at 5 reps each, you start with a weight that allows you to do 10 reps if you went to failure, but stop at just 5 reps. Then, over the next 6-8 weeks, you need to build up the weight slowly until you could complete about 6 or 7 reps if you went to failure, but stop at 5. At this point you should slow the rate of progression to what I feel is the maximum that the body can compensate for on all of your exercises. 

2.5 pounds on squats, deadlifts, leg presses.
1 pound on benches, dips, presses, chins, rows, pulldowns, curls, crunches. 

The curls will eventually have to go down to .5 pounds per workout. By the 16th week you should be at the point where there is only one more rep left in you after you have made your fifth rep.

There are instances I have seen where someone who is eating and recovering to their utmost ability will be at the 16th week and still have 2 or 3 reps left in them beyond their goal number. This is fantastic and shows that their body is recovering from this rate of progression. At this time I would suggest a bigger load increase over the next several workouts so that they are training with just one rep left in them beyond their goal number for the set. Then I would have them go back to adding the small doses of iron to the bar.

You don't have to use 5 reps as your goal number for a set. Use any rep count that you think will bring results for you, or that you enjoy. Just start out with reserve reps left in your and slowly build to the point where you are training with just one rep left in you. Then, settle in for a long and very productive training period.

But . . . 

Don't start looking for other ways to train.

Look for ways to recover better between your workouts, so that you can stay consistent. 

Look for ways to concentrate more strongly during your workouts, so that you can train harder and with better form.

You would be surprised at the number of trainees who surpass all their previous training records simply by following what I have outlined in those three lines. 


The Template

What follows is a twice a week training template. I know for a fact that I can get anyone strong and big with this program. So, if you have the guts to follow the rules that I have outlined in this article, and do not get distracted by the glut of information that is out there, you can get yourself very big and strong with this program.

Only work sets are listed. 

Do 2 or 3 progressive warmup sets prior to each of the big exercises (add 1 if you are an 'older' trainee), and just one for each of the smaller exercises. For multiple warmup sets for an exercise, take 2-3 minutes between them. 

Always take the full 4-5 minutes rest prior to the first work set, and between work sets. 

Day One

1) Crunch - 1 x 15
2) Squat - 2 x 6
3) Stiff Legged Deadlift -  1 x 10
4) Bench Press - 2 x 6
5) Pulldown - 2 x 6
6) Static Grip -  60 seconds


Day Two

1) Side Bend - 1 x 15
2) Regular Deadlift - 2 x 6
3) Overhead Press - 2 x 6
4) Curl - 2 x 6
5) Calf Raise - 1 x 10

I've never had a trainee experience any problem recovering from stiff legged deadlifts on day one, and regular deadlifts on day two, along with squats on day one. But the critical proviso is that thee total number of sets per exercise must be limited. For instance, on day one, two work sets of squats are performed and only one set of stiff legged deadlifts. On day two, only or or two work sets of deadlifts are performed. Keep the total volume or work for the lower back very limited, to avoid over-training that area. 


Exercise Technique

You must perform all of your exercises with good technique. To do this subject justice I would have to write a whole book. There's not enough space in a single article to do a good job. I strongly suggest you buy Stuart McRobert's book on technique, and study it. It contains all you need to know for now on the subject. 



Final Thoughts

Being consistent and putting out the effort necessary for many workouts over a long period of time is a hard part of weight training success. Getting the proper amount of rest and food consistently  is also a hard part. Staying focused on every set you do so that you can concentrate on combining all the effort that you can muster while maintaining perfect form is a hard part. Having blind faith in what I am saying (until it proves itself to you) so hat you are not constantly jumping from one program to another, is a hard part. 

Designing a training program is the easy part. 

You can do this yourself. You don't need any help. All you need is knowledge. This article can provide that. 

Now get to work . . . 

not on designing your program but on putting out the effort to stay consistent and train progressively. 

The strongest of all warriors are these two: Time and Patience
  - Leo Tolstoy 














  









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The Valuable, Versatile EZ-Curl Bar - Bill Starr (2000)

June 19, 2019, 1:00 pm
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 Originally Published in the July 2000 Issue of Musclemag International  





Look at those puny dumbbells . . .
Conclusive proof that Hepburn's methods don't work. 

I am of the opinion from years of observation that life is a double-edged sword. For every advantage there is a disadvantage, not always in complete equal proportiong but always to some degree. This is not a complaint by any means, because I believe balance is necessary in all facets of out existence. Moreover, balance makes life interesting. 

One of the pluses of being regarded as an authority on training is that I am afforded extra courtesy and respect in a gym. The flip side is that I'm open game for everyone with a question. 

So it was when I visited my friend Nick Frasca at his gym, The IronClub, in Yuba City, California.    

Note: Nick Horton did an interview with Nick Frasca and it's here:


Nick Horton: 


Nick (Frasca. Name confusion supreme! I don't know which Nick to blame but I'm guessin' they're both innocent of this mishap's creation.) was one of my athletes at the University of Hawaii. He was an outstanding wrestler and won the State Olympic Lifting title. He was also a student of strength training.

The IronClub is a throwback kind of facility, a mom and pop operation where the customer still gets personal attention and care from the owners. Nick's wife, Julie, is the mom in the equation and she adds to the atmosphere with her sweet disposition and stunning beauty. 

This is the type of gym many of us began training in, but which now has almost completely vanished. The owner actually came out on the floor and spotted, or gave some timely advice, or encouraged those who trained to try to make some genuine progress. 

In most facilities it's all about numbers. The idea is to get in and out of the gym as quickly as possible. 



   
Whether they had a decent workout or not is moot, immaterial. What counts is numbers, for numbers translate to money and that is what most owners care about. 

Nick's gym is different. A person does not just walk in the door and join. He must first go through a course in which he is taught not only how to do a variety of exercises correctly, but he is also instructed on the principles behind the program and also how to put together a functional routine to fit his specific needs. The new member takes a month to finish the course. Then he can venture out on his own and concentrate on strength training, bodybuilding or a general fitness routine. 

The only other club that I know of that operates in a similar way is Mike Graham's gym near Austin, Texas. 

Note: Joe Vitale and Matthew Dixon took a trip down to Lockhart, Texas, and filmed their experience inside of Old Texas Barbell Company, courtesy of Mike Graham -- 

here: 
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sb1GhwuP_I

It (Nick Frasca's IronClub)  is a rather novel concept because it goes against the grain of how a gym should be run if it is to be successful. In fact, it is not only proving to be most beneficial from the educational standpoint, but it is also surprising skeptics by generating financial rewards. Nick and Julie started out in a small facility and have already expanded with plans for adding on even more. People appreciate the attention and concern. They like to get value for a dollar in today's marketplace.

I didn't go to Yuba City for any reason related to physical culture. I went strictly to party. In addition to the attraction of Nick and Julie, Don Herrold (the Hulk) was also in town. Don was perhaps my strongest athlete at UH and also one of the most unusual characters I ever came across. The trip was a great opportunity to relive some of our exploits, both real and imagined. 

Nick had been selling my book and promoting it as part of his initiation course, so I arrived with a reputation. I really don't mind answering questions, just as long as they reside in the neighborhood of common sense.

I was still doing my warmups when Pat approached me carrying a shiny, new EZ-curl bar, the type that is adapted for Olympic plates. Chuckling, he asked, "Why in the world did Nick buy this? I mean, wouldn't the money be better spent in getting another Olympic bar rather than this toy?" 

"Well, the EZ-curl bar isn't a toy," I objected. 

"Yeah, maybe not, but you can only do one exercise on it - curl." 

"That's not true either," I said,j putting down my twisting stick. "You can do lots of exercises with the EZ-curl bar. It is particularly useful because it alleviates a great deal of the stress from the wrists, elbows and shoulders. Just because it apprears to be a simple piece of equipment doesn't necessarily mean it isn't useful. I happen to believe it to be an extremely beneficial addition to any gym.

"Well, even so, I can't see how anyone can benefit from using it if he's working out for pure strength." 

"I can show you a number of ways to use it. All my athletes use the EZ-curl in their programs. Remember, you don't have to do every exercise with huge weights. The auxiliary movements that you do in high reps require lighter plates.

"One of the best features of the EZ-curl bar is its weight. The one hou have there with the Olympic collars weighs about 16 to 18 pounds. Those made for standard plates weight less, usually from 12 to 15 pounds. This light weight makes it ideal for rank beginners and women because many cannot handle the Olympic bar or even some of the set barbells." 

Pat studied the bar more closely, and I could tell I had aroused his curiosity and interest. "What's the deal with the cambered middle?" he asked.

"That feature is why the EZ-curl bar is so valuable and versatile. It lets the lifter grip the bar firmly and at the same time it alleviates much of the stress from his wrists, elbows and shoulders. The cambered feature also allows a fuller range of movement on some exercises than you  can get with a straight bar." 

"Who came up with it? The original idea I mean." 

"That's a good question. I don't know. More than likely a number of people had the idea in different parts of the country, for its practicality is quite logical. 

Note: I went to Joe Roark's IronHistory website to answer that good question -   

"Well, Andy (Jackson) owned the rights to the EZ curl bar which a man named (Lewis) Dymeck thought up. He sold the rights to Hoffman (York).He informed Boho that he owned the patent. Hoffman offered him payment for the rights. Andy told me he would have had to sell a lot of curl bars to get that much, so he sold to York."
 - Carl Linich 

"I have Andy's drawing of the curling bar and it is labeled DYMECK CURLING BAR and there is also a Patent number listed and dated 1951.So it was Patented. Also noted on the back is the date that he sold the Patent to York, June 12, 1964."
 - Reuben Weaver




Patent Filed June 11, 1948   

There's an excellent article on this good questionhere:

https://physicalculturestudy.com/2018/04/05/who-invented-the-ez-bar-2/ 


Continuing with the article . . . 

I saw versions of the EZ-curl bar in home gyms and YMCA weight rooms during the 50s, long before they could be purchased from equipment companies. Eventually the commercial value of the EZ-curl bar became obvious, so York Barbell, Dan Lurie, Peary Rader and Joe Weider all began selling them through their respective publications. They sold lots of them because they're inexpensive, light, don't take up too much space, and you can do a great many exercises with them. In many gyms the EZ-curl bar is the most sought-after piece of equipment in the entire facility.

"I'm still not clear on being able to do lots of exercises with that little curved bar . . .

 
"Love to. One of the main reasons I came to California was to enlighten the youth of Yuma City," I added sarcastically. 

My gibe brought a frown, be he said nothing.

"Better yet, I'm going to have you do some of the exercises. That way you'll be able to feel the difference between doing them on the EZ-curl bar and using a straight bar. Let's start with the most obvious exercise, the curl. Put 20 pounds on each side and do a set of standing curls." 

While he did the first few reps, I commented, "Notice how you can bring the bar up to your chest and also lower it more comfortably than you could with a straight bar - with lots less pressure on your joints." 

"I notice. It does feel smoother and I have to admit, it doesn't bother my wrists at all. What's next?" 

"Curls on a preacher bench. I think the EZ-curl bar is especially good for these because your elbows are locked in a tight position when you do them. A straight bar places a great deal of pressure on the elbows and wrists. With the cambered bar this stress is alleviated nicely. That means you can do more weight or more reps - or both - with the EZ-curl bar than with a straight bar. More work, more results." 

I had to stop doing preacher curls because of my bad wrist. These hardly bother me at all. Not bad. I may start curling again," he said cheerfully.

"Wouldn't hurt," I remarked, but he missed this bit of caustic wit. "Same idea applies when doing curls with that piece of apparatus which goes over the lifter's head and locks his arms against the apparatus. It goes by different names, depending on which company is selling it. Bi-Blaster is one of them. 

"It's made of hard plastic and has indentations for your elbows?" 


"That's it."  

My roommate at college had one . . . and a pair of 20-pound dumbbells. He would do a few sets of curls before going out on a date or to a club. Wanted a pump to impress the ladies." 

"Did it work" 

"Not really. He was a jerk. All the curls did was make him a jerk with bigger arms. He'd love the EZ-curl bar though." 

"I'm sure he would. The EZ works great on the Bi-Blaster because the lifter's elbows are really locked in tightly. There's no freedom of movement to put stress on the wrists and elbows. The EZ takes the pressure off those joints. It serves the same useful function for reverse curls."

"I can see that. What else besides curls is it good for?" 

"A variety of triceps exercises. In fact, there are more triceps movements than biceps. Almost everyone finds he can do straight-arm pullovers more comfortably with the EZ-curl bar than with a straight bar. Same holds true for skull-crushers and French presses. Again, the cambered bar lessens the stress on the wrists, elbows and shoulders." 

I thought you didn't like French presses or skull-crushers." 

"I don't for other athletes, but bodybuilders can get away with them. Bodybuilders don't do a great deal of throwing, blocking or tackling. Those dynamic movements cause the problems if a person does triceps work which requires lots of elbow flexion.

"Again, because of its light weight, the EZ is ideal for women or beginners. I've had very few female clients who could handle an Olympic bar for pullovers, but they can all manage the EZ-curl bar. Lie down on a bench and do a set. You'll see what I'm talking about."

He did a few reps, changed his grip, then continued. "Yeah, I can feel a big difference. I the the EZ would be good for close-grip benches too, wouldn't it? They put a lot of stress on the wrists." 

"Now you're thinking. It's perfect for close-grips." 

He got up, smiled and said, "Well, I have a new appreciation of this pup. Anything else?" 

"You can use it for upright rows plus all sorts of wrist movements for the same reasons I've mentioned for the other exercises. Beginners can also use it for bentover rows and front raises for the deltoids. I've had some people who were very weak use it for almost every exercise in the program from squats to benches, inclines, overhead presses, good mornings and even deadlifts. It's a useful piece to teach form to anyone who, for whatever reason, is unable to handle a regular bar." 

"None of these exercises has bothered my bad wrist at all."   

"Keep in mind that any auxiliary exercise is typically done with a light weight and for higher reps - 15s, 20s or more. The light poundage keeps the exercise from being too stressful,  

but by the same token the lifter will not always notice if a joint is being stressed because the reps seem so easy. It's not like having to struggle with a heavy set of 5 reps. Often the joints that are involved in the exercise do not reveal they have been dinged until the following day. 

Then, of course, it's too late." 

"Better to be safe than sorry." 

I nodded in agreement. "You should thank Nick for buying the EZ-curl bar and maybe encourage him to get a few more because it will become popular."

"I will. Now if you have some time between sets, I have some other questions," he added with a grin. "Not questions really, but verification of some of Nick's stories. We know he likes to exaggerate, so I want your version of what went on at Hula's Bar and Lei Stand, and if there really was a Mini-Mauler and Debbie Dorm, and if Hotel Street was as wild as he said." 

"I'll be more than happy to fill you in on all the details," I said wearing a devilish smirk.         
  






































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Odds & Ends On Grimek - Irvin Foss

June 20, 2019, 10:33 pm
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June 17, 1910
November 20, 1998



I have followed with great interest the articles which have appeared in various magazines following the passing of my good friend, John Grimek.

I worked for the York Barbell Company in 1945. I also trained at the gym which was then located at 51 North Broad Street in York, Pennsylvania. In those days the York gym was the mecca for the best weightlifters and bodybuilders in the country. I worked at various types of jobs in the office. 

I was just a young feller in those days, 18 years of age. I had been training since I was 15. When I arrived in York I had no idea where the gym was located. It was summertime - and hot! I was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and walking from the YMCA after getting a room for a week. Here I am looking for York Barbell when a fellow walks up to me and says, "Pardon me, but you must train at the YBBC. Could you give me directions to it?" I thought that was really funny. So we walked together, asking various people how to get where we wanted to go. I was from a small town outside of St. Paul, Minnesota, and my new friend was from an even smaller town in Ohio.

After I'd been hanging around the gym for a few days, John Grimek must have felt sorry for me. Believe me, money was tight. I remember the first time he asked me to join him and Steve Stanko for lunch. I couldn't believe my own ears. While we were eating, John told me he had found an opening for with the company. There may have been a tear in my eye. I was so grateful, I could hardly speak. Then John ended up paying for the lunches as well. I noticed he would always do this when I was short of money . . . which was quite often, I might add. 

I was lucky to be able to go out to lunch with these two great fellows on a number of occasions. It was always John who would tap me on the shoulder and say, "Irv, time for lunch." 

No matter what restaurant we went to, people would always be staring at us. (I should say they would be staring at John and Steve.) I remember one time when we had finished our meal and John and Steve meandered out while I was still trying to dig up the money to pay. I was having some trouble because the dude was trying to clip me out of about 49 cents. Just then the door swung open and John stuck his head in and said, "Irv, what the heck is wrong?" I didn't even have to answer. The money suddenly appeared on the counter. I just smiled at the fellow behind the counter and walked out. John said, "Dang it, Irv. I have to watch after you like a young pup." Then he laughed and slapped me on the back. 

There's a book by John D. Fair, entitled Muscletown USA, that covers the slangfests with Weider, Lurie, Hoffman and Grimek. 

John did not involve himself in such trivia. 

I was there. I know. I remember when Dan Lurie issued his challenge to Grimek. Lurie made the comment that, without question, Grimek was the best-built man in the world. Then Lurie proceeds to say, "However, I feel I am the most muscular man, and thus challenge you to a contest to determine the winner." (The words are not verbatim). 

York isn't far from New York City. One of the fellows who worked and trained at the York Barbell Company had a car and knew his way around New York, so he asked me if I wanted to share expenses and head up that way over the weekend. We could stop in and see Lurie and also see the Mr. New York City physique contest at the same time. Sounded great to me. 

When we got there, I remember walking into the gym and first seeing Dan Lurie. He was doing dips between parallel bars. I remember thinking to myself, "Well, he is muscular and well built, but he's much too small to even consider competing against Grimek." It was a joke. A publicity stunt? We walked out shaking our heads.

That night we attended the Mr. New City contest. It was the first such contest I had ever seen. I think Vic Nicoletti won.        


 With his 1947 Mr. New York City Trophy

At some point during during the contest we heard a fellow who was sitting behind us say, "I sure wish Grimek was here to put on some muscle control and posing for us." I turned around to look and recognized the guy from seeing him in the pages of Strength & Health magazine. His name was Kimon Voyages. He was known for his great leg development. 



"While at the Old Timers dinner in October 1989, I sat next to Kimon Voyages, the winner of many “Best Legs” awards. He was a squat devotee. He would squat in the usual way. He also used the modern power squat, going down to the thighs parallel position. He also used a squat in which he started at the deep position, i.e. all the way down to begin. He recovered only to the parallel position and then returned to the deep position, repeating this for the required number of reps."

 - Charles A. Smith

Voyages - left
Sammartino - right 
Tom Minichiello - center 

The trip to New York was great fun. My only regret was not having the time to visit Sig Klein's gym and meet this great iron game athlete. Sig and John were close friends.

Of course, Grimek accepted Lurie's challenge. However, John made absolutely clear that the contest would have to be open to all. As John said, "Who is to say that either one of us is the most muscular man in America?" The contest took place in New York City and Grimek was the winner. Dan Lurie finished well down in the pack. 

I remember when Clarence Ross also challenged Grimek. This was another cheap publicity stunt. Let's face it. During his prime John Grimek reigned supreme.

My family moved from Minnesota to Santa Monica, California. I was really distraught. I didn't know whether to go with them or return to York, so I wrote John explaining my dilemma. He answered me, and felt I should go with my folks to California. He said, "There are more gyms on the West Coast than in the rest of the states put together." He went on to say, "The weather where you are going is ideal year round, not only for training but for anything. I think you'll miss something if you don't go out there for a while and look around. Chances are you may never want to visit York again. Nevertheless, do advise me of your plans and let me know whether you will travel west or come back east." 

So I went with my family to Santa Monica. We were within walking distance of Vic Tanny's gym, and that's where I started training. I met some nice guys as John said I would. I trained with George Eiferman and Pepper Gomez. I also saw Steve Reeves, Clarence Ross, Eric Pederson, Armand Tanny, Joe Gold and many others. 

The 1948 Mr. USA contest was coming up, and all talk was that John Grimek was going to enter. In fact I saw large billboard signs advertising this very fact. I remember telling Pepper Gomez none of the bodybuilders stood a chance of beating Grimek. Pepper scoffed at me. He said, "Heck, all Grimek has is good arms, chest and legs. He doesn't have any pecs, lats or abs." I said, "You and everyone else who thinks the same are in for a rude awakening. After you see Grimek in person, I would like to hear what you have to say." 

I found out from John that because his wife, Angela, was expecting, chances were slim indeed that he would enter. He made it clear that his wife and family came first. I still bought tickets for my mother, brother and myself. So were were there, hoping that John might be present. 

I still remember the groan that came from those in attendance when Vic Tanny read the telegram from Grimek stating that he would not be able to attend the Mr. USA contest because of personal reasons. I believe Clarence Ross won with Steve Reeves placing second. That's the way I remember it. The winner received a check in the amount of 1,000 dollars. That seemed like a lot of money to me!      


 Mr. USA 1948


They also had a bench pressing contest. Whoever could bench press 300-pounds the most times would receive 50 bucks. I believe the late Floyd Page was the winner. I can't recall the number of reps - in the high 20s for sure. I remember he really bounced the bar off his chest. 

I met Al Stephan, who was the 1946 AAU Mr. America, in York after he won the Mr. America contest. He was very strong in the barbell curl and bench press, but at the Mr. USA he bench pressed the bar so slowly that the crowd tried to egg him on to press faster. He just took his time and even smiled and he pressed. I can't remember how many reps he made or where he placed in the bench pressing contest, but I know he was well over the 20 mark.

When Stephan was in York I remember his standing with his back against one of the support beams that went from the ground floor up through the floor of the gym located on the second floor and then on up to the ceiling. He was very easy curls with the Olympic bar and the large plates. I also recall Stephan siting down on the incline bench and doing some fairly heavy incline presses with ease. Of course that was a challenge to one and all, so Stanko walked over, grabbed the bar, and couldn't even start it off his shoulders! This angered Grimek. I knew John did not like anyone to show up Steve, so he grabbed the bar, sat down on the incline bench, and pressed it more times than Al Stephan had. Then John turned to Stanko and said, "Steve, take a wider grip, for gosh sakes." Stanko did as John suggested and pressed the bar easily. I was sure smiling to myself.

Grimek was there for the 1949 Mr. USA contest.


      
He took first spot, Ross was second, and Reeves came in third. However, I failed to see my good friend Grimek compete. Not being able to find a job that was worth a hoot, I had moved on. I ended up in Everett, Washington and have lived in the Evergreen State ever since, working the West Coast Telephone. We opened a gym up in Everett in about 1960. I was also AAU weightlifting chairman for the Pacific Northwest for a couple of years. 

Made my first trip back to York in 1963 to see the Senior National Weightlifting Championships and AAU Mr. America contest which was held in Harrisburg PA. 



Vern Weaver won the Mr. America.


I couldn't resist posting this photo of Leroy Colbert. 


My wife, son, father-in-law and my mother-in-law all had a nice visit with John and Angela at their home. We had a great spaghetti feast. The weather was very hot. 

