171
Exercises and workouts / How I developed my things, by Reg Park (1952)
« on: November 19, 2016, 12:06:39 PM »
Here are the original article. From the MuscleMan Magazine.
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172
General Discussion / Reg Park talks from his cough
« on: October 09, 2016, 12:17:16 AM »
From regpark.net:
Reg talks from his couch
By Henry Dillon
The gate glides open and I drive in. At the front door the beautiful Marion Park is waiting to welcome me with a warm smile. Before I can finish a greeting Reg Park’s chest looms round the corner. About a minute later the rest of him arrives. To say that I would suffice as a dumbbell in his gym would be noting short of a blatant exaggeration, for even at the age of eighty the man could still crush me like a pack of two-minute-noodles.
Wearing a blue gym tracksuit and an enormous smile he invites me in and before I know it I’m utterly captivated by his gracious demeanor.
On very short notice Reg Park agreed to see me, or rather squeeze me in. One would think that an eighty year old man would have plenty of time on his hands, between all the crossword puzzles and waiting for 7 de Laan to begin. But in Reggaes case its rather clients on his hands. Everyday he still spends a solid ten hours training and nurturing individuals who in varying degrees – venerate him. Asked as to whether he is obsessed with body building he throws me a surprise glance and attempts verbally to deny it. That is until Marion informs me that he most certainly is, simultaneously reminding her husband of all the times he used to use the furniture in hotel rooms to work out while on the road.
The story of Reg Park or South Africa’s Hercules is nothing short of an inspiration. He was born in England in 1928 and as a youngster dazzled the crowds from soccer pitches to athletic tracks. That was until one day while playing soccer for the Leeds City Club that a knee injury forced him into a premature retirement from the game. A future in Athletics, needless to say, was also no longer on young Park’s horizon. It was however during his rehabilitation whist browsing through a publication called ‘Health & Strength’, that his impressionable eyes fell upon the then Mr. NYC, and Reg knew exactly what needed to be done. With a sack full of determination and a sack on the floor he began formulating a rudimentary workout routine back at his parents house in Yorkshire.
In 1948, at the age of twenty, he returned home from the army and after seeing the imposing line up of that years Mr. Universe finalists, decided that the title should one day belong to him.
So the sack on the floor was upgraded to a pair of dumbbells, and with layer upon layer of thermal clothing, enduring sub zero temperatures in his parents garden he began working out – seriously. How serious? Serious enough to take the title of Mr. Britain the very next year in 1949. Serious enough to come second in the Mr. Universe the following year, and serious enough to win the coveted Mr. Universe the following year in 1951. After only three years of pumping iron, burning fat and molding the muscle, at the age of 23 he was at the top of world. With a perfect physique and a charisma that could charm tuna out of a can, the world soon fell in love with Reg Park.
The masses have always been easily enamored by beauty. Nowadays all any machine requires to be successful is a pretty face to front it, no matter what detritus the cogs are churning out. Disguise the wares with a fetching aesthetic and the product will fly of the shelves, (the modern day pop scene springs to mind). But looking at Reg Park it is refreshing to know that he was the real deal. He was the machine, he was the cog, he was the face, and as an added bonus he had and still has a personality.
The following years were spent touring the world and selling out show after show, marrying his wife Marion and having a daughter Jeunesse and a son Jon-Jon.
Marion, who was a ballet dancer at the time, was the one who opened the eyes of Reg and the muscle world to music. At the time a bodybuilder’s routine on stage consisted of an uninterrupted succession of uncomfortable poses, all bitterly accompanied by silence. Marion introduced Reg to an operatic composition they both believed would compliment the sport and began choreographing at home. The first time they exhibited their new inclusion on stage there was no looking back and the sport was immediately postured toward the one we know today.
It was only seven years later, after a guest appearance at the Mr. Universe in 1957, that he decided to do what nobody had done before or even consider possible – raise the Mr. Universe trophy above his head for the second time. In 1958 he entered the arena again and walked home with the title that was unequivocally his.
‘My birthday is on the 7th of June, so seven has always been a lucky number to me.’ Came the response when asked why he waited seven years to reclaim the title, and for anyone who mocks the concept of having a lucky number, seven years later he took the title for a third time.
His list of awards reads like that of a successful football teams, a team that dominated every game played from 1946 to 1973. Now that’s staying power in anyone’s book. Even more so when considering that not an iota of anything resembling a steroid was ever consumed.
‘It just never made sense to me to even think about using them, either you do it properly or you don’t do it at all. And all they guys that use steroids look terrible, you can tell immediately it’s not natural.’ Reg says as he recounts the days when the drugs first started doing the rounds. ‘It was a coach from Germany that first brought them in, and a coach is supposed to have his athletes best interest in mind. Then they started introducing masking agents to cover up the use of steroids, but those didn’t always work so well. I remember one contest in Chicago where the guys were given six months advance warning that they were going to be tested at the event. Even after that seven of them tested positive. It amazed me that one guy blamed his masking agent for not working. It never even occurred to him to maybe blame himself.’
As a child Reg was enamored by a picture of a young Greek couple that he saw somewhere in a magazine. The man in the picture was the one who made the greatest impact, but based upon the fact that he is still happily married and the father of two – it wasn’t a rear end impact. Years later he was to have that same effect on many a pubescent and teenager alike, by entering the world of film. With an anatomy personifying immortality he graced the screens in 1961 by playing the critically acclaimed role of Hercules in two features shot in succession, Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide and Ercole al centro della terra. Working with two intellectually acclaimed directors, Vittorio Cottafavi and Mario Bava, unwittingly transformed Reg into a cult personality within the classic Italian Genre. Three more movies were to follow, all solidifying the Mr. Universe as the paragon of Hellenic heroes. The silver screen introduced the 225 pounds of muscle to a whole new audience, and although his acting career was short lived his legend as Hercules still lives on. The last time I ventured a word with the Greek Gods it was rumored they were all in favor of making Reg Park a demigod with full privileges in the after life.
One of those young whippersnappers to be forever entranced by what he saw on screen was none other than the now Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenagger. Shortly after my arrival at the Reg Park home,I was handed a letter from ‘The Governor’, thanking Reg and Marion, for their friendship and wishing them both well for the future. Not a bad pen pal to have on anyone’s list
‘Once a year I used to bring the top guy in the world out to South Africa for a couple of shows, and on my one trip overseas I met Arnold at a function somewhere.’ Reg recalls gleefully. ‘He asked me, if he won the Mr. Universe would I consider bringing him out. I said sure no problem. The next year he won it and a couple of weeks later I received a telegram reminding me of what we had spoken about. So I sent him a ticket and over he came.’
The 19 year old Scharzenagger spent a full three months living, training and performing with his mentor all over South Africa, and it was during this time that a friendship based on respect, admiration and the pure love of body building was forged. Turns out the muscle man turned actor turned politician knew even back then that politics would be one of his future arenas.
‘All the guys in the gym used to laugh at him and say what does he know about politics. I used to respond by saying what does anyone know about politics. Politics is about surrounding yourself with the right people and that was something Arnold was really good at, he was also brilliant at handling tricky situations and people. So I wasn’t at all surprised when he said he was going into politics, I kind of expected it.’ Reg recalls.
‘He also had a crush on Jeunesse when he was here.’ Marion slides in, painting a more holistic picture of the man.
Over the years their involvement in each others lives has been continuous with Reg being the annually MC at the Mr. Olympia Contest that Arnold would orchestrate in the states.
‘When Arnold won it for the first time he got $1000. Now he gives the winner over $100 000, a Rolex and a Hummer.’ Reg says just to inform me how times have changed.
Times may have changed but the heart and thinking of Reg Park has not.
The lyrics of David Kramer’s ‘Blokkies Joubert’ slip into my mind.
‘It’s hard to believe this is blokkies Joubert,
A hooker in the Springbok scrum.
Because his old and gray and he sits in his chair,
in the slanting winter sun.
Reg park is not an effigy withering away in a rocking chair. He is not a shadow from the past that we as South Africans should allow to slip into our rearview mirrors as we turn new corners. He is a legend, and the best part is that he is a living legend.
I ask him how it feels to be getting old and I immediately and instinctively regret it.
‘I’m not getting old.’ He declares vehemently. ‘I’m getting older, your’e only as old as your mind allows you to be.’ He says with one of his large digits tapping his temple and a look in his eye that shouts – this marathon is far from run.
A statement heard by many of us from many of our elders, but a statement which carries a little more weight when spoken by a man of eighty who is still rocking and rolling with the best of us.
I end this article with a warning to any potential geriatric mugger out there. Be careful who you try and mug, because it just might be Reg Park.
Reg talks from his couch
By Henry Dillon
The gate glides open and I drive in. At the front door the beautiful Marion Park is waiting to welcome me with a warm smile. Before I can finish a greeting Reg Park’s chest looms round the corner. About a minute later the rest of him arrives. To say that I would suffice as a dumbbell in his gym would be noting short of a blatant exaggeration, for even at the age of eighty the man could still crush me like a pack of two-minute-noodles.
Wearing a blue gym tracksuit and an enormous smile he invites me in and before I know it I’m utterly captivated by his gracious demeanor.
On very short notice Reg Park agreed to see me, or rather squeeze me in. One would think that an eighty year old man would have plenty of time on his hands, between all the crossword puzzles and waiting for 7 de Laan to begin. But in Reggaes case its rather clients on his hands. Everyday he still spends a solid ten hours training and nurturing individuals who in varying degrees – venerate him. Asked as to whether he is obsessed with body building he throws me a surprise glance and attempts verbally to deny it. That is until Marion informs me that he most certainly is, simultaneously reminding her husband of all the times he used to use the furniture in hotel rooms to work out while on the road.
The story of Reg Park or South Africa’s Hercules is nothing short of an inspiration. He was born in England in 1928 and as a youngster dazzled the crowds from soccer pitches to athletic tracks. That was until one day while playing soccer for the Leeds City Club that a knee injury forced him into a premature retirement from the game. A future in Athletics, needless to say, was also no longer on young Park’s horizon. It was however during his rehabilitation whist browsing through a publication called ‘Health & Strength’, that his impressionable eyes fell upon the then Mr. NYC, and Reg knew exactly what needed to be done. With a sack full of determination and a sack on the floor he began formulating a rudimentary workout routine back at his parents house in Yorkshire.
In 1948, at the age of twenty, he returned home from the army and after seeing the imposing line up of that years Mr. Universe finalists, decided that the title should one day belong to him.
So the sack on the floor was upgraded to a pair of dumbbells, and with layer upon layer of thermal clothing, enduring sub zero temperatures in his parents garden he began working out – seriously. How serious? Serious enough to take the title of Mr. Britain the very next year in 1949. Serious enough to come second in the Mr. Universe the following year, and serious enough to win the coveted Mr. Universe the following year in 1951. After only three years of pumping iron, burning fat and molding the muscle, at the age of 23 he was at the top of world. With a perfect physique and a charisma that could charm tuna out of a can, the world soon fell in love with Reg Park.
The masses have always been easily enamored by beauty. Nowadays all any machine requires to be successful is a pretty face to front it, no matter what detritus the cogs are churning out. Disguise the wares with a fetching aesthetic and the product will fly of the shelves, (the modern day pop scene springs to mind). But looking at Reg Park it is refreshing to know that he was the real deal. He was the machine, he was the cog, he was the face, and as an added bonus he had and still has a personality.
The following years were spent touring the world and selling out show after show, marrying his wife Marion and having a daughter Jeunesse and a son Jon-Jon.
Marion, who was a ballet dancer at the time, was the one who opened the eyes of Reg and the muscle world to music. At the time a bodybuilder’s routine on stage consisted of an uninterrupted succession of uncomfortable poses, all bitterly accompanied by silence. Marion introduced Reg to an operatic composition they both believed would compliment the sport and began choreographing at home. The first time they exhibited their new inclusion on stage there was no looking back and the sport was immediately postured toward the one we know today.
It was only seven years later, after a guest appearance at the Mr. Universe in 1957, that he decided to do what nobody had done before or even consider possible – raise the Mr. Universe trophy above his head for the second time. In 1958 he entered the arena again and walked home with the title that was unequivocally his.
‘My birthday is on the 7th of June, so seven has always been a lucky number to me.’ Came the response when asked why he waited seven years to reclaim the title, and for anyone who mocks the concept of having a lucky number, seven years later he took the title for a third time.
His list of awards reads like that of a successful football teams, a team that dominated every game played from 1946 to 1973. Now that’s staying power in anyone’s book. Even more so when considering that not an iota of anything resembling a steroid was ever consumed.
‘It just never made sense to me to even think about using them, either you do it properly or you don’t do it at all. And all they guys that use steroids look terrible, you can tell immediately it’s not natural.’ Reg says as he recounts the days when the drugs first started doing the rounds. ‘It was a coach from Germany that first brought them in, and a coach is supposed to have his athletes best interest in mind. Then they started introducing masking agents to cover up the use of steroids, but those didn’t always work so well. I remember one contest in Chicago where the guys were given six months advance warning that they were going to be tested at the event. Even after that seven of them tested positive. It amazed me that one guy blamed his masking agent for not working. It never even occurred to him to maybe blame himself.’
As a child Reg was enamored by a picture of a young Greek couple that he saw somewhere in a magazine. The man in the picture was the one who made the greatest impact, but based upon the fact that he is still happily married and the father of two – it wasn’t a rear end impact. Years later he was to have that same effect on many a pubescent and teenager alike, by entering the world of film. With an anatomy personifying immortality he graced the screens in 1961 by playing the critically acclaimed role of Hercules in two features shot in succession, Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide and Ercole al centro della terra. Working with two intellectually acclaimed directors, Vittorio Cottafavi and Mario Bava, unwittingly transformed Reg into a cult personality within the classic Italian Genre. Three more movies were to follow, all solidifying the Mr. Universe as the paragon of Hellenic heroes. The silver screen introduced the 225 pounds of muscle to a whole new audience, and although his acting career was short lived his legend as Hercules still lives on. The last time I ventured a word with the Greek Gods it was rumored they were all in favor of making Reg Park a demigod with full privileges in the after life.
