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281

General Discussion / Going back to the fifties!! Reg Park in the 80's

« on: September 16, 2012, 11:23:44 PM »

GOING BACK TO THE 1950'S            Reg Park                       Musclemag early 80's

In 1945 Reg Park began weight training, he was 17 years old and pressing a 40 poind barbell...
"Giant oak's from little acorn's grow!"

"I recall quiet clearly my first weight workout. It was in September 1945 at which time I was 17 years old and weighed 165 Ibs. at 6' 1". Up to that time I had excelled in both athletics and soccer and I possessed a lean, athletic body. I met Dave Cohen who was some six years older than me, at the City of Leeds Rowndlay Park open air swimming pool, where all the "lads and lasses" congregated over the weekends and holidays. Most of the fellows were body conscious but it was not until I saw Dave who was then 24 years old that I saw a real physique. Dave was 5' 8" weighed 185 Ibs with 47" chest, 31" waist, with arms, neck and claves all measuring 17 -1/2 inches. There is no doubt in my mind that at that time he had the best physique in Great Britain, although I never recall him ever showing any interest in entering a 'Mr' contest.

The first workout I had under Dave's guidance consisted of barbell press with 40 Ibs., press on back on floor (at that time we did not know about bench presses) with 60 Ib barbell, curls with 40 Ibs., straight arm barbell pullover on floor with 30 Ibs., barbell triceps pushaway behind the legs and that was about it. All the exercises were performed with descending repetitions 10-8-6. Three sets per exercise.

These workouts were performed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in a bare wooden floored room made available by the parents of one of Dave' friends. I did not really enjoy the workouts, the most appealing thing being the cups of tea and cakes which Dave's freind's mother laid on after our evening workouts. Nevertheless I persisted with training until about May, 1948, some 8 months, when Rowndlay Pool opened for the English summer (don't laugh, when I spent all my free time at the pool checking out the chicks my workouts became very infrequent). Looking back I recognize the fact that my early poundages were very inferior by today's standard. Even considering I was a total beginner, they would be a joke. Barbell press with 40 Ibs? My wife can do that! So I obviously started off with little or no latent strength or talent.

The fist eight months training were just functionary. I was not into it and had ery little awareness as to what wieght training was all about, other than to be aware that I wanted to look like Dave. Nevertheless, when I was conscripted into the army in August 1948 I was doing repetition presses and curls with 80 Ibs and did a pullover on floor (more like a rollover, flipping bar with a sharp wrist action until it rested across the chest with the upper arm resting on the floor and the forearm perpendicular and press on back 205 Ibs. 1 rep. No big deal, but at least 100% improvement form my starting poundages. My eight months training must have done me some good, without realizing it, because when I went into the army August 1948, I was still 6' 1" but weighed 185 Ibs. The next two years were spent in the army where I ended up as a physical training instructor in Singapore during which time, I suppose altogether, I had 20 workouts in two years.

By the time I got out of the army my parents had erected a chin bar in our backgarden and bought a second-hand barbell set which I kept under a tarpaulin next to the chin bar which incidentally had a clamp light attached to it via a lead cable from my bedroom, to enable me to workout at night. I trained outdoors through the winter 1948/49 often wearing as many as three sweat suits and pulling the snow covered tarpaulin  off the weights in order to workout. Gradually, I moved the equipment I had assembled; (a fixed incline bench, a flat bench, squat stands, hand loading lat machine plus weights) into a one car garage located behind the local shopping plaza.

The time was spring 1949 and in that period I read all the English "Health and Strength", "Vigor" and American "Strength and Health" and Wieder magazines (which were then small in the format of a Readers Digest), that I could find in book shops. Fortunately, I soon realized that if I wanted to have the best physique in the world (a decision I had made in London whilst watching the 1948 Mr. Universe) I would also have to be the strongest bodybuilder in the world. From then on I started to push the poundages. My decision to push myself to training with heavier poundages paid off when I won the 1949 Mr. Britain contest in, I think it was, September or October of that year when I weighed 226 Ibs. By now I could clean and press 2 x 100 Ibs. which I did back stage at the Leeds Empire in the dressing room of the "Trois des Meilles" made up of Reuben Martin, Rusty Sellars and Len Talbot who were touring U.K., with the British version of the Folies Bergere. I also did a straight arm pullover with top man, 155 Ib Rusty Sellars doing a hand stand on the palms of my hand, a feat which Reub told me only one man other than himself  had ever done, and that man was 250 Ib. 5' 8" Bert Assirati who was without doubt the strongest British wrestler around.

From 1949 right up to the late 50's I was without doubt Britain's strongest bodybuilder. I did a full squat 2 reps with 600 Ibs, with only the late Buster McShane spotting me in his gym in Belfast, bench pressed 500 Ibs at a show in Bristol (and was second in the world after Doug Hepburn to succeed with this poundage) and pressed 300 Ibs at the British Amateur Weightlifting championships. All of this being nearly 30 years ago. At various times I also did rep presses behind neck with 270 Ibs (again at Buster's Gym) and repetition cheat curls with 250 Ibs. I also did regularly, reps and sets with 2 x 185 Ibs dumbell on incline and flat bench which was all the weight I could get on the bar. The only other bodybuilder who could "give me a go" was a 'bull' named Marvin Eder and I recall he and I doing bent over barbell rowing with 400 Ibs in 1951. At Ed Yarick's gym in Oakland, California also in 1951, I remember doing seated dumbell curls 5 reps with 2 x 120 Ibs. dumbells with someone, I think it was Art Jones, holding my knees.

At this time I also broke several British professional weightlifting records some of which had been set by British Weightlifting champion Ron Walker, whom I believed had previously placed 2nd or 3rd in the World weightlifting championships on the then 3 Olympic lifts.