Bob Hoffman wrote this in his book entitled, Weightlifting: 

"The 1963 national championships were staged by the York Barbell Club at the Zembo Mosque in Harrisburg. The hottest weather in half a century with very high humidity prevented some of out lifters from doing their best." 

After about six years in the gym business, we threw in the towel. 

Grimek told me the largest cash prize prize he ever won was the 1,000 dollars at the 1949 Mr. USA contest. He said, "Man, look at the purses they pull down now. That would give a person a reason to train!" How true. 

I remember having dinner with Doug Hepburn and some of his weightlifter friends at a Chinese Restaurant in Vancouver, BC. 


Doug Hepburn.
Resting between lifts. 

Doug. 
Demonstrating his strength. 

Doug had a gym which, like mine, eventually failed. I told him we would have made more money if we had opened a saloon. We both laughed like hell. We had a great evening together. I remember asking Doug who he considered to be the best bodybuilder. Doug replied, "Is there another one besides Grimek?" Again we laughed and laughed. I told this story to John, and he laughed too. He said, "Darn, I wish I could've been there that night with you and Doug." Yes, it would have been quite an evening. 

On occasion Grimek could get silly. What prompted this idea on his part I'll never know, but he decided we were going to try to hold him down in the floor. He lay flat on his back on the York Barbell gym floor. The floor was wood and you could get slivers in your feet walking barefoot. Five of us knotheads were selected by John to be participants. I wavered for some time, but he finally talked me into it. We were all just young dudes. One of the fellows was pretty darn strong, more advanced at the time than the rest of us. John was laughing like heck as we positioned ourselves over his prone body. I ended up sitting on his stomach with my chest against his. I was looking right into John's face. I don't know how many times he asked, "Are you ready?" 

I finally concentrated on using both hands to help hold down his left arm. Our team of idiots was not well prepared or experienced for such an event. Finally we all agreed we were ready. I remember John winking at me . . . 

All hell broke loose. I was hit in the head by elbows, knees, and the floor at least a dozen times . . . or so it seemed. 

John arose from this insane encounter laughing hysterically. And guess what? 

He wanted to do it again! 

I was still trying to remember my name and where I was. I told John, "I will never do that again!" He just kept laughing and laughing. You had to be there to appreciate what we had been a part of. 

John would get like this to break up the monotony of training, I guess.

Back to Pepper Gomez. He and Eric Pederson were wrestling in Everett, so we went down to see the match. After the wrestling was over, I waited until the crowd had cleared out. Before long Pepper came walking out of the dressing room. I walked up to him and said, "Remember when we trained together at Vic Tanny's gym in Santa Monica?" He smiled and said he did. I knew he had watched the 1949 Mr. USA show that Grimek won. I also knew that he and a buddy of his, Gene Meyers, had traveled to York and there had been a write-up and pictures about them in Strength & Health. 

I asked him, "What do you think of Grimek now?" 

He laughed, and said," You were RIGHT! In person Grimek is INCREDIBLE!" 

I smiled to myself . . .  
for a long time after that.  



























↧

Combining Bodybuilding and Olympic Lifting, Part One - Charles Coster (1953)

June 22, 2019, 1:48 pm
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Originally Published in This Issue (July 1953) 
Rare! Thanks to LIAM TWEED.


An increasing number of people are becoming interested in the possibilities of combined Olympic training and body-building nowadays, and the Editor, Reg Park, has asked me to write a special two-part article upon the subject. 

Is it possible or practical for an Olympic lifter to practice body-building routines in his training that would favorably influence his Olympic weightlifting total?

Is if possible for people primarily concerned with bodybuilding to include the three Olympic lifts in their training beneficially? 

The answer in my opinion is definitely - YES, and I feel that there is a very large and interesting field for experimentation here, with the possibility of rich rewards as the incentive to work for.

Obviously, the professional of full-time body-builder would have better chances of success than anyone else, since extra weight-training means greater demands on the time and energy of the individual, and we must never forget that really first class food is very important. 

Note: Following the Second World War, food rationing in Great Britain lasted until midnight on July 4th, 1954, when restrictions on meat and bacon were finally ended. 

From the amateur's point of view opportunities for athletic endeavor are of necessity limited by the necessity to work for one's living, and the time and energy available for training are in most cases considerably less.

A modified, streamlined, economically planned system of DUAL weight-training must therefore be devised and planned if the best possible results are to be achieved. 

Over-expenditure of energy in wasteful and unnecessary duplication of certain movements is the first thing that will have to be eliminated . . . otherwise the program will prove to be too exhausting, and failure may result. 

I have often felt that body-builders could benefit themselves by practicing fast, leg-moving movements like the Snatch and Two Hands Clean to the Shoulders. Heavy poundages need not necessarily be used all the time, but by performing very fast sets of repetitions from the Full Hang, the Half Hang, and the Upright or Dead Hang position, a wonderful sense of well being, stimulation and exhilaration can be obtained. 

Most muscle-making routines are performed with the person's body immobilized whilst certain specialized movements are made. This has a tendency to make some musclemen a trifle "stodgy" or stiff in their movements. Lithe, elastic, graceful and free deportment are vital aspects of complete physical development, and let's face facts, so few people have them. 

Note: apply those qualities to the mind, and the numbers narrow even more. Yes. Stodgy thought. Ofttimes dodgy. Mental dullards going toe-to-toe with the entire universe and seeing it as a noble human struggle. Anyhoo . . . 

It is good to possess a fine physique and it gives one a sense of satisfaction to have certain "measurements" . . . but the body-builder should "feel" as good as he "looks" . . . and there is no better way of acquiring a sense of glowing well being than by the use of fast repetition snatching and cleaning with suitable poundages. 

Just give it a try, if you are a 100% body-builder, and you will be amazed at the things it does to your lungs and stamina.

This type of training can be worked in with your heavy leg session of you like. Use these leg-splitting movements "in between" each set of Deep Knee Bends . . . or whatever leg work you happen to be doing . . . and you will be amazed at the amount of "ache" you will experience as a consequence. 

Many years ago Bob Hoffman took a poll of opinion among American lifters for the Best Lift of All. 

The Two Hands Snatch won easily, and the reasons given were the same as those I have set forth in this article. Additionally, it was selected as the Most Health-Giving Lift, since most of them agreed that it had a beneficial effect upon the entire system.

Providing plenty of respiration is available if "light" poundages are used. It is possible for a tired and dejected man to re-energize and greatly stimulate himself in a very short space of time by performing repetition Snatch movements. 

Note: Experiment with alternating split and squat snatches rep-for-rep with lighter weights. Or not. 

Its effect seems to stimulate the entire body, and when this stage is reached of course - it is reflected in the mind also. 

I know these things to be true from actual experience, and on numerable occasions in the past I have nullified the effects of a long day's toil by performing 10 sets of 5 snatches . . . and felt myself rejuvenated in next to no time. 

The method of snatching can be made from many "angles," and all of them are beneficial. The very wide, moderate, or very narrow hand spacings can all be employed, and as already stated, the various hang positions can also all be used. 

The Dead Hang is not often seen nowadays, but it calls for great speed and timing in the arms and legs and is a most valuable method of lifting. 

When a Dead Hang Clean or Snatch is attempted, the lifter (or body-builder) must stand in the "erect" position at the commencement. [Not from the floor. Begin the movement in the standing erect position.] From here, the bar is pulled upwards as high as possible before a violent and lightning fast leg split (or squat) is made. 

The object of dead hang lifting is to improve speed and timing . . . and the ideal to work for in the Snatch is to be able to "lock"the elbows overhead before the feet come in contact with the platform . . . which is quite a difficult feat, I can tell you! 

Repetition Squat Snatches for the body-builder make a strenuous muscle-building exercise for the entire back area. Not everyone can fall into the squat position of course, but those who find it difficult can practice repetition movements in the Half Squat position. 


Combined Exercises 

One of the best combined body-building and Olympic lifting exercises I ever heard of was used by the great John Grimek some years ago. 

It calls for good balance, flexibility and control throughout the entire movement, and this is something that may take a little time.

However, the movement is so valuable that it is well worth persevering with until competence has been achieved. 

First of all the bar (make it light to start with) is taken to arms' length overhead. From the position the legs are bent until the body is in the full deep knee bend position. With the weight still held on locked arms overhead, the legs are straightened out until the complete return journey has been accomplished. 

Note: Overhead Squat into a full, deep squat position. If difficulty is encountered in bending the legs completely, check your shoes. Olympic lifting shoes make a huge difference. 

The amount of muscular ache that occurs in the back and lumbar regions is considerable and the shoulders are also strongly affected. 

Grimek, I am told, could perform repetition presses whilst in the act of raising and lowering his body . . . and if you haven't tried anything like this already, you have a few surprises in store I can tell you. 

Note: The Stotts Press is similar to what's described, although the bar is pressed while in the low snatch position, not while going up and down. 

Olympic lifters who use the Squat technique sometimes perform a movement somewhat similar to this for strengthening and confidence purposes.

Using the very wide hand spacing in the overhead position . . . they make "half leg bends and occasionally full depth squats with heavier weights than they can hope to handle in actual competition. Work of this type is terrific for the thighs and back, and the amount of contraction that takes place is something to experience. 

Some years ago there was an American middleweight (rejoicing in the name of Bog Hope) who made considerable progress with his physique development and lifting ability by the extensive use of this particular weight exercise. 

He persevered with such good effect that on one occasion he succeeded in holding 340 pounds aloft whilst he made a full deep knee bend, and the feat was considered so meritorious and unusual that he was mentioned in Ripley's "Believe It Or Not." 

Unusual methods of approach, ingenuity and perseverance surely deserve rich rewards, and just as I recommend that all body-builders include some fast leg work in their schedule I also advocate that the Olympic lifting specialist should launch out in other forms of weight training and strengthening procedures in order to enlarge and speed up his Olympic weight lifting possibilities.

The "risk" of combining bodybuilding exercises with his Olympic lifting preparation may in reality be a shortcut to the thing he wants more than anything else - increased Olympic poundages. 

As I have done my best to point out in recent articles

Here:


there is a considerable amount of evidence on hand which goes to show that SHEER STRENGTH can do more to win world titles than any other factor. 

It must be obvious to many that the exclusive use of just the three Olympic lifts by themselves is not necessarily any guarantee that the person concerned will gain the "ultimate" in physical power of which he is capable. 

And it should be noted . . . that unless he does succeed in bringing his fundamental basic power to the greatest possible pitch of development - he is unnecessarily handicapping his Olympic lifting gains. 

When I allow my mind to range back over a long period of time, there are numerous lifters I can remember who possessed polished styles and plenty of speed . . . and yet year after year they turned in the same approximate total.

Occasionally people would say, "I wonder why so-and-so doesn't press more weight?" The answer to this was quite clear really. "So-and-So" was already pressing his maximum in relation to the amount of muscle and tendon at his command. The reason he could not make progress with his Press past a certain point was possibly due to the fact that the lifter was not persevering with the best type of work to develop the muscles of the body for PRESSING. 

There are athletes I can remember who regularly thrilled us with their Snatch and Clean & Jerk techniques . . . but with small variations their poundages remained stationary for some mysterious reason.

However mystified others were, it seemed quite clear that the problem could only be solved by an increase in the lifter's Fundamental Basic Power. It was crystal clear to me that certain lifters were already getting the absolute limit they could possibly hope to achieve from the flashing scientific styles, and it another 20 or 30 pounds was to be added to their peak Olympic lifts there was only one medium that could possibly help them, and that was TO GAIN A 20% INCREASE IN BASIC MUSCULAR POWER AT ALL COSTS. 

I feel convinced this is where the great knowledge of body-building experts could help the Olympic enthusiast a great deal. Unlike the competitive lifer . . . the science of modern body-building has been built around hundreds and hundreds of searching experiments during recent years, and the knowledge that has accrued is most remarkable.

It is said from time to time that there is nothing new in the world of weight training. This may be true, but believe me, plenty of things have been "re-discovered" nad improved upon during recent years, and it is now possible to concentrate upon any part of the human frame when special "effects" are required.

John Carl Grimek took part in International weightlifting events on more than one occasion, but he had to reduce to the 181-lb. division each time and did not record the lifts he might otherwise have done. It is not generally known, but this great body-builder pressed more than 300 pounds at his normal bodyweight on many occasions, and during the war he recorded a Continental Press of 340 pounds. 

This Monarch of Muscledom conducted innumerable strength experiments during his lifting career, and his shoulder and arm strength amply illustrate the importance of grit, perseverance and the developing of basic body power to increase the Olympic lifts . . . providing one does not get into a fatal rut with unimaginative training habits. 

If one happened to talk about the Deep Knee Bend, the Dead Lift, or the Press on Back a few years ago in relation to Olympic training one was looked upon as an imbecile.

Today, there are many outstanding top-flight Olympic athletes who have at one time or other used these movements . . . and many are still doing so.

The incline board, and the supine bench are proving remarkable methods for building superior shoulder strength, both with barbells and dumbbells. 

The D.K.B. and the Dead Lift have been analyzed and "experimented" with exhaustively, and there are many, many different ways they can now be used.   

The world's most remarkable Olympic lifter at the present time is Tommy Kono, who incidentally is the living embodiment of basic muscular power.   

At 155 pounds Kono once made 35 deep knee bends with 365. Early this year, during a visit to London, Tommy performed a "front" squat for 2 reps with 420. 

Tommy Kono, like Dave Sheppard and Stan Stanczyk, combines Olympic training and body-building . . . and as you will have observed, his Olympic progress is not at a standstill by any means. 

Rowing motion exercises, both with wide and narrow hand spacing, and from both the bent over and upright positions form very useful "foundation" work for the competitive lifter . . . and there are countless other body-building movements that can surely help the Olympic specialist to get past certain sticking points. 

If you pulling power is insufficient in certain areas . . . it is possible to devise special weight-lifting exercises to strength the weak spot. 

If your Press "sticks" because of possible deltoid or triceps deficiency . . . who is better placed to tell you how to surmount the weakness than your editor, Reg Park? 

It is a curious thing, but a goodly proportion of the present day Olympic World champions rank among the world's most muscular physiques. 

It looks very much as though "the hard way" may in the long run be "the shortest cut." So remember Tommy Kono and 

Make up your mind to develop sufficient Muscular Power to do the things you so much desire. 

Part Two Continues From Here . . . 

       

   

     
        





















  

















↧

Combining Bodybuilding and Olympic Lifting, Part Two - Charles Coster (1953)

June 23, 2019, 2:41 pm
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Originally Published in This Issue (August 1953) 

A Big Thank You to Liam Tweed! 





Economy of Movement  

When dealing with readers requests for a Combined Training article in last month's Muscleman, I found myself expressing thoughts upon a subject about which I have been thinking deeply for a very long time, and regarding which there is a mass of data which needs sifting correctly. 

Last month I ventured to express the view that both body-builders and Olympic lifters would benefit by partaking of specially chosen forms of weight training. 

Physique builders, I pointed out, might "round off" certain corners . . . improve their athletic grace and deportment . . . and make more easy and natural the possession of a fine physique by practicing certain fast Olympic leg movements - such as the Two Hands Clean to the Shoulders, and the Two Hands Snatch.

Aspiring Olympic lifters, I opined, could adopt certain forms of muscle-making and Basic Power work which would help them to Press heavier poundages, and strengthen the weak spots encountered when dealing with limit cleans and snatches.

I have the feeling at times that there are certain competitive Olympic lifters who despise, or at best treat lightly all body-building knowledge, just as I feel convinced that there are a great many body-builders who scorn Olympic training, and the practice of other lifts officially recognized by the B.A.W.L.A. 

It is a pity that this attitude of mind should persist in certain quarters, for we are complimentary to each other AND THE SOONER WE REALIZE THIS FACT - THE BETTER IT WILL BE FOR ALL CONCERNED. 

One has only to take a look at some of the pictures of the late Ronald Walker to plainly see that not only was he England's best weightlifter . . . he had the best build body also.

Ronald practiced nearly all the 42 recognized lifts [later increased to 44] . . . at one time or other, and his physique responded wonderfully to intensive training with dumbbells, and the use of single-handed lifts like the One Hand Swing, the One Hand Clean & Jerk, and the Left and Right Hand Snatch. 


Note: Here is a Handy Grouping of the 42 Official BAWLA Lifts.
Two were added later: 
#43 - Press on Bench
#44 - Deep Knees Bend

This Handy Grouping was provided by Michael Murphy.
For much, much more on this subject, and the history of the iron game, I strongly recommend 
Joe Roark's IronHistory forums: 






Click Pic to Enlarge

He (Walker) was so phenomenally good at cleaning barbells to the shoulder with one hand that he could handle nearly three-cwt. in this style (336 pounds). 

For a six-footer, weighing around 190-195 pounds . . . his movements and general appearance were very graceful and natural. He moved with a quiet confident ease and dignity that I shall always remember. Indeed, he had a way of stalking the bar noiselessly, and at such times his movements were pantherish.  






Ronald Walker, Josef Manger



Ron's superb physical development was enhanced enormously be his personality and the fact that nothing about him seemed over-developed or out of place. 

I have always contended that details such as the ones I have just mentioned are absolutely invaluable from the bodybuilder's point of view. 

It doesn't matter how impressive and tremendously developed a fellow's physique may be if his general bearing and deportment are in any way clumsy or stolid  - then the most vital thing of all is lacking, and something should be done about it. 

There is something about a competitive weightlifter's physical development which ties in nicely and naturally. His development seems to superimpose itself upon his personality which makes it belong there. 

I have often thought that the Herculean hand-balancing fraternity, such as "Les Trois Des Milles," were wonderfully gifted in this respect also. 

If you take a gymnast, no matter from what direction you look at him, he appears to graceful advantage. No portion of his anatomy seems out of place . . . his movements are smooth and beautifully balanced, ans as he moves about the thought strikes one unconsciously that his body is wonderfully welded together. 

There's a fascinating article by Jan Dellinger on gymnastics, bodyweight training  and physique development
here: 



The Herculean hand-balancing fraternity and the Olympic weightlifters have one thing in common: their speed of movement, timing, and balance . . . are highly developed, and it is this skillful athletic ability which aids so much in their general appearance and deportment. 

It is only natural that an athlete who can hold a One Hand Balance when perched precariously on someone else's head, or outstretched arms should appear artistically at ease when walking on his own feet. And similarly, it is only to be expected that a competitive Olympic weightlifter who uses his entire body with energy, speed and agility when executing various lifts should possess, often unconsciously, a high degree of artistic merit in his general appearance and bearing. 

Last month I recommended that body-builders should practice the Two Hands Clean to the Shoulders, together with the Two Hands Snatch - (with fairly light weights, from the Hang) - 

here:

- but these two Olympic movements are not the only ones by any means that can be used for improving balance and agility. 

The One Hand Snatch, the One Hand Clean & Jerk, the One Hand Swing, and the Left and Right Hand Bent Press from the Shoulders are all conveniently designed to serve a similar purpose.

The Bent Press, (or Push), although not an agile speed exercise, is one of the best muscle-making lifts in the world, especially if it is used with the left as well as the right hand. 

One only has to look at some of the photographs in existence of such men as Sandow, Rolandow, and Hackenschmidt to realize that this lift is responsible for producing artistic as well as powerful muscles. 

A Bent Press takes some seconds to perform, and when it is performed slowly . . . I have known more than 25 seconds to elapse before the arm was locked overhead and the lifter's body had regained the finishing position. 

There's a great book on The Bent Press by Walter J. Dorey
here:


Thank You, Walter!

When a muscle, or group of muscles are made to contract continuously for many seconds like this - it often produces a very hard type of musculature, with plenty of definition, and surely this is something the body-builder is striving for. 

The continuous tension principle is intimately linked up with Herculean hand-balancing of course, and is responsible in no small degree for the outstanding structure some of them achieve. 

Some body-builders feel that if they interrupt their modern training routines progress will be hampered. 

This is not the case in my opinion, and it should be possible for musclemen to introduce certain "economies" (by cutting out unnecessary duplication movements) that would enable them to spend, say 25% of their training time on experiments such as I have described. 

By adding fresh variety this way, by streamlining and economizing with normal muscle-making routines, sufficient time will be available to make stimulating and sustained explorations possible. 


Speed and Power 

We should all learn from experience . . . but alas, by the time experience has been gained, it is sometimes too late to make the best and fullest use of it. An athlete's prime does not last forever and the knowledge that comes from experience is somewhat expensive when measured in terms of TIME. 

Many years ago I reached a condition of stalemate in my Olympic training . . . and my limit poundages just would not improve.

I was not as basically powerful as I should have been . . . and I knew it. Yet I balked at the prospect of attempting to achieve an improvement in my fundamental physical strength . . . so formidable did the task appear.

To cut a long story short, the Second World War started . . . and brought competitive weightlifting to a standstill.

Drawing upon my stories of experience I decided to conduct a series of research experiments using myself as the guinea pig. I faced the fact that my Press would never improve . . . unless it was blitzed with long and concentrated programs of muscle-making routines. As I was already 32 years of age at that time it was not too easy. I devoted entire sessions to developing the pressing muscles from all angles. 

I supported heavy weights at the commencing Press position . . . so that my limit would feel light by comparison. I used all the ideas in my repertoire, most of which have been published in earlier issues of Muscleman this year. 

At the end of about four months I found that I had made considerable progress, my Press had improved, and I was, generally speaking, much more powerful. I don't thing there is any doubt at all that modern muscle-making techniques would help the Olympic aspirant considerably to lay solid foundations for competitive lifting, especially the Press. 

Shortly after making this experiment I decided that my pulling power for the Clean, and the Snatch would have to be analyzed and built up section by section if greater limit lifts were to come my way.

I faced the fact that my limit poundages felt like a tone as they came off the floor . . . and I realized my chances of accomplishing greater things would be considerably enhanced if only I could find a way of boosting my physical power to the point where heavier weights would feel lighter when tackled. 

It has been said by experts that dead-lifting ability has little to do with snatching and cleaning . . . and this may be so, when certain other things are also lacking. Nevertheless, most of the world's best lifters can make a heavy dead-lift if they have to, and as my own power in this respect was not nearly what is should have been, I set out to remedy the defect. 

Progress was slow and laborious, but I went about the task as intelligently as possible, and in the end I became much stronger. 

I used fast light dead-lifts from the ground, and from the knees . . . to counterbalance the sluggish effect of handling heavier or limit poundages. 

I used very narrow as well as normal hand spacing, and a proportion of dead-lifting would also be done with maximum width grip, to help the Snatch. 

Half dead-lifts with the bar placed on supports slightly above knee height were also indulged in occasionally with the heaviest poundages I could handle. 

Whilst all this bulk-power-preparation was going on I discontinued normal Olympic lifting practice . . . apart from very light fast repetition work, which I endeavored to perform in perfect style.

At infrequent intervals I used to have a tryout to see what progress I was making. The result, after the first few months, was most gratifying. I found myself snatching and cleaning weights in my back garden without catchers, weights which I had often failed with at the club.

