1
Bradley J. Steiner
Powerlifting and
Development Herculean
Super-Strength
2
Foreword
What I have termed the “Key Segments” (legs, back, shoulders and chest) are the foundation stones
of a powerful body. It is more important to stress that these areas require full development, instead
of emphasizing total concentration on the three powerlifts, because there are many exercises other
than these three lifts that contribute to complete development of these areas. What is to be gained
by unnecessarily limiting oneself?
This is mainly intended as a bodybuilder’s book. A sensible bodybuilder’s book, I’d add, since the
stress is on the development of a physique that gives the appearance of great power because it is,
truly powerful. I always turn away from the methods advocating pump, show, and artificially inflated,
bloated tissue. Believe me, such methods are only for the foolish. If you want to get the most from
this field and derive the fullest measure of physical culture benefits, then you want real, solid,
healthy and functional muscle. I stress functional muscle always, since muscles that cannot do
anything are similar to toy guns that look real but cannot shoot. What can their value possibly be?
Let us assume then that you seek the limit in power and your finest possible physique, coupled with
the rugged health associated with the image of the true strongman. If we are agreed on this as our
common goal then we are certainly ready to begin. The path is clear and the possibility of obtaining
the goal sought is open to you, provided you are willing to put in the necessary hard work.
Welcome!
Introduction
For the lifter interested in developing the limit in strength, along with the finest possible muscularity,
powerlifting is a must. Super-strength is the result of developing to the limit the body’s muscular
capacity for handling tremendous workloads. The most sensible way for a lifter to handle these
workloads is through the inclusion of powerlifting in his regular course of physical culture training.
Power has always been admired and greatly respected through the ages. Every culture has had
respect for the man of power.
This is a real “how-to-do-it” book. The aim and purpose is to discuss methods, outline courses, and
detail training techniques that lead to the development of great strength. There is no easy way to
build the power you desire, and there is no shortcut. However, there most assuredly is a right way to
train. It is along the lines of the ways described herein. If you follow this plan you will attain your goal
of great power.
Your first objective should be understanding. Therefore, give yourself time to read through,
comprehend and fully absorb everything contained in this book. Read it through, carefully and with
patience. Make sure the concepts sink in. Make sure you grasp the principles. Be certain that you
3
basic questions have been answered before you actually begin training. If you read this book in the
careful way suggested you will have no problem in understanding its contents. Everything has been
designed to read simply, and every idea has been explained fully.
You will note one thing about my approach that may not be found in other power-training courses
and books; that is, I concentrate enormously on the MENTAL ASPECTS of physical training, and that I
stress the intensive development of the key segments for the best overall development and
performance (as opposed to complete devotion to the three currently accepted powerlifts).
There is simply no way to emphasize fully the importance of the mind in physical training. It is at least
80% of the whole picture. Therefore, unless it is stressed heavily, the student will be bound to fall far
short of his full possibilities.
Chapter One: Some Basic Considerations.
The human body can be divided into four basic power segments when considering training for
strength. If you make a careful study of the human anatomy you will find that HERE lie the roots of
human muscular development potential:
In the leg muscles.
In the back muscles.
In the shoulder girdle.
In the chest area.
Those four areas are the muscle mass areas. That is, the body’s heaviest strongest concentration of
thick and power-oriented fibers are located in those four areas. If those four segments are fully
developed and coordinated, it naturally follows that the physique will take on great strength and a
full development. Formerly, it was urged that leg and back work be the primary mode of training for
the lifter with aspirations toward great strength. Yet, this idea must be expanded so that the
shoulder girdle and chest area are recognized as the repositories of tremendous additional strength
and size potential – which they surely are.
Think for a while about every strong physique man you have seen. Think not only of bodybuilders,
but of wrestlers, Olympic weightlifters and so on, men who epitomize full development and great
strength. Where do they truly “shine” development-wise? If they are the best in their field they
heavy, broad shoulders. They have dynamic power throughout their entire shoulder girdle segment.
They have thick, heavy backs. They have mighty legs, and, their chests are deep with great
muscularity. Whatever else they may have, they have those four noteworthy areas of development.
The important thing for the lifter to bear in mind is that the four major segments, if they are fully
developed, bring about full development in the lesser body areas. This is what always happens when
the training method stresses compound exercise as opposed to isolation movements. I am here
speaking not necessarily of development with regard to pure bulk. Rather, I am speaking for the
4
development of full, powerful muscularity.
The argument that too much work on the basic, heavy exercises fails to produce a shapely body is
utterly false. Heredity, diet, posture, etc. have the final say regarding how “shapely” you eventually
look. Your choice of exercise movements, per se, has little to do with this matter of muscle shape.
Remember, your muscles don’t “know” what exercise is being used when you train them. Doing
heavy military presses works the shoulder girdle. Doing lateral raises also works this area, however,
with the basic press you can strive for much greater poundage increments and a more complete and
natural muscle involvement, and, as a result you will build much greater strength. The effect on the
muscle’s appearance of shapeliness is little affected by the particular exercise you do. In fact,
providing your inherent characteristics make you prone towards the “right” appearance when flexed,
and provided your diet is right, there is every reason to believe that the heavier and more basic
exercises will produce superior “shapeliness.”
This point, again, must be carefully and clearly understood: the type of exercises you do with weights
will have an effect on the development of a muscle’s size and usefulness, and a muscle’s power and
strength. But, the effect upon its appearance of shapeliness is negligible. Diet and heredity mean
everything here, and since diet is the only factor under your control, I suggest you begin to
appreciate its importance.
Think of exercise as a basically simple but brutally hard aspect of your program to develop strength
and size. Don’t ever make the mistake of believing in some strange, “secret” programs or any other
such nonsense. And above all, do not think that the training is everything! It is vitally important,
power and strength won’t be built without it and the physique cannot be built unless workouts are
done seriously, yet: when all is told the exercise program is the simplest part of the overall course of
action. It must be blended harmoniously with other items. The coming chapters will explain each
item and teach you how to coordinate their employment for your maximum benefit.
Back to those Key Segments again.
Legs, Back, Shoulders and Chest. Remember them and impress their importance upon your mind.
Then consider the following . . .
The fundamental method of working the legs is by having them do a “Push Away” type of movement.
That is, when, for example, you squat, you are pushing, basically, with the legs. This effort of pushing
is made more difficult by increasing the weight on the bar. The harder you push, the greater the
developmental effort. The shoulders and chest function as “Push Away” groups, too. Presses
(overhead and bench) are basically push movements. Lying laterals require a push or forwardthrusting type motion, etc. The back “Pulls”. Rowing is a “Pull To” movement. So is deadlifting. So is
cleaning. So is snatching. Chest, shoulders and legs PUSH. Back PULLS. Remember that.
From that basic working principle of the muscles derives the basic developmental principle. The
greatest exercises are the ones that cause the greatest basic effort.
5
The core powerlifts – deadlift, squat and bench press – are, naturally, extremely valuable, and I’d say
even essential to an effective all-round strength-building program. Yet, there are many other
exercises and exercise variations that need to be understood and applied in training. You will learn
many, and you’ll be taught how to apply them. Standing presses, for example, while not considered
“powerlifts” are a 100% necessity for overall shoulder girdle development. That’s just one example.
There are many more.
It is not enough merely to concentrate upon the key segments of the body to effectively assure the
attainment of our goal. It is necessary to work those segments to their utter limit. This does not
mean that every workout should be a maximum effort, but it does mean that from time to time the
limit attempt must be made. Otherwise, there will be no progress. Training, in other words,
FLUCTUATES. It does not continue on an ever-increasing, steadily upward, straight-line climb. It
begins, builds up, hits a maximum effort-output, then drops back so that you can recuperate. And
then it starts that upward climb again, towards a new maximum.
It is crucially important that you, as a student of physical training, understand this clearly. Otherwise,
you will expect progress to continue indefinitely, which it of course cannot do. This leads to great
disappointment, as I have found with many students. Better to accept the fact that Nature has her
own way of permitting you to progress towards your objectives, and let it go at that. Don’t try to
impose some idea you might have, in all your wisdom, about “the right way to progress” upon your
body. Adjust to Nature’s way. She won’t adjust to your way. Instead, learn all you can about the ways
of nature recuperating and regenerating and work within the sanity of this framework.
Your plan of training, then, will center about the maximum development of the key segments of your
musculature. It will proceed by working up towards new limits of effort output, and it will stress
concentration of effort on the basic exercises. There may be some other work devoted to the
balancing and strengthening of the other muscle groups via lighter and lesser assistance movements,
but for the most part you will train simply, heavily and sensibly. You will find, when you do, that so
long as your diet is right the “lesser” muscle groups will almost “fall” into place, development-wise,
with only relatively little attention. Unquestionably, this carryover benefit of the bigger exercises for
the lesser muscle attachments is one of the greatest virtues of such a mode of approach in training.
The squat, as a basic body exercise, serves as a truly perfect example of just what a basic movement,
properly worked, can accomplish for you . . .
The squat might normally be considered a leg exercise, and a superlative leg exercise it undeniably is.
There is no other movement you can do that even approaches the squat in leg-building value
(except, of course, front squats, which are, after all, SQUATS!). Okay, so the squat is great for the
legs. Why is its carryover value so great?
The squat, when employed as I shall teach you to employ it in this book, achieves the following:
1.) Tremendous development of the entire leg structure.
2.) Tremendous development of the hip (gluteus) muscles.
6
3.) Fantastic gains in bodily endurance, cardiovascular efficiency and all-round “inner strength.”
4.) Great expansion in the chest – superior by far to what even a program of specialization on
pullovers could achieve.
5.) Expansion in the shoulder girdle, thus increasing enormously the potential for upper body gains.
6.) Increase in one’s SENSE of power, in one’s overall, basic FEELING of physical prowess.
7.) Increase in one’s psychological willpower.
8.) Development to a significant degree of the lower (lumbar) back muscles.
I’ve always been a squat nut so I naturally had to pick the squat as a good example. But what about,
say, deadlifting? This particular movement will:
1.) Build grip and forearm strength (as well as size) to an extent that will surprise you, if you work
hard on the movement.
2.) Develop low back muscles AND upper back muscles that are literally rock hard and as strong as
spring steel.
3.) Develop the hips and legs by the partial squat action entailed by the performance of a deadlift
movement.
4.) Build endurance.
5.) Stimulate general strength gains throughout the entire body.
Are you beginning to see the treasure house of benefits awaiting you when you adopt a schedule of
training along the lines I am advocating?
The basic bench press develops triceps infinitely better (and safer) than any triceps “specialization”
exercise you may have seen or read about. It builds great frontal deltoid strength and power, helps
to increase the wrist and grip strength, and enormously affects the hefty pectoral muscles, as well as
expansion of the chest cavity.
That accounts for only the BASIC THREE power lifts. But we’re concerned with TOTAL physique
development – the UTMOST – possible. There are other basics we’ll be working with.
The type of training we are concerned with in this book is the type that produces every desirable
physical quality. You seek not only a powerlifter’s strength but a bodybuilder’s shapeliness, and an
athlete’s coordination. Therefore your plan must be rounded. BASIC, to be sure, but rounded, to
achieve the goals desired.
Remember that the key segments must be worked in two fundamental ways to produce the sort of
physique we are trying to build. First, each segment must be fully developed by specific
concentration upon IT. Then, the basic segments must “learn” to work together, fighting gravity and
poundages, so that all-out limit attempts involving coordination can be made.
If the purpose of this book were merely to make a powerlifter out of you, then we might deal solely
with the basic three lifts. But you need, and will get, more.
7
When the body is worked in this well-rounded way you end up, after putting in the necessary sweat
and toil, with the enviable status of having a body without any weak links. You will more than likely
find that one of the powerlifts becomes your favorite, and that there are one or two other basic
training movements that your particular structure favors – but because nothing is essentially
neglected, you’ll not end up like some unfortunate men who follow too-limited methods and have,
as a result, fantastic development in one area, but next to none in some other areas.
So, before going on to our next chapter, in which you will come to understand some more important
factors in strength development, let me urge you to always think in terms of total, rounded, balanced
and complete development. Even if you only think, right now, that one body area or one physical
quality is your true goal, concentrate on full development of the body-machine that you have
possession of at this time. This will give you lasting, lifetime power, a fine physique, and the athletic
capacity to do anything you wish and everything you must.
Study this book carefully. Each section was designed to provide a clear lesson in itself, and each will
contribute tremendously to the course of your progress. I therefore suggest that you be certain of
your understanding of this first chapter before passing on to the next. Remember, our key points
here are . . .
UNDERSTAND the key segments for power-bodybuilding and how they basically function as either
PUSH or PULL groups.
UNDERSTAND the need for a basic and essentially HARD form of training that FLUCTUATES, for best
results.
UNDERSTAND the need for BALANCED, total training and development.
You have probably seen pictures of such magnificent physique/power specimens as Franco Columbu,
Reg Park, and so forth. Perhaps it was their example that inspired you to begin training. In any case,
have you ever asked yourself this question:
“What is it that makes so-and-so such an OUTSTANDING example of super-human strength and
physical development – an example that stands above even the majority of those who train hard and
regularly?”
Without in the least wanting to discourage you I must point out that training, attitude and diet can
take you only so far. The men who hold the top positions in great physique development and
outstanding power were born with the potential to achieve what they now possess. By this I do not
mean that they were born with their DEVELOPMENT. They certainly were not; they all had to work
brutally hard to achieve it – but they were born with INHERENT POTENTIAL to ultimately become
what you, today, see them as.
HEREDITY is one factor in the development of an extremely powerful and magnificently developed
8
body that you just cannot control. Paul Anderson, for example, would never have “become” the
strongest man in the world unless he had been born with the physical structural potential to build
such strength. Very hard work over many years is necessary for anyone who aspires to reach their
ultimate potential; but only heredity can decide to make those hard years of work turn you into the
greatest.
Do not, therefore, begin your struggle by believing in a lie, no matter how popular it may be or how
much you wish to believe it. There are continual claims made year after year by pseudo teachers and
physical culture “experts” that promise to make you Mr. Universe in a short time, or a powerlifting
champion by year’s end etc., etc. If you ever follow any of these “courses” they will only discourage
you. You won’t gain anything close to what the ads claim and, more than likely, you’ll get so
disgusted you won’t give yourself an honest chance of enjoying the benefits of following more
sensible and legitimate methods.
Nature made you what you are. You start out with a certain basic “type” of body, and an inherent
potential to develop it to some, as yet, undetermined level. All right. Be satisfied with knowing that if
you conscientiously follow proper methods with determination you will achieve the maximum
development possible for you. If you have the potential to develop into one of the best then you will
begin to see evidence of this fact after about eight months to a year’s time of steady, hard and
correct training, coupled with a proper lifestyle and diet. Even with a favorable potential and with
other apparent advantages it is not possible to judge too soon that you’re destined for the ultimate
in strength and development.
The majority of people are not hereditarily capable of building a world championship physique, or
hoisting world record poundages. Yet, I have never met one single individual who wasn’t capable of
improving his present level of development and strength.
The training principles are the same, no matter what you are hereditarily. You require good, basic
exercises, a balanced nutritious diet, ample rest, and a strong will coupled with a positive, optimistic
spirit to succeed. And by succeed I always refer to developing yourself to your own maximum – I am
not indicating victory over others.
Think of yourself as the special, unique individual you are, requiring the same method of basic
training that all human beings require in order to develop great power and a fine physique. Then
apply those basic training methods to yourself, and determine to actualize every iota of potential
that you were born with – THAT’S the way to go about training.
9
The Bone Structure Question
In my writings I have always stressed the relationship of bone structure to ultimate growth; strength
and physique-wise.
There are three basic bone structures: small, medium and large. They are characterized by heavy,
thick wrists in the big-boned individuals, and decreasingly smaller wrist and ankle girths in the
medium and small-boned people. Extremely small-boned individuals cannot hope to become world
powerlifting champions. They can become very powerful, surprisingly powerful in fact – and they can
often develop physiques that are by far superior to their heavier-boned, non-training friends; yet
they can’t become world champions. The reason is simple. There are many extremely big-boned men
who also train hard and follow the right bodybuilding and powerlifting methods. Inevitably, those
better-suited to it make better gains.
Bone structure cannot be altered. It needn’t be such a thorn in your side, either, if you’ll view
training and self-development as I’m trying to get you to see it. Accept the fact of whatever physical
bone structure you have, make the best of it. In 1943, a strongman/athlete by the name of Jules
Bacon won the Mr. America title. He was the first small-boned man to do so, and very few after him
followed. I mention this, and point out his example for two reasons: One, to show you that
outstanding achievement in training is possible for a small-boned man. Two, to point out that there is
little likelihood of a very small-boned man winning top honors in modern times.
So, if you happen to be small-boned, realistically accept the fact. Train hard, live right and see what
happens as the months go by. You’ll be wise to continue hard training always, but not to invest
yourself too heavily as a physique or lifting competitor. If you are a Reg Park or Paul Anderson that’s
entirely a different story.
Simply put, view what you see, hear and read realistically. Do not shoot for 19” arms if your wrists
are 6” and you stand almost six feet tall. Forget about being a powerlifting champion if after a year’s
hard work your best squat is 200 pounds at a bodyweight of 185 pounds!
You will always be able to improve. You can get very, very strong and become exceptionally well
built. But only a relative few people can hope to become the top men. That, in case you haven’t
thought about it lately, is why they’re considered “tops” to begin with! An exceptional physique or
ultimate strength – in the nationwide or worldwide sense – is just that, a rare, exceptional and
unusual thing. It is the result of factors not entirely within the control of the champion himself, or the
mentor who may have helped him with his progress. Many champions do not realize this themselves,
just as many geniuses simply don’t understand why everyone can’t understand everything they so
easily understand. It is difficult, sometimes, to be truly objective about things.
10
Energy
People who participate in physical training always have more energy than those who do not exercise
at all. However, there are certain individuals who are born with an unusually high level of energy.
They seem to never tire. Now, you can develop and increase your energy level, and you can assist the
increase of you energy by proper mental training, but you cannot acquire anyone else’s unusually
high store of “drive”. Jack LaLanne is a perfect example of an energetic man in the physical culture
field. He is exceptional. Part of his energy and abundant drive is, undeniably, due to his regular,
vigorous exercise habits, and his adherence to near-perfect dietary habits. However, if Jack LaLanne
didn’t have an unusually high inherent potential for energy output, he just wouldn’t be the same
human phenomena that he is. Please understand that. And don’t think for a minute that Jack’s poor
health and bad dietary/exercise habits in his early years put the lie to what I’ve said. Not so! In his
youth it is true that Jack LaLanne did have a poor beginning – but only because he had failed to live
and train properly (a not-uncommon thing for youngsters). His inherent potential responded when
he changed his health and living habits. Had he never become the dedicated physical culturist that he
did become, Jack LaLanne would have remained a member of that vast army of people who are born
with the blessings of potential, yet who stifle the potential there through self-neglect. Yes, a person
with poor natural energy levels will develop lots of drive and great energy through proper living and
physical training. A person with great natural energy will turn into a human dynamo. That’s the way it
works.
Take an average guy and put him though college and he will, if he tries hard, acquire a good, basic
education and a broad understanding of the roots of many academic disciplines. But take a born
genius and put him through college and the end result will be something closer to a phenomenon. In
body or in mind, it’s the same thing. We can all improve greatly, but only the rare individual can
reach the top. This hardly makes it fruitless to be an active, enthusiastic participant, since there are
no losers in this game whatever.
Your bone structure will have a deciding effect more on how much weight and size you can
effectively carry, than it will have on how much power you can develop. For strength is at least as
much a function of mental concentration and will power, as well as one other item, muscle tissue
quality, as it is a function of the muscle’s size, per se.
