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291

Exercises and workouts / The training of the neck: the forgeted muscle

« on: January 30, 2012, 01:04:59 AM »

Dedicated to the memory of Kris Kangas, a true iron trainer.

Your Neck: The Most Neglected Muscle.

As we talk about the most neglected muscle, I bet 2/3 of you are looking down at your legs thinking, "crap, my legs only look big compared to that Alley McBeal chick." You know what though, that's your fault. I already wrote an article on leg training. Perhaps you shouldn't have skipped over it; chicken legs! But this isn't about one of the most neglected muscles; this is about THE most neglected muscle.

Why is it that when most guys start working out the three most muscles they want to develop are their chest, abs and biceps? One may answer that it's the first thing people will see, but that's totally not true. What if you're wearing a shirt? What if you wear a suit and tie, and are looking to impress? What one muscle will give people the impression that you're well built when you're wearing clothes? What muscle will set you apart from everyone else on stage? What is one of the most commonly injured muscles in nearly any sport? Why is it that everyone neglects training... his or her neck?

I personally think that one of the most impressive attributes is having a large neck. For one reason, proportion. Many bodybuilders shave their heads to make their heads look smaller. Having a small head will make the rest of you body appear larger. Having a large neck will make your head seem smaller. Beyond that, it gives the impression of power and brute strength. Having a large upper body and a small neck is just silly. Look at John Basedow (the guy who does the "Fitness Made Simple" commercials). He's got a great physique, but his neck is smaller then a pencil, it looks stupid.

Another important reason you should stop neglecting neck training is that the neck is highly involved in nearly any physical sport. From sacking the quarter back, to laying someone out on the ice, to going up for a rebound, to a double legged take down to even sliding into home plate, the neck is put at risk in any of these movements. By strengthening your neck muscles, you not only lower this risk, but you also help to protect your spine and spinal cord.

   
The Neck Muscles
   

The splenius originates just behind your ear, attaches to your skull, and runs diagonal towards your back where it inserts to the spine underneath the traps. Next is the sternocleidomastoid that runs from behind your ear to your collarbone. There is also the trapezius that covers your upper back and the posterior section of your neck. Together these muscles are responsible for the flexion, lateral flexion, extension and rotation of the neck.

   
Training The Neck
   

I feel the neck requires a different type of training then other body parts. When training the neck safety should be kept the utmost priority. The following are a list of guidelines to make sure you get the most out of neck training, injury free:

1. Prioritize your neck: Train your neck on a totally separate day. The few people who actually train their neck far too often leave it until the end of a workout, as if it's unimportant. You should train your neck on its own separate day to make sure the muscle is un-fatigued and you can put full concentration into the exercises.

2. Use flawless form: As with any other muscle, form is very important when exercising the neck. Never sacrifice weight for form or lift explosively. You should use at least a 2/2 pace on all exercises, taking 2 seconds for the concentric, 2 seconds for the eccentric, and concentrating on a good contraction.

3. Use a full Range of Motion (ROM): Exercising through a full range of motion helps to maintain (and possibly increase) flexibility in the muscles. This is very important in injury prevention. This also ensures that you are using the full length of the muscle and not just a portion of it. Each repetition should start from a position of a full flex, then to a full contraction then back again.

4. Warm up and stretch: Before and after working out it is very important to warm and stretch the neck muscles. This can easily be done by slowly rotating your neck from the right side to the left. It's important to never rotate all the way back as you can pinch a nerve.

   
The Exercises
   

I feel it is best to train the neck using self-resistance. You can control the exact amount of the stress you put on your neck muscles, and you don't have to worry about straps falling off, or weights etc. It can easily be done in the comfort of your home, even in the chair you are sitting in now.

Neck extension: This exercise primarily targets the sternocleidomastoid with both sides working together. The movement is simple, almost as if you are nodding "yes". Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground. Put your hands on your fore head and applying constant tension, slowly move your head from straight up (where you are looking forward) until your chin touches your chest. It is important to keep the tension constant at the same amount and keep your neck slowly moving.


Chris Cormier's massive neck muscles. (c) Jake Jones.

Neck flexion: The upper most trapezius and the splenius will be the main muscle heads worked in this exercise. The motion is also quite simple. Begin with your head in the starting position and slowly move your head to where you are looking up. Place your hands on the back of your head for resistance. Make sure to do this exercise (as all others) using a full ROM and very slowly.

Lateral flexion: This movement also uses the sternocleidomastoids, but it targets one side at a time. Sitting in a chair, staring straightforward, move your head as close to the shoulder as possible without moving your upper torso, from there return it to the starting point. It's important to keep your head straight ahead and of course, go slow. Place your hand slightly above your ear in order to add resistance. An example routine: Neck extension: 2 x 8-12 Neck flexion: 2 x 8-12 Lateral flexion: 2 x 8-12

This is what I plan to be doing, along with grip work (hmm... an idea for a new article?), abs and calves every Saturday. It's important to try to add resistance every 2-3 workouts. Your body will tell you how much to add.

And there you have it, neck training made simple. No longer should you have any lame excuses trying to play off your pencil neck as genetics. No longer will your head look like a balloon floating above your body. You will look stronger and more intimidating then ever before. You will be less prone to injury. Lift angry, and fear the day you meet me on the stage!

from http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/bigneck.htm

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292

Exercises and workouts / Steve Reeves Championship Workout

« on: January 28, 2012, 05:00:26 PM »

Steve Reeves Championship Workout

Almost everyone who has ever picked up a barbell has wondered how the late, great Steve Reeves trained? He was physical perfection and people who weight train are naturally curious about the process that got him there. He was also an interesting personality, and from everything I have heard and read he was a real gentleman and all around good guy. Fame in the bodybuilding world and then in movies did not change him.

Reeves was at the pinnacle in the days when there were few exercise machines or devices other than standard dumbbells and barbells. Lifters and bodybuilders using protein supplements often mixed their own, combining ingredients like powdered milk, soy and Knox gelatin. Those were pre-steroid years. Yet look what men like Reeves, Grimek, and Park achieved without risking their future health by taking drugs.

Some consider Reeves the greatest bodybuilder of all time. It is hard to imagine anyone more symmetrical. Much of what he knew about training he learned at Ed Yarick’s famous gym in Oakland, California.

When Reeves worked out there was no time for small talk. There were no split routines spread over six or seven days a week either. Every workout was a full body workout. Tough as his training was in preparation for competitions, he followed the standard three-days-a-week format. And almost exclusively, he used dumbbells and barbells and a few cables. Nothing fancy.

The following is the exact program, which he called "My Championship Workout," that he used to prepare for the Mr. America (1947) and Mr. Universe (1950) competitions. He put great effort into the workouts and it took two to three hours to complete them. For variety, he sometimes followed other methods, such as super-setting opposing muscle groups, pyramid systems, and so forth. But it is interesting that when preparing for the greatest challenges of his bodybuilding career, he choose very basic weight training movements and did the standard three sets of eight to 12 repetitions per exercise.

Those exercises follow . . .

    Upright Rowing, barbell, narrow grip -- 3 x 8-12
    Press Behind Neck, barbell, wide grip – 3 x 8-12
    Lateral Raises, dumbbells, bent over – 3 x 8-12
    Bench Press, barbell, wide grip – 3 x 8-12
    Incline Press, dumbbells, thumbs in – 3 x 8-12
    Flying Motion, dumbbells, bent armed – 3 x 8-12
    Pulldowns Behind Neck, pulley, wide grip – 3 x 8-12
    Seated Rowing, pulley, narrow grip – 3 x 8-12
    One Arm Rowing, dumbbell – 3 x 8-12
    Incline Bench Curl, dumbbells, down the rack, 6 x 5-7
    Bench Curl, overhead pulley, bar – 3 x 8-12
    Concentration Curls, dumbbell, elbow on knee – 1 x 8-12
    Triceps Pushdowns, high pulley, narrow – 3 x 8-12
    Triceps Extensions, dumbbell, behind neck – 3 x 8-12
    Triceps Crossovers, dumbbell, lying on bench – 3 x 8-12
    Parallel Squats, barbell, heels on block, 3 x 8-12
    Hack Lifts, barbell, heels on block, 2 x 8-12
    Front Squats, barbell, in clean position – 2 x 8-12
    Leg Curls, workout partner resistance – 2 x 8-12
    Calf Raises, leg press machine – 3 x 20-25
    Forward Bends, barbell, seated on bench – 3 x 12-15
    Knee Raises, ankle weights, vertical bench – 2 x 20-25
    Neck Work, partner resistance, 4 sides – 1 x 15-20

What did he eat?