It seemed logical, I thought, that if a lifter could greatly improve his pull-up to the sternum without using any leg split or dip, his limit competition cleaning poundages would also benefit considerably.

This certainly seemed to work in my own case and I became so interested and keen to make progress with this movement that at the end of six months, on one occasion, I succeeded in raising a barbell to the sternum without moving my feet which was only 20 pounds less than my best limit competition lift had been - before undertaking these experiments in training. 

Of course, I made mistakes of procedure now and then. it took me some time to realize why it was I could not make a really good Clean or Snatch after I had previously gone through a heavy power-building program in the same training session. The muscles and tendons swell, and become gorged with extra blood at such times, and when this condition has been brought about it is not easy for very fast leg and arm movements to be made with split-second timing. 

I found that the best way to undertake a heavy tryout on the Snatch and Clean was after a couple of days complete rest from the weights. And then, after the tryout it was quite in order to continue with the strength-building experiment, if I so desired.

The pull for the Snatch can be divided roughly into three areas: 

1) from the ground to the hips;
2) from the hips to shoulder level; and
3) from shoulder level to arms' length overhead. 

All these pulling areas can be separately tackled with routine repetition pulling movements which will have the effect over a period of time of strengthening the pull in its entirety. 

The weights that can be handled in the mid-position will naturally be somewhat less than those used from the ground to the hips, and the pull-ups from shoulders to arms' length will involve even lighter poundages, especially at the commencement of the experiment.

The same division of pulling areas can be applied to the strengthening of the Clean by applying roughly the same principle.

Beneficial results cannot be obtained in five minutes! It takes time to increase fundamental basic power. But in the end it saves time, because it gets at the root cause of failure to make progress in a manner that nothing else will.

And it is far better for the lifter to get out of the rut with a few experiments like this rather than allow himself to fall a victim of unimaginative training habits. 

I feel it in my bones that modern scientific muscle-making techniques can be of the greatest possible benefit to the competitive weightlifter in many respects if only he cares to take advantage of the knowledge placed at his disposal.

If a lifter has become stationary, and he knows that he is already exploiting his speed, skill and style to the absolute limit . . . then it becomes clear beyond all argument that an improvement in his basic muscular power is the only thing in the world that will help him.          






















































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Biceps: Vince Gironda - Gene Mozee

June 24, 2019, 8:07 pm
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A flexed, fully developed biceps epitomizes all that is strong and powerful in man. It goes deeper than eye appeal:The biceps was arguably the single most instrumental muscle group in the building of civilization. Man first used his biceps to climb trees, and later they built the pyramids. In ancient Greece and Rome biceps wielded the swords, spears and bows and helped conquer the world. From the legions of Alexander the Great to the forces of Julius Caesar, the mighty armies all used biceps power to the fullest. 

Severe weakness in poorly developed biceps could make you unable to perform some basic functions, like feeding yourself. Without biceps power you couldn't climb a rope, participate in rock climbing or even use a shovel. The biceps get constant use in sports like handball, racquetball and tennis. They're also used in baseball to throw curveballs and in softball for underhand pitching. Strong biceps add devastating knockout power to the hook, uppercut and especially the bolo punch in boxing, and astronauts would be unable to walk in space without them. 

Sensational biceps development can be a bodybuilder's greatest show on earth, establishing his credentials as a muscleman for the general public. It can be the margin of victory in bodybuilding. For example, when Arnold defeated the great Sergio Oliva at the Mr. Olympia contest in 1972, in the last of their epic battles, it was Arnold's colossal biceps that won the day. 


   
That bit of ancient history is noteworthy because the men who had the most fabulous arms in the world in that era - Arnold, Sergio, Larry Scott, Freddy Ortiz, Franco Columbu - had all trained at Vince's Gym on their way to becoming bodybuilding superstars. That was back in the days when people relied more heavily on training and training techniques than chemistry.

Aside from the many champions and famous actors he trained, Vince Gironda will probably be most remembered for having invented the most popular biceps developer in the world: the preacher bench. Scott made it famous when he won the first Mr. Olympia title with his sensational 20.5 inch arms. 



Photo Courtesy of 


Now all bodybuilding gyms and most health clubs have some version of Vince's preacher bench.

Gironda believed you have to study a muscle's anatomy in order to develop it to the fullest, and he relied on Gray's Anatomy for information. In Keys to the Inner Universe Bill Pearl describes more than 100 biceps exercises. Gironda, after years of training, observation and trial and error, had it narrowed down to eight. In his opinion the following movements are the best of the best. They work the biceps from every angle and also work the brachialis, which is located just underneath the biceps. 

While you can shape your triceps significantly by working the different heads with specialized movements, Vince said, you cannot reshape your biceps to the same degree. People who have flat biceps need to concentrate on peaking exercises, especially short-range movements like undergrip chins and seated pulley curls. You'll never get the kind of high peaks a person with the right kind of biceps structure will, but with the right exercises and hard work you can develop outstanding biceps. 

If you have so-called high biceps, which are often accompanied by a large gap near the crook of the elbow, you must do plenty of preacher curls to work the lower past of the muscle. Your bone structure and muscle attachments dictate which movements are best suited for you. 



Larry Scott on this subject, here:


The Big Eight

1) Barbell Preacher Curls (lower biceps and brachialis), 8 reps.

Take an underhand shoulder-width grip on a barbell. Stand behind the preacher bench holding the barbell over the bench, with your elbows resting near the top of the bench. Stand fairly straight and start curling the barbell slowly. Don't lean backward, or cheat, as you curl the bar to your neck and touch. Lower and repeat. 

2) Incline Alternate Dumbbell Curls (biceps belly and outer head), 4 alternate reps plus four simultaneous reps per arm. 

Pick up a pair of dumbbells and sit on an incline bench with your head and shoulders not touching the bench. Perform alternate curls, looking at each dumbbell in turn as you raise it. Curl the dumbbell to the outside of your shoulder to work the outer biceps head, which also improves the peak. Alternate 4 reps per arm, then finish the set by curling both arms together. 

3) 90-Degree Preacher Curls (biceps belly), 4 partials plus 4 full reps.

Hold a loaded barbell and lean over on the 90-degree side of the preacher bench (the reverse side of a regular preacher bench). Without straightening or fully contracting your arms, work on the middle range of the movement. Do 8 reps total, on the last 3 or 4 reps have someone assist you in getting maximum 90-degree contractions. 

4) Bentover Barbell Curls (biceps peak), 8 reps.

Sit on the end of an exercise bench with your legs shoulder width apart and bend over, holding a barbell between your knees with a shoulder width grip. Straighten your arms, extending the barbell to the bottom, then curl the bar upward to a contracted position under your chin without moving the angle of your upper arms. Lower and repeat.

5) Lying Bench Curls (biceps belly), 8 reps per arm.

Lie on your back on a high flat bench, holding a pair of dumbbells in your hands, with your arms straight down. Keep your head up throughout the set as you alternately curl one dumbbell at a time, looking at and inclining your body toward the weight being curled. 

6) Dumbbell Preacher Bench Curls (lower and middle biceps), 10 reps.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and rest your elbows comfortably on the preacher bench, near the top. Lower the dumbbells until your arms are straight, then immediately curl them up. Lower and repeat.

7) Incline Dumbbell Curls (outer head, biceps belly), 8 reps.

With a dumbbell in each hand, lie back on an incline bench that's set at 35 to 50 degrees. Your elbows should be touching the sides of the bench, with the dumbbells about 10 inches away from your body. Start with your arms hanging down and slowly curl the dumbbells until your biceps are fully contracted. Don't let the weights drop on return to starting position - maintain strict control without bouncing. Just lower slowly and repeat.



8) Narrow Grip Chins (biceps peak), 8 reps.

Take a knuckles down, palms-under grip on a chinning bar with your hands about four inches apart. From a hanging position slowly pull up until your chin is above the bar. Holding your elbows high and together, lower only 4 to 5 inches, then pull up again until your neck touches the bar. Lower and repeat. The movement should be slow, rhythmical and controlled. When bodyweight reps become easy, load that diaper. 

Gordon Case, a bodybuilder who appeared in the movie "Muscle Beach Party" along with Larry Scott and several other well-known men, had sensational high-peaked biceps, and the only exercise he ever did for them was narrow grip chins. 



Who's the guy to the left of Larry Scott?
I don't know, honest.
Is that Tug?
That was the character Mr. Case played. 


Vince's Tips for Building Big, Shapely Biceps

1) Select the exercises that work the area of your biceps that needs the most improvement.

2) The biceps respond best to a maximum of 12 sets. Select two appropriate exercises from the above and do 6 sets of each, or do 4 sets of 3 exercises.

3) Don't neglect your triceps. Do an equal number of sets for them.

4) Work your arms three times a week with at least a day of rest between sessions.

5) Proper nutrition is vital.

6)  Set a goal and maintain a positive attitude. Focus on what you want to look like and put 100% effort into achieving that goal. 


Advanced Arm Blaster

Here's an advanced arm program that Vince designed for Larry Scott, that fellow standing next to Tug. Is that Tug? It enabled Scott to build his fabulous arms and win two Mr. Olympia titles. See the September installment of this series for descriptions of the triceps exercises. 

Biceps - 

Superset:
Dumbbell Preacher Curls, 6 x 6
Barbell Preacher Curls, 6 x 6

Reverse Preacher Curls, 4 x 8 

Triceps - 

Superset: 
Lying Barbell Extensions, 6 x 8
Long Rope Pulls, 6 x 8

One-Arm Dumbbell Kickbacks, 4-6 x 8-10

Scott performed the routine three times a week, taking no more than 30-45 seconds rest between sets and no rest between the two exercises in a superset. 

Note: The burns, don't forget the burns. 

 - "Burns are small movements done at the top of the movement. Let the weight down just to the point it is going to "fall through", bring it up, and repeat." 
 - Larry Scott.
4 to 5 burns following the regular reps in each set, Soldier. 
Sailors can follow the same plan. 
Members of the Air Corp can instead do 5 or 4 burns. 

Gironda's exercises really do work. When I trained at his gym my arms were big but not especially cut up or well shaped. After specializing on Vince's exercises, I developed chiseled peaks that greatly enhanced my arm posses, er, poses. Give these exercises and tips a fair trial, and I'm sure your results will be as gratifying as mine were.  





  




  
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My Life Story, Part Two - Ronald Walker (1953)

June 24, 2019, 9:59 pm
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Courtesy of Liam Tweed


Originally Published in This Issue (May 1953) 


Part One is Here:







My Last Lifting as an Amateur and First Professional Record

1938 saw me as a professional, having retired from competition in the early part of this year, I now started out to break records. I was also married this year, I also spent a lot of time in London with my business of postal courses on Development and Weight-Lifting, but I did spare the time to train and keep my poundages still on the up-grade. 

I gave many demonstrations at galas and open air displays to keep in form. I also took up hand balancing again, and made a trio. With this act I toured the halls for a while. Included in my act was the Challenge Dumb-Bell, we had lots of fun with this with the audience. 

And so again on the 26th of November 1938, I made my first Professional Record of 286.5 pounds, 4 pounds in excess of my Amateur Record. My real aim that day was to make a world's record total. I snatched 270, first attempt, then took 308 for the World's Record, but failed. I had often done this weight before in training, but the platform I was lifting on this day was of the sloping type and not good enough for snatching or jerking on, because I also failed with the Jerk of 369 pounds, after taking 341 for my first attempt, 369 being again a World's Record, but I had intended that this should be my best official total, which would have given me 963 pounds, because it has always been my aim to make 1,000 total. I still hope to do this, even as a professional, although there is no competition in this field. 

Following this performance, I not turned my activities to my business of training my postal pupils on the methods I had used so successfully. I had still one other ambition to accomplish, and that is to train a team of lifters to defeat the world's best at all weights, and with the right conditions and suitable pupils selected I really think that in 1948 I will see this come true.




Experiences

I have had many amusing, and painful, experiences during my lifting career. One such painful one stands out to me, and a lesson to those that read this incident. I was making an attempt on a Record Total, with possible records included this day, a friend of mine persuaded me against my own judgement to have a full massage.

Now a massage of this kind to a weight-lifter on the day, or three or four days before an important event spells disaster. Most masseurs, not knowing the type of muscular action required to lift weights, will pound and lift the muscles off the bone. That's just what you don't want. All that is required in the form of massage before lifting, after lifting, before contests is, apply Elleman's Embrocation, and gently pat it into the muscles, it should also be stroked in the same direction of the blood flow, also a flesh glove can be used before the massage. As I say, I was persuaded into it, but that is the kind of fitness I did not want.

I wanted to feel slow and firm, the massage had excited my energy I was holding for the lifting. The result was that when I did lift, I had no control over the loose muscles, and I took a backwards spill with 227 pounds on the two hands snatch, 30 pounds over the World's Record, my leg gave way as I was recovering, my cartilage slipped out, and everything went black for a little while, also I tore the left thigh muscles, this I shall always remember, and stick to my own methods.

One amusing incident I will always remember was when I was taken ill with flu one year, and stomach pains. I had been lifting then four years. The doctor had been called in to give advice on the stomach pains, which later turned out to be a very deep, torn muscle. When he arrived he did the usual testing as they do, and came to his conclusions, and their treatments, etc., but as an after thought he decided to give me a blood pressure test. 

I saw him lift his eyebrows suddenly when he read the pressure. Three or four times he made the same test, but apparently with the same results. He also looked at me during these operations rather queerly. At last he turned to me and said, "It's blood pressure Mr. Walker, that's your complaint, you've 185 lbs. pressure." 

I was rather surprised to hear this, and said so too. "I think you're wrong this time," I told him, and explained the reason, that I being a strong man and the amount of extra work my body had to do, my heart had produced extra blood to prevent overstrain of the heart. He didn't agree with me here, saying that I should be 130 pounds to be normal, so I said I would prove it to him. My brother was at home at the time, so the doctor asked him to have a test, which he did and to the doctor's amazement, you can imagine his face when he read 175 lbs. pressure in my brother, it quite convinced him that I was right. We often get a laugh out of it when we meet. 

Editor's Note: That concludes this series, but we are shortly hoping to publish a complete book on "The Lift Story of Ron Walker," with passages by people who knew and met with him. Watch out for announcements concerning same.    



















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Basic Power Methods - Charles Coster (1955)

June 29, 2019, 11:52 am
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Article Courtesy of Liam Tweed -
This is one issue of S & H I don't have, and
it's a real pleasure to be able to post this particular article.


Originally Published in This Issue (April 1955) 
On the cover, Lou Degni. 


Lou Degni!



Kenneth Pendleton, circa 1940.

Rear View of Tips Only on the Bar in a Rack Position. 



Note: Here's a great aid in describing Olympic lift variations for those of you who may have the odd problem understanding the terminology, or enthusiastically describing them to non-lifting strangers in a grocery store lineup.  It's taken from this book, written by Christian Thibaudeau. Highly recommended!

If you don't have a copy yet, check out the Table of Contents here: 
https://www.amazon.com/Theory-Application-Modern-Strength-Methods/dp/B01K2WFBXQ

I believe this was Chris's second published book. For more recent material and much, much more, go here: 
https://thibarmy.com/ 
Go CANADA!  

It's been a while since this book was published. For me, it was long enough to warrant another read with more experienced eyes. New perception of what I thought I knew!

These are the main sections of the book: 

 - A focus on broad categories of training methods and the scientific explanations behind each of them.

 - The possible applications of these broad methods as well as how to use them in a training regime. 

 - Program design. Understanding the how and why of correctly arranging the training methods selected into a logical and effective training plan. 

 - Electrostimulation training for athletes, its benefits and limitations.  

 - 30 different high power/shock exercises to maximize your performance.

 - Addressing the myths of strength training for female athletes. 
 




First word: position of the catch/reception of the barbell - 
Muscle = catch with no bending of the knees.
Power = catch with a slight bending of the knees (less than 90 degrees).
Squat = catch with an important bending of the knees.
Split = catch with one leg forward and one leg back.

Second word: general type of lift - 
Snatch
Clean 
Jerk

Third word: starting position - 
Floor = the bar starts on the floor.
Hang = the bar starts above or below the knees, with the lifter hold it there.
Blocks = the bar starts on blocks supporting it above or below the knees.  

Examples, using the Clean: 

Muscle clean from the floor.
Muscle clean from the hang.
Muscle clean from blocks.

Power clean from the floor.
Power clean from the hang.
Power clean from blocks.

Squat clean from the floor.
Squat clean from the hang.
Squat clean from blocks.

Split clean from the floor.
Split clean from the hang.
Split clean from blocks. 



And now to the article . . . 


The Spur

Anyone who has familiarized himself with happenings connected with the last two or three world weight lifting championships will come to the inevitable conclusion that the great Iron Game is undergoing a convulsion of intense activity at the present time. Records upon the three Olympic lifts are soaring in all seven weight class categories, and there are two main reasons for this . . . the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. Isolated contributions occasionally come from other far-flung corners of the globe also - such as Iran, Burma, the Philippines and Korea. But in the main, the great struggle revolves around Olympic weight lifting activities centered in American and Russian sporting circles. Both countries have huge populations, and both have great stores of natural talent. The onslaught upon World Records in most sports during the past few years has now reached such a degree of intensity that people everywhere are wondering just where it is going to end.

Competition is a great spur to human endeavor . . . and it looks very much as though we are going to have plenty of it during the years to come.

In many fields of sport, the normal training methods used in the past are now no longer considered sufficient by themselves to obtain the very best results for a specific occasion. 

Certain "auxiliary methods" have been ingeniously contrived and invented by athletes and trainers . . . in an effort to extend and improve the natural potential of the athlete concerned, in various ways. And it will come as no particular surprise to anyone when we realize that the ancient and noble sport of lifting weights is particularly suited to the study of fresh avenues of approach, when greater peak competitive performances are desired by the individual.

It has been said at times that nothing is entirely new in the weight lifting world, and with this I agree. However, our affairs have been conducted in such a loose manner during past decades that many useful ideas and discoveries have been overlooked or forgotten. But of recent years the tempo of Olympic lifting has become so revolutionized that now athletes the world over are seeking for additional "forcing methods" whereby to implement the normal routines of training.

Many experiments are being made in different parts of the world at the present time with this end in view and, it should not be necessary to add . . . every idea is not necessarily a success.

The ability to keep out of a mental rut and the willingness to experiment with worthwhile ideas is, I am convinced, a strong feature of Russian athletics at the present time.

Fundamental Basic Power was a term coined by me, and mentioned in Vigour magazine some years ago. I have never had cause to regret this phrase . . . for with the passing of time it becomes increasingly apparent that the use of these things can be of the greatest possible assistance in overcoming sticking points connected with Olympic weight lifting performances.

Not for one moment do I underestimate the importance of style, timing, technique, etc., when combined with a blinding turn of speed. These things are all-important, and no competitive athlete can dispense with them.

But what I would lay stress upon is this: When a lifter is making full use of scientific skill - and he finds himself stuck at certain poundages - the A GREATER DEGREE OF BASIC POWER is the only thing that will enable him to get beyond that point.    

  

The importance of an all-out, up-on-toes pull can be seen in this photo of Dorrel Dixon, a Mr. Jamaica winner and lifting champion, in action snatching at the Central American Games. A valuable basic power action is to pull heavy weights up as high as possible in this manner. Dave Sheppard, who holds world snatch records in two classes, pulls up weights 100 pounds more than he can snatch and attempts to tough as high as possible on his chest. 


When the strength of the man becomes stationary . . . however brilliant the technique of the lifter may be, it will only carry him to a certain point . . . and from there on the lifter tends to become static.

There would appear to be a "limit" to the development and application of style, speed and technique. But much of the evidence at our disposal tends to indicate that THE ULTIMATE POSSIBILITIES OF STRENGTH AND BASIC POWER AND NOT YET IN SIGHT. 

The inference therefore would appear to be obvious: Keep your normal training routines lined up with a progressive Basic Power routine, to assure continued Olympic progress. 


 

Some of the Books Recommended by Louie Simmons:



A Program of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting by AS Medvedyev
A System of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting by AS Medvedyev
Adaptation in Sports Training by Atko ViroBasic Physics by Karl F. Kuhn
Beyond Stretching Russian Flexibility Breakthroughs by Pavel Tsatsouline
Circuit Training for All Sports by Manfred Scholich, PhD
European Perspectives on Exercise and Sport Psychology by Stuart J. H.Biddle
Explosive Power & Strength by Donald A. Chu, PhD
Explosive Power and Jumping Ability by Tadeusz Starzynski/Henry K Sozanski, PhD
Facts and Fallacies of Fitness by Dr. Mel Siff 
Fitness and Strength Training for All Sports by Jurgen Hartmann, PhD
Fundamentals of Special Strength Training in Sports by YV Verkhoshansky
Manage the Training of Weightlifters by Nikolai
PetrovichLaputin/Valentin/Grigoryevich/Oleshko
Periodization Theory and Methodology of Training by Tudor O. Bompa
Periodization Training for Sports by Tudor O. Bompa
Power Training for Sport by Tudor O. Bompa
Programming and Organization of Training by YV Verkhoshansky
Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vladimir Zatsiorsky
Science of Sports Training by Thomas Kurz
Secrets of Soviet Sports Fitness and Training by Michael Yessis, PhDSerious
Strength Training by Tudor O. Bompa
Soviet Training and Recovery Methods by Rick Brunner/Ben Tabachnik
Sports Conditioning and Weight Training by WM J Stone/WM A KrollSports
Restoration and Massage by Dr. Mel Siff/Michael Yessis, PhD
Strength and Power in Sport by PV KomiStrength
Speed and Endurance for Athletes Jurgen Hartmann, PhD
Strong Together by Walter Gain/Jurgen Hartmann, PhD

Supertraining by Dr. Mel 

The Naked Warrior by Pavel Tsatsouline 
The Training of the Weightlifter by RA Roman 
The World Atlas of Exercises for Track and Field by Andrzej 
Theory and Methodology of Training by Tudor O. Bompa 
Training for Warriors by Martin Rooney
Warm-Up and Preparation for Athletes of All Sports by ZoltanTEnke/AndyHiggins
Weightlifting and Age by LS Dvorkin
Weightlifting Year Book, 1980, 83, 85, Fizkultura I Sport Publishers

PArdon my font, eh.  

Note: All these Fundamental Basic Power, All-Around Body Power articles from the past stress the development of fundamental overall raw body strength and strengthening weak points once they're identified (not knowing your weak points can be a real big part of the problem), along with technique and speed as well, of course. If we look at today's powerlifting knowledge, current strength training wisdom and all of it, it's clear that these guys back in the '50s and earlier were laying down the groundwork for what we sometimes take for granted today. Ya gotta love it! Just as it is today, people with a passion for lifting keep finding more and more out about what it takes to create continued human strength and technique development . . . and higher poundages result. "Create." For sure. If you were squatting 300 in the past and now you're handling 400, well, you pulled that strength, speed and technique in and made it yours, used the tools of the Universe to create something that wasn't there before. How bloody amazing is that! I mean, we could've been created as static, extremely limited unchanging beings, but no, we have the potential to create the new in ourselves with the consistent combination of passion and the power of the future. You can scuff around with your head down and let what's left of your life dribble away, dry up and whither, or, you can choose to dig in with a vengeance matched only by your passion for the very act of living. Okay, okay, my little say is over . . . the article continues: 

Many important articles have been written on this subject, by various magazines and many people, in different countries at different times. The subject is a fascinating one and stimulating to the mental faculties. This material has served a useful purpose already, and will prove even more valuable in future if we are enabled to put these theories on a sound basis, and make the best use of them.

