Tag: weight gain

Nutrition by Conor HeffernanAug 12, 20199:57 am

1970s Muscle Building Advice

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The greatest problem that faces the young bodybuilding enthusiast is that of gaining weight. It’s usually this reason for taking up weight training in the first place. However, after the inevitable gain of a few pounds body-weight almost immediately the weight-training course has been embarked on, one finds further progress very slow. Each pound towards his ideal body weight is gained with an ever increasing span of time. Once I couldn’t gain more than two or perhaps three pounds a year — training three times a week. Eventually my bodyweight gains became stagnant and no amount of training would alter it.

Peary Rader, ‘The Clean and Jerk Program for Weight Gaining’, THE RADER MASTER BODYBUILDER AND WEIGHT GAINING SYSTEM (1946)

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This very popular lift is a good exercise for all round development and an excellent method of weight gaining if properly performed for this purpose. It is probably the most strenuous of all exercises and therein lies its value as a stimulator of metabolism and a weight gaining medium. Much the same principles of procedure are used as in the squat or deadlift. Because it is so strenuous you will find that, as a general rule, two workout periods per week will be sufficient. You may find yourself rather sore at first if you are not careful to progress slowly

Resources by Conor HeffernanMay 20, 20194:15 pm

Peary Rader, ‘The Six Meal A Day Plan’, The Rader Master BodyBuilder and Weight Gaining System (1946)

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If it is convenient, it is often found a great help to eat 4 to 6 meals per day, tho this is not necessary.

Many men have found that the addition of a light lunch at about 10 o’clock, another at about 3:30 p.m. and another just before bed time has been the secret of very fast gains. None of their meals would be as large as usual, but much more frequent. This gives the internal organs a better chance to function efficiently compared to the system of overloading them three time a day as is generally done. So whenever circumstances will permit it, we recommend the 5 to 6 meal a day plan for weight gainers. Many doctors use this system for sick people or people with digestive disorders and you should realize that it is a healthful plan.

Resources by Conor HeffernanJan 7, 20194:51 pm

Arthur Saxon, ‘My Ideas on Diet’, The Development of Physical Power (London, 1906).

Compared with his less fortunate brothers who box and run, the lifter has no restrictions as to diet. The man who boxes requires good wind and staying power, and he, therefore, has to care- fully […]

Resources by Conor HeffernanNov 12, 20183:56 pm

Alan Palmieri, Gaining Weight And Adding Muscle Mass (2003)

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Although sometimes people take up bodybuilding to lose weight, the majority take to the sport in an attempt to add weight and gain muscle size to their frames. This is especially true for teenagers and young adults. As one matures with age it is usually much easier to gain weight, sometimes too much weight. Individuals who are extremely thin go through just as difficult a time as those that are excessively overweight. Being extremely skinny was the reason I took up bodybuilding in the first place.

Training by Conor HeffernanNov 9, 20183:37 pm

Bradley Steiner, ‘ON GAIN WEIGHT SUPPLEMENTS’, The Hard Gainers Bible (1988)

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I don’t believe in the heavy use of food supplements. Not for anyone. ESPECIALLY (and perhaps, surprisingly so to many) in the case of hard gainers, of all people! Why?

Hard gainers need COMPLETE, BALANCED NUTRITION. They need ir more definitely and more direcrlv than their easy-gaining brothers. THEY DON’T HAVE THE EXTRA-EFFICIENTMETABOLISMS NEEDED TO ASSIMILATE BOT-H THESUPPLEMENTS AND THE FULL, BALANCED MEAI,, INGREAT AMOUNTS. Far better for these people to use a small judicious amount of one or two really important supplements (like vitamin-mineral tablets and wheat germ oil) than to stuff their mouths with powders, pills and concoctions.

Nutrition by Conor HeffernanJul 17, 20189:57 am

Guest Post: 10 Weirdest Diets in History

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Diets have been around far longer than you can imagine. It’s safe to say that people from a long time ago were also pretty concerned about their weight, fitness, figure and health – concerned enough to try out different techniques on how to effectively carry out an diet. Eventually, these diets developed, became popular, and were named. Some of them are rational, some of them are just downright weird.

Resources by Conor HeffernanApr 30, 20188:25 am

Guest Post: All-in-one History of Protein Shakes

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If you thought bodybuilding and serious involvement in sport is mere exercising and pushing your body to its limits, think again. Of course, building up your muscle mass is crucial. However, you won’t get far with just that alone.

In the era of food full of additives, one might frown upon the mere mention of supplements. However, these – especially protein shakes – have had great impact on sports and bodybuilding development.

Official data shows that an average grown-up should consume approximately 50 grams of protein per day. However, additional proteins are taken by people who aim at building their body and muscle mass, thus making protein shakes one of the most important supplement products since the 1950s.

So, how did this all come to be?

Resources by Conor HeffernanApr 20, 20189:42 am

Harry B. Paschall, ‘How Barbell Men Go Wrong’, Muscle Moulding (London, 1950)

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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 latter cases come up with the time-worn excuse that they are simply not the type to gain. Some experts even have given various names to these unsuccessful barbell men and inform them with regret that they cannot change their type and they are therefore doomed to failure.

Nutrition by Conor HeffernanMay 12, 20177:47 pm

Reg Park’s Bodybuilding Diet

Known for being an incredibly bodybuilder in his own right, Reg Park was the go to bodybuilder of the 1950s. Possessing an incredible look of power and strength, Park was the envy of many a gym goer. How did Park build his monstrous physique?

Well the answer, quite simply, was that he ate like a King. A King preparing for his last meal!