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Random Articles from: http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/ - 2009 The Back, Part One by Samuel Homola We’ve all heard the old adage that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This is true, of course, and has special meaning when we think of the back in its role of supporting practically everything we do, especially bodybuilding and weightlifting. Many things can go wrong with the back, some of which cannot be avoided, but there is no excuse for weak musculature in the back of a weight trainee . . . and there is rarely such a weakness by the usual standards of athletes. But persons who lift weights – for bodybuilding, weightlifting, or both – must make a special effort to acquire extraordinary low back strength in order to protect themselves from possible strain. The bodybuilder, of course, usually takes adequate exercise to widen and thicken the muscles of the upper back in order to balance his physique, but too often in efforts to keep the waist and hips small the low back area is neglected. I’ve seen a great many bodybuilders who had a waist like a wasp, and who, in addition to neglecting weightlifting exercises per se, did so many of their bodybuilding exercises in supine, incline and prone positions that they had a low back that was relatively weak – that is, it was weaker proportionately than their arms, legs and abdominals. In time this could result in a serious low back strain in unaccustomed lifting or labor. A bodybuilder who can bench press 300 lbs. and squat 400, for example, might impose strain upon the weaker lower back if he should attempt to lift a keg of water or push his car out of the mud; the arms and legs are strong enough for the job but the back isn’t. So for your own protection make sure that you also strengthen your low back area with your workouts. It would be a shame to be put out of commission by a needless back strain owing to underestimating the importance of the low back, but if you don’t take measures to prevent such an accident, it’s waiting to happen. It may be a matter of opinion, but I believe that a bodybuilder with thick spinal erector muscles plus the well-developed external obliques that frame the lower portion of the rugged looking abdominals is not only stronger than his narrow-waisted counterpart but also has a more manly appearing physique. This power is also more evident when the latissimus dorsi muscles are heavily developed all the way from their origin (which begins in the low back area) to their insertion in the back, top portion of the upper arm (near the head of the humerus). The body man who looks like he’s got a sharply demarcated balloon under each arm when he does a spread does not necessarily have more muscle than one whose lats seem to taper down into his waistline. In any event, no two physique types are exactly alike, and you probably won’t be able to build a physique like the one you admire. Nevertheless, make an effort to assure maximum development and strength in ALL of the major muscles, and select those exercises that use the muscles in movements that the muscles were designed to undergo. For example, the latissimus dorsi muscles are designed to pull the arms down and back. Thus, bentover barbell rowing motions for these muscles should be done by keeping the elbows close to your sides and pulling the bar to your waistline, instead of straight up to your chest. When you do rowing motions by lifting the bar to your chest, with your elbows pointed out, you throw most of the work on the trapezius, the rhomboids and other muscles high up between your shoulders, and the lats are used but little – at least not enough to assure full development throughout the length of the muscle.

I won’t have space to discuss the technical aspects of all the exercises described in this article, but you can rest assured that they are designed to make maximum use of the muscles they’re recommended for . . .so do them as instructed, and don’t take the easy way out by altering body positions. You may not want to do all of the exercises listed in this article in one training session, but try to allot time to all of them (by alternating them) over a period of several weeks. UPPER BACK EXERCISES 1) Bentover Rowing Motion – This is the most important barbell exercise for building the latissimus dorsi muscles. Bend forward at the hips, let the knees bend a little, and, keeping the back flat, pull the barbell from the floor to your navel. Be sure to keep your elbows close to your sides. Use as much weight as you can without “jerking” the weight up, but occasionally overload the bar so that you have to “cheat” a little in your final reps. Rowing exercises may also be done with dumbells by bracing one hand on a chair and using a dumbell in the opposite hand. 2.) Bent-arm Pullover – Lie supine on a padded bench, with your head hanging over the end; reach back over your head and pull a barbell from the floor to your chest. Get a shoulder-width reverse grip on the bar, and keep your elbows pointed up a little in this exercise so that there will be more action in the back muscles in pulling the weight up toward your chest. 3.) Wide Grip Chins – Grasp a chinning bar with a reverse grip (knuckles facing you), spacing your hands as far apart as you comfortably can, and do several complete chins. Strap enough weight around your waist to force maximum effort within 8 repetitions. When chinning without the added weight, try to touch your chest to the bar, or chin behind the neck if it causes no strain on the shoulder joints. Overhead pulley exercises, in which the lower half of the body can be strapped to a secured bench, will provide similar exercise. Any exercise in which the arms must pull down is good for the deeper lying infra spinatus and teres major muscles, as well as the latissimus dorsi muscles. 4.) Bentover Lateral Raises – Bend forward at the hips, letting the knees bend a little for comfort, and, keeping the back flat, lift a pair of dumbells from the floor out to the sides with fairly straight arms. This exercise will develop the posterior deltoids and the rhomboid muscles between the shoulder blades. 5.) Shrugs – Standing erect with a barbell down at arms’ length, “shrug” by lifting the shoulders up toward the ears. Use as much weight as you can handle for 12 to 15 repetitions. Shoulder shrugs develop the trapezius muscles (the triangular-shaped muscle on each side of the neck that runs from the base of the skull to the tip of the shoulder and to the thoracic vertebrae), as well as the deeper lying levator scapulae muscles. Note: most of the muscles on the back of the neck and classified as back muscles, so don’t neglect your neck exercises. Nothing will spoil the appearance of a well-developed back like a narrow, stick-like neck. Neck extensions with a head strap will provide adequate exercise for the posterior neck muscles. There are many other exercises that provide good exercise for the muscles of the upper back, such as standing presses, lateral raises with dumbells and stiff-arm pullovers, but for brevity I have described only those that are specific for the major muscles of the back.

LOWER BACK EXERCISES 6.) Deadlift – Deadlifts, lifting a weight from the floor with the arms in a dead hang, may be done stiff-legged or with bent knees, depending upon how much weight you are using and your reason for doing them. When done stiff-legged, the muscles on the back of the thigh and hips are brought into play in extending the trunk, and the increased leverage largely limits the action to the hip area; only a limited amount of weight can be used (this exercise may also be done in a “good morning” fashion by bending forward while the weight is supported across the back of the shoulders). When deadlifts are done with bent knees, however, a much heavier weight can be used and the spina erecta muscles receive a heavier workout. Squat fairly low to grasp the bar (with a mixed grip – that is, one hand turned one way, and the other hand turned the other), keep the low back as flat as possible, and lift largely with the legs. Always do one or two sets of the exercise with a light weight before using heavier weights. In any kind of deadlift exercise, don’t use too much weight. Heavy, one-rep maximums could result in serious injury, so I would suggest that for bodybuilding purposes the exercise be done with a weight light enough to permit several repetitions well within your maximum effort. When doing stiff-legged deadlifts, be careful not to pull your hamstrings or strain your sacroiliac joints by letting the weight pull you too far over. Don’t drop the weight to the floor, lower it with a constant tension on the muscles, and don’t bend over any further than is comfortable. 7.) Hyperextensions – Lie face down on a padded bench, with the upper half of the body hanging over the end of the bench and the lower half anchored down (from the hips down). With a weight across the back of your neck, arch up from the floor to a fully extended position. This exercise is one of the finest for developing the spina erecta muscles, and there is no danger of strain. 8.) Side Bends With Dumbell - Standing erect with a fairly heavy dumbell in one hand, bend from side to side. Side bends develop the quadratus lumborium muscles on each side of the spine (used in bending the trunk laterally). Be sure to exercise both sides equally. 9) Heavy Cleans – Every bodybuilder should be able to clean a fairly heavy weight, since cleaning is an important part of weightlifting – and it’s an excellent exercise for the back. Squat down, keep the back flat, grasp the bar with a shoulder-width knuckles-up grip, and, lifting with the arms, legs and back in one heaving motion, lift the bar to your chest. Catch the weight by dipping under the bar (bending the knees) when you have pulled it high enough to do so comfortably. Make sure that you strengthen your low back as you build up your upper back. Don’t be one of those bodybuilders who has a bad back when it comes to weightlifting. Physique contestants who are also weightlifters have better physiques and earn more points for their athletic ability. Handbalancing is another way to build a strong back with athletic skill, as are many other sports. The Back, Part Two – The Trapezius by John Grimek The development of the back is a varied and interesting study, and includes three specific areas: the trapezius, the latissimus dorsi, and the erector muscles of the spine.

Although many lifters believe the back consists mainly of the latissimus dorsi muscle, the fact is it’s the trapezius that is actually the largest muscle of the back, and the erector spinae is the longest muscle. The average lifter thinks of the back only as the “lats,” but a glimpse at any anatomical chart will show that the latissimus dorsi area, although very important to back shape, comprises only one portion of the back and not the entire back area. Impressive looking backs are impressive because they have corresponding mass with good muscularity, and that gives such backs a rugged and powerful look. But increased muscularity does not result from developing only the lats but more upon the development of the rhomboideus, infraspinatus, trapezius and teres groups. Consequently, the bodybuilder anxious to increase his muscularity must concentrate on developing the muscles located in the upper section of the back as well as on the large latissimus dorsi. On the other hand, if your goal is to achieve a more impressive V-shaped back, then you would be wise in specializing on the lats by adopting the training routine advocated in another article to follow written by Dom Juliano, who has, undoubtedly, the largest and widest latissimus development of any man his size and weight today, and his suggestions will be worth the effort. Back development, I repeat, is interesting because such a wide variety of exercise to develop this area is available. And because it has three major areas, many effective and result-producing exercises can be employed. Most of these exercises involve only the muscle that is being worked, while other movements involve all areas simultaneously. There is something about a well-developed back that has a rugged and powerful look, particularly when the trapezius muscle has been developed to the maximum. This makes the upper ridges of the back thicker with deeper muscular furrows. A back that does not have well-developed trapezius, even when the lats are fully developed, has that weak, immature look. To prove this, examine the backs of two such individuals – one that has a well-developed trapezius region, and another that is lacking in development in this region. Only a fleeting glance will convince anyone which is the better and stronger back. There is really no comparison between the two . . . it’s so obvious. It’s a recognized fact today, ever since I first pointed this out a few years ago, that thick, massively developed trapezius do tend to cut down visual shoulder breadth, yet no bodybuilder should neglect the development of this muscle because of the many physical benefits that accrue from the exercises that serve to develop it. And although massively developed trapezius seem to give the shoulders less breadth, it is only an illusion created by those muscles that bulge out on each side at the base of the neck that cause this. This, however, can be overcome by developing the deltoids more fully, thus adding an inch or more to your overall shoulder width. Although development of this muscle is rare, it is something that no one strives to acquire, yet to overdevelop any muscle (or group of muscles) one must apply greater effort and concentration to that area. However, one can control the precise degree of development of any muscle simply by eliminating regular vigorous work to that muscle, although some exercise should be done, once or twice a week, to maintain the size and strength of that muscle. So there is no reason why anyone should overdevelop this or any muscle unless he desires to, and certainly there is no reason why anyone should not develop it at least in proportion to his chest and shoulders. Since the trapezius is the largest muscle of the back, which is activated in various movements, the more direct exercises are the shrug, high pullups, deadlift and lifting movements, especially all snatching and cleaning movements. Proof of this can be had by observing any champion lifters, all or whom have exceptionally well-developed trapezius muscles. As already mentioned, the trapezius becomes involved in many exercises but I have selected six movements which I feel can be used to advantage by the bodybuilder. Two of these exercises –

the shrug and high pullup, also known as the upright rowing exercise, is familiar to all bodybuilders, and when employed regularly, can help to develop the upper back area exceptionally. 10 to 12 repetitions for developing this muscle is ideal, although higher repetitions may be needed to bring about maximum development in some cases. Four other exercises are included for added variety, simply because they involve other important muscles located in the trapezius area. The wrestler’s bridge, for example, is primarily a neck builder, and because the trapezius is actually a part of the neck, this muscle comes into play in the exercise, especially the lower section where it merges into the 12th thoracic vertebra. Another good exercise is the lateral raise with bridge. This exercise is not commonly performed but has a definite place in any back developing program because or its action. It activates all the muscles of the back, including the neck and shoulders, but is particularly valuable where sharper definition and added muscularity of the back is desired. This and the preceding exercise should be done at least 10 times but not to exceed 15, unless experience has shown that higher, or lower, repetitions are necessary in your case . . . then include them. The one arm high pullup is another terrific trapezius builder which also affects the deltoids, arm and lower back region. The exercise is similar in movement to a one hand snatch, except the weight is not pulled up to an overhead position, but only as high as possible and then lowered and repeated. 6 to 8 repetitions with each arm are recommended. Shrug and simultaneously curling a dumbell into the armpit is a good combination exercise that activates not only the trapezius but the arm, shoulder, external oblique and the erector muscle along the spine. 6 to 8 repetitions should be done with each arm. Of course if you decide to include all of the six exercises mentioned here, you should not repeat any of them over 8 repetitions, however, include enough reps to fully congest this muscle. On the other hand, if you are bent on repeating the exercises in several sets, 4 to 6 repetitions per set should prove ample. Other exercises that activate the trapezius and can be included for added variety are: all forms of lateral raises (standing or sitting) in which the arms are carried up to an overhead position, the bentover or partly inclined lateral raise, presses from a low-start position, all lifting movements from the floor to shoulders or overhead, all chest expander exercises, etc. In fact it’s easy to find exercises for this aria if you don’t like any of the ones I’ve listed here. The important task is to do enough movements to make those heavy mounds of muscle feel tight and congested. The Back, Part Three – The Erector Spinae by Ron Lacy Without a doubt the lower part of the back is the most important area of the body, although I don’t fell that this is the most popular area with the majority of bodybuilders. This may be because this part of the physique is not as noticeable as other bodyparts, nor is it discussed and emphasized as other sections of the body. Yet this area is far more valuable than it is recognized to be, and development in this section of the body will contribute a great deal more to overall strength, better health and posture than any other muscular region of the body. Specialists who study the spine, nerves and mechanisms of the body tell us that posture plays a very important role in relation to health. The organs of the body perform better and more efficiently when the spinal erector muscles are developed to keep the body upright. These muscles also help to keep the back strong and free from complaints so prevalent in this modern day of easy living and not enough exercise.

I spent several months in rehabilitation work for the physically handicapped, and back injuries seem to head all other types of injuries. Some cases were caused by great force being brought on the area, such as automobile accidents, injuries suffered in coal mine cave-ins, and injuries sustained in various sports all seem to affect the spine in varying degrees. Of course such injuries could have happened regardless of the degree of development, yet we know that the outcome of such accidents are often determined by our condition to withstand these pressures. But what about the injuries that should not have happened had a little thought and preparation been followed? There are thousands of people that receive injuries in the lower back by twisting or bending over to tie their shoe, or sneezing, or missing a step, etc. This doesn’t seem right to me. If the muscle is fully developed it holds the spine in place and prevents many of the injuries that normally happen only because the individual has a weakness in that area. Everyday stress and strain places a need for good, strong development of the lower back. This region, along with the abdomen, seems to be among the most neglected of the body, resulting in weakness and an overweight condition. I can speak with some authority on the matter because I myself have suffered a few back injuries along the way. I have a slight congenital condition of the spine, one which I became conscious of very early in life. The pre-existing condition was brought to light while participating in football during my high school days. Contrary to the examining doctor’s advice, I played football for weeks in my senior year with the help of a back brace. At that time there wasn’t any weight training program at out school, and I actually didn’t get acquainted with weight training until I attended college. Since beginning weight training I have injured my back several times, usually through not showing good judgment or through ignorant zeal. But the sensible training I have done has helped to strengthen my back and prevent many a painful event that might have occurred had my erector muscles been less strongly developed. On one occasion while working with the Rehabilitation Center at the University of Kentucky, I was carrying a patient in my arms who weighed over 200 pounds. On descending a flight of steps my foot slipped, and so did my already weakened disc. I suffered a very nasty back injury and had to have my back X-rayed. Upon receiving the diagnosis the doctor suggested an operation. I was against any operation and felt this would be only as a last resort. I felt certain that through a series of well-planned exercises and time I could heal and strengthen my back, and I did. I now feel that the best assurance against further trouble in this area is to make sure I get the proper exercise that will keep this region strong. For those who have had any type of back trouble or any back operations a regular training program for the lower back should be undertaken. I feel positive, and this is speaking from my own experience, that everyone can improve and strengthen the lower region of the back through properly selected exercises such as I have outlined here. Naturally care must be exercised to achieve progress gradually, which should assure one of success in time. Here’s an interesting case I like to mention, about a friend of mine who suffered a back injury from a fall from a horse and ruptured a disc in the process. He began to do strengthening exercises for his lower back. Within several months his back bothered him less and less. In time he grew interested in lifting. Later he was able to win the 132 lb. weightlifting title, proving that progressive exercise can overcome many back injuries when employed properly. I am amazed at the progress that Norb Schemansky continues to make in his weightlifting career after having submitted to two back operations. His back is undoubtedly developed to such an amazing degree that it enables him to handle and support the tremendous poundages he lifts. Of course, few men are as strong as Norb, and because he developed and strengthened his muscles so gradually, he is one of the strongest men in the world today.