One of those young whippersnappers to be forever entranced by what he saw on screen was none other than the now Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenagger. Shortly after my arrival at the Reg Park home,I was handed a letter from ‘The Governor’, thanking Reg and Marion, for their friendship and wishing them both well for the future. Not a bad pen pal to have on anyone’s list
‘Once a year I used to bring the top guy in the world out to South Africa for a couple of shows, and on my one trip overseas I met Arnold at a function somewhere.’ Reg recalls gleefully. ‘He asked me, if he won the Mr. Universe would I consider bringing him out. I said sure no problem. The next year he won it and a couple of weeks later I received a telegram reminding me of what we had spoken about. So I sent him a ticket and over he came.’
The 19 year old Scharzenagger spent a full three months living, training and performing with his mentor all over South Africa, and it was during this time that a friendship based on respect, admiration and the pure love of body building was forged. Turns out the muscle man turned actor turned politician knew even back then that politics would be one of his future arenas.
‘All the guys in the gym used to laugh at him and say what does he know about politics. I used to respond by saying what does anyone know about politics. Politics is about surrounding yourself with the right people and that was something Arnold was really good at, he was also brilliant at handling tricky situations and people. So I wasn’t at all surprised when he said he was going into politics, I kind of expected it.’ Reg recalls.
‘He also had a crush on Jeunesse when he was here.’ Marion slides in, painting a more holistic picture of the man.
Over the years their involvement in each others lives has been continuous with Reg being the annually MC at the Mr. Olympia Contest that Arnold would orchestrate in the states.
‘When Arnold won it for the first time he got $1000. Now he gives the winner over $100 000, a Rolex and a Hummer.’ Reg says just to inform me how times have changed.
Times may have changed but the heart and thinking of Reg Park has not.
The lyrics of David Kramer’s ‘Blokkies Joubert’ slip into my mind.
‘It’s hard to believe this is blokkies Joubert,
A hooker in the Springbok scrum.
Because his old and gray and he sits in his chair,
in the slanting winter sun.
Reg park is not an effigy withering away in a rocking chair. He is not a shadow from the past that we as South Africans should allow to slip into our rearview mirrors as we turn new corners. He is a legend, and the best part is that he is a living legend.
I ask him how it feels to be getting old and I immediately and instinctively regret it.
‘I’m not getting old.’ He declares vehemently. ‘I’m getting older, your’e only as old as your mind allows you to be.’ He says with one of his large digits tapping his temple and a look in his eye that shouts – this marathon is far from run.
A statement heard by many of us from many of our elders, but a statement which carries a little more weight when spoken by a man of eighty who is still rocking and rolling with the best of us.
I end this article with a warning to any potential geriatric mugger out there. Be careful who you try and mug, because it just might be Reg Park.
173
Forum News and Reflections / Mareon Park, Reg's beloved wife pass away
« on: October 07, 2016, 02:05:33 PM »
This is a copy of Jeunesse Park (Reg's daughter) facebook:
Mareon Julia Park 2 October 1931 - 24 April 2016.
Depending on the time and who you talk to you can hear that Mareon was an Earth Mother, a wanderfull wife, a great beauty, a brilliant ballerina, a creativo and gracefull dancer, an adoring sister, a caring and king friend, a magnificente Mother, a gorgeus grandmother, a funny great grandmother, a fabulous gardener, a superb cook a marvellous baker, a potter, an artista, an elegant woman that like to laugh, a spirit whose life was moulded from and around love, which she gave in all she did, to all she met.
I was blessed to have Mareon as a Mother, a goddes who devoted her life to loving and caring for her family and friends. Thank you for the grace you granted me.
Finally her long sadness, loneliness without her beloved Reg, and suffering thought the terror, indignities and frustation of eight years of Alzheimer is over.
Dance over in peace beatiful Mareon. You live foreever in all of us whose lives you blessed.
Mareon Julia Park 2 October 1931 - 24 April 2016.
Depending on the time and who you talk to you can hear that Mareon was an Earth Mother, a wanderfull wife, a great beauty, a brilliant ballerina, a creativo and gracefull dancer, an adoring sister, a caring and king friend, a magnificente Mother, a gorgeus grandmother, a funny great grandmother, a fabulous gardener, a superb cook a marvellous baker, a potter, an artista, an elegant woman that like to laugh, a spirit whose life was moulded from and around love, which she gave in all she did, to all she met.
I was blessed to have Mareon as a Mother, a goddes who devoted her life to loving and caring for her family and friends. Thank you for the grace you granted me.
Finally her long sadness, loneliness without her beloved Reg, and suffering thought the terror, indignities and frustation of eight years of Alzheimer is over.
Dance over in peace beatiful Mareon. You live foreever in all of us whose lives you blessed.
174
Exercises and workouts / Assesments for the hardcore lifters
« on: July 17, 2016, 07:54:09 PM »
From: https://www.t-nation.com/training/bulletproof-your-body
Bulletproof Your Body
Assessments for the Hardcore Lifter
by Tony Gentilcore | 03/29/11
Bulletproof
Hardcore Health
You lift heavy things. You believe there's no illness that heavy squats can't cure. Heck, you're so hardcore you consider creatine a garnish.
But let your health slip and it's bye-bye big muscles and new PRs. To prevent the slip, you may need a few physical assessments.
When it comes to assessments, there are a few schools of thought. On one end of the spectrum you've got trainers who spend two days assessing someone, taking meticulous notes on everything from how much someone's left big toe pronates to rectal temperature.
At the other end, you've trainers who don't know their ass from their acetabulum, and so long as their client can stand on two legs they're good to go, oftentimes leading to disastrous results.
As always, the best approach lies somewhere in the middle.
What follows are some of the common weaknesses and imbalances we often come across at Cressey Performance during the initial assessment process. These are things that, left unchecked, can either really mess up your lifting, create aesthetic "holes" in your physique, or leave you pain-stricken and lying in a hospital with a catheter and bed pan.
But being aware of your weaknesses is only half the equation. You'll need to know the most practical, effective ways to start fixing those weaknesses to get on the fast track back to being a badass.
Lack of Ankle Dorsiflexion
Poor ankle mobility is a very common weakness. The main issue stems from our affinity to provide "false stability" to a joint that normally wants to be mobile, like taping ankles or wearing those cement blocks we like to call shoes.
Optimally, the ankle should have roughly 20 degrees of dorsiflexion – think pointing your toes towards your shin. If you don't have it, it's going to make performing a squat or lunge pattern pretty difficult.
When we lack ample dorsiflexion, a whole host of issues can arise, including anterior knee pain, hip pain, and lower back pain. So fixing it can go a long way in keeping people healthy in the long run.
While I can typically just watch someone squat and tell whether or not he or she has ample ankle mobility (those who lack it tend to be "ankle squatters" and push their knees forward excessively), one of the simplest ways to actually test for it would be the wall ankle test.
Wall Ankle Test
• Stand in front of a wall with the toes of one foot against it.
• Making sure to keep the heel on the ground, simply "tap" your knee to the wall.
• Move your foot back a half inch and tap the knee again.
• Keep moving the foot back little by little, tapping the knee to the wall, until you can no longer keep your heel down.
Ideally, you should be at least three or four inches from the wall. Anything under that and you may be asking for trouble.
To correct it, repeat the test, which is now a suitable drill. Just throw the wall ankle mobilization in as part of a warm-up and you're golden.
Lack of Hip Internal Rotation
You have roughly 30 muscles that attach to the pelvis alone, so it stands to reason that the hips are a problematic area for just about everyone.
Hip internal rotation deficits are a key player in things such as lower back pain, knee pain, and even contralateral shoulder pain, but what's surprising is the role that adequate hip IR plays in squatting. Basically, you need a certain amount of internal rotation to effectively go into deep hip flexion.
Hip IR should be tested in two postures, because different structures can limit range of motion depending on whether the hip is extended or flexed.
Seated Hip Internal Rotation
Seated Hip IR Test
• Sit at the end of a table, with your knees bent over the side, and hold onto the table itself.
• Now internally rotate the hip, without abducting or side bending, which is a sign of compensating with the lower back.
Generally speaking, a minimum of 35 degrees is what we're looking for in the general fitness population. Comparatively, with rotational sport athletes, we're looking for a minimum of 40-45 degrees.
Prone Hip Internal Rotation
Prone Hip IR Stretch
Additionally, we want to test hip internal rotation in the prone position because as physical therapist Bill Hartman has noted on several occasions, it helps to differentiate whether we're dealing with a capsular issue or a muscular issue.
• Lie on your stomach and flex both knees to roughly 90 degrees, then internally rotate your hips. Keep both knees together.
If seated hip IR is limited, and prone hip IR limited, then Houston, we have a problem.
If seated hip IR is limited, and it improves with prone hip IR, that's a little better as you know you're probably dealing with more of a muscular issue and not capsular.
Here are my favorite drills to improve hip internal rotation:
Prone Windshield Wiper Stretch
Much like the prone hip IR test itself, the setup for this stretch is the same, except here you'll lie prone on a table (or floor) and only flex one leg.
• Reach back, grab your heel, and pull towards your butt.
• Gently push your lower leg into external rotation, which in turn will stretch the hip into internal rotation.
• Hold for a 20-30 second count and repeat on the opposite side.
Note: If you feel any discomfort or pain in the middle (inside) aspect of the knee, try to be less aggressive with the stretch and not push down as hard. This should be a subtle stretch.
Seated Passive Internal Rotation Stretch
This is one I snaked from Dean Somerset, a strength coach up in Canada. It looks at passive hip internal rotation while in hip flexion. As Dean notes, though, the downside of this stretch is that if the posterior capsule or musculature is stiff or tight, this position will be limited.
For some, this may be a more advanced stretch. If that's the case, stick with the aforementioned prone windshield wiper stretch.
• Sitting at the end of a treatment table, lift one leg back into hip internal rotation.
• From there, grab your ankle and gently lean into the stretch, progressively working your way closer to the table.
• Hold for a 30 second count and repeat on the opposite leg.
Half-Kneeling Hip IR/ER Mobilization with Band
• Wrap one end of a standard band around a power rack and the other around your knee.
• Now actively "pull" yourself into hip internal rotation, and then reverse the direction into external rotation.
• Perform 8-10 reps on one leg, then switch.
Hip Stability (or lack thereof)
Hip stability is seriously lacking in a vast majority of trainees. I've seen powerlifters who routinely throw 800+ pounds on their backs struggle to perform a basic bodyweight reverse lunge due to poor hip stability.
Poor hip stability can cause a multitude of issues ranging from lower back pain, knee pain, and even shin splints. It'll affect performance in the weight room and seriously limit the amount of iron you can lift safely.
While there are several tests you can do to assess hip stability, bilateral or two-legged assessments don't make much sense because our legs end up doing all the supporting. When the body is supported on one leg, as it is while walking, the body must be stabilized on the weight-bearing leg during each step.
In a single-leg stance, the body is forced to fire what's been termed the lateral sub-system (adductors and abductors of the standing leg, and the quadratus lumborum of the opposite leg) to stabilize the pelvis. What you'll see is the affected side going into hip adduction because the hip abductors are too weak to stabilize the pelvis on the femur.
A more functional drill we can use to test hip stability is the single-leg squat:
• Stand on one leg (preferably barefoot) and squat to roughly 60 degrees of knee flexion.
• If the midline of the knee stays in line with the midline of the foot, you're a rockstar. If, however, the knee caves in or deviates medially, then you're most likely dealing with a weak glute medius.
To fix it, there are two key drills I use. The first is the side-lying clam, which is a simple exercise but easily butchered by most trainees.
• Rotate your top hip towards the floor to help prevent compensation by the lumbar spine. If you watch the video carefully, you'll notice that after I flex both my hips and knees, I sorta take my top hip and "close it off."
• Don't be too concerned with range of motion here. The important thing is that you do it right!
• If you happen to walk past an attractive female doing this exercise, please, for the love of God, act like you've been there before and refrain from making honking noises.
• Perform 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions on both sides.
Taken from strength coach Brijesh Patel, the second exercise is definitely one of my favorites because not only does it integrate and strengthen the feet, but also trains hip stability in multiple planes.
• Stand on one leg (barefoot) and perform 5-8 repetitions in each plane (saggital, frontal, and transverse).
• Try to keep your weight in the middle of your foot and not your toes.
• Be sure to keep the midline of the knee in line with the midline of the foot throughout.
• Ideally, you want to perform all reps without the other foot touching the ground, but I won't think any less of you if this isn't doable.
• When performing this drill in the transverse plane (rotating), be sure to move through the hip and not the lower back.
• If this is too easy, you can make it more challenging by adding a reach into the mix.
Poor T-Spine Mobility
Mike Boyle notes in Advances in Functional Training: "The important thing about t-spine mobility is almost no one has enough and it's hard to get too much."
It's important to reiterate that adequate spinal mobility, particularly in the thoracic spine, is essential for normal shoulder function. Lack of t-spine mobility can have deleterious effects ranging from poor length-tension relationships (which can effect proper scapular positioning and stability), to preventing adequate extension (which will undoubtedly affect shoulder range of motion).
I'd go so far as to say that if you spent more time working on your crappy posture, you'd see vast improvements in things like your bench press, not to mention the likelihood that someone of the opposite sex will want to see you naked. With the lights on.
A kyphotic posture (rounded upper back) leads to anterior tilt of the scapulae and poor t-spine mobility. As a result, this places you in a very unstable position to push anything away from your chest, much less a bar with a lot of weight on it. Essentially, it's like shooting a cannon from a canoe.
So, if we improve t-spine mobility, we can affect scapular positioning (a return from anterior tilt) which provides a bit more stability, and good things will happen.
A favorite test of ours is the lumbar locked rotation. Popularized by Greg Rose of the Titleist Performance Institute, the lumbar locked rotation test is a bit more advantageous because it doesn't allow for any cheating.