He followed a healthful but basic diet of lean meats, fish, dairy, fruits and vegetables. There was no sugar, white flour or other processed foods in his diet. For breakfast, he mixed in a blender "The Steve Reeves Power Drink." It contained fresh orange juice, Knox gelatin, a banana, honey, 2-4 eggs, and a protein powder he made himself. It was a mixture of powdered egg whites, powdered milk, and soy protein.

There used to be advertisements that read: "Train like Reeves. Eat like Reeves. Look like Reeves." Well, his methods certainly worked. But I think his DNA may have had something to do with it, too. Notes to the rest of us: Train regularly and never give it up. We will be stronger. We will look better and last longer. We will be the best that we can be . . . but there was only one Steve Reeves.

Source of Reeves training information: Building the Classic Physique the Natural Way, by Steve Reeves.

Was Steve Reeves strong or did he just look strong?

There’s a story about the training he did at Bob Hoffman’s famous York gym, prior to the Mr. Universe competition. Apparently, some of the hardcore lifters thought Reeves training was a little on the wimpy side. One of them made a comment and Reeves was quoted as saying, “I can be as strong as I want to be. Follow me.” He loaded a seven foot Olympic bar to total about 400 lbs. He reached down with his arms extended wide to grip the outside lip of the 45 pound plates, and he dead-lifted the weight. Strength & Health magazine editor and weightlifting champion, John Grimek, was there and confirmed Reeves' fingertip, or Snatch grip, dead lift.

Grimek also said that in impromptu feats of strength, Reeves could clean a 225 pound barbell while kneeling. He regularly pressed 120 pound dumbbells for reps on 45-degree incline benches.

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293

General Discussion / JOHN GRIMEK WAS THE MAN By Bob Whelan

« on: January 28, 2012, 04:56:43 PM »

JOHN GRIMEK WAS THE MAN
By Bob Whelan

Reprinted with permission from HARDGAINER magazine issue #59, March-April 1999

For all of my training life I've had the quiet comfort of knowing John Grimek was around to inspire and motivate me. He was my all-time Iron Game hero, a legend of unparalleled achievements, but who was universally described as a "good guy" by everyone who had the honor of meeting him. He was a guy you could really admire, look up to and respect not only for his titles or measurements, but as a man.

His pictures have always been on the walls of my gym, even if it happened to be my bedroom or garage. I have several of his pictures on the walls at Whelan Strength Training, from various decades of his life starting with the Mark Berry posters showing John in his early twenties, until several decades later showing his body even more muscular and better, with only his face showing signs of age. For my money, he was the best, a legend-the man! This greatest chapter in Iron Game history came to a close on November 20, 1998 when John C. Grimek passed on at age 88.

Vic Boff summed it up well when he stated, "For over five decades, John C. Grimek has been heralded as the Monarch of Muscledom throughout the world. He was the greatest combination Iron Game athlete-physique star, bodybuilder and strength performer-of all time and certainly the most popular, inspiring millions. He was a major influence in the lives of every top bodybuilder. He was the only bodybuilder in history who was never defeated in a contest. His charisma was so outstanding that everyone in the Iron Game wanted to meet him, shake his hand or get an autograph. His obliging patience was endless."

Grimek was also the only man to win the Mr. America title twice, and was also a member of the 1936 US Olympic weightlifting team. He won the Mr. Universe in 1948 and the Mr. USA in 1949. He was also an expert swimmer, diver, acrobat and muscle control expert. He was also very strong, and capable of a 400-pound jerk.

John probably did more to advance strength training in academia, teaching and coaching than anyone-especially as a legitimate method for training and preparing athletes. The all-prevalent musclebound myths of the day were largely dispelled and reversed by his awesome demonstrations of flexibility, grace and speed while working with Bob Hoffman and other members of the York Barbell Club. Modern strength and conditioning coaches may not have had a profession if not for John C. Grimek.

I began to train, involuntarily at first, at age 10. I was a good baseball player and was batting around 600 in little league. I just came home from a game and as soon as I got in the door, my father asked me, "How many hits ya get, ya bastard?" He had his usual beer in hand and was in his typical semi-intoxicated state.

"Three!" I proudly replied.

"How many home runs?"

"None," I replied.

My introduction to training was when my father responded, "You weak son of a bitch. Get on the floor and do pushups."

I did only three, and he really tore into me for that. I usually managed to make a positive out of most of the negative childhood situations with my father. He made me do pushups every night before bed, and soon I began to love the exercise because I felt stronger, which in turn raised my confidence and self-esteem; and I began hitting some home runs. Soon I was doing 90 pushups in a row.

I put up a chinning bar in the basement and was up to 18 in no time. I made a wrist roller. I walked around constantly squeezing rubber balls to strengthen my wrists because that was what Ted Williams did. I was hooked on training at an early age.

It was during this time that I bought my first copies of STRENGTH AND HEALTH and MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT magazines. I was buying baseball cards near a magazine rack and a cover caught my eye. MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT was a new magazine at that time (1964), and John Grimek was the editor. From my first glance of him, I was in awe, but greatly inspired. I always read every word in MD a liked it even more than S&H because of Grimek's influence. (I didn't even know about iron man till a few years later.)

I continued to lift cement blocks and copper tubing stored in the cellar, and did pushups, chins, dips between chairs, wrist roller work, situps and other calisthenics until I got my first York 110-pound barbell set for my birthday at age 13.

I was a fanatic and devoured everything related to training I could get my hands on. I was sad when I'd read all the articles in a new issue. I couldn't wait till the next month so I could ride my bike to the apothecary in Sherborn, Massachusetts, and buy the next issue.

I can remember the smell of the ink in the new issues. I had to hide the magazines because my father thought all the bodybuilders were "musclebound," but I knew better. My biggest heroes were Bob Hoffman and, especially, John Grimek. I still have a deep affection for and loyalty to the tradition of the York Barbell Company, and tremendous respect for its pivotal role, since the thirties, in the development of the Iron Game. To this day I will only buy York weights.

This background information is important because it should help you to understand the magnitude of the thrill I had in April 1976 when I drove to York, Pennsylvania, and met John Grimek. For an Iron Game/Physical Culture enthusiast, this was the equivalent of a baseball fan meeting Babe Ruth. I'd hoped to meet Bob Hoffman too.

I remember looking at all of Hoffman's medals and spending an hour or so in the museum section downstairs. I finally got the nerve up to ask if I could meet Bob Hoffman, but was told he was not in that day. I still regret not meeting him. But Grimek was upstairs in his office, and I was told that he would be happy to see me. My heart raced as I walked up a creaky staircase to his office. I sheepishly knocked on the office door and politely referred to him as Mr. Grimek.

Mr. Grimek invited me in and was extremely friendly. I was only 21 at the time and was completely in awe. At first I was surprised because he was well into his sixties at the time, but most of the photos I'd seen of him were not recent. He was in great shape, though, and I could tell that he still trained hard and regularly. He had his shirt sleeves rolled up, and I could see his huge biceps in full glory. He looked at least 20 years younger than most men of his age.

He asked me as many questions about my training, and my life in general, as I asked him. He seemed genuinely interested in me and I was impressed at how approachable and kind-hearted he was. He answered every question I had and was in no rush to have me leave. He signed an autograph for me that I guard with my life and proudly display on a wall of my gym. After asking every possible question I could think of, and spending about 30 minutes in his office, I felt I might start to be a pest. I thanked Mr. Grimek for his time, shook his hand, and let him get back to his work.