It is becoming an axiom nowadays that muscles which are only exercises in "one" direction do not develop maximum power. For instance: nature has provided for a man's arms to make pressing movements with an upward and downward radius of approximately 180 degrees, and it is quite possible that the limit of a man's Olympic Press could be appreciably improved if a generous range of pressing movements were persisted with over a long period of time . . . from all angles. 

The bench press is an outstanding example of a basic power movement that can be used to improve a lifter's Olympic Press in competition, providing that it is used the right way.  



The practice of heavy supine pressing, with hand spacing approximately the same as for overhead pressing, aids in developing basic power in the arm extensors. It is a part of the training of such outstanding heavyweight champions as John Davis, Norb Schemansky, Doug Hepburn and Paul Anderson.

The Snatch, and Clean & Jerk procedures have not altered much during the last 20 years, but pressing technique is undergoing very remarkable alterations, and this has come about mainly during the past four years - with the reentry of Russia into world contests. 

In Paris (1950) it caused a sensation. In 1952 at Helsinki we saw that some of the other nationalities were adopting the Russian Press style. In 1953 at Stockholm the Soviet athletes had themselves considerably "streamlined" in this type of pressing, so that almost imperceptibly it became more acceptable to an audience of weight lifters. 

The many photographs that have appeared in Strength & Health at various times make it unnecessary for me to go into lengthy details - One Picture is Worth 10,000 Words. The athlete using this style lays back, gets a solid rest for the bar on his chest in front of the sternum, and from the moment the weight commences traveling upwards the lifter does his utmost to swing his elbows and upper arms as far back as possible. 

It may seem an astonishing statement but, viewed from the side, the lifter's elbows can often be seen to extend beyond, or behind the line of the lifters back, as he awaits the referee's signal to commence. 



Jim Bradford shows the pressing position known popularly as the Russian style, discussed by Charles Coster in this article. Note that the arms and hands (open fingers on right hand) are momentarily relaxed before pressing, with the weight supported solidly on the upper chest. Bradford has pressed 340 pounds. 


The possibilities of elevating heavier poundages this way are enormous. Strict military presses are something the purists will always prefer, but we must face facts and realize that this ideal is being quietly and unobtrusively buried before our very eyes.

If the modern method is really here to stay - then the sooner we realize that the lay-back style lends itself admirably to strengthening and improving by the use of basic power principles, the sooner further progress will be made.

I would suggest that the skillful use of the incline board (adjusted to suitable angles for the individual concerned), with the practice of quarter, half, three-quarter, and full press movements might get good results if used regularly over a period of time.  

With the help of stands or catchers  - the lifter is able to vary his hand spacing on the bar as often as desired . . . when trying to master certain sticking areas with specific press poundages.

If this type of muscle work were undertaken in conjunction with bench pressing, it is probable that some very heavy single limit presses would eventually be performed, and this would act as a safeguard for better competition lifts. 

One of the difficulties encountered in the old style Press was the fact that the lifter's arms and shoulders became tired while waiting for the referee to give him the starting signal. 

The great advantage of the Russian press lies in the very solid chest rest for the bar, which takes most of the strain off the lifter's arms and shoulders while waiting for the go-ahead from the referee. It is this "relaxed" position of the arms and shoulders that enables the Russians to impart such a paralyzing drive into their presses from the start. 

Udodov at Vienna was outstanding in this respect, and he elevated the heaviest feather-wt Press ever seen at a World Championship . . . 220-232 and 236 pounds going up as though they were jet propelled. Never in my experience have I seen really heavy weights pressed so fast. 


Ivan Udodov 


Note: Ivan Udodov was on 19 when the Germans sent him to Buchenwald concentration camp in 1941. When he finally left it, he weighed on 29 kg. (64 lbs.) and couldn't walk without assistance. To start with, sport was part of the rehabilitation process recommended by his doctors. But soon weightlifting became his life's passion. 

Udodov worked hard and results soon came. Already in 1948 he won second place at the Soviet Southern Championship, and in 1951 became the champion of the Soviet Union in the lightest, the  up-to-56 kg. category. Then he was invited onto the National team. 

In 1952 at the Olympic Games in Helsinki he defeated Iranian favorite Mahmoud Namjoo.    

The article continues . . . 

Incidentally, this lifter (Udodov) sometimes varies his hand spacing in training. I saw him one night make some normal repetitions . . . lower the bar to the chest, slide his hands about eight inches outwards, and then continue repetition press work. After a rest period he approached the same bar, and reversed the procedure, using a very close grip with only about 10 inches separating his thumbs. 

The reason I lay stress upon the Russian lifters' activities is because I quite realize that most Americans are familiar with events that are taking place inside their own continent. Indeed, in my humble opinion, scientific experiments and modern theories have been carried much further on the American continent than on the Russian side of the globe.

But there is an important difference, and it is this: In the Soviet Union there appears to be a coordinated national effort to make the utmost of whatever scientific data comes to hand, as far as w-lifting is concerned. 

In other parts of the world, including my own, we do not appear to be so enthusiastically attracted to exploit a sport which we have chosen of our own free will. Weight lifting problems have of necessity to fit into an odd corner of our lives, whereas in Russia anyone with unusual talent is encouraged to give the sport priority. 

Note: You'll find that weightlifting, lifting of all types is very much a worldwide thing.



Once you lose the language restrictions on a search, well, yeah, there ya go. 



The Russian coaches and lifters are keen observers. At Helsinki they saw Americans making power cleans, and power snatches. 

At Stockholm they were present when Davis, Sheppard and Schemansky did squats and bench presses at the end of certain training sessions. 


 

Here Dave Sheppard illustrates the erect position recommended for heavy full squatting as a power exercise. While boosting his best clean from 360 to 400 pounds, Sheppard increased his squatting strength from 460 to 515 pounds. Low repetitions, 3 to 5, with heavy weights are recommended for power-building exercises. 


USSR Youth Basketball Team Training.
Don't you just feel a lot better about your squat-related genetics now. 



The possibilities connected with these basic power movements were soon digested. And now, they have made their own experiments. Power snatches have become a part of their routine training. As a Lt-hvy-wt Vorobiev has made a 330-lb. Clean without foot movement, just by sheer pulling power. At Stockholm this Russian lifter did repetition partial squats with 440 one day.   

There's a later, 1967 article by Arkady Vorobyev here:
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2008/11/soviet-methods-arkady-vorobiev.html 

And a '68 one of his on developing speed and flexibility, here:
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2010/07/developing-speed-and-flexibility-arkady.html 

Training for Qualified Lifters, by Vorobiev, here: 
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2008/10/training-for-qualified-lifters-arkady.html 

The Planning of Training (From "Russian Training Method" Part IV) by Vorobyev, here:
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-planning-of-training-arkady.html 





You say Vorobiev, and I say Vorobyev. 
Potato, Potahto, Vorobi, Voroby, etc. 

For German speaking readers, Vorobyev's A Textbook on Weightlifting: 
https://rohe-kraft.de/downloads/gewichtheben_worobjow.pdf 

https://translate.google.com/

An interesting nterview with Harvey Newton: 
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1747954118755442 

Understanding Russian Training Methods (link will immediately download .doc: 
http://drjj5hc4fteph.cloudfront.net/Articles/Understanding%20Russian%20Weightlifting%20Methods.docx 

There's really so freakin' much out there nowadays.
Here's an interesting 58-page thread:

http://jaredenderton.com/lsu-shreveport-lifting-program/ 

then this thread: 

http://wlforums.com/forums/showthread.php?107-The-LSUS-Thread 

I got carried away there. The article continues . . . 

Wait! This Charniga article - 
http://www.sportivnypress.com/2015/its-all-connected-part-iii-reverse-engineering-injury-mechanism/ 

https://www.dynamicfitnessequipment.com/Articles.asp?ID=258


At Vienna their young (Russian) heavyweight Medvedev 




(On No! No more links from the future!) conducted an entire training session with nothing but Power Snatches and Power Cleans. This 240-lb. lifter is only about 24 years of age, but he can pull 264 lbs. to arms' length without a "press-out." 


He made sets of 3 and 4 reps with weights ranging between 297 and 330 lbs. at Vienna when making power cleans without a split . . . and he must have performed 30 lifts in all.

When routines like these are undertaken, the lifter's grip sometimes weakens. But they have effectively coped with this difficulty by the use of canvas straps which encircle the lifter's wrists and the bar - in a manner well know in American w-lifting circles. 


Basic Power Squats

Perhaps the athlete who is more closely associated with basic power theories than anyone else at the present time is Tommy Kono. 


Tommy Kono (cleaning 371.25 for a world middleweight record) trains on heavy basic power exercises to improve his lifting. To develop the strength needed to get up with heavy cleans, he squats with weights up to 440 lbs. held at the chest. 

We are living in an age of wonderful weight-lifting phenomena, and Tommy is well to the fore. This lifter is the very personification of fundamental basic power. Without going into the details of this man's athletic career, it can be instanced that the squatting exercise, both from the front, and from behind the neck, seems to be largely responsible for laying the foundations of his present Olympic weight lifting ability.

Photo Courtesy of https://www.davedraper.com/
Thank You jp92!



When he made his tremendous 370-lb. C&J at Stockholm in 1953, he had earlier succeeded in making two in-front-of-the-neck squats with a bar loaded up to 420 lbs. 



Two Squat Programs by Tommy Kono, here:

When he was finishing off his Vienna preparation he improved upon this performance by making the same full front squat movement with 440 pounds.

In the same town, although weighing only 174, he then made a squat Clean & Jerk with 380 to create a new lt-hvy-wt world record, and he duplicated this feat at the championships.

It is an impressive sight to watch him grind his way through the difficult stages of a heavy lift - and this is made possible because the ligaments of his hips, back and thighs are now tremendously powerful.

Providing that Kono takes the precaution of watching his Jerk potential, it seems very likely that every time his lifter succeeds in setting-up a heavier squat in front of the neck poundage he is automatically paving the way for even great C&Js. And if I am right in this respect, it constitutes an amazing state of affairs: for the only limit would appear to be the sky. 

Evidence that basic power principles can be brought to bear and employed to improve a very fast lift like the Snatch are also on hand. 




Dave Sheppard (above nearly succeeding with 413.25 pounds at 184 bodyweight) increased his cleaning power by practicing heavy high pulls, regular- and quarter-squats. He has unofficially clean and jerked 403. Sheppard has snatched 303.25 at 179, and 316.5 at 190. 

Some months ago I received an interesting letter from Dave Sheppard, and, among other things, we discussed the possibilities attached to fundamental basic power methods. Famous Olympic lifting champions are not often moved to eulogies of praise about a particular member of their fraternity . . . but I have heard many world champs rhapsodize over Dave's squat snatch artistry, and indeed this young athlete is a sheer genius with this lift. 

Skeptical scorn and disbelief is only too rampant nowadays when someone tries to put a new idea across . . . especially if the poor guy happens to be a despised writer. In view of these tendencies, therefore, I reiterate: this is Dave Sheppard's letter I am quoting from. In a letter dated Feb. 25, 1954, he says: 

"Two months ago I could only squat with 460 pounds, and I could only clean 360. I decided to concentrate on the squat, and soon I succeeded with 515 in good full form - and made a C&J of 385 pounds . . . but I do plenty of POWER movements, such as heavy snatch pulls, full squats, and many dead start supine (bench) presses, with a standing press hand spacing." 

In a letter dated May 10, 1954, he stated: 

"I am still doing 'Anderson Quarter-Squats'. Nothing compares with this form of power building. I work up until I am using all the weights I have, which is about 800 pounds, in sets of 5 reps. I am doing lots of snatch pulls working up to 420 in sets of 2 reps."

During the period in between writing these two letters Dave made some terrific progress. He was pressing 285-300 . . . made a 316 world record Snatch . . . squat C&J 400 on two occasions . . . and made a Jerk from the shoulder of 420 pounds.



Power pulling to belt heights or above, using weights heavier than the lifter's best Clean, is one of the best strength builders. This is nothing new in American lifting, for this photo shows Tony Terlazzo with a heavy poundage at belt height back in 1939. Terlazzo made an 825 total as a lightweight in 1940.  



























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Max Out Your Bench - Bill Starr

June 29, 2019, 2:32 pm
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Hit a sticking point with your bench press and can't seem to add weight to the bar, no matter what you do or how you try? Bill Starr, former top Olympic lifter and strength coach at Johns Hopkins University gives suggestions that should see your bench going up again . . .  


I arrived at the gym early, in hopes of getting my workout finished before the after-work crowd hit. It was spring break at the university and I was looking forward to a nice, quiet session without the hindrance of hundreds of questions from student athletes. 

For an hour and a half, my plan worked perfectly. I was about to conclude this light day of training with some beach work, when a shadow loomed over me. I ignored it, hoping that whoever it was only wanted to share the 40-lb. dumbbells that I was using, but it was not to be. 

"Excuse me," the shadow said softly.

Still, I didn't look around as I switched the dumbbell to my right hand and continued curling.

"What is it?" I grumbled, foreseeing the inevitable.

"Could you help me with my program?" 

The question came our more like a plea than a request and I knew I couldn't refuse. I replaced the dumbbells in the rack, then turned and faced a very serious young trainee. 

"What is it you want to know?" 

His stern expression changed instantly; his eyes brightened and he stood more erect. 

"I was hoping I'd run into you today," he began eagerly. "I've been wanting to talk to you, but you're hard to track down. It's my bench press. I've been stuck at 275 for over a year. And I've tried just about every exercise in the book: inclines, dumbbell inclines, declines, flyes, triceps pressdowns. Nothing seems to help," he add dejectedly. "Any suggestions?" 

It was, of course, a very silly question to ask a strength coach because that's what they get paid for. 

"Have you ever used the power rack?" I asked, resigned to the fact that I was going to be in the gym a little longer than planned. 

He stared at me as if I had lost my mind and with a little, scornful laugh said, "Sure, I do shrugs and sometimes squat in it, but I'm interested in improving my bench, not my pull." 

"I understand," I muttered, slightly irritated at his tone, "but the power rack is one of the most effective tools to help you improve your bench press." 

"Really!" he blurted out incredulously. "How?" 

"It'll be easier and faster to show you and there's a special technique required in order for the movements to work effectively." 

"Great!" he cried cheerfully and pulled on his belt. "What do we do first?"

"First, you warm up. Do 4 sets of 8 on the bench, working up to somewhere around 205 for your last set." 

He nodded, hurried to a vacant bench and went to work while I prepared the rack. He was on his 3rd set when I asked, "What's the most difficult part of the bench for you? The start, middle, or lockout?" 

He crashed the bar into the uprights, sat up and studied the matter for a moment before saying, "The start, I would say. Why, does it matter?" 

I nodded and answered, "It does, because you'll want to give priority to the weakest portion of the lift - that is, do it first in the routine." 

I waited by the rack while he completed his last set; then he hurried over, slightly red-faced. "Not used to working out so fast," he explained.

I laughed, "You don't have to bomb/blitz. I have time. Lie down on the bench. I need to see where to set the pins so that the bar is resting as close to your chest as possible." 

He did as instructed; I set the lower set of pins so that the bar rested about a half inch above his chest, then put the second set of pins about two inches high. I loaded 135 on the bar and instructed, "Today, you're going to do 3 sets at each position I show you. This will help you get the feel of pushing against the pins. Once you master the technique, you'll only do 2 sets at the first two positions. I'll explain more about the third position when we get to it." 

"I understand. What should I do? This feels kind of light." 

"It should feel light. I want you to get used to pushing against the pins. Now push the bar up against the top pins three times and hold the third for a 5 count." 

He did so, set the bar back on the lower pins and looked up at me for further instruction.

"Feel it?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do. That's amazing - and with only 135." 

I loaded the bar to 185 and said, "Do the same thing again, three times against the top pins and hold the 3rd rep for a 6 second count."

This time, the bar started to jitterbug by the time I counted to five. He crawled out from under the bar, rubbing his arms. "Damn! What a pump! I can't believe it!" 

"One more set and I'm going to drop the weight to 175. This final set is the money set; all the others were just warmups. this time, try to hold the bar against the pins for 12 seconds. Try to push the bar through the pins."   

He last only till 7, climbed out from under the bar, his face distorted. "I never would have believed it!" he exclaimed. "How come it pumps me like that?" 

"Because it's very concentrated work and there's no way to loaf or cheat, that's why. There's no training partner helping you through the hard part. One set like that in the rack is equal to a dozen outside of it. Now let's move the pins up and work the middle range." 

After repositioning the pins and dropping the weight back to 135, he worked the difficult range just below the sticking point to just past it and found that he was a tad stronger here than in the starting position. He was able to hold the final, third set for almost a 10 count and came up smiling, pleased with himself. "I thought I'd be stronger here."  

"And you were right. Now for the third and final position, the lockout. You'll work it a bit differently. On this one, you won't be pushing into a pin, but rather moving it off the bottom pin just above where you had the top pin for the middle position. This one you'll like because you can handle lots of iron." 

My prediction held true, and then some. He did 4 sets on this one, since the third at 375 was too light. He ended with 405 on the bar and stood, wearing a Cheshire cat grin, obviously pleased with himself. 

"That's great! My arms and shoulders are whipped and my upper body is pumped. I do this three times a week?" he asked enthusiastically. 

"No. A little rack training goes a long way. Too much will wreck you. Remember what I said about it being very concentrated work. You will want to balance the rack work in with your regular bench routine and some auxiliary work. 

"On Monday, work your bench hard, going up to a heavy single, double, or triple; then go to the rack and work the starting position, but not the other two.

"Come back on Tuesday and do weighted dips and heavy overhead presses. 

"Wednesdays, you can do some inclines, heavy, and add in some triceps pushdowns on the lat machine. 

"Make Fridays your rack day. This will give you a couple of days to rest up after doing them. Follow the same routine that you did today. Then if you feel confident with your technique, drop the second set. Don't increase your top-end weight on the first two positions until you're able to hold that 3rd set for the full 12 seconds." 

"I got it," he said smiling, "and you really think this will move my bench to 300?" 

"If you stick to the program I outlined and don't start slipping in extra work like flyes, declines and such. All that they'll do is tap into your strength reservoir and keep you from making gains. The basic premise behind isometric work is that once you've stimulated your muscles, tendons and ligaments to 80% of maximum, that's all the stronger you're going to get on that day. Anything extra is counterproductive. That's straight from the mouth of the founder of isometrics, Doctor John Ziegler."   

Here:
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-unheralded-genius-of-john-bosley_17.html
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2017/09/isometrics-isotron-dr-john-ziegler.html

"So this is isometrics?" 

"Not pure isometrics. Actually it's a combination of isotonic/isometric exercises. It's isotonic when you move the bar to the upper pin, and isometric when you hold the bar for a 12 count against the upper pin. They work nicely together." 

"I'll certainly give it a try. Thanks," he said, extending his hand.

It was over a month before I ran into Josh again - in the produce section of a supermarket that had warned me about becoming too enthusiastic in the lineup when explaining lifting to non-lifting customers. I was trying to decide between oranges and bananas when he came up to me, all grins. 

"Guess what?" he shouted, his eyes sparkling. 

"Your bench went up," I guessed correctly. 

"Yeah! I got 300 on Monday! That rack work did the trick. I got a dozen guys doing it now."

"That's terrific; keep up the good work," I advises and decided on bananas. 

   

  























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Training on the Olympic Lifts, Part One - Jim Halliday

June 30, 2019, 2:39 pm
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Article Series Courtesy of Liam Tweed









The first lift of the three Olympics, the Two Hands Press, has never been a good lift of mine and has never held any attraction for me either in training or competition. Nevertheless I think I can honestly say that I have trained harder on this particular movement than on any other, and my lack of success in making exceptional poundages is, I am sure, in no way due to any failure on my part to train consistently and conscientiously. 

My best poundage as a middleweight is 225.25 pounds, which, compared to my Snatch, and Jerk, is relatively low. Yet, compared to standards in this country it is not too bad, and considering that I was stuck at poundages around 200 for some years, it proves that by correct training physical handicaps and psychological dislike of the lift can be overcome to a great extent. 

There is no doubt that some men are natural pressers, and on the other hand those like myself would never reach exceptional heights on this lift no matter what steps they took, apart from perhaps an amputation of the forearm! 

It is possible that physical drawbacks can be offset by deviation of the rules (I could almost say complete disregard of the rules) but this is not the complete answer to the problem, because another lifter more naturally endowed with pressing properties can also disregard the rules. In fact, this situation is there to be witnessed at very lifting event. 

It is quite possible that, in the past, this realization of being able to offset a physical drawback by the relaxation of the set standard had resulted in the present trouble, in every competition, of being able to draw a firm line as to what is, and what is not a press.

Surely there is no need for all this controversy? The rules are there in black and white, and they are standard in every country. Because these rules do not allow certain people to reach maximum standard is no reason to permit any laxity for certain individuals. If high poundages are the only requisite and the present set of rules has to be invalidated in certain instances to allow this, let's have a new set of rules permitting all the deviations officially. This at least will put everyone on the same footing, and if "anything goes" the referees will certainly have less worry! 

I have wandered a little from the actual purpose of this article. Here, we are not concerned with what others do, but with what you can do. As I stated previously my press performances are relatively poor, yet I feel that my experiences, and shall I say success in reaching the standard I have, may assist in forwarding your performance on this lift. 

If by chance you are an "unfortunate" on the press; i.e., your physical structure is against you, a variation from orthodox style without infringing the rules is possible, ad can be helpful . . . 

A slightly narrower than normal grip is taken. The elbows, instead of being raised when the bar is at the shoulders, are held in close to the sides, giving a compact commencing position. This ensures a strong, fast start and a perfectly straight press overhead. This style was used to very good effect by George Espento, who had an abnormally long forearm yet held the press record for many years. 

As far as actual training on the press is concerned, apart from style and position, there are many and varied ideas as to what constitutes a good schedule. I personally think that you must vary your system as you advance through different stages. 

For a person who is in the initial stages of Olympic training, say the first year or so, I recommend a fairly high number of reps. This enables the person to pay considerable attention to detail in performance because naturally comparative light weights will be used. Such a system will also be advantageous in promoting good tone in the muscles and giving a good base for the later hard work.

As an example of such a schedule, and remember you can make slight variations to suit your individual requirements, the following may be found interesting and helpful. Do not forget we are dealing with men in the early stages of training and will assess the poundages on a maximum press standard of 120 pounds: 

With 80 pounds do 4 sets of 4 reps.
With 90, 3 x 3 reps
With 100, 2 x 2.

If you have a good capacity for work you may then do the schedule again in reverse or alternately do an extra set or two with 100 pounds. 

