Golden Age Advice for Hardgainers!

(Above photo: Golden Age Mag - Muscle Builder Magazine, July 54 issue)

Are you a beginner interested in gaining muscular weight? Have you been training for a few months and yet have seen no results? Well, you are not alone. Many in the Golden Age (the 1940s and 50s) experienced the same thing. Here is some classic advice from the Questions and Answers column of Joe Weider's Muscle Builder Magazine (July 1954 issue):

Question: Dear Sir, I've been exercising for 3 1/2 months now and have made good progress, so far as strength and muscularity are concerned. But I've not gained weight. I maintain a good protein diet and still no results. Please advise me on what to do. D.L. Brooklyn. N.Y.

Answer: Donald, you are an example of what the Weider Research Clinic has always taught...Each man is a law unto himself where bodybuilding is concerned. One man will make great gains in bodyweight, but little in strength, during his beginner's peroid in weight training. Another man will get powerful and muscular in his first training months, but make little gains in weight. But these physical qualities gradually reach the point of balance with each other. Progress in power...bulk...muscularity, is made in a series of steps...a little gain, then maybe a slight drop or a leveling off, then a slight gain once more. You appear to have gained first in strength and delineation. I am not too concerned with your failure to gain weight at this present stage of training since you have only been bodybuilding for 3 1/2 months. If you had been weight training for a year without any great bodyweight gains, then I'd say you had something to worry about. My advice to you is this. Cut down slightly on your upper body work such as the various curls, presses and rowing motions. Shorten your routine to the bench press, barbell curl, squat and breathing pullover. Use as heavy a poundage as possible in the squat and alternate each set of squats with a set of breathing pullovers. Rest up completely on your non training days. Get at least eight hours sleep each night and at least 10 hours in bed! Don't hurry. Don't worry...and buy the Weider Gaining Food Supplement.

CPB Commentary: So there you have it - a classic, abbreviated routine to kick start some muscular weight gaining. In a nutshell, here is the routine again:

1. Bench Press
2. Barbell Curls
3. Squats - superset with
4. Breathing Pullovers

Use as much poundage as possible (so that you can barely squeeze out the last rep). Keep pushing the weight up as you get stronger. It wasn't specifed, but fewer sets (e.g., 2-3 sets per exercise) and low reps (e.g., 6-7 reps) were usually recommended for such routines.

Note how important a lot of sleep and rest are as well as not worrying & hurrying. The Weight Gaining Food Supplement that was recommended was really a vitamin B complex supplement that acted as an appetite stimulant.

So if you are having trouble gaining weight, you can give this classic routine from the Golden Age a try! It's worked before and may well work for you! - CPB

Steve Reeves' Favorite Classic Physique Workout Routine!

(Above: Steve Reeves doing dumbbell incline presses)

It is very instructive to look at the routines of the Golden Age champs to see what training without steroids was like. Below is one of Steve Reeves' favorite routines. It appeared in an article that he wrote in the May 1951 issue of Joe Weider's Your Physique magazine.

Steve's routine is a full-body workout which he did 3 days a week (e.g., M, W, and F). He used a great deal of concentration when doing the exercise and performed each set "all out" (or to failure). Each exercise was done in a strict style, resting 45-60 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between different exercises.

1. Incline dumbbell press - 3 sets, 8-12 reps (using descending poundages)

2. Breathing front squat - 3 sets, 15 reps (superset with the following exercise)

3. Dumbell laterals/flyes - 3 sets, 15 reps

4. Seated barbell curls - 3 sets, 12 reps (getting the negative reps on the way down)

5. Alternate dumbbell forward raise - 2 sets, 15 reps

6. Bent over rows - 2 sets, 12 reps

7. One arm rows - 2 sets, 12 reps

8. Splits with barbell - 1 set, until breathless

9. Alternative raise lying - 2 sets, 15 reps

10. Good morning exercise - 1 set, 15 reps

11. Dumbbell french press - 3 sets, 12 reps

12. Leg press machine calf raises - 1 set, 30-40 reps

13. Bench press - 2 sets, 12 reps

That's it! This is a routine that he used at his advanced level! So it is not for a beginning or intermediate classic physique builder.