Beginners especially should take care to see that they begin their training by paying attention to those exercises that develop and strengthen this part of their physique, always doing some type of exercise for the lower back. This section, the lower back, is often neglected in favor of other areas, but these areas do not contribute near as much to health or strength as the lower back. In my opinion I don’t think any section should be neglected. Include one or two lower back exercises in every workout, and occasionally change them around for the sake of variety and more rounded development. Make your lower back strong before participating in a lot of heavy, overhead movements. Play it safe and never push yourself to your limit too often in lower back work. Remember the old saying: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Personally I have always felt that in the majority of cases a bodybuilder would be wiser to start his workout schedule with leg work, then follow this with exercises for the back. I believe this would contribute more to his overall strength and health and be more conducive to promoting better athletic ability. I consider training that involves the larger muscle groups, which influences them to work as a unit, excellent, because it builds a good foundation on which some specialization can follow. Competitive lifters as a rule have very good erector spinae development due to the many exercises they include in their training for this area. Doing many sets of deadlifts, squats, cleans, snatches, high pulls, etc. gives the lifter all the exercise he needs for the lower back. Of course the lifter needs good development in this region. This area is the seat of basic power and combines forces with the hips and legs. Time spent on lifting and power exercises will do much to give you a better all-round physical development. I would like you to keep this thought in mind – that time spent on strengthening the erectors will pay you big dividends in the long run. I urge you to try these few exercises and see if you don’t feel better because of them. They will help you avoid future backaches that seem to plague all who allow themselves to get out of condition in this area. Here are the exercises: 1.) Swing With Dumbell – This exercise is a great one for the lower back and can also be used as a warmup. The movement is performed by grasping the dumbell with both hands, knees slightly bent. Allow the weight to swing back between the legs and then overhead. The exercise can also be done with one hand, working the other hand as well. Use 3 sets of 8 reps. 2.) Cleans With a Barbell – A very good movement to develop and build strength in the entire back. This movement is included in training programs for the lifter. The starting position is with knees bent, back flat, arms straight and head up. Begin the initial pull with the legs and lower back, with the arms and shoulders taking over the later phase of the movement. After you have pulled the weight as high as possible, dip under the weight by bending at the knees and catching the bar at the shoulders. For general purposed I would recommend 3 sets of 5 repetitions. 3.) Deadlifts – This is perhaps one of the best movements for the back and hip area. A lot of power can be built with this exercise. However, I would caution the beginner not to overextend himself in this movement until he has succeeded in developing his lower back to the limit. Too much weight exerts too much pressure on the spine in general and might result in an injury. Work progressively and you will eliminate all dangers of strain and injury. I think 3 sets of 10 repetitions should prove ample at first. When more strength is obtained and more is desired, you can use heavier weights and lower reps, but this should not be attempted until you have fully strengthened your back through progressive training. 4.) Hyperextensions – This movement concentrates all the resistance to the spinal erector muscles, strengthening them tremendously. I feel this is a very good therapeutic movement. You can feel the resistance fully as you arch. Advanced lifters often use weight across their shoulders for added resistance. Personally, I think excellent results can be obtained by increasing the resistance slowly and never trying to see how much you can do. It’s a good exercise and should

be included in your routines. Try 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps. These four exercises are some of the finest back developers to be found anywhere, and anyone from a rank beginner to the strongest man can utilize them simply by adjusting the poundage to his strength. Bear in mind that weight is not the only important thing in these exercises, unless you are trying to establish a personal record. The way you perform the exercise is always important. Break into your any lower back training program gradually and work in a slow but steadily progressive manner. You will obtain many benefits and you can keep a close eye on your progress. Make your back a strong one . . . you’ll never regret it. The Back, Part Four – Lat Specialization by Dominic Juliano When I first began training, my goal was to get as big as possible just as fast as possible. Most of my earlier workouts were devoted to squats, bench presses and curls. After meeting Marvin Eder in 1949, I began to train with him at John Terlazzo’s Gym in New York City. During the four years that Marvin and I trained together I really learned the importance of lat work. Well-developed lats add the finishing touch to a man’s upper body. Steve Reeves was probably the first bodybuilder who really specialized on lat width. Since Steve won the Mr. America title in 1947, massive lat development has really been in vogue. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to see a great many physique champions train. In almost every case, the men with the most sensational upper back-lat development agree that one exercise in particular helped them achieve their exceptional development – THE TWO ARM CHIN. There are many variations of chinning. I have found a method that seems to thicken and widen the lats much faster than any other chin-up movement. Before actually describing the lat specialization program, there are a few training hints I would like to pass along to you. To my way of thinking, the most important thing to remember when working a muscle is to fully concentrate all of your attention on what you are doing. It is necessary to feel every repetition and try to get an extra strong contraction on each movement. For example, when performing a curl, the exercise becomes more effective if you thoroughly flex the biceps with each rep. This same idea should be applied to your lat routine. Another thing that I have found very helpful for stimulating lat growth is keeping the muscles under constant tension. This is done by fully contracting the upper back muscles on every rep as described. When the weight is returned to the starting position, don’t allow the arms to fully straighten. In other words, by not completely locking out the arms, the lats are unable to rest and they remain under constant tension throughout the exercise. In my opinion, cheating exercises have no place in a lat specialization program. You can’t force muscles to grow by handling more weight than you are capable of using in strict form. Muscles aren’t impressed by poundage in the least, but only by how much direct stimulation they receive. By completely focusing all of your attention on each rep and using correct form, the lats receive maximum benefit, which is, after all, what you want. When it comes to lat development I have found that higher repetitions result in faster growth. Here is the lat specialization program that I recommend. Remember that it is a specialization

program designed to rapidly improve your lat and upper back muscles. When you are satisfied that this area is sufficiently developed for the time, you may then concentrate on some other muscle group, or return to a good overall training routine. 1.) Chins In Front – I can honestly say that I owe most of my lat development to this exercise. Take a medium grip on the chinning bar and lean slightly backwards as you pull your body upward until you touch the bar with the upper part of your chest. Lower your body slowly, spreading the lats as you do, until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. In reality, this is more of a half-chinning movement. It allows you to keep the latissimus muscles under continuous tension throughout the exercise. 8 sets of 15 to 20 reps will produce results. Don’t rest more than one minute between sets. 2.) Long Pulley Rowing – Here is another terrific movement for the entire latissimus group. While seated on the floor with the feet braced, grasp the handle of the wall pulley and pull back until the hands touch the chest. Tense the upper back muscles before allowing the pulley to return to the starting position with the arms not quite fully locked-out. Repeat for 5 sets of 15 reps. (If you do not have a wall pulley, substitute close grip barbell rowing. This movement is done by bending forward at the waist so that your back is perfectly flat. Grasp a suitably loaded barbell with the hands about eight inches apart. Pull the bar right up until it touches the upper abdomen. Forcibly contract the lats before lowering the bar back toward the floor. As with the pulley, don’t let the arms completely straighten but keep continuous strain on the lats for the full 15 reps.) 3.) One Arm Rowing – This exercise will add considerable thickness to the latissimus dorsi and teres major muscles. Bend forward at the waist and grasp a dumbell with the right hand. The left hand is placed on a bench for balance and support. Start with the arm slightly bent and with the dumbell almost over the left foot. Pull the dumbell up in an outward-sweeping motion until it touches the right pectoral area. Lower the weight slowly, allowing the lat to spread out and become thoroughly stretched. Repeat for 3 sets of 15 reps with each arm. 4.) Straight Arm Pulldowns – Here is an excellent finishing movement for the program. Take a close grip on the overhead lat bar and lean slightly forward at the waist. Pull the bar downward from the overhead position all the way down to the thighs with straight arms. Thoroughly contract the lats and upper back before returning the bar to the overhead position. Resist the pull all the way up by spreading the lats. Perform 4 sets of 20 reps. In between each set of the above exercises stretch the lats by grasping a vertical pole and gently stretching and spread the lats for about 10 seconds. Use this lat specialization schedule three times a week. It is advisable to keep the rest of your workout to about one hour or so as it will take about 35-40 minutes to complete the lat program. Because of their importance the following points bear repeating: 1.) Focus all your attention on each movement and contract the latissimus muscles with every rep. Remember to spread the lats as wide as possible as you return to the starting position. Don’t just go through the motions. 2.) Always use strict form. 3.) Maximum rest between sets is one minute. 4.) Perform ten seconds of lat stretching exercises in between each set of each exercise. Not only have I greatly benefitted from this program, but every bodybuilder at VINCE GIRONDA’S GYM that has used it has made great gains. I am sure you will make fine improvement also if you use it faithfully.

How to Begin a Deadlift Program by John Kuc (1986) The mention of deadlifting triggers panic attacks in some trainees. The vision of back-breaking reps is more than they can tolerate. Most trainees think of the deadlift as a competitive lift to be done only by powerlifters. This type of thinking is far from the truth. The deadlift is a great overall back developer. Some lifters have attained tremendous back development by using only the deadlift. I think it can be safely said that no single exercise will develop the back as well as the deadlift. The deadlift also invokes thoughts of back injuries. This is an old wives’ tale, and is definitely not true. If deadlifts are done correctly, they are no more dangerous than any other exercise. In fact, a good deadlift workout will probably go a long way in preventing back injuries, not causing them. I feel almost any trainee would benefit from adding deadlifts to their routine. The number one question is how to begin deadlifting. In this article I will set up a good basic routine for the beginner and intermediate trainer. The routines that follow can be used by powerlifters, bodybuilders, or the individual who trains at home for no other reason than fitness and feeling good. We must first determine who falls into the beginner and intermediate categories. The beginner is the individual who has trained for a year or less and has not done any continuous deadlifting. He may have tried them, but they are not part of his routine. The man in the intermediate category has at least one year of training and has included deadlifts in his previous training. No matter what stage of development you are in, the key to all deadlift training is to begin slowly and work your way up. The only secrets are patience and diligence, along with intelligent training. The individuals who are deadlifting world record poundages had to start in the same way you will. They paid the price in hard work and were rewarded with tremendous strength and development. THE BEGINNER The deadlift calls for more overall body strength than any other movement. When we deadlift virtually the whole body – legs, back, arms, abdominals, etc. – is involved. To start the deadlift, try a shoulder-width alternate grip of the bar. This alternate grip prevents a heavy bar from rolling out of the hands. The foot placement should be a bit narrower than the hand spacing. Of course, your foot and hand spacing will change after you accumulate some experience, but initially try the recommendations I have described. Get your foot and hand spacing; lower yourself by squatting down and slowly begin the pull. The pull is started with the lower back, taken over by the legs and finished by the lower back and hips. Come to a standing position with the bar hanging in the arms – lower the bar under control and repeat for your reps. The following set and repetition schedule for he beginner should be sufficient: 1st set – 15 reps 2nd set – 8 reps 3rd set – 8 reps 4th set – 8 reps 5th set – 8 reps Select a light weight for the first set and add a bit more for the second set, bearing in mind that

they are warmup sets. On the third, fourth and fifth sets, jump to a poundage that is challenging, but within your capabilities for attaining eight reps for all three sets. Every second week add five pounds to the third, fourth and fifth sets. I do not recommend the beginner to train more than three times per week, with deadlifts being done twice a week. For example, if you are training on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, deadlift on Monday and Friday. This will give you plenty of work and help build a good base for the future. INTERMEDIATE I would consider most weight trainees to fall into the intermediate category as they are fairly well conditioned, but relatively inexperienced in deadlifting. What we are going to do is put them on a power routine consisting of 6 sets of 5 reps. If used correctly, this system will build power relatively fast. This routine is a good compromise between the high rep workout of the beginner and the low rep workout of the advanced powerlifter. It is a real strength builder. The trainee at this stage should be training no more than four days per week, while deadlifts are done twice a weekly. I would recommend working your squats and deadlifts on the same day, with squats coming first. The reason for this is that the squat will not affect your deadlift as much as the deadlift will affect your squat. Right after you complete your deadlifts, do three sets each of lat bar rows and pulldowns. Both of these exercises give the latissimus dorsi a good workout and help with the deadlift. Sample Workout: Monday and Thursday 1.) Warmup / Stretch – this is important in any routine. 2.) Abdominals 3.) Squat 4.) Deadlift 5.) Lat Bar Rows – 3x8 6.) Pulldowns – 3x8 7.) Leg Extensions 8.) Leg Curls 9.) Calf Raise Chest, arms and shoulders can be worked on Tuesday and Friday. Every six to eight weeks you may want to test your strength with a single repetition. This single will serve a few purposes. It will tell you the progress you are making. It will add variety to your workouts. On these single rep days some kind of system has to be used in order to figure out a good weight for that first single. Follow your regular warmup routine. Take your first set of five with the same weight you use in training. For the next three sets, which will be the fours, triples and doubles, use a progressively heavier poundage for each, paying close attention to the ease or difficulty of each set. Let the last set give you an idea of what weight you want for the next set. By using this method you should be able to ease yourself into that single rep without shocking your body. The weight increase between the set of doubles and the single will not be that great at this point. Still, be careful! Do not add too much weight for the last set. At this stage a few pounds could easily change what should be a smooth single into a wobbly grinder with a chance for serious injury. You can be more liberal in choosing your future single. For now, get a good one in and build on it. The next time you test your single rep strength it will be much easier because now you have a starting point to work from. When you have to decide what the single attempt should be, use your previous single and relate it to the following workouts and strength improvement. Slowly work your single up to a respectable weight over the coming months. Always stop and think about any

decisions you have to make and use sound reasoning for everything you do. The preceding will build an excellent base of strength and development. From this point one can switch to a lower rep, heavier weight routine or can continue on with the intermediate routine forever. Advanced Training by Anthony Ditillo (1978) After several years of weight training, in order to assure continued progress, advanced training principles will have to be used in order to further work your muscles and thereby continue their growth. In the formative years of training, muscle growth comes in fairly regular spurts, provided your training is systematic and your metabolism is at a normal rate of operation. At this time, a well supplemented diet, regular sleeping habits and a positive mental attitude will see you quite far. However, should you continue to train PAST this intermediate stage (most men don’t) you will soon discover that in order to continue on to further physical heights, some changes are in order. For you will have to increase BOTH your training load and intensity or you simply will not continue to gain. During the past two years I have greatly added to my overall size and power, but it was not until I completely revamped my concept for what constituted hard work and advanced work that I thereby began to gain quickly and steadily, and I hope with this article to explain to you just what is necessary to continue your progress. It was close to two years ago that my coach began to discuss with me his opinions and experiences with advanced training methodology and by incorporating his theories and examples in my own training, I have gained to a point I had never believed possible beforehand. It is also quite evident to both of us that the stronger and more muscular you become, the HARDER it is to become even STRONGER. This is not due to any ‘secrets’ of the champions being withheld, rather it is due to the time factor in your training and the ability of the trainee to recuperate after great muscular exertion. By time factor, we mean the length of time it takes to finish your workout. In my opinion, this HAS to increase as you become advanced, unless you strictly bodybuild, are not concerned with strength gains and use multiple sets ad light weights. It only stands to reason – the more heavy sets performed, the longer the workout, the greater the gains. You can, however, find ways to cut down on wasted time. Let us say you can perform 10 sets of 3 to 5 repetitions with a certain weight. In preference to increasing the weight, OR the repetitions, you can slowly reduce the rest between sets until only 30 seconds is the time used. This is making TIME the intensity factor. Then you can increase the weight by twenty pounds or so and begin the process once again. As far as warmup sets are concerned, this too is an individual matter. Dezso Ban prefers 20 lb. jumps on most presses and 50 lb. jumps on squats and heavy pulls. Usually, I use the same. However, when feeling exceptional, I may take larger jumps to get to my working weight. By working weight I mean a weight you will use for many sets (10 to 15) of 3 to 5 repetitions for power or 4 to 6 repetitions for gaining size. Such a training concept is not new at all. Reg Park used this same theory and method during the 50’s and would perform as many as 15 sets of each movement for between 5 and 7 repetitions. What worked for Park should also work for you in time, if you’ve got the intestinal fortitude for it. If you can train 5 times per week each workout should take in the neighborhood of 2 hours. If only 3 training days are available, expect to be training for 3 hours at each one. Remember, we’re talking about advanced men who want to go still further in their strength and development. Should you disagree with my requirements, possibly thinking them excessive, then I advise you to contact the various lifters you’ve been reading about and you’ll find them all following similar schedules when it comes to training