Muscle Fiber Quality
It is only partially true that “the bigger a muscle becomes the stronger it automatically is.”
Sometimes, yes, and sometimes, no. More often than not the strength of a muscle is determined by
its size, an by the quality (not quantity, but quality) of its fibres, as well as the degree to which your
physiological system permits your brain to effectively direct “commands” to the muscle in question.
Fiber quality is inherited. It can be improved, of course, by adequate nutrition, etc., but it is, in some
individuals, inherently superior to others. What are some indicators of fiber quality?
11
How quickly do your muscles “spring back” after a hard workout?
How long do your muscles stay “sore” after a hard workout?
If you overwork severely, how long does it take for you to recuperate. Some few people can do it
with one good night’s sleep. Others need a full week’s layoff.
How “hard” are your muscles when flexed? The harder and denser they are, the greater your
muscles’ fiber quality probably is.
Are you able, from time to time, to PUSH – hard – on a set, using heavy weights, without “hurting”?
The answers to these questions will help you to understand how your muscle “quality” stacks up. The
greatest aids to improving the quality of muscle fibers is a balance of perfect nutrition, adequate
sleep and rest, good circulation and deep breathing.
Mental States
The mind, as I’ve said thousands of times in articles and books, is your master! If there is a single
source of great power within you it is in your mind. Learn to control and direct mental energy and
power, and you have but to set your mind on what you wish physically in order to attain it.
Medical science has accepted the fact that the state of a person’s mind can have as direct an effect
on his body as an actual administration of medicine in the treating of disease. Time and time again
doctors encounter individuals who, through the force of their resolve and willpower conquer illness
within their body. There have been cases where medicine has failed and where the will of the patient
has destroyed disease within the body.
There have been thousands of recorded instances – in every field – where the proper state of mind
has decided victory for an all but totally lost cause. The power of the mind must not be overlooked.
Aside from whatever religious beliefs you may hold there is a very practical aspect to mind control. It
has application in art, science, business, in every field of human endeavor. In physical training it is
half the battle.
What is the “right” mental state for the individual bent upon achieving greater physical power and
muscular development? It is a state of expecting to succeed. One must continually hold in one’s mind
the vision of the goal one wishes to achieve, and then one must apply the principle of confidently
expecting to attain that goal. It is a state of mind that will not admit negativism. This last part is allimportant.
Mental states are tricky things. On the one hand, your mental state is under your full control. But, on
the other hand, living in this gosh-darn crazy world, your mind is subject to continual bombardment
from others – others who, because of a less than fully satisfactory life are only too glad to pour out
their negativism on you. So you must learn to be on your guard, always.
12
Is it selfish to always be concerned with your own interests like that? Yes, it is. And what is wrong
with being selfish? If you are not selfish, pray tell, upon whom are you supposed to turn for your
welfare? Your family? Your neighbors? Your friends? Who? And why are they qualified to look out for
your interests while you are not? Nonsense! Be selfish! If you are not selfish you will merely live the
life of being a timid, idiotic follower. When people snarlingly, that’s right, snarlingly accuse you of
being selfish what they are really whining is: “You should be serving my self-interests instead of your
own – doing what I deem ‘right’ or ‘appropriate’ or ‘suitable’ or ‘proper’ or ‘acceptable’ instead of
what YOU deem thus.” No, people will never admit that this is what they mean – but it is
nevertheless what they do, in fact, mean.
Learn that you must take control of yourself by learning to accept your mind as your own “boss”.
Think in terms of how you can serve your own positive self-interests. Your success in training (or in
anything else, for that matter) lies in that direction.
Optimism is just as easy to maintain, and a hell of a lot more comfortable to experience, than is
negativism! So start to think fully, optimistically and positively.
Speaking from the standpoint of pure results, remember this: being gloomy, sulky, negative, bitter,
hostile and generally down does nothing but reduce your efficiency unless, of course, you are a pro
fighter, a deadpan comic, or an artist who finds no thrill in apple pies cooling on the windowsill after
a summer rain. Anxiety creates a vicious cycle of internal self-destruction within you, and, always, the
result is awful. Burning up energy by working cheerfully towards your goals is one thing. Burning up
energy by sitting in a corner with a frown of hatred on your face after realizing everything you say,
do, create or love will one day be dust, forgotten dust at that, is another thing, indeed!
Strength, muscles, physical-mental efficiency and happiness await the optimistic, cheerful and
positive person who has advanced to the level of doing without reason, meaning, or petty need for
religion. Learn to be such a person!
Diet And Rest
Aside from your mental state, which is entirely within your capacity to control, there are two other
items that you can fully regulate most of the time as well: your diet and the amount of rest you
obtain. Both are as essential in building strength and size as is exercise.
Strength is built on solid foods. Meat, fish, poultry and eggs. Milk and cheese. Thick hearty soups.
Whole grain bread. Fruits and vegetables. All sorts of nuts, beans, peas. That’s good eating. That’s
what you need to build strong, solid, healthy muscles! Two nice-sized meals a day are usually enough
for most mature people who train. Many people can easily do with three big meals a day, plus one or
two healthy snacks if they train hard and try to couple it with a full-time job and family
responsibilities.
13
Supplements are overrated in importance, though they are valuable when taken correctly and in
moderation. Correctly means as a SUPPLEMENT, not as a replacement for good, balanced meals and
not as a substitute for fresh, real foods. Some people seem determined to overdo supplements, and
this is just a silly waste of money. If you take a good vitamin/mineral along with a few carefully
chosen other supplements based on your individual needs, that’s generally plenty. If there is any
serious deficiency in your body’s nutritional balance you need a doctor, not more supplements. A
well-balanced diet provides plenty of the nutrients you need. Judiciously-taken supplements round
out the picture. Don’t get crazy with this.
Protein supplements are about as unnecessary as they are popular! My apologies to the
manufacturers of these powders, but really, aside from convenience when time is tight, they serve
little need. Protein is quite easy to obtain in such delicious foods as ground meats, peanut butter,
milk, eggs and various nuts and beans. There is always a far greater chance the bodybuilder will be
lacking in vitamin/mineral intake than in protein intake. It is relatively easy for a healthy man to
ingest 150-200 grams of high-quality protein each day in his meals alone.
Meals should always be balanced. Try to eat, in the course of a day, meat, poultry or fish, various raw
vegetables, fresh fruits and some whole grains. Drink plenty of water and have a rice, potato or
whole wheat pasta dish with a meal. You need starches and fats, regardless of what you may have
read elsewhere. You’ll just not get as powerful as you could without them.
Overeating should of course be avoided, but it is best done by eliminating the “garbage” from your
diet, instead of reducing portions of good, wholesome foods at mealtime. This is common sense, and
you must decide what really means more to you – a bag of potato chips, or a strong and healthy
body.
The long-term effect of careful eating will repay you handsomely. You will find that your training is
always maximally productive, and that you can recuperate speedily from tough workouts. All very,
very important.
Sleep is important, of course. Sleep and rest, if neglected, lead to general feelings of discontent,
irritable behavior patterns and physical depletion. People vary as to how long they can go without
adequate rest before they show marked signs of deterioration, but I cannot see why anyone would
care to see what his own particular limit was! Just do everything possible to rest adequately and well,
following a hard day’s work. Get to bed in time to sleep enough. Don’t keep hours that drain you!
This is all common sense, but as my experience has taught me, common sense is not all that
common.
It is wise, after a hard workout and a shower, to relax and either sit or lie down for twenty minutes or
half and hour. Read, meditate, think, or have a nice leisurely conversation with anyone who’ll sit and
talk to you – but try if at all possible, to give your just-worked body a little help in recuperating from
the day’s training.
14
Rest is as much mental as it is physical, by the way, and all sorts of arguments and aggravation should
be avoided. If you have noisy neighbors and you find it difficult to sleep or relax or do things around
the house because they won’t quiet down, invest a dollar and get ear plugs. Peace and quiet –
tranquility – leads to inner and outer strength, and permits your body to maintain a peaceful
equilibrium conducive to growth, maintenance and tissue repair.
All told, those are the factors contributory to success in effective power-bodybuilding. Remember
what they are, and learn to apply them. Once you’ve done that, you’re set to move on. So read on
and let’s see what your actual training exercises must be like . . .
Analysis Of The Basic Power-Building Exercises
The course of exercise that is best for the attainment of our goal is very clear and very limited, when
you consider that literally thousands of exercises do in fact exist. I see no point in considering or even
discussing second best when we can start off and deal in depth with the best.
For the purpose of analysis I am going to divide the exercises into four main categories, and three
supplemental aspects of training. The four main categories are:
Press movements, and their variations.
Pull movements, and their variations.
Squatting movements.
Bench work.
The supplemental aspects of power-bodybuilding are:
Partials.
Rack work.
Isometric contraction.
My reason for analyzing the exercises in this manner is to help you achieve a balanced and orderly
understanding of the arrangement of the required movements. This is desirable since, eventually,
you will be off on your own and you’ll have to be your own trainer. This is the way the most effective
and successful physical culturists work out. Know yourself, and know your tools!
Press Movements And Their Variations
Press movements are builders, primarily, of the shoulder assembly. They produce enormous benefits
to the upper-back as well, and build triceps, trapezius and, when done standing, aid in the
development of the low back area and the hip muscles. I suggest that all pressing be done in a
regular standing position. Seated pressing can be followed at times, but essentially, standing presses
15
are the way to go.
Military Press
This is the most widely known and certainly one of the finest press movements one can do.
Generally, trainees do their military pressing incorrectly, and thus fail to gain full benefits. When you
do you presses . . .
Stand as erect as possible.
Look straight ahead, not up.
Drive the bar hard, tensing the hips and mid-section for extra power and full support.
Keep a tight grip on the bar.
Lockout completely in military pressing, and return the bar in a controlled, steady fashion to the
starting position.
The feet should be a comfortable position apart, and every effort must be made to fight for the
maintenance of perfect balance throughout the movement.
The best way to train on heavy presses is to do your reps and sets off a pair of good squat racks. If
you do each set commencing with a cleaning action you will be using too much energy – especially
when four, five or possibly six sets are involved, as they often are in power training.
When military pressing is done with only light or moderate weights there is no reason to do them off
racks, unless you happen to like them done this way.
Persons who are strong pressers generally find that they are capable of using somewhat wider
handspacing on the bar when they press, than others who are “poor pressers”. The important thing
is to find your best individual position and stick to it. You will reach your own best output in effort
and achieve the best results if you stay with the handspacing you find most comfortable.
Suggested set/rep schemes are:
General development – 2 or 3 sets of 8-10 reps, with a moderate poundage.
Advanced development – 3 sets of 10-8-6 reps, adding some weight after each set.
Power development – 2 set of 6 reps, add weight and do 1 set of 3, add weight and do 1 set of 2-3,
add weight and try to squeeze out a final 2 reps.
When going for a new limit single attempt – 1 set of 6, 1 set of 5, 1 set of 3, 1 set of 2, 1 set of 2, 1 set
of 1 (near limit), 1 set of 1 (limit) – if feeling energetic do the limit lift again for 1 rep.
The above represent good basic examples, and you should try them. If experience or preference
urges you to make some minor alteration in the set/rep scheme by all means do so; you must use
16
your own experience and judgment to a high degree.
Press Behind The Neck
This is the single finest all-round press movement in existence, when done properly. Follow all the
tips for the regular press when doing presses behind the neck, plus:
Be especially careful not to let the bar drop or bounce on the back of the neck in the downward
motion.
Don’t do “jerks” instead of presses.
Do full-range movement presses behind the neck – i.e. gently touch the back of the neck (near traps)
after each rep and then go to a full lockout press.
Suggested set/rep schemes are the same as for the military press.
I have tried to give you the benefit of my experience here, again, but you must try always to use your
experience, where appropriate, and your own judgment in your training.
Presses behind the neck should be done off the racks.
Excellent variations of the two fundamental press movements can from time to time be utilized.
Heavy dumbell pressing is always a good movement to use for variety. They should be done in a
standing position, not sitting. This permits much heavier weights to be used, and it enables a good
share of benefit to be distributed to the low back area. Simultaneous heavy dumbell presses should
be done for 2 or 3 sets of 8 reps with every possible ounce of iron you can handle on the bars. Light
presses, once you’re accustomed to heavy barbell work, are about as effective as lateral raises.
Alternate dumbell presses are more of a bodybuilder’s exercise than a power man’s. Still, they are
from time to time valuable. Do 2 or 3 sets of 8 reps. Heavy!
Also, for some crazy reason, there is a strong tendency to look UP when doing dumbell presses. I
can’t know why this is so, but I urge you: look straight ahead during all pressing movements. When
you look up there is a natural tendency for your body to lean back. This shifts, partly, the burden of
effort from your shoulders to your chest, which is defeating the whole purpose of the exercise.
JERKS can be used profitably from time to time, however, they do not really provide all that great
benefit as is commonly believed. Jerks off the racks are popular, I suspect, because they make
PRESSES easier to do with a heavier weight, more than because they provide superior gains. The best
power and shoulder/tricep/trapezius development I ever saw was on men who worked behind the
neck STRICT, HEAVY pressing into their routines regularly, and who were good at heavy, STRICT
military pressing as well. I would restrict the use of jerks off the racks to instances where staleness
and boredom have set in, and perhaps to those few times when a sticking point is encountered.
17
Guard against the tendency that some power-men have to call a jerk off the racks a “press”. I have
seen well-intentioned lifters going for a new limit press and satisfy themselves that they had
achieved it when all they did was jerk the new limit instead of pressing it.
If you’re going to use heavy jerks in your training I suggest a warmup set of military presses AND
behind the neck presses (10 light reps each) to insure a fully warmed up shoulder assembly.
Pull Movements And Their Variations
Pull movements hit the back heavily. Olympic lifters train practically on pull exclusively, and, as a
result they have the finest back development of any athletes in the world. Back work is synonymous
with power work. Back work builds tremendous muscularity in the entire upper body and power to
the Nth degree. While pressing builds great arms in the sense of TRICEP development, pulling builds
great arms in the sense of BICEP development. Read that sentence again. A balanced ration of the
heavy press/pull exercises in your routine will give you strong, well-developed arms in a way that all
the curling and tricep isolation movements never can. Believe me! If you want arms concentrate on
press/pull basics.
Power Cleans
This exercise is so superbly excellent that I have come to the conclusion that the only reason it is not
more widely used is because of laziness. It is a rugged movement, I’ll concede, but it provides so
much great benefit that everyone who works out should use it from time to time. Power cleans
provide puff-and-pant exercise, fantastic back, arm, trap and leg work, and generally increase overall
body strength at a fantastic rate. All the movement really consists of is a floor-to-shoulders rapid lift
of a heavy barbell, and then the return of the barbell to the floor position. It cannot be done for high
reps and heavy weights, unless you happen to be a born superman. Low reps (no more than 6 a set)
are indicated, and sets of 3 to 6 are best. Also points to bear in mind when power cleaning include . .
.
VERY tight grip on the bar.
Hands comfortably spaced, not too narrow, not too wide.
DO NOT rise up on toes when cleaning.
Finish the lift part of the clean in a solid, secure position.
Lower the weight RHYTHMICALLY, do not drop it.
Lift partly with leg strength, as well as back and arm power.
Suggested set/rep schemes for effective training in the power clean are:
5 sets of 5 reps. Here, the first 2 sets are progressively heavier warmup sets, and the final three sets
are done with an absolute limit.
4 sets of 6 reps are also good.
18
Going as heavy as possible, I’d use a set/rep scheme like this – 1 set of 6 (warmup), 1x6 (heavier), 1x4
(added weight), 1x3 (added weight), 1x2 (added weight), 1x1 (near limit), 1x1 (all-out limit).
For general conditioning 2 sets of 10 reps with a moderate weight are fine in the power clean.
Bentover Rowing
Reg Park regarded this exercise as the single best back movement. Park was perhaps one of the three
best examples of a champion power-bodybuilder during the 1960’s. Most men who know their
business in the physical training field know how great the bentover row movement is as a basic pull.
Key points in the bentover row:
Warm up the lower back first before going into the exercise.
Use a very tight, CONTROLLING grip on the bar, and a comfortable handspacing.
Pull the bar to touch the midsection or chest, and lower to full arms’ length for every rep.
Do not permit excessive body swing to assist in the basic rowing action (although some body swing is
inevitable when handling heavy weights).
Try to remain as “bentover” as you possibly can so that the fullest burden of work is thrown upon the
thick lat muscles.
Best set/rep schemes are:
2 or 3 sets of 8-10 reps for general development.
5x5 or 5x6 (as described for power cleans) for power-bodybuilding.
1x8, 1x6, 3x5 (weight increases following each set) for variety in power-building.
NOTE: I have found there is no value in training for single attempts in this movement.
Power Snatches
Many believe the Olympic lifter’s snatch movement to be the finest all-round weightlifting
movement. In many ways it certainly is. However, the “pure” Olympic split or squat style of snatching
is neither necessary or all that desirable for the power-bodybuilding oriented trainee. It requires too
much total devotion in training because of its strenuous nature and difficult movement patterns.
Better to do the variation of the lift known as power snatching, which will provide the many of the
benefits and take less single-lift involvement on the part of the trainee. When the power snatch is
done with a light weight it is called the FLIP SNATCH. I favor flip snatches above any other movement
(except perhaps rope-skipping) as an effective warming up movement.
The power snatch is simply a floor-to-overhead rapid lift, starting from the same position you’d use
for power cleans, except with a wider handspacing. The bar is secured by the hands, the hips are
dropped low for drive, and the head is raises. Then, DRIVE! The hard pull is made and as the bar
travels upward the knees are bent slightly so a modified “dip” under the rising weight is permitted.
As the bar locks out overhead the body is brought to an erect, solid, upright posture. The weight is
19
lowered, and the next rep is started.
The virtues of power snatches (or flip snatches) are many, and I stress that they are essential in some
form, from time to time, in your schedule. When power snatching, remember:
Keep the feet solidly placed and drive with the legs to aid in the lift.
Keep the tightest possible grip on the bar.
Lock out fully overhead – arms STRAIGHT!
Pause after each snatch, to make sure of you solid position.
Coordinate every muscle in your body to achieve a smooth, good-feeling lift.
Suggested set/rep schemes:
1 or 2 sets of 6 reps as a warmup (light flip snatches).
1x6, 1x5, 1x3, 1x1 (basic heavy workout, adding poundage after each set).
5x5 – advanced power training (using first 2 sets as progressive warmups, and adding weight for 3
sets of 5 reps with a limit weight.
The Deadlift
One of the accepted powerlifts, the deadlift is also a fine power-bodybuilding EXERCISE. This is
especially true when done in stiff-legged style. Working the lower back via very heavy deadlifting is
not advisable too often as this part of the anatomy tends to be somewhat prone to injury if
overworked. Yet, the low back area is also a critical zone and, in addition to exercises like snatches
and cleans that indirectly hit the area, specific deadlifting from time to time is desirable. Here are
some tips on performance:
Use an over-under grip when training heavy.
Control the weight, don’t swing it or bounce it.
Warm up adequately.
Keep the head up.
In regular deadlifting drive with the legs.
In stiff-legged deadlifting remember not to “jerk” the body up.
Most of the time if is better not to use a too-heavy weight.
Set/Rep Schemes:
Regular deadlifts – 4x6 or 5x5 or 4x5.
Stiff-legged deadlifts – 2x10-12 or 3x8 or 1x8, 1x6, 1x5 (adding weight each set).
NOTE: Go for a limit only in the regular deadlifts, never with the stiff-legged variation.