When you have overcome the initial stages you can really commence to work. By this time you should have reached the stage where you are set in style and wish to become stronger in whatever position you have adopted. Here is where assistance exercises become essential, and where they are apt to do most good. For a man training four days a week, I advocate two days on actual pressing and two days on assistance work.

For the actual press training, still following the idea that we are now training solely for power, we must now reduce the repetition work with the lighter weights, because it is only by lifting heavy weights that we can hope to be able to lift even heavier ones! 

Still, we cannot afford to neglect the light poundages completely. Warming up before any considerable effort is essential, not only to assist in making such an effort, but also in preventing strains, etc., which can easily result from any excessive effort whilst the body is cold.

Taking a basic maximum poundage (1 Rep Max) of 150 - 

Commence with 100 doing 4 reps.
Next, take 100 for another 4 reps.
With 120 do 3 sets of 3 reps.
130  for 3 x 2 reps.
140 x 3 single reps. 

On paper this does not look to be a hard schedule, I admit. It does however ensure you do slightly less than your maximum press three times. Remember also that you have two schedules of assistance exercises to do, and it is these that provide the means for the hard work that I said was essential at this stage. 

More about assistance work in my next article, with some ideas of really advanced training, and some hints on how the world's best performers on this lift train for competition. 

    
















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Training on the Olympic Lifts, Part Two - Jim Halliday

June 30, 2019, 3:47 pm
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Article Series Courtesy of Liam Tweed






The Press - Part Two 



Mr. and Mrs. Paul Anderson - 1959. 



In the last article we dealt with the initial and slightly advanced stages of performance on the Press. First of all here we will deal with assistance exercises to complete the schedule we commenced last month. 

Before doing so I must pay tribute to W.A. Pullum who first devised these assistance exercises, who first used these in conjunction with my own training, and has given permission for me to use them here in detail. 

First, some very basic performance checks on the Press, by W.A. Pullum, here: 


Figure 1: How NOT to hold the bar at the chest for the Press. Bar should be directly over the wrists, NOT at the ends of fingers.

Figure 2: How NOT to try to get past the sticking point. Forward inclination of the head and depression of the chin only tends to increase the difficulty.

Figure 3: How NOT to finish a Press -- or any overhead lift, for that matter. Forcing the bar too far back has inclined the trunk forward correspondingly -- not only a weak position, but a dangerous one.

"The First Assistance Exercises" - an article by Halliday on Pullum and the use of assistance movements, here:


Back to the original article . . . 

THE SEATED PRESS does not at first glance appear to be much different from the normal Press. Instead of standing, you press whilst seated on a chair. 

BUT! There is a BIG difference. To do the movement correctly it is not enough just to sit. I have seen people performing this movement whilst seated on the edge of the chair. This is absolutely no good at all. 


You must sit well back, putting yourself IN AN ALMOST SEATED MILITARY POSITION, then you will see where the good effect result. 

In this position no assistance can be obtained from the legs, and it is almost impossible to deviate from the correct position. 

THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN PRESS THE WEIGHT IS TO PRESS IT! 

This is what we want. This is the way to build power - having to use power! 

In attempting this exercise I advise first of all that you commence with about 50 lbs. below your maximum Press. Find a weight you can do 6 sets of 3 reps with, and keep these sets constant, using small discs (1/2 or 1 lb.) periodically for progression. 

The next, THE HALF PRESS, is an excellent exercise for promoting power at a most important time, i.e., the point at which the weight usually sticks. First you snatch the weight to arms' length using a press grip. Then lower the weight slowly to approximately just over eye level and press back to arms' length without backbend.

Again do 6 sets of 3 reps, and use the small discs to progress. You will find that 60 lbs. below your limit will probably suffice but as everyone's potentialities very you must experiment to find your best poundage to do the requisite reps with. 

The third and last movement is with DUMBBELLS. It is simply the ordinary two handed press with dumbbells with a slight variation. Instead of holding the weights normally at the shoulders you bring the hands round to the front, so that your fingers are actually on the pectorals. From here you execute a normal press.

Again, you must find your own poundage but it is essential to do the correct reps, which on this movement will be 4 sets of 8 reps.

The advanced lifter is a different proposition altogether. 


When he reaches a certain peak it becomes hard work to increase his performance by even a minimum amount. By this stage his style has become set, he has attempted many varied and bizarre schedules in endeavors to improve, and he sometimes feels he has exhausted his potential. 

It is probable that at this stage his only hope of improvement lies in development of additional power! He must become stronger. It is most important that he does not succumb to the "5 lb. complex." By this I mean he must not limit himself to looking to small increases. He must not, because he has reached a certain standard, become resigned to hovering around certain poundages. He must be even more ambitious than he was previously. Even if his ideals are actually fantastic, he will reach greater heights if he honestly endeavors to reach these ideals, than if he limits himself mentally by having reserved estimates of his capabilities. 

The assistance exercises again can prove of immense value. 

Not only as sources of improved power, but as a means of providing a change in training.  Many a time I have gone on to these movements solely, doing no Olympics whatsoever, for weeks at a time. When I have returned to Olympic training I have not only been the stronger for practicing such movements, but have felt the benefits of the change and have had additional jest and enthusiasm.

The experienced lifter has one big advantage. The most retarding thing against progress is boredom. The way to promote boredom is an excess of repetition work. The really trained man does not need a lot of repetition work. His primary reps should be only in the nature of warming up movements. All his energy should be conserved for what he wants to do most -- elevate BIG poundages. 

Not maximum poundages, bear in mind, but as near so as possible. 

You must lift heavy weights to be able to lift heavier weights. I have been making this plea for years. Some of my associates have decried my ideas on this subject, yet having seen the world's best lifters train I know this is their principle. You never see them do many reps. They attain maximum training poundages as soon as possible in their workout, merely ensuring their muscles are warmed up for the task. Years ago I realized this and based my own training on what I had observed. 

In an article John Davis said his best pressing schedule was 10 sets of 2 reps with what weights he could handle. 

I saw Kono do 2 reps on the Clean with a poundage only 6 lbs. below the world's record -- in training! 

I saw Davis do innumerable single snatches with a top training poundage, and Pete George did a similar total to the one he won his class-weight with -- also in training. 

Do not forget I am not talking to the experience men, that is why I am giving experience men as examples. They themselves will be the first to decry that they are supermen. They may have natural abilities but more importantly they are men who have trained on the appropriate methods. 

During your preliminary training by all means do not neglect your repetition work. But in the advanced stages you must concentrate on heavy poundages. 

Heavy lifting is HARD WORK . . . YOU CANNOT SUCCEED WITHOUT IT. 

I conclude by giving you two Press schedules for the advanced man. Simple schedules, yet their purpose is clear. They are based on a maximum Press of 200 lbs. 

Schedule One: 

Warm up. 
4 reps with 140
4 x 160
2 x 175
8 sets of 2 with 190.

Schedule Two: 
Warm up.
4 x 150
3 x 165
2 x 180
10 singles with maximum poundage possible. 

Twice weekly, combined with assistance work, also twice weekly, and work out to maximum once each two weeks.  




   
















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Overcoming Shoulder Back-Lack - Verne McDonald

July 2, 2019, 1:20 pm
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Danny Padilla 




Overcoming shoulder back-lack is no insurmountable problem. It's not even a crisis. It's not like overcoming a genetic defect such as curveless calves, stick-figure forearms, or lats and biceps attached too high. With flat-land west-forty delts it's mostly a matter of priority, not only for what must best be done, but also for what should be avoided. Spino-deltoid depletion is not necessarily from neglect. To get things done in order takes some backtracking; first, the purpose of the shoulders should be examined.  


Shoulder Structure, Function

The term deltoid comes from delta, the triangular Greek letter. The tri-headed shoulder muscle converges on the humerus. The delt moves the upper arm in three directions (forward, sideward, backward), but always away from the torso. Such movement is abduction: the shoulder abducts the upper arm. Since all this is really quite simple for our purposes, why should your rear shoulders fail to prosper when all you do to encourage them is to move the upper arm back and away? 

Quit thinking that the bent lateral is your only recourse; there are selections galore to help you overcome your disparity - and despair. Here's how to start a full deposit on the shaded side of your deltoids.


Synergistic Influences, Adjustments

The persistent complaint of rear shoulder lag surprises me constantly. There are several synergy-laden movements which co-emphasize spino-deltoids. 

Mighty Casey Viator . . . 


 . . . included only two specialized shoulder exercises, because he realized that shoulder receive plenty of stimulation from chest and back movements. 

Personal experience concurs with Viator's belief. I've seldom used shoulder specialty programs and, although proportion and line are my long suit, my shoulders are one of my better bodyparts. Happily, they have a melon shape. When I want to make the rear delt stand out, I'm able to command it. All-round, overall upper body workouts did work out! 

The number of synergistic selections which positively influence the posterior delts is great. In fact, there are just as many available as there are for frontal and lateral delts. So, you have no further excuses for cannonball delts with the back sections sheered . . . 

Rows -- All types except upright ones where the hands are pulled from below waist to below chin. Whether you choose bent rows, machine rows, or cable rows seated or standing, make three adjustments in execution: 

 - Row high.
 - Row wide. 
 - Row with shoulders consciously thrust back at finish. 

Be assured that the rear delts and upper back will be better stimulated than usual. Since the types of rows recommended are, in general, primarily geared to lat development, bear in mind that the higher, wider adjustments of grip and bar direction emphasize upper/outer latissimus dorsi. You may want to include a regular row or other lat exercises directed to the entire and/or lower muscle area. Another simple solution is to merely forego the suggested adjustments after rear shoulders rear up to satisfaction, and then return to rowing as usual. 

Chins to Chest -- Hand spacing should be fairly wide once again. Just past shoulders is probably best. If chinning to chest is too difficult, or too advanced for you right now, chins in the rack, rack chins, where a bar is placed on the pins, are an excellent substitute. Future progression comes from the addition of plates, nestled in the lap. With the regular chin progression, add weight by way of a belt. 

Oblique Pulldowns -- Rather than pulling the lat bar or pulley handles straight down to chest top or behind the neck, change the angle. The angle of pull can be altered in a couple of ways: sit back so the bar is away from your head, and so will cause the downward pull to finish at the lower pecs; reduce the angle of your incline bench, and with bar or pulley handles in two, lean back and go for it. Yet another way to adjust angle to better suit back-tract delts is to simply lie flat on a bench and bring the lat bar to your chest, in many ways similar to rack chins. This mimics the "chin-to-chest" and may be preferable for some trainees. 

Deadlift -- Most wouldn't consider . . . 


Don Cundy.
No explanation ever needed for reminding people of him. 

Yes . . . most wouldn't consider the regular deadlift as being connected with your quest, but it certainly contributes . . . almost isometrically. Thrust those shoulders back proudly at the completion. This will co-emphasize our current pet shoulder muscle. [Or, just work up to enough deadlift weight to stress every muscle in your entire body. I'm trying to think of any muscles that aren't part of succeeding with a real hard single. Not counting those on the guy who's just leaving while you're lifting.] 

Power Clean -- The start of pull of the movement is similar to the deadlift, but the finish or clean part dynamically charges the posterior deltoids. And just think of all the power 'n' brawn bonuses in store! 

Since the large latissimus unit spearheads the work force for most of the recommended primary exercises, and since arms and other back muscles assist, your quest for a back-shoulder round-up will be better served by comparatively high numbers of sets and reps. 

Try a program of 4-5 sets of 10-12 reps for all exercises.    


Innovative Isos 

Just as there were an equal number of synchronized power motions for each deltoid head, so is there a commensurate number of isolation motions available for each shoulder section. As with most of the influential synergisms, these isos make rear delt response more positive through little alterations.

There are four isolation movements:

 - the bent forward lateral (of course!)
 - the compound kickback
 - seated shrugs
 - counter-flyes 

Bent Lateral -- The staple isolation exercise, the first to come to mind. Use one arm at a time. Using both simultaneously inhibits a degree of contraction at the top. While topped out, move the hand straight back just a fraction further. Do 4-5 sets of 10-12. 

Compound Kickbacks -- One of the favorite triceps shapers which, when compounded properly, can also blitz dorsal delts to a heightened degree. 

Regular execution has the trainee bent forward with his free arm supported on a bench. The working arm starts with a dumbbell drawn to the shoulder (as if at the top point of a single row), then "kicks" the dumbbell back as the arm completely straightens. A fierce contraction is felt in the triceps. Done in the regular, strict manner, kickbacks necessitate lighter resistance.

To harness that hind deltoid, use a heavier dumbbell, and fudge a bit by kicking back rather quickly so that your posterior shoulder assists in lifting the bell to a degree higher. The tension lost at the commencement of the movement will be reestablished in the lower triceps when the higher back-lift occurs. Believe me, such kickbacks can be builders (as well as shapers) for both triceps and dorsal delts. Furthermore, the long head of the triceps originates just beneath the origin for the spino-deltoid, and that's why these intra-body parts complement one another so nicely. 

Sets x reps: 4 x 10. Forearms should be padded to prevent bruises, because they'll make contact with the one plate of the dumbbell. 

Pioneer strongman George F. Jowett endorsed straight-arm kickbacks in his shoulder courses. These (done with either cable or freeweight) are, of course, excellent -- and will greatly tense triceps via sustained contraction. You may do stiff-arm version while standing (as opposed to leaning); at the midpoint your arms will be swept back, making you look like a competitive swimmer ready to launch yourself. 

Here's a pic from one of Jowett's courses - 

 Walter Klee whips out a sumo in 1926. 

Seated Shrug -- Use dumbbells which allow 12-15 reps per set, and do 3-4 sets. Being seated curbs cheating. Shrugs focus on the traps, to be sure, but back-shoulders get blitzed nearly as much, especially if you lean forward as you shrug.

Counter-Flyes -- Whether flat or inclined, with dumbbells or pulley attachments, the prime motion of the flye must be countered, Flyes become a flip-side mirror image of the most direct back-shoulder isolation exercise, the bent lateral. As you return the dumbbell to the start position, shift your concentration from pec to rear delt. If you're using cables, retro-activate, resist and slow the antagonistic tug. If the pec deck is employed, raise your fists high enough to bring the biceps parallel with your shoulders. How 'bout it . . . you get two specialty-part exercises in one! 


Preventing Continued Disproportion

As mentioned in the introduction, shoulders that are comparatively flat-backed may not be that way because of neglect. The condition may well be due to a disproportionate inclusion of frontal and/or lateral deltoid movement in the cumulative training programs. Even if you're dynamically involving your hind-shoulders, say with a single, synergistic influence and one iso, as long as there's an equal number of exercises for anterior and side shoulders, the poor posterior head will never catch up. 

To prevent this continued disproportion, steer clear of frontal shoulder stuff - especially isolation. This means cutting back on all types of bench presses and standing presses; this means eliminating straight-standing (upright) rows to the chin, pullovers, high pulls, and front raises. This exclusion is only temporary, until the dorsal delts hold their own. For chest basics, sub with a straight up/straight down bar dip. For chest specialization, flyes are strongly encourage, of course.

Basic exercises involving the side head are okay. Suspension of isos (islolation exercises), again for a time only, may be wise. It is my opinion, though (one surely shared by many others), that you can't get too much lateral deltoid development.

Capping Off  

Return the the section above on "synergistic influences." 

Choose one or two exercises. 

Then, also return to the isolation listings. Select one isolation exercise to complement your synergistic one(s).

This will comprise your rear shoulder course for the next three months. After that, if shoulders are not harmonious, fashion another course from the selections available, and stick with it for another three months. And so on, until you beat back-shoulder lag. 

AND YOU WILL!       





















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Tom Platz - George Snyder

July 2, 2019, 10:39 pm
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There was no surprise when at Tom Platz's clinic as George Snyder's Olympus Gym that one of the questions centered on his thigh development, for the Platz lower body has been described by many writers as the best in bodybuilding.

As far as Tom Platz is concerned, the squat is the greatest exercise in the book when it comes to thigh development. Unlike the great majority of bodybuilders, Tom is not satisfied to merely squat to a point where his thighs are parallel with the floor. No, instead he believes in squatting all the way down before recovering.






 He insists on using weightlifting shoes when performing squats. 
They have a slight (wooden!) heel that he says allow him better balance. 


Tom Platz Signature Lifting Shoes


He frowned on the popular use of a block under the heels, on the grounds that this could lead to accidents. The block could move away just during during the exercise and the result might well be a crippling and time wasting lower back problem, or worse. He recalled that once while squatting with a heavy weight, his attention had been distracted and he turned his head to the side as he squatted. The result was a lower back injury that kept him out of the gym for weeks.

While many bodybuilders prefer to perform thigh extensions on a machine in advance of squatting, the better to warm up the thigh muscles, they maintain . . . Platz is of the view that leg extensions retard progress in the squat. 

"I have found extensions are fine when the aim is to add deeper cuts in the thighs," he added. "But when I am trying to gain more thigh mass, when I must use heavy weights in the squat, extensions tend to delay improvement." 

So he always performs his squats first on his leg days. He also makes a point of resting his thighs for 48 hours between squat sessions. The thighs need that much time to recuperate fully when you have been taking heavy lower body workouts, he contends. At this point in his training, on ordinary days when he is not preparing for a contest, that is, Tom trains his thighs after his calves. Then he performs just two sets of squats. 

Note: before continuing here, you should know that Mr. Platz still has a huge passion for lifting and for bodybuilders. Especially when it comes to SQUATS. Do yourself a favor and check out some of his current videos on YouTube. His passion is infectious. It extends past the coldness of digital technology in waves of inspiration that can only be stirred by someone with Tom's depth of intensity and love of the Iron Game. He can take a person way beyond the point of what they consider the end and their limit. Still. Check 'em out! 

The article continues . . . 

Yes, two sets of squats, but what sets they are!   

Having satisfactorily warmed up the thigh area with light squats (135 pounds, 10 reps), he load the bar to 405 pounds and grinds out 35 repetitions. 

His second set is done with 450 to failure, usually 35 to 40 reps! On a good day, when he is feeling particularly high, Tom will decrease the weight by some 50 pounds and quickly do another 40 reps. 

It is worth noting at this point that Tom places the bar high up on his shoulders for squats, contrary to the powerlifting, power squat method of holding the bar much lower down the back.   

Normally he squats in three phases, for: 

1) Power,Strength and Size;
2) Definition, Cuts and Ripped; and 
3) Ripped with Size. 

Ripped, of course, is that stage past being merely defined (cut), when there are striations even across the thigh muscles.

In the first instance he does about 7 sets of squats, working up in weight. He begins with 10 reps, and ends with 3. His last set is done to failure.

When the aim is to improve definition, hedoes 2 sets of 10 reps. Then he'll do 2 more sets, one for 35 reps and the ending set for about 40 reps.

The ripped condition of his massive thighs, for which Platz has become renowned, is achieved from squatting for 6 sets: 10 reps for the first two sets, 8 for the third set, 6 and 4 for the last three. The weight is increased for each set.  

Tom follows up the regular (high bar, Olympic) squat with hacks on the machine, then leg extensions and leg curls. In the last movement he enlists the aid of a training partner for forced reps and negative resistance. Interestingly enough, in these last exercises, Tom works the poundages down. That is, he starts with the heavier weight and gradually reduces it, compensating for the weight decreases with increases in the number of repetitions. 

Pre-contest he works out six days weekly and two nights. He splits his training to accomodate chest, side delts, abs, and calves each Monday morning, working back and rear delts that evening. On Tuesday he trains once, the program consisting of arms, abs, and calf work. He works his thighs, abs, and calves on Wednesday morning morning. Thursday sees him splitting again: morning for a repetition of Monday's first workout, evening for his back and rear delts. On Friday he trains his arms, abs, and calves, and on Saturdays his thighs, abs, and calves.

According to Platz, "When training hard, particularly when on a rigid diet before contests, it is important that one takes sufficient amounts of calcium and other minerals, otherwise you will experience the horrors of low energy during workouts." 

Another important factor in Tom's pre-contest preparation is high intensity training, by which he means "pumping the muscles to maximum each training session." 

Here the accent is not on handling heavy poundages, but rather in pushing the maximum amount of blood through the muscle each set. There is seldom more than a 15-second pause between sets. 

In offering his own contest training routine, Tom is quick to say he does not guarantee results will be as great as those experienced by him.                


















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I Was Once a Monster - Bruce Randall

July 4, 2019, 5:56 pm
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Thanks Again, Liam! 




Looking back over my 3 years and 3 months as a weightlifter, I find that I have gone literally from one extreme to the other. I have tried many innovations, routines and experiments to obtain my desired goals. Frankly I find that there is no pat set of rules that one may apply to all men. Each man, I believe, must find the program, through trial and error, that best suits him and his desires. 

I began my training on January 3, 1953, in Norfolk, Va. I was a Marine and wanted to play football for the Base team. My object was to weight 225 pounds and still had a couple of months to go before practice began. Then I thought I'd go to 250 and then drop back to 230 during spring training. 

By the time I weighed 250 pounds I found myself deeply in love with the sport. During this time I met a man whom I came to respect and admire greatly. This man is Walter Metzler. His help and guidance were invaluable to me during my stay at Norfolk. 

Another inspiration was Steve Massios. Steve was a truly fine man and his loss was a severe one to all who knew him. He possessed an iron will and would have, I am sure, reached the acme in the world of weights.

Chief Metzler persuaded me to forget football and concentrate on weightlifting. Using the principle of increasing my bodyweight to increase my strength, I went from 203 pounds to 342 in 14 months. I weighed 342 pounds upon my discharge.    

My training routines at that time consisted of a few limited movements. I used the incline bench press (45 degrees), dumbbell bench press, and a few optional exercises. I would start with a weight that I could handle for 5 reps and work on it until I could do 8. Then I would increase the weight 10-15 pounds and start again with 5 reps. I did 3 sets in all movements. 

Three years prior to my weight training I broke my leg in seven places. Five in the ankle, one in the calf and one in the thigh. Because of this I found doing the squat rather difficult. The first time I tried one I could not come back up with 190 pounds. Being somewhat discouraged I neglected to work on the squat. 

When I weighed about 245 pounds I thought I'd try one with 300 and made it. I tried another one with 405 when I weighed 280 pounds and was successful. Every once in a while I would try one as my weight increased. In 9 separate attempt I went from a failure with 190 at 203 bodyweight to a success with 680 at a weight of 355. 

I relate this because I think it might interest you. The one exercise I did do, which may have had some good influence upon my squat, was the good morning exercise. This was not done in the strict manner because I had to bend at the knees in order to compensate for the weight at the neck. I made 685 pounds with my back parallel to the floor. 









On August 2, 1955, I weighed 401 pounds in T-shirt, loafers and slacks. I decided to try to return to normalcy. The first week I lost 17 pounds. I reversed my routine and did many reps. I spent many hours in the gym during the summer weeks. One week I trained 81 hours, and once trained 23 hours in 2 days. I lost 106 pounds in 11 weeks and since then have lost 218 pounds in 32 weeks.I went down to 187 pounds. For a few months I trained 6-7 days a week and used 19 different exercises daily in my routine. 