volume and intensity. This type of training would KILL a beginner. He should think of himself as a child beginning his journey into life. He should stick to brief, basic routines which will build the FOUNDATION for future gains that have yet to come. But sooner or later such a routine is just NOT going to do the job. Then it is time to incorporate my suggestions. THEN you will be ready. Proper recuperation is a process which you can adapt the system to accept. With regular increases in workload, saturating the tissues with Vitamin C and various minerals will improve recuperation as the system adjusts to the stress. This theory of adaptation is founded in physiological and psychological fact. It is this theory which enable you to continue to progress. When necessary, the body can produce miracles in recuperating after trauma or stress. The law of adaptation makes use of this phenomenon. The rate at which you recuperate has a lot to do with the amount of INTEREST you have in your training and how much you are willing to sacrifice in order to go further with it. Some men are incapable of accepting even minor physical discomfort and for them advanced training is simply out of the question. Advanced training is not for the weak and it is certainly not for the lazy. The amount of sets and repetitions, choice of exercises and training frequency are personal matters and require personal attention. These points differ greatly from lifter to lifter, since no two lifters recuperate exactly the same. However, I have come to certain conclusions regarding basic requirements for successful advanced training and I am sure that by using the following recommendations as a GUIDE, you will IN TIME find what works best for YOU. I have found that it is not enough to work each set ‘into the ground,’ for strength is an ACCUMULATIVE process. In my opinion, the answer lies in increasing BOTH training load and intensity. By working long and hard with many, many sets with heavy weights, you are assured of continued progress. I press EVERY DAY for between 15 and 20 sets including warmups, using heavy weights and 3 to 5 repetitions, and since I started this severe type of schedule my presses have gone up and up and UP, to the point where I recently pressed 350 for a double, only not being able to lock it out the last two inches on the second repetition. This was due to improper position and lack of flexibility. I intend to remedy the situation very shortly. The reason I can continue to press day after day is THAT SINGLES ARE RARELY DONE, so nervous energy is not drained. Heavy pulls and squats are performed on alternate days, but in severe situations could also be done DAILY for some time with no ill effects other than muscle soreness. All in all, you should for the most part perform 3 movements per workout, between 15 to 20 sets per movement, between 4 and 6 repetitions per set and between 3 and 5 training days per week, depending upon your availability of time. The following is the type of schedule I am presently using: Monday Overhead Press, Power Clean, Bentover Row. Tuesday Press From Eye Level, High Pull, Full Squat. Wednesday Seated Press, Shrug, Power Clean. Thursday Press Behind Neck, Full Squat. Friday

Rest. Saturday Repeat Monday’s workout. Sunday Rest. Just remember to use basic movements, reps of 3 to 5 for strength and 4 to 6 for size, and in regular jumps increase BOTH the poundage and total sets until your mirror and the weight on the bars you are lifting begin to tell you that you’re training at your optimum level of ability. Heavy Dumbbell Training For Size and Strength by Anthony Ditillo Since the beginning of training with barbells, heavy dumbbell movements have played their part in developing the majority of the world’s strongest men. The forerunners of today’s powermen used dumbbells in their training routines to the point of obsession. Heavy dumbbell training coupled with an all-around effective barbell routine will literally revamp your physical ability and muscular development both quickly and adequately, given enough training time and training energy. Dumbbell work really adds the finishing touches on the already massively developed physique and the over-all strength development effect of such dumbbell work will easily incorporate itself into the average all-around training routine, with the end result being a more effective training mode for all of you to follow. The muscular development afforded with this kind of training will aid both the power trainee and the would-be bodybuilding champion in their search for the more densely developed physiques. Dumbbells really mold the physique, both in its muscular development and in its ability to aid the trainee in gaining further increases in lifting proficiency. This twofold ability will see most of you men quite far in your particular lifting and/or bodybuilding aspirations. All that is necessary for you to do is to incorporate this methodology into the proper balance with regular barbell work. This is because of the simple fact that this dumbbell work must be coupled with sufficient barbell work for irs developmental value to really show itself, since most of the recognized lifts today are performed with a barbell. If we were to try to develop sufficient strength without barbell work incorporated into our routine, we would not be able to carry over the strength potential which the dumbbell work would normally afford us. The two must be combined for best results. What makes dumbbell work so effective is its ability to intensify and isolate the effort put forth from the affected muscles. ability to “home in” on precise sections of various muscle groups can be most effective from both the standpoint of strength training and muscle training. The developmental aspect of this kind of training is most complete in its ability to thoroughly congest and “pump” up the involved muscle groups. Along with this ability to localize the developmental effect of the working muscles, these movements will also stretch out the muscle groups somewhat, which will allow for a more powerful contraction when lifting limit or close to limit poundages. The ability of dumbbell work to isolate the affected muscle groups which in turn will increase their strength and development potential is accepted fact not training theory. This ability of isolation is one of the major reasons for the increases in development of today’s physique men, who literally form the brunt of their training solely on the use of heavy dumbbells. When looking at the development of today’s muscle men, remember that their physiques were shaped primarily through the use of a combination of heavy barbell and assistant dumbbell movements. While we are on the subject, there is an unmistakable difference in the quality of the champion

powerlifters over the past few years and along with the physique men, the reason (drugs) for the majority of these increases is through the use of properly performed and properly balanced dumbbell movements and training programs. This method is one of the quickest ways of isolating the involved muscle groups which will be used on the lifting platform and the intensity of such work will greatly develop the muscles along with an overall increase in the lifting strength. What separates the lifting champions of today and yesterday is their muscular appearance as bodybuilders, coupled with the lifting proficiency of the great strength champions that they are. This hearty combination of development and super strength is impossible without a scientific application of techniques and styles as well as pertinent training equipment and it is this last point which we will be thoroughly discussing. While discussing dumbbell training in general, we must also mention the fact that such training offers greater muscle fiber stimulation through greater range of movement. This means that the greater range involved with this type of training will stimulate greater amounts of muscle fibers and this, in a round about way, will cause a greater growth of muscle size. There is a world of difference between the kind of dumbbell work we are going to describe here and the type usually utilized by the average trainee the lifting world over. For most of us, the weight of the dumbbells we usually handle comes nowhere near the amount we could handle if we really so desired to specialize on this type of training for any length of time. In fact, one of the chief reasons thy such training has not grown in popularity to the extent that its effectiveness warrants, is the difficulty in handling such heavy dumbbells without having two helpers to give the weights to you, to lighten your burden, as it were. Most men begin to incorporate this work for a brief period of time and when it becomes obvious that they will be shortly handling much heavier weights than ever before, the problem of getting these weights into position becomes quite a problem and for most men, there ends the period of dumbbell specialization. For the men who are truly interested in reaching the zenith of their powers with this type of training, it will be necessary for helpers to get the dumbbells into position when anything really heavy is to be done on either a flat or an incline bench. For the other movements, if there is any real problem, then only one arm can be worked at a time, thereby giving both arms the opportunity to get the weights into position, thereby not requiring the assistance of anyone. The difficulty of such work with heavy dumbbells will astound you! There is a world of difference between using two one hundred pound dumbbells and using a barbell weighing two hundred pounds. First of all, the balance is more precarious ad this will develop in you better motor pathways for the heavier lifts, and also, a better degree of muscular conditioning and finesse through the balancing of these heavy short-handled weights for reps and sets of the various exercises. The extra stretch provided from the use of these short bars will undoubtedly develop additional muscle size due to the increase of range of exercise motion and this is a fact, not mere unfounded opinion: anyone who has used heavy dumbbells for any length of time will agree with me! When you isolate a muscle and work that muscle from a greater range of motion than ever before and when that muscle is subjected to further stress than it has ever had to compensate for in the past, common sense will tell you that this muscle has to grow! Furthermore, when attempting to strengthen any particular muscle group for competitive lifting, the addition of this assistance work is sure to make itself felt when this additional work is cut down and the main lift is specialized for any length of time. We should also mention that one other good point of dumbbell training is the intensity of the movements and how they stimulate muscle size while at the same time the actual amount of weights lifted in these dumbbell movements is actually much lighter then what could be registered in the barbell method of performance. In other words, because the dumbbell moves are so much harder and more intense, they will aid you in increasing your physical development although the actual weight of these dumbbells will be much lighter than the actual amount of weight you will be capable of lifting in the barbell version of the lift worked upon with this method. You are almost getting something for nothing, or so it would seem. Actually, your sweat and time exertion will pay your ease of accomplishment with these advanced methods of training.

Bench presses may be fine for all-around massiveness in the upper body, but for further development of the pectorals, without additional bodyweight being gained, you would have to go far indeed, to find a more effective movement than the Flat Bench Flying Motion With Dumbbells. For the deltoids, the Press Behind Neck is fine if what you are primarily going after is bulk or size, but to further deltoid development, the Heavy Standing Laterals to the Front and to the Side and the Rear will work wonders for fully capping out the deltoid muscles with additional muscular shape and density. Heavy Dumbbell Rowing will localize the stress of the movement and will further the development of the latissimus muscles without interference of the muscles of the hips and lower back, which can become a problem with the barbell version this lifting motion. Made no mistake about it, heavy dumbbell training will literally transform your physique if given enough time and patience and work on your part. One only has to look at the development of today’s bodybuilding champions to see the developmental value of dumbbell work in the acquisition of muscular size and shape. This effect is not localized to bodybuilders only, but the entire lifting world, with powerlifting in general, can gain immediate benefits from adapting this method of training, coupled with the basic, heavier barbell movements so used and cherished for so long. The reason for the popularity of this training in the bodybuilding field is because barbells spread the stress of an exercise throughout the various muscle groups and throughout the various muscle groups and throughout the entire body, to a certain extent, whereas with dumbbell work the movements are quite localized and the intensity of effort is not spread out, but on the contrary, it is precisely positioned wherever you wish to feel the tension the most. This alone would lead to further degrees of muscle stimulation, but when you combine this with the fact that such will work the muscles from previously untouched areas due to the limited range of movement barbell work brings with it, you can then plainly see as to just why this kind of training is felt to be so indispensable to the majority of bodybuilding champions who utilize it. For the power men who are somewhat hesitant to try dumbbell work in their training routines, I can only mention that some of the strongest lifters the world has ever known have used and still are using heavy dumbbell training interspersed throughout the regular training periods of the lifting year. Men like Paul Anderson, Steve Marjanian and Melvin Hennessey have done a great amount of dumbbell work in their training careers. And what about Bill Kazmaier and the immortal Chuck Ahrens? Their strength borders on the unbelievable and both men have used dumbbells for quite some time. The first man to bench press 600 lbs. officially, the immortal Pat Casey, would do set after set of unbelievably heavy Incline Dumbbell Presses during his great lifting career and this assistance work gave him and Incline Barbell Press of over 500 lbs. Quite a bit of weight wouldn’t you say? It is a mistaken notion to feel that this dumbbell work is for the bodybuilder alone, for nothing could be further from the truth. Dumbbell training can be satisfactorily utilized by anyone who is interested enough to break away from incorrect preconceived opinions which have no real basis in fact. At this point in our discussion, I would like to list for you the various dumbbell movements which will offer you the most return in additional strength and muscular development, when combined with regular basic barbell training routines. These listed dumbbell movements are not solely the only dumbbell movements that exist but I feel they are among the very best we have to offer you and when utilized as assistance work for the basic barbell movements, the results will be quick, regular and quite impressive. While it would not be complete madness to substitute with these dumbbell movements for a short period of time, and during this period of training to use solely dumbbell work in place of the barbell kind; however, I would not recommend this to anyone interested in future or present competition in powerlifting, for let’s admit the truth – to be a good powerlifter you must perform the power lifts. Therefore, try to maintain somewhat of a balance between the barbell work and the specialized dumbbell work, for guaranteed overall best results for your sweat and exertions. Since dumbbell training will, for the most part, be limited to the muscles of the upper body and the

lower back, we will not at this time be discussing any work for the thighs, or recommend any methods for squatting proficiency. The use of dumbbells for leg work, while possible, is quite impractical due to the necessity of handling such heavy poundages that the total tonnage prohibits the use of this work for any real length of time. However, there will be more than enough work to discuss for the entire upper body and you should have quite a workload to choose from, in finally formulating your particular assistant dumbbell training routine. We shall begin with the muscles of the chest and shoulders. There will be two lists of dumbbell movements to choose from, depending upon whether you are working towards a heavier bench press through the use of these movements as assistance to your heavy lift, and the second situation in which you will primarily be interested in knowing which movements to choose from for developing additional muscle size throughout the chest and shoulder region. This way, both the powerlifter and the bodybuilder will have more than enough work to choose from, in order to gain at the quickest rate possible for him with applied work and intelligent choices. For those of you interested in increasing the amount of your bench press, I would recommend the following heavy dumbbell movements: Dumbbell Bench Presses: this movement is best handled with both light and heavy weights with the repetition scheme going from high to low with each set. Flat Bench Flyes: this movement seems to be best performed with very heavy weights and the rep scheme fairly low, with the sets medium to high. Incline Dumbbell Press: this movement should be done with both light and heavy weights and a mixture of repetitions will both pump and strengthen the muscles into a greater developmental state. Standing Dumbbell Press: this movement will really build strong deltoids with power to spare! Try to work into very heavy weights for sets of threes and fives after a suitable warm-up. Forward Dumbbell Raises: using relatively heavy weights, you can develop a bit of useful muscle with this movement which will have a carrying-over effect on the strength of the entire shoulder girdle. Side Lateral Raise: while this movement is primarily a muscle builder, not a strength builder, with high sets and low repetitions the deltoids get both a growth stimulus and a strength stimulus all in one. The following movements, whole not primarily for building additional strength into the upper body, will develop quite a bit of muscle size in the affected muscle groups: Flat Bench Laterals: using relatively straight arms this movement will work wonders for the pectorals, using medium resistance and a high number of sets and repetitions. Incline Laterals: using strict, straight arm style, using medium resistance and high repetitions, this movement will reshape the upper pectorals to a new degree of development for you. Decline Laterals: this is a great movement for reshaping the lower pectorals with new size and density and for overcoming the flabby, hanging pec look. Bentover Laterals: this movement will reshape the entire rear deltoid area, giving a pleasing shape throughout this area, using medium resistance and high repetitions with a moderate amount of sets performed regularly. For those of you interested in developing additional back power, I would recommend the following

movements incorporated into your present training routine: Dumbbell Bentover Rowing: using two dumbbells, work into fairly heavy weights after a thorough warm-up with lighter poundages. This will add size and strength throughout the upper back area. Dumbbell Upright Row: this movement, while clumsy and difficult in the beginning, will greatly add to your size and strength in the trapezius muscles and the muscles of the upper back and shoulder girdle. Begin with relatively light weight and in time work into fairly heavy dumbbells with heavy resistance. One Arm Dumbbell Row: by using only one arm at a time, you can really handle some heavy weights and this should stimulate additional growth and strength with persistence and time. Keep the weight heavy and the repetition scheme rather low for best results in power. Dumbbell Shrugs: for this movement you will have to use lifting straps to hold onto the bars for any length of time, since the weight potential of this movement is immense and the amount of weight you will ultimately be handling will be very heavy. Keep the repetition scheme rather high so as to be able to congest the muscles without undue strain due to the over-bearing heaviness of the weights involved in this exercise movement. Dumbbell Deadlift: using primarily the muscles of the back without bending the legs to any great degree will allow you to work the back muscles without the inclusion of the muscles of the thighs. The freedom of movement in this exercise due to use of the dumbbells will make it quite a successful movement for building additional size and strength in the lower back muscles. Be sure to use lifting straps in this exercise due to the amount of weight capable of being lifted with time and patience. For building of shapely muscle without the thought of the strength aspect of the exercises being performed, I would recommend the following movements for you to use: Bentover Lateral Raise: while this is primarily a deltoid movement, it will also shape up the entire upper back with emphasis on the middle section. Keep the repetition scheme rather high and the resistance rather light, depending upon proper execution of the movement for best results. Prone Laterals: by lying face down on an exercise bench and raising the dumbbells sideways out to the side, you will also be working the entire musculature of the upper back without the lower body or torso muscles coming into the picture and this will localize and intensify the effort of such work for additional muscle growth. These two movements coupled with a few of the dumbbell movements for the shoulder girdle and the upper back will work wonders for your muscular development as well as your lifting strength, if followed correctly for any length of time. This is not mere conjecture, it is pre-accepted reality. It is not my purpose or intention to formulate for you particular routines in which these dumbbell movements could be incorporated, for this would be taking away from your creativity in formulating your choices and preferences, and such a situation would not be constructive for you in the long run, for in order to become the ultimate of which you can become, you must learn to think and to decipher for yourself. This applies to all of us trainees, no matter how advanced we may become. What I would advise you to do is first of all decipher first what your particular goals are and then formulate the routines you will be using. A Squat Routine by Mike Kennedy As most of you know, I am not one for putting all the wild routines there are in my newsletter,

