John Grimek was one of the greatest American weightlifters and bodybuilders of the 20th century. Nicknamed 'The Monarch of Muscledom', Grimek also competed for the US in the 1936 Olympics in Germany. It's fair to say he knew something about lifting weights. Today's article sees Grimek discuss one of the most pressing issues in bodybuilding.… Continue reading How Fast Should You Gain Weight and Size – John C. Grimek (1976)
I have brought you through the first three months of training three times a week on your whole body. I have brought you through my special advance split system of training and finally my special bulk and power routine. You've seen how to incorporate all that into my cycle system of training. Now I will… Continue reading Joe Weider, ‘How to Make Up Your Own Routine,’ Joe Weider’s Bodybuilding System (1942)
I have spoken so much of Louis' great strength that now I must tell you of his great weakness - eating. His excuse for eating so much was that his great expenditure of strength required it. That was just his joke, though, for he was a slave to the table all his life. He could… Continue reading How Much Could Louis Cyr Eat?
Before you can go more hardcore, you have to open your mind and psych up to push yourself to new limits. Here are seven ways to get into hardcore hypertrophy heaven. 1. Drop-set bench dips Support yourself between two benches, set parallel, hands on one, feet on the other. Start with four 25-pound (11kg) plates… Continue reading Ben Tatar, ‘7 Awesome Train Insane Mass Tactics’, Ironman Australia, 20., no. 11(2013), 65-68.
One of the most popular physical culturists of the entire twentieth-century, there is no denying the impact Charles Atlas had on the muscle making industry. Full of vigour, advice and the occasional insult, Atlas challenged his 'students' to improve their physique as much as possible. The yardstick for their success? None other than Atlas's own… Continue reading Do you Measure Up?
You cannot spend a third of a century around physical culturists and barbell men without coming to a few conclusions. You see many enthusiasts who thrive on their training schedules and attain a perfectly satisfactory degree of physical development. You see others work and strain without noticeable improvement for months or years. Quite often these… Continue reading Harry B. Paschall, ‘How Barbell Men Go Wrong’, Muscle Moulding (London, 1950)
Gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is often held up as the Holy Grail of body recomposition. A desirable goal, that advanced or even intermediate trainees are now told is only possible for beginners or those using chemical means. Today's post examines the rather lengthy sounding Anabolic Burst Cycle of Diet and Exercise… Continue reading Gaining Muscle and Losing Fat: The ABCDE Diet Experiment
A man does not have to be very smart to learn some basic truths a bout bodybuilding after 35 years in the gym business. Observation of repetitious standards for SUCCESS in overcoming bodybuilding problems finally become startling clear. Even animals learn through repetition without any outside influence. The first article that I ever wrote was… Continue reading Vince Gironda, ‘Calculating The Pump,’ IronMan, July, (1983)
What does $50 mean to you? If you lived here in Indianapolis, Indiana, that's what you would have to hand over every hour that you worked with me. Would you listen, and at least try everything I told you to? Would you be patient? I'm sure you would. So, please make sure you listen to… Continue reading John Christy, ‘Learning to be Patient,’ Hardgainer Magazine, 58 (1999)
Massive muscle growth...a Cold War defection and a Romanian scientist with a cool sounding name. What could be more impressive and appealing that German Body Composition Training? Popularised in the US at the turn of the twenty first century GBC training has floated around the fitness industry between those who praise it as revolutionary and those… Continue reading What is German Body Composition Training? And Who Invented It?