Dispelling myths
It wasn't until fairly recently that the term "musclebound" has finally been put to rest. You may hear it once in a while now, but mainly by ignorant people. Most people today believe that strength training is beneficial. It wasn't always that way, and as a kid growing up I would always hear about it and be discouraged from lifting. I never believed it was true, mainly because of the hard work and courage of John Grimek and Bob Hoffman, who told me the truth.

On April 4, 1940 Bob Hoffman brought several members of the York Barbell Club, including John Grimek, to Springfield College. Dr. Karpovich, of Springfield College, had been influential in pushing "musclebound" theories throughout academia, and was making most athletic coaches shy away from training with weights. Strength training was being seriously threatened, and John Grimek was instrumental in turning this around. After Grimek was introduced to the panel, the pompous academics sneered at him and seemed to mock him at first, believing he was nothing but a big clumsy oaf with limited movement and "bound" muscles.

Grimek went right up to each of them and said, "Can you do this?" He then proceeded to contort his body into every stretch and bend possible, and reportedly could come close to touching his elbows to the floor while keeping his knees straight! Each of the academics gave a pitiful performance of flexibility when responding to his challenge, to which Grimek replied, something to the effect of, "You're musclebound, not me!"

Hoffman then had Grimek and others perform all kinds of feats including one-arm chins, handstands, backbends, jumping splits and numerous stretches. After Karpovich had witnessed this, he was stunned. By the time Hoffman and Grimek got through with Karpovich, he changed his position to, "There's no such thing as musclebound."

Hoffman went further and challenged any athlete in any sport to compete against his York Barbell Club in any physical test outside of their own specific sport. The challenge was widely publicized. There were no takers, mostly because of the larger-than-life image of Grimek and the fear that he would humiliate any challenger.

Our responsibility
John Grimek was larger than life, much like John Wayne was. John was what the Iron Game and Physical Culture are really all about. He was the essence of how things were and how things should still be. When you think of John Grimek, you think of the glory days of the Iron Game before drugs ruined the honest competition, and the brotherhood.

The "good guys" in the Iron Game today have a sacred duty to carry on the tradition that John Grimek stood for and which Vic Boff and others still represent. Give no respect to steroid users-they are scum. Take down their pictures. Always keep your focus on good health as the primary motivation for your toil, and build muscle the old fashioned way-earn it by hard work and dedication, like John Grimek did.

"Maximum" Bob Whelan runs Whelan Strength Training in Washington, DC.

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294

General Discussion / Muscle Beach Inc. - by Arnold J. Hansen

« on: January 21, 2012, 12:18:30 AM »

From http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2012/01/muscle-beach-inc-arnold-j-hansen.html


Muscle Beach Incorporated:
A New Organization of Great Promise
by Arnold J. Hansen (1959)

Muscle Beach W.C.
118 Broadway (rear)
Santa Monica, California

This story begins sometime during the nebulous past. It seems that in the late thirties or early forties someone brought their barbell to the beach. With a pleasant year-round climate, bright warm sunshine, broad blue Pacific, clean sandy beach, beautiful semi-tropical surroundings and congenial companions who were interested in health, working out on the beach was a natural.

Growth took place. More weights, more equipment, and more members. Then it happened. Someone decided that they did not want the Muscle Beach area as such longer. Through various channels and processes the club activity terminated.

At this time and at the present time the club was and is composed mainly of a group of individuals of a high caliber. Our vocational range includes the following: postmen, chemist, furniture movers, physician, mechanical engineers, machinists, chiropractor, electrician, draftsman, physical therapist, wrestlers, factory workers, assemblers, mathematicians - one of whom also teaches chemistry, certified public accountant, a factory owner, author, movie actor, lawyer, college students, geologist, high school science teacher, elementary school teacher, gym managers, police officers, supermarket operator, and many more.

A very fine gentleman, now retired, offered to store the weights in his basement until the time arrived when they could again be used. We owe him a debt of gratitude. At that time also, a small group of weight men donated their services and hauled the weights to the basement for storage.

During the months of September and October of this year certain men put their heads together and decided that, for the present at least, it would be a good idea to house the weights somewhere indoors. Club meetings were held, heated discussions took place during the latter part of October, and finally our new location opened early in November for the serious business of training. We are training.

During the period when the weights were stored, a number of small garage-type gyms served some of our members very well. Some have joined us and others will still train, at least partially, in their home gyms.

Our Muscle Beach Weightlifting Club is directed mainly by a dedicated nucleus of interested individuals. This group is composed of a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and five councilmen. They are all working-type officers -- chair-warmers and dead wood have no place in our club. Our time and patience leaves no room for the "popularity poll" type of officer nor the "executive type" -- there is work to be done. Regular members also have the opportunity to take full part in the proceedings of our regular Saturday afternoon meetings.

We had very little money and there are expenses such as rent, lights, etc.; therefore, we made much of our equipment out of used material. For the various jobs to be done we have depended on the talent of the members. Also, some loaned their cars, tools, pickup truck, and other equipment of various types. A radio was given for the gym itself and a T.V. was given for the office/lounge; the so-called office/lounge was formerly the bake oven for the automobiles that were painted here. More about the building later. One of our members is a house-wrecker; we received a good supply of much needed used lumber for platform building, squat racks, long lat pull, dip bars, bench platforms, power rack, etc. A coat of paint gave the final touch.

We are incorporated. Again, one of our members, a lawyer, came to the rescue with his specialty. Our mission statement is: "The Promotion of Weightlifting and Bodybuilding." We have the usual police permit and building license.

A word about the building. It is an industrial type, 50' x 85' formerly used as an automobile paint shop. The walls and ceiling are not beautiful, there is no wall-to-wall carpet, our legs seem to care little for such luxuries when straining under a heavy squat; also, our prones seem to go better when looking high into the rugged rafters. The bake oven lends itself well with the office/lounge. Frankly, we find it adequate, paint test-spots and all. Rough and rugged.

We rented it from a lady who is a retired osteopathic surgeon. She feels the youth of the nation are weak and therefore was very happy to rent the place to us for this purpose.

Our members cover a wide age range. One of our members is 50 years of age and improving steadily. He prones 370 pounds and military presses 269; he has done 270 in rough form.

Our oldest member is 84 and still works out. Tell that to the youth of the nation.

Already, with a booming membership of real huskies, it is evident that there will be many fine records made here; several are bench pressing over 400 and rising steadily.

This may possibly be the most functional gym this side of the Iron Curtain. A club of this sort can be a reality in towns throughout this nation. A number of gyms of this type could mean the difference between success and failure in our upcoming Olympic games. A dedicated group can make a start.

The most phenomenal aspect of our situation was the fact that once the move was started cooperation came from all directions. Dwell on the positive, start the thing, and keep it rolling with hard work which is, after all, the true secret of success in any field.

The gym is operated by the members, many of whom have keys to the regular lock. A master lock is put on at 10 at night and taken off at nine in the morning; the president has the only key to this lock. The big brother form of instruction is in force as there is no regular instructor. Our four officers and five councilmen reserve the right to terminate the membership of any member who seriously hinders the club objectives.

The sands of Muscle Beach are now peaceful and relatively quiet. We are happy in our new location. May all live in peace and contentment for a time but not forever as that would put an end to progress.

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295

General Discussion / The secrets of Steeve Reeves, Mr America, by dennis B Weis

« on: January 19, 2012, 01:08:30 AM »

from http://www.criticalbench.com/steve-reeves-mr-america.htm

Steve Reeves Secrets of a Mr. America Physique
by Dennis B. Weis the Yukon Hercules

Steve Reeves Yes… all bodybuilding enthusiasts younger than fifty years of age… there was a bodybuilding superstar before Arnold. The immortal Steve Reeves. Reeves’ had the rugged handsome good looks, golden tan and magnificent incomparable physique of classic lines and proportions that were and continue to be appreciated not only by bodybuilders but the average man or women, and that is a rarity, too! Reeves impact muscle aesthetics, of impressive shape and symmetry, set a standard that still exists today. Broad champion shoulders, colossal wide back, tidy etched waist, trim hips, formidable thighs and diamond shaped calves.