I could do squats with 500 Ibs. bench presses 400 Ibs., curls with 200 Ibs. clean and press 2 x 100 Ib. dumbells all for repetitions any time of the day, without bothering to warm up. I remember doing  bent over peak contraction curls with a 100 Ib. dumbell for the fellows in our warehouse in Leeds. At that time I was not only considered the best built bodybuilder in the world but also the strongest. I weighed between 225-230 Ibs. In December 1960 ( I was then into the gym business in Johannesburg, south Africa) I received a phone call from Rome, Italy to star in Italian "Hercules" films and it was neither the producer or director who wanted me as the star but the man who put up the money. Apparently he had seen photos of me and had said "he is Hercules". Such had been the effect of my physique on all the heavy bodybuilding training I had done in the 10-12 years previously.

From 1962 onwards the pressure of running a chain of health studios and a mail order business took up a great deal of my time and energy and although I entered and won the 1965 Mr. Universe, my training at this period was a joke compared to how I had trained throughout the 50's. More often than not my workouts would be interrupted by visitors and endless telephone calls. I experienced more and more injuries, to my sacro, knees, elbows, biceps insertion and one shoulder injury that persisted continuously for five years - yes, five years, Consciously, I trained less intensively and lighter and the only reason that I retained any semblance of size and shape was due only to the intensive workouts I had put in from 1949 until 1962.

From 1962 to 1982 I gave exhibitions all over the world, when injuries limited my training to Mickey Mouse poundages and my physique showed considerably lighter development.

In 1980 I sold all my gyms. I am now into the manufacture and sale of bodybuilding equipment and I work as a consultant for the Centrol Gyms in Johannesburg and give seminars and exhibitions all over the world. I have slowly recovered my enthusiasm for training and will experience "trial and error". I know which exercise I can do and which I must avoid, the latter being regular and full squats, deadlifts and bent over barbell rowing, all of which cause considerable pain in my sacro region; chins and parallel bars which tear my shoulder ball and socket-joint. In the middle of 1982 I made a decision to train progressively heavier as I did in the 50's

For the thighs I now do leg curls, leg extensions, leg press and hack machine squats 3 sets 8-10 reps of each.

For the back I do prone hyperextensions, base pulley V grip rowing, one arm base pulley bent over rowing, underhand close grip pulldowns to chest and wide grip pulldowns to the back  - 3 sets of 8-10 reps.

For the shoulders I perform seated front and press behind neck on the Smith machine, standing two dumbell lateral raise and lying face down on a 45 degress angled bench for rear deltoids all 3 sets 6-10 reps.

Biceps and Triceps 4 exercises each 3 sets 8 reps.

Calf 3-5 sets of 15 reps, every other day. A different calf exercise each workout.

Stomach; incline bent-knee situps and incline bent knee raises with weighted ankle straps, 3 sets 30 each superset.

But every exercise is performed with maximum poundages and in the last set of each exercise, when I use the heaviest poundage, I endeavour to do more reps than in the two previous sets. Already I  am beginning to feel more and more comfortable with the heavier poundages. I feel thicker in my muscles, my clothes are starting to feel tight across the shoulders and back and  my weight is consistently over 220 Ibs. Most important of all I'm enjoying my workouts like I have not done in a long time: I'm enjoying striving to handle heavier and heavier poundage. My wife Marion is a great cook and baker. I  eat and drink as I wish, homemade bread, biscuits, cakes and ice cream, lots of fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and poultry, with a bottle of wine with dinner nightly, as I did as a competitor. After all isn't that what life and training is all about?

Come to think of it, I wonder how it would feel to be the best developed man in the world at 55?

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282

General Discussion / Reg Park and his heavy bench press of the 50S

« on: September 12, 2012, 06:12:06 PM »

Everybody knows that Reg was the first bodybuilder to press 500 lb in the bench press.  It was April 23, 1954, in Health and Strength Show in Bristol, one year later that Doug hepburn did himself the same on May, 28 1953.   But the comparation of BW has not similarity: 225 lb for Reg, 285 lb for Hepburn.
This dates appear in the interview "An Hercules of our time" (one of the best interviews made to him) but In Reg's DVD autobiography he talks about lifting the 500 lb BB one week later than Hepburn; may be the show in Bristol was not the first.   This seem correct because he bench press that weight several time around this years.  In 1951, one of the skills of the contest was the power lifting competition, and Reg press 435 lb in street clothes.  The foot note say: In another date he has press 465 with an small elevation of the hips;he just failed to make 480 and expects a good 500 lb soon. That was 1951!  Altougth we know that the last kgs of a PR are hard to beat, it seems that 1953 could be the year of the first lift.  As Reg said that he remember to press the 500 lb in that show of H&S in 1954, the picture of the press has to be in one volume of this magazine.  I try to find it. Any help is welcome, fir this press or another that show Reg Park making a bench press with 500 lb.

He said that along the 50s could made a 400 lb bench press without warming first.  a man in his prime.

Other good lifts of Reg along the 50s where this:

1) There is a famous video showing him pressing 455 lb in the Mr USA 1957; for some time some of us knew it was the video of the lift, several years ago, but was an error due to enthusiame.
2) In a tour along the USA in 1956 (the months of March, April and May of 1956, taking tours of America, Hawaii and Canada) in the Yarick show, April 21, 1956 he bench pressed 350 and 400 in strict style, followed by 430 for three easy reps, making a three second pause at the chest on the third rep. But the best bench of the tour was made in Vancouver, BC, April 28th with 440 at a bodyweight of 230.
3) Here are one unknow date photo showing him bench pressing 450 lb and a Press Behind Neck of 280 lb that later would be 300 lb.  Also Reg said that the 300 lb was made in a British weigthlifting championship, but dont's say the date.  It has to be around 1954-1955 because the 500 lb press was already known.
4)In June 1954 he made in a show in Ireland this progression: warming with 350 lb; 400 X 4 reps ; 440 x 3 reps and 460 X 2 reps. Also the page talks about a show in Stockport the same year where he made a Press behind neck 3 reps with 260 lb, so the unknow photo of point 3 could be 1953-1954.

We are looking into the true 500 lb photogrpah!!!!