Look at the total number of sets he is doing for each body part:

1. Chest - 8 sets

2. Thighs - 4 sets

3. Biceps - 3 sets

4. Deltoids - 4 sets

5. Lats - 6 sets

6. Lower Back - 1 set

7. Triceps - 3 sets

8. Calves - 1 set

Of course, some of the compound movements like bench presses also hit the triceps and anterior delts as well as chest, so the situation is a bit more complicated than outlined above. Nevertheless, we can still see that the total number of sets for each body part is much lower than is typically seen today (just open any modern muscle mag).

Why? First, Steve was not on steroids, so muscles under natural conditions are easily overworked if too many sets are employed. Second, he is using a great deal of mental concentration and focusing intently on the muscle fibers being worked (instead of talking, listening to music, getting distracted, etc). Third, he is using weights heavy enough to cause failure at the reps indicated. Fourth, he is getting the negative reps on the way down.

Joe Weider was so impressed by Steve's ability to concentrate and get results that he said in his book, Brothers of Iron, that Steve "could get more, out of less, than anybody I knew. He'd go to the gym and make phenomenal gains with shorter workouts than the other guys, lifting only medium heavy, and beat fellows who lifted huge and trained until they fell over. To his credit, Steve trained very efficiently with no down time and no wasted motion."

Our point is that training under natural conditions is very different than training under steroids This can be seen easily when comparing the relatively low volume (low sets) workouts of the Golden Age (1940s and 50s) to the high volume (high sets) workouts of the Chemical Age (the 1960s to the present). So, if our goal is to build a classic physique naturally, then we can learn best from the champs of the Golden Age (like Steve Reeves) who knew best how to do it! - CPB

Eugen Sandow: Founder of Modern, Classic Physique Building!

(above left: Eugen Sandow; above right: Farnese Hercules)

If we were to look to a founder of modern, classic physique building, our search would take us back to Eugen Sandow. Sandow was a very popular strongman of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who lived most of his life in England. Unlike some other strongmen of his era, his physique was not rotund or ponderous, but instead was muscular, symetrical, and well-defined. He soon realized that his popularity was due as much to his classic physique as it was to his feats of strength.

With Sandow, we see all the elements that would later flower in the Golden Age of Classic Physique Building (the 1940s and 50s). He started his own magazine, Physical Culture (later renamed as Sandow's Magazine of Physical Culture), published books and courses on training, sold exercise equipment, opened his own gyms (Physical Culture studios), posed for physique photos, and even sold his own supplements (Sandow's Health and Strength Cocoa). He also sponsored the first, large-scale, national physique contest called "The Great Competition" (in 1901) which involved a series of qualifying contests at the regional level.

In the photos above, it is significant that you can see Sandow (left) recreating the pose of the Farnese Hercules (an ancient Greek sculpture). This demonstrates Sandow's clear recognition and promotion of the classic ideal in physical development. From this beginning, classic physique building would flower in the Golden Age (the 1940s and 50s) and then decline and dissappear in the 1960s as chemically-enhanced bodybuilding took over the scene.

It is our hope that through our efforts, and with your help, we can bring about a Renaissance of Classic Physique Building in the 21st century! To learn more about Sandow, please visit http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/ and http://www.sandowmuseum.com/. - CPB

Classic Physique Appeal in the Golden Age!

(Above photo: Cover of a Joe Weider "Course/Catalog" circa 1958)

How different was the Golden Age of Classic Physique Building (the 1940s and 50s) from today's mainstream bodybuilding world! Some of the differences are captured above on the cover of Joe Weider's 1958 "Course/Catalog" - Eating for Super-Muscles, Super-Vitality. Look closely at the images on this cover. What do you see? How was Joe able to market the classic physique of the Golden Age?

First, we see Joe Weider himself depicted with a classic physique holding a trophy - the image of a champion. You can even see a light glow about him - almost a "halo" type of effect indicating "greatness." Below him are images of a discus thrower, a weightlifter, two football players, and a boxer - in other words, various representatives of athletics. At the bottom right is a well-built man (with a classic physique) holding an adoring female in his arms at the beach.

So what is the message here? The message is directed to "everyman" or "every teenager" that if you build a classic physique, you will not only follow in the footsteps of the champions, you might even become one yourself AND your classic physique will make you better at athletics AND give you "sex appeal."

When you look at the classic physiques of the 40s and 50s (like those of Steve Reeves, Clancy Ross, Armand Tanny, George Eiferman, Alan Stephan, etc), this message is totally believable! First, it was not a major stretch of imagination to believe that with a few years of working out, you too could have a physique like the champions. Second, a person with a classic physique certainly did look like he could excel at practically any sport. Third, it was completely believable that a guy with a classic physique could more easily attract members of the opposite sex.