It is interesting to note that many Bodybuilding historians point to the mid 20th Century emergence of Steve Reeves on to our sport scene as the beginning evolution of the modern pure Bodybuilding period. This being due to his training methods and innovative techniques which conflicted with the hardcore strongman period that preceded Reeves. At the Reeves neo-classical physique schism crossroads, old world weightlifting and modern specialized Bodybuilding took off on different directional functional paths.

Although Reeves did have good genetics, genes alone did not get him to the top. Reeves was defeated a number of times in physique contests and whatever success he achieved he did so through persistence and hard work. As a mater of fact hard work is synonymous with Steve Reeves whether his business life, movie career, personal life, or bodybuilding, Steve Reeves committed himself completely and totally giving 100% effort.

Reeves worked hard his entire life, even as a youngster. As a young boy growing up in Oakland, California Steve had a newspaper route. In his later years Steve credited his superb leg development, especially his calves, to peddling a bicycle (with only his toes on the pedals and his buttocks firmly on the seat) daily up and down hills. No one can dispute the fact Reeves had some of the best calves in bodybuilding and even by today’s standards they are impressive.

Steve’s early bodybuilding workouts were at Ed Yarick’s, Gym in Oakland California. Ed took a real liking to the young Reeves and put him on a routine and worked with him for a couple of years. During that time Reeves made steady progress. He experimented with various angles and methods during his career. Many articles have been written concerning his workouts and some seem to contradict one another when in reality they are in fact accurate. They were however, written at different times during Reeves training.

It has been said by many who knew and worked out with Reeves that he could change his physique dramatically in only a few shorts weeks time. Most credit this to the fact Steve put forth all the effort he had in each and every workout. His workouts lasted from two to four hours and he took very little rest during his sessions. Steve’s workout pace consisted of moving from one movement to another and he didn’t waste anytime between sets or exercises.

Each exercise would be repeated until he couldn’t do another rep. Each workout he would increase the poundage, reps, sets or exercises he did. He knew and used the progressive system and one way or another forced progress each workout. This is one reason his workouts would take up to four hours in length. As the body becomes accustomed to a particular load, you must increase the resistance placed on the muscles in order to make them grow. Steve knew this and each workout was an all out attack on forcing his muscles to do more than the previous workout.

Reeves was the lynch pin for the evolution of pure isolated bodybuilding functionality and had several movements he preferred and liked such as Incline Dumbbell Curls, Hack Squats off a platform table, Incline Dumbbell Presses, Donkey Calf Raises, Bent- Over Low Pulley Long Cable Lat Pulls. Although Steve used a great amount of variety in his workouts, these movements are well known as being his favorites and he incorporated most of them in each workout.

Steve Reeves - Hercules Reeves usually started a movement with a weight that was near his maximum and with each set he would reduce the weight but continued to perform as many repetitions as possible. He would sometimes perform straight sets while at other times he would perform what we now call tension super-sets (using two movements one immediately following another), barbell curls followed immediately by incline dumbbell curls for example. Other times he would rotate movements, one for his back then one for his chest.

Steve knew the principle behind muscular growth and he also knew how quickly the body and muscles adapt to a workload. Steve was constantly changing, modifying, and adding to his workouts. Here’s some examples.

While working out at the old York Barbell Club in York, Pennsylvania, in preparation for the 1950 Mr. Universe in London, England, Steve used a special “yoke” apparatus for his calves that he favored. The unique “yoke” or harness rested on top of an old parallel bar set-up. Steve then loaded plates on either end and then draped the “yoke” harness webbing straps over his shoulders and then assumed the position for Standing Heel Raises.

He would also perform Donkey Heel Raises and it would not be unusual to see two people on his back as he did them. Steve would rise as high on his tip toes as he could and would stretch all the way down on each rep. There were no half reps or jerking and bouncing just full contraction and extension each rep.

But more than that, Steve punctuated his calf training by pointing out that you only get a full contraction of the calf muscle if you roll forward, putting your weight right onto your big toe---which feels as if you're turning the movement inward rather than going straight forward. The natural tendency doing calf raises is to roll outward onto the other four toes, turning your ankle as you do the movement. But when you do calf raises like this you can't totally peak the calf muscle, which means you end up losing training intensity.

You can compare peaking the calf muscle to getting a full peak contraction of the biceps. You can contract your upper arm as hard as you want, but unless you supinate your hand (twist your wrist, bringing your little finger around toward the centerline of your body) you won't feel a full peak contraction of the biceps.

Having superior calf development was not something Steve had due to genetics alone; he worked them hard and heavy. Admittedly calf training was one of Steve’s favorites. The diamond shape calves he had may have been a genetic gift but the size they obtained was brought about by pure hard work and sweat. I have been told that he used backward running as a further means to stimulate development on his calf muscles.

Reeves’ was also known for his arm development. His favorite biceps movement was the Incline Dumbbell Curl. He would use a bench set at approximately a 45 degree angle and would extend his body straight out. From this position he would let his arms drop to his sides. As he curled his arms up, he would keep the upper arm stationary and would not allow it to move during the movement. He also lowered the dumbbells almost twice as slow as he would raise them. Reeves believed in and utilized the negative part of a movement in almost all of his exercises.

Classic Bodybuilder Steve Reeves For a twist while performing Incline Dumbbell Curls, Reeves would start with heavy dumbbells resting on his knees. They would be heavy enough that he could not curl them without some assistance in getting them up. To get them up he would use his knees to get them up and then he would lower them as slow as possible resisting all the way. Once down he would repeat the movement again until he could no longer hold the weight up.

Reeves popularized the Incline Dumbbell Press (120+ pound Dumbbells were not uncommon for him to use), he didn’t invent it. Back in Steve’s day most bodybuilders were performing the Flat Bench Press. A few did the Incline Barbell Press and fewer if any incorporated the Incline Dumbbell Press into their workouts. Until that is, Steve Reeves came along. Steve had a very unique square pec development and the upper part was particularly thick. Everyone tried to duplicate the pec’s of Steve Reeves and that meant doing incline work. Ask him what he did for his chest and he would, without hesitation say, “the Incline Dumbbell and Barbell Press.”

Starting with the maximum poundage he could use for ten reps he would press the dumbbells up with a forceful thrust and lower them slowly under full control. Once he completed ten reps he would pick up a slightly lighter pair of dumbbells and again force them up lowering them in a slow controlled motion. He continued to lower the poundage he used on each set while still trying to pump out ten reps in strict form. Even with heavy weight Reeves kept perfect form and constantly fought the weight on the negative part of the movement.

Hack Squats performed the Reeves way were unique compared to how others were doing them. When Steve was training at the old York Barbell Club in his bid for the 1950 Mr. Universe he used part of the old Milo hip lifting wooden platform plus a fabricated cold rolled steel T-Bar. The hip lifting platform had a hole in the middle of it and the “T” end of the bar extended through the hole. Plates were loaded or anchored on the bottom part of the “T” bar underneath the platform. While standing atop the platform Reeves would squat down with his hands behind his back and take a strong knuckles forward grip on the “T” (holding it tightly against the underside of his buttocks) and then would straighten his legs up to almost near lock-out but not quite. Once in the up position he would lower himself and repeat the movement for about fifteen reps. Doing the reps in non-lockout fashion would keep tension on his thighs the entire time.

An additional frontal thigh movement Steve relied heavily on for mass was the Barbell Front Squat...which was his answer to the buttocks building and supposed hip widening full Barbell Back Squat. With the barbell cradled in front of his neck across the shoulders (starting press position)...elbows high Steve's non-bending forward torso when squatting achieved maximum quadriceps muscle stretching and contractile force.

Another movement Reeves’ made generous use of was Low Pulley Long Cable Rowing. Not performed as most people today perform it in a sitting position however. Steve performed the movement from a bent over “crouched” position. He would bend his knees and lower his torso to about a forty-five degree angle. From this starting position he would pull the bar into his lower chest using only the lats. As he returned to the starting position he would resist with his lats until his arms were almost completely extended. Performed in this manner, the movement feels very awkward and requires practice to get it down. Once able to execute it properly, it provides a feel unlike any other lat movement.