20
High Pulls
Generally thought of as a weightlifter’s assistance movement (which it is), the high pull is also a
power-bodybuilder par excellence! It induces muscular gains throughout the body and builds great
strength and power. In all, a VERY desirable exercise. It is definitely rugged.
My interpretation of high pulls are upright rows done from floor to head height. The handspacing is
either clean grip or the wider snatch grip. They are rough and it is best to do them in fairly low-rep
sets to avoid awkward and potentially dangerous poor technique. Remember . . .
Pull hard! Try to touch the ceiling with the bar.
Let the high pull be a coordinated movement that utilizes every muscle group.
Work as rapidly as you can, avoid pausing for too long between reps.
Suggested beginner’s schedule: 3 sets of 6 reps.
Advanced: 1x6, 1x4, 1x3, 1x3, 1x2 (adding weight after each set).
There is no need to go for limit singles in high pulling.
Squatting
The basic squat to full or to parallel position is THE basic power exercise, and one of the best overall
bodybuilding exercises as well. There are a few worthwhile variations to the squat – the most
valuable being the front squat. The power-bodybuilder should put his effort into BASIC squats, and
include front squats from time to time as a variation, an aid, or as a means of avoiding staleness.
Essentials to remember:
NEVER bounce or drop into a squat! This is the cause of knee and back injuries.
Always have two attentive spotters or a power rack when you are going for heavy and for limit reps.
Try to keep your back flat and erect.
Go into the full squat position only with weights that do not approach your absolute limit, otherwise
stick to parallel squats.
Warm up well before going into heavy squats.
Keep your head up.
NEVER pause and wait at the bottom of a squat. Come up fast!
Try a shoe with a raised heel to see if it helps.
Learn to breathe, powerfully and effectively when you squat, through experimentation.
Suggested set/rep schemes:
2 or 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions for intermediate trainees.
4x6 or 3x8 or 5x5 for advanced people (using increased weights for each set).
BEGINNERS will follow either a breathing squat (1x20) routine to gain weight, or a basic 1 or 2 by 1215 routine to build up generally for the first three or four months of training.
21
Front squats should be worked the same (set/rep-wise) as standard squats.
In going for an all-out limit squat try this sequence:
1x12 (warmup), 1x8, 1x6, 1x3, 1x2, 1x1, 1x1 (adding weight after each set).
Bench Work
The bench press is a basic powerlift as well as a fundamental power-bodybuilding exercise. In training
it should be used on a flat as well as an incline bench from time to time for variety. The dumbells can
be utilized on the bench, and if they are used the weights should be heavy. Flyes on the incline bench
are good for power-bodybuilders too.
Too much emphasis should not be given to bench work. The reason why many trainees favor bench
pressing above standing presses is because the bench permits the use of heavier weights with the
expenditure of less effort. Naturally, this means, to all who are honest about it, that the overall
benefit to the entire body is less with bench pressing than it is with standing pressing. Bench work is
valuable and important, but in recent years it has been given way too much emphasis by
bodybuilders and lifters alike. Do it, but don’t OVERDO it. Some tips for getting the most out of bench
work:
Work strictly, not bouncing the bar off your chest, or swinging instead of lifting the dumbells.
Keep hips on the bench – don’t over-arch.
Keep a tight grip on the barbell or dumbells.
Be sure to have two attentive spotters or a power rack whenever you go for a new maximum, be it a
single or maximum reps with a weight.
NEVER do benches to the neck! The “upper” pecs can be worked adequately and well by simply
reverting to an incline bench or doing incline flyes, instead of bench presses to the neck.
Recommended set/rep schemes:
Beginners: 2 or 3 sets of 8-12 reps with moderate weights.
Advanced: 3 or 4 sets of 6 reps. 4 sets of 8 reps. 1x8, 1x8, 2x6 (adding weight after each set). Also,
5x5 as shown in the power clean example.
Set/rep schemes apply to barbell and dumbell bench presses and flying movements with heavy
dumbells – all exercises done either on a flat or incline bench.
Partials, Rack Work And Isometrics
In 90% of the training you do the emphasis should be on picture-perfect form AND heavy weights.
Cheating is undesirable, and while it SEEMS that you are working harder because you are lifting more
you are, in fact, working less intensively since the “heavier” work is being distributed over many
hefty muscle groups – instead of being placed on the ones that you wish to work.
22
Sometimes – SOMETIMES – a little cheating is okay. But more often than not when the urge comes to
really pile on the workload you are better doing partials. This way you will actually be putting forth
the work where it is desired, with no outside assistance. Let me show you what I mean by partials.
Let’s take the deadlift. We’ll say you normally do 4 sets of 5 reps with 300 pounds. Now you are
hungry for more strength and power, so one day you may do the following . . . you do the first 3 sets
as usual to give your back a good basic workout, and also to insure an adequate warmup. Then, you
put 400 pounds on the bar. You know you can’t get a full deadlift with that weight, but you also know
that a PARTIAL lift, once you’ve thoroughly warmed up, will provide a good stimulus so that perhaps
in a few workouts you’ll manage 310 pounds for 5 reps. You go right ahead and deadlift the 400
pounds from the floor as best you can. As it turns out you succeed in lifting rep #1 to about knee
height. After a few breaths, rep #2 is the same. Rep #3 won’t budge after going mid-distance up your
shin, and by rep #4 your hands are begging to let go of the bar. But you set your mind as firmly as
your muscles and you go foe the final rep. Murder! You eke out an inch-off-the-floor lift, and drop
the bar like it was the end of a Sherman tank. That’s a good set of partials for you!
You will need partners or a power rack to do bench presses and squats as partials. Never try to do
this without a high quality power rack or two husky, attentive spotters.
You can make your deltoids feel like they were made of cotton if you press 3 normal sets of 6 reps
and then 2 sets of 3- or 4-rep partials with an excess of iron on the bar some day. Try it. Don’t do this
often, though, since more than one such workout a month or, at the most, every three weeks, is
plenty. The same can be done with bench presses, squats, etc. by using different settings in the
power rack.
Partials build power and strength in abundance. You can – and I am not exaggerating – sometimes
improve a lift after one workout where you apply partials properly. The trick is to see that you don’t
do them too often and get enough rest between attempts.
With the warning that, again, partial movements are a supplementary aid, not a recommended
method of constant training, I commend the technique to you as truly valuable.
I mentioned racks and their use with partial movement workouts. Not only can you use the rack to
do partial movements, but you can use them to aid in isometric contractions and in all forms of really
heavy, borderline lifting. Borderline lifting is when you’re only half-sure that you’ll make the set, or
the rep.
Isometrics were once offered as the final answer to rapid strength and muscle building. This was too
bad, because the idiots that did this ruined what could have been a good thing in its own right. After
all, something doesn’t have to be perfect of be a kind of panacea for it to have genuine value. In its
place, isometric contraction exercise is valuable. It is certainly no substitute for vigorous weight
training. Not by a long shot. Isometrics CAN keep the muscles toned when weight training facilities
are not available. They can also help overcome a sticking point in a particular lift by overloading a
specific area of the movement.
23
In the next chapter I’ll outline a good, basic beginner’s course.
A Primary Course for the Beginner
How should you start out on the road to strength, muscularity and an impressive physique that you
dream of having? That is the question we will answer in this chapter.
The program outlined here assumes several things of the beginner. First, that there is nothing wrong
with him organically, and that he has no health problems that could possibly impede his pursuit of a
rather rugged course of training. For although this is a beginner’s power course it is, necessarily,
quite severe. One just doesn’t acquire much power and strength if he does light and mild training!
Second, it is assumed that the reader who elects to embark upon the routine offered here is at least
somewhat acquainted with basic physical training. It is advised that a trainee work out for two to
three months’ time on a basic fitness and conditioning course before starting on this routine.
Now, before commencing with the actual course of training, let us consider some essentials that will
be required for success . . .
1.) Training should be conducted three times a week on alternate days, or, if energy is low and other
activities must be engaged in daily, two times a week, for example on Monday and Thursday. Rest is
just as important as training if the maximum gains in strength and muscle density are desired.
2.) Adjustment of minor points in the suggested schedule should be freely made. Heavy training
cannot be rigidly administered. It is better if you use the program as a basic plan, and then adopt it to
whatever your special needs and peculiarities are. For example, some people just happen to know
from personal experience that such-and-such an amount of reps or sets suits them, even though a
given course prescribes a different number. By all means, in such a case the wise thing is to follow
your personal experience. No one knows you like you, yourself. If you are at all intelligent, if you are
sincerely interested in your training and your progress, and if you are at all alert and perceptive as
your training progresses you will learn a great deal about yourself, and be the best possible eventual
teacher to yourself.
3.) The fundamentals of training and the concepts underlying power-oriented work should be clearly
understood. Much understanding will be gained from participation and training itself – but things can
be sped up if the first few chapters of a book are carefully read, re-read and studied. You should be
familiar with and at home with the ideas underlying the type of training you’re using.
4.) Remember the significance of mental attitude, rest and diet.
5.) Patience is necessary for success. Don’t expect to see fantastic results in the first week or two!
Expect to progress well and steadily, and see changes within each period of months. Great strength,
24
power and muscularity are things that must be worked for. If you train without missing a workout,
and with the proper appreciation of mental, nutritional and recuperative principles, then every two
to three months training should produce noticeable results.
6.) Be clear about one thing: you are a unique individual and you must train yourself thusly. Do not
compare yourself to others or try to follow their methods of training exactly. Learn from others, be
inspired by them if they possess greater strength and development than yourself and by all means
engage in discussion with them if and when the opportunity arises.
7.) Be very careful to avoid overtraining – especially as a beginner. Too much training can be worse
than no training at all on a given day. At least no training won’t, like too much training, leave you in a
stale and overworked condition whereby you might not be able to benefit from your next workout.
Progress cannot be rushed. The best gains come from highly-intensive, relatively brief but religiously
regular training sessions. Keep that in mind.
8.) Very few commercial gyms of value to the power-trainer. Most health clubs do their members
more harm than good by frequently offering incompetent instruction, in my opinion. All you really
need for effective training is a good barbell, plenty of plates, a rack, a bench and a pair of loading
dumbells.
I have the following suggestion for an apartment dweller who wonders if the clanging of iron plates
would cause disturbance to the folks downstairs. Get a place on the ground floor, or better still,
threaten the neighbors below into cooperation. If they have children, find where they attend school.
When puncturing tires after night, remember, most people only carry one spare. Pets can be
poisoned easily. Alternately, try the opposite approach and offer to do favors. Is the man of the
house neglecting his wife? You can remedy that issue quickly. Does he lack a drinking buddy on the
weekends? Be creative.
9.) Wear a good, heavy sweat suit when you train, and wear proper footwear.
10.) I suggest you purchase a heavy-duty lifting belt and wear it when attempting limit lifts. Aside
from the support it offers, there is also a psychological benefit.
Now, with these points digested we can start your introductory power-bodybuilding routine. Train in
a well-ventilated but not chilly place if possible, and avoid a draft while sweating. Make the best of
whatever facility is available to you.
Warming up: It is especially essential to warm up properly before a heavy power workout, since
power-style lifting by its very nature calls for an optimal output of effort quite frequently. Great
power efforts, without adequate warmups, can lead to pulled muscles, painful injuries and smaller
personal bests. The lower back area should, of course, receive plenty of loosening exercises.
A combination of rope skipping for five or so minutes and a couple of sets of flip snatches, repetition
clean & press movements make a good basic warmup. Also, using prone hyperextensions and rope
25
skipping is excellent to prepare the body for great effort-outputs. If you have any flexibility issues,
deal with them properly and be sure to warm up those areas completely. As a beginner, try the
following warmup sequence . . .
Rope skipping for 3-5 minutes.
Prone hyperextensions: 3 sets of 15 bodyweight reps.
Flip snatches: 2 or 3 sets of 6 easy reps.
From this simple warmup you will, as time goes by and your experience grows, be able to tailor an
individual warmup schedule that fills your own needs, which will change as you progress in your
training. Keep a constant monitor on these changes in your mobility and any developing aches and
pains you may encounter. Don’t put off dealing with imbalances or potential injuries. When it is too
late it will be too late and that is always too late, as the saying goes.
Now, on to your beginning routine.
Exercise One: PRESS MOVEMENTS
Do one set of regular presses with a light warmup weight. FEEL the movement all the way, don’t fight
for reps, this is strictly a warmup. Then, set the bar back on the racks and do one set of 10 behind the
neck presses with the same weight. The purpose again is to warm up the shoulder assembly, not to
fight for reps or work hard.
Load the bar up heavy now and do a set of 6 behind the neck reps. These should be very hard. Rest a
few minutes, and do another 6 reps. Rest again, and add more weight to the bar (perhaps 10-15
pounds). Do 3 strict military presses.
Exercise Two: LEG WORK
Do 15-20 very light squats in perfect form to warm up the hips, legs and lower back. Add weight to
the bar and do two more sets of warmup squats, 6-8 reps. Don’t tax yourself with these. Warm up,
and use these sets to work on your form.
Now, load the bar heavy. Do 6-8 hard reps. Fight! Rest a few minutes. Try to get another 6 reps with
the same weight. Rest again, taking as long as you need to do justice to the next set. Add about 20
pounds more and see if you can get 3 perfect reps.
Exercise Three: ARM WORK
Do two strict sets of barbell curls with a moderate weight. Don’t work too hard on these. Save your
energy for the big lifts.
26
Exercise Four: BENCH WORK
Do 12-15 light, wide-grip bench presses on a flat bench to warm up. Add weight and do 8 more reps
using a normal width grip. Add weight again, and do 5-6 very hard reps. Rest, and try for all the
weight you can handle for 3-4 last reps. When doing these last heavy sets, of any exercise, remind
yourself beforehand that this is the last set. Give it all you have and don’t hold anything back. Learn
to believe you can do more than you believe. Believe me, once you believe this you won’t believe
what you can do!
Exercise Five: DEADLIFTING
Do 13-15 light stiff-legged deadlifts. Add weight and do 10-12 regular deadlifts, beginning to work
harder. Rest. Now do 3 sets of 5 heavy deadlifts with all the weight you can handle.
Exercise Six: BENTOVER ROWING
Do 10-12 light warmup reps. Go heavy and do 8 hard reps. Rest, and try for another 8 reps with the
same weight. Add more weight, and see if you can get 6 final reps.
Exercise Seven: ABDOMINAL WORK
Do 2 sets of 30 lying leg raises or leg raises while hanging from a chinning bar. Use no weight.
The program is not lengthy, and you should guard against adding any exercises in addition to the
seven given. You can cut a set off of any exercise here and there, when you honestly find yourself
lacking in energy, but DON’T add any sets! If the program seems easy as it is written it’s because you
aren’t putting enough effort into the exercises. Make your sets harder and harder, but don’t increase
their quantity.
Keep plugging away, adding weight when you can make the required reps. You are training large
muscle groups and the goal is power, so pile the iron on whenever you can!
If possible you should end each workout by hanging from a chinning bar, straight-arm, for as long as
possible. The reason I advocate this is to alleviate the stress caused in the lower back by any form of
heavy lifting. It stretches out the spine nicely and results in a natural “traction” movement for the
entire back. It will also build your grip. Time yourself and try to beat your best. You will soon agree
there is a certain pleasure in beating your best.
27
Remember that sets given for relatively high reps and indicated as warmup sets should stay light,
relative to progressively heavier work sets.
Follow this program for not less than two months’ time, and not more than four months’ time. Then
take a two week layoff. You’ll need it if you’ve been working hard, and will progress much better
following this layoff. During the two week layoff spend a few minutes each day doing some light
aerobic exercise, easy isometrics and some abdominal movements. Use this period to check your
posture and mobility. Feel free to practice your squat, deadlift and bench press technique with light
weights. Take this time to learn more about the history and future of what you are doing, where
these training ideas came from, and where they seem to be headed. Read a book, take a walk, feel
okay, eh.
Perhaps your own years of training have provided you already with a firm base upon which to build
strength, power and a well-developed physique. Or, possibly, you’re ready for the more advanced
type of training necessary, having completed the beginner’s course set down previously. In any case,
the following provides one of the finest advanced power-bodybuilding programs you can do.
Don’t try to follow the routine herein presented if you’re a beginner. It’s just too severe. The only
person who can gain on this schedule is the individual who has already achieved some degree of
success in his attempts.
The objective of this program is to serve the lifter who aspires to increase his size and power
development. Size is NOT thought to be of greater importance than power, and this is why no
attempt is made to encourage pumping type exercise or any excessive quantity of “shaping”
movements.
This program is intended as a SKETCH, rather than a definite, specific dogma presentation of the
“only right way” an intermediate or advanced man should train for power and muscularity. If the
trainee regards it in this light, and comes to think of this course as the thinking man’s program, then
his progress is sure to continue.
GENERAL RULES OF TRAINING
As stated previously, no definite rules can be said to apply to all trainees at all times, since every case
is uniquely different – and the final trainer is the individual himself. However, there are helpful
guidelines that can be followed, and I present the following as such, to be considered in light of your
present stage of development and current goals . . .
1.) It pays to include jogging, running, some form of conditioning work in your schedule at least twice
a week. This adds that final edge to an intermediate lifter’s development, and helps in developing
your ability to recover quickly from lifting. Consider the health benefits of getting out and doing
some conditioning work two or three times a week. Now do it.
28
2.) Overtraining is the bane of many lifters’ existence! Avoid this by training sensibly for periods of
time that are not excessive. Take periodic layoffs and back-cycle regularly. A two-hour workout
employing rugged barbell exercises is plenty for anyone who gives fully of himself, no matter how
advanced – and many will benefit more by a workload reduced to less than this. If the RIGHT method
of training is used there is not a great need for a great quantity of time. 2 sets of 3 can often be more
effective than 6 sets, especially if the 2 sets are worked HARD.
3.) Heavy weight is the main key to strength gains. 20 minutes of heavy lifting will build more
strength than 3 hours of light pumping.
4.) Strong concentration is vital for your success. Problems should be left outside the training area.
5.) That LAST REP, the one that feels impossible to make, is of much greater importance than the
next set.
6.) If you neglect your nutrition you cut your own engine.
7.) Good form PLUS heavy weights is what gets benefit from your endeavors.
8.) On days when you just cannot “get up and go” even after fifteen minutes of training, take it easy.
Just do some stretching and light leg work, then call it quits for the day.
9.) High energy days call for harder work. Not longer workouts, HARDER work.
10.) Sometimes the best way to overcome a sticking point or staleness is to layoff entirely or lighten
up on your training for a week. If you’ve been training hard without a break for two months (or
more) there is no question that you need a break. Learn to deload. It’s not complicated. It works.
11.) Don’t be too quick to give up on a new program that starts out feeling difficult or awkward. Give
your body at least two weeks to break into a routine, a new movement or an exercise variation. Take
a tip from Reid Fleming. Try to milk a routine as long as you can. Learn to deload. It’s not
complicated. It works.
12.) As you become more experienced try to discover what your own unique style of training is.
Finally, remember the importance of persistence. Keep at your training. If you start and stop, hem
and haw, you’ll never actualize your potential, no matter how great it may be. Do not expect quick
results. Do not resent the effort required of you for the attainment of your goals. Once you
accomplish them they may appear unimportant when compared to your next goals. In the doing lies
fulfillment. The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout. Down came the rain and washed the
spider out. So the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout. Face it. Life is Sisyphean.
29
THE PROGRAM
1.) Warmup
Use flip snatches as your basic warmup. I suggest a set/rep scheme of 1x6, 1x5, and 1x4, while adding
weight for each of the three sets. Try to work up to bodyweight, eventually, for that final set of four
reps!