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283

Exercises and workouts / How I train to win the Mr Universe, by Reg Park

« on: September 12, 2012, 05:53:00 PM »

How I Trained to Win Mr. Universe
by Reg Park
from Health and Strength (1967)

My interest in development was kindled by my grandfather who worked in a coal mine from the age of ten to sixty-five, during which time he had pushed trucks full of coal along tunnels, and in doing so had developed a pair of enormous calves. His calves were so big that I remember my grandmother telling me that when he was in uniform during the 1914-1918 war, when soldiers wore puttees, his calves were so big that people thought he had balloons under his trouser legs. My grandparents had two paintings of an ancient Greek wedding where the man wore a toga and I recall thinking that whilst the groom had wonderful legs, his upper arms were poorly developed.

These memories go back to the time when I was about eight years old, so it is apparent that I was physique conscious at a very early age. At school I reveled in sport, in particular soccer, athletics and gymnastics, but although I possessed an athletic physique, at 16 I was 6 ft. and weighed only 160 lbs., certainly nothing to set the world alight. At the Leeds open-air swimming pool I was constantly aware of fellows who possessed good physiques, and I suppose it was inevitable that sooner or later I would meet someone who for those days possessed an outstanding physique in the person of Dave Cohen. Dave was 5 ft. 8½” ins. and weighed 185 lbs. with 16½ in. upper arms, a 47 in. chest, 26 in. thighs and a 32 in. waist. It turned out that Dave trained with weights in a room in his friend’s house, and when I asked if I could join him, he readily said yes.

I started weight training in about August/September 1945, and trained in a haphazard kind of way until April 1946, and from then until July 1946 when I was ‘called up’, I spent my free time at the pool and did very little training. At my army medical in 1946 I was 6 ft. and weighed 180 lbs. In the army I was in the P.T. staff in Malaya, and whilst I had plenty of exercise, only once or twice did I have access to weights.

I was demobbed in July 1948 and weighed 190 lbs. This was about a month before the 1948 Olympics held that year in London, and also the first ever Mr. Universe contest held in London. Naturally, by this time I was an avid reader of the muscle magazines and was therefore familiar with the top bodybuilders who were participating in the contest, namely John Grimek and Steve Reeves. It’s history now that Grimek won the 1948 Mr. Universe with Reeves runner-up.

I recall saying after the contest that one day I’d win the Mr. Universe title, and amongst those present were Oscar Heidenstam and John Barrs, editor of the old Vigor magazine. I’ve often wondered what their thoughts must have been as they listened to a young punk like me boasting that I’d win the Mr. U.

My training started in earnest about September 1948, when I was 20 years of age and weighed 190 lbs. In those days I trained three nights a week and Sunday morning, and if my memory serves me well, my course was something like this:

Incline D.B Press – 5 sets of 5 reps
Flat Bench D.B. Press – 5x5
Pushups with Press – 5 x 10
Standing Barbell Press – 5x5
Press Behind Neck – 5x5
Standing Two D.B Press – 5x5
Chins – 5x8
Barbell Row – 5x8
D.B. Row – 5x8
Barbell Curl – 5x8
Incline D.B. Curl – 5x8
Central Loading Curl – 5x8
Standing D.B. Triceps Curl – 5x8
Lying D.B. Triceps Curl – 5x8
Triceps on Lat Machine – 5x8
Donkey Calf – 5 sets
Cross Bench D.B. Pullover – 5x8

I don’t recall doing any squats in those days, but when I look back I realize that I was doing about 90 sets a workout which I’m sure was far more than any British bodybuilder was doing in 48/49. By March/April 1949 I entered and won the Mr. N.E. Britain, beating the previous national winner, Charlie Jarrett, who was also placed in the 48 Mr. Universe. Not bad for only 7 or 8 months of serious training. At this time I weighed 205 lbs. and my measurements were 48 in. chest and 16½ in. upper arm.

Three weeks before the 1949 Mr. Britain final I trained at Henry Atkins’ gym in Walthamstow, London, during which time I worked calves and thighs (3 sets of 20 reps) superset with pullovers on the Yoga bench, three mornings a week, and trained upper body in the evenings. I ate and drank great quantities of food and liquid, and my bodyweight by the time of the contest was 226 lbs. I drank two pints of diluted concentrated orange juice with glucose and honey mixed in it at every workout.

I won the 1949 Mr. Britain title with Paul Newington second and John Lees third. At that time my chest was about 51 in., arm 18 in. and thigh 26½. In December 1949 my parents gave me the greatest gift I could have had, a six month visit to America. In America I met and trained with many champion bodybuilders, such as Bill Barad, Marvin Eder, Abe Goldberg, Clancy Ross, Floyd Page, Norman Marks, Malcolm Brenner, etc. I also trained at the Weider Barbell Co. and am the first to admit that Weider, Barton Horvath and Charlie Smith all helped me considerably with my training, but Weider made far too many claims about training me, so many that I eventually wrote to him severing all connections with him. This was in April 1952.

I came back to England in May 1952 and decided to enter the Mr. U. which was held early that year in either June or July. In the meantime, York Barbell Co. had persuaded Steve Reeves to represent them at the same Mr. U. and he had gone to York to finalize his training there.

On the day of the contest I weighed in at 215 lbs. and Reeves at 225. Reeves was bigger than I was, but I was terribly muscular, with my legs, torso and arms cut up with definition. Reeves won the contest, but he was a very worried man prior to the announcement, and I recall the then editor of Health and Strength, Johnson, striving to convince him backstage that he had won. When I reflected that with less than two years’ serious training I had given the very famous Steve Reeves, who had been training at least five years, such a good run for his money, I did not feel too bad, but then and there I was determined that no one would beat me in the 1951 Mr. Universe.

In September 1950 I went back to the States, where I trained hard at Abe Goldberg’s gym in New York for the 1950 America’s Best Developed Man contest, held at St. Nick’s Arena in New York. I won this title and with it most of the subdivisions, and in doing so beat such famous bodybuilders as Floyd Page, Al Stephan, Ed Theriault and Al Pavio, who was the current Mr. Canada. From New York I went of to give exhibitions in Montreal, Toronto, Oakland, Los Angeles and Hawaii, returning to England in January 1951.