Namely, by sitting back and "locking" the lumbar spine into position, we can't use it to produce more range of motion. In a sense, we're forced to move through our mid-back/thoracic spine, which is the purpose of the test in the first place.
• Start in the quadruped position and sit back onto your calves.
• Place your hands behind your back and rotate to one side.
For general population clients, we're looking for anywhere from 50-70 degrees of rotation. Comparatively, for rotational sport athletes, we'd want to see 70-90 degrees – although 90 degrees is freaky.
If you find that your t-spine mobility needs work, (and trust me, it needs work), try implementing these drills throughout the day or before you train.
Side Lying Windmill
The video is pretty self-explanatory. The only caveat I'd make is that you want to make sure the top leg is at 90 degrees of hip flexion and resting on either a medicine ball or foam roller to prevent lumbar rotation. Also, when you bring your arm up and around your head, be sure to follow it with your eyes all the way around.
Wall T-Spine Dips
This is another great drill to help improve t-spine mobility, specifically extension:
• Stand in front of a wall and place the back of your upper arms against it.
• From there, take a deep breath and "dip" into the wall by pushing your arms up and away.
• Return back to the starting position and repeat.
Lack of Shoulder Flexion
There are numerous things that can affect shoulder health and function. Having the ability to raise your arms over your head is one of them.
Having ample t-spine extensibility plays a huge role here. I mean, round your back and try to raise your arms over your head. Kind of hard, right?
Another aspect that often gets overlooked are the lats. The latissimus dorsi arguably have the greatest affect on human locomotion of any other muscle in the body due to attachments points on the humerus, scapulae, ribcage (breathing patterns), thoraco-lumbar fascia, posterior iliac crest, and the lumbar spine.
The lats actually have a profound influence on our ability to push, pull, and squat big weight. Concurrently, with respect to shoulder flexion – namely, our ability to lift things over our head – having "tight" lats will force someone to compensate with their lower back and go into hyperextension.
This might help explain why many trainees tend to turn an overhead press into a glorified standing incline press. It would also explain why people with limited shoulder flexion oftentimes have chronic lower back pain.
Testing for tightness of the lats is easy:
• Lying on your back, start with your arms on your side, elbows extended, and knees bent (to flatten the lower back and provide more of posterior tilt).
• From there, raise both arms over your head and bring them down towards the table while maintaining a flat back.
• If you're able to bring your arms down to table/floor level, keeping arms close to the head, you pass. However, if you're unable to bring your arms to table/floor level, you suck at life and should just jump out of a window and land on a sharp object.
How to Fix It
First off, foam roll your lats:
• Lie on your side and place a foam roller right in your armpit.
• From there, roll down your lat (not your ribcage, you can't foam-roll bone) and spend a good 30 seconds on each side. For those with tight lats, this won't be pleasant.
Next is the wall lat mobilization with stabilization:
• Reach across your body and push against the wall.
• With your opposite hand, grab your shoulder blade and pull down to lock it in position.
• Next, all you're going to do is sit back until you feel a nice stretch in your lat.
• Hold for a two-second count, return back to the starting position and repeat for a total of 6-8 reps on each side.
Bulletproof Your Body
Assessments for the Hardcore Lifter
by Tony Gentilcore | 03/29/11
Bulletproof
Hardcore Health
You lift heavy things. You believe there's no illness that heavy squats can't cure. Heck, you're so hardcore you consider creatine a garnish.
But let your health slip and it's bye-bye big muscles and new PRs. To prevent the slip, you may need a few physical assessments.
When it comes to assessments, there are a few schools of thought. On one end of the spectrum you've got trainers who spend two days assessing someone, taking meticulous notes on everything from how much someone's left big toe pronates to rectal temperature.
At the other end, you've trainers who don't know their ass from their acetabulum, and so long as their client can stand on two legs they're good to go, oftentimes leading to disastrous results.
As always, the best approach lies somewhere in the middle.
What follows are some of the common weaknesses and imbalances we often come across at Cressey Performance during the initial assessment process. These are things that, left unchecked, can either really mess up your lifting, create aesthetic "holes" in your physique, or leave you pain-stricken and lying in a hospital with a catheter and bed pan.
But being aware of your weaknesses is only half the equation. You'll need to know the most practical, effective ways to start fixing those weaknesses to get on the fast track back to being a badass.
Lack of Ankle Dorsiflexion
Poor ankle mobility is a very common weakness. The main issue stems from our affinity to provide "false stability" to a joint that normally wants to be mobile, like taping ankles or wearing those cement blocks we like to call shoes.
Optimally, the ankle should have roughly 20 degrees of dorsiflexion – think pointing your toes towards your shin. If you don't have it, it's going to make performing a squat or lunge pattern pretty difficult.
When we lack ample dorsiflexion, a whole host of issues can arise, including anterior knee pain, hip pain, and lower back pain. So fixing it can go a long way in keeping people healthy in the long run.
While I can typically just watch someone squat and tell whether or not he or she has ample ankle mobility (those who lack it tend to be "ankle squatters" and push their knees forward excessively), one of the simplest ways to actually test for it would be the wall ankle test.
Wall Ankle Test
• Stand in front of a wall with the toes of one foot against it.
• Making sure to keep the heel on the ground, simply "tap" your knee to the wall.
• Move your foot back a half inch and tap the knee again.
• Keep moving the foot back little by little, tapping the knee to the wall, until you can no longer keep your heel down.
Ideally, you should be at least three or four inches from the wall. Anything under that and you may be asking for trouble.
To correct it, repeat the test, which is now a suitable drill. Just throw the wall ankle mobilization in as part of a warm-up and you're golden.
Lack of Hip Internal Rotation
You have roughly 30 muscles that attach to the pelvis alone, so it stands to reason that the hips are a problematic area for just about everyone.
Hip internal rotation deficits are a key player in things such as lower back pain, knee pain, and even contralateral shoulder pain, but what's surprising is the role that adequate hip IR plays in squatting. Basically, you need a certain amount of internal rotation to effectively go into deep hip flexion.
Hip IR should be tested in two postures, because different structures can limit range of motion depending on whether the hip is extended or flexed.
Seated Hip Internal Rotation
Seated Hip IR Test
• Sit at the end of a table, with your knees bent over the side, and hold onto the table itself.
• Now internally rotate the hip, without abducting or side bending, which is a sign of compensating with the lower back.
Generally speaking, a minimum of 35 degrees is what we're looking for in the general fitness population. Comparatively, with rotational sport athletes, we're looking for a minimum of 40-45 degrees.
Prone Hip Internal Rotation
Prone Hip IR Stretch
Additionally, we want to test hip internal rotation in the prone position because as physical therapist Bill Hartman has noted on several occasions, it helps to differentiate whether we're dealing with a capsular issue or a muscular issue.
• Lie on your stomach and flex both knees to roughly 90 degrees, then internally rotate your hips. Keep both knees together.
If seated hip IR is limited, and prone hip IR limited, then Houston, we have a problem.
If seated hip IR is limited, and it improves with prone hip IR, that's a little better as you know you're probably dealing with more of a muscular issue and not capsular.
Here are my favorite drills to improve hip internal rotation:
Prone Windshield Wiper Stretch
Much like the prone hip IR test itself, the setup for this stretch is the same, except here you'll lie prone on a table (or floor) and only flex one leg.
• Reach back, grab your heel, and pull towards your butt.
• Gently push your lower leg into external rotation, which in turn will stretch the hip into internal rotation.
• Hold for a 20-30 second count and repeat on the opposite side.
Note: If you feel any discomfort or pain in the middle (inside) aspect of the knee, try to be less aggressive with the stretch and not push down as hard. This should be a subtle stretch.
Seated Passive Internal Rotation Stretch
This is one I snaked from Dean Somerset, a strength coach up in Canada. It looks at passive hip internal rotation while in hip flexion. As Dean notes, though, the downside of this stretch is that if the posterior capsule or musculature is stiff or tight, this position will be limited.
For some, this may be a more advanced stretch. If that's the case, stick with the aforementioned prone windshield wiper stretch.
• Sitting at the end of a treatment table, lift one leg back into hip internal rotation.
• From there, grab your ankle and gently lean into the stretch, progressively working your way closer to the table.
• Hold for a 30 second count and repeat on the opposite leg.
Half-Kneeling Hip IR/ER Mobilization with Band
• Wrap one end of a standard band around a power rack and the other around your knee.
• Now actively "pull" yourself into hip internal rotation, and then reverse the direction into external rotation.
• Perform 8-10 reps on one leg, then switch.
Hip Stability (or lack thereof)
Hip stability is seriously lacking in a vast majority of trainees. I've seen powerlifters who routinely throw 800+ pounds on their backs struggle to perform a basic bodyweight reverse lunge due to poor hip stability.
Poor hip stability can cause a multitude of issues ranging from lower back pain, knee pain, and even shin splints. It'll affect performance in the weight room and seriously limit the amount of iron you can lift safely.
While there are several tests you can do to assess hip stability, bilateral or two-legged assessments don't make much sense because our legs end up doing all the supporting. When the body is supported on one leg, as it is while walking, the body must be stabilized on the weight-bearing leg during each step.
In a single-leg stance, the body is forced to fire what's been termed the lateral sub-system (adductors and abductors of the standing leg, and the quadratus lumborum of the opposite leg) to stabilize the pelvis. What you'll see is the affected side going into hip adduction because the hip abductors are too weak to stabilize the pelvis on the femur.
A more functional drill we can use to test hip stability is the single-leg squat:
• Stand on one leg (preferably barefoot) and squat to roughly 60 degrees of knee flexion.
• If the midline of the knee stays in line with the midline of the foot, you're a rockstar. If, however, the knee caves in or deviates medially, then you're most likely dealing with a weak glute medius.
To fix it, there are two key drills I use. The first is the side-lying clam, which is a simple exercise but easily butchered by most trainees.
• Rotate your top hip towards the floor to help prevent compensation by the lumbar spine. If you watch the video carefully, you'll notice that after I flex both my hips and knees, I sorta take my top hip and "close it off."
• Don't be too concerned with range of motion here. The important thing is that you do it right!
• If you happen to walk past an attractive female doing this exercise, please, for the love of God, act like you've been there before and refrain from making honking noises.
• Perform 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions on both sides.
Taken from strength coach Brijesh Patel, the second exercise is definitely one of my favorites because not only does it integrate and strengthen the feet, but also trains hip stability in multiple planes.
• Stand on one leg (barefoot) and perform 5-8 repetitions in each plane (saggital, frontal, and transverse).
• Try to keep your weight in the middle of your foot and not your toes.
• Be sure to keep the midline of the knee in line with the midline of the foot throughout.
• Ideally, you want to perform all reps without the other foot touching the ground, but I won't think any less of you if this isn't doable.
• When performing this drill in the transverse plane (rotating), be sure to move through the hip and not the lower back.
• If this is too easy, you can make it more challenging by adding a reach into the mix.
Poor T-Spine Mobility
Mike Boyle notes in Advances in Functional Training: "The important thing about t-spine mobility is almost no one has enough and it's hard to get too much."
It's important to reiterate that adequate spinal mobility, particularly in the thoracic spine, is essential for normal shoulder function. Lack of t-spine mobility can have deleterious effects ranging from poor length-tension relationships (which can effect proper scapular positioning and stability), to preventing adequate extension (which will undoubtedly affect shoulder range of motion).
I'd go so far as to say that if you spent more time working on your crappy posture, you'd see vast improvements in things like your bench press, not to mention the likelihood that someone of the opposite sex will want to see you naked. With the lights on.
A kyphotic posture (rounded upper back) leads to anterior tilt of the scapulae and poor t-spine mobility. As a result, this places you in a very unstable position to push anything away from your chest, much less a bar with a lot of weight on it. Essentially, it's like shooting a cannon from a canoe.
So, if we improve t-spine mobility, we can affect scapular positioning (a return from anterior tilt) which provides a bit more stability, and good things will happen.
A favorite test of ours is the lumbar locked rotation. Popularized by Greg Rose of the Titleist Performance Institute, the lumbar locked rotation test is a bit more advantageous because it doesn't allow for any cheating.
Namely, by sitting back and "locking" the lumbar spine into position, we can't use it to produce more range of motion. In a sense, we're forced to move through our mid-back/thoracic spine, which is the purpose of the test in the first place.
• Start in the quadruped position and sit back onto your calves.
• Place your hands behind your back and rotate to one side.
For general population clients, we're looking for anywhere from 50-70 degrees of rotation. Comparatively, for rotational sport athletes, we'd want to see 70-90 degrees – although 90 degrees is freaky.
If you find that your t-spine mobility needs work, (and trust me, it needs work), try implementing these drills throughout the day or before you train.
Side Lying Windmill
The video is pretty self-explanatory. The only caveat I'd make is that you want to make sure the top leg is at 90 degrees of hip flexion and resting on either a medicine ball or foam roller to prevent lumbar rotation. Also, when you bring your arm up and around your head, be sure to follow it with your eyes all the way around.
Wall T-Spine Dips
This is another great drill to help improve t-spine mobility, specifically extension:
• Stand in front of a wall and place the back of your upper arms against it.
• From there, take a deep breath and "dip" into the wall by pushing your arms up and away.
• Return back to the starting position and repeat.
Lack of Shoulder Flexion
There are numerous things that can affect shoulder health and function. Having the ability to raise your arms over your head is one of them.
Having ample t-spine extensibility plays a huge role here. I mean, round your back and try to raise your arms over your head. Kind of hard, right?
Another aspect that often gets overlooked are the lats. The latissimus dorsi arguably have the greatest affect on human locomotion of any other muscle in the body due to attachments points on the humerus, scapulae, ribcage (breathing patterns), thoraco-lumbar fascia, posterior iliac crest, and the lumbar spine.
The lats actually have a profound influence on our ability to push, pull, and squat big weight. Concurrently, with respect to shoulder flexion – namely, our ability to lift things over our head – having "tight" lats will force someone to compensate with their lower back and go into hyperextension.