2.) Press Movements
Here you must do both presses and presses behind the neck whenever energy permits. Do sets of 6
reps, even the warmup sets. If you do work sets of 3x6 military and 3x6 behind the neck presses,
you’ll achieve a very good workout for the entire shoulder assembly.
3.) Squats
Do squats with all the weight you can properly handle. They are one of the keys to all-round body
power. I suggest you use 4 or 5 sets of about 6-8 reps. Use 8 reps in the starting warmup sets and 6
or 5 in the really heavy sets. You will know by now how many work sets you can handle without
going stale too quickly.
Do calf raises either between each set of squats while you rest or following completion of the entire
series of sets. Omit calf work if energy or time is short. 2 or 3 sets of 20-30 reps is plenty.
4.) Bench Work
When energy permits, superset your heavy bench presses with either flat bench or incline bench
lying laterals. This will produce extremely fine upper body development. BUT THIS IS ONLY FOR YOUR
OCCASIONAL HIGH-ENERGY TRAINING DAYS, and, if you’re a relatively easy gainer. Do 4x8 bench
presses and 4x8 lying flyes. For the last set or two of bench presses you might want to drop down to
6 or 5 rep sets.
If you prefer to do your bench presses first, then your flyes, that’s fine. Also, if the two-exercise
combo is just too severe do EITHER flat bench presses OR incline bench presses. You can alternate
these two exercises over the weeks so that some form of variety and balance are included in your
training. Do 4-5 sets of 6 heavy reps with either variation.
5.) Deadlifting or Power Cleans
You may work either on regular or stiff-legged deadlifts, OR you may work on power cleans. Don’t
train on two or these exercises in one workout, however, for that would be too much.
30
I think the best plan is to find your favorite variation of the deadlift (i.e. stiff-legged or regular) and
use this for a week’s training, then switch for a week to heavy power cleans. The power cleans are
very good as an alternate to deadlifting, since they benefit the back but do not cause quite as much
stress in the lumbar area as deadlifting can. These set/rep schemes are suggested . . .
Deadlifts: 5x5
Stiff-legged Deadlifts: 3x8 or 2x12
Power Cleans: 4x6 or 5x5
6.) Heavy Rowing
Either the bentover barbell row or the heavy dumbell one-arm version are suitable. Rowing with the
loaded end of a seven-foot bar is also used in some quarters to good effect. The variation you pick is
not as important as the hard work you apply to the movement. 3 sets of 6-8 reps are good for all
forms of heavy rowing.
When you feel a little tired of the standard rowing, try a few high pulls in their place. You’ll find this
deals with the back muscles differently, and when worked heavily will produce great results. Heavy
repetition high pulls can make returning to bentover rows a pleasure! Use the set-rep scheme
discussed earlier, for high pulls. If you have a workout where your rows are feeling weak and
abnormally awkward, and it will happen, switch to the high pulls for that workout. A change like this
can often save the workout. Be flexible. A successful hard workout should be the goal.
7.) Arm Work:
This is optional, to be done when energy is high, time is abundant and you have the inclination to
pump up those popular little biceps. Heavy barbell or two-dumbell curls. You can stand, sit or even
lie back on a bench . . . get the workout you want! The weight should be heavy enough to make you
work, but never so heavy that you cheat. Do 2 sets of 8 reps. Then, if you feel like it, do a little tricep
work. One arm triceps extensions with a dumbell, lying, seated or standing. Again, 2 sets of 8 – per
arm – are plenty.
8.) Abdominal Work
This is always important. There are two basic ab exercises, situps and leg raises. They are simple,
effective, and have many variations that will get the job done. I suggest relatively high reps in all
abdominal work. 12 or more reps are sufficient. Hold a weight plate behind your head, use plate
loading health shoes, but add resistance when you can. With no weights to make the abs struggle
you should be able to do 50 or more reps easily. That is boring. Very boring.
31
Again I suggest ending the workout by hanging for a while from a chinning bar. Topping off a workout
with a short jog, walk or period of easy rope skipping isn’t a bad idea either.
You can see that the schedule I have outlined for you is broadly adaptable to all types of trainees,
and it lends itself to accommodating many types of special interests within the bounds of a basic
power-bodybuilding goal. This is, I am convinced, of far more use to the trainee than a rigid, “do it
this way” approach to training.
The course suggestions above will produce strength and muscularity until it comes out your bleedin’
ears – but it is not, I remind you, a pure powerlifter’s course. It will develop great strength when used
three times a week, and I certainly can endorse it fully as a schedule used to build you up for
eventual powerlifting. What happens if and when you decide to devote your energy to the
powerlifts? How can you combine powerlifting with power-bodybuilding for the best results? These
are the questions, and others, that I will begin to answer next. So let’s start out to examine the
powerlifts themselves more closely. The bench press, deadlift and squat. For some ardent barbell
men these three basic lifts constitute an obsession. An obsession that challenges their very fiber and
spirit in the wonderful sport of POWERLIFTING.
INTRODUCING THE POWERLIFTS
The basic power lifts, those used in competition, are: squat, bench and deadlift. Practically everyone
who has ever trained even briefly with weights is familiar with these lifts, since they are all
fundamental weight-training exercises. Why then use them as competition lifts?
Those three cornerstone exercises actually do serve as a remarkably accurate gauge of one’s overall
physical power, when applied in weightlifting competition. And people are interested in power!
What is more, because the power lifts are actually common bodybuilding exercises, they also serve
to develop the physique of the lifter quite well, and to blend in comfortably with any additional
bodybuilding movements the trainee wishes to do. Many powerlifters are physique-oriented
trainees, as well as lifters. Bill Seno, well known a few years ago as a top man in powerlifting circles
was a fantastic lifter AND a superbly built athlete. He found it easy to combine his powerlifting with
physique cultivation. So will you!
When using the power lifts as LIFTS, instead of exercises, you are naturally concerned with attaining
great single attempts – limit lifts. Otherwise, you aren’t training as a lifter. Since it is never desirable
for almost all of us to push for limit singles at every workout, the training you do in sets and reps on
the powerlifts (as exercises) helps materially to boost your maximums when you do try for them.
32
Generally, as a powerlifter – or even as a bodybuilder concerned with power – you will train for more
sets than usual, with relatively few reps. I regard 6-rep sets as generally quite effective for lifterbodybuilders. There are enough reps there to BUILD muscle as well as INCREASE strength. Too often,
one finds that training exclusively on 2. 3, or single-rep sets builds strength but not a great deal of
muscle. There are plenty of rather slender but extremely strong men participating in power and
weightlifting meets.
There are those who desire ONLY strength, or who are concerned exclusively with the kind of power
that lets them win contests, and they could care less about how they appear so long as they stay in
their weight class. But it is the assumption of this book that that the trainee seeks not only power
and strength, but a muscular and impressive physique to go with it. This is what the instruction is
aimed at achieving.
When you are training for you limit lift in the bench press, squat or deadlift, you won’t be doing sets
of as many as six reps, except to warm up. It is necessary, above all else, to drop reps fast if a limit
single is to be tried, since reps more than anything else depletes energy. You cannot sap your
strength on reps when the goal is a new squat single. Okay. You normally use the following set/rep
scheme in squatting on your general training days . . .
1x8, 2x5, 1x3, increasing the weight after each set as the muscles warm up. That schedule is fine for a
general power-oriented workout, but it cannot serve you well as a buildup to a limit attempt.
Instead, something like this would be much more suitable . . .
1x6 (warmup), 1x3 (increased weight), 1x2 (approaching heaviest weight), 1x2 (near maximum), 1x1
(limit try) and, if the limit failed or if it succeeded and energy is high that day, 1x1 (second limit
attempt).
Can you see the logic there? No excessive buildup with too many reps, so no energy and
psychological depletion. Not too much work – but enough to build up to a new trial limit attempt
without neglecting to warm up to it.
The foregoing illustrates the essential difference, come workout day, that using the lifts as LIFTS
makes, over using them as them as EXERCISES.
Should you be a powerlifter?
Only one person can really answer the question of whether or not to actively compete in power
meets, and become a powerlifting devotee. It is certainly a great sport. It is worthwhile too, since
anyone who participates in any way achieves a great outlet for his love of the iron game. There is
challenge aplenty in powerlifting, and there are good friends to made, as well as, if you become good
enough – records to be broken. But don’t go into powerlifting thinking that the only reward is to be
victorious over others. This would rob you of the greatest genuine reward, namely. your own selfimprovement.
33
Powerlifting records today are incredibly high, and the top men are incredibly strong people.
Therefore the power champions of the future will have to be even stronger – and this can limit the
top spots in the game to those fortunate few hard workers who were blessed with a high degree of
inherent strength. Training, diet and attitude can do tremendous things for a man, but given two
men with the same effort in training, similar attitudes and similar dietary habits, and you can bet
your money on the one who was born with better natural strength potential.
I point these things out because I don’t like to delude people. It is wrong and very unfair to mislead
students into believing that they possess potential that they do not in fact possess. Great gains, I
repeat, can be made by anyone, and anyone will receive nothing but hearty encouragement from me
to work hard at developing himself. But the objective fact remains, and it is pointless to deny it, that
only a relatively few individuals can ever hope to become champions.
Don’t let poor potential deter you in the slightest from actively participating in lifting – either
privately, purely for your own self-development, or publicly in lifting meets. But do let extremely
poor potential serve as a guide to accurately determining your place in the sport and the way you will
achieve it. If two years of regular, hard work, a good diet coupled with adequate rest and a positive
outlook sees your best bench press all of 250 pounds at 185 bodyweight, then you probably aren’t a
natural strength athlete. You ought to continue to try and improve, develop and enjoy the activity,
but you shouldn’t lose any sleep worrying about the competition you’ll be fighting on your way to the
top.
On the other hand, if you were born as a human Hercules, and almost every day sees your strength
growing by leaps and bounds during your formative years, and if at a bodyweight of 160 pounds
you’re correctly benching 300 pounds within a year’s time and squatting with close to 400 on the bar,
then seriously consider trying for an upper spot in powerlifting.
The idea is to be realistic and to be honest with yourself. I have always had very little respect for the
ego-centered person who must be the best or he won’t participate at all. What nonsense! And what
a shame to impose such limitations on the possibility of one’s enjoying so much in life – simply
because you can’t be number one. Enjoyment and self-satisfaction are two of the most significant
things you can ever hope to derive from participating in anything, and if these two very sane goals
are important to you, then you can participate happily in, and continue to enjoy throughout your
lifetime, almost anything that happens to appeal to you. Just be realistic if your thoughts turn to
competition. Enjoy competing, strive with all your might, just don’t demand of yourself that which is
too close to impossible. Never let your ego rob the thing of its pleasure. Remember, getting there
might be the goal itself. Think of it this simple way. If you own a house and that house needs
painting, gnawing away like a rat at the walls will not bring you what you desire. As your teeth wear
down to tiny nubs, the gums start in with all that bleeding, your vital fluids gradually drain out over
the years and the neighbors begin to consider wondering just what in hell is going on over there, you
will have accomplished nothing and your dentist will most certainly agree. It’s that simple. Dentistry
is an old and much-respected profession, its study considered by some to be the most important step
a young man can take in his early years. For God’s sake, think before you make a long-term sacrifice
to any endeavor, and that includes setting yourself on fire and seeing how long you can survive.
34
Consider these things before committing. And buy a paint brush.
If you wish to improve as a powerlifter you must be willing to work intensively, foregoing some other
physical activities and even a few social outlets. At least two savagely hard workouts a week are
necessary, with a lighter training day included. In addition, conditioning work is indicated, and you
may be surprised when you learn how little time this can take. By the way, if you keep making
excuses to yourself that “you don’t have the time” it is more likely a matter of your refusal to make
the time and your own ignorance of how to train effectively when pressed for that time.
So, decide what you want to do in and with powerlifting. Whatever your decision, stick to it and give
it your best.
Training on the powerlifts as exercises has been thoroughly covered in previous chapters. You must
make those heavy exercises the core of your training, since they are quite demanding, and only by
total concentration can you ever hope to achieve the success you desire.
The Olympic lifts, which are also marvelous, produce fine physiques just as powerlifting can, but the
two disciplines do not produce or require the same musculature. As said previously, a perfectly
harmonious blend of powerlifting and bodybuilding is possible, and the same can certainly be said for
Olympic lifting.
You will find it quite easy to set up your own schedule of actual training once you know more about
it. You’ll see in the remainder of this book how to do the powerlifts as LIFTS, and how to increase
your own limit lifts – whatever they may be.
THE COMPETITION BENCH PRESS
The bench press is the single most popular power lift. One can go all-out on heavy benching and not
be left depleted for five days, as is the case when one goes ahead full steam with the squat or
deadlift. Also, the bench press works the currently “popular” muscles and thus demonstrates their
efficacy when it is used as a lift.
“Easy” as the bench press may seem to some, relative to the other lifts, attaining your top
performance in it is no small job. It takes great effort to bring your bench press up to an impressive
high poundage. However, there is probably little need to convince you that the effort is worthwhile,
or you wouldn’t be reading this, would you.
Let’s take a loo at what parts of the body require maximum power and strength in order for you to
achieve a top bench, and then let’s discuss possible supplementary ways of building these bodyparts,
in conjunction of course with heavy training on the bench press itself. I will detail suggested power
programs for training the bench as a lift, and I’m sure you’ll feel well able to take your training
effectively into hand after you have studied more and built up more lifting experience.
35
The bench press throws its heaviest burden of effort upon the triceps, pectorals and frontal deltoids.
There are overlapping demands made upon the forearms, hands, grip strength, abdominals and, to a
degree, the neck, legs and back. This might be difficult to imagine, but that’s only because you’ve
likely never seen how tremendously hard some lifters train on the movement. All-out benching
definitely approaches being a total body exercise.
For training purposes it is only necessary to work on the actual bench press schedule, and on a
couple of supplementary exercises that will assist the primarily affected muscle segments.
Isometrics Help
Sticking points in the bench press occur because the muscle fibers involved in the movement do not
all develop consistent power at the various levels or stages of the lift. Some people find the initial
start off the chest to be where they bog down – others get stymied half-way up – some are unable to
lockout fully. Whatever the problem and wherever the sticking point may be, isometric contractions
definitely help. They should be used specifically at the point where drive in the bench has become
impossible. In this manner the weak area of the involved muscles will quickly overcompensate the
added effort and the needed additional strength will result. But it must be a true, full, hard
contraction. Not a half-hearted attempt.
Dumbell Assistance Work
Dumbells have a knack for reaching “hidden” muscles and muscle fibers that barbell exercises
sometimes fail to develop. One of the best dumbell exercises you can do to help improve bench
pressing is the HEAVY lying dumbell flye movement. I stress the word heavy because doing the
movement any other way will only be a waste of time and effort.
Dumbell flyes are preferably done as a flat, rather than an incline bench movement, when they are
employed to help bench pressing. The heaviest possible weights should be used and during the
exercise THE ELBOWS MUST BE BENT. Do full range movements, but never stretch beyond the
natural point. You’ll feel the natural stop point in the descent. Don’t go beyond it thinking somehow
that overstretching and possibly doing damage to your chest and shoulder assemblies will
miraculously improve your bench or give you a deeper chest. That’s simply ridiculous, and you should
be using enough weight that an idea like this never enters in. I’d suggest using the dumbell flye every
third or fourth workout, in the following manner . . .
1st set: 8 reps, warmup.
2nd and 3rd sets: 6 reps each, very heavy.
4th set: the maximum you can handle for 4 or 5 perfect form reps.
36
That’s it. In training it will be perfectly acceptable for you to employ only 3 or 4 reps in a very heavy
set if that’s all, on any given Al Pacino, an all-out effort honestly permits. But shirk nothing! You
absolutely must go all-out on lying flyes or, as I said before, you’ll be wasting your time.
Close-Grip Barbell Bench Presses
There is one excellent variation of the bench press that is a tremendous help to many in building
added triceps power. It is the flat bench press done with a narrower than normal grip. Use about a
shoulder or slighter wider grip on the bar. Don’t bother with any one or two inch grip benches. They
will not help you find what you are seeking, but if you have the overwhelming urge to trash your
wrists, elbows and shoulders please feel free to load up the bar and go nuts. A few well-placed
hammer blows following one of these sessions should satisfy any deluded masochist’s desire for selfpunishment. I generally recommend an attentive and like-minded training partner if you have trouble
holding your wrist stable while applying the 400 Blows.
The close-grip bench press can be used profitably from time to time, when needed, on a schedule
similar to this suggestion . . .
1x8, warmup
3x8, as heavy as possible.
Press to the chest, then right back up again, in very good form. Don’t cheat. The object here is to hit
the triceps strongly.
Now, what about the bench press itself? It’s a great lift even though it has become the stopping by
woods on a snowy evening of the iron game. It seems every green lifter who finds you have an
interest in strength training feels obliged to ask, “How much can you Robert Frost?” Even in the
dungeon-style gyms it’s the same old thing . . . “Bro, how big’s your Bukowski?” But how might one
go about training on it, the competition Frost-Bukowski? This is the question we will now answer.
The bench press in competition is judged for style as well as amount of weight lifted. Of course a
minor degree of cheating is permitted, but the lift must be done in essentially good form, and
through a full range of movement. Almost locking out doesn’t count, in bench pressing and in bank
vaults, so horseshoe-throwing hand grenade enthusiasts please take note. Lowering the bar halfway
to the chest instead of touching it prior to the signal to commence will not be counted.
A degree of arching is permissible but the buttocks must remain in contact with the bench. The arch
will shorten the stroke of your bench press, enabling you to handle greater weights. Here we are not
talking about power-bodybuilding with the bench press, we are discussing successful maximum
single attempts. So there.
NEVER press to the neck. Ask yourself why.
37
Keep a comfortably-distant handspacing on the bar. Remember there are many more muscles groups
involved in a successful bench attempt than just pecs. Floppers, hangers, hairholders. Nipshelves.
Keep the feet braced, balanced and on the floor. Don’t, if you want to try for a limit bench press,
bend your knees and prop them up on the end of the bench. Establish a solid base with your feet and
legs as they are a necessary part of the drive needed to succeed with a lift.
There are two ways to grip the bar. The first is to fully encircle the bar with the hand, thumb on one
side and fingers on the other. Another style is the thumb and fingers both on one side of the bar.
Don’t.
Don’t get in the habit of bouncing bench presses off your chest. Just don’t. Watch some of the most
effective bench pressers alive and note the slow, coiled-spring descent. Consider the fact that they
may know some small thing about just what it is they’re doing. Possibly even more than your high
school football linemen did. Study the greats.
Aim to raise your bench press total by steady, intelligently planned hard work. Don’t try to rush
things or they’ll slow down. Is your bench press a stubborn mule? Stop beating your ass and get a
carrot.
Avoiding Injury
There is really no absolute way to insure that an injury won’t take place, and, I’d say that MINOR
pulls and strains will have to be accepted over the course of your powerlifting training, just as they
are in struggles involving other physical arts. The best way to be reasonably sure that your injuries
are minimal is to learn more about what goes into performing these lifts. Don’t just plop yourself
down on a bench and belly-bump a bar. Study. As in all endeavors except binge-drinking, good
judgment and common sense are necessary to succeed.
One thing is certain: when an injury does occur, DISCONTINUE TRAINING. See a physician just to set
your mind at ease. Serious injuries can be avoided 100% of the time simply by being careful and
thinking before you act. Weight training is one of the all-round safest sports in the world, and there
are more than likely a higher percent of injuries in numerous other more popular sports.
A good rest can sometimes be the solution to training injuries of a minor nature. Don’t idiotically try
to “work out” a pulled or injured muscle. Be sensible.
