Why Reg Park Believed Bodybuilders Should Lift Heavy

Reg Park was one of the most influential figures in mid-twentieth-century strength culture. A multiple-time Mr Universe winner and widely regarded as the strongest bodybuilder of his era, Park built his reputation on heavy barbell lifting as much as physique display. He believed that muscular development without demonstrable strength was incomplete, and he spent much of his career arguing against the growing separation between bodybuilding and weightlifting.

This article comes from Park’s magazine in 1958, at a time when those two worlds were increasingly treated as distinct. The programme that follows sets out his approach to power training, centred on squats, presses, cleans and deadlifts, and benchmarked against the leading lifters of the period. It was written for experienced trainees rather than beginners, and reflects a moment when strength was expected to be proven in the gym, not assumed from appearance alone.

Train for Power

Today physical culture has more followers than ever before, and in consequence the progress of the past few years has been amazing. Weight-lifting records are continually being broken and the standard of physique has also improved. Unfortunately however, body-building and weight-lifting are for the most part regarded as two distinct sports, and it is rare indeed that you find a body-builder with real power or a weight-lifter with a prize-winning physique.

By power I do not necessarily mean that one should become an Olympic lifter and specialise on the press, snatch and clean and jerk. My interpretation of a powerful man is one who can put up a good performance on a variety of lifts, and one who instantly comes to my mind when I think of a strong man is Marvin Eder, whom I consider to be “The World’s Strongest Man” when body-weight is taken into consideration. Marvin has successfully combined training for power and physique. His bench press of 480 lbs. and his reported press of 350 lbs. are the heaviest weights ever lifted by a man under 200 lbs. and his physique portrays the power he possesses.

John Grimek also comes into the above category—having been an American weight-lifting champion and winning every physique honour possible. Here in England we have two fine examples in Buster McShane and Bill Parkinson. But the fact still remains that there are many body-builders who cannot lift weights in accordance with their physiques and at the same time there are weight-lifters whose physiques leave much to be desired.

When Stan Stanczyk was the world light-heavyweight weight-lifting champion, it was reported that some youngster who saw him on the beach did not believe that Stan was the world champion because the kid said “I know fellows with bigger muscles than you.” Whether this is true or not, I do not know, but it is a fact that they did devote a lot of time to body-building.

I have listed a number of exercises which I consider to be real power builders and can be used by body-builders and weight-lifters alike. I have split them up into two schedules (schedule 1 appearing in August issue) and would suggest that you train three times weekly…schedule one is a period of one month followed by a week’s complete layout and then train on schedule two 3 times a week for a month and note the increase in the poundages handled at the end of this time.

Exercise Schedule I

The Squat.
This is a great power builder and has been put to good use by such men as Anderson and Hepburn in their own training, but it is a lift which many weight-lifters omit completely, whilst body-builders tend to rely much on squats done on a bench. Like my good friend Lou Starr, I have always favoured the parallel squat and prefer to wear heels on my lifting boots rather than place the heels on a wooden block as this gives a firmer base as well as greater confidence. You may have noticed that Kono lifts in shoes and Sheppard has a built-up heel on his lifting boots. I also believe a belt should be worn when performing this lift.

The squat should be performed 5 sets of 5 repetitions — increasing the poundages with each set. For example I do 3 sets of 5 repetitions on full squat working up to the heaviest weight you can handle, then I increase the weight by 100 lbs. and do 1 set of 5 repetitions and then increase another 100 lbs. for the last set with strict form. I set 5 repetitions rather than 3 or 2 reps for the squat as it has been reported that Anderson can handle 1,500 for the squat and Pete Farris and myself used to perform 10 repetitions with 1,000 lbs.

The Bench Press.

This lift has created a great deal of controversy over the past few years but nevertheless both B.A.W.L.A. and the A.A.U. now use it as a strength lift in championships. There are several pros and cons but if the lift is performed correctly (pressing each repetition from the chest), it is a great power builder both for deltoids and triceps as well as giving speedy development of the pectorals. The strict style does in fact cramp the pectorals more than the chest as this lift has done wonders for me as I now lift as much on the bench as Anderson or Eder, Hepburn and Parkinson.

A variety of grips can be used but I favour the same width as taken when performing Military pressing. 5 sets of 5 repetitions are ideal.

Exercise 3. The two-hands clean.
A technique of this lift has been fully covered by Al Murray’s article on the clean and jerk so I will not dwell on it other than to say 8 sets of 2 repetitions should be employed, working up to as heavy as possible. This exercise can often be followed by taking a weight in excess of your best clean and then doing as many repetitions as you can as a count of 5. Repeat this 5 times.

Exercise 4. The press behind neck.
Like most body-builders have remarked this exercise for shoulder development stands in order to illustrate the power this lift can build. Increase the best lifts of several prominent men — Doug Hepburn, Bill March, Norbert Schemansky, Eder and Kono — has proven this. The weight should then be pressed and not jerked to arms length and lowered until touches the back of the neck. Perform 5 sets of 5 repetitions with the maximum weight possible.

Exercise 5. The barbell curl.
Perform this 3 sets of 5 repetitions in strict style increasing the poundage if possible with each set then increase the weight by 20 lbs. or 30 lbs. in excess of your best curl and perform 2 sets of 5 repetitions with this weight adapting the cheat style of swing principle.

Exercise 6. The Deadlift.
This should be practised only once a week working up in single attempts until you have reached your maximum. It is better to attempt this lift on a rest day and not when performing exercises 1–5. There are of course other important exercises which must be taken into consideration when training for power and in order of importance they are as follows:—

(1) To overcome the fear of heavy weights by having a complete positive mental attitude when training. Aurelius the philosopher once said: “Because your own strength is unequal to the task, do not assume it is beyond the power of man; but if anything is human and within the power of man, believe it is within your own compass also.” As much good food as possible especially meat, milk, fruits, starches, etc. (3) At least 10 hours sleep each night.

However, as I pointed out in my editorial such a course should not be followed by a beginner who would be advised to follow the Reg Park course and progress along the CORRECT LINES. Be sure to read Schedule II in the August issue.