The majority of bodybuilders I meet at my numerous exhibitions and seminars all over the country still seem to think that protein is needed in tremendous quantities to build muscle. The fact that muscle is only 22 percent protein suggests that our protein requirements are not nearly that high. And just because muscle is more… Continue reading MIKE MENTZER, ‘Balancing Your Muscle-Building Diet’, HEAVY DUTY NUTRITION (1993), 9-11.
The Olympics are finally here! And I could not be more conflicted. As a weightlifting/powerlifting/bodybuilding/CrossFitting fan, I love watching all manner of strength displays. Because I have a romantic soul, Olympic weightlifting is the event that I always look forward to. In fact, one of my first memories of physical culture was seeing clips of… Continue reading When Did Bodybuilders Stop Doing Olympic Lifts?
The nutritional supplement industry is a thriving business in the United States today with a cumulative worth of over 150 Billion Dollars. That’s right! I’ll give you a minute to wrap your head around the number of zeros on that number. However, once you get past the initial shock of it, the figure does make… Continue reading Guest Post: A Brief History of Nutritional and Mass Gainer Supplements
Reg Park was one of the mid-twentieth-century's most impressive bodybuilders. He was large, strong and possessed a symmetry that few of his contemporaries could rival. What is even more impressive was his longevity. As an avid reader of old Health and Strength magazines, I have seen countless photographs and articles on Reg Park from his… Continue reading Reg Park, ‘How I Trained for 1958 Mr. Universe,’ Health & Strength
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)
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?
For more than a century, the art and science of muscle building has been evolving and gaining popularity around the world. From the very early days and the pioneers of bodybuilding like Eugene Sandow and his predecessor, Ludwig Durlacher, all the way to the golden era of bodybuilding and the modern giants – this is… Continue reading Guest Post: The Science of Building Muscle: Principles that Withstood the Test of Time
During the past twelve months or so that I've been writing for HARDGAINER, I've received hundreds of letters and phone calls with various comments and many questions. After receiving all this input, one thing has become very clear to me – you're reading the information in HARDGAINER, but many of you are failing to get… Continue reading Do you really understand ‘The Message?’, Hardgainer Magazine, 42 (1996)
This booklet will not only help you, the average man to become many times stronger than you are at present, but will give you the inside knowledge and information required for developing a body of dynamic muscular proportions. Let’s start off by dispelling a few misconceptions generally held of bodybuilding. Where muscle building is concerned… Continue reading FAQ, ‘Complete Muscle Building Course’ (c. 1970s)
Take it from the pros, splitting is the way go. Full-body training, provided that the intensity is high and the routine is good, can produce some amazing results, but splitting lets you get more from less: more results from a shorter period of time spent in the gym. If you had to train all your… Continue reading ‘Basic Split Training’, Animal Owner’s Manual (New Jersey, 2010), 14