From January until the Mr. Universe contest I trained regularly, hard and heavy. Regular poundages used in training were sets and reps with over 200 lbs. on the Press and Press Behind Neck, Incline and Flat D.B. Press sets and reps with 2x140 lb. dumbells, Bent Rowing with 250-300 lbs., Incline D.B. Curls with 2x70 lb. dumbells, and 3 sets of 20 reps on the Squat with 320 lbs. My workouts in those days were:

Incline D.B. Press – 5x5 with 140 lb. dumbells
Flat Bench D.B. Press – 5x5 with 140 lb. dumbells
Pushups
Press Behind Neck – 5x5 with 210 lbs.
Press – 5x5 with 210 lbs.
Two D.B. Press – 5x5 working up to 100 lb. dumbells
Dumbell Lateral – 5x8 with 50-60 lb. dumbells
Chins – 5x8
Bent Barbell Row – 5x8 with 250-300 lbs.
One Arm D.B. Row – 5x8 with 100-120 lb. dumbell
Lat Pulldown – 5x8
Central Loading Curl – 5x8 with 140 lbs.
Incline D.B. Curl – 5x8 with 70 lb. dumbells
Barbell Curl – 5x8
Lying On Back Two Dumbell Curl – 5x8 with 50-60 lb. dumbells
One D.B. Two Arm French Press – 5x8
Lying B.B. Triceps Extension – 5x8
Triceps Dips or Parallel Bar Dips – 5x8
Triceps On Lat Machine – 5x8
Donkey Calf On Machine – 10x20
Squat – 3x20 with 320 lbs.
D.B. Pullover – 3x10

My weight went back to 225 lbs. but I possessed a much different physique compared to when I won the Mr. Britain at 226. Now I was proportionate, balanced and more heavily developed.

My eating habits were not difficult. My mother cooked and baked well, and I ate anything and everything, and I was particularly fond of my mother’s baking and cups of tea, relying on hard training to use up the carbohydrates. As you know, I won the ’51 Mr. Universe after only three years of serious training.

As with each of the other two occasions when I won the title I was a little flat emotion wise after being announced the winner, and I REALIZED THAT THE EXCITEMENT WAS NOT IN WINNING BUT IN TRAINING TO WIN.

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284

Forum News and Reflections / www.regpark.eu, the main source of Reg's information

« on: September 06, 2012, 05:48:06 PM »

While the official  web, www.regpark.net is rebuilding hise forum, this web is the most important information page of Reg Park in the net.  I have to add more updates. This old style is not good.

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285

Forum News and Reflections / www.regpark.eu position and visits

« on: July 15, 2012, 08:50:12 PM »

Hi, the page rank is zero, but the page is in the top 30 in google around the world.  I hope that with the future remodelation we will be in the top 10.

Sergio. 

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286

General Discussion / Genetics and bodybuilding limits: don't forget them!!

« on: February 28, 2012, 10:35:48 PM »

Genetics and Bodybuilding
by Ron Harris (2008)


What Are Genetics, And How Important Are They?

Genetics are nothing less than the blueprints of physical traits passed on to you by hundreds and thousands of generations of ancestors. Are you tall and do you have blonde hair? If so, either your mother or father probably comes from a long line of tall, blonde folks. Are you short with dark, curly hair? Same deal. Just a few of the things genetically predetermined before you were born were your height, hair and eye color, facial features, skin color, and bone structure. Have you ever noticed that fat parents tend to have fat kids? Part of this is simply passing on bad eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle, but heredity is often responsible as well. Some people are genetically programmed to be thin and lean, and will look this way no matter what they eat of whether or not they exercise. Others are programmed to be obese, and can only overcome being fat by a total dedication to proper eating and regular exercise. And of course, many medical conditions and diseases such as diabetes and heart disease seem to run in families too, being passed on in the genes just like freckles and big noses.

When we talk about genetics in bodybuilding, we are being much more specific. It takes a certain rare combination of inherited traits, which we will go into in detail in just a minute, to allow a man or woman to look like the bodybuilding champions who win the major contests and grace the pages of the trade magazines. And when I say rare, I mean just that. Probably no more than one in 10,000 men possess all the required qualities. This is what I consider one of the two biggest lies and coverups in bodybuilding. For years, magazine publishers and particularly supplement companies have made millions of dollars by duping mostly young, naive men into believing that anyone could look like Arnold, Haney, Dorian or Coleman if they just trained the right way and took the same supplements as their idols. What a load of stinking bullshit! Of course, even without an extensive sales and marketing background, I understand why this lie needs to be perpetuated. This is the only sport I know of where the vast majority of fans aren't just adoring the stars, they are actually aspiring to be the stars themselves. There are millions of fans of other sports like football and basketball who are content to watch the games and admire the athletic ability (and here too genetics play a role) of the players. They enjoy the sport for the thrill of the action and to see which team can get the edge over the other from season to season as lineups and coaching staffs change. Very few of these football and basketball have any desire to play in the NFL or NBA. They understand that these are rare, exceptionally talented athletes who have worked hard for many years to rise to the level of ability they have. If anyone could do what Michael Jordan or Donovan McNabb do on the court or the field, there would be no reason for these men to be paid over a hundred million dollars each. Bodybuilding is a very different type of sport, and its fans have an entirely different outlook.

The magazines are sold based on the outrageous training photos showcasing top bodybuilders while at their most ripped and freaky condition, and are typically part of training articles. As a writer who has had a part in hundreds and hundreds of these articles, I am not completely innocent. Still, I could never come out at the end of an article about some guy with 23-inch arms and say, "use this routine and you will have arms just like he does!" More recently, I have tried to be more realistic without getting the readers depressed by saying thinks more along the lines of, "try this routine and see if your arms don't improve - don't expect 23-inch guns like Joe Pro because he is one of a kind." But I started reading the muscle magazines and got into bodybuilding because I wanted to look like the guys in the pictures. That was what drove me to put on nearly a hundred pounds of muscle over the years, even though I still couldn't give any of the real stars of the sport a run for their money on stage. You can only hope to do that if you share the same physical gifts as they do which will allow your body to take on that incredible appearance eventually. Right, but just what types of genetic gifts are we talking about here?


