INTERVIEWER: Your approach to training has always been to use heavy weights for quality lasting muscle. It was in articles about your training as far back as 1953. You always combined pushing movements and lateral movements for total development of all three heads of the deltoid muscle. Will you update us on your deltoid training… Continue reading Bill Pearl On Deltoids (1975 Interview)
A legend in the Iron Game both for his physique and the intensity brought to his training, Tom Platz or the 'Golden Eagle', is synonymous with one of the most impressive quad sweeps in bodybuilding. In a rare bit of training footage, uploaded to Youtube courtesy of  'neandertalensis66', the below clip details Platz's understandings of… Continue reading Tom Platz Leg Day
Famed for his remarkable strength and at times, his flair for the theatric, the early twentieth-century physical culturist Thomas Inch has left quite a mark on the current strength training population. Not least for competitors of the World's Strongest Man competition who are often tasked with lifting a replica 'Inch Dumbbell' overhead. This being no… Continue reading Thomas Inch and His Dumbbell (Old Physical Culture Footage!)
Written by Jerry Brainum in 1991, the following article details then Bodybuilding prospect Gary Strydom's impressive training routine. As readers of the blog will remember, Strydom dominated the briefly run World Bodybuilding Federation run by WWE's Vince McMahon. Owing it would seem more to internal politics than meritocracy, many feel that Strydom was never given his… Continue reading Every Which Way But Loose: Gary Strydom’s Chest Training Turns his Pecs Inside Out for Awesome Mass
Many Controversial Statements have been made about Santa Monica's Unique Payground By the Sea. This article gives you the Last Minute Lowdown on what currently is happening on the Verge of the Pacific. There may be bigger and more beautiful beaches than Muscle Beach, but you can bet your last chip that nowhere else in… Continue reading The Truth about Muscle Beach (1957 Strength and Health Article)
Published in Muscle and Fitness in 1997 the following article relays Lee Labrada, Lee Haney and a host of other bodybuilder's opinions on training and bodybuilding in general. A nice insight into the training mindsets of the time, the article goes well with our previous post on the Workouts and Diets of Bodybuilding Champions. A reminder that… Continue reading Get the Answers From the Champs – 1997 Muscle and Fitness Article
The early forerunners of bodybuilding were adventurous in every sense of the word. From 20 rep squats to raw meat, these men and women stopped at nothing in the pursuit of pure, unadulterated muscle. For muscle anoraks like me, this pursuit resulted in a series of supplements being used, which of course, had varying levels… Continue reading Old School Supplements: Choline and Inositol
Most women get into bodybuilding because they are unhappy with their bodies. Perhaps they are overweight and long to resemble the Twiggy-like models they see in Vogue or in TV commercials. Or perhaps they are in poor health and want more energy and vitality. Or maybe they are anorexic-looking and shapeless and want to add… Continue reading Female Bodybuilder Astrid Falconi – From Pompons to Barbells & Dumbbells by Greg Zulak (1993 Article)
Famous as one of the one champion vegetarian bodybuilders of his time, Bill Pearl was a force to be reckoned with during the 1960s bodybuilding scene. Well built, symmetrical and possessing a force last seen in the days of yore, Pearl's physique inspired thousands of muscle fanatics to hit the weights room. Still training well into… Continue reading Bill Pearl’s 1967 Mr. Universe Workout
Written by Peary Rader in Ironman magazine in 1971, the following article details the great man's love of the heavy squat as a means of hypertrophy. Despite his own opinion on squat mechanics (see our 'Magic Circle' article), Rader was unwavering in his claim that heavy squatting was the most effective training for all. An interesting read and… Continue reading The Squat …For Everything?