“The Lifter.” The following is definitely an exception to this rule. Like Mike McDonald’s Bench Press Routine a couple of months ago, I feel this has something to offer any level of lifter and is applicable to anyone’s routine. I first became acquainted with this lifter, Dennis Wright, while vacationing in Oklahoma. I was told I might contact him and catch a couple of workouts when I was down that way. Dennis works out by himself most of the time so he said he was happy to have the company, so we proceeded to catch a bench-squat and a bench-deadlift workout two of the days I was there. From meeting Dennis I was impressed with his enthusiasm and dedication to the game and I would like to share this squat routine with you. Dennis is a winner and this is a winning routine. I have tried it and fell it is a great change of pace from whatever you might currently be doing, and believe you me, it works you. The routine below is based on a 590 squat in training prior to the time when he last competed. It is divided into three general types of workouts. These don’t necessarily need to be done on successive days and I have simply numbered them 1, 2, and 3. 1.) This is a heavy repetition day, with a short warmup followed by these heavier sets. For example, Dennis warms up with 245x10, 400x6 and 475x3. Then he does 4 sets of 5 repetitions with the heaviest poundage he can handle. It is important to select a weight that allows you to finish all the sets and reps each time. For Dennis this is usually about 500 lbs. After the 4 sets of 5 reps, finish with 2 sets of about 6 reps each of “full” squats. By this I mean take your squat down as far as possible for these 2 sets. Dennis says this has done a lot for power and stability in the low position. For these sets, he uses around 400, and this would be dependant on his energy levels that training day. For those of you just beginning these, you may want to start light, as they feel completely different than a conventional power squat. 2.) Here is the part of the three-routine sequence that I feel has the greatest merit. This really gives you some basis of realizing if your squat is or is not improving over time. After warming up with the same three sets as in No. 1, proceed to do a set each of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 rep working up to the last single at about 80-85% of the maximum. For Dennis this 5-set series would look something like this: 500x5; 510x4; 520.3; 530x2 and 550x1. As in No. 1, finish with 2 sets of 6 reps in the full squat. 3.) In the third workout of the sequence Dennis works only sets of heavy triples. After the three warmup sets he does 4 sets of 3 reps with weight around 540. Again, this weight is flexible as to how you feel that day, etc. Then the two sets of full squats to finish off. About two weeks or so prior to a meet he will change to simply doing sets of heavy doubles. This routine is not going to revolutionize training on the squat. Many of you are probably doing something similar to this now. It does, however, have definite direction and it does work. 10 Bulk Routines That Work by Fred R. Howell (1974) Somehow in the past few weeks the word leaked out that I had at least a ton of weights in my cellar. All of a sudden every kid in town that owned a barbell or was going to train someday showed up at my door asking to see this old man’s collection of iron. Talking with the kids I learned that each and every one of them had, as their goal, a desire to gain weight. Some of them, I’m sorry to say, will be very lucky to gain a few pounds with the type of courses they follow. Their training routines are far from weight gaining routines. I was able to convince one super enthusiast not to train every day and expect to add on the pounds. Not when he’s just a beginner.

Nature plays a horrible trick on the human male. When a male needs the weight most to excel in some head-busting sport it’s hard to put it on. Then a few years later when we have no use at all for extra bodyweight, we can add it just by looking at food. I had to smile to myself as they talked about their routines and how they wanted to weigh a certain amount in a couple of months. And here I am fighting the battle of the double bulge. Let’s take a look at some of the bulk courses that have been used over the last 35 years with outstanding results. In the early thirties a guy by the name of Joseph C. Hise was stuck at 200 lbs. bodyweight. Having used all the standard routines, Joe read about the squat in Mark Berry’s magazine. Hise figured anything was worth a try and used his own ideas to formulate a bulking routine. He did the squat, press behind the neck, and curl. In just one month he gained 29 pounds. When he wrote Berry about this super fast gain, Mark couldn’t believe it. Joe had to write to Berry a couple of times before he would print the news! Hise continued his experiments and finally reached a bodyweight of 298 lbs. His arm hit 19” with a chest of 56 and thighs that measured 39. In this routine the curl and press behind neck should be done for 10 reps, using one set of each exercise only. The squat in this routine the squat done for only 20 reps each workout. The first 10 reps of the squat should be done in the usual way. After the 10th rep, however, take three or more deep breaths between each squat. After doing 20 reps this way your breathing should be rapid and take two or three minutes to return to its normal level. Be sure to train no more than three alternate days per week. Mark Berry, mentioned earlier, weighed around 130 lbs. and had been doing squats without any fancy breathing and was still known as the thin man. Hise talked in his ear and Mark built a squat rack to prove Joe was all wet. He started doing sets of 20 deep knee bends with the three breaths between reps, a few curls, presses, plus a set of pullovers. This simple routine, plus a fair amount of food, gave him a gain of 50 lbs. and Mark was tipping the scales at 180. Notice that Mark Berry used the pullover. Hise wrote me that the one mistake he made was to neglect doing the two arm pullover. He said, “The use of the two arm pullover will perch the upper chest high. Never neglect the two arm pullover, preferably the straight arm version. Then faster, better looking gains will be your reward.” Then around 1940 Roger Eels started to give some publicity to a new twist on the exercise called the squat. Before becoming a gym owner and publisher of a magazine he called “Vim,” Eels made some cash teaching beginners how to fly planes. In those ancient days a motor was primed by spinning the propeller. The ignition is turned on with the throttle closed and one good yank will start the motor. Alas! a pupil had the throttle open and the propeller sucked Eels into it. A tendon on the external vastus of his left thigh was sheared off. This plus a bout with TB led Eels to try barbells. At first he did 20 reps in the squat in rapid fashion without any special attention to breathing. The results were average and Eels wrote Hise that squats are just another exercise without magic. Hise went out and visited Eels, unannounced, as he did many of his friends and pupils and explained the way to big gains. Eels felt bodyweight poundage was enough to use in the squat. Now, his leg condition may have been a factor in this idea, but no matter why, it worked. The breathing squat (plenty of breathing between each rep), a set of curls, deadlift, pullover, bench press and you have a routine Eels printed many times in Vim. Harry Paschal once wrote me about Eels, saying, “I remember very well the month Roger gained 35 lbs. HE DID BREATHING SQUATS WITH 125 LBS. FOR 3 SETS OF 20 REPS EACH DAY. He ate as much as he could, including three quarts of milk, a lot of honey for energy, peanut butter plus several boxes of raisins each day.” Rumor had it that Harry and Roger had a bet as to who could gain the most weight in a month. Eels won and Harry said he “cheated” by being able to stomach so much peanut butter.

The very same Harry Paschal in one of his great Bosco barbell booklets gave his version of a weight gaining schedule. Here it is: 1.) Breathing Squat – 15-20 reps. 2.) Pullover – 15-20 reps. 3.) Press on Bench – 8-12 reps. 4.) Breathing Squat – 15-20 reps. 5.) Pullover – 15-20 reps. 6.) Curl – 8-12 reps. 7.) Breathing Squat – 15-20 reps. 8.) Bent Arm Pullover – 8-12 reps. Do just one set of each exercise, three alternate days a week. Never use more than bodyweight in the squat with at least three deep breaths between each squat. Be sure to get plenty of food including meat, potatoes, eggs, whole wheat bread and cereal. Both Eels and Paschal believed in light squats for gaining weight. They claimed heavy weights compressed the rib cage. When you enlarge your rib cage your bodyweight will go up, and deeper breathing is only possible with no more than bodyweight squats. Now we come to a bulk, chest and leg routine recommended by John C. Grimek. It incorporates the good use of BOTH HIGH AND LOW REPS. John has written about this type of course many times. It has produced excellent results to those who gave it a fair trial. In a letter John said, “Training three times a week should be sufficient. Get enough sleep and rest and by including a variety of food in your diet you should experience an increase of bodyweight. Do about 3 sets per exercise for the upper body, about 8 to 10 reps to a set. For the lower part, the legs, you should work as high as 15 reps in each set. Perhaps a squat schedule as listed below might prove beneficial: First set – 20 reps, warmup with a light weight. Second set – 12-15 reps, increase the weight. Third set – 10-12 reps, increase the weight. Fourth set – 8-10 reps, increase the weight. Fifth set – 5-6 reps, increase the weight. Sixth set – 3-5 reps, increase the weight for the Last set – 1-3 reps. “It is suggested that you do a chest exercise in between each set of squats, as well as a back exercise after the squats. It is imperative to start fairly low in poundage the first set to warm up the legs. Then increase the weight in each set and complete the sets mentioned. This routine plus plenty of good food will help anyone to add that magic bulk to his frame.”

Norman Fay made some amazing gains in bodyweight. A gym owner on the West Coast who wanted to gain weight to see just how big he could become without getting fat, at the start of his experiment he weighed 156 lbs. and at the end of 30 days he was tipping the Toledo at 186. Here is one of his favorite weight gaining programs. He had put all of his pupils on it at his gym and said he never had a failure. Here’s the routine: 1.) Clean & Press with a barbell – Do 12 reps and make each clean a dead-hang clean. Breathe as deeply as possible before cleaning and when pressing. 2.) Pullover on a round bench – Light dumbells should be used. Breathe in as deeply as possible as you lower the dumbells. Keep your elbows straight. Do 20 reps and be sure to force the air into your lungs. 3.) Bench Press – 12 reps 4.) Dumbell Curl – 12 reps. 5.) Rowing Motion – Be sure the bar touches your chest each rep – 20 reps. 6.) Lateral Raise on a bench – 20 reps with deep breathing on each rep. 7.) Deadlift – 20 reps. Breathe in as you raise the weight and out when you let the weight down, followed with a set of light pullovers. 8.) Breathing Squat – 35 reps. The Fay version will make it a real gaining exercise. With every squat take 3 deep breaths and really pack in the air on that third breath. If your chest doesn’t ache after the squats then you won’t gain like you should. After a set of these your ribs should feel like they’re going to drop off onto the floor. Follow with another set of light pullovers. This course never failed to put on weight for those who worked hard, ate enough and rested well. Here’s another guy that used a brief course and gained 100 lbs. and got the first 60 of those pounds in the first year of training. Willis Reed, a barrel-chested Hollywood strongman, had a four-point program which he followed to gain this weight. First, sleep: You need 8 to 10 hours of sleep, according to the amount of energy you use during the day. If you work hard during the day or your day-to-day life is stressful you will need 10 hours to get the maximum gains. Second, nutrition: You need good solid food. Willis liked malted milk shakes and included plenty of them. Be sure to include green vegetables, meats, whole wheat products and a snack before bed at night. Third was not to worry. It wreaks havoc with the digestive process. Don’t invent worries. We all worry at times but you must understand and overcome this habit. It keeps bodyweight down. Worry will wreck the program and your body simply won’t assimilate the food you eat, no matter how much. Fourth is the exercise program. The exercises are the squat, two arm pullover, regular deadlift, and bentover rowing. These four exercises work the large muscle groups of your body to the limit; the legs, chest and back. Train three alternate days a week. Here’s how: 1.) Squat – Do 10 reps. Place a barbell across the shoulders, feet flat with heels about a foot apart. Take a deep breath, descend, and exhale as you arise to standing position. Go easy for the first month and work on the breathing; it’s very important as this enlarges the lung capacity and the rib cage and triggers better health and assimilation of foods. 2.) Two Arm Pullover – Lie on a bench on your back. The weight is above your head, then allow it to move backward behind the head, keeping the elbows locked. Take a deep breath before lowering and try to get more air in by the time the bell is behind your head. Exhale as you return to the starting position for 10 reps.

3.) Regular Deadlift – Use 10 reps in this one. While standing, reach down and grasp the bar, being sure to bend your legs and keep a flat back. Take a deep breath as you straighten up and exhale as you lower the bar to the floor. 4.) Bentover Row – Breathe in as you pull the bar up to your chest, and exhale as you lower it. Don’t cheat. If you find yourself cheating, try holding the bar at your chest for a two count until strict form becomes second nature. 10 reps. If you’re tired of many sets and few results why not give this course a try. Lifters were happy with the bulk they could gain but wanted a small waist too. Soon everyone was trying a low rep routine. A typical setup would include the squat, bench press, bent-arm laterals, pullovers, curl, press behind the neck, deadlift, situp, and side bend. The pullover, situp and side bend were done for 15 reps, 3 to 5 sets. The rest of the routine was done for 5 reps, 3 to 5 sets. No matter how good the routines may be there are always a few men who cannot gain weight no matter what they do. Sometimes a one exercise routine will pull them out of their rut. Years ago Jim Evans found himself with little time to exercise. Looking for one exercise that would give his body a complete workout he chose the Clean & Jerk. Evans took a weight he could handle for 10 reps as a warmup, cleaning each one from the hang position. Then he added weight in 10 lb. jumps doing 5 reps each set until he reached couldn’t get the 5. A few others did just the clean, feeling the jerk was a waste of energy. Jim worked out twice a week and yes, he did gain weight. A closer look at these routines reveal them to be very close to what the beer garden lifters used to do in their workouts. None of them were known as skinny. In the last course I’ll present we have the same brief training routine as J.C. Hise used, except here lower reps are used . . . and only two exercises. A hefty guy by the name of Ron Ledas used such a workout routine and trust me, it sure worked for him. Workout just three times a week on alternate days. Do 6 sets of 6 reps of each exercise. Do only the squat and the bench press. Don’t cheat. Ever. Make the muscles do the work at all times. De sure to warm up first with a light weight for 10 reps. Get extra sleep and chow. You must work the larger muscles of the body to gain weight and size. Once you have enough raw beef go back to a regular routine. Before you rush in and try out one of these routines, ask yourself these question: Have you been training for at least six months yet? Have you been using a good course? If not, give yourself a few months to get out of the beginner class. All the routines mentioned here have proved to be great bulk builders. According to your mental attitude, physical limitations, personal liking for high or low reps they will produce added bodyweight. Physiological reasons such as superior metabolism and genetic background will make some men gain faster than others. You must follow the basic rules of good health. Give any routine at least two months fair trial. It will take at least a month to get used to a new routine. So don’t give up after a few weeks. Persistence will win out. Stick with it and get big. Training for Strength Without the Use of Drugs by Anthony Ditillo (1981)