Overtraining, as I have mentioned numerous times, should be avoided. Not only in bodybuilding but
especially in lifting. There is a simple, practical reason for this, and that is because too much training
will be certain to keep your strength down. If sheer power is your goal you are better off doing too
little training than too much. many famous lifters and strongmen have gone for long periods of time
on one or two workouts a week – and they gained beautifully.
38
A Good Bench Press Schedule
Always start out by warming up on the bench. A warmup set can go as high as 20 reps for some men
and as low as 6 for others. You’ll just have to experiment to find the best for yourself. Once the
warmup has been done, drop the reps back drastically if you did more than 6. The trick in hitting
good maximum lifts is to carefully channel available energy and avoid depletion during initial, buildup sets. Go right into the heavy stuff after your warmup.
Your first work set should go very heavy, and 5 reps is plenty. 4 is enough, but it should be with a
weight that really makes you fight.
Rest a few minutes and get your strength back. Now do a set of 3 or 4 reps with the same poundage
you used in the previous set.
Rest.
Add weight to the bar. Do a fourth set of 3 reps in good form. The weight should require very, very
hard fighting.
Rest as long as necessary to get your oomph back, and add still more weight to the bar and see if you
can do one or two final near-limit reps.
Properly done, that schedule will serve the purpose of building muscular power and helping you
increase your ultimate limit single lift.
Most men will recuperate rather quickly from a schedule of sets and reps like I’ve given, since there
is a careful check against overwork in the set/rep/poundage arrangement. This is all to the good.
Perhaps a more lengthy schedule will be suitable as you mature with experience, but the one given is
foolproof.
When going for an all-out single attempt (which ought never be attempted more than once every
three or four weeks) you can use a schedule like this . . .
1x12 – warmup.
1x5
1x3
1x2
1x1 – attempt at limit single.
You can see that no excessive amount of work precedes the limit attempt, yet a thorough warmup is
done. This is necessary to avoid energy depletion and to insure that the body is fully ready to make
that all-out attempt. After working on the lift for some time the basic principles will fall naturally into
place, and I dare say that you’ll find your strength gaining in a manner that may surprise you,
considering the simplicity of the program suggested.
39
So, if you really want to see how much you can bench, and if developing tremendous benching power
is important to you, you now have one of the keys that will open the door to the treasure you seek.
The Competition Squat
The squat is definitely one of my favorite exercises – and although I’ve never myself competed with
it, I’ve trained many men who have, and I respect a top squatter more than any six bench pressers
you can bring around. The squat is truly the King of exercises, and in my opinion, the King of the
powerlifts.
If there is one movement that both builds AND tests one’s overall rugged body power more than the
others, it is the squat. And this fact is so evident to those who understand weight-training it is not
even debatable.
If I were coaching you personally – whoever you are – I would, unless you simply refused to listen,
persuade you to put the bulk of your efforts toward the attainment of power and powerlifting
excellence in the squat. Yes, it is that good a lift.
You see, squatting does it all. Honest. It builds one’s capacity for strength in the bench press and
deadlift. It builds muscle. It builds character. The squat has built more solid men than all the other
bodybuilding exercises put together. It is a fabulous overall health builder and it will build an armorclad heart, lungs like mighty engines, the all-round robust well-being of a lumberjack and it can turn
empty beer cans into ascended beings who order the universe secretly while we sleep.
So, concentrate hard on squats.
While it is true that certain exercises assist squatting (like straddle lifts, front squats, etc.) and
isometrics can be used sometimes to build power in weak areas of the lift, it is better, I’ve found, to
simply GET GOOD AT SQUATTING BY SQUATTING. It produces more excellent results when one varies
his sets, reps and poundages, rather than works on assistance exercises.
The squat hits the following areas heavily:
Legs.
Hips.
Back (lower especially).
Carry-over work is distributed throughout the body, and as I said before, squats when performed
hard and heavy work everything.
The problem with using the squat in all-out limit training (as you will for powerlifting) – is that you
must be extra-careful to avoid using near-maximum weights too often. The hip and leg muscles can
take it, of course, but the lower back area cannot. If one trains to excess in heavy squatting (going to
40
a limit attempt too often) he will experience almost perpetual low-back soreness. On the other hand,
if training is properly done, taking care to only hit the heavy, limit lifting say, once every three weeks
to a month, steady and often incredible gains can result. Not all people can reach stupendous squat
poundages, but given a body free of serious structural defects and starting in reasonably good health
and condition, three to four hundred pound squats and beyond are highly likely in time. I have never
met anyone who, with training, would have been incapable of a 300 pound limit lift. Not even
honest-to-goodness physical wrecks.
So there you have it. The squat should be your key exercise and lift, and it will reward you, providing
you give it a 100% chance, with more power and muscularity than you ever hoped for.
How to Squat
To go all-out in heavy squatting you must have squat racks, and you will need either spotters or a
power rack. Also, you will do well to obtain a stout lifting belt. Good lifting shoes will help, and you
should find the ones that suit your style of squatting. Do not elevate the heels on a board.
Warming up is vital. Freehand squats are good, but the key thing to warm up is the lower back. I’d
advise hyperextensions or light good mornings prior to squatting heavy weights. Get the back loose,
limber and warmed up. Then, work on loosening up the legs. Spend five to ten minutes stretching
and limbering before the real lifting.
The correct position for effective power squatting is one that will permit you to feel naturally solid,
well-balanced, and strong throughout the movement. To a certain extent the correct position varies
with individuals. Let me suggest, however . . .
Keep the head up when squatting.
Try to keep the back as flat as possible.
Let the bar ride as low as is comfortable. The lower, actually, the better for an all-out lift. Study the
bar position of some successful squatters.
Keep the feet comfortably spaced, but wide enough to allow for maximum power.
Drive hard out of the bottom position. Never pause.
“Think” up when squatting, so your mind is psyched to drive you upward when you reach bottom.
Never simply drop or fall into a heavy squat.
Squat to at least the parallel position.
Let me dwell momentarily on the last point – the one about going to at least parallel. Actually, your
mind must be “set” to stop when the body hits parallel, and you should have your concentration
focused on that muscular rebound upward, just as the body reaches that parallel position. This will,
in practice, more often than not result in you just breaking parallel position before starting to come
up. Learn to feel and know instinctively when you have squatted to the proper depth. Don’t feel
around for it. Know it.
41
Again, never drop and bounce out of the bottom position.
Squatting is extremely depleting when done for high reps. Therefore, I urge you never to exceed 6
reps, even for warming up when going for a limit lift. Power-output will be greatest when one drops
quickly to low, low reps in one’s sets, and piles on the weight. Frequently, one can actually lift do five
or ten pounds more in the squat – if he just tries, and puts the weight on the bar – than he thought
he was capable of from prior training experience. Naturally, as you advance it becomes more and
more difficult to continue adding weight to the bar.
There is much self-learning to be done in this art of powerlifting – make no mistake about it. The
learning is just as important as the training, since the more you learn about yourself, the more
intelligently you will be able to direct your workouts and tailor them to your own personality. The
fundamentals are tools that can be given to you, but the use of those tools varies with each man.
Let me say again that as you progress you should listen increasingly less to others and more and
more to that inner voice gained only from personal experience. Nothing will serve you better.
Systems vary among weight-men, and this is because weight-men vary as people. Don’t make the
mistake of following instructions or individuals dogmatically. in the beginning you will need help.
Books and articles like this will give it to you. As you become more advanced you might need
professional assistance, but be very careful who you attain it from. Better by far to work things out
on your own after study than to follow the misinformation of a pseudo-instructor.
I say all these things to help you gain a clear and understandable view of the road ahead. It is not all
that difficult, certainly not beyond your power to travel, and not in need of one-half the help some
would have you believe absolutely necessary. Study, then think for yourself. If you do that, and are
willing to work very, very hard, you will progress and succeed. Now, here is a good basic program for
training on the squat . . .
Warmup: 1x6
Add considerable weight: 1x4 or 5
Add still more weight, enough to cause real fighting: 1x4
Do another set of 1x3-4 with the same weight.
Go close to maximum for 1x2.
Do not go for a limit lift too frequently. Every three or four weeks, when you wish to see how heavy
you can go in your squat, try this . . .
1x6
1x4
1x2
1x2
1x1, near limit
1x1, limit
Gradually add weight following each set. The last set should be the only one that sees you working
42
brutally hard.
I shall now close this out by outlining a possible advanced squat schedule for those who believe
themselves ready to handle it.
1x6
2x5
1x4
1x3
2x2
1x1
I knew a very good lifter who used this program twice a week and made outstanding gains in one 5week period. But he was a “natural” and you cannot imagine how hard he was able to work and still
recover from it. The low reps might not seem like much, but use heavy weights with each set and it is
murder.
The Deadlift
Of the three basic power lifts the one with the greatest potential for overall poundage lifted off the
floor is the deadlift. Power men with no particular outstanding record of lifting in competition often
routinely work out with 400-500 pounds in this movement. In time, you will probably be able to do
so too, if you work hard and intelligently.
The reason why such incredible poundage lifts are possible the deadlift is not only because of the
particular muscles that are called upon to work – but because, in addition, they are called upon to
work from their strongest possible point of leverage. No lift, except perhaps the harness lift, permits
a man to so favorably bring into play the strongest lifting muscles of his body.
Surprisingly, the deadlift works almost the exact same muscles as the squat – but in a much different
manner. The simple difference of not having to support the weight on the back and shoulders, and
instead being able to let it be pulled up off the floor, enables much more weight to be hoisted in the
deadlift. Now I am not saying the deadlift is the same as the squat, and I am not indicating that all of
the movements and exertions made in both of these lifts are 100% alike; but I am saying, at least in
regard to leg and hip action, that the squat and deadlift are in many interesting ways much the same.
One critical difference between the two is the fact that squatting is a push action lift, while
deadlifting is a pull action lift. Regardless of the degree of similarity between squats and deadlifts, or
regardless of the dissimilarity between squats and deadlift movements, the fact remains that both
have great merit, both as physical developmental exercises and as power lift feats.
My experience in training both myself and others has pointed one very definite fact out about why
many encounter problems with their deadlifting (injuries, never can achieve limit lifts, etc.): in more
than 75% of the cases where men work seriously at powerlifting they overtrain in the deadlift. That’s
43
right. The vast majority of well-intentioned lifters, in their zeal to do as well as they possibly can,
often do too much deadlifting, too frequently, and thus end up defeating their ultimate purpose of
maximum power-output in this lift. Possibly this is because the deadlift is a relatively simple lift – yet
so much more satisfying, poundage-wise, than say, the bench press. It’s always nice to leave the gym
feeling, “Hey, I lifted 500 pounds tonight!” One can do this quite honestly, and just neglect to
mention that one lifted that “500” in the deadlift, not in the overhead press, the squat or the bench
press. It sounds good to someone who doesn’t know the difference.
Seriously, don’t overwork the deadlift. The lower back area can be the real weak spot in a man’s
anatomy, and it can be as fickle as a woman! One day you can train your lower back for two hours
and hit a 600-max deadlift, then leave the gym feeling fine. You wake up the next day and feel like
training again. Yet, some athletes have seriously wrenched their back by sneezing! So, respect the
crazy nature inherent in your lower-back structure. The low back can, with patient, steady work, be
built up to levels of truly phenomenal strength. But take your sweet time about it. Any injury or
strain to this critical area will put you painfully out of action, possibly for a month or more.
For all persons breaking into heavy power training, I advise giving the back a full 4-8 weeks of patient,
steady break-in training before going all out. This may seem like an overly cautious approach, but I’d
rather be careful with a person about his back rather than be negligent. We have plenty of time to go
for world deadlift records!
Daily Moderate Exercise Desirable
It is advisable to work your lower back every day, if possible, with some mild form of freehand
stretching or calisthenic movements. The Yoga Cobra exercise, Hindu cat stretches and Tiger bends
are all very good for this purpose. Also, there is one extremely simple and relaxing movement that, in
my opinion, should be an integral part of every heavy lifter’s regimen: hanging from a chinning bar.
Hanging, without moving or chinning one’s body at all, from a high bar, with arms straight is a cheap,
simple, enormously beneficial natural traction movement for the lower and upper back and for the
spinal column in its entirety. Doing this every day for a few minutes can, by itself, alleviate minor
back soreness, and often, when done immediately following a workout, can prevent the onset of any
soreness. I cannot commend this movement too highly. Everyone should do it.
Aside from the above, there really are no “assistance” exercises suitable for deadlifting. You could
arrange to practice deadlifting off low boxes, or you could build deadlift hoppers to slightly assist the
movement. But these little gambits are effective only to a certain extent. When it comes to the
actual deadlift and attempting a limit you cannot use any such assistance, so perhaps it is better to
train the actual lift. You avoid strain simply by not doing the deadlift too frequently. Instead, work
the lower back with a different movement . . .
44
Stiff-Legged Deadlift or Power Clean?
The stiff-legged deadlift is, for those who find no problems from doing it, the finest single basic
EXERCISE for the lumbar muscles of the body. It is also a tremendously effective overall conditioner,
having overlapping effects on the entire body – with special benefits to increased flexibility. The stifflegged deadlift with moderate to moderately-heavy resistance rates as a super exercise for the back
in lieu of the standard deadlift.
No attempt need be made to go to extreme poundages in the stiff-legged deadlift. Bodyweight on
the bar can provide an exceptionally fine developmental workout. Those who find that they have a
special liking and propensity for the movement may go as heavy as they wish, of course, with
enormous gains to be carried over when the standard deadlift is attempted.
Some few individuals can do their stiff-legged deadlifts off the end of a sturdy block or bench,
allowing the bar to actually be lowered below the level of one’s feet! This is okay if you can do it, but
I’d be careful, especially with heavy weights.
For those who enjoy the stiff-legged deadlift it can be used for 95% of one’s deadlift training –
provided one is able to go heavy on it. Otherwise, simply use it as a light substitute for the standard
deadlift after going all-out during a workout or a meet.
For those who find deadlifting a necessary evil, there is (in my judgment) the more valuable power
clean exercise, that, whenever one wishes to do back work, can be used as a deadlift substitute. This
exercise builds the low back quite well.
Never fear that your capacity to deadlift will be weakened if power cleans are used in most workouts
to hit the low-back area. This is not so. As long as you power clean heavy you’ll be able to deadlift
heavy.
Don’t use more than 5-rep sets in the power clean. Sets of 3 or as little as 2 are oftentimes effective
when sheer power is the goal.
If you wish you may alternate between stiff-legged deadlifts and power cleans in your training, and
use the standard heavy deadlift perhaps once every two or three weeks in a somewhat heavier
training session. This is an effective way to train, and the deadlift numbers you achieve this way may
surprise you.
Spend most of your time on squats; spend pretty much your balance of time on bench presses. Every
now and then see what you can do on the deadlift.
While that rule might seem too casual and not at all in accord with many of the publicized deadlift
training methods, I assure you it is a very sound rule. It is used my many of the top powerlifters who
have learned from their years of experience that the lower back’s power is something to be
maintained by moderate exercise and tested only occasionally by heavy lifting.
45
Suggested Deadlift Training
What might be a good beginner’s deadlift schedule? Here is a suggestion:
Workout Monday and Thursday on the back area.
For FOUR workouts do the following –
Power clean: 4x4, heavy weights.
Stiff-Legged deadlift: 2x10, light weights.
On the FIFTH workout do –
Stiff-Legged deadlift to warmup: 1x10.
Deadlift: 1x5, 2x3, 1x2, 1x1, 1x1 (weight increase after each set to ultimate all-out lift).
Follow the above training – after each workout – with about 5 minutes of simple hanging from a
strong overhead bar.
More Advanced Training
Largely, how you train as you become a more advanced lifter will be your own decision, born
ultimately from your own gradual experience and understanding of your body. However, the
following is a good advanced deadlift workout suggestion. I recommend that it be followed only ONE
DAY A WEEK AT MOST.
1st set: EITHER stiff-legged or regular deadlift to warmup, 1x12.
2nd set: EITHER stiff-legged or regular deadlift with about a 30 lb. increase, 1x8-10.
3rd and 4th sets: REGULAR deadlift, 6 reps each set, very heavy.
5th set: REGULAR deadlift, 3 reps.
6th set: REGULAR deadlift, 2 reps.
7th set: REGULAR deadlift, 1 rep.
That’s a lot of work, but an advanced, powerful lifter can benefit from such a routine if it is not
performed too frequently. If you find once a week to be too much, do it less often. Think for yourself.
The goal is to hit that new limit poundage, and the back needs to be fully recovered and thoroughly
warmed up before the try is made. The object, once again, is not to see how often you can lift the
same weight, but to show how much weight you can deadlift. Remember that always!
It is a very common practice for many men to train by starting off light, adding weigh and dropping
reps in the sets they do, and then, once they hit their limit they start decreasing weights again, and
they begin to do progressively more reps again. If I were to TRY, I could not invent a more wasteful
way to train! Don’t train this way. It serves only the questionable purpose of aiding in PUMP. And if
you train properly you’ll get all the sane pump you need to grow without spending twice the
necessary time on workouts and without burning up 6,000 extra calories and several nerve endings
each workout. Be sensible. It actually works.
46
Hard Work On Basic Exercises
by Bradley J. Steiner
I happen to believe that Reg Park is the best example and single representative of what proper
training with weights can do for a man. He's got everything: huge, almost superhuman muscles, the
strength of the most powerful competitive lifter, and the perfect, well-balanced physique that one
sees on Greek statues in museums. Whether or not you agree that Park is the Greatest -- if you've
seen him, then you've GOT to admit that he's good, to say the very least. OK. so who cares about my
opinion anyway, and what in heck does this have to do with how you can get the Herculean build
you're after?
The best physiques (and Park's is one of 'em), were all built by hard work on the basic, heavy duty
exercises. There are NO exceptions to this statement. Even easy-gainers who (like Park) build up very
easily, never get to the Hercules stage without the ultimate in effort. Park worked up to squats with
600 pounds, behind the neck presses with 300 pounds, and bench presses with 500 pounds!
Hereditary advantages or not, Park sweated blood to earn the massive excellent physique that he
has. And so did every other human Superman whose muscles aren't merely bloated, pumped-up
tissue. The problem of WHAT these basic exercisers are, and HOW HARD one must work on them for
satisfactory, or even startling results, is one that every bodybuilder, at one time or another during his
career, is confronted with. This month we're going to solve the problem.
To begin, let's sift through the thousands of possible exercises, and variations of exercises that
confront every barbell man, and set down a principle by which the trainee can determine the BEST
among them; those upon which he should be concentrating his best efforts. Here's the principle: An
exercise is worthwhile if it allows you to use very heavy weights -- brings into play the BIG muscle
groups -- and causes lots of puffing and panting.
From the simple formula stated above, it is quite easy to see that fully eighty or ninety percent of the
exercises followed by most barbell trainees do not come up to the standards required for maximum
physical development. Concentration curls, Hack squats, lateral raises, thigh extensions, triceps
"kickback" movements, etc., all followed slavishly by thousands of misinformed bodybuilders, are a
waste of time. My very bitter apologies to the high-pressure ad-men, and the authors of all the super
Space-age courses, but their stuff is strictly from hunger. If you've been sucked into following any
such routines, drop 'em! In all honesty, fellows, that garbage won't do a thing for you, aside from
bringing discouragement and disillusionment. Save your time and money, and put your effort into
THESE exercises:
The Squat - Regular, parallel, breathing style, or front style
The Press - Military or behind neck, seated or standing, barbell or heavy dumbbells
Rowing - Bent over, barbell or dumbbells, one or two arm
Power cleans and High pulls
Bench pressing - barbell or heavy dumbbells, Incline or flat bench style
Stiff-legged dead lifting and heavy barbell bendovers.