This might help explain why many trainees tend to turn an overhead press into a glorified standing incline press. It would also explain why people with limited shoulder flexion oftentimes have chronic lower back pain.
Testing for tightness of the lats is easy:
• Lying on your back, start with your arms on your side, elbows extended, and knees bent (to flatten the lower back and provide more of posterior tilt).
• From there, raise both arms over your head and bring them down towards the table while maintaining a flat back.
• If you're able to bring your arms down to table/floor level, keeping arms close to the head, you pass. However, if you're unable to bring your arms to table/floor level, you suck at life and should just jump out of a window and land on a sharp object.
How to Fix It
First off, foam roll your lats:
• Lie on your side and place a foam roller right in your armpit.
• From there, roll down your lat (not your ribcage, you can't foam-roll bone) and spend a good 30 seconds on each side. For those with tight lats, this won't be pleasant.
Next is the wall lat mobilization with stabilization:
• Reach across your body and push against the wall.
• With your opposite hand, grab your shoulder blade and pull down to lock it in position.
• Next, all you're going to do is sit back until you feel a nice stretch in your lat.
• Hold for a two-second count, return back to the starting position and repeat for a total of 6-8 reps on each side.
175
Reg Park's films and other classics / Steve Reeves interview about his film years
« on: July 17, 2016, 07:30:58 PM »
From:
An Interview with Steeve Reeves from The Perfect Vision Magazine
Volume 6 Issue #22 July 1994
Used with the kind permission of the editor Roy Frumkes
Long ago, the back pages of magazines featured body-building advertisements by Charles Atlas and Joe Bonomo. Today, the body beautiful has become mega-box office, led by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. In between those eras, in the late 1950s, there was a turning point, where the sport of body-building suddenly became mainstream, because one of its practitioners had achieved stardom. Steve Reeves seemed to lead as Spartan an existence as one would assume a man devoted to physical fitness might. There were never any tabloid scandals, so instead there were rumors: He was 5' 7", and the producers of his films had to hire actors two inches shorter than him to make him look larger (untrue); sets had to be scaled down to further pump up his stature (wrong again); his voice was dubbed, therefore he had a high voice, or a Brooklyn accent, or no voice at all due to steroid use (all false). As suddenly as his film career began, it ended in the late Sixties, and Reeves retired into the relative obscurity of private life. Having served for 15 years as a role model to millions--of physical perfection, and of living proof that self-made stardom was possible-it was fervently hoped that his disappearance from public activity was self-imposed, and that wherever he was, he was both happy and financially secure.
TPV: If I grew up on your films, whose films did you grow up on? There was literally no precedent for your appearance in film.
Steve Reeves: I grew up on Johnny Weissmuller.
TPV: What did you think of Victor Mature in Samson and Delilah?
SR: Did you know that I was under contract to do that picture?
TPV: No.
SR: Well, here it is. In 1947, when I won the Mr. America title in Chicago, I got back to my hotel and there was a letter from an agent in New York City. It said “If you're interested in show business, I think you have potential. Give me a call or write me a letter and I'll see that you go to acting school on the GI Bill of Rights. We'll find you a little apartment, and on weekends we'll get you into vaudeville acts so you can make some extra money.”
I had gotten out of the army six months before and was attending California Chiropractic College in San Francisco. Chiropractic was my major, and my minor was physical therapy and massage. When I got that offer, I said, why not? I went back to New York and went to Marlon Brando's coach, Stella Adler. I was in her class and one day she gave me the project of acting pigeon-toed. I was walking around like she wanted me to, and she said, 'You're not doing it right.' I stopped and said, 'From the age of six to the age of ten I had to force myself not to be pigeon-toed. So don't tell me I'm not doing it right. Most of the people in this class want to be character actors. They like to walk pigeon-toed, stutter, and lisp. But I want to be a leading man. I want to learn how to walk well and speak well.' She said, 'Would you see me after class, please?' So I went after class and she said, 'You know, you're disrupting the class. I think I'll have to give you your money back.' I said, 'Yes, I think you'll have to.' Then I enrolled in the Theodora Irvin School of the Theater, which wasn't all theory and gave us little plays to perform. And during the time I was there, I was doing a vaudeville act with a comedian named Dick Burney. We would go to all the different circuits on weekends. One of Cecil B. De Mille's talent scouts saw me and brought me into Paramount, New York City, for a screen test for Samson and Delilah. I did the test in my street clothes but I passed it, and he sent me a seven year contract. So, on my 22nd birthday, I left New York City on a plane to Hollywood and got myself a little apartment within walking distance of Paramount Studios, because I didn't have a car.
I arrived at Paramount and walked into Mr. De Mille's office. He had five two-foot by three-foot blow-ups of pictures on his wall. The pictures were of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Alan Ladd, and me, in a pose called "Perfection in the Clouds," where I'm standing with my hands over my head stretching toward the sky.
And he said, 'This is my Samson.' Then he added, 'But you must realize that the motion picture camera puts on 15 pounds, so you're going to have to lose 15 pounds. You understand?' I said, 'Yes, sir.' He gave me a coach who would spend a couple of hours a day with me, and he'd invite me to have lunch with him every day. All the starlets on the lot came up to me and said, 'Why don't you take me to lunch today?' I couldn't figure out why they were so interested in me. I thought, I'm a pretty good-looking guy and all, but not this much. I found out later the main reason was that they wanted to have lunch with Mr. De Mille, because they'd, been there for years and never even met the man.So I'd lose five pounds, then I'd go out to the beach on Sunday and all my friends would say, 'Steve, you're looking terrible. You're ruining yourself. You're the world s greatest; what do you want to be just another actor for? Why don't you stay in this field.’ Then I'd go back to the studio and De Mille would say, 'Look, you've only lost five pounds, and I've got to start the picture about three or four months from now.'Once a week I would have to do a skit for him. I would study it, and they'd give me other actors to work with. I was on a stage where they had a glass window between the seats and me, and I couldn't see him. I did this on and off, I guess, for about three months. Then he called me into his office and said, 'You've lost seven pounds in three months. Some days your skits are really good; and some days they're terrible. It looks like you're preoccupied with something. I'm going to start the picture a month from now, and I'm going to have to use Victor Mature. He's not ideal for it, but he's an experienced actor, and I can depend on him.'
TPV: What did you think of the final product?
SR: Nothing against Victor Mature, but I learned that a person has to have the sympathy of the public. In Samson and Delilah, in the scene where they blinded him, there were little 'oohs' and 'ahs,' but within six months I saw Captain From Castille with Tyrone Power, where he gets wounded on the side of his head, and all the women in the audience went 'Ohhhh!' Tyrone Power had the sympathy of the audience and Victor Mature didn't - at least in that picture.
TPV: After that you toured with Mae West?
SR: I never toured with Mae West. That's a fallacy that's always reported about me. During the time the 'Mae West Show' was on, I was playing in Kismet on Broadway.
TPV: Were you in Ed Wood's Jail Bait?
SR: Yes. The picture was originally called The Hidden Face. It's about a criminal who goes to a plastic surgeon who changes the criminal’s face to resemble his own. Somewhere in the film there was something about 'jail bait,' so they decided the title Jail Bait was more commercial. It was my first film, and I got my Screen Actors Guild card for it.
TPV: Are you aware that Hollywood is doing an $18 million dollar film about Ed Wood, directed by Tim Burton?
SR: I didn't know about that, but I know he has a big following. I was contacted about two years ago and asked to write a letter about my impressions of him on the set. Wood was a very cooperative guy who let you do things the way you wanted to, and if they weren't quite right he would direct you. But he wasn't the kind of director who was always on you. The shoot lasted two or three weeks for me, off and on. I played a young detective, and I had a suit on at all times. I even had a tie. Only took my shirt off once. Those were the days, huh?
TPV: What brought you to Italy for the Hercules films?
SR: Pietro Francisci, the director of Hercules. He wrote the script also, and he had I been looking for Hercules for about five years. Around' Italy, he'd find somebody who was good looking and tall, but had no body. Or someone who was good looking but short, and had a great body. He just couldn't find the right combination. One day his daughter, who was 13, went to the theater and saw Athena [MGM, 1954, starring Jane Powell, in which Reeves appeared], which had gotten to Italy by then. And she ran home and said, 'Daddy, I think I have your Hercules.' He went to the theater the next day, pictured me with a goatee and moustache, and felt I would be his man. At the time I was working for American Health Studios in public relations. I'd go to Riverside and open up a fitness studio with the mayor and Miss Riverside, then wait another two weeks or so and open another one someplace else. I had a good job with them, it didn't use too much of my time, and the owner made me promise I'd forget about show business if I worked with him. So when the Hercules offer came, I just ignored it. Then Francisci wrote me another letter and said 'Look, this is serious. Here's an airplane ticket.' There was also an advance of $5000, which in those days was quite an advance. I realized the guy was serious. I started growing a moustache and goatee on my job. This way I didn't have to have something glued on, which is terrible. My boss asked me what I was doing it for, and I said I wanted to look more distinguished. I was only paid $10,000 for Hercules and I had no percentage. The film cost a half million to make, and it earned $40 million in the United States alone. It was the box office champion of 1959. I outgrossed John Wayne, Rock Hudson, and Doris Day, who were the big money makers at the time. And I was the biggest box office star, not only in the United States, but around the world.
TPV: Considering that, what kept you from going to Hollywood? I'm surprised they didn't grab you.
SR: Hercules was made in the summer and fall of '57. It didn't get to the States until the summer of '59, and by the time it opened here I'd already made four other films, and had committed myself to others. I did Hercules Unchained for the same salary as Hercules, but with every picture from then on I doubled my salary from the previous one.
TPV: You made 16 films. I guess I could do the math.
SR: At the end I was making $250,000 a film, which was good in those days. Sophia Loren and I were the highest paid actors in Europe.
TPV: What was the shooting schedule on Hercules?
SR: Three months. Most of my pictures were about three months. In the case of Hercules, the picture was over, but my contract said I had to stay around in case they needed some retakes. I waited about three days, then shaved off my beard. Then they called me and said they would need a day of retakes. But they added, 'We don't have any money. You have to do it for nothing.' I went and talked to Francisci, and he said, 'If you're my friend, you'll do it for nothing.' And I said, 'If you're my friend, you wouldn't ask me to do it for nothing.' Eventually, they agreed to pay me. 'We'll have the money there when you get on the set.' I went there and got my goatee and mustache pasted on, got into my costume, ready to shoot, and the money didn't show up. So I sat down in a yoga position, pretending to put myself in a trance. I played the part of a god, and the clouds actually started coming in so that they couldn't shoot. So they said, 'We'll have the money here by noon,' and sure enough, they arrived with half the money at about 12 o'clock, and the clouds parted and we did half a day's shooting. The next day they came on the set with the rest of the money and that was it.'
TPV: Did you have to work out a few hours a day on the set?
SR: No. That's an amazing thing. My body responds so well to exercise, and it keeps it so long, that I didn't have to. I didn't take any steroids, they didn't exist at that time. It was just easy for me to get in shape and to stay in shape. During the 15 years I was in Europe, I would work out possibly one month a year, usually the month of May. I lived in Switzerland most of the time and I would go skiing and take walks with my dog. But the food there was so great that I would gain maybe 10 pounds during the winter. So during May I'd work like son-of-a-gun. Run through the mountains there, use the weights, and get in top form that month, and that would last me through the season. During filming you're too exhausted I get a decent workout, and I really didn't need because the stress that there is in acting kept the fat off me and the muscle didn't want to go away.
TPV: Did you really hoist Primo Carne over your head in Hercules Unchained?
SR: Yes. He was a big old guy, a real great guy. He didn't always know his own strength but that's okay. There was no competition or friction between us. He was very helpful. He said, 'When you have to lift me up, the best way to do it is this way and this way to get leverage. And that'll make you look better.’ Very nice guy.
TPV: Did you do your own dubbing for the Italian films?
SR: No. In Jail Bait and Athena I used my own voice, and I'm using my own voice now. But in Italy they had actors who would speak different languages and different dialects in the same scene. And also, if an airplane flew over, it wouldn't bother them, whereas here in the States they say 'Silence.' They say it there, too, but it doesn't happen. At the end of the film, they mail the script and the film to New York City and hire radio actors to dub it. I remember one scene in The White Warrior in Yugoslavia, where I believe there were seven of us sitting around a campfire. I was speaking English, the person next to me was speaking Spanish, the person on the other side of me was speaking Italian, another person was speaking Yugoslav, another was speaking Serb, an another was speaking some other language. And you know, a lot of acting is reacting to the other person, being attentive to what they're saying. Well, I was the most attentive actor you've ever seen. I knew that when the guy would grunt or stomp his foot on the ground, it was my cue to come in. I knew what they were saying, but I didn't know when they were going to end.
TPV: Were there foreign cuts of your films? So many European films, particularly the horor films, had more violence and nudity in the foreign cuts.
SR: No, mine were always filmed the way they were going to be in all markets. There was no more violence or nudity than what you saw.
continue to part 2
An Interview with Steeve Reeves from The Perfect Vision Magazine
Volume 6 Issue #22 July 1994
Used with the kind permission of the editor Roy Frumkes
Long ago, the back pages of magazines featured body-building advertisements by Charles Atlas and Joe Bonomo. Today, the body beautiful has become mega-box office, led by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. In between those eras, in the late 1950s, there was a turning point, where the sport of body-building suddenly became mainstream, because one of its practitioners had achieved stardom. Steve Reeves seemed to lead as Spartan an existence as one would assume a man devoted to physical fitness might. There were never any tabloid scandals, so instead there were rumors: He was 5' 7", and the producers of his films had to hire actors two inches shorter than him to make him look larger (untrue); sets had to be scaled down to further pump up his stature (wrong again); his voice was dubbed, therefore he had a high voice, or a Brooklyn accent, or no voice at all due to steroid use (all false). As suddenly as his film career began, it ended in the late Sixties, and Reeves retired into the relative obscurity of private life. Having served for 15 years as a role model to millions--of physical perfection, and of living proof that self-made stardom was possible-it was fervently hoped that his disappearance from public activity was self-imposed, and that wherever he was, he was both happy and financially secure.