This article is dedicated to the training philosophy of one of the strongest, natural (non-steroid) lifters I have ever had the pleasure of meeting or training with: this article is dedicated to Dezso Ban. When it comes to developing Power and Muscle Size, we must realize that there is a big difference between training with the use of artificial aids and training without anabolic steroids. What I am trying to say is that the man who is not using the steroids will of necessity have to train harder and longer in order to achieve the same results, genetics allowing. This is not to say that the steroid user will not have to train especially hard, to the contrary; if the drugs are to do him any good at all, he will have to train very hard indeed. But for the trainee who is not interested in experimenting with the use of the substances, the only road to the top will be one filled with a lot of hard work. We have begun with this premise for the simple reason that Dezso was not using anabolic steroids when training in his prime, so the routines which he outlined for himself and advocates for others, who have the will and desire to carry them out, will seem quite extensive ad voluminous, to say the least. So in order not to give you the idea that either he or I are exaggerating, I must point out that he was not trying to gain any bodyweight at this time, so a Bulk Up routine was out of the question and he was NOT using any artificial aids of any kind, hence the amount of work may seem like quite a bit, but the results were quite exceptional, to say the least. Dezso's theory of training for he limits of one's potential lies in the assertion that the body WILL adapt to most any stress if given enough time to become accustomed to the workload. In other words, if you allow the body sufficient time to adjust to a certain load, you will recover and actually become capable of even MORE work and heavier work when this adaptability takes place. The Russians and the Bulgarians have known this for years an their lifters make their entire life revolve around the gym and their workouts, and while this might be somewhat objectionable to the majority of lifters reading this article; their results speak for themselves. With this system of training you will be doing many sets of 3 and 5 repetitions with weights quite within the particular framework of your particular strength level. There is no forcing in this system of training. There is no place for straining under a maximum single repetition. This is saved for the "peaking out" period when you give your body a chance to show how strong it has become during the prearatory period in which you will be allowing yourself to adapt to heavier and heavier work loads. It makes no sense to continually try your limits in the gym. This should be both physically and emotionally worked up to over a long period of time, so that when the competitive season or peak time arrives, you are in truly great shape, rerady to exert yourself to the fullest in order to register the highest possible numbers. For the rest of the training year, you should be trying to find ways of increasing your strength levels WITHOUT INCREASING your bodyweight. Otherwise, your strength and bodyweight ratio may actually go DOWN instead of up, even though you will be handling heavier weights. What we are trying to do is to get your body used to an increased demand of additional exercise, since the greater the workload the greater the conditioning of the athlete is in question. This is usually done by working with between 80 and 90% maximum for many sets of 3's and 5's, in the movements we are trying to improve. By using 3's and 5's we are assuring that the amount of weight lifted each set will be of some benefit to the lifter and not just a toy to be tossed around. We do NOT advocate using baby weights and doing a great volume of work; we recommend using medium heavy to heavy weights and STILL doing a large volume of work! Most of the routines you are reading in the magazines are routines used by guys with years of heavy steroid usage behind them, so they are actually living in a separate world from the rest of you. You CAN'T follow their routines and expect to make the kind of gains they made, if you are not on the same steroid program and don't possess the same genetic potential. This is the simple

truth and sometimes when the truth hurts only a lie appears beautiful. This is not to suggest that these men have not trained and sweated blood for whatever gains they have amassed; nothing is further from the truth. However, we must realize that to try and copy one of their routines without taking into account all that the champions have done and taken internally in order to get to the point they are at . . . would be asking for failure from the word go. Anabolic steroids will not take a mediocre lifter and make him into a champion unless he has the genetic potential to go that far, the proper training facilities to train under and sacrifices everything for his sport, in order to reach the top. On top of this, he MUST have an above average income in order to pay for these substances, for the gross amount ingested and injected by today's men can become extremely expensive for the average fellow to afford. So actually, if you wish to go as far as these substances, sacrifice and hard work can take you, you had better be able to afford doing so. Dezso was not able to contact anyone with access to these substances, since he had just come over from Europe and couldn't speak the language, anyway. Also, he would have never been able to afford anything close to the amount necessary for him to use in order to help him in his training, so without taking morality into consideration, he merely developed a system of working both LONG and HARD with no attempt whatsoever to gain additional bodyweight, and the results from this type of dedication were close to fabulous! At a bodyweight of around 190 lb. he clean and jerked close to 380. He power cleaned and pressed 285 for 3 sets of 5 repetitions; regularly did shrug pulls from the floor with close to 500 lbs.; stiff leg deadlifted 605 for three doubles, after a 50-set back workout and front squatted, Olympic style, 455 for 5 reps. He also did back squats, Olympic style, 445 for 5 sets of 5; hyperextensions with 185 on his shoulders; once shrugged 940 lb. for a triple (I witnessed this myself); snatch grip shrugged 775 for sets and reps between 5 and 10 and he also power cleaned with thumbless grip and NO KNEE DIP WHATSOEVER, 335 lbs. When you consider that this man never touched a steroid during this training period of his life, you can value the level of accomplishment he attained during his prime training period, and the mute testimony of his type of workout was the results he developed for himself and whoever fell under his spell. Dezso believes in training six days per week. Three Squat days, three Pull days and Presses are done EVERY DAY that you train. The total number of sets of leg work goes to around 50 per workout, along with close to 30 sets of pressing. This is done three days per week. On alternate days he would do close to 50 sets pulls along with an additional 20 to 30 sets of pressing movements. We should also include the assistance work such as Roman Chair for the abdominals and Hyperextensions for the lower back. These were also done three times per week. The secret to this kind of training is not to rush into these methods too fast, but to only increase the sets when you are no longer responding to the particular workload you are presently handling. It makes it MUCH easier if you are also trying to gain bodyweight while on such a training routine. Because with the additional bodyweight your power and size should respond. However; he was not interested in appearance or bodyweight during this time. He was interested solely in increasing his functional strength. Doubles and singles have no place in such a routine, for the key to progress in this type of training is not how much you can force out for a single, but how much weight you can perform for sets and repetitions. It is very close to bodybuilding, except the weights are kept fairly heavy, the sets are very high and the repetitions will not go over five. Also, the lifting movements themselves are not primarily chosen for their ability to beautify the physique. Yet, the overall effect is the look of David Rigert or Serge Reding (depending upon your natural body type). What makes the training theory so appealing to me is that the sole consideration you need be worried about is if you have enough time to put into your workouts in order to continue to

progress as fast and as far as you can. In Dezso's opinion, "You must pay the price. You can't get it for nothing. I can't give it to you!!!" Here then is a brief explanation of Dezso's training routine: Monday, Wednesday and Friday Legs and Shoulders On all the following exercises do 8 to 12 sets of five repetitions, 5 x 5 with the heaviest weight. That is, work your way up to 5 x 5 with the heavy weights: Back Squat Front Squat Lunges as well as Front or Back Squat, with heels on a 4" block - 6 to 10 sets of 5's, working for thigh isolation. Press - 8 to 12 sets of 3's and 5's working into heavy weights. Press Behind Neck - 6 to 10 sets of 5's working into heavy weights. Bench Press - 6 to 10 sets of 5's working into heavy weight. Roman Chair Work - 6 to 10 sets of 5's working into heavy weight. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Pulls and Shoulders On all of the following exercises do between 8 and 12 sets of 3's and 5's: Power Clean High Pull Squat Clean Shrug Pull Shrug Stiff Legged Deadlift Deadlift Hyperextension These movements were not done continually in the listed manner given above, the order was changed, yet during the course of the workout the entire scope of the workload remained somewhat the same. Also on these days he used assorted pressing movements fo 20 sets once again, to work his shoulder muscles. He actually thinks overtraining is in the mind, and as long as your diet is good, your mental attitude is one of ACCEPTANCE to the necessity of the stress, and you work up to this workload of training gradually over time, then your body can adapt to just about ANYTHING!!! The secret to this kind of training is not to rush the workload too fast, but to take your time and adjust yourself to the workload during a certain period of training time and continue to increase the workload as time goes by. Finally, we should also take into consideration training injuries and how this system allows you to work around them. Let us suppose that for one reason or another, whenever you incorporate heavy singles in your training your thighs become injured. So how do you increase your squatting power without using heavy singles of doubles? So how do you maintain or increase leg size without using these heavy attempts? The answer is many sets of medium repetitions which will neither overwork the muscles OR the joints but will, WHEN TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT TOTALLY,

work the muscles both adequately and sufficiently without undue physical trauma or reoccurring pain. Let us say you can squat 400 for one. Let us also assume that you can get 350 for 2 or 3 sets of 5 repetitions. Now suppose you NEVER go above 350 but systematically work at getting more and more work done with this weight as time goes by, until you're getting 3 sets of 5 with 350 and then 2 or 3 sets of 3 with this same weight. Perhaps a few weeks, or a month or two goes by and now you're able to get 350 for FIVE or SIX sets of FIVES, along with a few sets of THREES. Do you think you are any stronger than when you started? You surely are!! And if you decided to peak out for a few weeks to see how much you could squat for a single, I am sure that you would go far above the 400 for one with which you started this program. And what did it cost you? Only the willingness to do the increased workload and put in the additional time required. Why do you think the Bulgarians are training twice per day? Because they have nothing better to do? No. It's because they know that a better conditioned athlete is a stronger athlete. Period. And they also know that it doesn't come for free. You have to pay the price somewhere. Their lifters are willing to pay the price. Stop reading the routines in the magazines and thinking this is the way the guy trains all year long. For the most part, the routines are only the PRE-routines that the lifter uses right before a contest and this necessitates that the routine is heavy but rather short, since at this time recuperation is most important. With Dezso's type of training you are working ALL the necessary muscle groups quite adequately and thoroughly, while at the same time you are saving nervous energy. This training should not drain you mentally. For the most part, it is quite easy on you mentally, since you know just about what where you are, poundage-wise, in advance. You will not be going through the trauma of failure with single attempts training, at least not for the majority of the months of the training year. Also, there is very little chance of injury since the weights used for the majority of the work should be well within your limits. The main thing to remember when trying to work this way is to pick a weight you can handle for sufficient volume and are able to perform sets and repetitions with IN CORRECT STYLE. For someone who is interested in embracing this mode of training I would advise you to pick three movements for the thighs, three movements for the back and three movements for the shoulders. Work your shoulders six days per week, two movements per day, ten sets of each. Thigh work is done with three movements per workout, ten sets of each. The same is done with the Pulls. Make the first three sets progressively heavier for warmup, then jump to a weight you can get from between 3 and 5 reps with and perform 7 sets with this weight. When these 7 sets can be done for 5 reps each, it is time to add 10 or 20 lbs. to the bar and begin once again. Stay with this workload until one or two things happen: either you can get 7 sets of 5 with a weight, but CAN'T seem to increase the bar in order to begin the routine once again with heavier weight, OR you simply are NOT responding physically (muscle size or density increase) to the workload though your body IS recuperating. When this happens, here's what you should do: Go to FOUR squatting movements and FOUR pulling movements done three times per week and THREE pressing movements done six days per week, for 10 sets of 3 to 5 reps per exercise, OR keep he original number of movements per exercise and body area but raise the number of sets per movement from 10 to 15! Yes, I know. This sounds like a lot of hard work. Well, it is. If you STILL wish to emulate the men you have been reading about, then you will HAVE to work like two men in order to go to the limits of your natural potential and this will take up MUCH of your training time AND physical and mental energy. I am NOT going to tell you a fairy tale about 5 sets of this and 3 sets of that, and have you think it takes two hours per day three days per week to look like David Shaw or Kazmaier. In order to look like these men and develop great strength you are going to have to almost LIVE in a gym. And even then, you will go no further than your genetics will allow you to.

And when you come to this particular point, you will be faced with a basic dilemma which most advanced trainers face at one time or another in their careers: "I have no more spare time to give to my training, so without increasing the workload how do I continue to gain?" The answer is, you don't! You have reached your feasible peak, all things taken into consideration, and you've gone as far as you're going to. But you'll NEVER even get to this point if you don't gradually increase your workload as time goes by. So there you have it. I know it isn't pretty to think about or to look at objectively, but it is the simple truth and I would rather tell you an unpleasant trutht than lie to you and have you disillusioned as to there being secrets about all this that no one ever told you. You know now what you have to do to go as far as you can genetically without using any drugs. Developing the Lower Arms by Anthony Ditillo (1969) Up until a few months ago, I was a complete stranger to forearm work. In fact, to be quite honest about it, I have never put any great emphasis on arm work in general. To me, heavy leg, back and chest work are the keys to success. Sure, it’s O.K. to include a few curls and tricep presses to pump the arms up somewhat, but why overdo it? I realize that this opinion is solely my own and I do not desire to demean anyone else’s thoughts on the subject, but I mentioned this only to let you readers know that I am not, have never been and hopefully will never be a trainee who thinks massive arms and spindly thighs are the living end. Power is my ‘thing.’ After 3 hours of heavy squats, rows, presses, benches, etc., you can be sure I have very little time, if any, for Larry Scott Preacher Bench Curls. Yet, my wrists measure 7” and my forearms go 15½”. Alright, I admit they have no definition to speak of, but the size is there. Definition means Super Sets. It also means starvation (to me, anyway). So after I bench press 400 and strict curl 205, then maybe I’ll train down low enough for my muscles to show through my elephantine epidermis. You know, being strong, large, but fleshy has its problems. You knock yourself out trying to gain the bulk and finally it’s all there. And what happens? Your friends and relatives tell you you’ve ruined your appearance and your doctor (when weighing you) tells you you’ve shortened your life. Yes, bulk and power training has its bad points as well as its good, and in many cases we merely take from Peter to only pay Paul. But getting back to forearm work. I, for one, was sick and tired of people who, when hearing of my weight training would sooner or later ask me, ‘Where are your muscles then? Why don’t they show? You look just plain fat to me.” And all the time they were telling me this ‘heartbreaking news they were staring at my large, but shapeless, upper arms. And all the while I remained silent. As far as upper arms are concerned, size I have. Also, I feel that I possess a fair degree of strength. But the shape and solidarity of tissue is just not there. And nothing is more unimpressive to the average man on the street than large, dumpy arms. It was for these various reasons that I decided to do something about my big fat unimpressive arms. Oh yes, the power work is still supreme with me; but now I allow a small amount of arm work to squeeze itself in. Most of you assume, I suppose, that I started doing set after set of bicep and tricep work for hours on end, in quest of well-shaped arms. Well, if you do, you’re wrong. What it is that I have been doing for the past six or seven weeks is working my forearms like mad and literally saturating them with nutritious blood. The method: A.A.C. (artificially applied circulation), and the reasons for my choosing the method for such development? Well, here we go: My arms are usually over 18” most of the year round, depending mostly on how low of high I let

my bodyweight go. I felt that as long as I already had size in my arms, I might as well work on my forearms for a while in order to bring them up to par, size-wise at least. You know, when you’re short and stocky like I am, it’s easy to lose sight of proper proportions. And I mean proportion to merely look human; not the bodybuilding symmetry philosophy. Also, in my case, I figured that stronger forearms meant inadvertently easier and heavier deadlifts, rows and high pulls, etc. And also, I figured that whenever I would be asked to show a muscle or two by annoying children in my Pop’s store, or by aggravating relatives in a sarcastic mood, flexing a forearm would be less tiresome than rolling up a shirt sleeve (which is almost impossible for me) and coming out with the ‘ceps. I would like a fairly solid 16” forearm. And since I only have ½” to go, I feel it’s only a matter of time and steady, concentrated work. For the exercise movements themselves, I chose the reverse curl and the wrist curl with palms facing up. There was no reason to get too involved with various movements, sets, repetitions, etc., and also various training philosophies. Last issue you read of my massive friend Julius Gadsden’s routine for massive upper arms using artificially applied circulation, hard work and a highly nutritious diet. It was during this time that I began my forearm work, and am continuing it now. Since you should all be familiar with the theory and application of A.A.C. I shall confine myself to the simple schedule of sets and repetitions involved. ******* EDITOR’S NOTE – For those of you who did not read the previous two articles on artificial circulation, let us repeat a few of the essentials. Between each set and between each group of exercises while resting, Julius would rub Ben-Gay on his arms. This would create heat, bringing added blood to the area. Care must be used in rubbing, as some skins are tender and might blister. Try to knead the muscles and give deep massage while rubbing on the liniment rather than using surface rubbing. Possibly other types of liniment might work as well as Ben-Gay. The purpose of using this is to get deep heat so that blood is brought to the muscles themselves and not just to the skin. Since it seems that blood circulation is one of the secrets of bigger muscles, and the pumping system’s success is due to this, apparently one is able to get a good pump and good circulation with the use of a liniment and with perhaps less exhausting work than without it. We look forward to hearing from other readers who may have experimented a little with this system. We do know that liniment is almost an essential part of a weightlifter’s training routine. They use it for other reasons than for big muscles, and it does function in the same manner. ******* I train my forearms 4 times per week; twice at the end of my upper-body training days and again twice at the onset of my lower-body training days. I perform the Reverse Curl first, doing 5 sets of 10-8-6-4-15 repetitions using progressively heavier weights each set (excepting the last). In between each set I perform the massaging method using ‘Ben-Gay Lotion’ as mentioned in previous articles dealing with the A.A.C. philosophy. I then perform the seated wrist curl, palms up, for 5 additional sets of 20 repetitions using the same weight, increasing it whenever possible. I also followed proper diet principles. In approximately seven weeks, my forearms were where they stand presently, and as I mentioned before, my wrists are barely 7”. The results speak for themselves. Combine Weightlifting with Bodybuilding by Ash Kallos