So Joe's message/marketing was right on target. How many guys in those days sent away for muscle building courses because they wanted to look like the classic physique champions, be better at sports, and be more attractive to women? Quite a lot! Of course, in the Golden Age (before steroids), there were many muscle building courses available through the muscle mags.

For those interested in building a classic physique today, those messages and motivations still hold true. With a few years of proper training, proper nutrition, and proper rest, a person today can still build a classic physique like the Golden Age champs! Such a physique will certainly make a person better in sports. Women today do find such a physique attractive! And the best thing is that building a classic physique will make you healthier, more confident, and happier!

So stay tuned to CPB! If there is enough interest, CPB will collect and organize the info from the Golden Age into courses and make them available soon next year (please see and take our poll on the sidebar). In doing so, we can side-step the "muddy pool" of the chemically-spoiled mainstream bodybuilding world and drink directly from the "pure fountain" of the Golden Age! It is still there for the taking! - CPB

Steve Reeves' Intermediate Workout Routine

(Above: Steve Reeves doing incline presses)

In a previous post, we discussed Steve Reeves' beginning workout routine (click on the sidebar label "beginning workout routine"). It was a routine that he put together, at the age of 16 (in 1942), after doing a lot of reading in magazines such as Bob Hoffman's Strength and Health. Steve said that it was a good routine and that he gained about 8 pounds on it in about 4 months.

After that, Steve started to train in Ed Yarick's Gym in Oakland, CA. This was one of the premier gyms on the West Coast in the early 1940s. Ed put Steve on an intermediate workout routine that Steve called his "Second Workout Schedule." In just four months on this routine under Ed's supervision, Steve gained 30 pounds!

Now, we must remember that Steve was 16 and so he had a lot of natural, high levels of testosterone circulating in his system. Under Ed's supervision, he was also resting and eating properly. But, that being said, this is a great, full body routine of 14 exercises that can produce results in a short period of time for the intermediate classic physique builder!

Here is the routine (amwp = as much weight as possible):

Warm-Up: Dumbbell Swings Exercises

1. Upright Rowing - 3 sets, 15-20 reps (use moderate weight)

2. Bench Press - 3 sets, 8-12 reps (amwp)

3. 1 Arm Dumbbell Rows - 3 sets, 8-12 reps (amwp)

4. Dumbbell Flyes - 3 sets, 8-12 reps (amwp)

5. Incline Press - 3 sets, 8-12 reps (decreasing weight each set)

6. Triceps Pushdowns - 3 sets, 8-12 reps (amwp)

7. Barbell Curls - 3 sets, 8-12 reps (amwp)

8. Seated Dumbbell Curls - 3 sets, 8-12 reps (amwp)

9. Full Squats - 3 sets, 8-12 reps (amwp)

superset with:

10. Pullovers - 3 sets, 8-12 reps (amwp)

11. Breathing Squats - 1 set, 20 reps (amwp)

superset with:

12. Breathing Pullovers - 1 set 20 reps (amwp)

13. Deadlifts, 2 sets, 8-12 reps (amwp)

14. Good Mornings - 2 sets, 8-12 reps (amwp)

So there you have it! This is a full body routine that Steve followed 3 days a week (e.g., M, W, and F). Today, there is scientific research that shows that exercises such as squats release a substantial amount of testosterone. So doing a full body routine with squats can result in an extra boost of growth for the entire body. In the Golden Age of Classic Physique Building (the 1940s and 50s), they didn't have this research, but they knew this from their own training experience. Certainly, Steve made great gains on this routine in 4 months!

For complete exercise descriptions and other insights into his training, see Steve's book Building the Classic Physique the Natural Way which is available through the Steve Reeves International Society at http://www.stevereeves.com/. It is a great book that we highly recommend.

We report Steve's intermediate routine - without any changes - for historical purposes. This is indeed the routine that he actually followed. However, CPB does not recommend doing the "Good Morning" exercise because we feel it is too easy to get injured. We believe Steve's routine would be just fine if this one exercise were dropped.

This isn't the only type of intermediate training schedule that we find in the Golden Age. There are many other routines. However, this one certainly worked for Steve. So if you are an intermediate classic physique builder, perhaps it can work for you as well! - CPB