My formula for gaining and losing weight is very simple. To gain weight, eat a well balanced diet but a heck of a lot of it. To lose weight, eat a well balanced diet but a lot less of it.

I will close the this one thought that I have found helpful. If one follows these two rules he can accomplish anything.

1) Ask and ye shall receive.
2) The Lord helps those that help themselves. 


Editor's Note (Peary Rader) : Some very interesting conclusions may be drawn from Bruce Randall's unusual experiment in gaining muscular bulk and losing weight. We know of no similar experience. 

It has been commonly accepted by most weight trainers that the way to build bulk is to do a lot of bench presses, deep knee bends or possibly deadlifts; to eat five or six large meals per day, and to drink lots of milk. Low reps with heavy weights have been favored for strength building. High reps - certainly 20 or more in the deep knee bend for weight gaining.

Randall's experience bears out some of this, but whereas some instructors insisted that the squat was the be-all and end-all of bulk worshipers, he NEVER used this exercise at all. Previous giants, notable Hepburn and Anderson, had led the way to combination power-bulk gains by using low reps with lots of rest between efforts - the "rest-pause" method. 

Hepburn is said to have favored the bench press, although he did considerable squatting and a lot of power presses standing, taking the barbell off a rack at chest height. At the time the Canadian made his great gains and became the holder of the world press record, the air was filled with the screams of bench press protagonists, who claimed wildly that this was the GREATEST exercise ever devised by mortal man. Some of these small-minded teachers are still screaming, but is sounds like they were talking to themselves. For at the time when they had everything taped, along came Anderson . . . 

Andy did no bench presses early in his career, and comparatively few at any time. Instead he did heavy deep knee bends and dead-lifts. As he progressed he began to do some power pushes and presses from the rack. He became bigger, stronger and even more fantastic than Hepburn. He did no high reps on his squats, but instead did very low reps with weights so great that they stagger the imagination. Whereas previous great strongmen had struggled up with 500 pounds in the squat, he had no mental barrier, being isolated in the Tennessee Mountains, and went on to do 600, 700, 800 and 900 pounds! 

Now the experts shouted with glee. The squat, plus gallons of moo had made Andy great, and would do the same for any spindle-shanked kid who craved beef on his frame. The route to bulk was now fully charted, and anyone could follow.

And now . . . along comes Bruce Randall to prove the experts wrong. Because of an injury, he could do no squats, nor heavy dead-lifts. The bench press was not his major exercise. He invented, perforce, a new bulk-gaining exercise, a modification of the forward bend, or Good Morning exercise, and like Hepburn, and like Anderson, he rapidly added weight to this movement until he was doing the incredible poundage of more than 600 pounds! 

So what does this teach us? 

Look at the points of similarity in the routines of all three "monsters" and what do you find? Not that the squat or the bench press or the good morning exercise is responsible for their gains, but instead that they all used the rest-pause method, employing great weights in a way that would affect the largest muscle masses, back, loins, legs . . . and doing few reps and resting for long intervals between efforts. 

They all ate more than the average man - naturally. Milk was taken in large quantities. So it would seem that this is the ideal food for monster-building. Any hog farmer could have told you this. Anderson, in particular, would seem to indicate that milk is the magic ingredient, for he does not eat excessively of solid foods. On trips. little fellows like Chuck Vinci have been known to out-eat Andy at the training table - but they never out-drink him at the milk jug! 

Randall's fairly brief journey into Monsterland convinced him of several facts: 

1) there is a definite relationship between muscular bulk and the poundages you can lift;

2) you must use low reps and heavy weights with plenty of rest in between efforts. 

It is easy to see why large physical measurements increase power, because they increase leverages. When Anderson does a squat, for instance, his thighs and calves show red in the back where the two meet, mute evidence that he cannot go below the parallel position because his leg bulk limits movement. The same thing applies on presses.

Possibly the most interesting part of Bruce Randall's unique story is his return to "normalcy," coming down to 187 pounds from a bodyweight around the 400 figure. Seemingly he has accomplished this without physical toll, such as loose skin and sagging muscles (although some of this is slightly in evidence in some of the reduction pictures). What becomes of all the miles of now useless capillaries and small blood vessels? Perhaps the fact that Randall did not remain too long in the monster class is the answer, and certainly his thoroughness in exercising while reducing kept this to a minimum.

All in all, the story presented here is one of the most remarkable documentations ever published of man's control over his size and shape and physical powers.

We now turn in over to the Experts, and trust that their befuddlement will not prevent them from acknowledging that maybe they were previously slightly in error.          

More on Bruce Randall here:



















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Casey at the Bench, Part Two - Jeff Everson (1985)

July 7, 2019, 6:07 pm
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Part One is here:
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2014/03/casey-at-bench-jeff-everson.html






No one makes it to the top of their profession without an abundance of intelligence and truckloads of discipline. Pat Casey has both. He also is probably the hardest working son-of-a-gun whoever graced a bench with uprights growing out of it. consequently, like E.F. Hutton, when Pat Casey talks about bench pressing, you listen! 

As Pat grew into manhood, he did a lot of the same exercises both you and I have done trying to get his bench press up. As every weight trainer knows, it's easier to make gains at first. Somehow, Casey was able to push his lift in a non-plateauing fashion naturally. Sure, he increased his bodyweight steadily, but plenty of lifters have tried that route and failed miserably. As Casey got higher and higher, he needed to look deeper and deeper for sound reasoning to make his bench move. I asked about his training theories and this is what I found out: 

"After reaching 500 pounds, I found it much more difficult not only to gain bodyweight, but to make my bench move. At the peak of my power, this is the program I think had the most result-producing gains with . . . 

"On my first day I'd start with bench press lockouts. I'd do low and high lockouts. My theory was that if I strengthened my attachments and tendon strength, I could do more volume work in other exercises without breakdown or injury. I was after the mental effect of handling real big weights too, and was hoping for a muscle learning effect at two angles, one was where my pectorals first seemed to fail leverage-wise, the second (high lockout) was where my triceps failed endurance-wise. I had something set up on my bench like a miniature power rack. I'd do a variety of repetitions off the pins 3-4" above my chest and then a bunch off the pins about 7-8" off my chest. I'd do lots or warmups, but then get down to brass tacks quickly. I'd always do around 5-6 singles from each of these positions. I've always liked singles and believe they do much more than test strength. After all, your level of muscle fiber-nerve recruitment is highest on a single attempt. Once a week is all I'd do this move. Following the singles at the top position, I'd pull the pins and do two sets of 20-25 repetitions with 325 for a full muscle pump. Remember, the bigger your chest, the shorter the distance you have to press the weight. 

"My second exercise would be incline dumbbell presses at a 35-45 degree angle. Usually, I'd do about 5-6 sets of 3-5 repetitions. I'd use between 180-220 pound dumbbells. I developed a style for cleaning them by setting them high on my thighs on end, tossing my body backwards at the same time I thrust my legs up and pulled on them suckers. I got damn good at it. My best was 5 sets of 4 one day with 210 pounders. Later on, I switched to barbell inclines where I hit 535 for a 45 degree single back about 1966-67. I'd do the same thing, sets of 3-5.

"My third exercise was bar dips. Here I'd used bodyweight with 300-385 pounds strapped on me. At one time, my total weight was easily in excess of 700 pounds. I'd do 5 sets of 3 repetitions. I guess my best was around 720 pounds for one rep.

"From here I'd go to seated military presses with my back braced, using a wide grip on the bar and starting the move at chin level. Again, I'd get 5 sets of 3 reps. By keeping my elbows wide and directed outward, I tried to simulate a bench press in a seated position. I got somewhere between 310-330 for my sets of 3, did a single at 405 and would always finish with a pump down set of 20 repetitions. 

"Up to this point, I had hit the pectorals from different angles of force with my lockout and inclines. I hit deltoid-pectoral attachments in my dips and deltoids-upper pectorals with the presses. The dips got my triceps too, mostly the sides. 

"I went to lying triceps pullover and presses for my back triceps plus pressing power. I'd lie on a bench, take a 10" grip on the bar, lower the weight back behind my head and pull it over and press it. I did this with 300 pounds for 5 sets of 3-5 repetitions. My best was 350 for a double. 

"That was it for Monday and, boy, would I be tired!" 

On Tuesday, Casey would squat and deadlift when he could. He applied the same science to his squat and became the first man to do 800 pounds, actually getting 825 one time. Had he used a supersuit and wraps and downed pharmaceuticals in doses some consider standard today - what's your guess? 900? 950? 1000?

That's theoretical, so lets get back to the real. 

On Wednesday and Thursday the big man rested, and on Friday it was back to his real love . . . 

"I'd consider this my medium day. Starting with regular benches, I'd do 135, 225, 315, 405, 495 for reps for warmups. Then I'd jump to anywhere from 545-570 for 5-6 singles. Each fortnight I'd try to move up 5 pounds on these singles. Then I'd do 3 down sets of 5-10 second pause reps with 405 (shades of Ronny Ray!). Finally, I'd get 2 sets of 20 reps at 315.

"I'd skip the lockouts and the dips, but the rest of the program was exactly the same as my first day. My volume and intensity were both lower on this day. 

"I'd also throw in some strict curls and I liked to do chins too." (Actually, Pat held the world record in the ultra-strict curl for a long time at 205 pounds and could do 10 strict wide grip chins, top to bottom, even when he weighed 330 pounds.)

The was the exact workout that produced the power of the greatest bencher of his day. I couldn't help but ask Pat to give me some off the cuff comments on some of today's champs and some of the old timers he lifted with. I also got his opinion on what he thinks he could have done under today's situations and what he thinks of today's scene. 

Marvin Eder -- In my opinion, pound-for-pound the strongest man who ever walked the face of the Earth. He had tremendous natural gifts, thick joints, great leverage. Lifting before the era of drug popularity, he did a 360-lb. military press at 208 bodyweight. He also benched 500 lbs. weighing 195 (touch and go, wide grip), but the most amazing thing he ever did was extend his arms out straight in front of him and allow a man to hop up on his lower forearms and do dips! A 180-lb. man once did 10 dips off Eder in this fashion. This astounded me so I tried the same thing with a 150-lb. man. I held for a while, but I felt like all the muscles in by body would blow any second. My stomach muscles were strained for weeks after that. I never with it again and wasn't even close to his feat! Perhaps Kazmaier. with his delt strength, could do this. I don't know. 

Reg Park -- A real idol of mine. You can see the bodybuilding influence in my training; that came from Reg Park. A big, naturally strong man who behind the neck pressed 325 pounds strictly and benched 500. I loved his physique over the years. I feel the same way about Bill Pearl, another strong bodybuilder. 

Chuck Ahrens -- Oh Boy! There's so much to say about this guy. Never seemed to train very hard. A strange, but friendly guy. I'll tell you what I actually saw him do:

I saw him clean a 320-lb. dumbbell unassisted and press it strictly for 2 reps with one arm. I saw him sit at the end of a bench and do 2 reps in the cheating alternate curl with 200-lb dumbbells. He did these exercises plus heavy rows, triceps presses and shoulder presses. I never saw him bench although claims are made he was a great bencher (one rumor says 28 reps with 405 pounds?). He trained 2-3 times a week and had this great opera voice. The guy never wanted to enter anything. Chuck went around 315 lbs. and at 6 feet and never trained his legs. He was the widest man who ever lived, I think. No jive, Jeff, he was 72" around his shoulders wearing a thin T-shirt. His bi-deltoid width was 29". Steve Merjanian was 26-27" bi-deltoid width and he was ungodly wide. One time Ahrens was driving down the street and some idiot passed him, nearly sideswiped him and drove him off the road. Chuck regained his composure and followed the guy until he came to a red light. Chuck hopped out, went up to the car, reached in and actually ripped the poor guy's steering wheel off its frame so he couldn't drive anymore. The guy just sat there stupefied as Chuck drove around him and away. Chuck drank milk and ate more bananas than any gorilla ever. He'd throw everything in the back seat of his car. It was full of milk cartons and peels. [and steering wheels, I couldn't resist]. 

Steve Merjanian -- I'll say this about Steve. He's like this guy Kazmaier. Naturally strong at everything he did. A real athlete. Great, fast, explosive football player and big, Big, BIG. A super nice guy, working today as an extra in the Hollywood studios. Still works out, I understand, at World Gym in Santa Monica. He's an auto mechanic too (probably doesn't use a hoist). He regularly went of 500 lbs. in the incline press. It was his specialty. If he trained as hard as I did, he would have been better than me, I know it. 

One time, we were walking down the street engaged in a lively conversation. Steve just ambled along and never moved for anyone. One time he picked up this 150-lb. guy up like doing a straight arm from lateral raise and set him off to the side like a paperweight without breaking stride. He didn't want to move as he walked along. God, it was incredible. That's what I mean about natural strength. 

Bill 'Peanuts' West -- A real pioneer, now deceased. The granddaddy of powerlifting. He started the concept of wraps, box squats with Frenn, assisted pad benches; you name it, he thought of it. He got a lot of guys together in his gym: Dave Draper, Len Ingro, Ken Leistner, Jon Cole, Wayne Coleman, Steve Merjanian, George Frenn, Marv Phillips, Larry Kidney. Man, there were some great training sessions. 

Bill was also the father of over-training. I think we all tried so hard we all over-trained! Back then, you know, we used to train through injuries all the time. 

Terry Todd -- A real southern gentleman. Very affable and friendly. Smart and strong, a rare combination. Always regretted not being able to lift against me at a National match, I think. I hope he fore me for it. One of the best writers too. I read his stuff, yours, Leistner's and Hatfields.

Jim Williams -- What a different guy. I can't understand how he bench pressed so much, working his bench five days a week. That's so foreign to me. Did a 675 bench and was a real giant strongman. Certainly deserves the ranking given to him. I never saw him and never met him. Some day I hope to. I still wish he'd do a comeback, if he has the desire. He has my utmost respect. 

John Kuc -- Wow! This guy is something. I have following him since he came on the scene. I have no doubt that had he been able to stay heavy and healthy, he would have totaled 2500 pounds. I have no doubt! His 2350 back in the early '70s was so clean, so strict. I saw him doing 625, 1000, and 875-900 in a year after his 2350. He may have been the world's strongest powerlifter. Overall, he may not have the functional, natural, raw strength that Kazmaier has, but in powerlifting he was and is the man! Now he's natural and just did 2100 pounds. Now, that's something. I think he will hit 2200 as a natural 275er soon.

Dallas Long -- Boy ya know the great natural benchers, don't you, Jeff. A phenomenally smart and naturally strong shotputter, as was Matson, but Long had much more strength than Randy. Listen, I saw him bench press 525 in 1965 weighing 260 pounds at the time. He did this after it was handed to him at his chest, after he held it there for five seconds. He just blasted it up and used a 20" grip, man! So explosive. I saw him press two 190-lb. dumbbells for 2 reps together in strict style. A real strong guy, he was. I think he's a dentist somewhere now. (Long won the 1964 Olympic gold in the shot put). 

Mike McDonald -- A real specialist. I don't know where those big benches came from, as he has such small bones. I guess he's what you call a total pec-bencher. Based on lifting record weights in a variety of weight classes, he was the best. 

Ted Arcidi -- A newcomer who I haven't seen much of. He looks to me to be the most logical candidate to his 700 lbs. first. At 5'10" and 280 pounds or whatever he is, he must have tremendous leverages for the bench. From his pictures he looks like he is much heavier through his pectorals than I ever was. The best bencher in the world now. I wish him much luck. God, though, there are so many good benchers now, how about that 220-pounder who just did 610 or so! Man, that's scary! 

Jon Cole -- I think he was without a doubt the best athlete to be in powerlifting. He Olympic pressed 430 and threw the discus 210'. Once, he threw a softball 425'. This guy was something, Jeff. What about his 905 squat and 885 deadlift? Cole's taken a lot of stuff over the years concerning backyard meets. Well, I saw him lift. I saw him do an easy 870 squat and he wore nothing but the standard equipment. Had he bulked up to 300 pounds, I shudder to think what he'd have done. He's in the same class as Kuc, a real immortal.

Bruce Wilhelm -- Old Bruce! I'll tall ya, we go a long way back. Bruce was another great athlete. He had great coordination, that's for sure. He used to come over to my pool and do backflips off my board when he weighed 310. He won the World's Strongest Man contest twice. George Frenn used to practice running with the refrigerator and tried to get Bruce to also, but Bruce used to say a strongman like himself is strong naturally at everything and doesn't need to practice! I think he threw the shot 67-68' or so, which I believe is still the left-handed record. A great Olympic lifter too. 

Don Reinhoudt -- Well, what can I say. The man held the total record at 2420 for so many years with nobody even pushing him. I never met him, but anyone who did says he's the nicest, finest man in all of powerlifting. I honestly don't think Don ever knew his real strength; what he really could've done had he been able to stay with it longer. I still think he could come back and clean house on just about everybody.

Paul Anderson -- It's a shame. People today just don't or can't appreciate this man's strength. People disparage his squatting as not low enough. Even it that were true (which it's not), how about a 450 clean and slow press, his 340 snatch, his 6200 lb. backlift, his tremendous pressing feats with the dumbbells. Listen, I have no doubt Paul was strongest man, or at least powerlifter, who ever lived. I saw him, at Muscle Beach in 1956, squat to parallel with 800 for a set of 10. My memory is not clouded. He was parallel. I stood no more than 10 feet away from him when he push pressed 535 off racks at Muscle Beach the same year! He just bent his knees slightly and drove the sucker up. Man, he was something else, that guy. Anderson was the strongest of all time. No one comes close. When I saw him he was 5'9" 360 pounds and hard to the touch. His tendons and joints were enormous.

Bill Kazmaier -- I hope he is making a bundle for his efforts. He keeps his weight up all the time. I don't understand how he's able to do that, except he carries that weight better than any man I ever saw. He looks like solid muscle and bone. Surely, he's the most versatile strongman who ever lived. I put him in the class of Merjanian, a natural strongman who could do anything he tried. Evidently, he also is a great athlete. Yes, I think he is the greatest strongman in the world today. He destroyed everyone in the contests, no doubt. I think he's amazing too to come back from the terrible injury he suffered in his pec-shoulder area. I don't know though, if I had been Bill, with his talent, I think I would have gone for football. I know I would have if I had to do it all over again. He did have a real solid chance to get 700 first, up until that injury. 

Karl Norberg -- Jeff, how many guys know who Karl is? Let me put this man in perspective for all the readers. I lifted in an exhibition with Karl many years ago.  

       
I benched 560, with a miss at 580 pounds. I was a young buck, approaching 300 pounds bodyweight. Karl was 72. That's right people, 72!!! Anyway, when he laid on the bench, his feet and legs popped up in the air because his hips were so tight from osteoarthritis. So, he had to bench with absolutely no stability from his lower body. 



He weighed only 250 pounds,m but made 430 that day, that way, solidly. Then he tried 460 and had a real close miss at it. Can you imagine that? The he took an Olympic bar, with collars, held it at arms' length and twirled it between his fingers like a girl handling a cheerleading baton! He had giant wrists and hands after laboring as a dockworker and stevedore for his whole life. He was barrel-chested. 

The first time he came into a weight room he was 60 years old. Some guy was trying to deadlift 600 pounds, but couldn't. Karl walked up to it (without a warmup) and popped it up easily. There, my friends, was a real world's strongest man candidate. He could've been another Anderson, had he started earlier and concentrated on lifting. 

Incidentally, I never saw Anderson max in the bench. I see no reason, with his short arms and deep chest and shoulders why he couldn't have done well over 600 pounds, as was claimed for him.

Big John Studd -- John who? Never heard of him.


Pat Casey is a man who looks back at his career with proud reflection. He says, "I was never a natural, I had to work for everything I got." 

So what does he think of the use of steroids today? 

"Well, people that use them still have to work for what they get. People tell me that I would have lifted 700, maybe 750 if I did what they do today. I don't know, it's not really important, I couldn't go back today, because I'd want to be the best and I think it would be impossible unless I used steroids, which I won't do! I wouldn't want to feel the effects later. I know some guys who have been on the since the early 70s and it's starting to hit them -- problems with arteries, blood pressure, kidneys and other things. Some guy told me a couple years ago that he used 100 Dianabol a day. My God, that's sure suicide. 

Nonetheless, I was a cop for 16 hard years. I saw it all -- suicide, violent robberies, terrible accidents, rapes. Sometimes I have dreams that I'm back there again and I can't sleep at nights, and I know from these experiences that you could put a million narcs on the street and people are still going to use drugs. I'm for drug-free lifting, but it may be impossible to accomplish today." 

And what of my own (Jeff Everson) thoughts and opinions, dear readers? I think Pat Casey is such a nice guy, he'd never admit he was the best bencher of all time. I don't care what paltry reasons anyone out there cares to offer me on why they are the greatest bencher who ever lived. When you take the measure of a man's accomplishments, you must compare his contemporaries. Joe Louis was a great champion, unbeaten for 13 years, yet in all likelihood Ali in his prime would have boxed him silly. George Mikan revolutionized professional basketball and dominated the center position for years, but Chamberlain and Jabbar would've made him look bad. Today there are only a handful of men actively benching in excess of 600 pounds (Moran, Arcidi, Dicks, Hardman, etc.). Kaz made 661, Arcidi has done his thing, Williams and McDonald were ahead of their time. How much has the record gone up in the bench in the last 20 years. What transpired during that time. Super-shirts, elbow wraps, tight suits, and the potential of super-steroid use. 

Twenty rears ago Pat Casey took 620 pounds off the rack, unassisted, held it for a full two seconds at his chest, and rammed it home. He was so far ahead of everyone then that there was no idea of what could and couldn't be done. 

Casey was the best bench presser who ever lived.          










                      
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Natural Quad Training: A True Definition of Intensity - Jason E. Cohen

July 8, 2019, 10:29 pm
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1998

A couple of days ago a guy came up to me in the gym and accused my training partner and I of being on the juice. My training partner happens to be the reigning Natural Mr. America, and I've won quite a few natural contests myself. We pride ourselves on training as hard as we possibly can on ever rep of every set of every session. Nevertheless, this guy was convinced that we were chemically enhanced. 

I simply said to him, "Have you ever seen us train?" 

He looked at me kind of confused and said no. 

I invited him to work out with us, and he reluctantly said he'd love to. When I told him to pick his favorite bodypart to train, he blurted out with a smile, "Legs!" 

Big mistake.   

As usual, John and I started with our favorite exercise, squats. Unlike most bodybuilders, we do a different squat routine at every workout. On that day we happened to be doing one we call D-Day. Our new training partner still had that smile and swagger when he said he liked the name. 

John and I just looked at each other. 

We started with a warmup set of 135 pounds for 10 quick reps. We told our new training partner we only did 3 sets after our warmup, and once again he looked at us like we were sissies. Our next set was actually another warmup, with 185 for 10 quick reps to get the blood flowing. Then came the big one, a set in which we squat 225 pounds for 51 reps.

Yes, you read that correctly. We stop at 51 reps or when the weight crashes to the catchers, whichever comes first.