Too many present day physical culturists specialize on the showy muscles and develop inefficient, out of proportion bodies. Weightlifting movements like the snatch, clean & jerk, power clean, and power snatch can add a strength, speed and cleaner lines to the lifter’s physique. Most bodybuilders are weak in the areas that weightlifters are strong in. Many bodybuilders have good arm, pectoral and lat development, but usually lack deltoid, trapezius and lower back development. Snatching, cleaning, etc. will do wonders for these areas, and it is not necessary to devote more than 30% of your training to lifting movements. Power cleans and power snatches can be incorporated into your workouts immediately, as can many of the great variety of “assistance” pulls. Weightlifters generally employ lower rep sets, but for bodybuilding purposes you can increase the reps to between 5 and 7. Once you have mastered decent snatch proper and clean & jerk performance you can include them in your routine. As your workouts may prove lengthy when covering the whole body, concentrate either on the snatch or clean and jerk. One training period power snatches and snatches can be done; another period power cleans and clean & jerks. Most bodybuilders are inclined to spend much of their training time doing lying down or seated exercises. That is why their physiques in general give an appearance which lacks the look of power. Do more standing movements like the clean and press, standing dumbell presses, power cleans and snatches, and all forms of deadlifting to change this. If you are to weightlifting movements these exercises will leave you very tired and muscle weary at first, especially in the back, traps, spinal erectors and even forearms. Don’t overdo it in the beginning, and continually work on your technique. You will rapidly adapt to full body lifts. Here is a simple suggested routine to be done three times a week. Remember, this is only an example to give you a framework for developing your own routines. 1.) Standing Press – 5 sets of 5 to 7 reps. 2.) Power clean or snatch – 5 x 5-7. These two lifts can be alternated each workout. 3.) Snatch proper or clean & jerks – 5 x 3-5 reps. Again, these lifts can be alternated. 4.) Barbell Row. 5.) Bench Press (flat or incline, barbell or dumbell). 6.) Curl (barbell, dumbell, standing, seated, etc.). 7.) Triceps Extension (barbell, dumbell, lying, standing, seated, pulley etc.) 8.) Squat (front, regular, power, Olympic, etc.) 9.) Calf exercises. 10.) Abdominal work. You will find it necessary to adjust the bodybuilding part of your workout as the poundages on your lifting movements increase. Consider the two sections in totality when planning workload. Make no mistake, weightlifting is tough, but wonderful for all-round development and wellbeing. I have seen so many bodybuilders who were strong in the bench press or curl and weak in pressing and cleaning, and so few who were strong in both disciplines. Incidentally, snatches, clean and jerks, and other pulls done with light weight in high reps will help in reducing bodyweight. Combine them with a short-rest bodybuilding program and a sound abdominal program and you will be surprised how quickly you harden up. Reg Park by Ash Kallos

I will never forget the standing ovation Reg Park received when he won the Mr. Universe title held in London in 1965 for the third time. We both flew from Africa to compete that year. Reg has won the Mr. Universe title no fewer than three times. In 1951, 1958, and 1965, an outstanding achievement particularly if you consider the period of time that has elapsed since he first won the title. I doubt if anyone has bettered this record. I have been fortunate in being able to train with Reg personally on various occasions over the years and have taken careful note of his training methods and philosophy. I have trained with many top bodybuilders and weight-lifters throughout the world, and I will go so far as to say that Reg Park is the most dedicated, hardest worker of them all. Endowed with good structure, he has made full use of his potential and he never lets up. In 1970 he was not able to train as usual because he opened three new gyms and was too busy to lift properly. In 1971 he decided to experiment with his physique, and erroneously reduced his bodyweight to 216 pounds. This proved his downfall. His two main competitors, Bill Pearl and Sergio Oliva, were both over 230 pounds. In solid condition Reg normally weighs between 225 to 235 pounds. In February of this year (1972) I photographed Reg, but found him to be still too light. Last week, (some four months later) I once again photographed him at a new bodyweight of 220 pounds. His improvement was visible, his arms, deltoids and thighs in particular had increased in muscular size. When Reg Park once again enters the Mr. Universe contest it will be a different story. With regard to his training methods, he normally trains two bodyparts daily. His programme involves six training periods weekly, each workout lasting approximately two hours. Reg’s routine consists mainly of basic exercises using heavy weights and intense concentration. He employs the straight set system, and very seldom incorporates super sets or any other methods. More recently, designing his own equipment, certain pulleys and leverage exercises are made use of. The main reason for this deviation is to give his body variety, and to alleviate boredom. He makes full use of any exercise he employs, and only changes when he feels he is no longer benefiting. In other words, once he has found the appropriate exercise, he will keep to it as long as it works. Many fellows chop and change their routines, without ever getting the results they desire. Here is Reg’s present routine. You will note there are no direct chest exercises. Over the last few years Reg has decided to leave this phase of training out, because his pectorals were getting too big. He only wants to develop a proportionate, shapely body. The pectorals are one of the easiest muscles of the body to develop, one which far too many bodybuilders overdevelop. FIRST DAY Deltoids Seated High Incline Barbell Press : 120 to 140 lb. 5 sets, 5 reps. Seated High Incline Press Behind Neck : 5 x 5 reps. Seated High Incline Dumbell Press : 100’s, 5 x 5. Lying Face Down On Bench Laterals : 20 to 40 lb. 5 x 8 reps. Triceps Pulley Pushdown : 5 x 8.

Lying Barbell Extension With Z-Bar : 120 to 170 lb. 5 x 8. Decline Barbell Extension With Z-Bar : 5 x 8. Lying Face Down On Bench Pulley Push Out : 5 x 8. Standing Extension With Floor Pulley : 5 x 8. SECOND DAY Back Chins : 5 x 8. Seated Pulldown Behind Neck : 5 x 8-10. Seated High Pulley To Waist : 5 x 10. Seated Middle Pulley To Waist : 5 x 10. Seated Floor Pulley To Waist : 5 x 10. Biceps Seated One Arm Dumbell Curl : 70 lb. 5 x 8. Barbell Preacher Curl : 140 lb. 5 x 8. Dumbell Preacher Curl : 5 x 8. Incline Dumbell Curl : 60 lb. 5 x 8. THIRD DAY Thighs Leg Press Machine : 5 x 5 reps. Hack Squat On Machine : 5 x 8. Hack Squat With Weight On Belt Behind Back : 5 x 8. Calves Standing Calf Raise : 5 x 20 reps. Seated Calf Raise : 5 x 20. Abdominals Hanging Leg Raise Lying Leg Raise Leg Raise Off High Bench

Twist On Self-Designed Swivel Machine All the above, 3 to 5 sets, 30 to 40 reps. I can tell you from experience that it is tough to keep up with this human dynamo. He trains from 6 to 8 a.m. each morning because he finds himself too busy during the day attending to his pupils. Reg has trained many Universe height class winners – Eddie Silva, Fanie Du Toit, Jannie Graaf and others have all been guided by him. He takes a great interest in his pupils, and that is why he has many gym members. A hard task master who knows how to produce results. A man who sets an example, and knows what it means to win or lose. A great sportsman and a wonderful asset to the iron game. Trapezius Development by Floyd Page Very seldom do you see a weight trained man with no development of the trapezius, due to the fact that they aid in practically every exercise. Every time you lift a barbell or dumbell from the floor or carry it from one place to another the traps are brought into play. Their contraction is the force that resists the downward pressure of a weight being held in the hand at arms’ length by the side. They keep your shoulders from dropping out of place when you carry a bride across the threshold. They are very powerful muscles when developed and are forever present on each and every strong man. Flat, square shoulders are an indication of this strength. Even though it is practically impossible to perform a barbell or dumbell exercise while standing without working the trapezius, I would like to explain two or three in particular I practice and find affect the trapezius quite directly. The Shrugging Exercise has always been popular and is one of the most direct and effective exercises for the traps. To properly perform this exercise stand erect and hold a barbell at arms’ length across your thighs. Hold the knuckles forward. Keep the shoulders slightly forward, then raise them as high toward the ears as you can. Holding them in the raised position, force them as far back as you can. Lower, then raise to the back, then force them as far forward as you can. Use a very light weight until you learn and feel the motion. The next exercise is certainly a well known movement and is performed by all weightlifters, but to my knowledge it is seldom practiced as an exercise by body builders. The Dead Hang Clean is a very good movement for developing the trapezius and deserves a part in every enthusiastic body builder’s program. There are those who have failed to include this very important exercise in their workouts because they consider it to be an exercise for weightlifters only, and fail to realize its merits as a body building movement. There are no exercises that bring the traps into play more vigorously than cleaning and pressing, jerking, as well snatching. It is my sincere advice to you who lack development in the traps and upper back to include the three lifts in sets of 8 to 10 reps. The Dead Hang Clean can be done with either barbells or dumbells. Take the same weight with which you perform your military presses. A greater demand is made upon the trapezius if the first pull in the clean is started from knee height rather than from the floor as usual. This eliminates a fast start with the aid of the back and forces a more direct pull on the traps. Do not squat or split in order to get under the weight. Pull it high each time. It must be remembered that the traps pull the shoulders back as well as up in a shrugging motion. Therefore, I consider Barbell Rowing a very effective exercise for developing the lower trapezius. I have also found that the lateral raise bending forward has also proved satisfactory. The barbell rowing motion can best be performed by standing with the feet wide apart, legs straight, and the back bent over and parallel to the floor. From this position slowly pull the barbell to your chest

without bending your knees. Straighten your back as the bar comes in contact with your chest and pull your shoulders back as far as possible. Begin with a grip the width of your shoulders. As you improve in this exercise widen the space of your hand grip. Keep your elbows pointed directly out. Training for Strength by Jim Halliday See here to read Jim Halliday's book - Olympic Lifting http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Halliday/OW/ow-intro.htm It has been said by numerous people that it is not the actual schedule that is important, but the way we practice it. I am afraid I cannot agree with this idea, for I feel that the only way to get the best results is to experiment until you find the system most suited to your current needs, and then exploit it to the fullest extent before considering a change. No two people are alike, psychologically, physically or mentally, and I think that consequently no two people can expect the same results from doing the same schedule. Therefore, unless you cannot advise him as to the schedule he should use, you can only lay out a template system for him, and leave it to his own intelligence, imagination and initiative to mold this system to enable him to get the best results from it. I do believe, however, and always have, that irrespective of what type of schedule you decide upon, it is essential that the bulk or work is done in SINGLE, HEAVY ATTEMPTS. If you desire to lift heavy weights then you must train with heavy weights. In the early stages of training it is, of course, accepted that a large amount of repetition work is needed, to practice style, and to give the body a good base for future endeavors. Once the rudiments of style have been conquered to some degree, and you begin to think about pushing your strength levels, I feel that you should forego a lot of the repetition work and concentrate on heavy work. This will not result in a loss of style; contrary to popular opinion I believe that once a style has been accepted it can no longer be improved by repetition work, but it is best improved by SINGLE ATTEMPTS with heavy and medium poundages. Take the snatch as an example. It is usual, when doing reps, to do one complete movement, then do maybe two or three from the hang. I do not feel that, having dropped the weights to the hang position, the body at that point in the lift is rarely in precisely the same position as it was during the original movement. Therefore all your attempts from the hang position are out-of-the-groove, and involve a slightly different movement, with a possible loss of style. My own schedule has been based on this assumption and I use repetition work solely as a means of warming up to heavy poundages. This is absolutely essential, of course; to immediately attempt near limit poundages without warmup is just asking for trouble, but only the minimum of effort should be used, and the bulk of energy conserved for the real work – the heavy lifting. I have used an almost similar schedule for six years, varying it only on occasions to meet some immediate need. I propose to give it in detail here; not advocating that you should accept it for your own use, but that you should consider its principles as a base for your own system, and make the variations to suit your particular requirements. The given poundages are based on poundages of 215-250-310 (press-snatch-clean & jerk) and should be altered to coincide with your own limit poundages.

I would also like to point out that my limit training poundages are comparatively low and I advise you to use maximum training poundages as a base, mine being 210-240-300. Again I point out that no two people are alike; one man may be able to almost reach his match poundages in training, while another fails to get within 20 lb. of his best, especially on the fast lifts. Therefore it is advisable to temporarily forget your competition poundages and base your endeavors on training maximums. This schedule is built up of five workouts as follows: Monday and Friday Assistance exercises or bodybuilding movements, including squats, etc., if required. Tuesday and Thursday Press – 150x4, 165x3, 180x3, 195x2, 8 singles with 205. Snatch – 180x3, 195x3, 210x2, 225x2, 8 singles with 230 or 235. Clean & Jerk – 250x3, 265x3, 280x2, 6 singles with 290 or 295. Sunday This can be used as a sort of tryout day in which you attempt to better your previous best training poundages. Try doing 3, 3, 2, 1 commencing with a low poundage and jumping in 20 lb. increases, making the final rep the poundage you wish to make for your best effort. This applies to each lift of course. Wednesday and Saturday are rest days, and if your wish to vary the actual training days to suit your needs, make sure these rest days occur at the proper intervals to break up the training most suitably. There are two ways to progress with this type of schedule. Method Number One is to use miniature discs (½ or 1 lb.) every week or fortnight. Bear in mind however that if this means is decided upon, the discs must be added at the beginning of the schedule and used for the repetition work as well as the single attempts. Method Number Two is to gradually increase the number of singles you do. Add an extra attempt periodically until you are doing 12 singles on the press and snatch, and 10 on the clean. When this is accomplished, raise the weights of the bar 5 lbs. and drop the singles to the former 8 and 6 attempts respectively. Bulk by C.S. Sloan Forget about isolation exercises, ultra-high reps, machines and the like. For bulk-building you absolutely must use the compound movements for a limited number of sets. That means heavy bench presses, squats, deadlifts, barbell curls, rows, push presses, cleans and shrugs. Another factor you must pay attention to is recuperation. The following workouts all have those two things in common – heavy compound lifts and plenty of recuperation time. Use each for at least a month before switching to another, and six to eight weeks per routine may be even better. TWO DAYS A WEEK PROGRAM This routine’s great if you’re just starting out or if you’ve been doing multiple workouts per week

for a long time. Don’t worry about the infrequent training. Perform if correctly and you won’t want to work out more often. Monday 1.) Deadlift – 5 sets of 3 reps. Make these triples progressively heavier, with the first three sets being warmups and the last two being your only REAL work sets. On the final set it should be next to impossible to get out the three reps. 2.) Bench Press – 5 sets of 5 reps. Perform the first two sets as warmups and use the same weight on your three work sets, adding weight when you can get five reps on all three sets. 3.) Wide Grip Chins – 5 sets of 5 reps. Same as benches. 4.) Bench Press Lockouts – 5 sets of 3 reps. Make these triples progressively heavier, with the first three being warmups. Thursday 1.) Squat – 5 sets of 5 reps. Squats are the best single exercise for adding bulk, with deadlifts a close second. Perform the first two sets as warmups and go HEAVY on your three work sets., using the same weight on all three and adding weight when you can get five reps on all three sets. 2.) Clean and Press – 5 sets of 3 reps. Use either a barbell or dumbells, and make these triples progressively heavier. The first three sets are warmups. 3.) Barbell Curls – 5 sets of 3 reps. Same as the clean and press. ONE BODYPART PER DAY ROUTINE For those who absolutely insist on working out every day, this is the routine for you. The key is to train only one muscle group at each session and train the smaller muscle groups on the days after you train the larger ones. Monday – Chest 1.) Bottom-position Bench Press – 5 singles. Perform these single reps in the power rack, starting the exercise from the chest. Increase the weight on each successive set. 2.) Incline Press – 5 sets of 5 reps.