What Are The Ideal Genetics For Bodybuilding?

Somatotypes

Most people have an oversimplified version of what constitutes 'ideal' genetics for the sport of bodybuilding based on three classic somatotypes, or body types. These are mainly descriptions of bone structure, and the three broad categories are endomorph, ectomorph, and mesomorph. Endomorphs tend to have heavy bones, and hips that are wider than their shoulders -- the typical pear shape. They gain fat easily. Some of them also gain muscle mass and strength easily. The vast majority of powerlifting champions and strongman competitors have endomorphic tendencies. 'Endos' don't tend to make great bodybuilders because the heavy bone structure does not lend itself to an aesthetically pleasing physique. Think about it. You could take most of the 320-pound linemen in the NFL and diet them down to 3% bodyfat. Though they would technically carry more mass than most bodybuilders, it would look big and clunky, like a shapeless blob.

Next up are the ectomorphs, lighter-boned folks who often have both narrow shoulders and narrow hips. Though not always tall, many taller men and women fall into this category. Longer than average limbs are another giveaway. Most NBA players could be generally classified as ectomorphs. Gaining weight of any kind is difficult for them, yet they are blessed with a naturally fast metabolism that often lets them stay very lean yet eat all kinds of junk food regularly. There have been very few 'ectos' who became bodybuilding champions. A rare example might be Flex Wheeler, though he still couldn't be called a pure ectomorph. The challenge for true ectomorphs is filling out those long limbs. When a man is six-fo0t-four and his arms are as long as a shorter bodybuilders legs, he basically has to get those arms as big around as the other guy's legs for them to look impressive. There have only been a handful of men over six-two who ever built enough muscle mass even with chemical assistance to compete as top-level pro bodybuilders. Rolf Mueller and Lou Ferrigno are two. Again, neither of them would be considered ectomorphs, because they possess the structural attributes of the mesomorph.

And now let's talk about these lucky mesomorphs. The bone structure is commonly called 'athletic' by mainstream people, characterized by wide shoulders and narrow hips. The arms and legs are proportioned just right, neither too short or too long. When the ancient Greeks and Romans were sculpting their visions of the ideal body, they were chipping away at marble blocks to reveal true mesomorphs. 'Mesos' tend to gain muscle easily without getting fat, and the mass looks ten times as impressive as it would on an endomorph's frame because the joints are smaller. Open up a bodybuilding magazine and every single man or woman you see is a mesomorph. Arnold, Lee Haney, Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman -- all mesos to the core.


Joint Size

This gives you the bar minimum idea of the genetic traits or raw materials needed to be a champion bodybuilder, but it's only a start. I mentioned joint size, and it bears further discussion. In bodybuilding, the smaller your joints are, such as the knees, wrists and elbows, the better. Tiny joints create the illusion of bigger muscles. Think about someone like Flex Wheeler hitting a front double biceps pose. Flex has such small wrists and elbows that the arm muscles seem to come out of nowhere. They look perfectly round. His thighs sweep out from tiny knees and lead up to tiny hips. A man with much thicker joints can have just as much muscle or more than Flex, but your wouldn't look twice at him if he hit the same pose in a comparison. That's why I never pay much heed to numbers like '280 pounds with 22-inch arms' -- numbers don't mean jack shit in a visual sport like bodybuilding. Most of these clowns look like wrestlers or football linemen. No, I take that back, because pro wrestling now has a lot of very good physiques. I remember hanging around at the 1991 Mr. Olympia contest at the Disney World Dolphin Hotel, watching one of the Friday the 13th sequels in a lobby with Nimrod King, who was a pro for about 10 minutes. He was telling me that when he dieted down to a contest condition his wrists got smaller. I remember thinking, what a nimrod! Even then I knew that bones don't change once you're an adult. Nimrod had some of the tiniest wrists and joints in general I ever saw on a man carrying so much muscle.


Muscle Insertions

After joint size, muscle insertions and genetic shape have to be looked at. Muscle insertions determine to what degree a specific muscle can be developed. The easiest examples to illustrate this are the biceps and the calves. Your own biceps are either short, average, or long in length. You can figure this out in two seconds by flexing your bicep with the forearm and upper arm at a right angle. How much space is their in between the end of your biceps and your elbow? If there's a lot of room there, your bi's are short, like Albert Beckles' or Chris Dickerson's. If there's about an inch of space, consider your muscle length at this part of the body average. If there's no room at all and your biceps muscle is jammed right up against the elbow joint like the great Sergio Oliva's, congratulations! You have long biceps. See more on this here:
http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2011/03/advanced-arm-training-larry-scott.html

Having long muscles means that you have more muscle cells to work with and increase the size of. The calves, as are your other muscles, the same. Flex your calf and see where the muscle ends on its way to your ankle. If it stops not too far down from your knee, sorry dude, you are stuck with high calves. You can beat the crap out of them but they will always be a weak point on your body. If they go way down like the cows of Tom Platz, Mike Matarazzo, or Dorian Yates, you're in luck. In fact, you probably have some pretty nice calves without even training them. Ironically, some of the lowest calf insertions I have ever seen have been on grossly overweight men and women, and the mere act of supporting all that bodyweight has given some of them, under the fat, calves a bodybuilder would die for. Or kill himself trying to get.

Every muscle on your body inserts wherever it has been programmed to end up by your particular DNA. All this nonsense about preacher curls being able to 'fill in' short biceps is nothing but wishful thinking. To look like one of today's top bodybuilders, you must have small joints and long muscles. But wait, there's more!