TPV: If I grew up on your films, whose films did you grow up on? There was literally no precedent for your appearance in film.
Steve Reeves: I grew up on Johnny Weissmuller.
TPV: What did you think of Victor Mature in Samson and Delilah?
SR: Did you know that I was under contract to do that picture?
TPV: No.
SR: Well, here it is. In 1947, when I won the Mr. America title in Chicago, I got back to my hotel and there was a letter from an agent in New York City. It said “If you're interested in show business, I think you have potential. Give me a call or write me a letter and I'll see that you go to acting school on the GI Bill of Rights. We'll find you a little apartment, and on weekends we'll get you into vaudeville acts so you can make some extra money.”
I had gotten out of the army six months before and was attending California Chiropractic College in San Francisco. Chiropractic was my major, and my minor was physical therapy and massage. When I got that offer, I said, why not? I went back to New York and went to Marlon Brando's coach, Stella Adler. I was in her class and one day she gave me the project of acting pigeon-toed. I was walking around like she wanted me to, and she said, 'You're not doing it right.' I stopped and said, 'From the age of six to the age of ten I had to force myself not to be pigeon-toed. So don't tell me I'm not doing it right. Most of the people in this class want to be character actors. They like to walk pigeon-toed, stutter, and lisp. But I want to be a leading man. I want to learn how to walk well and speak well.' She said, 'Would you see me after class, please?' So I went after class and she said, 'You know, you're disrupting the class. I think I'll have to give you your money back.' I said, 'Yes, I think you'll have to.' Then I enrolled in the Theodora Irvin School of the Theater, which wasn't all theory and gave us little plays to perform. And during the time I was there, I was doing a vaudeville act with a comedian named Dick Burney. We would go to all the different circuits on weekends. One of Cecil B. De Mille's talent scouts saw me and brought me into Paramount, New York City, for a screen test for Samson and Delilah. I did the test in my street clothes but I passed it, and he sent me a seven year contract. So, on my 22nd birthday, I left New York City on a plane to Hollywood and got myself a little apartment within walking distance of Paramount Studios, because I didn't have a car.
I arrived at Paramount and walked into Mr. De Mille's office. He had five two-foot by three-foot blow-ups of pictures on his wall. The pictures were of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Alan Ladd, and me, in a pose called "Perfection in the Clouds," where I'm standing with my hands over my head stretching toward the sky.
And he said, 'This is my Samson.' Then he added, 'But you must realize that the motion picture camera puts on 15 pounds, so you're going to have to lose 15 pounds. You understand?' I said, 'Yes, sir.' He gave me a coach who would spend a couple of hours a day with me, and he'd invite me to have lunch with him every day. All the starlets on the lot came up to me and said, 'Why don't you take me to lunch today?' I couldn't figure out why they were so interested in me. I thought, I'm a pretty good-looking guy and all, but not this much. I found out later the main reason was that they wanted to have lunch with Mr. De Mille, because they'd, been there for years and never even met the man.So I'd lose five pounds, then I'd go out to the beach on Sunday and all my friends would say, 'Steve, you're looking terrible. You're ruining yourself. You're the world s greatest; what do you want to be just another actor for? Why don't you stay in this field.’ Then I'd go back to the studio and De Mille would say, 'Look, you've only lost five pounds, and I've got to start the picture about three or four months from now.'Once a week I would have to do a skit for him. I would study it, and they'd give me other actors to work with. I was on a stage where they had a glass window between the seats and me, and I couldn't see him. I did this on and off, I guess, for about three months. Then he called me into his office and said, 'You've lost seven pounds in three months. Some days your skits are really good; and some days they're terrible. It looks like you're preoccupied with something. I'm going to start the picture a month from now, and I'm going to have to use Victor Mature. He's not ideal for it, but he's an experienced actor, and I can depend on him.'
TPV: What did you think of the final product?
SR: Nothing against Victor Mature, but I learned that a person has to have the sympathy of the public. In Samson and Delilah, in the scene where they blinded him, there were little 'oohs' and 'ahs,' but within six months I saw Captain From Castille with Tyrone Power, where he gets wounded on the side of his head, and all the women in the audience went 'Ohhhh!' Tyrone Power had the sympathy of the audience and Victor Mature didn't - at least in that picture.
TPV: After that you toured with Mae West?
SR: I never toured with Mae West. That's a fallacy that's always reported about me. During the time the 'Mae West Show' was on, I was playing in Kismet on Broadway.
TPV: Were you in Ed Wood's Jail Bait?
SR: Yes. The picture was originally called The Hidden Face. It's about a criminal who goes to a plastic surgeon who changes the criminal’s face to resemble his own. Somewhere in the film there was something about 'jail bait,' so they decided the title Jail Bait was more commercial. It was my first film, and I got my Screen Actors Guild card for it.
TPV: Are you aware that Hollywood is doing an $18 million dollar film about Ed Wood, directed by Tim Burton?
SR: I didn't know about that, but I know he has a big following. I was contacted about two years ago and asked to write a letter about my impressions of him on the set. Wood was a very cooperative guy who let you do things the way you wanted to, and if they weren't quite right he would direct you. But he wasn't the kind of director who was always on you. The shoot lasted two or three weeks for me, off and on. I played a young detective, and I had a suit on at all times. I even had a tie. Only took my shirt off once. Those were the days, huh?
TPV: What brought you to Italy for the Hercules films?
SR: Pietro Francisci, the director of Hercules. He wrote the script also, and he had I been looking for Hercules for about five years. Around' Italy, he'd find somebody who was good looking and tall, but had no body. Or someone who was good looking but short, and had a great body. He just couldn't find the right combination. One day his daughter, who was 13, went to the theater and saw Athena [MGM, 1954, starring Jane Powell, in which Reeves appeared], which had gotten to Italy by then. And she ran home and said, 'Daddy, I think I have your Hercules.' He went to the theater the next day, pictured me with a goatee and moustache, and felt I would be his man. At the time I was working for American Health Studios in public relations. I'd go to Riverside and open up a fitness studio with the mayor and Miss Riverside, then wait another two weeks or so and open another one someplace else. I had a good job with them, it didn't use too much of my time, and the owner made me promise I'd forget about show business if I worked with him. So when the Hercules offer came, I just ignored it. Then Francisci wrote me another letter and said 'Look, this is serious. Here's an airplane ticket.' There was also an advance of $5000, which in those days was quite an advance. I realized the guy was serious. I started growing a moustache and goatee on my job. This way I didn't have to have something glued on, which is terrible. My boss asked me what I was doing it for, and I said I wanted to look more distinguished. I was only paid $10,000 for Hercules and I had no percentage. The film cost a half million to make, and it earned $40 million in the United States alone. It was the box office champion of 1959. I outgrossed John Wayne, Rock Hudson, and Doris Day, who were the big money makers at the time. And I was the biggest box office star, not only in the United States, but around the world.
TPV: Considering that, what kept you from going to Hollywood? I'm surprised they didn't grab you.
SR: Hercules was made in the summer and fall of '57. It didn't get to the States until the summer of '59, and by the time it opened here I'd already made four other films, and had committed myself to others. I did Hercules Unchained for the same salary as Hercules, but with every picture from then on I doubled my salary from the previous one.
TPV: You made 16 films. I guess I could do the math.
SR: At the end I was making $250,000 a film, which was good in those days. Sophia Loren and I were the highest paid actors in Europe.
TPV: What was the shooting schedule on Hercules?
SR: Three months. Most of my pictures were about three months. In the case of Hercules, the picture was over, but my contract said I had to stay around in case they needed some retakes. I waited about three days, then shaved off my beard. Then they called me and said they would need a day of retakes. But they added, 'We don't have any money. You have to do it for nothing.' I went and talked to Francisci, and he said, 'If you're my friend, you'll do it for nothing.' And I said, 'If you're my friend, you wouldn't ask me to do it for nothing.' Eventually, they agreed to pay me. 'We'll have the money there when you get on the set.' I went there and got my goatee and mustache pasted on, got into my costume, ready to shoot, and the money didn't show up. So I sat down in a yoga position, pretending to put myself in a trance. I played the part of a god, and the clouds actually started coming in so that they couldn't shoot. So they said, 'We'll have the money here by noon,' and sure enough, they arrived with half the money at about 12 o'clock, and the clouds parted and we did half a day's shooting. The next day they came on the set with the rest of the money and that was it.'
TPV: Did you have to work out a few hours a day on the set?
SR: No. That's an amazing thing. My body responds so well to exercise, and it keeps it so long, that I didn't have to. I didn't take any steroids, they didn't exist at that time. It was just easy for me to get in shape and to stay in shape. During the 15 years I was in Europe, I would work out possibly one month a year, usually the month of May. I lived in Switzerland most of the time and I would go skiing and take walks with my dog. But the food there was so great that I would gain maybe 10 pounds during the winter. So during May I'd work like son-of-a-gun. Run through the mountains there, use the weights, and get in top form that month, and that would last me through the season. During filming you're too exhausted I get a decent workout, and I really didn't need because the stress that there is in acting kept the fat off me and the muscle didn't want to go away.
TPV: Did you really hoist Primo Carne over your head in Hercules Unchained?
SR: Yes. He was a big old guy, a real great guy. He didn't always know his own strength but that's okay. There was no competition or friction between us. He was very helpful. He said, 'When you have to lift me up, the best way to do it is this way and this way to get leverage. And that'll make you look better.’ Very nice guy.
TPV: Did you do your own dubbing for the Italian films?
SR: No. In Jail Bait and Athena I used my own voice, and I'm using my own voice now. But in Italy they had actors who would speak different languages and different dialects in the same scene. And also, if an airplane flew over, it wouldn't bother them, whereas here in the States they say 'Silence.' They say it there, too, but it doesn't happen. At the end of the film, they mail the script and the film to New York City and hire radio actors to dub it. I remember one scene in The White Warrior in Yugoslavia, where I believe there were seven of us sitting around a campfire. I was speaking English, the person next to me was speaking Spanish, the person on the other side of me was speaking Italian, another person was speaking Yugoslav, another was speaking Serb, an another was speaking some other language. And you know, a lot of acting is reacting to the other person, being attentive to what they're saying. Well, I was the most attentive actor you've ever seen. I knew that when the guy would grunt or stomp his foot on the ground, it was my cue to come in. I knew what they were saying, but I didn't know when they were going to end.
TPV: Were there foreign cuts of your films? So many European films, particularly the horor films, had more violence and nudity in the foreign cuts.
SR: No, mine were always filmed the way they were going to be in all markets. There was no more violence or nudity than what you saw.
continue to part 2
176
Exercises and workouts / An Steve Reeves inspired workout
« on: July 17, 2016, 07:28:01 PM »
From: http://outalpha.com/steve-reeves-workout-old-school-aesthetics/
Steve Reeves had one of the most aesthetic physiques of all time.
Even in the modern world, people talk about the amazing aesthetics of Reeves, and how they too wish to look like him.
As a matter of fact, I was one of these people.
I really admired Reeve’s physique, and I would spend hours on the internet trying to learn his secrets.
If there’s an article that’s been written on Steve Reeves, I have most likely read it.
Therefore, I know where you’re coming from, and I also understand how difficult it is finding quality information that seeks to develop the body of Reeves.
So we’re going to cut right past the history, and go straight into the practical stuff.
In this article, I will be examining all of Steve Reeve’s muscles, ranging from the weak ones to strong ones and how that came to be.
Then, I shall compile all the information into a complete 4 week full body concurrent training system.
With that being said, are you ready to acquire old school bodybuilding aesthetics?
If so, let’s get started.
Steve Reeves Chest
Steeve Reeves had an aesthetic looking chest.
However, it was definitely not the biggest one.
Just like Jeff Seid, Steve Reeves seems to have similar chest development.
When you look at Steve Reeve’s chest from the eye level, you immediately recognize its lack of mass.
It still looked good though! Actually, it looked really really good.
There is absolutely nothing wrong about having medium sized pecs.
Most oldschool bodybuilders had this look anyway.
it was preferable to aim for symmetry and overall physique balance, rather than being a monster.
Due to this fact, the chest development of Steve Reeves was intentional.
That’s right. He did not want watermelons popping out of his chest.
To develop the chest that he had, he would often times perform various incline presses with barbells and dumbbells, and he performed many pullovers.
Steve Reeves Incline Dumbbell Press
This would allow him to get very strong on presses, while specifically emphasizing the upper pecs to ensure that the overall chest size would not be overwhelming.
Therefore, in this program, we will use the same pec building strategy as Reeves. There won’t be much flat pressing, but there will be flat flyes to develop and maintain a certain amount of mass.
The pullovers will also suck our stomachs in, thus accentuating the chest without actually having it get bigger. In this way, we get the illusion of size.
Steve Reeves Shoulders
Although Reeves had some nice looking shoulders, they were proportionately smaller in comparison to his biceps and triceps. If
Now you may be wondering, why were Reeves’ shoulders not as developed as they could have been?
Well, it has to do with his philosophy of aesthetics.
By intentionally keeping his shoulders small, it would automatically draw eyes to his arms. Moreover, because his chest was medium-sized, the lack of shoulders makes it appear bigger proportionately.
Therefore, the true reason why Reeves has small shoulders was to accentuate certain bodyparts in his physique. It is complicated, yet so genius at the same time.
Additionally, I feel that both the front and rear delts of Reeves were undeveloped.
The only thing that was somewhat decent were his side delts, which makes sense because almost all oldschool bodybuilders focused on this region. (It accentuates back width, that’s why. You always want broad shoulders.)
For this reason, we will prioritize this area while keeping the volume low.
Steve Reeves Back
Steve Reeve’s back is arguably his best bodypart.
In my opinion, it is his best bodypart.
The width he’s carrying is just out of this world. When he wears a suit, you can still see the lats.
That is when you know lat training is going to be very important.
In this program, we will train the back like there’s no tomorrow. We will incorporate all the vertical and horizontal pulls that focus on width and thickness simultaneously.