Reeves also liked the Barbell Press and the Dumbbell Press for his shoulders. Often he would alternate one set of Barbell Press’s and one set of Dumbbell Press’s. Back and forth he would go thrusting the weights up with a strong forceful movement and lowering them slowly. While performing pressing movements Reeves would extend his arms all the way and lockout his elbows on each rep, something most bodybuilders don’t do today.

As mentioned earlier, Reeves’ altered his training methods and routines quite often. Two of his favorites were full body three days a week and also a split routine consisting of movements for the Chest, Arms, Shoulders on Monday – Wednesday – Friday and Back, Abs, Legs on Tuesday – Thursday – Saturday, as well as variations of those. Already noted were his marathon two to four hour workouts but he also would train full body workouts employing 1-2 sets per movement using mainly multi-jointed exercises to failure three times a week, training briefly, infrequently and intensely to facilitate progress in his bodybuilding endeavor. When he worked at his training he really worked at it. At other times, he just worked at it.

The magnitude of Steve Reeves way of training can be summed up by saying he trained intensely using moderate to heavy weight for relative high reps (10 -15 range). He was persistent and dedicated yet he would take extended layoffs from time to time. He knew just how far to push his muscles to make them grow. It was a very rare incident if Steve talked during his workouts. He would do all his clowning and talking after he showered but during workouts he kept completely focused. Reeves rarely trained alone, usually had a training partner with him. One of his favorites was his long time friend George Eiferman. They were not only training partners but entered various contests, traveled and socialized together. Over the years they formed a real bond.

Classic Bodybuilder Steve Reeves Incidentally...many of the hardcore lifters at York considered Steve's training approach and exercises to be sissified at that time. In fact someone at the gym questioned whether Steve was really strong or not. Upon hearing that comment Steve was quoted as saying “I can be as strong as I want to be. Follow me.” Without another word he loaded a 7 foot Olympic bar to approximately 400 pounds. Then he reached down and with his arms fully extended to span more than six feet, gripped the lip of the 45 pound plates with only his fingers and preceded to dead-lift the enormous poundage. This demonstration of the fingertip or Snatch-grip dead-lifting quieted his doubter’s big time.

Back in 1986 the late ‘Monarch of Muscledom’, John C. Grimek paid me a surprise visit here in Ketchikan, Alaska and during a conversation we were having about Steve Reeves he confirmed the Snatch-grip dead-lift story as he had seen it first hand. I have a photo of Steve doing the lift on page 24 of my eReport: ‘Massive Muscle Pumping’. Grimek also went onto say that Steve could as an impromptu feat of strength clean a 225 pound barbell from the floor while kneeling. I know just how difficult an accomplishment it is because I have in years past, never impromptu but with lots and lots of practice, emulated Steve’s feat and beyond with 250 pounds.

As all bodybuilders do, measurements go up and down depending on the season and stage of training one is in. Steve Reeves was no different; he considered himself to be in his peak shape and condition when his measurements were as follows.

Height - 6'1"
Weight - 215
Neck - 18 1/4"
Chest - 52"
Waist - 29"
Hips - 38"
Biceps - 18 1/4"
Forearm - 14 3/4"
Wrist - 7 1/4"
Thighs - 26"
Calf - 18 1/4"

In his own words here is what Steve had to say with regard to building the classic physique the natural way.

Quotable Quote by Steve Reeves

“Today, everything about the top bodybuilding champions is oversized; they have lost the whole purpose of bodybuilding which is to create a harmonious whole, not to exaggerate the development of one part or parts, of the body. A body has hands, legs, feet, arms and a head. If a man’s arms appear bigger than his head, his body is thrown out of proportion.”

“Today’s bodybuilders are carrying too much muscle for their frames, which distorts and obscures the natural lines of the body. Why these men would aspire to deform themselves at such tremendous sacrifice is incomprehensible. This has been indulged in to such an extreme that I’m thinking of sanctioning a special Steve Reeves Trophy to be presented at shows to the man whom I think has the most classical proportionate, tastefully developed physique. The man who doesn’t actually win the contest might win my trophy, which in the long run might be more prestigious.”

“I don’t believe in bodybuilders using steroids. If a man doesn’t have enough male hormones in his system to create, a nice hard, muscular body, he should take up ping pong.”

“I’m often asked how I would compare myself with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I think Arnold Schwarzenegger is in great shape. But if there were two buttons, and I could push one button and look like Steve Reeves did in Hercules, and push another button and look like Arnold Schwarzenegger did in Conan, I’d push the Steve Reeves button.”

Steve Reeves - Mr. America Steve’s quote regarding anabolic steroids is interesting because they have been for decades the key to contemporary size but back in the 50s, before anabolic steroids were used, Steve evidently was into Vitamin B-12 shots as a means to up the muscle gain factor in his dynamic physique.

A true physique champion and not just a paper tiger or movie star, Steve captured innumerable bodybuilding titles.

1946 - Mr. Pacific Coast
1947 - Mr. Western America
1947 - Mr. America (AAU)
1948 - Mr. World
1950 - Mr. Universe (NABBA)

Steve Reeves was one of the first, if not the first, real bodybuilders to become a world renowned movie star. His films inspired millions across the entire planet...in their many language versions... to take up some version of muscle training. Sound familiar? And you thought Arnold was the first.

The following is a list of some films and television programs Steve, appeared in.

FILMS

A Long Ride from Hell (1968)

The Pirates of the Seven Seas (1964) Also known as Sandokan the Pirate, this film is a sequel to Sandokan the Great

Sandokan the Great (1964) with Rik Battaglia

The Slave (1963) (aka The Son of Spartacus)

The Shortest Day (1963)

The Trojan Horse (1962)

The Avenger (1962)

Morgan the Pirate (1961)

Duel of the Titans (1961) with Gordon Scott

The Last Days of Pompeii (1960)

The Thief of Baghdad (1960)

Giant of Marathon (1959)

Goliath and the Barbarians (1959)

The White Warrior (1959)

Hercules Unchained (1958)

Hercules (1957) with Sylva Koscina

Athena (1954) with Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell, and Linda Christian

Jail Bait (1954) with Ed Wood regular Dolores Fuller and Lyle Talbott

TELEVISION

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1952)

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1953)

Love that Bob with Bob Cummings

The Ralph Edwards Show (1954) The late, great Ed Wood was watching this show when he first saw Steve Reeves

Topper (1953) with Anne Jeffreys and Leo G. Carroll. Steve Reeves' guest shot garnered the most fan mail of any Topper show, which ran from 1952-1955.

Steve appeared on Broadway, on the legitimate stage, in the 1955 comedy musical called...THE VAMP starring Carol Channing. playing the role of a comic foil ‘Samson’. During this time he trained at the immortal strongman Sig Klein's Gym on Broadway...while seeking ways to further his professional acting career. And guesting on various television shows.

Cecil B. Demille considered Steve for the role of Samson in the famous movie Samson and Delilah which went to Victor Mature. He was close personal friends with Mario Lanza .

Lastly...he was the one considered for the Sergio Leone movie A Fist Full Of Dollars which started the Italian spaghetti western cycle of films and made Clint Eastward a major star. Steve turned this down...because he felt it too violent. He did seem to regret it. Additionally...George Pal considered him for the role of pulp character Doc Savage for his return to the screen out of retirement. Reeves reportedly turned down $100,000 for the role of James Bond in "Dr. No" (1962). Reeves produced and starred in his last movie, a western called "A Long Ride from Hell" in 1967.

Steve Reeves was not only one of the worlds most popular bodybuilders but perhaps the best know and most widely accepted Hercules of the silver screen. Many famous actors and bodybuilders, among them Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, credit Steve as being a continuous inspiration to them.