Perform the first two sets as warmups and go heavy on your three work sets, using the same weight on all three and adding weight when all you can get 5 reps for all three sets. 3.) Dumbell Incline Bench Press – 2 sets of 8 reps. No warmups here. Go straight to two very hard sets and use the same weight on both. Don’t take it easy because you’re fatigued. Tuesday – Arms 1.) Barbell Curl – 5 singles. Most people aren’t used to such heavy arm training, but it’s underrated. Work these singles hard, and don’t worry about high reps being more effective for building big biceps. They aren’t. Increase the weight on each successive set. 2.) Lying Barbell Extension – 5 sets of 5 reps. Perform the first two sets as warmups and use the same weight on all three work sets, adding weight when you can get five reps on all three. Wednesday – Legs 1.) Squat – 5 sets of 5 reps. Perform the first two sets as warmups and use the same weight on all three work sets, adding weight when you can get five reps on all three. 2.) Squat Lockout – 5 sets of 3 reps. Make these triples progressively heavier, with the first three sets being warmups. 3.) Stiff-legged Deadlift – 5 sets of 5 reps. Perform the first two sets as warmups and use the same weight on all three work sets, adding weight when you can get five reps on all three sets. Thursday – Shoulders 1,) Push Press – 5 singles. Increase the weight on each successive set. 2.) Behind the Neck Press – 5 sets of 6 reps. Use strict form on these. The first two sets are warmups, then use the same weight on all three work sets. Friday – Back 1.) Rack Pull (deadlift lockout) – 5 sets of 3 reps. Make these triples progressively heavier, with the first three sets being warmups. 2.) Stiff-legged Deadlift – 5 sets of 5 reps.

Perform the first two sets as warmups and use the same weight on all three work sets, adding weight when you can get five reps on all three sets. 3.) Wide-grip Chin – 5 sets of 5 reps. Perform the first two sets as warmups and use the same weight on all three work sets, adding weight when you can get five reps on all three sets. 4.) Bentover Row – 5 sets of 5 reps. Perform the first two sets as warmups and use the same weight on all three work sets, adding weight when you can get five reps on all three sets. Make sure you get plenty of rest over the weekend because you’ll be needing it as the weights go higher. Also, if you’re new to such ultra-heavy training, take it easy for a week or so until and allow your body to adjust to the triples and singles. If you don’t, you’ll be so sore after the first workout with singles that you won’t be able to lift for two or three days. 10-SETS METHOD Here’s a great old-time routine for building strength and bulk that you don’t see people using much anymore, despite the fact that quite a few lifting writers have been advocating it again in recent years. Pick one exercise in each session and do 10 sets of 3 to 5 reps. Whatever rep range you use, choose a weight you can get the reps with on each and every set. If you decide to do 10 sets of 3, choose a weight you can usually get six hard reps with; if you’re doing 5’s, choose a weight you’d use for 10 hard reps. Take only a minute of rest between sets. Here’s a sample week’s workout for the 10-sets method. Monday 1.) Deadlift – 10 sets of 3 to 5 reps. 2.) Wide-grip Chin – 3 sets of 5 reps. 3.) Barbell Curl – 5 sets of 5 reps. Wednesday 1.) Bench Press – 10 sets of 3 to 5 reps. 2.) Overhead Press – 5 sets of 3 reps Increase the weight on each successive set. 3.) Plate Front Raise – 3 sets of 8 reps. Friday 1.) Squat – 10 sets of 3 to 5 reps. If you work as hard as you’re supposed to, you won’t need any other exercise. Remember, 1 minute rests between sets on the 10 set exercises. EAT HEAVY TO LIFT HEAVY

Beginning Old School Diet: Meal 1.) – 2 eggs/2 slices toast/bowl of oatmeal/glass of milk. 2.) Slice of cheese/glass of milk. 3.) ¼ lb. hamburger/baked potato/glass of milk. 4.) 2 eggs/glass of milk. 5.) 12 oz. steak or chicken/baked potato/slice of bread/2 glasses of milk. 6.) banana/2 glasses of milk. Once your system can tolerate this amount of food, begin adding progressively to each meal. For example, add an egg, bacon or a slice of toast here, and a glass of milk or another baked potato there. Think progressive, no different than adding weight to your work sets. Follow these routines for a minimum one month each. By increasing food intake along with your top end weights you should see good results at the end of three months. Upper Body Specialization by Anthony Ditillo If you have been reading my articles for any time whatsoever and if you have been following my advice as best you can, then I am almost POSITIVE that by this time you will want to specialize on your upper body for one of two reasons. One reason is that from all the power training and bulk-building articles you have been following you have reached a point where additional bulk is not desirable, and would mar your chances of a well-shaped physique. What you need is an upper body specialization routine which will revamp your muscular shape and delineation and will, on the whole, make your entire upper body appear more massive and yet more defined. Another reason for your needing the advice I am giving could also be a situation of ‘back-fired inspiration.’ What I mean is that from following all the heavy leg and back exercise movements which I have been stressing, you have developed a pair of bulky legs and hips and these bodyparts may take away from the appearance of your upper body, which for some reason has not developed in such a fast and impressive fashion. What you will need is a training routine which will add MUSCULAR BULK to your upper body and at the same time will maintain the lower body size and power so that afterwards there remains a man who is huge and massive and powerful ALL OVER! First and foremost, we shall endeavor to deal with the problems of the overbulked bodybuilder who has done too much of a good thing and now has to overhaul his entire upper body in order to show any true impressive shape. What this man needs is a combination of things. He needs to follow the right type of diet, and he must follow this diet most faithfully or he will only half-succeed. Such a diet must be high in its protein content and quite low in the amounts of carbohydrates and fats that it contains. However, we cannot cut these foodstuffs out altogether even if we wanted to, for they are necessary for the proper utilization of protein, and without an adequate supply of these energy foods the protein you are eating for muscular development would be used for training energy. I would think that a ratio of about 70% protein and 30% fats and carbohydrates should be just about the right amount, but you will have to experiment to find the right way to YOU. The KINDS of proteins and carbohydrates etc., which are used in the diet are important also. Just as the best sources of protein are meats, eggs, fish and milk, so too, the best sources of natural carbohydrates are fruits and vegetables, and the best sources of fats are corn and safflower oil.

So don’t think that by stuffing your mouth full of cakes and pies in place of fruits and vegetables you are getting away with anything, because you are not. Just as the best sources of protein produce the best results in muscular development, so do the best sources of energy foods produce the most availability of energy with the least accumulation of body fat. Upper body specialization for reshaping the physique while maintaining all the possible upper body bulk that you can is no easy matter. You must work wisely and you must work hard. Instead of performing many, many singles with 90% of your one repetition limit, as I have lately been advising you to do for continued bulk and power gains, you must cease this heavy single work and go in for more repetitions and instead of working muscle groups you must begin be selecting separate movements for separate parts of these muscles. Such as the upper and the lower portion of the chest or the deltoid taken into consideration as a three-headed muscle instead of one large muscular bulk of coordinated lumps of tissue. The following routine is an upper body routine which will literally transform the appearance of your entire physique: Monday & Thursday – Chest and Back (a) Incline Dumbell Press – 5 sets of from 6 to 8 reps using all weight possible for each set. (b) Flat Bench Flyes – 5 sets of from 8 to 10 reps using all weight possible for each set. (c) Parallel Bar Dips – 5 sets of all possible reps per set. (d) Lat Machine Pulls – 5 sets of from 5 to 7 reps using all the weight you can take. (e) Shoulder Shrugs – 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps using all weight possible. (f) Stiff Leg Deadlifts – 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps using all weight possible. You have thoroughly exercised all the muscles of the chest and back and you should finish up this routine with one set of situps and one set of leg raises using as many reps as you possibly can for each set. Tuesday & Friday – Arms and Shoulders (a) Press Behind Neck – 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps using all weight possible for each set. (b) Scott Bench Curl – 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps using all weight possible. (c) Lying Triceps Extension – 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps using all weight possible. (d) Scott Bench Reverse Curl – 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps using all weight possible. (e) Upright Rowing – 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps using all weight possible. (f) Tiger Bend Pushups – 5 sets of as many reps as you can possibly perform. This above routine has attacked the biceps, triceps, forearms and all three heads of the deltoids. The reps are high enough to burn off some fat with the help of a proper diet and the sets are not TOO hard not TOO soft, so that you must work and work hard. You should follow up this routine with 2 sets of situps and leg raises performing as many reps as you possible can for each set. The following third part of this routine consists of abdominal movements and leg movements of a light nature to stimulate fat oxidation and help, along with the proper diet, to burn fat while

maintaining and maybe even building additional muscle tissue. Wednesday & Saturday (a) Breathing Squats – 1 set of 20 to 25 reps using half of your usual squatting poundage and taking 4 deep breaths between each and every repetition. (b) Leg Presses – 3 sets of 20 to 25 reps using as heavy a weight as you possibly can. Lots of deep breathing on this one. (c) Bent Leg Deadlifts – Take half of your usual training poundage and strap your hands to the bar and get set for the workout of your life! Perform as many reps as you possibly can for 1 set. (d) Abdominal Work – Do whatever you want. Just work hard for about one half an hour. Be sure to perform as many reps as possible in each set. If any fellow has an overweight problem or a problem of an overbulked upper body after following this routine for at least two to three months, the either I am an imbecile or he is a liar and not a hard worker, or we are both crazy! We now come to the fellow with the overbulked lower body and the underdeveloped upper body. For him the road is somewhat easier. However, he too must follow the rules of good nutrition or he also will fail in his quest. First, he should set up his nutritional program for about 60% protein, 40% fats and carbohydrates and make sure that all his foods come from the best sources. Next, he must simply adjust his training so that most of the work will be for the upper body and he should try just to maintain his lower body size and strength. I feel the following routine will be of immense benefit if it is followed conscientiously: Monday & Thursday – Upper Body (a) Medium Grip Bench Pressing – 5 sets of from 4 to 6 reps using all the weight possible while maintaining good form. (b) Flat Bench Flyes – 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps using all weight possible, maintaining good form in all exercises. (c) Press Behind Neck – 5 sets of from 4 to 6 reps using all weight possible. (d) Dumbell Press – 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps using all weight possible. (e) Bentover Rowing – 5 sets of 4 to 6 reps using all weight possible. (f) Shoulder Shrug – 3 sets of 4 to 6 reps using all weight possible. (g) Cheating Barbell Curl – 3 sets of 4 to 6 reps using all weight possible. (h) Lying Triceps Extension – 3 sets of 4 to 6 reps using all weight possible. (i) Standing Reverse Curl – 3 sets of 4 to 6 reps using all weight possible. As can plainly be seen, the upper body part of this routine is quite heavy and complete though not TOO taxing, for in this case we are trying to BUILD not REDUCE. Tuesday & Friday – Lower Body (a) Full Squat – 3 sets of from 8 to 10 reps using all weight possible while maintaining good style.

(b) Half Squat in Rack – 5 single lifts using 90% of one-rep limit. (c) Regular Deadlift – 3 sets of from 4 to 6 reps using all weight possible while maintaining good form. This routine should maintain whatever leg size and power he has previously developed without too much difficulty. EVERY DAY at home, the bulk-seeking lifter should perform abdominal movements whenever he has a few moments to spare. This way he will never wind up in the predicament of trainee number one (the fellow who overbulked his body too fast and too much for good symmetry). However, should such a situation come into prominence, then all that he has to do is to refer to routine number one for a few months and his overbulking problems will come to a sudden end. And finally, fellows, before closing this article I would like to strike home a few points which I feel need to be cleared up at this time, like no other time before. There are many who feel there are secrets which separate them from the champions. This is not true. It’s simply a difference in innate potentialities in all of us and the ones with the greatest capabilities, if they harness these capabilities with HARD, HARD WORK, well, naturally they are going to make some pretty fantastic gains. But it’s not the exercise movements or exercise sequences that matter that much, it’s the amount of work they put into their training, the mental attitude they maintain and proper nutrition and their own innate capabilities which ultimately decide who forges ahead and who remains behind. And a lot of you guys go around with your heads in the clouds when the truth is right in front of you. You say that we BULK AND POWER writers keep repeating ourselves, that we don’t come out with anything really NEW. Well, this is because the whole situation is simple. You get out of exercise what you put into it. The harder you work (within reason, of course) the faster you gain. And the reason why I and other writers like myself have to keep repeating ourselves is because you men just don’t seem to realize that it’s you and you alone who determine if you will gain or if you will fail. And when you stop and thing about it, isn’t this the way it SHOULD be? Would you really want it any OTHER way? Effective Methods of Training Down (1971) by Anthony Ditillo If you are one of the many lifters or bodybuilders who are trying to, or have tried in the past, to lose excess weight either for lifting competition or a physique contest, you have my deepest sympathy. No, I am not trying to be sarcastic with such a remark. On the contrary, I feel for you fellows like nobody else can, because I have experienced myself the frustrating feeling of having my muscle size slowly diminish, along with my power, while trying to lose weight. It is truly a heartbreaking occurrence when a guy knocks himself out for months on end, trying to really build up additional size and power, only to lose this size and power when competition time rolls around again. It doesn’t seem fair, really. It’s as though somebody is not ‘playing the game’ as it were. But as unfair as it may seem, and is, there is really nothing one can do in such a situation (up until now) except to accept the size and power decreasement as the price one must pay for a truly muscularly impressive and strong physique. In the past, I myself have tried many training down programs and while I seemed to be partly successful each and every time, I never really struck paydirt’ as the saying goes. Sure, I always managed to lose the excess weight, once I made myself stick to the particular type of diet I was about to experiment with at the time, but whenever I would lose any significant amount of excess

bodyweight, along with this positive reduction would go a good deal of muscle and strength as well as the fat. To be sure, there are various ways in which to train down to a lighter bodyweight. This goes for weightlifters, powerlifters and bodybuilding enthusiasts as well as the normal, everyday healthconscious reader. All can benefit from this article and this is why I am so happy to be able to bring you fellows the great news. Believe me, this is just what you have been waiting for. Just bear with me for a while, while I go through the already accepted methods of weight reduction showing their good points as well as their bad points and how to reap as much of a positive gain from their proper utilization as you possibly can. The reason for my going into these various details is to the benefit of the ‘new recruit’, for the fellow who may be dieting for the first time and doesn’t even know where to begin. Besides, I have always said in my past articles, he’s the man (the beginner or intermediate) who I am most interested in anyway. The first method of bodyweight reduction which we will be taking into consideration will theoretically be considered the easiest to follow as far as mechanics are concerned. This is the CALORIE COUNTING method. By using this type of dietary regime, the trainee will simply purchase a calorie counter at the nearest drug or department store and shall endeavor to count the calories contained in everything he eats or drinks each and every day. In order to determine just how many calories are allotted to him in order for him to reach his bodyweight goal, he usually is advised within the book to check his caloric requirements which are listed next to his ideal weight at the beginning of the book. Let us suppose then that he is told that may ingest 1500 calories per day. The only thing to take into consideration now would be therefore just how would the calories be divided up? Certainly, 1500 calories is 1500 calories, or is it? Suppose two men were going on a diet. They had similar builds, similar metabolism, similar bodyweight, etc., and they both were going to go on a 1500 calorie per day diet to lose excess weight. Now the first fellow ate whatever and whenever he pleased. He partook of protein, fats and carbohydrates. He was sure, however, not to go above 1500 calories. He also exercised quite regularly with the weights. The second man, who was also training with weights, decided to partake mainly of high protein foods, leaving a few hundred calories left for the intake and enjoyment of carbohydrates. Now, I ask you, who do you think would be dieting properly. The answer is NEITHER. When taking into consideration the necessities of a properly executed diet, we must remember that basically we need two types of food for our bodies: we need fuel to grow on and fuel to ‘go’ on. This means that although we must always be sure to obtain the necessary protein in our diet for adequate muscle growth, we also need foods to supply us with the necessary energy not only for our exercise periods but for our everyday living as well. The truth is that as far as we lifting enthusiasts are concerned, many, many times we miss up on the energy foods when we are dieting. This leads to many pitfalls in our training routine by way of lack of training desire or endurance, lack of pep, endless anxiety and frustration, lack of proper sleep, lack of confidence in our training capabilities and most important of all, an unhealthy, mono-faceted ‘fad’ diet which in the long run will bring us nothing but internal harm! In comparing both types of diets which I have just outlined for you, in my opinion one is just as bad as the other. Let me explain just what I mean. The first diet, in which the man consumes whatever it is he wishes providing he does not go over 1500 calories, is the worst. In using this type of diet you can never be sure or certain that you are getting all the necessary nutrients for good health, let alone proper muscle growth or maintenance. Needless to say, such a diet might be alright from a convenience point of view, but from a healthy lifter’s point of view it is far off the beaten track. On this type of diet, if you wished to, you could eat 1500 calories worth of pizza pie and as long as you ate nothing else for the rest of the day you would be keeping your diet. But what about the necessary vitamins and minerals which everyone needs daily and in large doses for the proper maintenance of the body? What about the protein requirements of such a weight trainee? Could he be positive he was obtaining a correct amount for proper growth muscle-wise?