I stepped up to the bar and got through my first 35 reps with some discomfort, but I was determined to get 16 more. With each rep came more excruciating pain. I got to 48, and the weight dropped to the safety rack. I was exhausted and had tears running down my face.

John was next, and I could tell he was feeling good. He went all out and blasted 52 reps, then fell to the floor. 

After that our new training partner, with a look of sheer terror, positioned himself under the bar. To our surprise he did pretty well. He got 32 good reps and then racked it.

I said, "Wait a minute. The rule is that you end your set at the safety bars at the bottom, not the top pins." 

With sweat running down his face, he just snarled at me. 

After that we put 315 on the bar and did a final burnout for 10 reps. Our new training partner squeaked out four. We were not finished with out leg routine - not by a long shot. 

Next up was the leg press. When we told our new training partner that we were only doing one set, we saw the first smile on his face since the routine began. What he didn't know was . . . the set would be 100 reps: 10 sets of 10 without taking out feet off the pressing platform. 

I went first and was nearly dying when I got to my 70th rep. I knew I had to get another 30 or more or John would be yelling so loud that the whole gym would watch me suffer. I got the 30 and collapsed on the floor until the lactic acid slowly left my quads.

John went next and didn't feel excruciating pain until he got to about the 85th rep. After that it was a dog fight, but he won. Our new training partner tentatively sat in the leg press and started in. John and I could see he was suffering beyond what we'd seen at the squat rack. He ended up getting 30 reps before the platform crashed to the bottom position. He was done and in agony.

Before we began our third and final exercise, leg extensions, our new training partner went into the locker room. This is where the story gets a little scary. 

He went to the bathroom and collapsed, hitting his head on the floor. Someone happened to see and called for help. An ambulance took him to the emergency room and I haven't sen him at the gym since, but, needless to say, he hasn't volunteered to train with us again. 

As you can see from the above, John and I don't mess around when we train legs. It's my opinion that a great physique is built from the ground up. The following includes routines for both quads and hamstrings. It's entirely up to you whether you choose to work the two bodyparts on the same day.

Keep in mind that these are intensity-loaded programs for experienced bodybuilders. I don't recommend that you try to do them fully on the day after you read this article. 

Adjust the volume to your own level of experience and work your way up. 

The only requirement is that you give it all you've got on every rep of every set. 


All-Out Quad Assault 

Squat routine 1: D:Day

This routine, which is guaranteed to shock your legs into growth is described above. Here's the complete workout:

Barbell Squats - 
2 x 12 (warmup)
1 x 50. Use a weight you can handle with perfect for for 50 reps.
1 x 8-10. Use the heaviest weight you can.

Leg Presses - 
1 x 100. You may pause after every 10 reps, but don't remove your feet from the platform.

Leg Extensions - 
3 x failure. Continue the reps as follows until your legs are burning: 
 - On set 1 perform one fast extension followed by one with a 3-second contraction (hold) at the top.
 - On set 2 do three fast reps followed by one 3-second pause at the top. 
 - On set 3 do three fast reps followed by one slow rep. 
All till failure. 


Squat Routine 2: 10 Till You Topple

This program is guaranteed to get your legs and your heart in great shape. As with all of these routines, I recommend that you use a spotter. You'll also need a flat bench and a watch with a second hand. 

To complete the routine do 10 sets of Squats for 10 reps each. The tough part is that you can't fool around between sets. You perform each set 30 seconds after your partner's set. 

While your partner does his set, you should be stretching the fascia in your quads on the flat bench. You do this by putting one foot top down on the bench -- that is, on the shoelaces -- and sitting on it. Your bent leg should be hanging off the bench with your knee pointing at the floor. Stretch your quad. Your quad should feel as if it's going to explode out of your skin. 

Note: If you train alone, simply time a set of 10 and give yourself 30 + that length of time to stretch/rest between sets. 

Remember, you should be going down to slightly past parallel on every squat rep. If you can't go down that far on every squat repetition, lighten the weight until your form is perfect. But don't let yourself start doing shortened reps subconsciously so you can lower the weight! And don't guess on the time between sets. Use a stopwatch or a sweep hand wall clock. 

Finish the workout with leg extensions. Perform 5 sets to failure, taking turns with your partner on the machine, with one jumping on as soon as the other is finished. 

The complete 10 Till You Topple routine looks like this: 

Squats - 10 x 10. Stretch your quads while your partner is training, then rest only 30 more seconds. 

Leg Extension - 5 x failure. Rest only only long enough for your partner to do his set. 


Squat Routine 3

This workout, if you do it properly, may be the toughest of the three. It's based on the tempo of the repetitions. Once again, the routine starts off with a set/rep-style variation of the squat. You perform 6 sets with a very slow cadence: 6 seconds down and 6 seconds up. When doing your reps, have your partner count to six until you reach a point slightly below parallel, then count to six again as you come up. In this case, however, you don't stop at the top. Instead, start the next rep immediately.

Get as many reps in this manner as you can until you absolutely have to rack the bar. Perform one warmup set and then do 5 work sets. Go Slowly! Your legs will soon be burning to the point where they'll start to shake. Make sure you use a safety rack when you do these squats so you can go all the way with them. 

The next exercise in the routine is walking lunges. For some reason bodybuilders don't like this movement. My guess is that they think it looks goofy . . . 



. . . and that there's no ego involved.  Sorry I couldn't find a better walking lunge demo for ya there. 

Try three sets back-to-back with your partner. In other words, trade off and don't waste time. Simply take two moderately heavy dumbbells and lunge from one end of the gym to the other and back to the starting point. Your legs will burn, and you'll feel like you're going to collapse. That's good! It means you're training with intensity. 

Here's the complete workout: 

Squats - 
6 x failure. Slow cadence, 6 seconds up and six seconds down. 

Walking Lunges - 
3 sets. Two lengths of the gym floor equals one set. 


Some Final Thoughts on Quad Training

The three routines outlined above are extremely demanding. You probably noticed that none of them takes a lot of time to complete. In order to stay focused and train with the intensity these workouts demand, you must keep your workouts short. 

In addition, there's nothing wrong with throwing in an extra exercise, depending on your particular weakness in leg development. The key is not to overdo it. If you can perform many more exercises after going through any of these routines, you didn't train hard enough.  


Hamstring Helper 

I haven't figured out the reason so many bodybuilders neglect their hamstrings, but I assume it's because they can't see them. The irony is, they can't see them because they don't train therm hard enough. As I said above, I leave it to you to determine if you like to work hams and quads on the same day. For me it depends on how much working quads takes out of you. Usually, I end up training them on different days. 

On this routine you start with lying leg curls. Begin with a weight you can handle for about 12 reps, and use that as your warmup set. After that you jump into some killer drop sets, a.k.a. descending sets. Make sure your cable guy hammies are properly warmed up so you don't pull or tear a muscle. Start with a weight that you can get 4 to 5 reps with, then drop the weight and repeat, continuing the progression all the way down over around 6 sets. On the last set use a light enough weight to get about 10 reps. Perform three of these extended sets. 

The next exercise is stiff-legged deadlifts performed for 4 sets at a schlo-o-o-ow tempo. Start with a warmup set, stretching your hams at the bottom of the movement. After you're properly warmed up, add some weight to the bar. The rep tempo for the second set is 3 seconds down and 6 up. Get as many reps as you can in this manner. 

You finish off with seated leg curls. Instead of just performing a curl and then letting the weight swing your legs back to the top of the movement, use the following cadence: Stop halfway down and hold for 3 seconds, then go to the bottom of the movement and hold for 3 seconds. Do not let the weight swing to the top; instead, stop halfway up and hold for 3 seconds. Perform as many reps as you can in this manner until your hams are fried. 

Here's the complete workout:    



Lying Leg Curls - 
1 x 12 (warmup)
3 drop sets (4-5 reps; 10). Do 6 drops down the weight stack for each set, performing 10 reps on the last drop of each set. 

Stiff-legged Deadlifts - 
4 x failure. Slow cadence - 3 down and 6 up.

Seated Leg Curls - 
3 x failure. Cadence: Hold for 3 seconds when you get halfway to the bottom of the rep, at the bottom of the rep, and at the halfway point on the way up.

Unfortunately there's not as much variety when it comes to leg biceps training, but that doesn't mean you can't make it intense and interesting. For example, instead of doing lying leg curls, throw the following exercise into the above routine. 

Dumbbell Leg Curls - 
Lie face down on a flat bench with your knees at its end. Have your partner put a dumbbell you can handle for 10 to 15 reps between your feet, with your feet close together and holding it up at one end. Curl the weight just as you would on a lying leg curl machine. Instead of quitting after this set, work all the way down the rack. Have your partner drop the weight by 10 lbs. until there are no smaller dumbbells on the rack.


Some Final Thoughts on Hamstring Training

Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not there. If you choose to train your hamstrings on the same day as your quads, you may try alternating the order, working hams first at every other leg session. If you're lagging in hamstring development, however, be sure to put more emphasis on that bodypart. 


As we all know too well, there are so many factors that contribute to muscle growth. Few factors, however, are as important as training intensity. I'm willing to bet that if you give the above routines a good try for a length of time, you'll experience good gains, providing the rest of your bodybuilding bases are properly covered. 

Don't be afraid to experiment with varying the routines to fit your specific needs.   










      




   

      
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Isolation After-Shock Quad Training - Steve Holman

July 9, 2019, 10:37 pm
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Note: "Most of the time I suggest a one-second lift and a three-second lower on most exercises. Some stretch-position moves in the Positions-of-Flexion mass-training protocol may require a slightly slower cadence and more controlled turnaround, as the danger is elevated; for example, flyes for chest, overhead extensions for triceps and stiff-legged deadlifts for hamstrings. When in doubt move slower, never faster."
 - Steve Holman



Without a doubt legs are the most under-trained bodypart in every gym. Stick-like appendages jut out of training shorts and somehow manage to support massive torsos. Why do so many people choose to ignore lower body training?

Because growth producing leg work is excruciatingly hard -- often painful to the point of nausea. Nevertheless, you can minimize the impending regurgitation with effective science-based training -- a direct quad hit with no wasted effort. All you have to do is pick the best exercises for the job, the ones that max out fiber recruitment, do them hard for a few sets and then get out of the gym so your legs can grow.

Try the isolation after-shock quad blast to get the growth you deserve for your seat and hard work -- and you can stop wearing sweatpants to the gym in the middle of summer.

Here are the reasons this program produces great results:

1) It uses the most effective exercises. According to the book


the movements in the isolation after-shock superset hit the target muscle structures completely, rather than focusing on certain areas. You will superset the following two exercises after doing straight sets of a big compound movement.

Sissy Squats. This exercise puts  maximum stress on the entire front thigh -- the vastus medialis, the teardrop muscle above the knee on the inside of the thigh; the vastus lateralis, the large muscle on the outer thigh that creates sweep; the rectus femoris, the linear muscle that runs between the two vastus muscles; and the vastus intermedius, a large structure that lies underneath the others close tothe bone. While you can't see the vastus intermedius, it can go a long way toward giving your thighs more size. You get total target muscle stimulation with one efficient exercise. 

Sissy squats can be somewhat awkward at first, so you man be wondering if hack squats will accomplish the same efficiency. Back to Muscle Meets Magnet. Hack squats, both the feet-forward variation and the feet-under-the-hips variety, neglect the rectus femoris and the vastus medialis, so choose sissy squats over machine hacks. 

Leg Extensions. Do these with your feet parallel to each other and you'll hit the entire front thigh musculature. No muscle structure is left unscathed. If you turn your feet inward on this exercise, you tend to focus more on the outer thighs, the sweeping vastus lateralis muscles, while the inner thigh muscles, rectus femoris and vastus medialis, are somewhat neglected. With your feet angled out, you hit the inner thigh muscles hard and somewhat neglect the vastus lateralis. 

To put it another way, turn your feet out to hit the inner teardrop; turn them in for more sweep. If you want to hit all the front thigh muscles equally hard, keep those feet parallel.


2) The myotatic reflex, or pre-stretch, helps max out fiber recruitment and also helps stretch the fascia, or fiber encasement, to allow for more growth. In this case it's the sissy squat that puts the front thigh muscles into total elongation. This triggers an emergency response from the body and the activation of more muscle fibers to prevent trauma from the stretch. It also stretches the the fascia which can constrict the fibers' growth if it isn't stretched periodically. After you hit the stretch position and induce this hypercontraction mode, move to leg extensions and peak contract your front thigh muscles to the extreme to get item 3 below. 

3) Better pump and burn. New research suggests that supersetting helps lower the blood pH, which can force more growth hormone release. Those findings may verify what bodybuilders who have been instinctively chasing the pump for years have believed all along: It may be a growth stimulus. Research shows that this type of training not only increased GH levels, but it also increased GH receptors located on the trained muscles. In other words, it increases the trained muscles' sensitivity to growth hormone. So much for the no pain-no gain maxim being a hoax.

4) Synergy for maximum power and output. Neither the sissy squat nor leg extension brings in other muscle groups, so prior to supersetting them, do two sets of a big compound movement, such as squats or leg presses? Why? 

Compound exercises are those in which there's movement at more than one joint, and they involve muscle teamwork. In other words, you get a number of muscles working together, as Mother Nature designed the body to function optimally, and you can push extreme poundages -- which overloads the target muscle fibers, gets the blood flowing and primes the target for the blast furnace superset to come. 

Here's the routine: 

Squats or Leg Presses*, 2 x 8-10
Aftershock Superset - 
   Sissy Squats, 2 x 5-7
   Leg Extensions, 2 x 5-7
Squats or Leg Presses, 1 x 8-10
* Do two warmup sets with 50 and 70 percent of your work-set weight first. 

Notice that you do straight sets of squats or leg presses, then the supersets, and then you come back and do squats or leg presses for one final set. The concluding blowout set ensures that you totally annihilate the front thighs. It's a take-no-prisoners set that will have your quads pumped and screaming.

What does Muscle Meets Magnet say about the squat and leg press? 

Both exercises work the majority of the front thigh muscles, with the exception of the rectus femoris, the linear muscle that runs between the two vastus muscles. The two compound exercises also train the adductors on the upper, inner thigh, which sissies and leg extensions don't hit. And, of course, you also get glute work from leg presses and squats. So you can see how these exercises complement one another for a total front thigh assault.

5) More recovery for accelerated growth. You stimulate each target muscle to the maximum with only seven sets, which means you have more recovery left for hypertrophy. Remember, the more sets you do, the more you deplete your system's ability to recuperate from intense exercise, so efficiency is key. Obviously, this is a  very efficient leg building program, as you fatigue as many fibers as possible with as few sets as possible.

How should you use the Isolation Aftershock quad routine for best results? An every-other-day split is the program that will help most intermediate bodybuilder make the best gains.

Here's a sample:

Workout 1: Quads, hamstrings, calves, chest, triceps.

Workout 2: Back, delts, biceps, abdominals.

Always take a day of rest between workouts and you'll have a recovery oriented split that will produce impressive size increases. 5 to 7 all-out work sets per bodypart does a nice size building job for most intermediates.

If you prefer a Monday/Wednesday/Friday approach with weekends off, focusing on legs as the specialization bodypart, try the following program:

Monday
Squats, 2 x 8-10
Leg Extensions, 1 x 8-10
Leg Curls, 2 x 8-10
Standing Calf Raises, 2 x 12-20
Seated Calf Raises, 2 x 12-20
Bench Press, 2 x 8-10
Pulldowns, 2 x 8-10
Bentover Rows, 2 x8-10
Dumbbell Upright Rows, 2 x 8-10

Wednesday
Compound Aftershock quad routine and abdominals.

Friday
Same as Monday, but delete the squats and leg extensions.

With this program you only train quads twice a week, on Monday with a basic squat/leg extension routine and on Wednesday with the full isolation Aftershock program. You can do a few more sets on Wednesday because you won't train the quads again until the following Monday. You could probably get away with 3 sets on the first exercise and 2 on the last. And because you're only working quads and abs, you can really pour your heart into the Wednesday session. Show those quads no mercy!

  

  
   



















 

   
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Winning the Battle of the Bulge - Bill Starr

July 13, 2019, 1:21 pm
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Thanks to Liam Tweed! 








Uncle Buddy was taking me to a nudist camp. He'd invited me several times, but I'd always declined. Not because I had anything against the practice -- in fact, I was in favor of the freedom of expression it stood for. It was because I wasn't sure how I'd react being surrounded by a group of men and women au naturel. 

When I expressed my concerns, Uncle Buddy scoffed and said, "Don't worry about it. Just stay by the pool until you feel comfortable. If anything stirs, jump in the water, but I'm telling you it isn't going to be like that at all. It's not like going to a strip club. it's more like a religious gathering.

Not likely, I thought, but I had to admit I was curious. The nudist camp was located in a wooded area near the Chesapeake, not far from Annapolis. When I asked him why we hadn't gone to the one outside Darlington, only a short drive from my apartment, he replied, "I figured you didn't want to take the chance of running into someone you knew. Besides, I've been to this one before and really like the people." 

We signed in. I was Uncle Buddy's guest for the day. We undressed and placed our clothes in a locker and grabbed two towels, which we wrapped around the case of Miller we were smuggling in. "Drinking alcohol isn't allowed," he informed me, "but no one minds if it's done in private. You carry it, and stick close to me."  

I followed him out to the well-groomed grounds, across the lawn and past the swimming pool to a cabin at the edge of the woods. "Hey, Henry," Uncle Buddy said as we got close to the porch, where a naked man with a Santa Claus beard was sitting in a rocker reading a newspaper. 

Henry lowered the paper and exclaimed, "Well, bless my stars. Buddy Leftwich! You're a sight for sore eyes." 

They shook hands. Buddy introduced me, and we went inside to put the beer in Henry's refrigerator. Buddy broke out three and handed each one to Henry and me. We sat on the couch in the living room and talked. Like Buddy, Henry was a seaman, although he was retired. He rented this cabin for six months a year and traveled up and down the East Coast the rest of the time, staying at nudist camps. "They're a lot cheaper than motels," he said, "and I stay with like-minded folks."

They exchanged stories about their profession for a while. Then, when Buddy and I had finished our beers, we walked over to the swimming pool. It would be the first test of my fortitude. I sat at the edge of the pool on my towel and looked around at the wide assortment of females who were completely naked to see if it would stimulate some sort of erotic response. It didn't. Uncle Buddy was right. This wasn't so much about sexuality as personal freedom, and I was quickly reminded that the vast majority of bodies, unclothed, are not the least bit attractive. My hormones weren't surging; they were deflated. I decided that whoever had the idea of inventing clothing had been a genius.

Buddy was swimming laps. When he finished, he climbed out of the pool and began drying himself.

"How you holding up?" he asked. 

"Fine. You were right. This is not at all sexually stimulating." 

He laughed. "No, it isn't. Most people have the image of a nudist camp as a secret place where there are continuous orgies, but truth be told, there's probably less hanky-panky going on here than at a resort motel. Plus, this is primarily an older crowd and for most of them sex isn't a high priority any longer." 

The temperature was in the 80s, so I took a swim, then wandered over to watch a volleyball game. What fascinated me was the way the women timed their jumps so that their breasts would be fully coordinated with the movement. I wanted to join in and asked the man sitting at a picnic table is that possible. "Probably not for a while, he said. "It's a team competition and everyone has set teams. Maybe later. But while you wait, how about giving me a hand with these splinters?" 

There was no doubt that this was very relaxing. Everyone spoke in low tones and was extremely polite and courteous. Uncle Buddy and I teamed up on a couple of games of horseshoes. Then he went out to the car and brought in the cooler that held our lunch. We had a picnic under a large oak tree, sitting on our camp towels. One of the rules of the camp was that you had to always sit on a towel, a point for sanitation that I appreciated. While we ate chicken sandwiches with chips, pickles and milk, we discussed the nudies.

"Not many fit bodies, are there?" I said. 

"No," he replied, "but consider where you are. Maryland isn't known for its beautiful women -- or men for that matter. And like I said, this place is frequented primarily by people who get senior-citizen discounts. There's a place over on the eastern shore that caters to a younger crowd, and some of the ladies who go there are worth looking at." 

I nodded and continued eating. "It's about sunshine, exercise and relaxation, isn't it?" 

"That's pretty much it. No stress and you're around people of the same philosophy, which is relaxing as well. I try to encourage more of them to be more active by exercising, but it's hard to change the habits of people when they get older."  

ALL RIGHT ALREADY! ENOUGH! Let's get to the abs. 

"Come on," Buddy said. "I'll show you the weight room. It's not much, but there's enough to get in a good workout if you're motivated." 

Next to the main office building was a small shed the size of a garage that had been converted to a weight room. As Buddy had said, it wasn't much, but I had trained in gyms with a lot less. It had a flat bench, chinning bar, slant board and a scattering of standard plates, bars and dumbbells. I walked over to the slant board -- a York model dating back to the 1950s. 

"I haven't seen one of these in years,"Buddy said. "Most modern facilities get rid of them and put in the various ab machines that are on the market. In my opinion, a slant board is one of the greatest pieces of equipment of all for building strong abdominals." 

"I agree 100 percent," I replied. I can't tell you how many times I rigged up a slant board by rounding up a 2-by-10 and used my lifting belt as a strap. Then I'd put one end on a box or chair and do situps and leg raises until my abs gave out." 

Two men walked in behind us, and the taller of the two stepped up to me. "Didn't you coach at Hopkins? I saw you on the sidelines at Homewood for the lacrosse game. 

"Why, yes, I was the strength coach there." 

"I thought so! My name's Roger." He extended his hand, and we shook. Then I introduced Uncle Buddy, and Roger introduced his companion, Donald O'Neill. Both, I guessed, were in their mid-50s, well tanned and in decent shape, except for their midsections. They were sporting the familiar beer guts that most men their age carry around. 

We chatted about lacrosse and the prospects of various teams for the next season. 

Then Roger said, "Could we ask you two guys some questions about training? We noticed that you're the only two in the entire camp who have tight guts. And I'm betting that you're both older than we are." 

"Sure," I said. "Ask away." There wasn't any place I had to be, and I was enjoying the atmosphere of the camp.

Roger grabbed his belly with both hands, holding ten pounds of excess luggage. "How do we get rid of this? Or is that just a pipe dream?" 

I laughed. "No, it can be done, although it will take some time to drop that much "extra weight". It will take some discipline too."

"You talking about exercise and diet?" interjected Donald. 

On August 4th, 1930, the world's first supermarket opened in Jamaica, Queens New York City. 
The supermarket was different from the old-style grocery store. 
"Pile it High, Sell it Low" 


"We must think about things as they are, not as they are said to be." 
 - George Bernard Shaw

Yes, we humans do so love to pile it high, don't we! 

The article continues . . .   

I nodded. "Plus some testosterone therapy, but yes, that's what it's going to take: diet and some type of regular exercise." 

Donald said in a low tone, "I'm not that big on commercial gyms. They cost too much and are always crowded. Getting to one's a hassle too." 

"You don't have to join a gym." I pointed at the slant bench and said, "That's all the equipment you need to get rid of your unwanted bodyweight."

