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… Continue reading Steve Michalik’s Training Diary from 1968
One of the more colourful figures to operate in the world of bodybuilding in the last few decades of the twentieth-century was Arthur Jones. Creator of the Nautilus machine and proponent of high intensity training, Jones' profit margins were often as large as his opinions! While many disagreed with Jones, sometimes with merit and oftentimes without,… Continue reading Arthur Jones on the Squat
Published in Muscle & Fitness in 1991, the following article details the keep fit routine of Clint Eastwood, the Hollywood actor/director then in his early sixties. Coming at a time when celebrity training routines were becoming an item of public interest, the article is interesting in its own right as a piece of bodybuilding history. Furthermore,… Continue reading Clint Eastwood – the Ambassador of Fitness (Scott Hays, 1991)
When I was first learning how to train, I used to do full squats. I did them exclusively for the thighs. I labored under the belief that if I did my full squats faithfully on a firm reps and sets basis, I would get everything I needed in the way of thighs. Over the years my… Continue reading Arnold Schwarzenegger on the Squat (1976)
Having previously detailed forgotten physical culture devices like the Iron Boots and the Swingbell, the time has come to discuss another treasure from bodybuilding's past, namely the 'half moon bench'. Promoted heavily by the Dan Lurie Barbell Company during the sixties and seventies, the "Half-Moon" or "Round Bench" promised to stretch the ligaments and cartilage around the… Continue reading Dan Lurie’s Half Moon Bench
Known in bodybuilding circles as 'The Blond Bomber', Draper was one of the most iconic lifters in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Still pumping iron well into his seventies, Draper is a testament to the bodybuilding lifestyle. The following bulking routine comes from an interview with the Bomber in the early 1970s. Monday- Wednesday-Friday… Continue reading Dave Draper’s Bulk Routine
Although unknown to the modern olympic lifter, Abele was one of America's finest lifters during the 1940s and 1950s. Unfortunately he was overshadowed by fellow US lifters John Grimek, Steve Stanko, and John Davis during the course of his career. Similarly the outbreak of the Second World War denied Abele the chance to lift at… Continue reading Louis Abele Training Programme
I was flicking through some old strength magazines during the weekend and came across a lift that I doubt many of us are familiar with. Called the 'Seesaw' press, it is essentially a standing dumbbell shoulder press but instead of pressing both dumbbells at the same time, you alternate between reps. As you lower one dumb-bell, you… Continue reading Forgotten Exercises: The See-Saw Press