The answer is no, he could not. And although this method of dieting is the most popular in this country, it is my opinion that it leaves quite a lot to be desired. And what of the diet of trainee number two? Doesn’t the inclusion of a primarily high protein intake in such a diet guarantee that he will obtain the correct number of muscle and strength building nutrients? Doesn’t the inclusion of a moderate amount of carbohydrates and fats guarantee a balanced regimen of dietary significance? Shouldn’t this type of diet be the one to follow when one is trying to lose fat but build muscle at the same time? The answer to all these questions is a big fat ‘NO’! Let me ask you a few questions. How many grams of complete protein do you think you can get into about 1000 calories? One lb. of lean beef has well over 1000 calories and it contains about 120 grams of protein per lb. Mild contains 32 grams of protein per quart so it would take 3 quarts to give you almost 100 grams of protein of high biological value, but the calorie content would once again be too, too high. To make a long story short, you are not going to get very many grams of complete protein in 1000 calories and this is why the second type of diet isn’t too good. You see, when you get into counting calories you are taking from Peter to pay Paul. Sure, your calorie level is low and adequate for you to lose weight with but just where will you be losing the weight from? A weightlifter or bodybuilder wants to lose fat, not useful muscle. And that is why such a diet of counting calories just will not work for him. No matter how you try to arrange it, either the amount of protein will not be high enough for proper muscular maintenance and the result would be a great loss in muscle size, or else the foodstuffs which produce training energy would be lacking and the result would be a loss of muscle power. In short, for the lifter, counting calories to lose weight will not work! The second most popular type of diet for training down is the low carbohydrate diet. This diet centers around the ingesting of primarily protein foods while the carbohydrate is kept rather low, around 60 grams in most cases. One does not have to count calories while on this type of diet for on the low carbohydrate diet, calories don’t really count. One counts the grams of carbohydrates one ingests butt that is all. The amount of protein does not matter, and one can literally gorge oneself on steaks, eggs, fish, most cheeses and fowl. The good points in this diet are that the weight trainee is assured that he is obtaining sufficient protein in his diet for the mainstay of the diet would be primarily protein. Thus he is certain that he has enough protein to guarantee himself adequate muscle growth and repair. The sixty grams of carbohydrates give him a chance to vary his dietary schedule somewhat, by way of fruits and some vegetables (in small quantities of course) and all in all such a diet seems better than the first mentioned ‘calorie counting’ one. However, even this type of diet has its drawbacks. For one thing, the energy level is not that much better than it was in the second trainee’s method of reducing while counting calories. Sixty grams of carbohydrates will not give you a great deal of energy, that’s for sure. And although I realize that the theory behind the low carbohydrate diet is one of utilizing your own fatty deposits for an energy fuel system while only partaking of primarily protein foods at the table, I still have not found many trainees who can thrive on such a diet for any length of time. Either their weight reduction comes to a halt or they lose training enthusiasm and endurance as well as strength. Now the average man might possible get by on only sixty grams of carbs per day. After all, he is not a weightlifter. But I sincerely doubt if the average trainee can do this. I myself have tried both the calorie counting and the high protein, low carbohydrate diets, and as I stated before, on both diets I lost excess weight, but on the calorie counting diet I also lost quite a bit of muscle, and on the high protein diet I lost quite a bit of training energy. It just seemed as though neither diet could really do the job. This next diet is the one that I have been all along leading up to. It is the latest one I have tried and is, so far, by far the best. I ran into this theory some time ago while. Do you fellows remember a while back when the ‘high protein and cream’ diet was popular? Most claims were very impressive to say the least. And it was this diet which first prompted me to try my variation of it. I read how those famous bodybuilders would live primarily on a high protein diet mixed with

cream and drunk throughout the day. Most of these fellows claimed that this type of diet really enabled them to grow like mad and also, they lost excess fat from around the midsection while their training energy really soared. Now I always understood this theory. The high protein assured the trainee that his muscles were fully nourished and the high fat (cream) part of the diet would perk up the metabolism and allow him to oxidate more body fat while the high caloric value of the cream would give the trainee more than adequate training energy. The end result: increased muscle size and strength, decreased body fat. The bodybuilder’s dream come true! The answer to the most frustrating problem of them all: how to lose excess body fat while you build or maintain muscle. So you see, it was not that I did not fully understand this particular method of weight reduction that made me go into the other various methods of weight loss, rather it was the depressing awareness that I had always loved and enjoyed eating and I would never be able to get used to eating only protein powder and cream no matter how fast I gained while doing so. So although I read and reread the many claims made for this revolutionary type of diet, I had never tried it myself. Recently, my uncle had to see a doctor because of his cholesterol level. He was told that it was much too high and the doctor explained how my uncle was to try to relieve the condition by the proper diet and the proper exercise. In his diet, my uncle was told to consume only polyunsaturated fats, not animal fats. He was told that there was contained in certain types of fats, a substance which would help reduce the cholesterol level and would also aid in the proper utilization and oxidation of body fat. He was given a list of foods to eat and was told to use either corn or safflower oil for cooking. This started me thinking. Was not this type of diet very similar to the protein and cream diet of the past bodybuilders? Was it primarily not a high protein and high fat diet? Since by now my enthusiasm knew no bounds, I had to try such a diet on myself while using weight training as a physical catalyst. At the local heath foods store I purchased one quart of safflower oil and one container of 96% protein powder. My diet would consist primarily of protein supplements, various complete protein foods and no more than sixty grams of carbohydrates per day. As far as the high fat portion of my diet was concerned, I relied upon safflower oil used in cooking and corn oil margarine used throughout the day on my various foods with hopes that these measures would not only give me an abundant protein supply, but a high energy level (from the fats) and a desired well-roundedness (from the inclusion of the carbohydrates) which would insure proper weight loss, proper muscle growth and last but not least, proper energy level. The following paragraph shall explain the results of this experiment. When I began to incorporate this training down procedure into my living habits at first I was alarmed at the amount of change I would have to undergo. Certain foods would have to be excluded from the diet, certain ones added. But after a while, when the results began to show, I knew I was on the right track and I did not mind the various inconveniences I had up to that point encountered. I ate approximately six meals per day and at each meal I would have some form of protein and some form of polyunsaturated fat. I would really take in the protein and I was always sure that my intake of water was adequate to insure proper ‘ventilation’ of the urinary tract. Thus I made sure that no protein waste was left over in the colon or liver, etc. My sources of carbohydrates were natural in content. A few pieces of fresh fruit and vegetables per day. My training was geared for bulk and power, high sets of low reps with limit poundages. I trained at a fast pace, not resting for more than two minutes for each set, and I trained three times per week. In the beginning, my weight began to drop slowly but surely, from a high of 260 lbs. down to 248. Up until this time I had no trouble with either training energy or training poundages. Both were more than adequate. But as time went by and I began to lose more and more bodyweight the limit lifts also began to recede, once again, little by little. I did not let this deter me, however, and I continued on with my experiment, come what may. My squat had dropped from 515 at 260 lbs. down to 465 at a bodyweight of 245. I noticed that my training energy wasn’t lacking at all. It just seemed that the power just was not there the way it used to be and come what may, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that once again I was wrong with the method I had incorporated to

bring about the sought after results. Approximately five weeks ago I weighed in at 238. My squat was down to 425 lbs. My energy was more than adequate, however, at this time. It was then that I decided to use more of the fats in my diet. Three times per day, after each of my main meals, I would fill a whiskey glass with safflower oil and I would drink it down. I forced myself to bear the taste until now I don’t mind it at all. And suddenly things began to happen. First of all, my weight shot down to 228 in a matter of days. And for the first time since I began the experiment my lifts began to improve. Up, up, up went my squat. Down, down, down went bodyweight and most important of all, my waistline. And all the while I was simply overjoyed at the entire affair. It seemed that at last I had found the right way for me. Today, at a bodyweight of 225, I squatted to just above parallel with 505 lbs. My waist is seven inches smaller than when I began the experiment. My chest is still 54” and my arms are almost 20”. My thighs are 31” measured while standing relaxed. I have about fifteen more pounds to lose and then my experiment will be over. In a few weeks I shall have reached my goal. The Soft-Hard Routine by Mike Livingston What is a soft-hard routine? Essentially, it is a two-part, four to six month program in which the muscles are first softened by very heavy, low rep movements, then toughened and expanded by use of high repetition movements. Before beginning, however, two things must be assessed. First, decide what you want from this program. If it’s size and physique development then perform bodybuilding movements in phase one. If power is your aim, then concentrate on presses, squats and cleans, etc. Second, determine how much weight you need in each exercise to complete 1 set of 2 reps. Once the exercises are determined and the weights ascertained you are ready to begin. Do between 6 and 8 sets of singles with the weight you’ve selected in each movement. Forget completely about reps and endurance work. It’s power you’re building now. Increase weight as soon as you can perform 2 reps in your first set and still complete 7 more sets of singles. For example, with a best single bench press of 300 you might work to 280 for a double and 7 singles before adding weight. But – and this is important – don’t jump too quickly. Make sure the first 4 sets feel as if you could force out another rep. Otherwise you’ll go stale too quickly. Phase One must last at least two months to be effective. The moment you begin to go stale, that is, when you dread each workout and your lifts begin to drop, switch to the second phase. Now, instead of doing the double and singles, force out 3 sets of 8, 10 or even 12 reps with the same movements. Put power completely out of your mind. Concentrate on expanding and pumping the muscles. At the end of the two phases you will have gained in strength and in development. I guarantee you’ll be surprised at the effect. Training for Bulk by Ed Yarick (Coach, 1952 National Jr. Weightlifting Team)

How do you gain bulk? This is probably one of the most discussed questions in physical culture circles, and there have been hundreds of books and articles written on the subject. Now I have been around this business a long time, and in my time I have seen many a man gain weight – some too much and in the wrong places! And I’ve seen others breaking their backs without results. So I ask myself, “Why is it people crave this bulk in the first place?” There are too many fellows who spoil the looks of their physiques by gaining way too much weight indiscriminately. I can’t help agreeing with my friend John Grimek who said, the last time he visited us in Oakland, “You know, Ed, a well-developed 15 inch arm looks much more impressive than a hammy 19 inch one.” I have noticed that the fellows who win most physique contests are the ones with the most muscularity. Naturally, you have to have size to have a shapely, defined physique, but how do you know when to stop gaining bulk? At what bodyweight do you look the best for what you aim to do? The same applies to the weightlifter. It would be folly for the man who plans to lift in a certain bodyweight class to deliberately “bulk up” to the point where it would weaken him to reduce to his most efficient lifting weight. The heavyweights, of course, can afford to carry as much bulk as they need for power, but must keep from getting too heavy and losing agility and speed required in the quick lifts. Now some guys, like George Eiferman and John Grimek, seem to be more muscular as they put on weight. They are exceptions, however, for most men who strive for bulk become “round” and lose every bit of definition. Sure, it’s wonderful to brag about a 19” arm, a 50” chest and a 28” thigh, but it doesn’t mean anything if they’re accompanied by a 45” waist and mainly composed of soft, adipose tissue, Take, for example, the case of Roy Hilligenn, Mr. America, 1952. Roy started training in 1942 weighing a mere 83 pounds, after two years of serious illness. He weighed 160 when he won the Mr. South Africa title for three consecutive years. And last year at the winning of Mr. America he weighed only 178 pounds. He also became the only man to win both the Mr. America and Most Muscular titles in the same contest. In these contests there were fellows weighing 200 and more, and many had bigger measurements. So you see, the tape measure doesn’t mean as much as you may have been led to believe. Only a beginner should record his gains by inches, and that just to give him early motivation until he knows better. Symmetry of physique and strength in lifting are the main factors. Bulk must be combined with proportion and structure; bodyweight gain should yield strength and power. To achieve the combination of bulk and muscularity does not mean that you should overstuff yourself, or that you should spend six hours a day in the gym sweating it out. There is great truth in the axiom, “One man’s meat is another’s poison.” It takes careful planning to work out a bulk gaining routine. The best way is to experiment with yourself on every author’s opinion of such a course and finally work out your own program that will suit your individual needs. I know for a fact that Roy Hilligenn can gain 30 extra pounds in two months if he trains on a course consisting of a few main exercises done in 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps. On the other hand, Jack Delinger, Mr. America, 1949, gains by using similar exercises but much heavier weighs and lower repetitions. Each man determined on his own what kind of routine or combination of routines worked for his particular needs.

A lot of men believe the best way to gain muscular bulk is to stick to heavy weight and do no more than 5 repetitions on each set – and this arrangement can work for some. It doesn’t always work for everyone, so if the lower rep sets don’t produce much at this time for you, try lighter weights and higher-rep sets. A combination of both schemes may be what you need for now. Never write off an idea – store it for later and utilize it when the proper time arises. Get plenty of rest and relaxation, and remember, eating is important for success in bulk gaining. Eat three to four sound meals a day, Get plenty of rest and add a few snacks if necessary. For heaven’s sake, don’t go gulping quart after quart of milk. Now I am a big man myself, standing 64 and weighing 250. I drink two or three quarts of milk a day and when I order a half-dozen eggs for breakfast, people stare at me. Maybe that is too much, but I feel that my body can handle it. The average weight man seeking to gain, the man perhaps 100 pounds less than I, needs only a couple of eggs and a quart of milk a day. Once he has increased his muscle mass, and only then, should he add to the quantity of his daily food intake. Don’t think for a minute that your body will simply turn excess food into muscle in a short time. It is a complicated process, one that takes time. You should have plenty of substantial, wholesome food, especially dairy products such as cheese, milk and yogurt. Balance your meal for best results, but remember not to go overboard when seeking added muscular weight. Eat fish at least once a week, as well as liver, beef, ham and steaks. Include green and yellow vegetables in your diet, as well as fruit, nuts, cereals, beans, etc. Eggs, peanut butter, yogurt, etc. mixed with milk and protein powder will help you add nutrition to your diet, no matter how busy your schedule. But don’t think for one minute that eating and training cannot be overdone. You can overdo both. If you overdo training, you will tear your body down and if you overdo eating, you will find you have become soft, flabby and sloppy. Three training days per week may be best for you, two days for some, and four or five for still others. It is up to each individual, over time, to find what combination of training and eating works to fulfill his aims and desires.