47
In essence, those are the exercises that you ought to be killing yourself on. We're concerned with the
development of SIZE, POWER and SHAPELY BULK, so we've eliminated all supplementary abdominal
and calf work. This you can do at your leisure, or you can omit it entirely, with no consequences to
your overall development. The stuff we've enumerated above is what you need in order to turn
yourself into a Human Hercules. And, lest you believe that this writer has a vested interest in this, let
me say that he HAS. I derive personal, private, selfish satisfaction pushing the truth about sensible
barbell training, and seeing those guys who are willing to work for their goals, achieving the builds
they desire. The muscle heads, the "muscle-spinners," the drug-takers, etc, are no concern of mine.
They can go their own way; I'm concerned about the rest of you.
Honest muscles, like honest men, are rare. But they can be attained, and the only way to do it is
through HARD, HARD work, and an honest approach to training programs. So if you're willing, you
can get the physique you're after; if you train as I have discussed on the Basic Movements.
There are reasons why these basic exercises are best. Let's talk about them.
It isn't generally understood, but the easiest way to build the small muscle groups is by exercise on
the big ones! For example, it's impossible to build a broad, powerful back, and thick pectorals, along
with terrific shoulders via the heavy cleaning, pressing, rowing and bench work that I advocate,
without building enormous arm size and strength. You couldn't do it if you wanted to! Yet, aside from
weight-gaining, building big arms is a giant headache for most barbell men. How simple a matter it
would become if only they would forget about the ridiculous pumping, cramping and spinning-type
isolation exercises, and just train hard on the basics! The big arms would come naturally.
John Grimek once had arms that taped close to 19". They were so big and powerful that they didn't
look real! Grimek at the time was an Olympic weight-lifting contender, and he had trained for a long
period without doing a single curl or triceps "pumper." His big arms got the way they did from the
Heavy Lifting Training. You can do the same by working hard and heavy. And you don't have to enter
Olympic competition!
The trapezius and neck muscles are impressive and too often neglected by many weight-trainees. But
your traps will grow like crazy if you push your cleans hard, and if you get your presses up to really
impressive standards.
Ditto for your neck muscles. The huffing, puffing, and muscular work and exertion caused by ALL
heavy work will make your neck muscles grow.
Forearms - "stubborn forearms" will respond like obedient, trained seals to heavy rowing, cleaning
and pressing. And just try to keep your grip on a super heavy barbell while doing a set of stiff-leg
deadlifts, without forcing the forearm muscles to ache and grow beyond belief!
Heavy squatting will build heavier calves. Sounds impossible? Well, just try working your squats like
you're supposed to, and you'll see your calves begin to grow no matter how they've refused to
respond to toe raises.
48
Power cleans are fine for the calf muscles too. Incredible as this statement may sound, it's absolutely
true. The coordinated effort of leg and back movement in heavy cleaning DOES work the calves! Try
it for a few months and find out for yourself.
Nobody wants to be fat around the middle. Yet, unless you're drastically overweight, you don't need
more than one set of one abdominal exercise (done in high reps, with resistance) to keep a rockhard, muscular mid-section. The hard work on squatting, cleaning, and ALL heavy exercises will
inevitably keep you trim and hard. And make no mistake about this: you are far, far better off with a
thick, powerful waist than you are with a "wasp-waist pretty body." A man should be BIG. He should
be strong and powerful. And he can't be if he tries to blow his biceps up to 20" and keep his waist
down to 30". Use your head! If there are any real supermen around who have waistlines below 33"
or 34", then they've got 'em only because they're SHORT, and, the small waist is proportionate tot he
rest of their husky muscles.
Training on the big exercises builds HEALTH and LASTING muscle size. These two factors are very
important. Today, men like John Grimek, Reg Park, Bill Pearl, and another lesser-known Hercules,
Maurice Jones of Canada, all possess builds and physical power comparable to that which they had
during their prime. The reason? They built REAL MUSCLE, Sig Klein must be around seventy, yet he's
got the build of a twenty-five year old athlete. The reason? He built REAL MUSCLE. The same holds
for scores of others in the weight game who got their physical development by hard, hard work with
heavy weights on the best exercises.
If you're a young man now, then you're probably more interested in what you can look like on a
posing platform, and in how fast you can get piles of muscle - but don't, no matter how great the
temptation for an "easy way out" via pumping routines or muscle drugs, follow any system of
training except the good, heavy, teeth-gritting type routines that build pure, strong, big muscles. I say
this as a sincere warning against charlatans who would rob you of your money and your health - and
do it gladly - to sell you on their own private "miracle systems' or methods'. Keep clear of them, and
remember, please, that you've got a long life ahead of you after any physique competitions you
might enter or win within the next few years. You want health, well-being AND big muscles that will
stay with you for the rest of your life. You will only get them if you train HARD and HEAVY!
Here's a sample program that you can follow. It will give you every desirable physical quality. IF you
work to your limit on it.
Warm up with one set of twenty prone hyperextensions.
Do two progressively heavier warm up sets in the squat, using five reps in each set. Then load on
weight until the bar bends, and do three sets of five reps each with this limit poundage. Push! Fight!
Drive! The SQUAT is the builder of SUPERMEN!
Go to your flat bench and do two warm up sets, as you did for your squats, of five reps each in the
bench press. Then do a final 3 sets with all the weight you can properly handle. In this, and in every
other exercise in the program, REST WELL BETWEEN SETS!
Now do power cleans, stiff--legged dead lifts, or barbell bendovers. Same sets., same reps and the
same forced poundage attempts as in the preceding exercises. Your lower back is a vital body area.
49
Turn it into a SUPER POWER ZONE by intensive back work!
Do heavy, bent-over barbell rowing. Two warm up sets - then three limit sets - five reps in each set
you do. Reg Park (I always seem to come back to mentioning him, don't I!) used this exercise along
with the power clean in order to build the unbelievable back that he possesses. He considers this
bent-over rowing exercise the best single upper back movement a man can do.
Do some form of HEAVY pressing. If you read my stuff then you already know that I practically sneer
at any shoulder exercise but the press behind the neck! But of course you can old military barbell
presses, dumbbell presses, or any form of heavy seated pressing with excellent results sure to follow
- IF YOU WORK HARD. Same set-rep scheme for your pressing as for the other exercises, and a tip:
May guys have complained to me that I don't understand (a-hem!) their difficulties when it comes to
heavy pressing behind the neck. It seems that the effort of cleaning the bar up and behind their
necks before each set tires their poor little bodies out. What to do? Do your presses right off the
squat racks! Load the bar up. Get set comfortably under it. Get a good, solid grip on the bar and set
your feet firmly. Now go to it. Press the weight right off the racks. Then, after each set, return the bar
to the squat racks. Simple? you'll get wonderful results this way - since you'll be saving your energy
and concentration exclusively for the pressing action, and all of the work will be thrown directly on
your deltoids...so, better and bigger muscles!
End your workout with an abdominal exercise. Do any one that you happen to like. I prefer leg raises
off the end of a flat bench, with iron boots on my feet, but it's really only a personal preference, and
you can work your midsection with any 'ab" exercise that you happen to like. Just do one set, and run
the reps at around twenty or thirty.
Here's the routine written out:
Warm-up - 1 x 20
Squat - 5 x 5
Bench press - 5 x 5
Stiff-leg dead lift - 5 x 5
Bent-over rowing - 5 x 5
Press behind neck - 5 x 5
Leg raises 1 x 25
Do that routine - or a similar one - as described in this article, and your muscles will bulge through
your clothing after a year or so of training!
The watchwords are BASIC EXERCISES and HARD WORK. Remember them when you walk into the
gym next time. You'll be grateful for the rest of your life that you did!
50
Are Big Muscles Helpful?
Bradley J. Steiner
WHILE we regard anyone who challenges the merits of progressive resistance (ie weight) training
being valuable for the combatives student as being seriously misinformed, we do not feel the same
way about those who question the purpose and the value of developing a "magazine cover body" —
or the oversized, bulging muscles so often (and so unfortunately) automatically linked with the term
"bodybuilding" today.
If you are asking "What's the difference?" then you are the victim of the kind of ignorance that those
who have ruined the field of mainstream bodybuilding love to capitalize upon.
Anyone who trains correctly with weights will increase the girth (ie the size) of his muscles. However,
it is not the sole objective of weight training or of "bodybuilding" to focus almost entirely on the
development of huge, bulging muscles. The muscular development is a byproduct of proper training,
but strength, condition, agility, and good health coupled with a sense of well being and selfconfidence constitute the primary and most important training objectives.
This is even more important to understand when one takes up weight training as a supplementary
activity to one's training in close combat and self-defense. The last thing that any combat arts
student should hold as his training objective is the acquisition of bloated, bulging muscles. Rather, he
should follow a good all round routine, developing every major muscle group, and working on
general, overall strength building and physical conditioning.
One thing that many people do not realize is that the incredible outsize proportions and "superman"
type physiques can only be developed by those whose hereditary potential allows for such
development. Everyone cannot build a "Mr. Universe" body!
Here is what you need to know about "big muscles":—
If you train correctly, and if you follow a reasonably good diet, get enough rest and sleep, and avoid
such suicidal activities as smoking, using steroids (or any other unlawful, controlled substance), heavy
drinking, etc. then you will, within two to three years, acquire muscles that are as "big" as they need
to be. You will have achieved your hereditary and genetic potential for size. Striving to merely bloat
the muscles beyond the level of development that they naturally attain after proper all round
sensible progressive resistance exercise has brought them to their natural "maximum" is unrealistic,
unnecessary, perhaps downright stupid, and — often — dangerous. You (we all!) have been set by
nature with our own unique genetic potential for size, strength, and athletic/physical performance
abilities. Strive mightily to achieve that. Then, once you have done so, be satisfied and grateful, and
keep training regularly to maintain what you worked so hard to build.
What is truly "helpful" is not big muscles, per se, but STRONG muscles, and well conditioned muscles
that enable you to utilize their potential for power-output in a fast, coordinated, skilled manner.
51
Strong muscles do tend to be big — at least bigger than when they were weak — but the primary
concern when training sensibly should not be on the attainment of mere size. Build powerful
muscles. Emphasize the hardest work on the major muscle groups (legs and back) in order to bring
about the finest all round gains.
Sensible men do not train solely for appearance. Train the way sensible men do train, and your
appearance will be fine. Today, there appear to be very few "sensible men" in the
bodybuilding/physical training field. Nevertheless, they are the ones to emulate and to turn to for
worthwhile advice.
Believe in Yourself
You MUST learn to ignore the negative comments of those that would wish you failure in achieving
your fitness goals; you need a strong will and positive attitude to build muscle and succeed in
bodybuilding.
by Bradley J. Steiner (1972)
Regardless of what you want to ultimately achieve in life -- no matter who you are, and no matter
where you're going, you will not make it if you don't believe in our own capabilities and potential as a
worthwhile human being."Luck," regardless of how much people seem to daydream about its magic
power, plays a very, very small role, if any, in the attainment of anything in this life worth having.
HARD WORK and an unrelenting pursuit of one's goals and values is what wins out in the long run.
This is doubly true of bodybuilding.
The late Jerry B. Paschail once wrote that the primary job of the muscle building magazine (now
online) should be to help the bodybuilder keep at his training, and to offer encouragement for his
efforts. This makes an awful lot of sense. In essence, I would like to take steps in this direction right
here and now with this article.
I often think that if every fellow who trained with weights would spend half the time that he wastes
brooding over the fact that he doesn't look like Reg Park on working out, this country might develop
a new race of people! The transformation of all these self-pitying "might-have-beens" into rugged,
muscular young athletes would certainly be something of a renaissance in the field of physical
culture. True, we probably, still wouldn't have too many Reg Parks or Bill Pearls around, but we'd
have a populace of healthy, fit young men who LOOKED like men. They'd be strong and confident,
and they would set an example for their own children that would insure a continuance and,
improvement of the art of bodybuilding through future generations.
The fact remains though, that this is an individual project. It's up to every person to take his own life
into his hands and to shape it into the form of this personal ideal -- mentally, spiritually and
physically. Nobody could or should force a person to take steps toward self-improvement. The drive
and determination has got to come form YOU, mister,and it can be pretty tough to put forth a
determined effort if you don't believe deep down that you'll make it.
52
Auto suggestive techniques are one method of aiding you in bodybuilding, but sometimes even this
form of "super-concentration" (which is what auto suggestions is) cannot be mustered. This is
particularly true when a young man is starting out, and he's got about as much muscle on his frame
as an anemic anchovy. Let me give you an example of what I mean. I started systematic weight
training when I was sixteen. I was so underdeveloped (having a naturally small bone structures) that I
was the guy that the ninety-seven pound weaklings picked on! I wanted muscles like a cat wants fish,
though and when I bought a set of weights I was determined to stick with it and get the kind of build
I wanted. My starting poundages were ridiculous. In the squat I used a little over fifty pounds, and I
refuse to say what I began curling and pressing.
At any rate, I mention the above to show you that I had (to say the least) plenty of obstacles of a
purely physical nature to overcome. I told myself that if I'd only stay with it, work hard, and keep
adding weights whenever possible., I'd make progress. But there were other obstacles too, obstacles
that I've come to learn many beginners have -- ones that can be much tougher than the physical
ones. I'll mention mine and if you identify with them please don't tear up the magazine and leap into
the air in a fit of rage. Hold on, and we'll examine them so that you'll be able to deal with them and
progress in spite of them. First: I had a family that all but rolled on the floor in sarcastic, hysterical
laughter at the mere mention of my wanting bulging biceps, broad shoulders, powerful legs and back
and all-around physical fitness. Second: I had "friends" who constantly prodded me about being
wrapped up in such nonsense. After all, they assured me, "those guys with the muscles that ya see
on the magazines were born that way." It sounds silly to ME now, but it may not sound silly to you if
you're a kid who's hoping beyond hope that someday you too (maybe, maybe, maybe!!!) will have a
build like those guys on the magazines. If you're in this boat now, you know exactly what I'm talking
about.
If you're going to overcome psychological obstacles of this nature you simply must have something
stronger than the forces that oppose you - WITHIN YOURSELF. You won't get it from any musclebuilding course, but you should know what it is and how to use it. It's simply an UNSHAKABLE
CONFIDENCE AND BELIEF IN YOUR OWN CHOICE OF A WORTHWHILE GOAL. To digress momentarily
to my own case: I assure you that there were plenty of times when the caustic remarks and poohpoohing every effort I'd make, presented a far greater difficulty than sticking to my training schedule.
After all, the inevitable ups and downs of barbell training offer more than enough of a challenge to a
guy without any additional harassment. To a teenager who's just experienced the thrill of added
muscle on his arms, or who's just had the satisfaction of increasing the poundage in an exercise that's
been giving him problems, a sarcastic, "So what ...big deal ... so what does that nonsense mean
anyway?" can be like a slap in the face. AND I KNOW IT CAN. But I've also learned this too, fellows: if
you will but shrug these people off, YOU WILL MAKE IT. You will make it, and don't listen twice to any
screwball that regards your self-interest and development as a joke to be made, at YOUR expense.
Keep everlastingly at the pursuit of your goal (be it bodybuilding for what have you), and keep your
eyes clearly fixed upon the goals YOU to achieve. Remember: When a person chides and ridicules
your efforts he's doing it out of jealousy, meanness or ignorance, and you've got more important
things to concern you than misfits who want to discourage you. People who are satisfied with
themselves always stand above any need to belittle and browbeat others. Go for those muscles with
everything you've got, and sweat bullets to get 'em if you must!"
Written instruction is in a sense a limited means of communication. The words here must appear less
forceful than they would if I were speaking to you personally. Consider then, that if I were personally
instructing you, I'd have grabbed you by the shoulders and shaken you out of your slump. I'd have
53
yelled, ranted and raved until I got the point across to you. YES, I sincerely believe that it's just that
important.
It's the purpose of this article to guide you and encourage you along the road toward greater physical
development, buy you can only be guided as far as YOU YOURSELF are willing to go. And I think that
you know it's worth going all the way or you wouldn't have read this far. Please! Don't succumb to
outside influences that urge you to give up one of the most rewarding activities you'll ever take part
in.
Primarily these remarks have been addressed to the teenager, to the newcomer to the iron game, to
the guy who has arms like straws, and who doesn't want to go through life with them. It has been
directed at every one of you who has had difficulty working out. Keep at it; it's worth it. Keep at it
despite any remarks from others. Keep at it despite those well-meaning know-nothings who pretend
to "know what's best for you," but who really couldn't care less. Keep at it because you know within
yourself, deep down, that it's a goal worth achieving. Don't let ANYBODY tell you it isn't.
For a Better Back
by Bradley J. Steiner
In this article we’re going to cover a lot of important territory. There are more basic exercises for the
back than there are for any other single body area, and they should ALL be used, at one time or
another, by every lifting in his training program. Heavy back training will build enormous body power.
It will help in bringing about overall muscle and weight gains. It will help in bringing the body to a
peak in physical fitness and all-round condition. Along with heavy leg work, BACK EXERCISE is the key
to great development and strength.
To begin then, here is a list of the essential exercises for the back:
1.) Stiff-legged dead weight lift.
2.) Repetition power clean.
3.) Barbell bendover, or “good morning” exercise.
4.) Heavy, bent-forward rowing.
5.) Heavy, one dumbell rowing.
6.) Heavy shoulder shrugging.
7.) Neck bridge with weight resistance.
This last exercise you might want to say, is not for the back at all, since it works the neck muscles
primarily, but remember, please, that this movement is a fine developer of the trapezius muscles,
and also – since we are concerned in this series with the essential exercises for the entire body, it is
necessary to place neck bridging somewhere in our repertoire. It is logical to include it with the back
work.
In glancing at the above list you may suddenly protest that this writer is off his head for neglecting to
have included the standard dead weight lift. After all, everyone knows that the basic exercise for the
54
lower back is the deadlift, no? No, it is not. The regular deadlift is a fine test of one’s basic body
power, but as a developer of the spinal erector muscles in the lumbar region of the lower back it is
highly overrated. It is my intention to present in this series only those exercises that have proven
themselves to be the finest developers of the muscles that they work. I am interested in building
bodies, not in experimenting with them. It may not be popular to say it, but for the purpose of back
development you can dump the traditional deadlift. Rest assured that the exercises herein discussed
will bring you satisfactory results – if you work hard with them. In previous articles we’ve discussed
the importance of concentration and effort in your training programs; now we’re concerned with
those exercises you should be concentrating upon. So, taking them one at a time, in the order
previously listed, let’s examine each basic back exercise and see how you may utilize it in your
training.
The first exercise is the Stiff-legged deadlift, and let me say this at the outset about this fine exercise:
If you work to your limit on the stiff-legged deadlift, constantly striving to handle more and more
weight, you will find this to be the best lower back builder, a super-power developer, and a superbly
efficient body conditioner as well. With the inclusion of a very few other exercises in a program, the
stiff-legged deadlift can turn you into a Hercules if you’ll put forth an honest effort in training.
The stiff-legged deadlift should always be done with the heaviest possible weights. You should
always use a barbell; never dumbells, for the simple reason that more weight can be handled in this
manner, and when you are advanced you should do the stiff-legged deadlift while standing on a
strong bench or block. This will enable you to lower the barbell below your feet, and the enormous
development of power and flexibility that will result from this exercise style will utterly amaze you.
For the LOWER back then, the stiff-legged deadlift should be employed almost to the complete
exclusion of any other exercise. Yes, it is that excellent. Yes, it is that important. Yes, it will give you
the results that I have said it will give you, and no, I stand nothing to gain if you employ it in your
program. You simply should know, to save your own time and effort, that this particular exercise is
number one for its purpose, and you’ll be cheating yourself if you fail to use it.