Steve Reeves was also an accomplished author. In 1982, Reeves published a best-selling book, Powerwalking, in which he encouraged runners to slow down and save their knees, ankles, and hip joints. Instead, he advocated a form of fast walking using ankle and wrist weights as a safer and equally effective form of aerobic exercise. He was in many ways a pioneer in the field of exercise walking, and in the years since the publication of his book Powerwalking millions of people have switched from running to walking. And in 1995 he published Building the Classic Physique--the Natural Way.

BONUS! – A Steve Reeves Favorite Drink

Blend the following ingredients until smooth. Makes one serving.

12 oz. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

2 Tablespoons of Wheat Germ

2 Tablespoons Bee Pollen

2 Tablespoons Knox Gelatin Mix

2 Tablespoons Raw Honey

1 Medium Ripe Banana

Steve Reeves was born in Glasgow Montana January 21, 1926 and passed away on May 1, 2000 at the young age of 74. Even today Reeves had what can be considered as perfect and socially accepted proportions. His rugged features, brown hair and blue eyes left no doubt he was a movie star and his physique left no doubt he was Hercules.

Oh one final irony...there may not have been a MuscleMag International in existence for close to 35 years of publishing had it not been for the awesome inspiring classical physique of Steve Reeves...since the Steve Reeves persona may have been the main influence of MuscleMag publisher and executive editor Robert Kennedy in his personal training life.

Thank you Steve...the iron game has been made richer by your existence. And may your memory be honored for as long as men and women pump iron in quest of the perfectly proportioned strong attractive physical structure!”

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296

Exercises and workouts / The Ten Keys Beginners by Bango Skank

« on: January 11, 2012, 09:19:04 AM »

The Ten Keys to Old School Success for New School Beginners
by Bango Skank

1. Eat Like a King
Muscle isn't made out of thin air, it's made out of the fuel you provide it and that's food. You can forget everything you've learned and will learn in this article, if you don't eat enough to fuel growth you won't grow. You kids have this idea that you can grow bigger and somehow stay smaller, that you can pack on 20-30 lbs of muscle and keep an Ethiopian six-pack. It ain't gonna happen, or it'll happen so slowly that your grand kids will grow faster than you do. And if you're saying to yourself that you can't seem to gain weight, I got another name for you so-called "hard gainers," it's under eaters! If you're having trouble adding weight to the scale you need to be eating everything that isn't nailed down, then you need to eat everything that is nailed down, and then you need to eat the nails. For guys, everytime you sit down for a meal it's a banquet, a competitive eating contest, it's an Olympic sport! Screw your light yogurt and your skim milk, you need to be downing whole milk, whole eggs, nuts, peanut butter, fresh fruits and veggies, plenty of meat and top it all off with olive oil! And one more thing; if it's not something that your grandparents would recognize as food, it ain't food! This immediately nullifies many things you'd get out of a bag, box or can. This means you need to be sticking to the outside of the grocery store where they keep all the fresh food and skimp on visiting the aisles.

2. Rest Like a Baby
You don't grow while you work, you grow while you rest. Your hard earned sweat and blood will be wasted if you don't give yourself a chance to recover. This means getting at least 8, and more like 10, hours of uninteruppted sleep every night. If you don't have time to rest, then you don't have time to train, it's as simple as that. Resting isn't just sleep either, it's taking a day off when you need it and liesure time with friends and family. It's also taking a full week off every 8-12 weeks. So give your mind, body and spirit all the recovery it needs to replenish itself and grow. It's not being lazy, it's being realistic.

3. Be Skilled, Not Sloppy
Weight lifting is a skill just like in any other sport, and where the skilled will be successful, the sloppy will be in the emergency room. Make it your top priority to always be improving your form, perfecting your movements and mastering your technique. This means educating yourself in the lifts that you will be performing before you perform them. Don't walk into the gym and decide to "wing it" on a new exercises; learn it first, then practice, then perform. One basic rule of thumb will help guide you in all exercises: keep your body in line with itself. This means keeping a nuetral spine (not bent or overextended), keeping your knees in line with your toes, your elbows under your wrist and your neck in line with your spine. I recommend that every one of you read Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. This is the best guide out there on performing the big heavy compound lifts. Also, don't rely on mirrors to tell you what you're doing; mirrors lie! A 2 dimentional representation of a 3 dimentional occurence will never give you an accurate portrayal. I realize most gyms today look like the hall of mirrors in a fun house, but ignore them, and instead pay attention to what your body is telling you. Also if you have access to a digital camera you should record yourself and play it back later to assess proper technique. This is better than a mirror because a) you'll be watching yourself after-the-fact, not during it, b) you can replay as many times as you like, and, c) you can post it on-line for immediate feedback.

4. Progress or Die
Progress in weightlifting, strength training or bodybuilding are all measured the same for you beginners; it's adding weight on the barbell and adding weight on the scale every week. These are the only two measures that you need concern yourself with at this point in your training. It's not how much you bench, it's how much more you benched than last week, it's not how much you weigh, it's how much more you weighed than last week. You are your own toughest competition and every week is a new chance to come out ahead. Little by little, just keep upping both strength and size every blessed week. If one ceases to increase that means both will cease to increase. If that's the case you're doing something wrong and you need to fix it. 9 times out of 10 you'll need to get more food and get more rest. It's a lot harder to restart your stalled progress than to maintain your consistent progress, so make sure you're never in that position and stay on course. If however your strength or bodyweight actually regress, then more drastic measures might need to be taken. If this happens and it's been more than 8 weeks since you last took a full week off, now is the time to do so. Otherwise another way of breaking the spell is to cut the intensity (the weight) of your workout by 50% for a week; this means benching 75lbs if you normally bench 150. This will give you the advantage of recovering without regressing. After either a week off or a week "deloading" you should be good as new and ready to go.

5. Be Consistent
If you haven't been on a program for at least 4 or 5 weeks you have no business changing to a new routine. It takes at least that long to judge if a program is working or not, and if you've been reading, you'll know exactly how to measure that progress. However if you've been on a program that long and you're not adding weight, even then the program should be the last thing you change. Make sure it's not something else in your lifestyle that is short changing your gains. If you can remove all other possibilities and are left with only your routine to change, then you'd be a fool to stay on it. But whatever you do don't get in one of these vicious cycles of second guessing yourself everytime you start a new routine. Changing your routine every week does not a program make. Avoid paralysis by analysis, make a choice and stick with it. The same can be said of exercise selection; changing your sets, reps, and exercises every week is the same thing as changing the whole routine. Don't do it unless you have to. Also be consistent in your diet and your rest. Consistent choices will give you consistent gains!

6. Supplement, Don't Substitute
There is no legal supplement in existence that will make up for bad programming, bad nutrition or bad recovery, there is no legal supplement that is good enough to merit basing a workout routine on, and there is no legal supplement that is worth spending more money on than the food you eat. 99% of supplements are canned crap. That means that whatever expensive supplement you're taking this week is in all likelyhood a shiny brand new shrink-wrapped turd with a bow on it for all the good that it'll do. There are only 3 supplements that you guys need concern yourselves with:
1) A Mega Multi Vitamin. Your requirements for vitamins and minerals will be higher than the average person, so this is pretty important.
2) Fish Oil. This stuff is as close as we've gotten to an elixer of life. It does so many good things that you'll just have to take my word for it and look it up yourself. Take at least 5 grams per day. I take 12.
3) Whey Protein. This will ensure you're getting the requisite amount of protein that your body needs to grow, but it is not a substitute for food. Drink 1 shake post workout and that's probably as much as you'll need. If you're drinking more than 2 per day, you're literally ****ing money away.
If you want to spend your money on extra sups, well that's up to you. I think it's a waste, but as long as you're getting plenty to eat and you're already taking these 3, then feel free to be a lab rat.

7. Overtraining = Underrecovering
Overtraining is The Black Plague of the bodybuilding world and by my estimates your chances of getting either one are about equal. Don't concern yourself with working too hard or too long, concern yourself with recovering too little. There is no amount of training that will put you into an overtrained state, there is only a deficit of recovery that will. Train hard and rest harder and you'll never have to worry about getting overtrained. But be sure to wash your hands just in case.