However, we will stay away from deadlifts (more on that later) heavy shrugs and barbell rows, as this tends to overthicken the trap region.
Because if there’s one thing about Steve Reeve’s back that does suck, it’s his traps.
There was absolutely zero size or mass. Pure pencil neck.
And don’t think I am hating on the dude. All the old school bodybuilders had this look.
As a matter of fact, this is a strategy used to accentuate lat width.
That’s cause having bigger traps makes your upper body appear more narrow.
By intentionally making them smaller, it gives the illusion of broad shoulders and wide lats.
So if we make our back big and strong, while simultaneously neglecting the neck/traps region, bam we now have a back that looks like Reeves.
It’s so simple, yet so damn awesome.
By the way, as drug free lifters, the only way to get any serious amount of mass in the lat department is to increase strength on weighted pullups and rowing variations. I suspect that you will need at least 90lb weighted pullups before your back starts to resemble Reeve’s.
Oh, and for the spinal erectors we will perform hyperextensions.
This way, we get the Christmas tree without the added trap in there too.
Steve Reeves Arms
As I alluded to earlier, Steve Reeve’s arms were absolutely phenomenal.
Amazing biceps, forearms, and triceps. Not one lagging area.
You know, I’ve heard stories of this dude curling over 90lb dumbbells.
When I look at his arms, I become a believer of these stories.
Whether it’s true or not, however, it still strikes an important point.
To look like Reeves, you need to focus on your arms. A lot.
But now we have a problem. We can’t rely on close grip benching or pressing, because doing so will make the shoulders and chest get too big.
So how are we supposed to get big arms while staying away from the big heavy compounds?Soell, I would usually say to use accomating resistance such as bands or chains to make the triceps work harder, but in this case I don’t think that’s appropriate.
Besides, I have another alternative. If we know that the majority of Reeve’s physique was crafted off illusions and proportions, then can we not do the same for the arms?
And here’s what I mean. Take a quick look at this triceps anatomy chart.
triceps anatomy
As you can see, there’s the lateral head, medial head, and long head.
The lateral head and the medial head are the ones that give the horesehoe shape.
However, they are on the SIDE of the arm.
This is extremely important, because just because you have a nice horeshoe, does not guarantee that your arms will be big.
Interestingly, 99% of all presses focus extensively on the lateral and medial head of the triceps, but not so much the long head.
This is perfect to know, because this essentially means that you don’t have to perform presses to get big arms.
Anatomy tells us that the long head of the triceps is the back of the arm, where all the width comes from.
Therefore, we can get arms that look like Reeves without focusing on the presses.
All we must do is perform lots of overhead extensions, done with barbells, dumbbells, machines, bands, and cables.
The result is that your arms get big in the right places, which gives you the illusion of mass.
Isn’t that awesome? Once again, we can use proportions to our advantage. By the way, pullovers (which are included in this program for various reasons) also work the long head of the triceps. So there’s a lot of long head work in here.
As for the biceps, Reeves was a big fan of exercises that used the stretch reflex. This makes sense from a physiological perspective, as the stretch reflex allows you to use heavier weights, and has been shown to aid in gaining muscle mass.
For this reason, we will mimic the same strategy by performing lots of curls that use the stretch reflex. Incline curls (Reeve’s favorite), preacher curls, and spider curls will be the name of the game. Done with different variations of course.
And for the forearms of Reeve’s, I don’t think it’s necessary to hit them, but if you notice that your forearms do not have adequate size, employing wrist curls. hammer curls, or reverse curls should fix that issue.
Steve Reeves Midsection
Steve Reeves had very tiny abs.
As a matter of fact, they were not his main focus.
Instead, he prioritized what is known as the vacuum effect.
steve reeves vacuum
This was accomplished through incorporating various pullovers in his workouts, as well as performing tummy vacuums on a daily basis.
Mind you, his vacuum effect was not as good as Frank Zane, but he still had one to say the least.
So here is what we have essentially…
Small abs + vacuum effect = Illusion of bigger chest, back, and smaller waist.
It’s the ultimate combination for upper body aesthetics. Literally.
Therefore, we will do precisely the same as Reeves.
Few bodyweight ab exercises (to prevent overbulking the midsection), with many pullovers and tummy vacuums.
Also, you will need to get within the 10-15% bodyfat range.
It’s not shredded, but it’s still some work. Make sure your nutrition is sound.
Steve Reeves Legs
Steve Reeves had very nice legs.
Not only were they super aesthetic, but they had a perfect amount of size too.
The entire front of his leg, such as the quads, VMO, and adductor, were all thoroughly developed.
The backside, however, which includes the hamstrings and glutes were not quite as good.
To the powerlifter or strongman, this is a problem, but for the old school bodybuilder, this is desirable.
As a matter of fact, Reeves intentionally wanted to have this look.
He is known as the guy with nice legs but no ass. It’s funny, but true.
Actually, if you look at the history of the dude this is the guy who popularized the hack squat.
steve reeves hack squat
Reeves believed it would strengthen the entire anterior chain, while minimizing size in the posterior chain region.
Clearly, this strategy worked for him.
Although we will not mimic this perfectly, we will still prioritize the anterior chain like never before. This will be accomplished through various leg presses, pistol squats, sissy squats, etc.
And obviously we will stay away from squats and deadlifts, because this thickens the posterior chain way too much.
Finally, if you look at Reeve’s calves, they were thoroughly developed.
He diamond shaped calves, with a good amount of size to go with it.
I believe they were 18 inches, which is quite impressive to say the least.
As a result, this program will have a high emphasis on calf work.
In sum, it’s going to look like this.
Anterior chain exercises + high volume calves = Steve Reeves Legs
Simple enough?
Now that we have all the information we need, it’s time to compile everything together into a well-organized program.
Final Discussion
The program will be executed in a full body concurrent training style, which means that you will be performing full body workouts 2-4x a week, while frequently rotating exercise selection.
We do this to prevent accommodation and build overall strength and hypertrophy.
Plus, as you may have noticed, there’s a lot customization that goes into building the physique of Steve Reeves. This was demonstrated through his oldschool bodybuilding physique, with all the muscle illusions present.So we must make sure that we attack this look in every possible way.
Anyhow, I now present you a 4 week Steve Reeves program that will give you his aesthetics.
Although it’s only a 4 week program, it’s completely repeatable. Plus, it gives you an idea as to how Steve Reeves programming would look like. So you can copy this format and make it better (if you can).
So without further ado, here’s the program.
PS: If you learned something or have any questions, leave a comment down below!
WEEK 1
Incline Pause Bench Press 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4×12
Seated Cable Flyes 3×15
Overhead Barbell Extension 5×8
Dumbbell Pullover 4×12
Weighted Pullup 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Unilateral Machine/Hammer Strength Row 3×12
Cable Side Raises 3×10
Incline Curls 5×10
Hack Squat 4×10
Sissy Squat 3xAMRAP
Seated Calf Raises With 3s Pause 5×10
Donkey Calf Raise OR Toes-in Standing Calf Raise 5×20-30
Bent Knee Hanging Leg Raises 3×10
WEEK 2
Incline Close Grip Bench Press 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Neutral Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 3×AMRAP (15-30 reps)
Flat Dumbbell Flyes 3×12
Overhead Rope/Band Extension 5×10 + last set triple dropset
Dumbbell Pullover 3×10
Dumbbell Row 3×10
Gironda Sternum Chins 5xAMRAP
Dumbbell Side Raise
Dumbbell Preacher Curl 5×10
Single-legged Leg Press 5×8
Pistol Squats 3×AMRAP
Standing Calf Raises With 2s Pause 5×12-20
Calf Raise On Leg Press 5×12-20
Bicycle Twists 3×20
WEEK 3
Reverse Grip Bench Press 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Landmine Press 4×10
Incline Dummbell Flyes 3×10
One Arm Overhead Dumbbell Extension 5×12
Dumbbell Pullover 3×8
Weighted Chinups 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Underhand Lat Pulldown 3×10
Power Side Raises 3×8
Spider Curl 5×10
Low Leg Press Close Feet 5×20
Jumping Pistol Squats 3xAMRAP
Standing Calf Raises Off Block 4s Bottom Pause 3×10-12
Seated Calf Raises Toes-in 5×10-15
Plank 3x60s
WEEK 4
Incline Pushups 5xAMRAP
Timed Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 1×1-3 Minutes
Pec Deck 3×10
Two Arm Overhead Dumbbell Extension 3×10
Barbell Pullover 3×12
Lat Pulldown 5×10
Close Pullups 3xAMRAP
Bent Arm Dumbbell Side Raises 3×10
Barbell Preacher Curl 5×10
Bulgarian Split Squat 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Hack Squat 4×12
Calf Raise on Leg Press 5×30
Standing Calf Raise 5×10
Straight Leg Hanging Leg Raises 3xAMRAP
FIN
Steve Reeves had one of the most aesthetic physiques of all time.
Even in the modern world, people talk about the amazing aesthetics of Reeves, and how they too wish to look like him.
As a matter of fact, I was one of these people.
I really admired Reeve’s physique, and I would spend hours on the internet trying to learn his secrets.
If there’s an article that’s been written on Steve Reeves, I have most likely read it.
Therefore, I know where you’re coming from, and I also understand how difficult it is finding quality information that seeks to develop the body of Reeves.
So we’re going to cut right past the history, and go straight into the practical stuff.
In this article, I will be examining all of Steve Reeve’s muscles, ranging from the weak ones to strong ones and how that came to be.
Then, I shall compile all the information into a complete 4 week full body concurrent training system.
With that being said, are you ready to acquire old school bodybuilding aesthetics?
If so, let’s get started.
Steve Reeves Chest
Steeve Reeves had an aesthetic looking chest.
However, it was definitely not the biggest one.
Just like Jeff Seid, Steve Reeves seems to have similar chest development.
When you look at Steve Reeve’s chest from the eye level, you immediately recognize its lack of mass.
It still looked good though! Actually, it looked really really good.
There is absolutely nothing wrong about having medium sized pecs.
Most oldschool bodybuilders had this look anyway.
it was preferable to aim for symmetry and overall physique balance, rather than being a monster.
Due to this fact, the chest development of Steve Reeves was intentional.
That’s right. He did not want watermelons popping out of his chest.
To develop the chest that he had, he would often times perform various incline presses with barbells and dumbbells, and he performed many pullovers.
Steve Reeves Incline Dumbbell Press
This would allow him to get very strong on presses, while specifically emphasizing the upper pecs to ensure that the overall chest size would not be overwhelming.
Therefore, in this program, we will use the same pec building strategy as Reeves. There won’t be much flat pressing, but there will be flat flyes to develop and maintain a certain amount of mass.
The pullovers will also suck our stomachs in, thus accentuating the chest without actually having it get bigger. In this way, we get the illusion of size.
Steve Reeves Shoulders
Although Reeves had some nice looking shoulders, they were proportionately smaller in comparison to his biceps and triceps. If
Now you may be wondering, why were Reeves’ shoulders not as developed as they could have been?
Well, it has to do with his philosophy of aesthetics.
By intentionally keeping his shoulders small, it would automatically draw eyes to his arms. Moreover, because his chest was medium-sized, the lack of shoulders makes it appear bigger proportionately.
Therefore, the true reason why Reeves has small shoulders was to accentuate certain bodyparts in his physique. It is complicated, yet so genius at the same time.
Additionally, I feel that both the front and rear delts of Reeves were undeveloped.
The only thing that was somewhat decent were his side delts, which makes sense because almost all oldschool bodybuilders focused on this region. (It accentuates back width, that’s why. You always want broad shoulders.)
For this reason, we will prioritize this area while keeping the volume low.
Steve Reeves Back
Steve Reeve’s back is arguably his best bodypart.
In my opinion, it is his best bodypart.
The width he’s carrying is just out of this world. When he wears a suit, you can still see the lats.
That is when you know lat training is going to be very important.
In this program, we will train the back like there’s no tomorrow. We will incorporate all the vertical and horizontal pulls that focus on width and thickness simultaneously.
However, we will stay away from deadlifts (more on that later) heavy shrugs and barbell rows, as this tends to overthicken the trap region.
Because if there’s one thing about Steve Reeve’s back that does suck, it’s his traps.
There was absolutely zero size or mass. Pure pencil neck.
And don’t think I am hating on the dude. All the old school bodybuilders had this look.
As a matter of fact, this is a strategy used to accentuate lat width.
That’s cause having bigger traps makes your upper body appear more narrow.
By intentionally making them smaller, it gives the illusion of broad shoulders and wide lats.
So if we make our back big and strong, while simultaneously neglecting the neck/traps region, bam we now have a back that looks like Reeves.
It’s so simple, yet so damn awesome.
By the way, as drug free lifters, the only way to get any serious amount of mass in the lat department is to increase strength on weighted pullups and rowing variations. I suspect that you will need at least 90lb weighted pullups before your back starts to resemble Reeve’s.
Oh, and for the spinal erectors we will perform hyperextensions.
This way, we get the Christmas tree without the added trap in there too.
Steve Reeves Arms
As I alluded to earlier, Steve Reeve’s arms were absolutely phenomenal.
Amazing biceps, forearms, and triceps. Not one lagging area.
You know, I’ve heard stories of this dude curling over 90lb dumbbells.
When I look at his arms, I become a believer of these stories.
Whether it’s true or not, however, it still strikes an important point.
To look like Reeves, you need to focus on your arms. A lot.
But now we have a problem. We can’t rely on close grip benching or pressing, because doing so will make the shoulders and chest get too big.
So how are we supposed to get big arms while staying away from the big heavy compounds?Soell, I would usually say to use accomating resistance such as bands or chains to make the triceps work harder, but in this case I don’t think that’s appropriate.
Besides, I have another alternative. If we know that the majority of Reeve’s physique was crafted off illusions and proportions, then can we not do the same for the arms?
And here’s what I mean. Take a quick look at this triceps anatomy chart.
triceps anatomy
As you can see, there’s the lateral head, medial head, and long head.