There are two other essential exercises for the lower back area: the Power Clean and the Bendover
or good morning exercise, but use them only as a means of getting out of a training rut or as a
variation from time to time. They are good, but they cannot approach the stiff-legged deadlift. Since
they are good, let’s turn to them next.
The power clean is a favorite exercise of Reg Park. It is hardly necessary to point out that Park’s back
development leaves little, if anything, to be desired! Let’s face it – he must have done something
right to get it, and one of the “right” things, no doubt, was work hard on the power clean.
The secret of getting the most out of your power cleans is, of course, to constantly strive to handle
heavier and heavier weight. The exercise, like the stiff-legged deadlift, can be done with a pair of
dumbells, but the necessity of always striving toward maximum poundage makes me warn you not to
use dumbells unless you have access to real super-heavies, such as might be found in some
commercial gyms, or set up with sturdy plate loading bars. Otherwise, stay with the barbell!
55
The power clean is NOT a weightlifting feat. It is an exercise. Do not confuse it with the type of
cleaning done by Olympic lifters. In the power clean there is no significant body dip and there is no
leg split or squat whatever. One simply grasps the bar with both hands in the overgrip (knuckles
forward) and “cleans” it to one’s upper chest and shoulder level. Then the weight is lowered to the
floor and the exercise is repeated for the desired number of repetitions. After a few weeks of power
cleaning you should notice a very pleasant increase in both your overall bodily power, and in the
muscular bulk of your upper back. The power clean is a triple-purpose exercise that will give a
thorough workout to the trapezius, latissimus, and erector spinae muscle groups. You’ll find that in
addition to the wonderful back-building results you’ll slap some extra meat on your upper arms also.
How about that for a bonus?
The third and last exercise for the lower back region is the barbell bendover, better known in weight
training circles as the “good morning” exercise, and no, I do not know why it’s called the good
morning exercise. Call it the “good night” exercise if you will; I do know this: it is an excellent
developer of the lower back. Weightlifters frequently use this exercise as a supplement to their
training on the basic lifts, and it will quickly prove its worth to you after a few weeks’ training. The
performance of the good morning may not be known to you, so briefly, this is how it’s done.
Take a barbell, of moderate weight in the beginning, and hold it behind the neck as you would if
preparing to do a set of squats. Now, keeping the legs straight, and being careful to maintain a flat
back and strong grip, incline your upper body forward from the waist until it is parallel to the floor.
Using lower back strength only (DON’T bend your knees), raise your upper body to the erect starting
position. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
This movement takes some getting used to, but it is nevertheless a fine back exercise. When you
become sufficiently advanced you will be able to employ heavy poundages, and of course you’ll reap
excellent gains.
By far the most important group of back muscles to every bodybuilder are the “lats” or upper
latissimus dorsi group. Huge, bulky lats do give the entire physique a broad, powerful appearance. To
acquire powerful lats that possess corresponding shape and bulk, you need concern yourself with
only two exercises and their variations. The exercises are: the heavy bent forward barbell row, and
the heavy one-dumbell row. We shall begin our analysis with the heavy, bent forward barbell row
since it is number one on the list, and number one in importance.
Reg Park (one always has to refer to Park when one wants to cite physical perfection) considers
heavy barbell rowing to be the best all-round back developer. It is. Please note at this point that I say
“heavy” bent forward barbell rowing. Brothers, if it’s a mighty back that you’re after, you’ve got to
face the fact that only heavy training will achieve your goal. For upper back development you should
push heavy barbell rowing in every workout. Keep forcing the poundages way up. This is terribly
important, and if there is a reason why some lifters fail to reap satisfactory gains from barbell rows it
is due to their use of weights that are too light.
56
There are three methods of doing your barbell rows. The first is to use a wide grip and to pull the
weight up to the chest in fairly strict form. The second method involves a closer grip, and you pull the
weight up to your stomach. The third method is to use an ultra-heavy weight and to perform the
exercise as a kind of bent forward “clean.” Surprisingly, this last variation is not at all a bad one to
employ, since, no matter how you cheat in barbell rowing it is still the back that always bears the
brunt of the work. I advise you to use all three forms of barbell rowing in your routines. It doesn’t
matter which style you do when, just DO it.
The heavy one-dumbell row is a fine lat developer and the only reason for possible failure with this
exercise is, you guessed it, the use of weights that are far too light. You absolutely MUST use heavy
weights if you expect maximum development of the back. In order to increase the poundages that
you employ in this exercise it is desirable at times, as with the barbell rows, that you cheat. DO NOT,
however, let your cheating take the form of pulling the dumbell to the waist or midsection. When
you utilize a heavy dumbell row, this will not result in satisfactory progress. You’re better off staying
with a weight that you can pull to your chest. Again, cheating from time to time is O.K., but it should
take the form of using body impetus to pull the weight up to the upper chest, NOT to your
midsection.
An excellent variation to the one-dumbell row that can be used at times is the one arm row with the
loaded end of a barbell. This is not really a variant of one-dumbell rowing per se, but the similarity in
performance is what prompts me to consider the movement a variant of the one-dumbell row. John
Grimek has used this exercise to good effect, and need I argue the point that Grimek knows what is
happening in the Iron Game? Perform the exercise very strictly, using heavy weights, and for
heaven’s sake, stand STRADDLING the bar! I once noticed a fellow in the gym trying to do the
movement by standing off to one side. That’s a swell way to get a nice back injury. You should prop
the empty end of the bar against a sturdy support, and place your non-exercising hand on its
corresponding hip; leave it there, and unlike the dumbell row, do not permit yourself to cheat at all.
Often neglected by bodybuilders, yet nonetheless important for all-round strength and symmetry,
the trapezius muscles rank as an important group to develop. To an extent all forms of rowing and
the power clean affect these muscles, but for really powerful and complete development you should
include what is another essential exercise: Heavy shrugging.
In shoulder shrugging it doesn’t make one bit of difference whether you use a heavy barbell or a
couple of heavy dumbells. What counts is only that you use HEAVY weights, and that you take care to
perform this apparently simple exercise correctly. Correctly means letting your trapezius muscles do
the shrugging, and not allowing your arms and hands to relieve the back of its work. This, by the way,
is a very common error among trainees, and you would do well to guard against it. Remember: your
hands are to serve only as links to hold the weight. LET YOUR TRAPEZIUS MUSCLES DO ALL THE
WORK. To put it even more simply: SHRUG, as the name implies, and DON’T PULL with the hands.
The final essential exercise for the back area is the bridge with weight resistance. I consider neck
exercise to be important, both from an appearance, and certainly from a health standpoint. Since, as
57
was explained earlier, this exercise does work the trapezius muscles in addition to the neck, I have
chosen to include it in this, the back exercise part of our series on the essentials.
The neck muscles are very quick to respond to exercise. They develop rapidly. While it is wise to take
it easy on the neck for the first week or so of training, the fact that it is a body part that responds
readily to exercise will enable you to work up to considerable resistance, and thus build a fine neck.
DO NOT NEGLECT THIS BODYPART. When you are doing the neck bridge, keep a barbell plate on your
chest, and always (unless you happen to have an unusually thick skull) place a folded towel or pillow
under your head. Raise up SLOWLY, lower SLOWLY, and repeat. Again, it will pay you never to neglect
neck exercise, even if you have read somewhere that Mr. Superman spends four hours a day working
everything but the neck. Phooey on that garble! You want a real body, not a puffed up anatomy
chart.
Back exercise is tremendously simple in its performance, tremendously difficult in the effort it
demands, and, lest we let your forget, tremendously important for total development. Do not be
misled into taking the easy way out, no matter what you may read or hear, as regards back or any
other exercise. The movements we have discussed are IT – the very best – so give ‘em all you’ve got.
Always strive to constantly work harder, for in the lifting the hard way is the easiest way to succeed.
Persistence: A Must for Progress
by Bradley J. Steiner (1975)
Success, as somebody once aptly put it, is the result of 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. This
applies no matter what the particular field may be, but it is more literally applicable to physical
training than it is to almost anything else. Unless you're really willing to sweat, you're unlikely to
achieve much success in barbell work. Great lifters or physique men are made, not born - they are
self-made via their own diligent, grueling efforts.
One of the most self-defeating - and common - things that many trainees in the iron game do is play
what I call the stop-start training game, or the this-routine, that-routine training game. Perhaps
you're familiar with them yourself.
In the stop-start training game the lifter spends about six hours mapping out the schedule that will
turn him into the next great champion. Or perhaps he decides to follow a time-honored system such
as Peary Rader's Master Bodybuilding Course. No matter; our hero somehow gets set with something
he has reason to believe is an excellent course or program. And he works out diligently -- for a week
or two. Then something happens.
58
After realizing that even the best training system on earth requires work if it is to be productive, the
trainee experiences his first discouragement. Those exercises that were so invigorating and
challenging during the first couple of workouts have now become an almost ominous task. It's hard
work to force yourself to grind out those heavy exercises!
Magic has no place in lifting. We get what we pay for. So after rationalizing to himself, the trainee
skips "just one" -- or maybe two -- workouts. Then reluctantly, he tries to resume his training. Since
he's already discouraged himself, the oomph isn't there, and he is forced to reduce his poundages.
He pushes himself a bit and manages to train steadily for three weeks before stopping again. "Man,
this is hard work." After a layoff of maybe five or six days the trainee goes back to the weights. He
trains for another few weeks, stops, then starts again, and so on, ad nauseum. Well, no wonder he's
unlikely to attain any sufficient gains in strength and development. He lacks persistance.
The this-routine, that-routine game is also great sport among many who call themselves barbell men.
It works this way: A trainee reads about a great routine in a new article. The schedule, the article
says, in no uncertain terms will turn him into a veritable mountain of rippling muscle and strength. So
he tries the routine.
Next month he not only realizes that he is no mountain, but also that he is, alas, the same rotten
mole hill, and he feels disgusted. The same magazine, however, has a new and even better system
next month that makes every other method shamefully obsolete -- including last month's. So the
trainee, always reluctant to exercise a little persistance on a single course of action, plunges headfirst
into a new routine. He tries this latest "wonder method" for a month -- until he sees another routine
that's "even better" and switches again . . . and so it goes, on and and on.
Now, be honest with yourself. Which, if not both, of these games are you guilty of playing? Stop
kidding yourself, friendo. You will never get anywhere with either of them. Copping out doesn't build
muscles.
Persistence is as necessary as hard work for good results in bodybuilding or lifting. Sporadic efforts
are valueless because the body requires steady demands if it is to make steady progress. It's a simple
equation. And that is why, admittedly, very, very few men will succeed in reaching their ultimate
goals. Very few people will force themselves -- and I mean force themselves -- to exercise the simple
willpower that is required to continue on. They like to believe that there's some easier, less
demanding way. Unfortunately, there isn't. Steady, grueling, untiring efforts -- even on only a few
basic exercises -- are what ultimately produce outstanding results. Bill Pearl didn't develop his body
by changing schedules whenever the whim struck him. Neither did John Grimek, Casey Viator, Reg
Park or Sergio Oliva. No man on earth ever developed a tremendously muscular and powerful body
without sticking to his training. It's that simple.
The exercises that are producing the greats of today are the same exercises that produced the greats
of yesteryear. It is not so much what schedule of exercises you follow that affects whether you gain
satisfactorily or not, but rather how hard and how persistently you follow whatever effective routine
you like.
59
Of course, it's not easy to stay on a tough program of exercises week after week while continuously
pushing yourself to work harder and still harder, but who ever said that it is supposed to be easy to
accomplish anything worthwhile in life?
After the initial period of enthusiasm for a workout schedule wains, the fun really starts. It's up to
you to grit your teeth and actually force yourself to keep at it. I think that it's about time this simple
fact was emphasized. There is no magic in this world or in life. The trainee who understands this and
who knows that it's up to him to keep working to achieve and maintain his physical excellence is
miles ahead of everyone else. Understand that success means steady effort and you've jumped the
first five hurdles on your way to achieving your goals.
Please understand that, so long as you're on an effective program, it is the effort you pour into what
you do that makes it work. Here's a story that illustrates the importance of sticking to it.
I once knew an intelligent but exceptionally unathletic young man. Let's call him Bob. Bob could
never muster any enthusiasm for sports or athletics of any kind, and, frankly, being a naturally smallboned person, he looked as if he'd never spent even two hours a month doing anything more
strenuous than walking. When Bob was 17, he became concerned about his rather underdeveloped
body. Girls were as important to Bob as books, and to say the least, he wanted very much to build
himself up so he could look and feel more manly. He wanted strength and physical confidence!
Bob was quite determined to rectify his poor condition, and he asked me to put him on an exercise
schedule. I did so, half expecting him to drop it midway of the first week of training. Boy, was I ever
wrong.
Bob purchased a moderately heavy -- 110 pound -- barbell set. He trained religiously on the routine I
gave him and more than once in the initial months of training I openly told him that I admired his
determination.
As the months rolled by, Bob began buying additional plates to add to the poundages he was using.
He added a squat rack and then a flat bench to his modest but effective home gym.
I especially respected him because he was one of the slowest gainers I had ever met in my life. Yet
slow progress didn't dampen his ardor for progress. He managed to go from 142 to 150 pounds in
three months. Today, a year and a half after his first workout, Bob weighs 176, and it's solid muscle.
He has trained three times a week for about an hour each session and has only taken two one-week
layoffs during the course of his brief but strenuous career with the weights. His workouts take only
about 90 minutes, ad he has successfully combined them with his school work and his dating.
Does Bob enjoy training? Actually, no, he doesn't. But being a sensible, logical fellow, he feels that
four or five hours a week spent at a difficult task is worthwhile -- if it enhances every other second of
his life. And he feels and looks so good today that he's starting to like his training. Nevertheless,
regardless of how he happens to feel, Bob trains.
60
Bob has followed only two different programs during his training career. They are as follow:
PROGRAM ONE
Presses
Curls
Bench Presses
Power Cleans
Squats
Leg Raises
PROGRAM TWO
Behind the Neck Presses
Bentover Rows
Bench Presses
Curls
Stiff Legged Deadlifts
Situps
Squats
Bob is one example of success gained by persistent effort. Of course, everyone is different, and your
own aspirations may go higher than Bob's. That is all the more reason why you'll need persistence to
achieve your chosen goals.
One of the greatest things weight training can do for a man is teach him to be disciplined and to be
patient. He must discipline himself to perform the rigors of his scheduled workouts, and he must be
patient enough to keep working out until he begins to see the results of those workouts. And those
results will be more than enough reason to keep at it.
61
Squat, Bench, Deadlift
by Bradley Steiner
The Squat
Of the three powerlifts, the squat is the most difficult to excel in, and is the lift most indicative of
overall body strength in the lifter. The squat requires unbelievably hard work if one wishes to reach
his true maximum lift with the movement. Many, in fact the vast majority of strength lifters, manage
to achieve outstanding lifts in the squat without ever really hitting their full potential.
Of all the things heavy squat training is, I readily concede that “pleasant” is not one of them.
However, to achieve a truly record-breaking squat (even if the only record broken is one’s own) is
more rewarding than you can imagine.
The fantastic overall strength gains obtained from hard work on the squat are such that other lifts
will improve in proportion to your improvement in the squat. This does not hold true in reverse. If
the trainee were to become a “one lift power specialist” then he would, by far, be advised to make
the squat his “one lift.” It is just that excellent.
Bodybuilders have always recognized how crucial the squat – as an exercise – is to their success. Just
as squatting triggers all-round power gains, it triggers all-round muscular gains. Of course, the
bodybuilder does not employ weights approaching what the powerlifter handles, but he does work
for a greater number of repetitions with a greater weight. The squat is also important for power
trainers who also want a great physique.
The method of training for an outstanding squat that I will outline herein will be aimed at developing
all-round muscle as well as all-round power. The only way to build a powerful body is to lift heavy
weights. Therefore, it is essential in becoming a powerful squatter to continually add weight to the
lifting you do. Always strive to handle a greater and still greater poundage.
It is relatively unimportant how much weight you are capable of lifting when you begin. You might be
so weak that you can barely work with the empty bar. That’s all right, so long as – even if only once
every two or three weeks – you put a little more weight on that bar. 2½ pounds is okay, if that’s all
you can manage to add. Generally, though, ambitious, hard-training beginners with no health
problem can at first add ten pounds a week to their squat bar. (If only this rapid increase continued
beyond the beginner stages!) It requires pushing, but the nature of the muscles being worked is such
that strength build-up is rapid during the first few months, and it’s perfectly alright to pile on the
iron.
More advanced trainees will of course find it difficult to add weight as rapidly as beginners. Their
muscles are more “mature” and have already gone far along the road of development. Gains,
however, are always possible.
A power program aims at one-lift maximums. This means that sets generally consist of fairly low reps,
building up to that “one rep” effort which will, hopefully, be a new “record” fro the trainee. Training
with high reps and moderate or light weights will not build power as effectively as training with low
reps, many sets, and heavy, heavy weights.
Always follow good form in the squat, and always warm up properly before heavy squatting.
62
The following is a recommended course in squat training for the beginner once he has developed
adequate form in the lift. Train three days a week, on alternate days. Add weights at about every
third or fourth workout. Stay on this program for two months.
Warm up – Do 2 sets of up to 15 hyperextensions or light dumbell swings between the legs, then do
thirty free hand squats.
Set #1 – Light set of 12 reps.
Set #2 – 8 reps with a moderate weight.
Set #3 – 5 or 6 reps, fairly heavy (last rep of this set should require some fighting).
Set #4 – 2 or 3 reps, very heavy.
Set #5 – 2 reps, very heavy (to be done only on high energy days)
Once every two weeks, follow this set/rep scheme:
Warm up – Same as before.
Set #1 – 1 x 12 reps.
Set #2 – 1 x 6.
Set #3 – 1 x 4 or 5.
Set #4 – 1 c 2 or 3.
Set #5 – 1 x 1. (new maximum)
Set #6 – 1 x 1. Do this sixth set only if you failed to hit a good limit rep with your new maximum. That
is, take two attempts at the new weight if necessary.
Here is a squat program aimed at the more advanced lifter:
Warm up – 3 sets of 12 hyperextensions.
1st set – 15 reps, light.
2nd set – 12 reps, add about 20 pounds.
3rd set – 8 or 9 reps, with heavier weight.
4th set – 6 reps, heavy.
5th set – 4 reps, more weight.
63
6th set – 2 or 3 reps with maximum weight.
Train this routine two days per week. Add weights for a maximum lift once every four weeks. When
you are going for a new maximum lift, use the following set/rep scheme:
Warm up – same as before.
1st set – 12 to 15 reps, light.
2nd set – 8 reps, moderate.
3rd set – 5 reps, heavier.
4th set – 4 reps.
5th set – 3 reps.
6th set – 2 reps.
7th set – One rep maximum attempt.
Rest very well between sets, and be sure to add weight for each set. Do not use maximum poundage
on any but the 7th set.
As experience is accumulated by you, you may discover certain things about how you train that can
help in improving your program. What I have imparted here are the basics. Stay with them until
sufficient power and experience have been developed by you to justify going off on your own.
The Bench Press
We start with the mind. To say that concentration is important for lifting success and to state that
you must apply full, intensive mental effort to lift respectable weights is a gross understatement. Let
me embed, for all time to come, the following in your mind: Your mind is your master!
Determine to lift more.
Concentrate when you lift.
Want (and Want Badly) to lift more.
Persist in your efforts.
Powerlifting and Bodybuilding
Is it possible to combine a powerlifting program with bodybuilding?