8. Be Self Aware, Not Self Absorbed
Always warm-up before performing. If a warm-up with 60% or 80% of your max weight feels heavier than it should, take a step back and assess the situation. Maybe you need to back off. Don't lift with your ego. That's a good way to get injured and not be able to lift at all. If you're performing a new exercise always learn it first with little or no weight. When starting a new program or routine never start with your max weight, always work your way back up over the course of a few weeks. Don't ever test your 1 rep max unless you are highly skilled in the exercise and have a very good idea of what your 1 rep max is already. Showing off will get you nowhere that you wouldn't have gotten by taking the sure path, except maybe a trip to the emergency room. Also, unless you're talking about lactic acid burn, adages like, "No Pain, No Gain," are bull**** and should be ignored. If you get injured don't be a nimrod and work through the pain; You Will Lose. Instead do everything you can to heal it via rest, medication and rehab, and otherwise find a way to work around the injury. Make wellness your top priority.

9. Finish What You Start
Go all the way or go home. Set goals for yourself and don't quit until you meet them. Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-based. A goal could be adding 5 lbs of muscular bodyweight to the scale in a month or adding 50 lbs to your squat in 7 weeks. These are good goals to have and will keep you striving toward the finish-line. If however you find you do need to stop prematurely, make sure it's for the right reasons (only you can define what those are).

10. Drop a Log
The most successful bodybuilders keep very close tabs on their progress by recording every minute detail of their development. This means recording your exercise routines, the weight you used for warm-ups and work sets, and any feedback that the routine gave you such as on your technique. Also your bodyweight, your dietary menu and anything else that might impact your training. Having a detailed training journal ensures that every time you walk into the gym you'll know exactly what it is that you came to do. You can't assess your progress if you don't record it!

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297

Exercises and workouts / The Reg Park 5 X 5 programs

« on: January 11, 2012, 09:18:06 AM »

Or how to follow a workout for building mass and strength in the Reg Park way.

The basic exercises will appear throughout the entire training program. There are no alternatives to these exercises. For example, every bodybuilder has to do squats from the time he starts until he finishes. You can't build your legs without the squat.
-Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder

Training like Reg Park

If you're a beginner and you want to train like Arnold Schwarzenegger, then you have to train like Arnold Schwarzenegger trained as a beginner. When Arnold first began training he trained 3 days a week, so you'll train three days a week. When Arnold first began training he followed a Reg Parks routine, so you'll follow a Reg Parks routine. When Arnold first began training, he focused on the big heavy compound lifts, so you'll focus on the big heavy compound lifts. This is how Arnold got his start on the road to being the best that there ever was and it's my hope that this could be your start as well. Let's take a look at some of the programs advocated by Reg Parks, all of which Arnie would have used at some point. Try to imagine Arnold at 15, 16 and 17 doing the exact same things that you'll be doing. Try to recreate for yourself some of the same excitement, determination and raw power that Arnie did, and ultimately, success.

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Reg Park and 5x5

The 5x5 model was Reg Park's choice  for packing on slabs of muscle and producing hundreds of pounds of strength. This is also the model that Arnie came to know and love during his formative years. But this isn't Bill Starr's 5x5, this is Reg Park's 5x5 and it's a little different. The first two sets of five are actually used as warm-up sets. So let's say we're going to work our way up to a 150 lb bench, the first set of five would be about 60% or 90 lbs, and the second set of five would be about 80% or 120lbs. After that you would get down to the grit, what Reg liked to call Stabilizer Sets; 3 sets of 5 at 150lbs. So it would end up looking like:

5x90 (Warm-up @ 60%)
5x120 (Warm-up @ 80%)
5x150 (3 stabilizer sets)
5x150
5x150

When you can get all your reps of 5 at 150 lbs, you add 5 lbs. So next time your bench it would be:

5x95
5x125
5x155
5x155
5x155

Reg liked to use about 3-5 minutes to rest in between sets.

One more thing: When you're first starting any 5x5 program you never want to start with your max. Typically you start 30-45 lbs below what you think you can do and work your way back up. Starting anywhere near your maximum capacity is a good way to stall out, so give yourself a running start. If that means starting with an empty barbell, well, just consider that Arnold and Reg both started at the same place you will.

Onto the programs...

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The Reg Park Beginner Routine

Here is a workout that he and Arnold used with great success (provided by Kaya Park, Reg's grandson)

Workout A

Back Squats 5x5
Chin-Ups or Pull-Ups 5x5
Dips or Bench Press 5x5
Wrist Work 2x10
Calves 2x15-20

Workout B

Front Squats 5x5
Rows 5x5
Standing Press 5x5
Deadlifts 3x5 (2 warm-up sets and 1 "stabilizer set")
Wrist Work 2x10
Calves 2x15-20

Week 1: A, B, A
Week 2: B, A, B
Week 3: A, B, etc

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Reg Park's Power Training

Schedule 1 - To be performed 3x/week for 5 weeks before continuing onto Schedule 2

Back Squat - 5x5
Bench Press - 5x5
Power Clean - 8x2
Standing Press - 5x5
Barbell Curl - 3x5 strict, add 20-30lbs then 2x5 cheat curls
Deadlift - 5x1, working up to a top weight (Only performed on Day 3) Beginners should do 1x5

Schedule 2 - To be performed 3x/week for 5 weeks.

Front Squat - 5x5
Clean and Press, warmup w/ 2 sets of 2, 5x2 Stabilizing sets. Optionally perform 2 more sets of 3 Push Jerks
Upright Row - 5x5
Dips - 5x8
Dumbbell Curls - 5x5
Deadlift - 5x1, working up to a top weight (Only performed on Day 3) Beginners should do 1x5


We're concerned with the development of SIZE, POWER and SHAPELY BULK, so we've eliminated all supplementary abdominal and calf work. It isn't generally understood, but the easiest way to build the small muscle groups is by exercise on the big ones! For example, it's impossible to build a broad, powerful back, and thick pectorals, along with terrific shoulders via the heavy cleaning, pressing, rowing and bench work that I advocate, without building enormous arm size and strength. You couldn't do it if you wanted to! Yet, aside from weight-gaining, building big arms is a giant headache for most barbell men. How simple a matter it would become if only they would forget about the ridiculous pumping, cramping and spinning-type isolation exercises, and just train hard on the basics! The big arms would come naturally.

John Grimek once had arms that taped close to 19". They were so big and powerful that they didn't look real! Grimek at the time was an Olympic weight-lifting contender, and he had trained for a long period without doing a single curl or triceps "pumper." His big arms got the way they did from the Heavy Lifting Training. You can do the same by working hard and heavy. And you don't have to enter Olympic competition!

The trapezius and neck muscles are impressive and too often neglected by many weight-trainees. But your traps will grow like crazy if you push your cleans hard, and if you get your presses up to really impressive standards.

Ditto for your neck muscles. The huffing, puffing, and muscular work and exertion caused by ALL heavy work will make your neck muscles grow.

Forearms - "stubborn forearms" will respond like obedient, trained seals to heavy rowing, cleaning and pressing. And just try to keep your grip on a super heavy barbell while doing a set of stiff-leg deadlifts, without forcing the forearm muscles to ache and grow beyond belief!

Heavy squatting will build heavier calves. Sounds impossible? Well, just try working your squats like you're supposed to, and you'll see your calves begin to grow no matter how they've refused to respond to toe raises.

Power cleans are fine for the calf muscles too. Incredible as this statement may sound, it's absolutely true. The coordinated effort of leg and back movement in heavy cleaning DOES work the calves! Try it for a few months and find out for yourself.

Nobody wants to be fat around the middle. Yet, unless you're drastically overweight, you don't need more than one set of one abdominal exercise (done in high reps, with resistance) to keep a rock-hard, muscular mid-section. The hard work on squatting, cleaning, and ALL heavy exercises will inevitably keep you trim and hard. And make no mistake about this: you are far, far better off with a thick, powerful waist than you are with a "wasp-waist pretty body." A man should be BIG. He should be strong and powerful. And he can't be if he tries to blow his biceps up to 20" and keep his waist down to 30". Use your head! If there are any real supermen around who have waistlines below 33" or 34", then they've got 'em only because they're SHORT, and, the small waist is proportionate tot he rest of their husky muscles.