The lateral head and the medial head are the ones that give the horesehoe shape.
However, they are on the SIDE of the arm.
This is extremely important, because just because you have a nice horeshoe, does not guarantee that your arms will be big.
Interestingly, 99% of all presses focus extensively on the lateral and medial head of the triceps, but not so much the long head.
This is perfect to know, because this essentially means that you don’t have to perform presses to get big arms.
Anatomy tells us that the long head of the triceps is the back of the arm, where all the width comes from.
Therefore, we can get arms that look like Reeves without focusing on the presses.
All we must do is perform lots of overhead extensions, done with barbells, dumbbells, machines, bands, and cables.
The result is that your arms get big in the right places, which gives you the illusion of mass.
Isn’t that awesome? Once again, we can use proportions to our advantage. By the way, pullovers (which are included in this program for various reasons) also work the long head of the triceps. So there’s a lot of long head work in here.
As for the biceps, Reeves was a big fan of exercises that used the stretch reflex. This makes sense from a physiological perspective, as the stretch reflex allows you to use heavier weights, and has been shown to aid in gaining muscle mass.
For this reason, we will mimic the same strategy by performing lots of curls that use the stretch reflex. Incline curls (Reeve’s favorite), preacher curls, and spider curls will be the name of the game. Done with different variations of course.
And for the forearms of Reeve’s, I don’t think it’s necessary to hit them, but if you notice that your forearms do not have adequate size, employing wrist curls. hammer curls, or reverse curls should fix that issue.
Steve Reeves Midsection
Steve Reeves had very tiny abs.
As a matter of fact, they were not his main focus.
Instead, he prioritized what is known as the vacuum effect.
steve reeves vacuum
This was accomplished through incorporating various pullovers in his workouts, as well as performing tummy vacuums on a daily basis.
Mind you, his vacuum effect was not as good as Frank Zane, but he still had one to say the least.
So here is what we have essentially…
Small abs + vacuum effect = Illusion of bigger chest, back, and smaller waist.
It’s the ultimate combination for upper body aesthetics. Literally.
Therefore, we will do precisely the same as Reeves.
Few bodyweight ab exercises (to prevent overbulking the midsection), with many pullovers and tummy vacuums.
Also, you will need to get within the 10-15% bodyfat range.
It’s not shredded, but it’s still some work. Make sure your nutrition is sound.
Steve Reeves Legs
Steve Reeves had very nice legs.
Not only were they super aesthetic, but they had a perfect amount of size too.
The entire front of his leg, such as the quads, VMO, and adductor, were all thoroughly developed.
The backside, however, which includes the hamstrings and glutes were not quite as good.
To the powerlifter or strongman, this is a problem, but for the old school bodybuilder, this is desirable.
As a matter of fact, Reeves intentionally wanted to have this look.
He is known as the guy with nice legs but no ass. It’s funny, but true.
Actually, if you look at the history of the dude this is the guy who popularized the hack squat.
steve reeves hack squat
Reeves believed it would strengthen the entire anterior chain, while minimizing size in the posterior chain region.
Clearly, this strategy worked for him.
Although we will not mimic this perfectly, we will still prioritize the anterior chain like never before. This will be accomplished through various leg presses, pistol squats, sissy squats, etc.
And obviously we will stay away from squats and deadlifts, because this thickens the posterior chain way too much.
Finally, if you look at Reeve’s calves, they were thoroughly developed.
He diamond shaped calves, with a good amount of size to go with it.
I believe they were 18 inches, which is quite impressive to say the least.
As a result, this program will have a high emphasis on calf work.
In sum, it’s going to look like this.
Anterior chain exercises + high volume calves = Steve Reeves Legs
Simple enough?
Now that we have all the information we need, it’s time to compile everything together into a well-organized program.
Final Discussion
The program will be executed in a full body concurrent training style, which means that you will be performing full body workouts 2-4x a week, while frequently rotating exercise selection.
We do this to prevent accommodation and build overall strength and hypertrophy.
Plus, as you may have noticed, there’s a lot customization that goes into building the physique of Steve Reeves. This was demonstrated through his oldschool bodybuilding physique, with all the muscle illusions present.So we must make sure that we attack this look in every possible way.
Anyhow, I now present you a 4 week Steve Reeves program that will give you his aesthetics.
Although it’s only a 4 week program, it’s completely repeatable. Plus, it gives you an idea as to how Steve Reeves programming would look like. So you can copy this format and make it better (if you can).
So without further ado, here’s the program.
PS: If you learned something or have any questions, leave a comment down below!
WEEK 1
Incline Pause Bench Press 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 4×12
Seated Cable Flyes 3×15
Overhead Barbell Extension 5×8
Dumbbell Pullover 4×12
Weighted Pullup 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Unilateral Machine/Hammer Strength Row 3×12
Cable Side Raises 3×10
Incline Curls 5×10
Hack Squat 4×10
Sissy Squat 3xAMRAP
Seated Calf Raises With 3s Pause 5×10
Donkey Calf Raise OR Toes-in Standing Calf Raise 5×20-30
Bent Knee Hanging Leg Raises 3×10
WEEK 2
Incline Close Grip Bench Press 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Neutral Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 3×AMRAP (15-30 reps)
Flat Dumbbell Flyes 3×12
Overhead Rope/Band Extension 5×10 + last set triple dropset
Dumbbell Pullover 3×10
Dumbbell Row 3×10
Gironda Sternum Chins 5xAMRAP
Dumbbell Side Raise
Dumbbell Preacher Curl 5×10
Single-legged Leg Press 5×8
Pistol Squats 3×AMRAP
Standing Calf Raises With 2s Pause 5×12-20
Calf Raise On Leg Press 5×12-20
Bicycle Twists 3×20
WEEK 3
Reverse Grip Bench Press 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Landmine Press 4×10
Incline Dummbell Flyes 3×10
One Arm Overhead Dumbbell Extension 5×12
Dumbbell Pullover 3×8
Weighted Chinups 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Underhand Lat Pulldown 3×10
Power Side Raises 3×8
Spider Curl 5×10
Low Leg Press Close Feet 5×20
Jumping Pistol Squats 3xAMRAP
Standing Calf Raises Off Block 4s Bottom Pause 3×10-12
Seated Calf Raises Toes-in 5×10-15
Plank 3x60s
WEEK 4
Incline Pushups 5xAMRAP
Timed Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 1×1-3 Minutes
Pec Deck 3×10
Two Arm Overhead Dumbbell Extension 3×10
Barbell Pullover 3×12
Lat Pulldown 5×10
Close Pullups 3xAMRAP
Bent Arm Dumbbell Side Raises 3×10
Barbell Preacher Curl 5×10
Bulgarian Split Squat 4-10RM + 3 Back-Off Sets/Triple Dropset
Hack Squat 4×12
Calf Raise on Leg Press 5×30
Standing Calf Raise 5×10
Straight Leg Hanging Leg Raises 3xAMRAP
FIN
177
Exercises and workouts / reverse pyramid training
« on: June 29, 2016, 07:16:49 PM »
Here is an interesting link about this kind of training:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/randy2.htm
These are captures from a central table that resume the characteristics of it:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/randy2.htm
These are captures from a central table that resume the characteristics of it:
178
General Discussion / Reg Park in the 58 Mr Universe
« on: June 17, 2016, 09:44:34 PM »
The most unknow Mr universe contest of Reg Park. We have only 4 photographies!! It's unreal. But we there is also an old reg park journal article written by himself describing how he trained: http://forum.regpark.eu/index.php?topic=154.0
The last photo is from the end of the 50s
The last photo is from the end of the 50s
179
Exercises and workouts / The favourite routines of the 50s stars of bodybuilding
« on: April 07, 2016, 01:23:49 PM »
It's a long Set of workouts. Enjoy! I don't remember the magazine, but it's a Weider one. Thanks again, Thomas!
Part 1: Reg Park
Part 1: Reg Park
180
Exercises and workouts / Analyzing the Squat
« on: March 27, 2016, 07:21:03 PM »
From http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/high-bar-vs-low-bar-squats/High Bar vs. Low Bar Squats for Powerlifting
I participate in several powerlifting forums and one of the ever-controversial topics that has come up quite a bit lately is high bar vs. low bar squats. Opinions range from “anything can work, just gotta find what works for you, brah” (the powerlifting broscientist) to “low bar is universally better for every single application, ever” (the powerlifting fascist). I tend to be somewhere in the middle, but, despite the fact I’ve already articulated my thoughts on bar position in my huge squat article, let’s hone in on this one specific piece of squat technique.
To be clear, I’m going to draw heavily upon many biomechanical principles to make this argument. If you enjoy this type of thing, I cannot recommend that you pick up a copy of Starting Strength more strongly. This is the only book that I’m aware of that offers an actual biomechanical analysis of all the powerlifts (and a few others).
Powerlifting Technique Analysis
Whenever I’m evaluating the effectiveness of a powerlifting technique, I like to go beyond merely observing what the top guys are doing. Many people don’t seem to consider that athletes can become very, very good using inefficient techniques. A casual glance at any sport will reveal this is the case. Plenty of pro basketball players have flawed jump shots, not everyone has a swing like Robinson Cano in the MLB, and comparing NFL QBs’ throwing mechanics will easily demonstrate that some are much more proficient than others.
Why anyone thinks this whole scenario plays out differently in powerlifting is really beyond me; it absolutely doesn’t. Let me be clear: with great genetics and a lifetime of hard training, you can easily overcome inefficient techniques in powerlifting. But why put yourself at that disadvantage? Rather than rely on tradition or copycat maneuvers, let’s analyze our powerlifting technique through the lens of biomechanics. Let’s actually use some science.
There are many important mechanical factors to consider in an analysis of powerlifting technique: range of motion, “leverage” on the system, joint angles at the positions of greatest inefficiency (mechanical advantage), total muscle mass used, the relative distribution of load amongst the various muscle groups, and many more. In order to get an accurate picture of “low bar” vs. “high bar”, we really need to discuss the vast majority of these factors.
First, let’s talk about what the actual difference is between the high bar and low bar squat. The reality is that the low bar squat puts the bar about 3-4” lower on the back right above the spine of the scapula just above the rear deltoids. The high bar back squat places the bar on top of the trapezius muscles. What’s the effect of the different position? The low bar back squat produces an effectively shorter torso than the high bar back squat. More on that shortly.
Before we can analyze the implications of a shorter vs. a longer torso, we need to talk about balance. Despite the fact that many coaches teach you need to “squat from your heels”, the human body balances directly over the middle of the foot. A system comes into a balance when it finds a point where the least effort is required to remain stable and/or a point where the most force is necessary to disturb the system. For our purposes, this is the middle of the foot because the middle of the foot is the point where there is an equal amount of foot to the back and to the front. Sorry to be pedantic, but if you were any closer to your toes, or any closer to your heels, it would be easier for you to be pushed in either direction.
This fact is important because any time the lifter/barbell system comes out of balance, you create a moment arm between the balance point (the mid-foot) and the point of force application (the bar). This is why it is harder to pick up a deadlift when it is a foot in front of your toes, for example.
Moment Arms
Moment is the force that causes rotation about an axis. Think of a wrench trying to turn a bolt. The force transmitted down the handle is the moment force. Now, a moment arm is the length of that handle from the hand on the wrench (point of force application) when measuring at 90 degrees to the bolt (point of rotation/axis). The longer the handle, the easier it is to turn the bolt. We’ve all experienced that, right?
Well, in the lifter/barbell system, the barbell is the hand on the wrench (point of force application), the distance between the barbell and the joints is the wrench handle (moment arm), and the joints are the pivot points (rotational axis). As such, we want to create the shortest possible moment arms, in terms of distance between the bar and our joints, to minimize the leverage we must overcome to complete a lift.
Of all three positions, the front squat actually requires the least forward lean to keep the bar over the middle of the foot. However, notice what this does to the moment arms involved in the movement. The moment arm between the hips and the bar is greatly shortened and the moment arm between the knees and the bar is greatly elongated. This essentially produces a squat that is relatively easy in terms of hip extension but extremely difficult in terms of knee extension. This is why the front squat has a reputation as a great quad builder.
You’ll notice that low bar is somewhat the opposite. Most of the moment is shifted to the hips. High bar is somewhere in the middle. The implications here are that the low bar squat is a more hip dominant movement compared to either high bar squats or front squats.
Let’s break this down further. The longer a given moment arm between a joint and the bar, the more “leverage” that must be overcome by that joint to complete the lift. When the lever arm is longer between the knees and the bar, greater knee extension strength is required to complete the lift. And on the other hand, when the lever arms are shorter at the hips than at the knees, the hip extension portion of the movement will be easier and will thus require less hip extension strength. Hopefully it is now easier to understand why people refer to low bar as more “posterior chain dominant” and front squats as more “anterior chain dominant”.
Squat Back Angle
Now, let’s consider back angle. Of all three positions, the front squat is actually the most upright squatting position. This is actually necessary. If you don’t maintain your upright position, the bar simply falls off your shoulders. As such, the front squat forces you to use more quads. In fact, you will never miss a front squat due to overall weakness (for the most part), you will always miss a front squat because the weight got heavy enough that you simply HAD to recruit too much “hips” to finish the lift. The lift will always be dumped forward as a result.
A lot of people don’t realize that high bar has a very similar effect. The high bar rack position is unstable. If you lean over too much, the bar rolls onto your neck and the lift is finished. You must maintain a certain degree of “uprightness” or the bar rolls.
This is simply not the case with a low bar squat. The low bar rack is highly stable. Though I’m not saying this is correct technique, it is entirely possible to finish a low bar squat with practically a good morning type back angle. When you squat low bar, you are not limited by torso angle; you are limited by strength.
Bringing It All Together
And this is really where the trade-off between high bar and low bar begins. The high bar rack position produces a longer torso. A longer torso means that you do not have to lean over so much to keep the bar over the middle of your foot. A longer torso means a shorter moment arm as seen between the hips and the bar and the knee and the bar.