Muscle Shape

The final physical ingredient required to build an elite physique is optimal muscle shape. To be exact, round muscle shape is what you want to have. The muscles should sweep off the bone and flare out and away. This is the only genetic prerequisite that can't be assessed until you have built some muscle (and the ability to build muscle rapidly is another requirement), because it would be latent until the muscle grew a substantial amount from its untrained state. The easiest way to think about muscle shape is again with the biceps. You either have a peaked shape to them or you don't, depending on what your genetic code was set for. No amount of preacher curls or spider curls or concentration curls will bring out a peak on your biceps unless you were going to have one anyway. A good example is Sergio Oliva. Sergio had some of the biggest arms ever seen in bodybuilding, but they looked like footballs. His biceps had very little peak to them at all. did Arnold do some secret exercises to bring that peak on his biceps out that Sergio somehow happened to miss? No, all you need to do is take a look at pictures of Arnold when he was just starting to train at around age fourteen. Small as his arms were compared to what they would become, the peak on his biceps was already starting to show. Muscle shape, just like muscle length, is a factor that cannot be changed.


Great Genetics Can't Be Hidden For Long


Exceptional genetics for bodybuilding become obvious once most bodybuilders start training. I bet if you think back, you all know at least one or two guys from when you were a teenager who would have made great bodybuilders. As soon as these types start to weight train, their bodies practically explode with muscle. There was a kid at my school named Paul who was a grade ahead of me. I remember one time when a friend and I were messing around in the weight room of the Waltham Boys Club when we were in eighth grade. Paul was this tall, very skinny kid with a sunken chest. His clavicles were wide, thinking back, but at that time all we noticed was how thin he was. Me and my Buddy Bart chuckled at Paul's nickname Stringbean. About a year later I went back to the Boys Club and again started trying to put some size on, and there was Stringbean. In the year I'd been gone, Paul had been spending a couple of hours after school every day, doing nothing but flat bench presses and curls. I almost didn't believe this was the same guy, because now he had thick, round arms with veins wrapping all around them, a beefy chest, and solid shoulders. Some of you are thinking, steroids! No way. Paul came from a family of very modest means, I'm almost sure they were on welfare, and he wouldn't have been able to afford even the smallest cycle. I talked to him a few times and he ate just like all of us, junk food here and there with maybe one good meal every day at dinner. And let's not forget, he was training the same muscle groups every day for five or six days in a row. (he took Sundays off, I know at one point he was very religious.) The other kid I knew like this was Jorge Orta, the first Cuban I ever met, many years before I married one. I went to school with Jorge from seventh grade all the way to high school graduation, and even at age thirteen his nickname was Conan. He had the type of muscle thickness at that age that many guys never get in their lives. By grade nine or ten he could bench 405 at a weight of only about 180. (he was pretty short, maybe five-six.)

I have had the opportunity to interview literally thousands of top amateur and professional bodybuilders over the years, and a common thread ties them all together. Though not all were muscular before they started lifting weights (some were - Vince Taylor and Don Youngblood both had 18 inch arms before they ever touched a weight), as soon as they started working out the muscles just sprouted like weeds. I talk to a lot of them who have won their first contest within six months or a year of beginning training. Some guys tell me that they gained fifty or sixty pounds of muscle in their first year. Others had nice shape from the beginning and had to work harder and longer for the size to come, but within a year or two everyone around them was telling them they were going to be great bodybuilders. In many cases they didn't have a clue what they were doing in the gym and were not eating anywhere near properly to support muscle growth. but when you are genetically destined to look like a bodybuilder, that doesn't really matter all that much. So, although this is not pleasant to admit, chances are that if you have been training hard for ten years or more and you don't look like the guys in the magazines, you never will. Don't jump up and scream about how steroids are the answer, as we will get to that in just a minute.


Can Genetics Be Changed?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the simple truth is that genetics can't be changed. This means if you were meant to look like a pro bodybuilder, you will, and if you weren't, nothing is going to change that. Immediately many of you may be thinking that massive doses of steroids and growth hormone have the power to render meaningless any poor genetics you may have been dealt. This is also untrue. Steroids certainly can make you much, much bigger and stronger than you were ever meant to be naturally, but even then you are limited. I have known plenty of guys who have juiced their brains out for a long time and could never get past a certain point. Honestly, if steroids had this incredibly magic power, any of us could be as big as Ronnie Coleman or Markus Ruhl. Still, through tons of drugs, years of hard and heavy training, and enough food to feed a small nation, many guys do at least get to the approximate size of pro bodybuilders. That is to say, they may weigh 270 and have 22-inch arms like Jay Cutler. But they do not remotely look like Jay Cutler, because they don't have the same type of bone structure, muscle origins and insertions, small joints, and round muscle shape that he does. they are more often mistaken for NFL lineman than they are recognized as bodybuilders, especially if they don't stay extremely lean.

To an extent, you can be smart about your training and add muscle to certain places to create an illusion, which is essentially what our sport is based on. For example, if you put a lot of mass on your shoulders and back without your waist getting any bigger, you will present the illusion of a smaller waist. Now imagine what doing this will make someone who started with a naturally small waist look like. Realize also that it will never be as impressive as when another person does the same thing that already has naturally wide clavicles and narrow hips. You can also stress certain portions of your muscles, such as upper chest and outer thighs to create a more aesthetically pleasing physique. But there will always be guys with absolutely perfect shape who look like a sculpted god no matter what exercises they choose.


So What!

This may sound disheartening. Why bother bodybuilding if you can't look like you belong on a top level competitive stage? What a terrible way to look at it. That's like someone who loves golf deciding to quit playing because he will never be as good as Tiger Woods. Bodybuilding isn't really about the sport of bodybuilding. It's about you making improvements and looking and feeling better than you ever had before. Even if you do compete, you are never in control of who will stand next to you and what they will look like in comparison to you. All you can ever do is work on any weak points and try to make sure you present a better overall package every single time. And for those of you who will never compete, the main key is still self-improvement, improvements of many different kinds that reach far beyond just the gym and weight training.