Training on the big exercises builds HEALTH and LASTING muscle size. These two factors are very important. Today, men like John Grimek, Reg Park, Bill Pearl, and another lesser-known Hercules, Maurice HOnes of Canada, all possess builds and physical power comparable to that which they had during their prime. The reason? They built REAL MUSCLE, Sig Klein must be around seventy, yet he's got the build of a twenty-five year old athlete. The reason? He built REAL MUSCLE. The same holds for scores of others in the weight game who got their physical development by hard, hard work with heavy weights on the best exercises.

If you're a young man now, then you're probably more interested in what you can look like on a posing platform, and in how fast you can get piles of muscle - but don't, no matter how great the temptation for an "easy way out" via pumping routines or muscle drugs, follow any system of training except the good, heavy, teeth-gritting type routines that build pure, strong, big muscles. I say this as a sincere warning against charlatans who would rob you of your money and your health - and do it gladly - to sell you on their own private "miracle systems' or methods'. Keep clear of them, and remember, please, that you've got a long life ahead of you after any physique competitions you might enter or win within the next few years. You want health, well-being AND big muscles that will stay with you for the rest of your life. You will only get them if you train HARD and HEAVY!


One more 5x5 Routine

Hyperextension Warm-up - 1 x 20
Squat - 5 x 5
Bench press - 5 x 5
Stiff-leg dead lift - 5 x 5
Bent-over rowing - 5 x 5
Standing Press - 5 x 5
Leg raises 1 x 25

Do that routine - or a similar one - as described in this article, and your muscles will bulge through your clothing after a year or so of training!

The watchwords are BASIC EXERCISES and HARD WORK. Remember them when you walk into the gym next time. You'll be grateful for the rest of your life that you did!

Reg Park's 9 Month 5x5 Program

As far as the popularity of beginner's training programs go, five sets of five reps is right up there with 3x10, 10x3, and the ever-lasting 1x20 squat program, which inspired the weight room battle-cry, "Squats and milk!"

A few years ago, Dan John wrote an in-depth explanation of several versions of the 5x5 program. Bill Starr also created a popular 5x5 plan that focused primarily on the power clean, bench press, and back squat.

We're going to take a look at one of the very first 5x5 routines to be published, originally written in 1960 by Reg Park in his manual Strength & Bulk Training for Weight Lifters and Body Builders. The late Reg Park was a three-time Mr. Universe winner and he was one of the first bodybuilders to really push the size envelope by competing at a massive 225 pounds in the 1950s and '60s.

Oh yeah, Park is also the number one bodybuilder that little Arnie from Austria admired, respected, and hoped to someday look like. Upon seeing Park on a magazine cover for the first time, Schwarzenegger has said, "He was so powerful and rugged-looking that I decided right then and there I wanted to be a bodybuilder, another Reg Park."

Reg Park's Three Phase 5x5 Program

Phase One

45-degree back extension 3x10
Back squat 5x5
Bench press 5x5
Deadlift 5x5

Rest 3-5 minutes between the last 3 sets of each exercise.

Train three days per week for three months

Phase Two for Bodybuilders*

45-degree back extension 3-4x10
Front squat 5x5
Back squat 5x5
Bench press 5x5
Standing barbell shoulder press 5x5
High pull 5x5
Deadlift 5x5
Standing barbell calf raise 5x25

Rest 2 minutes between sets.

Train three days per week for three months.

* After the basic Phase One, Park had a different set of recommended exercises for aspiring Olympic weightlifters. It used a few different sets and reps, and included lunges and power cleans.

Phase Three for Bodybuilders

45-degree back extension 4x10
Front squat 5x5
Back squat 5x5
Standing barbell shoulder press 5x5
Bench press 5x5
Bent-over barbell row 5x5
Deadlift 5x3
Behind-the-neck press or one-arm dumbbell press 5x5
Barbell curl 5x5
Lying triceps extension 5x8
Standing barbell calf raise 5x25

Rest 2 minutes between sets.

Train three days per week for three months.

As Park explained it, 5x5 includes two progressively heavier warm-up sets and three sets at the same weight. He suggested increasing weights at approximately the same interval, for example:

Back squat: first set 135x5, second set 185x5, followed by three sets of 225x5.

When you can complete the last 3x5 at a given weight, increase the weight on all five sets 5-10 pounds. Also, he was strongly against training to failure, saying that it encouraged a negative mindset when attempting other heavy, near-maximal lifts.

You are, however, allowed to test for one-rep max at the end of each phase. Park recommends two warm-up sets (1x5 and 1x3), followed by three progressively heavier attempts at a one-rep max. So the max testing day would be: 1x5, 1x3, and 3x1 (for each lift). Take the next four days off from the gym, and then begin the next phase of training.

For the 45-degree back extensions, begin without added weight. Once you can complete all sets, increase your poundage each set while still getting all sets and reps. Park and his training partner often used 135 for the first set, 175 for the second, and 215 for the third, and 235-255 for the fourth.

That's the entire plan, and it's a doozy. Talk about volume training? Mike Mentzer just rolled over in his grave... once. Notice, there really aren't any isolation exercises until the third phase, when you've been training consistently for six months. Only then can you break out some curls for the girls.

As far as recovery goes, Park recommended plenty of sleep and plenty of food. His main sources of nutrition would include whole milk, whole eggs, steak, orange juice, salad, protein powders, wheat germ, and liver tablets. Interestingly, the foods would remain the same when cutting, but the portions would be reduced.

With such a high volume of work, it wasn't uncommon for these workouts to last two to three hours. That's typical of the training in that era, and it's a far cry from the, "get out of the gym in 60 minutes, or you'll sacrifice growth hormone levels!" warnings of today.

Does that make it much worse than programs designed today? Is this absurdly busy training day dangerous, guaranteed to break you emotionally and scare you out of the gym? Not necessarily.

While it might not be ideal, or even fun, to do for the long term, when was the last time you had a juggernaut session and really tried to destroy yourself in the gym? Once in a while, it's okay to break the rules, especially if you have a free Saturday with nothing else to do... and a free Sunday to lie in bed, eat steak, and curse us for daring you to try this plan.

taken from http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/getting-started/46402-real-arnold-schwarzenegger-beginner-programs.html

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298

Exercises and workouts / routine with dbs of John Grimek

« on: January 10, 2012, 01:00:56 AM »

Here is from a unknow mag of the forties a rouine of Grimek with dbs, use by him and all the lifters of York as a complement for the the heavy lifting of that times:


Snatch with two fbs: 3 sets of 8 reps.
Press wit dbs:  5 x 5
Uright rowing:  5 x 3 accelerating the upload.
Side Bends: 1 x 20-25 (each side).
Shurg: 2 x 12.
Dbs laterals: 2 x 12.
Swings with one hand: 1 x 15-20 (with each hand).

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299

General Discussion / Coincidences of life: Reg Park and Doug Hepburn

« on: January 08, 2012, 12:11:33 PM »

Took form iron history forum, from Joe Roark

On November 22, 2000 Doug Hepburn died at age 27, 096 days (74y 2.2 mo)

On November 22, 2007 Reg Park died at age 29,022 days (79 y 5.5 mo)

In 1954 each man bench pressed 500, Doug first on Apr 13, 1954 at age 10,071 days (27 y 6.9mo) then Reg ten days later at age 9,451 days (25y 10.5 mo)

So a great pioneer of strength died on Nov 22, as did a great pioneer of physique & strength.

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300

Exercises and workouts / The best exercise for the back

« on: January 08, 2012, 10:00:58 AM »

For me, I have some doubt between the chins or the bent over BB rowing.  But I have begun doing chins since three weeks looking into more back development witouth lower back injurie in the rows due to heavy training.  If you said chins, what version do you prefer:  pronation or supination?

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