By the time you receive this issue of HARDGAINER we will be about half way through the year. So it's a good idea to take stock as to how your training is going so far, so that you make the rest of the year as productive as possible. Question #1 Are you stronger now than you... Continue Reading →
The Lost Art of Swingbell Training
Looking for something to break the monotony of dumbbell and barbell training? Admit it, every once and a while you like to try something new. Exercises or machines that truly test you. Well today, we're going to look at the Swingbell, an old school piece of bodybuilding equipment promoted by York during the heyday of... Continue Reading →
Vince Gironda Weight-Gain Diet
The following extract comes from Vince Gironda's 1984 Book: Unleashing the Wild Physique (available here). This book cannot be recommended highly enough, from VInce's no nonsense take on steroids to his innovative training techniques. Today's post comes from Vince's advice on weight gain. The real secret to gaining weight is food. The more you eat, the... Continue Reading →
Frank Zane’s Growth Program
The following extract comes from Frank Zane's excellent bodybuilding work: The Workouts -Personal Training Diaries, which is available from his website. Zane, a three time Mr. Olympia, is one of the few bodybuilders to defeat Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime and is possibly the most aesthetic man to win an Olympia. The polar opposite to the ungainly Bodybuilding's current mass... Continue Reading →
Can a Bodybuilder train by instinct?
This article, first written by Vince Gironda in 1974 sought to set the record straight on whether or not a bodybuilder could train by instinct. As always, Vince is frank, honest and straight to the point. This (instinctive training) is a term invented by so-called Body Building Experts who do not have the answers and... Continue Reading →
How Fast Should You Gain Weight and Size – John C. Grimek (1976)
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 →
Jeff Preston, ‘The 1991 Mr. Olympia: The End of an Era’, Iron Age (c.2003)
I sat poised watching the clock with my finger in the ready position. I knew to get the desired seat I would have to have my ticket ordered the second that it went on sale. I called with speedy precision and connected with the agent who took all the needed information and we both waited... Continue Reading →
FAQ, ‘Complete Muscle Building Course’ (c. 1970s)
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 →
George F. Jowett, Why Home Exercise is the Best (c. 1925)
You may have heard would-be body culturists say, "Aw gee, how can I train? There is no gymnasium around here, and any way if there was, I couldn't afford it." Actually, hundreds of young men have presented this problem to me, hoping that I would be able to solve the little difficulty for them. It... Continue Reading →
Bradley J. Steiner, Mental States (1972)
The mind, as I’ve said thousands of times in articles and books, is your master! If there is a singlesource 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... Continue Reading →