If you started lifting weights weighing only 110 pounds and now you're 150, that's outstanding! Who gives a shit if Gunter Schlierkamp weighs twice as much. You can't compare yourself to others or else you are setting yourself up for failure -- particularly if you choose to compare yourself to the genetic elite of bodybuilding. Once you fully understand how very rare the genetic elite in bodybuilding are, you should never have to use their physiques as yardsticks to measure your own accomplishments.

http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2012/02/genetics-and-bodybuilding-ron-harris.html

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287

General Discussion / Remembering John Grimek

« on: February 28, 2012, 10:29:27 PM »

I write here one of my first post in regpark.net about the great John c. Grimek:

Yesterday, 97 years ago, in June 17, 1910, was born John C. grimek, one of the greatest bodybuilders and strong man
than ever exist. Probably you know that there is a fantastic article of David gentle that descibe well who IS this amazing
man.

http://www.robertuniverse.com/davidgentle/grimek.htm

The strengh of Grimeck was legendary.  For a man of his size, he did incredible liftings:

-Bent press with a huge thick dumbbell of 269 lbs, and bent pressed it no less than nine times in an afternoon.
-Supported weights of around 800 lbs overhead and lifted well over 1000 lbs with straps in the Straddle lift exercise.
-When he was in his 70’s he can squat on a regular basis with incredible poundages of well over 600 lbs. An example
of an entire life dedicated to the weights and sport in general.
-In competition, He could press over 300 lbs, and once settled, pressed with lots of back bend, 364 lbs.
-Jerk form the shoulders, 400 lbs.
-Dead lift without any warm up, 600 lbs and
-Bent press near 300 lbs, (Side lift over head with one hand 300 lbs.)
-Biceps curls in excess of 200 lbs. (He can do an STRICT barbell curl with 87 kg, and with a petty impuls, 98 kg.
In Reverse strict curl, he could do 73 kg.)
-As you should know, he never did a great excess of bench presses (the same as Eugene Sandow)  But
could bench press around 480 lbs after a warm up.

The legacy of this great man is, today, more important than in the past, for the wrong way that the bodybuilders
and other sportsman have taken in the use of toxic substances. As Reg Park told us, a healthy and safe true style
of life is the basic of, not only weights, but a correct manner of live.

The unique John Grimeck die at the age of 88, november 20, 1998

NOTE: The 90 % of information about liftings records came from the great David Gentle article. Any mistake
readed here, is obviusly, of mine.

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288

General Discussion / Interview to Jon Jon Park, by Steve Shaw

« on: February 28, 2012, 10:13:10 PM »

From www.regpark.net

My Talk With Jon Jon Park by Steve Shaw.

Steve Shaw: For those reading this interview who aren't familiar with your name, can you tell us a bit about yourself, and how you got involved with weight training?

Jon Jon Park: I was born in Johannesburg South Africa in 1957. My late father Reg had a chain of gymnasiums in South Africa & I used to spend as much time as possible hanging out in the gyms. As a little boy I used to go with my dad every Saturday & Sunday early in the mornings to his downtown gym & watch him & all the big guys train. He used to make me stand on top of the weight stack on the lat pulldown machine & do pulldowns & he would give me a few mostly non weight bearing exercises to do & I loved the ambience, the energy & the whole experience, you can imagine the impression it left on me as a young kid being around all these big powerful guys who were pretty hard core in those days there were some pretty tough guys South African martial arts, wrestling, numerous body building champions, street fighters, guys from all walks of life, the less affluent suburbs blue collar workers & affluent successful businessmen. Every body used to workout together & kibbitz around, there was great camaraderie & even though the guys used to joke around when they were doing an exercise, they were very serious. They used to have a board on the wall with the eighteen inch arm club the 300lb plus bench press club etc & I am talking back in the early sixties anybody who was serious about training in those days would train at Reg’s downtown gym. They used to have different periods where navy blue sweat suits were in & all the guys would wear Reg Park navy blue sweat suits & Reg Park v neck t shirts, then in the summer they would all wear white sweat suits. On Saturdays & during the week, after the work out session everyone would converge on mass to the local deli Plotkins & have a huge breakfast consisting of porridge or corn flakes with Reg Park protein powder, six poached or fried eggs, a beef sausage, steak & whole wheat toast. There was no such thing as watching your carb or fat intake in those days & the guys were all in great shape.

All the guys would make a huge fuss of me I used to look forward to these mornings all week I wasn’t much of a scholar at school I was only interested in playing outside & doing physical activities, so this was the highlight of the week for me. I also used to do judo from about age six as Reg had a judo & karate studio on the floor above the gym. During the winter when the gym closed on Saturdays at 1pm we would go for then stop at the local magazine store where I would buy soccer magazines & Tarzan comics & then we would go & watch the local professional soccer teams play. My dad was a big soccer fan & subsequently I became one. In fact he had his own Reg Park Sunday league team which was very competitive. On Sundays after workouts, the team would play all over the province which was also great fun as sometimes they would travel all together on a bus & sing songs, tell jokes & have a great time. The team ended up winning the league & were undefeated & were about to be promoted into the professional league, but were unable to do so as there were at least six professionals playing for the team & according to their contracts with there respective teams, weren’t really allowed to play for any other teams even non professional Sunday league teams.

These experiences really shaped my life & of course growing up with a father like Reg as a role model it was natural for me to get involved in sports I had a natural aptitude for swimming & started excelling from a young age I won the provincial championships for my age in the 100m & 200m butterfly & represented my province at junior & senior level in fact I still hold the boys under 14 200m butterfly provincial record it has stood for almost thirty years. I captained my province in the junior nationals at aged 16 & eventually won the senior nationals in the 100m butterfly three times, the third time I also won the 200m & broke the national record in both events. I also played soccer which was my first love & participated in track & field in my early teens I was quite a promising 100m sprinter but eventually I had to make a choice. I didn’t have much talent as a soccer player even though I loved the game & I showed the most promise in swimming which took up a lot of time I worked out six days a week during the week in the mornings before school & then again after school. I also used to do strength work specifically for swimming three times a week. My dad developed a special pulley machine specifically for swimming whereby you could mimic the different strokes with resistance & it was only a matter of time before all the coaches would send their swimmers to his gyms to do strength work. Prior to this it was pretty frowned upon like with most sports coaches & trainers had this archaic attitude that weight training slows you down which is ironic when today there is not a top athlete in the world that doesn’t do strength training. Reg however was a lateral thinker & ahead of his time & I guess my performances in the pool were pretty convincing as to the benefits of strength work. Reg used to train many athletes for rehab work after injuries & conditioning from all different sports. My swimming career culminated in me representing Great Britain in the Montreal Olympics in 1976 at aged nineteen. Unfortunately due to apartheid South Africa were banned from international competition but due to my dad’s birthright I was able to compete for the UK.

