Classic Physique Building: Rethinking Size!

(Photo Above: Monty Wolford - Mr. Southwest 1949, Mr. Los Angeles 1951, Mr. Venice Beach 1951)

Perhaps the most destructive aspect of roid-based, mainstream bodybuilding today is its glorification of extreme, unnatural size! When some unfortunate person begins to accept the propaganda of the mainstream, roid-based magazines that Hulk-like physiques are something to admire and attain, then sooner or later this necessitates an acceptance of the associated, unhealthy, "drug/pharmaceutical culture" that makes such extremism possible.

Fortunately, in pre-roid Golden Age Classic Physique Building (of the 1940s and 50s), there was no glorification of extreme size! Instead, the goal was to attain an aesthetically-pleasing size and symmetry that was reminiscent of the beauty of the statues of the Ancient Greek and Roman gods! This necessitated an acceptance of a "culture of health and vitality" - which is why Reeves and the other champs of the pre-roid Golden Age (of the 1940s and 50s) were proud of their health and strength as well as their physiques! (Reeves would often say that his goal was to be the healthiest person alive!) What a difference in goals and cultures!

For classic physique builders of the Golden Age and today, this freedom from being obsessed with extreme size is liberating! Why? Because our size goals are realistic and attainable while pursuing health and vitality at the same time! Take a look at the photo above of the great Monty Wolford. This photo appeared in Fall 2009 issue of Classic Physique Builder (CPBzine). Who would not want a physique like his? It is healthy, full of vitality, with classic muscular size and symmetry! Is this kind of physique attainable and realistic? Let's look at his measurements:

Height: 5'8"
Weight: 168 lbs
Neck: 16"
Arms: 16"
Calves: 16"
Chest: 44"
Forearm: 12.5"
Waist: 28.5"
Thigh: 23.5"
Wrist: 6.6"

Monty did not need 18 inch arms like Reeves to look great. Why? Reeves was 6'1", Monty was 5 inches shorter. So to achieve a classic physique like Reeves, Monty's measurements needed to be smaller to match his height (and bone structure).

Neither Reeves or Wolford obssessed about extreme size. What for anyway? Do you want to look like a cartoon (i.e., "The Hulk") or would you rather look like a Greek god?! For modern classic physique builders (CPB'ers), the choice is not a hard one. Reeves and Wolford pursued classic size & symmetry, health and vitality! So do we!

So to achieve your classic physique, you need to follow a "culture of health and vitality" along with following pre-roid Golden Age methods of proper training, proper nutrition, proper rest, and persistence. Such a "culture of health and vitality" is not only good for the body, but it is good for your spirit and character and will set you apart and enable you to be a good example for others. In this way, classic physique building not only benefits you, but also will have a positive effect on those around you. What more could you ask for?

- CPB

P.S. For a free, 1 year subscription to Classic Physique Builder zine (CPBzine) - a pdf zine (do-it-yourself magazine) patterned after the muscle mags of the pre-roid Golden Age of Bodybuilding (of the 1940s and 50s), just email your name, the name of your city (not your actual address), state/province, and country to cpbzine@gmail.com. That's it! Any info you send us is strictly confidential. We don't share info with anyone. So you won't get on any unwanted lists or receive unwanted, unsolicited, automated email - even from us!

Pre-Roid Golden Age Split Routine for Classic Physique Building!

(Photo Above: Joe Weider with CPB Champs Armand Tanny, Alan Stephan, Clancy Ross, and Floyd Page at the 1949 Mr. North America Contest)

In our last post, we discussed the introduction of split routines in the latter half (the 1950s) of the pre-roid Golden Age of Classic Physique Building (the 1940s and 50s). In his 1954 muscle building course (The Muscle Building Courses of the Champions), Joe Weider advocated a split routine for intermediate trainers - after they had completed a minimum of 3 months training with his full body 3 day/week routine. This is a classic upper body/lower body split that works each region twice a week for a total of 4 workouts per week.

The routine is presented here for historical purposes (so no exercise descriptions will be given). You will also note that this routine uses supersets, cheating, and peak contraction methods!

Monday - Upper Body

1. Wrestler's Bridge - 2 sets/10 reps
2. The Cheat Curl - superset with following for 2 supersets/9 reps
3. Lying Triceps Curl
4. Peak Contraction Knee Dumbbell Curl - superset with following for 2 sets/9 reps
5. Seated Dumbbell Triceps Curl
6. Wide Grip Bench Press - superset with following for 2 sets/9 reps
7. Dumbbell Side and Forward Lateral Raise, Combination
8. Bent Arm Laterals - superset with following for 2 sets/9 reps
9. Upright Rowing
10. Bent Over Rowing - 2 sets/9 reps
11. Deadlift - 2 sets/9 reps

Tuesday - Lower Body

1. Side Bend - superset with following for 2 sets/10 reps
2. Sit Up
3. Side Bend - superset with following for 2 sets/10 reps
4. Leg Raise
5. Bent Legged Sit Up - 2 sets/10 reps
6. Flat Footed Squat - superset with following for 2 sets/10 reps
7. Toe Raise
8. Iron Boot Thigh Extension - superset with following for 2 sets/10 reps
9. Thigh Curl
10. Straddle Exercise - 2 sets/10 reps
11. Goose Step - 2 sets until tired

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - Upper Body

1. Headstrap Exercises
2. Seated Dumbbell Curl, Allternate Style - superset with following for 2 sets/9 reps
3. Triceps Rear Raise with Dumbbell
4. Zottman Curl - superset with following for 2 sets/9 reps
5. Standing Triceps Curl
6. Bench Press with a Wide Grip - superset with following for 2 sets/9 reps
7. Back and Foward Barbell Press (use 10 reps instead of 9)
8. Bent Arm Pullover - superset with following for 2 sets/9 reps
9. Shrug
10. Rowing Motion to the Waist - 2 sets/9 reps
11. Good Morning Exercise - 2 sets/9 reps

Friday - Lower Body

1. Side Bend - superset with following for 2 sets/9 reps
2. Twist Sit Up - (use 7 reps to each side instead of 9)
3. Bench Side Raise - superset with following for 2 sets/9 reps
4. Leg Raise
5. Half Sit Up, Body Twist - 2 sets/7 reps to each side
6. Parallel Squat - 2 sets/9 reps
7. Legs Split Toe Raise - 2 sets/15 reps
8. Shoulder Squat - 2 sets/9 reps
9. Combination Toe Raise - 1 set (toes straight), 1 set (toes out), 1 set (toes in)
10. Iron Boot Side Thigh Raise - 2 sets/15 reps
11. Palms Up Forearm Curl - 2 sets/15 reps
12. Palms Down Forearm Curl - 2 sets/15 reps

Saturday & Sunday - Rest

Well....that's it! Again, Joe Weider advocated this kind of routine in the early 1950s for intermediate trainers. But not everyone was on board for split training. There were still plenty of people who followed the full body 2 or 3 day a week training routines. In any case, split routines like this should be included in your "toolbox" and may be useful from time to time.

There is a lot to discuss and learn from Joe's routine here - so feel free to comment!

- CPB

P.S. For a free, 1 year subscription to Classic Physique Builder (CPBzine) - a pdf "zine" (do-it-yourself magazine) that is patterned after the muscle mags of the pre-roid Golden Age of Bodybuilding (of the 1940s and 50s), just email your name, the name of your city (not your actual address), state/province, and country to cpbzine@gmail.com. That's it! Any info you send us is strictly confidential. We don't share info with anyone. So you won't get on any unwanted lists or receive any unwanted, automated email - even from us!