Yes it most definitely is! In fact, it is worth noting that powerlifting is bodybuilding, as the powerlifts
are actually three basic exercises for the development of the largest muscle areas. One great
64
powerlifter, Bill Seno, comes to mind when answering this question. If you are interested in
bodybuilding AND powerlifting, follow a course similar to the Bodybuilder’s Powerlifting Program
outlined later. Also, you will have to follow a somewhat more controlled diet.
The following is a recommended schedule of bench press training for the individual who has had
relatively little lifting or training experience and seeks to develop a powerful bench press. It will
provide excellent gains and induce confidence in the inexperienced trainee.
Begin by setting a goal. Let us say that you can now bench press 150 pounds once, in good form. Set
a goal of 200 pounds. Aim to reach it by a definite date. I suggest giving yourself about eight weeks.
Work on your bench press three days a week, on alternate days. As a raw beginner can gain quite
rapidly and train more frequently, I suggest going for a new “limit” bench press at every third
workout, preferably on the first training day of each week after two days rest.
1 x 12-15 reps warmup, very light.
1x10 reps, adding some weight.
1x6 reps, again adding weight.
2x4 reps, more weight.
2x2 reps, adding.
1x2-3 reps maximum.
On your maximum single workout do the following, adding weight on each set without overtaxing
yourself for the final limit attempt.
1x12.
1x6.
1x4.
1x2.
1x2.
1 Limit lift.
65
The foregoing schedule allows two power-producing days of training, and advocates a once-weekly
all-out lift. This applies only to the raw beginner.
You must adjust the weights you use so that you work with poundages you can HANDLE. Your goal is
a good. one-rep LIFT; but to improve that one-rep maximum you must do the additional sets of reps
as instructed. This will condition and build the muscles involved, and eliminate the chance of injury.
I suggest that an increase of at least 5 pounds per week be tried at this stage – and most trainees will
find, at least for the first three weeks, that it will be possible to increase that final one-rep attempt by
a full 10 pounds! Increases become more difficult as one advances, and it will be impossible to train
like this beyond a certain point and still make progress. The beginner should not use assistance
exercises.
The following is a fine basic bench press program for advanced or semi-advanced men to follow. It is
severe, but highly productive, and it can be continued for long periods of time without staleness or a
need for a change.
Train two days a week. Go for a new one-rep limit lift once every four weeks. Permit at least two full
days between bench press workouts.
Warm up set – Use a very light poundage and do about 15 strict, fairly FAST REPS.
2nd set – Add enough weight to make 10 or 12 reps feel comfortably hard to complete.
3rd set – 6 reps with a heavy weight.
4th set – 5 or 6 reps with more weight.
5th set – 3 reps, with added weight.
6th set – 2 reps, try for a 3rd if you are feeling energetic.
That’s your basic plan. Do not do single reps each time you train. On days when energy is high, do a
7th set, like this:
One rep. Not your absolute limit, but a good, hard rep that makes you fight with about 85-90% of
your capacity.
Once every four weeks, WHEN YOU FEEL STRONG, follow the workout this way:
Warm up – same as before.
1st set – 8 reps, with heavier weight.
2nd set – 5 reps, with added weight.
3rd set – 4 reps, with added weight.
4th set – 3 reps, with added weight.
66
5th set – 2 reps, with added weight.
6th set – 1 rep, all out limit attempt. Give yourself 2 chances here, if your first 1-rep set fails to allow
your new and heavier maximum. Relax for a full 5 or 10 minutes, concentrate, and TRY! If the second
attempt misses, CALL IT QUITS THAT DAY – do not do more.
A Bodybuilder’s Powerlifting Program
Bodybuilding and powerlifting go hand-in-glove. This was mentioned before, and I should now like to
outline a basic plan of training for the benefit of those who wish to combine a powerlifting program
with some bodybuilding.
First, you must remember that powerlifting must remain a good 75% of your overall effort output.
This is because you would not make much powerlifting improvement with less effort, and also
because the powerlifts are, themselves, the basic cornerstone bodybuilding exercises. You are
advised to train on a brief and basic type of routine, consisting of primary powerlifting work, and
secondary bodybuilding exercises.
The following recommended course outline is to be followed if you seek to combine your total
powerlifting schedule with bodybuilding work:
Monday
Bench Press – 1x12, 1x8, 2x5, 1x2*
Bentover Rowing – 1x10, 2x8.
Barbell Curl – 2x8.
Squat – 1x15, 1x8, 2x5, 1x3, 1x1, 1x1.
* work to limit once every three weeks.
Wednesday
Deadlift – 1x15, 1x6, 1x6, 1x4, 1x2, 1x2*
One-arm Triceps Press – 3x8.
Ab Work.
* work to limit once every three weeks.
67
Friday
Same as Monday.
On three of your rest days, skip rope, jog, run, do some form of aerobic exercise.
The Deadlift
“Tell me what a man can deadlift and I’ll tell you his level of basic body power.” The simple deadlift is
just that accurate as a gauge of one’s basic physical strength.
The lower back (lumbar region)is a vital area of mans’ anatomy. A sedentary, basically “soft” average
Joe can put his back out of whack by coughing mildly or sneezing once. But a seasoned power trainer
can lift over 500 pounds, even a small man, largely through the power of his back muscles alone.
These facts lead us to some conclusions. First, we can appreciate that the lower back area is a critical
zone, and that reasonable care must be taken in training it, so that no injury results. Second, we see
that the POTENTIAL for the development of power in the lower back – and notably deadlifting and
pulling ability – is all but unlimited, if we go about it right.
Mental power, concentration, goal-oriented visualization of your training aims, or whatever you
want to call it, is the single most important factor for success in lifting. I have known persons to
overcome every type of handicap – physical and psychological – through the use of their iron will and
their resolute determination to succeed in attaining their goal. The Mind is what does it!
Truly, the greatest obstacle to the attainment of achievement as a lifter lies within your mind. Gravity
is overcome by persistent physical training, but the task of doing the training, in good times and bad,
remains a mental problem; and it can be satisfactorily overcome only through the proper
employment of your mind power.
We can easily compare the mind to the role of the General or Commander in Chief of an army, with
the physical body being army itself. The body, just as in the case of an actual military force, functions
efficiently only in direct proportion to the efficiency of the commands issued forth by the General. If
that General lacks ability in directing his army, then the troops, no matter their potential excellence,
cannot achieve the objective. So too with the mind and the body.
A beginner can have two workouts on the deadlift per week. As you advance with your lifting, you
may find it better to limit deadlifting to once every week, even every two weeks. Too-frequent
deadlifting can easily lead to staleness and injury, especially when the strain of other power-based
lifts are considered.
68
Here is a recommended sample beginner’s routine:
Train twice a week. Train super-heavy on one day, and at about 85-90% on the other day.
Concentrate! Never let your mind waver or wander when deadlifting or during any form of pulling
exercises.
Try to add some weight (I suggest 5 to 10 pounds) after every fourth workout.
Stay on the beginner’s course for at least eight weeks.
Warm up – Do Good Mornings with a very light weight for 2 sets of 10 reps.
1st set – Light deadlifts for 10 reps.
2nd set – 8 reps, add weight.
3rd and 4th sets – 6 reps, adding weight each set.
5th set – 3 or 4 reps.
6th set – 2 reps.
Every fifth workout use this set/rep scheme and try to reach a new one rep maximum.
Warm up – same.
1 x 8.
1 x 6.
1 x 4.
1 x 3.
1 x 2.
1 rep maximum.
Increase the weight after each set but do not deplete yourself before the max single attempt. Do not
attempt to hit a maximum single lift more frequently than every two weeks, as a beginner.
69
Advanced Deadlift Routine
Deadlift once a week, no more. Work hard each time you train. Try for a new one-rep maximum
every four weeks.
Warm up – Same as beginner’s.
1st set – 1 x 8-10, light.
2nd set – 1 x 6, adding weight.
3rd set – 1 x 6, add weight.
4th set – 1 x 6, add weight.
5th set – 1 x 3 or 4, adding weight.
6th set – 1 x 2 or 3, add weight.
7th set – 1 x 1, if you feel up to it that particular training day, otherwise, skip the 7th set.
Every four weeks let your workout be an exceptionally hard one, and try to hit a new limit lift by
training as follows:
Warm up.
1 x 8.
1 x 6.
1 x 4.
1 x 3.
1 x 2.
1 x 1.
1 x 1, if first max attempt is a miss.
There is a tremendous sense of accomplishment and release attendant to lifting a personal best.
Remember this when lacking drive in your training.
Best of Luck in your endeavors!
70
Variety
by Bradley J. Steiner (1973)
In this article we’re going to be addressing the advanced barbell man. When I say “advanced” I mean
fellows who have been playing (ahem!) with barbells and dumbells for several years (or a year, at
least), and who have succeeded in becoming (a) Big, (b) Strong, and (c) Are satisfied with their
existing level of size and strength, at least for the time being. Beginners can read on, if they like, but I
urge only lifters who have achieved points a, b, and c to actually use the training methods we shall
discuss. In lifting, as in many other fields, there is a time and a place for everything.
As most of you are probably already aware, I regard muscle pumping, cramping and “muscle
spinning” exercises as the worst mistake a weight-trainee can make. I have succeeded, I am
confident, in making readers acutely aware of the importance of the heavy, basic exercises in
building and maintaining size and strength. Too much cannot be said about the desirability of heavy
leg, back, shoulder and chest work for the best results in training. For a skinny fellow, a hard gainer,
or even a natural athlete who wants great gains, the BASIC work is the thing. Don’t ever forget that.
But once you’ve successfully built up to a decent level, then what? How then can you bring out the
most, how can you “sharpen up” a well-bulked physique and not lose strength? With VARIETY in
training!
So much garbage has been written about the value of such exercises as the concentration curl, the
hack squat and the various “shaping” exercises. Many advanced men have actually come to regard it
as axiomatic that advanced workouts must be “pumping up schedules” requiring hours every night of
the week if they are to be successful in shaping and molding a big defined body. NONSENSE! You can
see the fallacy in this widely accepted notion by remembering the following:
If a body is big because it is fat, then the only thing that a super-duper three-hour schedule will
accomplish is tearing down the solid tissue you’ve built, and replacing it with inflated tissue. If you
want muscles that are shapely, then the main requirement is to build them up more, never, ever to
reduce them or overwork them!
Please reread that last sentence. It happens to be a fact – a truth about the human musculature –
that very, very few trainees seem to realize. Merely burning off excess fat will not make muscles
more slender in appearance, and more defined. You don’t have to work for that, though – you can
get it simply by eating less. Also, working hard for extreme “anatomy chart” definition can put you in
the loony bin. Working correctly for shape can put you ahead of that game.
The key to building superior shape, as I’ve said, lies in maximum development of the muscles. The
key to maximum development is heavy exercise. The key to using heavy exercise for the ultimate in
shape is variety. NOT a variety of light, spinning and pumping movements, but a variety of good,
heavy-duty exercises.
71
To illustrate what I mean, have a look at the following three routines:
Routine A
Press
Squat
Bent Arm Pullover
Deadlift
Situp
Barbell Curl
Routine B
Press Behind Neck
Front Squat
Bent Rowing
Power Clean
Leg Raise
Two-Dumbell Curl
Routine C
Dumbell Alternate Press
Breathing Squat
One Arm Row
Good Morning
Twist
Reverse Curl
Any of these three schedules, followed thrice weekly, would put the exerciser in fantastic shape. It
would build more bulk and power than he’d want, and it would surely suffice in bringing him past the
stage where he felt like an old lady when he wore a T-shirt.
Please notice that all of the routines are different. The exercises vary with each schedule. Yet, all of
the routines are the same with regard to one point – there is not a single pumping exercise to found
in any of them. Also observe that even though all three schedules use only the heavy exercises, each
schedule works the major muscles from a slightly different angle.
Most trainees would do well to follow each individual routine for about six or seven weeks. After
that, they should take a one or two week layoff, and then pick up on one of the other routines for
72
another six or seven week stint. However, and this is the main point of this article, an advanced lifter
can use each routine once in every week. For example, on Monday he can do Routine A; on
Wednesday Routine B and on Friday Routine C. He would thus be giving his body a most thorough
“going over” with a full course of 18 different exercises during each week’s training. If he attempted
to do justice to all of these movements during a single workout he would, of course, have to be
removed from the gym on a stretcher; but this would not be the case if the work was divided over
the course of a week’s sessions. The lifter would NOT be training any longer on this variety routine
than he would be on any other, and he would be using an excellent assortment of exercises.
This is advanced training. Every single workout will call for maximum, hard exertion, since the basic
idea is to stimulate growth. Growth will occur – to be sure – since the tissue stimulation provided by
this system of training is all-encompassing. Where the arms are worked hard on one “groove” with
the curl, they are then stimulated in a different fashion by the dumbell curl, and finally, the workload
is shifted to the forearm and grip with the reverse curl in the weeks third workout. The same muscles
are worked but from different positions.
Variety training such as this may be used for as long as the trainee wishes, and so long as he finds
that he is making satisfactory gains. It need not be discontinued after a certain length of time like
many other “specialization” courses. This method is by no means overtraining, since the body
receives no more than three good workouts a week. It is not by any means a tedious method, either,
since there is a switch in one’s exercises with every day’s workout. However, and this is the
program’s merit – it is a very hard way to train. I am convinced that this method of training should be
followed for at least three months with periodic back-off weeks for maximum benefits.
Only the heavy, basic exercise programs can begin to bring the trainee to his full development. The
routines that built the greats were built around the big exercises. Do not be misled by many
instructors who say that once you have attained the desired degree of strength and size you can now
forget about heavy training and concentrate instead on “shaping” exercises.
Because a thing is widely accepted does not prove that it is rational, true or valid.
73
You Must Have Sufficient Rest & Sleep
by Bradley J. Steiner - 1971
My own experience with bodybuilders and lifters has taught me that when a weight trainee fails to
respond satisfactorily to his training program, any one or any combination of the following three
factors is usually accountable:
1. The bodybuilder is eating like a parakeet;
2. He is either training too often and too long, or not training hard enough at each workout, or fin
ally..
3. Sufficient rest and sleep are not being had, and particularly among the younger trainees, the
bodybuilder's idea of a "rest day" is an evening spent bowling, going 'out with the guys' until two in
the morning, or an hour or so of street fighting.
Rest and sleep are as essential to building large, powerful muscles as are vigorous progressive
workouts. Not too long ago I spoke with a young fellow who had taken up barbell training and was
dissatisfied with his progress. We talked for a long time, and what I found to be the cause of his
failure might well prove to be the cause of yours - insufficient sleep.
"I've been killing myself on my workouts," my friend complained, "yet I'm getting nowhere fast. In
fact," he added, "I seem to be experiencing my training sessions more as a test of my staying power,
rather than as a means of building up. I'm wondering whether or not I should quit altogether."
"George," I said, "weight training - sensible, progressive weight training - is always worth the effort
and the discipline that it takes to stick with it. Don't ever consider giving it up. Believe me, your
health, fitness and well-being are three of the most important things in life. If you're not getting
where you'd like to go with the weights, then you're doing something wrong. Let's find out what it is
and we'll set you straight."
"But I don't even know where to begin," he said
"Well,"I asked him, "are you working hard?"
"Yep," he said.
"Are you drinking lots of milk and eating plenty of good food?"
"Natch."
"How often are you working out?"
"Three times a week. EVery Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening, like clock work."
74
"Well, George, you say that your workouts are more of chore than a satisfying challenge, and since
your diet is O. K., since you do train hard buy you don't work out too often, then I strongly suspect
that the cause of your problem is a lack of proper rest and sleep. When the time comes for a
workout, your body isn't well rested and ready for the effort."
"But you said yourself that I don't over train," he interrupted.
"That's true; there's nothing wrong with your program. But you don't provide your system with a
chance to rebuild itself between workouts. You don't get enough sleep and rest and your training
sessions have become simply a hard task that requires unusual determination to complete.
Remember this: if your body isn't fully prepared for a heavy workout, you CANNOT POSSIBLY BENEFIT
FROM ONE. And the way you get 'prepared'," I said, "is by resting between training sessions. If you
keep on the way you're going you're guaranteed of losing your muscles or your marbles, or both."
"Aw," he said, "I sleep enough."
"ON the average, George, how much sleep do you get a night?"
"Oh I manage about six or seven hours a night during the week; but when the weekend rolls around,
man, I lie in bed until noon."
"George." I explained, 'your body needs rest like it requires food; in REGULAR, BALANCED amounts.
YOU just can't make up for sleep that you didn't get. You must get enough - every night. Mother
nature doesn't like to be bullied."
"But I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Eh?"
"I said, 'Why not?'"
"Well, I've got homework to do, and I've got to get up early for classes, and heck, I want to have
some fun, too."
"Do you want big muscles?"
"Sure, but."
"Then you'll have to discipline yourself to say goodnight to your friends in time to get a good night's
sleep. And from what I've seen of some of your friends," I added, "you won't be missing too much."
"Very funny," he muttered, "So just how much sleep do I need?"
75
"That's a tough one to answer," I said, "But common sense should tell you that if you wake up feeling
like a sack of dirty laundry, you're not well rested. On the other hand, if you get up feeling refreshed
and ready-to-go, then you've had enough sleep. And another very important point: if you find that
you're looking forward to your workouts and you feel ready to train on your scheduled exercise days,
this is a fine indication that you're getting the proper amount of rest."
'But how many hours of sleep should I get a night?"
"Well, since you're still growing, and since you're coupling your training with a heavy schedule at
school, I'd strongly advise you to get a minimum of nine hours of sleep a night. Ten is even better. If
you can't fall asleep, just lie there and think about how your muscles are growing."
"And you think this will make a difference in my training progress?"
"George, your head is thicker than a fifty-pound barbell plate. YES I think that it will make a
difference - a BIG DIFFERENCE - O. K.? I'll guarantee it. I promise you."
George smiled, "O. K." he said. He took the advice. He began to make sure that he got enough sleep
every night, and he started to grow. He found that the increased rest made his strength and ambition
shoot up rapidly. He packed on eleven pounds of pure muscle in five weeks. The only change that he
made was in the amount to sleep that he got. His training schedule remained the same. Rest made
the difference; and if you're not gaining like you feel you should be, it might very well make the
difference with you.
A heavy workout results in an enormous breakdown of muscle fibers. It is during the rest periods
between workouts that your body recuperates, if you give it the chance, and it is then that the blood
carries tissue-building nutrients throughout your system to replenish the worn-out muscle tissue.
The more sleep and relaxation that you get, without going to the imbecilic extreme of enforced
idleness, the greater will be the tissue build-up and repair. The greater and faster will be your
muscular growth, both is size and in strength.
If you're over twenty years of age you probably need a good eight hours of sleep a night. That's an
average figure and it's applicable to most people. Anyone desiring to bulk up or gain weight quickly
would do better to get ten hours of sleep a night ...REGARDLESS of his age, until the desired gains are
made. In addition to sleep, rest and relaxation are important between heavy training sessions. You
need not and should not become a loafing bum, but if you're a beginner you should not engage in
any other physical activities besides your barbell training. This rule goes for the first four to six
months of bodybuilding unless you happen to be a spectacularly easy gainer.
If you train hard, which is the only way to train for results, then accept the fact that without sufficient
sleep you're defeating your own purpose. If you expect to combine a heavy training schedule with a
full-time hob, or school work, or both, then you must see to it that your body receives the rest that it
requires to carry you through your activities, and to leave you with plenty of "steam" so you can
76
profit form your workouts.
Start keeping sensible hours, and you'll find that you will really be able to go full blast in your
workouts. And fellows, THAT is what will give you the build that you're after.
77