Short Torso vs Long Torso Squat
However, though the high bar position creates an effectively longer torso, the high bar position also REQUIRES an upright back angle which necessitates a certain degree of forward knee travel given a certain stance. There simply is no other way to keep your back upright when your stance is already locked in. More forward knee travel has two important implications for powerlifting technique: 1) a longer range of motion and 2) more leverage is shifted to the knees instead of the hips.
Back angle with maximum knee torque was the best way to squat for powerlifting, we’d all just front squat at meets. The reality is that there are other factors at play here. Remember, a longer range of motion means more work done against gravity because work is defined as force x distance. The anterior chain is simply not as big or as strong as the posterior chain. Shifting leverage preferentially to the anterior chain does not result in higher force production. Compare your front squat 1RM to your back squat 1RM if you want confirmation of this fact.
In a low bar squat, you can (almost) lean over as much as you feel like without worrying about losing the bar onto your neck, off your shoulders, or over your head. Leaning over a bit more allows us to do two things: 1) minimize knee forward knee travel and thus range of motion and 2) preferentially shift some of the leverage to the posterior chain instead of the anterior chain. Both of these things lead to more weight being lifted for reasons discussed in the preceding paragraph.
When to High Bar for Powerlifting
While I’ve really tried to keep this article (mostly) about bar position, I feel compelled to mentioned that producing “optimal” squat technique is really more of a balancing act than anything else. It is easy to get sucked into the extreme styles: 1) ZERO forward knee travel like a westside super wide stance squat or b) nearly totally upright like the perfect Olympic style back squat.
The Westside Style Squat
Notice how the Westside style squat basically eliminates forward knee travel. This makes the squat extremely, extremely hip dominant. Additionally, this is the shortest possible range of motion for a squat. The wide stance allows you to stay fairly upright even with the zero knee travel. Though it isn’t relevant to this article, the Westside style squat is worth consideration for competitors who are not held to IPF depth standards, who get to use a monolift, and who also have excellent hip health/flexibility.
Extremes aside, for the majority of people, the most effective raw powerlifting squat is going to fall somewhere in the middle and balance the following factors:
1) A non-vertical but fairly upright back angle; most of the best lifters have about ~55-65 degrees of trunk inclination in the hole.
2) A good balance between hip and knee moments; most of the best lifters have their knees within a few inches of their toes in the hole (either in front or behind).
3) The knees will be pushed “out” to better recruit the muscle mass of the hips and external rotators
Depending on your anthropometry (body proportions), hip flexibility, anatomy and health, shoulder flexibility, anatomy, and health, and individual muscular strengths and weaknesses (quad dominant vs. hip dominant), you’ll want to select a form that falls somewhere within this general range.
For example, you can produce a more upright back angle in all of the following ways: a) standing wider, b) pushing the knees out more, c) allowing the knees to track forward more, and d) using a higher bar position.
If your hips are in really bad shape, and you have a short torso, you might NEED to use a high bar position to produce that somewhat upright trunk angle that is observed in nearly all elite squatters. Perhaps your hips just can’t handle a wider stance or more “knees out”. Likewise, perhaps your shoulders are in poor health or you have extreme elbow tendonitis. In that case, low bar is probably out of the question as well (at least until you heal your elbows).
An intelligent coach, or an intelligent lifter who self-coaches, will consider all of the variables that are part of the equation when optimizing technique for a given individual. These variables include stance width, foot position, bar position, knee travel, and hip abduction. Knowing the difference between a form fault and a form tweak due to individual differences is something that can only be earned with years and years in the trenches. Novice lifters often become very entrenched in their particular technical ideals and don’t realize how important nuance is to technical optimization. I have very often been guilty of this myself.
Once the lifter and coach find something that feels strong within the general model described above, the best practice is to stick to it and perfect the form over the course of 10+ years. This is, in my opinion, how technique optimization should be accomplished.
In sum, low bar is nearly universally superior for powerlifting purposes because it preferentially shifts leverage to the hips, allows for less forward knee travel and thus a shorter range of motion, and it allows you to grind out weights without losing the lift due to an unstable rack position. There are exceptions of course, but they are called exceptions for a reason.
I participate in several powerlifting forums and one of the ever-controversial topics that has come up quite a bit lately is high bar vs. low bar squats. Opinions range from “anything can work, just gotta find what works for you, brah” (the powerlifting broscientist) to “low bar is universally better for every single application, ever” (the powerlifting fascist). I tend to be somewhere in the middle, but, despite the fact I’ve already articulated my thoughts on bar position in my huge squat article, let’s hone in on this one specific piece of squat technique.
To be clear, I’m going to draw heavily upon many biomechanical principles to make this argument. If you enjoy this type of thing, I cannot recommend that you pick up a copy of Starting Strength more strongly. This is the only book that I’m aware of that offers an actual biomechanical analysis of all the powerlifts (and a few others).
Powerlifting Technique Analysis
Whenever I’m evaluating the effectiveness of a powerlifting technique, I like to go beyond merely observing what the top guys are doing. Many people don’t seem to consider that athletes can become very, very good using inefficient techniques. A casual glance at any sport will reveal this is the case. Plenty of pro basketball players have flawed jump shots, not everyone has a swing like Robinson Cano in the MLB, and comparing NFL QBs’ throwing mechanics will easily demonstrate that some are much more proficient than others.
Why anyone thinks this whole scenario plays out differently in powerlifting is really beyond me; it absolutely doesn’t. Let me be clear: with great genetics and a lifetime of hard training, you can easily overcome inefficient techniques in powerlifting. But why put yourself at that disadvantage? Rather than rely on tradition or copycat maneuvers, let’s analyze our powerlifting technique through the lens of biomechanics. Let’s actually use some science.
There are many important mechanical factors to consider in an analysis of powerlifting technique: range of motion, “leverage” on the system, joint angles at the positions of greatest inefficiency (mechanical advantage), total muscle mass used, the relative distribution of load amongst the various muscle groups, and many more. In order to get an accurate picture of “low bar” vs. “high bar”, we really need to discuss the vast majority of these factors.
First, let’s talk about what the actual difference is between the high bar and low bar squat. The reality is that the low bar squat puts the bar about 3-4” lower on the back right above the spine of the scapula just above the rear deltoids. The high bar back squat places the bar on top of the trapezius muscles. What’s the effect of the different position? The low bar back squat produces an effectively shorter torso than the high bar back squat. More on that shortly.
Before we can analyze the implications of a shorter vs. a longer torso, we need to talk about balance. Despite the fact that many coaches teach you need to “squat from your heels”, the human body balances directly over the middle of the foot. A system comes into a balance when it finds a point where the least effort is required to remain stable and/or a point where the most force is necessary to disturb the system. For our purposes, this is the middle of the foot because the middle of the foot is the point where there is an equal amount of foot to the back and to the front. Sorry to be pedantic, but if you were any closer to your toes, or any closer to your heels, it would be easier for you to be pushed in either direction.
This fact is important because any time the lifter/barbell system comes out of balance, you create a moment arm between the balance point (the mid-foot) and the point of force application (the bar). This is why it is harder to pick up a deadlift when it is a foot in front of your toes, for example.
Moment Arms
Moment is the force that causes rotation about an axis. Think of a wrench trying to turn a bolt. The force transmitted down the handle is the moment force. Now, a moment arm is the length of that handle from the hand on the wrench (point of force application) when measuring at 90 degrees to the bolt (point of rotation/axis). The longer the handle, the easier it is to turn the bolt. We’ve all experienced that, right?
Well, in the lifter/barbell system, the barbell is the hand on the wrench (point of force application), the distance between the barbell and the joints is the wrench handle (moment arm), and the joints are the pivot points (rotational axis). As such, we want to create the shortest possible moment arms, in terms of distance between the bar and our joints, to minimize the leverage we must overcome to complete a lift.
Of all three positions, the front squat actually requires the least forward lean to keep the bar over the middle of the foot. However, notice what this does to the moment arms involved in the movement. The moment arm between the hips and the bar is greatly shortened and the moment arm between the knees and the bar is greatly elongated. This essentially produces a squat that is relatively easy in terms of hip extension but extremely difficult in terms of knee extension. This is why the front squat has a reputation as a great quad builder.
You’ll notice that low bar is somewhat the opposite. Most of the moment is shifted to the hips. High bar is somewhere in the middle. The implications here are that the low bar squat is a more hip dominant movement compared to either high bar squats or front squats.
Let’s break this down further. The longer a given moment arm between a joint and the bar, the more “leverage” that must be overcome by that joint to complete the lift. When the lever arm is longer between the knees and the bar, greater knee extension strength is required to complete the lift. And on the other hand, when the lever arms are shorter at the hips than at the knees, the hip extension portion of the movement will be easier and will thus require less hip extension strength. Hopefully it is now easier to understand why people refer to low bar as more “posterior chain dominant” and front squats as more “anterior chain dominant”.
Squat Back Angle
Now, let’s consider back angle. Of all three positions, the front squat is actually the most upright squatting position. This is actually necessary. If you don’t maintain your upright position, the bar simply falls off your shoulders. As such, the front squat forces you to use more quads. In fact, you will never miss a front squat due to overall weakness (for the most part), you will always miss a front squat because the weight got heavy enough that you simply HAD to recruit too much “hips” to finish the lift. The lift will always be dumped forward as a result.
A lot of people don’t realize that high bar has a very similar effect. The high bar rack position is unstable. If you lean over too much, the bar rolls onto your neck and the lift is finished. You must maintain a certain degree of “uprightness” or the bar rolls.
This is simply not the case with a low bar squat. The low bar rack is highly stable. Though I’m not saying this is correct technique, it is entirely possible to finish a low bar squat with practically a good morning type back angle. When you squat low bar, you are not limited by torso angle; you are limited by strength.
Bringing It All Together
And this is really where the trade-off between high bar and low bar begins. The high bar rack position produces a longer torso. A longer torso means that you do not have to lean over so much to keep the bar over the middle of your foot. A longer torso means a shorter moment arm as seen between the hips and the bar and the knee and the bar.
Short Torso vs Long Torso Squat
However, though the high bar position creates an effectively longer torso, the high bar position also REQUIRES an upright back angle which necessitates a certain degree of forward knee travel given a certain stance. There simply is no other way to keep your back upright when your stance is already locked in. More forward knee travel has two important implications for powerlifting technique: 1) a longer range of motion and 2) more leverage is shifted to the knees instead of the hips.
Back angle with maximum knee torque was the best way to squat for powerlifting, we’d all just front squat at meets. The reality is that there are other factors at play here. Remember, a longer range of motion means more work done against gravity because work is defined as force x distance. The anterior chain is simply not as big or as strong as the posterior chain. Shifting leverage preferentially to the anterior chain does not result in higher force production. Compare your front squat 1RM to your back squat 1RM if you want confirmation of this fact.
In a low bar squat, you can (almost) lean over as much as you feel like without worrying about losing the bar onto your neck, off your shoulders, or over your head. Leaning over a bit more allows us to do two things: 1) minimize knee forward knee travel and thus range of motion and 2) preferentially shift some of the leverage to the posterior chain instead of the anterior chain. Both of these things lead to more weight being lifted for reasons discussed in the preceding paragraph.
When to High Bar for Powerlifting
While I’ve really tried to keep this article (mostly) about bar position, I feel compelled to mentioned that producing “optimal” squat technique is really more of a balancing act than anything else. It is easy to get sucked into the extreme styles: 1) ZERO forward knee travel like a westside super wide stance squat or b) nearly totally upright like the perfect Olympic style back squat.
The Westside Style Squat
Notice how the Westside style squat basically eliminates forward knee travel. This makes the squat extremely, extremely hip dominant. Additionally, this is the shortest possible range of motion for a squat. The wide stance allows you to stay fairly upright even with the zero knee travel. Though it isn’t relevant to this article, the Westside style squat is worth consideration for competitors who are not held to IPF depth standards, who get to use a monolift, and who also have excellent hip health/flexibility.
Extremes aside, for the majority of people, the most effective raw powerlifting squat is going to fall somewhere in the middle and balance the following factors:
1) A non-vertical but fairly upright back angle; most of the best lifters have about ~55-65 degrees of trunk inclination in the hole.
2) A good balance between hip and knee moments; most of the best lifters have their knees within a few inches of their toes in the hole (either in front or behind).
3) The knees will be pushed “out” to better recruit the muscle mass of the hips and external rotators
Depending on your anthropometry (body proportions), hip flexibility, anatomy and health, shoulder flexibility, anatomy, and health, and individual muscular strengths and weaknesses (quad dominant vs. hip dominant), you’ll want to select a form that falls somewhere within this general range.
For example, you can produce a more upright back angle in all of the following ways: a) standing wider, b) pushing the knees out more, c) allowing the knees to track forward more, and d) using a higher bar position.
If your hips are in really bad shape, and you have a short torso, you might NEED to use a high bar position to produce that somewhat upright trunk angle that is observed in nearly all elite squatters. Perhaps your hips just can’t handle a wider stance or more “knees out”. Likewise, perhaps your shoulders are in poor health or you have extreme elbow tendonitis. In that case, low bar is probably out of the question as well (at least until you heal your elbows).
An intelligent coach, or an intelligent lifter who self-coaches, will consider all of the variables that are part of the equation when optimizing technique for a given individual. These variables include stance width, foot position, bar position, knee travel, and hip abduction. Knowing the difference between a form fault and a form tweak due to individual differences is something that can only be earned with years and years in the trenches. Novice lifters often become very entrenched in their particular technical ideals and don’t realize how important nuance is to technical optimization. I have very often been guilty of this myself.
Once the lifter and coach find something that feels strong within the general model described above, the best practice is to stick to it and perfect the form over the course of 10+ years. This is, in my opinion, how technique optimization should be accomplished.
In sum, low bar is nearly universally superior for powerlifting purposes because it preferentially shifts leverage to the hips, allows for less forward knee travel and thus a shorter range of motion, and it allows you to grind out weights without losing the lift due to an unstable rack position. There are exceptions of course, but they are called exceptions for a reason.