Donald looked at Roger and smirked. Then Buddy stepped in. "He's right. That slant board will give you what you want if you're willing to put in the effort." 

"What about all those ab machines you see advertised on TV? Aren't they better than just a situp board?" 

"Not really,"Buddy answered. "What most of those machines are selling is comfort and the promise of getting results easily. It just doesn't happen that. No matter how well any piece of equipment is designed or how well it's padded, you're still going to have to exert yourself to achieve your goal. There's no shortcuts. It involves hard work, and it has to be done regularly, as in every day. Or at least six days a week. 

Neither Roger nor Donald said anything for a few minutes. Then Roger declared, "Well, hell, I'm tired of carrying this mass of fat around. I look like I'm pregnant. Everything is fine except my gut. Lay it out for us." 

"Okay, I'll start with the exercises. At first, just concentrate on your upper and lower abs. The muscles that make up the sides are also important, but you can get to them later, after you've made progress on the front of your midsection. Situps for the upper portion and leg raises for the lower." 

"Hold up a sec," Donald interrupted. "I've read that regular situps aren't very effective because they involve the legs too much. Aren't crunches supposed to be better?" 

"In the pure sense, that's correct, although I have no problem with the fact that situps involve the quads. I use situps as warmups and like the idea that my legs are getting into the act a bit. Also, in order for crunches to produce results, the reps have to be extremely high, eventually in the 500-plus range. You can change the angle on an adjustable slant board like this one, though, so that the movement becomes more difficult as you get stronger. So you can hold the reps at a hundred and keep increasing the angle to make your abs work harder. Same goes for leg raises. Let me show you how to do these two exercises, then a couple of versions of crunches, and you can decided which you'd rather do. Of course, there's no reason you can't do all of them. Variety is a good thing in weight training, especially when it comes to ab work."

I wasn't comfortable demonstrating naked, so i tied a towel around my waist, sat on the slant board, hooked my feet under the strap and did a dozen situps in deliberate fashion so Roger and Donald could see the form. "Do each rep smoothly," I said, "and make sure your knees are always slightly bent when doing any type of ab work. Bend them just a bit and hold them in that position until you finish your set." 

I got up and told Roger to give it a try. He did the first few reps correctly, so I said, "Do as many as you can." He managed 23 before he quit. Donald also used good form and made sure he did a  couple more than his friend before he collapsed on the board. 

Roger laughed. "Looks like we got some ab work ahead of us, ole buddy." Donald only grinned and nodded as he got up off the slant board.

I demonstrated the technique for performing leg raises with a partial erection, again emphasizing the importance of bending the knees and using a good range of motion on each stroke. Roger and Donald, now with towels around their middles, took turns and quickly discovered that leg raises were more difficult than situps. "They're killers," Donald groaned as he stood up.

"The lower abs are almost always weaker than the higher portion because that's where the excess fat has settled," I said. "Because it's the most troublesome area, I suggest you do leg raises first, then situps. A good way to perform them is to do leg raises before you exercise and situps after. The ab muscles tend to fatigue quickly and if you allow some time between the two exercises, you'll be able to do more reps on the second one." 

"How many reps, and should we be doing more than just one set of each of them?" asked Roger.

"In the beginning, when you're able to do only a couple of dozen reps, you'll need to do several sets to get in enough work. Once you're able to do more than 75 at one time, one set will be sufficient. What you need to do every time you do either situps or leg raises is push them to the absolute limit. Also, learn to squeeze your abs at the finish of each rep. When you do them with the right intensity, your abs will be just a tad sore the next day."

Donald spoke up. "But you said we should do these or some other exercises for our abs every day. That means we should be sore every day?" 

"That's right," I replied, "but I'm not talking deep soreness that hurts when you move, although that might occur during the first week. I'm talking about the kind of soreness that you can feel when you work your abs the next day. That kind of soreness will go away after the first half dozen reps. Uncle Buddy, show them the two variations of the crunch." 

After securing his towel around his very fit middle, he lay down on a mat and placed his feet on the high end of the slant board. He placed his hands on each side of his head and squeezed his upper torso forward, hesitating a brief moment at the most forward part of each rep. As he knocked out a quick three dozen reps, he spoke instructively: "Pull your abs down tight as you can and keep everything extra tight. Don't let your stomach muscles relax at all, and really squeeze hard at the end of the crunch."

Our aspiring students took turns, and when they finished, Roger asked, "How many reps on those?" 

Uncle Buddy said, "Just like the situps and leg raises, as many as you can do, and build from there." 

Donald said, "I tried those one time, but my neck hurt so bad I gave them up. Maybe it would be worth the money to buy one of those machines they advertise that take the pressure off the neck. What do you think?" 

"If you want to buy a machine, fine, but it's not necessary. No doubt your neck will ache in the beginning, but it will get strong as you run the numbers up. You can cradle your head with your hands if it really bothers you. You get the same benefit if you support your head and neck." 

They nodded that they understood. "Now this," said Uncle Buddy, "is called lots of names, but my nephew and I just call it reverse crunches." He lay down on the mat and placed his lower legs over the high end of the slant board, locked them in place and proceeded to lift his pelvis as high as he could. "These may not look like they're doing much, but they are. The combination of regular and reverse crunches really hits the target area nicely. For them to do any good, you'll have to keep pushing the count up and up. The reason most people don't achieve any results on them is they just don't work them hard enough." He got up and said, "Try it."
 
Roger was having trouble getting the feel of the movement. Uncle Buddy told him, "Lock your legs tighter onto the slant board. If it's more comfortable, place your feet on the end of the board."   

Roger tried that and returned to his original position, saying, "This feels better." 

"You're being too timid with the upward stroke," said Buddy. "Think of your lower abs as pistons, and jam them upward with force. That's good. Now you're getting the rhythm. Keep going till you feel your abs start to burn."

 - Let Sir Ben Kingsley help . . . 



After Roger finished, Donald took a turn and said, "These are a bit easier to me. Should I do more reps than with the other kind of crunches?" 

"Sure," Uncle Buddy replied, if you can. On all these ab exercises the point is to exhaust the muscles, so go to the limit." 

When Donald finished his set, Roger asked, "What else?" 

Uncle Buddy said, "There's lots of other ab exercises, but in your case these are enough." 

"Could you show us some of the others just in case we'd like to try them?" asked Roger. 

Buddy demonstrated how to do leg raises while hanging from a bar and while sitting on the edge of a bench. Then he did side-to-side twists with a broomstick and held it over his head and leaned from side to side. "These hit the obliques and the group that turns the trunk from side to side - the transverse abdominis - but you don't need to do them for now. Concentrate on crunches, leg raises and situps. They'll get your abs stronger and tighter, but getting rid of your protruding middle will take a lot more than just ab work." 

"Yeah," mumbled Roger. "We know. We must have gone on at least six different diets over the past year, but we never stuck with any of them for very long. Any suggestions?"

"Keep it simple," I said. Don't change what you eat but rather try to cut down on foods that put on unwanted bodyweight. I'm talking about carbohydrates. Start by cutting your carb intake in half. Half a piece of toast, half a baked potato, half a glass of orange juice, and so on. Fill up on protein foods, and no late-night snacking. Research has shown that eating the largest meal of the day at noon is better for those trying to cut or maintain bodyweight than eating it at night. Substitute whole grains and other complex carbs for those loaded with sugars. Be wary of sodas and soft drinks because they run up your daily carb count way up." 

"What about beer?" Donald inquired. "I'd hate to have to give up beer." 

"You don't have to give it up. Just cut back a bit. Every little bit helps when you're trying to shed unwanted blubber. At the same time, get more active. That, too, doesn't need to be drastic. Start walking every day, and cut back to only one take-along beer when you walk. Ah-hem. Start out with 15 or 20 minutes, and when that feels easy, stretch it out to 45 minutes or an hour. You can also train more frequently. Hit the weights six days a week for a half hour or more. Keep the weights light, and run the reps up. Start with three sets of 20 and add to the reps. I have an older friend who does that type of routine and he uses light dumbbells only. On some exercises he does 200 reps, and he told me one set takes almost 10 minutes to complete. He said he could elevate his pulse rate higher doing a set of seated presses with 10-lb. dumbbells than he could when he walked as fast as he could." 

They liked the idea of training with light weights. "Be aware, if you really apply yourselves, that those high-rep sessions can leave you panting for air. What it boils down to? When you're trying to drop weight, you have to burn off more calories than you take in. It's not the least bit complicated, as most people know. What they lack is not knowledge but dedication. Our country is experiencing an epidemic of obesity not because of ignorance but because of laziness. Our ancestors ate three huge meals a day, if they could afford to, but obesity wasn't a problem. That's because they were so damn active they mostly had trouble keeping on any weight." 

Roger said, "You're right. We have become lazy. My son or daughter-in-law drives my two grandsons to the school bus stop every morning and picks them up in the afternoon, and the bus stop is only four blocks from their house. I think Donald and I have enough discipline to do it, especially if we tackle it together. I know I'm really sick of carrying around this gut. You mentioned testosterone earlier?"  

Yawn. Not here, thank you very much.    
















  

          



          

        



  


                    


















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Stiff Leg Deadlifts - Brent Howard (2005)

July 13, 2019, 3:07 pm
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 Brent "Sgt. Rock" Howard




Maurice Jones, born 1912, around his top bodyweight of 230-235 at 5' 8.5". A slightly earlier advocate of the Stiff Leg Deadlift, he did 425 for 15 in ultra-strict style, standing on a bench and lowering the bar to the tops of his feet. Jones said that at times the poundage may have wandered a little higher. 



As with many exercises, there's more than one way to do the stiff leg deadlift correctly. It all depends on what you want to get out of it. 

I use them as a HEAVY assistance movement, a plateau killer, and a great base builder. The Finns love these, as do many all time powerlifting greats, including "The King" Ed Coan.   


When to Do Stiff Leg Deadlifts?

For me, I do them nearly year round now. Right now I am a long way out from my next meet. So most of my pulling is in the form of stiff leg deadlifts (SLDL). When I start pulling heavy from the floor, I always do one set of 5 reps after my heavy deadlift work. Nothing keeps your back tight and strong like a heavy set of stiff legs. 


What Equipment Do I Need?

Opinions vary. I feel a 3-inch block is perfect for these. I was doing them off a 4.5-inch block and it was just too much. I am not very flexible, and really had to alter my natural groove to touch the floor. I pull these with a contest deadlift bar so I can really get used to the knurling and feel of the bar. I personally prefer an Okie bar and to wear my contest deadlift shoes (wrestling shoes). Other than that, chalk your hands and put on your belt. Throw your straps away as well, not needed. 


What is the Proper Technique? 

Here is where opinions really vary. I have made my money, so to speak, by keeping the bar in close to my body. It is safer this way and more like a contest pull because you are trying to minimize gravity's grasp. Bend your hips on the first rep, like a contest pull and lock it out. This is the starting point. Next, keep your HEAD UP, and lower the bar slowly. Fight to keep your head up on the whole descent. Let the weight touch the floor only slightly, and while remembering to keep your head up and the bar in close to your body, lock it out. I prefer to wear sweat pants when I SLDL, to create a little extra friction and make the movement harder.


Stiff Leg Deadlift Cycle

Here is a solid, proven routine to give you a great cycle for the off season. It is a plateau destroyer. Whether you pull sumo or conventional, stiff legs are a great way to get your pull moving. 

All stiff legs are done off a 3-inch block, with a belt only. I am not a slave to percentages, but I will give you them. Don't deviate too much either way. A good goal is 70% of your best contest pull for 5 reps. For example, if you can pull 700, your goal weight would be 490 x 5 on the stiff leg deadlifts. Some will do more and some less. Sumo pullers are generally not as strong in this movement. If you pull sumo, you will need to feel it out and adjust as necessary. I have trained numerous people who thought 70% for 5 was unattainable. In the end they all did it, but had to work hard for it. 

The SLDL is no joke and you must work hard. It is money in the bank with a good plan, proper form and execution. 

This cycle is based on a 700-lb. puller. My best is 455 x 10 and 525 x 5 thus far -- 
soon to change! 


Week 1
45% for 3 x 10 reps - 315 pounds

Week 2
48% for 3 x 10 - 335

Week 3
51% for 3 x 10 - 355

Week 4
55% for 3 x 5 - 385

Week 5
58% for 3 x 5 - 405

Week 6
61% for 3 x 5 - 425

Week 7
64% for 2 x 5 - 455

Week 8
67 % for 2 x 5 - 470

Week 9 
70% for 1 x 5 - 490 

Week 10
No pulling. Start pre-contest cycle of different off-season cycle. 

The sets of 10 are tough, but you have to get through it. In the past with my pulling, I have done a two week on/one week off with good results. I have recently switched to a weekly pulling scheme, taking one week off every 10 weeks or so, with good results. It's all about lifestyle, nutrition, work schedule and supplementation. If your karma is good in life, you can pull every week for a long time. If I feel stiff or don't have the mental tenacity to pull, I simply won't. 

This routine will work, and has for many. Three days before this should be your squat day (e.g., squat on Monday, deadlift on Friday). During off-season I recommend alternating box squats and regular squats, with a belt only. Box squats for 8 (sets) x 2, and regular squats for 10 rep sets for a few weeks, then five reps sets, much like this SLDL routine. 

You didn't really think you were done yet, did you? Here is the assistance work to really make this routine work for you: 

Bent Rows off a 3-inch block, 2 x 5 reps. No straps, no belt. Don't be afraid to use a bit of body momentum here. Use big weights when you get used to this movement (my best: 455 x 5) . 

Front Chins, with weight if you can, 2 x 5-7 reps.

Front Lat Pulls or Cable Rowing (alternate), 2 x 7-10.

Dumbbell Shrugs, 2 x 20 reps.

Regular (also called Russian) hyperextensions, 2 x 10 with weight, 1 x 20 to really flush out your back.

Weighted Abs, you choice of movement, 4 x 12-20.

On Squat day do glute ham raises for 4 x 10, and heavy abs.

  

   


























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Doug Hepburn - Gerry Baxter (1952)

July 14, 2019, 6:42 pm
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Taken From This Issue (November 1952)
Courtesy of  Liam Tweed. 

  



Afew nights ago I had a very unpleasant experience. I'm a fairly big guy myself, 210 lbs., 48" chest, 17.5 arm and the rest in proportion, and I was made to feel about the size the local bantamweight champion of the ping-pong club must feel when stands beside somebody my size. 

In short, I met Doug Hepburn! 



Apart from the rest of this huge guy, the first thing you notice is his arm. I've been around a lot and I've seen some big arms during my travels, an 18" arm is normal so far as I'm concerned, but for the first 20 minutes of my initial meeting with Doug I just couldn't take my eyes of the 21" hunks of muscle that hung down off his shoulders. I've heard it said that, taking into consideration his waistline, he must have about a 19" arm and the rest is fat, but whoever wrote or said that has never had his hands on those arms. They're iron hard and all muscle, apart from the bone that is, and I'd hate to try and find that. 

Doug at a Lighter Weight


Doug himself is a genial, easygoing fellow, full of fun, always laughing, always giving a word of encouragement to the other guy . . . until he starts a training session, then gone is the funny man, the joker, and in his place is a man full of determination with time for nothing but absolute concentration on the job in hand. 

This change that you can notice in Doug as soon as he starts training is, in my opinion, the thing that has made him the great strength athlete that he is. He believes implicitly in the correct psychological attitude to training and the determination and concentration that he exhibits whilst working out are far beyond that which I have seen exhibited by any other lifter. Whilst watching, you are no longer aware of the tremendous size of the man but become aware of the sheer brute power that he possesses. This power is evident in every movement he makes and is frightening to see.

Everyone I have talked to here in Vancouver who knows Doug and has seen him train says the same thing. They have all felt the same awe at seeing such huge poundages handled with such ease, not scientifically, but simply by virtue of this colossal power he has. Doug himself is well aware that he has not fully used this power yet. When he does, and he will some day, certain world records are going to soar to unbelievable poundages. 

Why hasn't he done so already? Here's part of the answer: Doug's main problem is, and always has been, in gaining recognition for what he does. Only now (1952) are people beginning to believe that the poundages he was reporting years ago are really true. It takes years of concentrated work with no time left over for any other interest to achieve what Doug has achieved, and when you've done it, and the world doesn't seem to care anyway, well, it's disheartening to say the least. 

For the last few months Doug had been taking a prolonged layoff. When you train as hard as he does it's very easy to get stale mentally through not engaging in any outside interests whatsoever, and so, bearing the old adage in mind . . . 


. . . Doug has himself a rest now and then. 

He loves nothing more than a good game of snooker, and he and I have already had several battle royals over the green cloth. He can also play a harmonica like nobody's business. Two wonderfully relaxing hobbies, knocking some balls around and enjoying a tune played on the mouth organ. When in a serious mood you're apt to find him deep in some serious literature of one kind or another. 

I was very interested to find out what sort of shape these long rest periods leave him in, so I went to watch his workout. His power had hardly deteriorated at all, and he got right to work handling poundages the same as those he used in his last workout, several months before. For the first time, of course, he didn't work out for quite so long as usual, about an hour, which is next to no time for him. He tells me that during a heavy workout it is quite usual for him to spend about two hours doing squats alone. 

Note: For example, let's say 4 warmup sets then 8 doubles that are being worked to triples over time. 12 sets in about 120 minutes. Sure! 10-plus minutes or so rest between hard sets. A half hour of so break before the second lift of the day. Maybe a different set/rep goal with it. Why not! Working from the initial 3 singles on up over time to 10 singles, let's say he's at 8. More warming up for singles, eh, let's say 6 sets, plus the 8 hard singles. Call it a dozen sets again with an easy 10-plus minutes between 'em gives you another two hours. Unless he's up this session for additionally working the second lift from 5 triples to 5 x 5 over time with some challenging weight. No warmup needed on the same lift for higher reps, 5 more sets with another 10-plus minutes rest between 'em makes for another hour easily. So, he's got about 2 + 2 + 1 plus some time between the different lifts = 5 or 6 hours there. Easily. That's for two lifts a day. Sounds pretty much exactly what my older friend told me went on at the Hastings Gym later on. Tough strength sets, even though they're low reps, are not the same animal as bodybuilding sets. If you lifting for strength, try giving yourself a nice long rest period between hard sets and notice the difference. Guys say stuff like, "Anything more than a minute is unnecessary if you're well conditioned." So, on a day when you have ample time, give yourself a good 8 to 10 minutes rest between hard sets of 1 to 5 reps and notice how the poundage feels, note the bar speed, observe how you perceive the 'weight' of the bar, the whole thing going on each set. 

Experiment with it yourself a few times and come to a conclusion, just like Hepburn did.

The article continues . . . 

During the summer months Doug has an ideal job. He is employed a a life guard on one of Vancouver's many lovely beaches. Apart from beating off the girls with a large stick he keeps especially for that purpose, the only exercise he gets is the odd save he makes, and what he does with the weights.

I forgot. He also gets quite a bit of exercise carrying the large bag of groceries to work with him in the morning. It's said that the local grocery store would go out of business if it weren't for Doug. He gets though 6 quarts of milk a day regularly, pounds and pounds of fruit, and at lunch time can usually be seen tripping gaily down the beach from the butchery with two or more pounds of raw steak hanging from one hand, soon to be duly cooked up on the hot plate which the City Council provided especially for that purpose. 

From knowing Reg Park personally, and having studied other great physiques such as Clancy Ross, Eiferman, Reeves and the others on the American scene at close quarters, I know that the photographs of them which you see in the mags never succeed in doing them justice. This is very true of Doug Hepburn. Until you have actually been in his company, seen him turn around carelessly to talk to someone behind, and noted the huge sweep of his back and the great "bunch" of triceps at the back of his arm you'll never really know how big he is. 

Note: I only saw Doug in person a couple two-three times. Some phone conversations. Once, I went to his shop on 2nd Ave. to check out a rack some guy didn't pay for or pick up after agreeing to (this happened much more than once, I'm sure. Doug was a bighearted guy who refused to lose his faith in humanity), and maybe getting him to add a pulley to the thing. He was barbell curling a-plate-and-a-25 a side every so often while we talked. Hell, I thought, I strain more brushing my fucking teeth in the morning. This guy is nuts! And he was big. BIG! The width of his shoulders and back, and the size of his arms and forearms, especially when he was curling that bar. 

The article continues . . . 

So far as his bad leg is concerned, you never notice it until you start to look at it. Doug himself has so completely mastered this great handicap that it has ceased to have any importance at all. True, it mars the symmetry of his otherwise tremendous legs, but since he is essentially a strong man with no aspirations to a "bodybuilder's perfection of form" it doesn't seem to matter. 

Note: I disagree here. The lack of ankle flexibility and strength had a great impact on Hepburn's lifting technique, and on the options available to him when it came to lifting. Hence his greater than average dependence on raw power to make up for the missing finer points of technique in some lifting movements. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he lacked style and form, I'm only saying that it was necessary for him to compensate for the physical impossibility of assuming certain positions integral to elite technique by developing great strength. His speed, I do not believe, was a real issue. He was fast and light on his feet at any weight. However, when you consider the limitations his bad lower leg was responsible for, I think you'll better understand just how massive the accomplishment was, and how much effort it took to overcome his disability. Motherfucking WILL was demanded, and HE PROVIDED IT APLENTY. Next time you get all pissy and start into moaning about your lack of "natural gifts" consider this. Get in there and use what tools you do have to kick ass.  

The article continues . . . 

Since Doug is now in full training again I'd just like to mention what his immediate plans are (1952). Doug himself would like to go on record as saying that withing the next two years he plans, note I say "plans" and not "hopes" to put the world's Press record up to at least 380 lbs. 

[During the 1954 Western Zone British Empire Games Weightlifting Trials, Hepburn broke the World Press record with a lift of 381 pounds.]  

Up until now, the world's Clean & Press record has been limited by the weight that Doug could clean into the shoulder. He could always Press anything he could pull in. I'll be getting into trouble for disclosing his training secrets if I say much more but I'll risk it and just say that Doug is now concentrating on the Clean almost to the exclusion of anything else. With a guy like this, once he MAKES UP HIS MIND, it's only a matter of time. 

Note: I don't recall ever hearing anyone say Doug Hepburn held back the ideas and the results of his training experiments. Well, no one who wasn't an asshole, anyway. Over the phone (rotary dial land line, Baby!), I found that he would talk at length, unless business interrupted him, when asked a reasonable training question. Of course, some of that length included the wonders of the protein powder he sold. Hey, come on! Lack of Money forgives no one its sting. 

Continuing with the article . . . 

If you asked Doug how he became "world's strongest man" the answer would probably boil down to "singleness of purpose." A man who believes, as Doug does, that every world record was made to be broken, and also believes that if he can break it himself  he is accomplishing something great and worthwhile, cannot fail. He is willing to subordinate everything else to that one aim and that is the secret, so far as he is concerned. 

The strongest man is not only strong physically but mentally too. Doug knows, there are a lot of good times to forsake, a lot of dates you could make if you didn't go down to the gym and train instead, but so far as Doug is concerned, it's worth it.    


      







   















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