Unfortunately I retired from swimming too soon, much as I excelled in swimming, I always wanted to be a body builder & follow in my dad’s footsteps with all the influences I had been exposed to it wasn’t difficult to want to go in that direction. Reg used to hold an annual bodybuilding show the Mr South Africa & he would bring the top guy out to do a guest posing exhibition, guys like Pearl, Scott, Draper, Abenda, Sell, Zane, Corney, Columbu, Dickerson, Coe & of course Arnold who I met when he was nineteen & I was nine. These guys would come out during the Xmas holidays, summer time in South Africa, they would spend up to six weeks at a time staying in our house & besides the Mr South Africa contest Reg also arranged shows all around the country. We would travel around the country in concert to all the beach resorts with a whole crew all the guys who worked for my dad who were helpers & guys appearing in the various shows judo guys, comedians etc & all their respective families they were magical moments. There would be a show & contest in each of the provinces & the winners would compete in the finale the Mr South Africa which was held in Johannesburg. Reg would have all the guys who worked & trained at his gyms be involved in this event, selling tickets, being ushers working backstage etc. I vividly remember watching Reg pose at these various events to The Legend of The Glass Mountain & I decide there & then I wanted to be like him, the applause & reaction he received from the audience was sensational. He became my hero at a very young age. When I was twelve we the family traveled Europe & Reg did a number of exhibitions in the UK & the receptions he received, were even bigger than in South Africa it was like our boy Reg is home, this was all very powerful stuff for a young kid to be exposed to.

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289

Forum News and Reflections / Arnold and Sly in the hospital

« on: February 20, 2012, 12:38:12 AM »

Yes, maybe you allready know that this 2 jurasic monsters are already filming more and more action films liek the good ones the did in the 80's.  But his joints are not the same, and here they are in a true (and not faked) photo showing them in the preoperation room for the next shoulder cirugy.  Time goes by...
Even the the Great Reg Park  has a five years long shoulder injurie due to lifting a man over him,  (as Steeve Reeves, I think playing his Hercules's rolle).

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290

General Discussion / The history of a reg park pupil

« on: February 05, 2012, 12:55:20 PM »

from www.regpark.net

Reg once approached me in gym during an early morning workout and said to me "I can get you to an in-shape 300 pounds, easily". Admittedly I didnt quite comprehend exactly what Reg meant with it at that stage, but it is something that has stuck with me over the last 30 months since those early days.
Today I have gained 30kg of mass under Reg's instruction, and at a much more solid 270 pounds I have decided that it's time to edge closer to that 300 pound mark once again.
Below you will find my program, my progress, and some before and after pictures of a small part of my journey to the 300 pound mark. I trust that you will be able to gain some wisdom and insight from me publishing my program and my progress on Reg's site, and that you will see the absolute genius of Reg and his more than 60 years worth of experience in action.
Please also refer to another article I have written about the gains that I have made under Reg's instruction at this location

Current Condition
I am currently at 123kg body weight (about 270 pounds), and as you can see from the pictures below there are some definite areas to focus on. The primary focus of this program is to get my entire mid section in shape. I am rather undisciplined with this area as I usually focus more on the heavy lifts rather than the small details.

My legs will be another big focus area, and although I have already added considerable amounts of mass to them, they can sure do with some more bulk.

The rest of the program will pay attention to the remaining major muscle groups, and as this is a bulking program, you will notice that we have excluded many of the smaller muscles completely.

Program
Please take note that this program was designed for me specifically and it may therefore not work for your specific goals. I would highly recommend that you consult with Reg Park himself to create a tailor made program for your needs.

Every day (inluding non training days)
10 Vacuums first thing in the morning
Day 1
1a    Sit up with feet under high roller and hands interlaced
behind head    3 x ?
1b    As in 1a, but with arms outstretched 3 x ?    3 x ?
2a    Bent knee raises to chest sitting on the edge of a bench, (with ankle
weights)    3 x ?
2b    Lying bent knee raises to chest, lowering the legs in a straight position
(with ankle weights)    3 x ?
3    Standing DB Side bends    3 x
Day 2
1    Reverse prone extensions, pausing at top for 5 counts, with ankle weights
- tense buttocks    3 x 15
2    Lying hip raises, hold at top for 5 counts - tense buttocks
   3 x 15
3    BB Good mornings    5 x 5
4    Standing calf machine    6 x 20
5    BB Squats    5 x 5
6a    BB Squats with heels raised    3 x 20
6b    DB Pullover across bench    3 x 20
Day 3
1    BB Bench press
   5 x 5
2    Low incline DB bench press, feet on floor    5 x 5
3    BB Press behind neck    5 x 5
4    Sitting back supported overhead 2 DB press    5 x 8
5    High clean pulls    5 x 5
6    Base pulley V-grip row    5 x 5
Day 4
1    Tricep pushdowns
   5 x 12
2    Lying BB tricep extensions    5 x 12
3    Sitting alternate DB curls, 2 reps per arm    5 x 10
4    Standing base pulley curl, wide grip    5 x 10

The "?" imply as many reps as possible

I must admit I am very excited about this program. I have always enjoyed the 5 x 5 training method, and this program will focus on a lot of heavy lifting, which I really love.

My biggest concern with embarking on a heavy poundage program is obviously any potential injuries, so I will really have to focus on my body and not make any mistakes that could lead to an injury.
Diet
Currently my diet plans are basically a lot of clean food, and making sure I get all my protein in. I will be keeping a daily log for Reg to monitor and adjust, so you can gladly ask me about any specifics. I will be posting an update about it at the end of the program.


 

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