An ideal for Arnie and countless others, Reg Park was one of the biggest bodybuilding names of the mid-century. Known for his powerful physique and raw strength, it’s no surprise that even though the great man has passed away, many still follow his old workout routines to a tee.
Today’s post was generously given by a reader of the blog who stumbled across an article written by Park following the 1958 Mr. Universe. It details his training, supplementation and general state of mind leading up to the competition. I’m sure you’ll find it as interesting and informative as I did.
Now in the interests of accuracy, and my own laziness, the article will appear below just as it did in 1958…Enjoy!
How bodybuilding champions train is an area of intense interest for muscle fanatics the world over. How many sets, how many reps and how intensely? What makes them great?
Seeking to satisfy demands, muscle magazines often publish polished workout routines written by the Champions. Yet nothing compares to the first article, making today’s post on Steve Michalik’s 1968 training diary just so fascinating. In it we see Steve’s hopes for the future regarding the stage and also his thoughts on training poundages an intensity. A gem of a find that I stumbled across on Dave Draper’s excellent bodybuilding website and forum.
Known as the Steroid Guru during the 1990s, Dan Duchaine was one of bodybuilding’s most outspoken commentators during the birth of mass monster. Controversial to the highest degree, Duchaine’s career spanned prison sentences, coaching and television appearances with an impressive regularity.
While much has been written about Duchaine, not all of it true mind you, two things are clear. He was sincere about bodybuilding and he knew an awful lot.
Today’s post highlights the general diet advice given in Duchaine’s seminal 1996 book Underground Bodyopus: Militant Weight Loss & Recomposition.
Most famous for its cyclical Keto approach, the book included a beginner and intermediate diet. All of which will be covered today.
Born in Scotland in 1874, Launceston Elliot is perhaps more famous for his contributions to the world of weightlifting than bodybuilding. His fame in the weightlifting community, as readers of this blog will be aware, came from his gold weightlifting medal at the 1896 Athens Olympics. Similarly the course of his athletic career saw the powerful Scotsman set and break, a number of weightlifting records.
Nevertheless, Elliot’s achievements were far reaching as he appears to have been the first man to win a physique contest in Great Britain. While much has been made of Sandow’s Great Competition (1901) and its role in furthering bodybuilding’s status amongst the general public, it is arguable that without Elliot’s precedent, Sandow’s idea may never have come to the fore.
The following post comes from the immensely talented Erny Peibst of jackednatural.com. If you’re looking for advice on the best natural supplements to take or simply a review of the latest training trends, I highly recommend it.
Guys who’ve just hopped on the bodybuilding bandwagon might have heard of legendary names such as Ronnie Colemanand Dorian Yates whispered from the shadows in their local gyms…
But how good really were these guys?
And more importantly…who was the best bodybuilder ever?
If you’ve decided to become a bodybuilder, you owe it to yourself to know who the king of this sport was.
But the answer to this question all depends on how you define the ‘best bodybuilder ever’.
Here’s a few ways to judge who the best bodybuilder of all time is:
Who won the most Mr Olympia titles
Who’s made the most impact on the sport
The most aesthetic guy
The biggest and most shredded guy of all
The most Mr Olympia titles – Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman (8x)
Who had the biggest impact on bodybuilding – Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was the star in Pumping Iron. If you haven’t already seen it, order it off amazon…like straight after you finish reading this article, it’s amazing.
The most aesthetic Mr Olympia – Arnold, Franco Columbo, Frank Zane or Lee Haney.
The biggest & most shredded: Ronnie Coleman or Phil Heath.
So it depends how you interpret the question ‘who is the best bodybuilder ever’.
However, Arnold Schwarzenegger is regarded by many as the greatest ever.
Why?
He won 7 Sandow trophies
He changed the world’s opinion on bodybuilding; from being disgusted to intrigued.
He built one of the greatest physiques of all time. Huge mass with a tiny waist – a look that’s still highly coveted by gym rats to this day (50 years later).
Arnie sounds like a worthy choice to me.
However, for entertainment purposes I’m going to select the top 5 bodybuilders of all time, and put them on stage against each other.
Pictured above, Vince Gironda was one of the most famous bodybuilding coaches of the twentieth-century, admired and sought after by both bodybuilders and the lay public alike. For decades, Vince went against the exercising mainstream […]
Despite recent evidence that fats play a prominent role in a healthy and vibrant lifestyle, many muscle fanatics continue to persist on low-fat eating plans. While this approach is particularly well suited for some, for those more suited to a fat-based approach, low-fat meals are limiting their potential.
The prevalence of high-carbohydrate diets is a relatively new phenomena in the bodybuilding world and has caused the disappearance of some time tested bodybuilding traditions, such as the consumption of cream.
In today’s short article, we’ll examine the use of cream by bodybuilders and then consider cream’s advantages for the modern lifter.
Having discussed Bob Hoffman’s (failed) attempts to create a protein powder that was both tasty and efficient, the time seems right to examine Rheo H. Blair’s famous protein powder from the mid-twentieth century.
Iron game historians will long be aware that Blair’s protein powder was the go to supplement for bodybuilders, average trainees and even Hollywood stars of the 1960s and 1970s. It was one of the first protein supplements and was highly regarded by others in the industry including Vince Gironda.
Heck, so highly regarded was Blair’s protein that it was credited with adding pounds upon pounds of muscle in a short space of time. Some bodybuilders spent months eating nothing but the protein powder alongside some vitamin capsules.
So what exactly was in Blair’s protein and what made it so special?
Written by Bruce Randall in the 1950s this article discussed some tried and tested ways to shed unwanted pounds. Having previously covered Randall’s own incredible weightloss journey, its fair to say he knew a thing […]
Every now and then we like to mix up our gym routines. For some of us this means an entirely new programme, while for others, just throwing in a different exercise can freshen things up. […]
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