Classic Physique Champ Marvin Eder Interview!

(Above photo: Classic Physique Builder Marvin Eder - Mr. New York City, 1949; Mr Eastern America 1950)

One of our readers (Ibrahim) found a great interview with CPB Champ Marvin Eder at the following site: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson304.htm. This is a great interview (conducted by David Robson) and gives you a glimpse of the Golden Age from Marvin's perspective.

Among the notable highlights of the interview, Marvin states that he also followed the 3 meal-a-day plan (and did not eat great quantities of food), took no steroids or even supplements, and trained heavy following a split system. He was one of the Golden Age champs who was also interested in Olympic style weightlifting and was known for his exceptional strength. Now, at age 75, he still does 500 crunches every morning! The interview is also notable for his clear disgust with steroids and what they have done to mainstream bodybuilding.

Thanks again to Ibrahim, and to all our readers who make valuable contributions to CPB Blog through their comments and info!

Enjoy the interview!

- CPB

Favorite Arm Routine of Marvin Eder

Marvin Eder (Mr New York City 1949, Mr Eastern America 1950) was a young, rising star in the early 1950s world of pre-steroid bodybuilding. He was known for his 18 1/2" arms (an impressive accomplishment back then) and great strength. At the age of 19 (at 5' 8" and 203 lbs), he benched 430 lbs, did standing presses with 285 lbs, and did curls with 100 lb dumbbells. This clearly demonstrates that one can attain a classic physique that is both aesthetic, yet powerful.

In the December 1951 issue of Joe Weider's Your Physique Magazine, he was interviewed about his favorite arm routine for breaking through ruts and making further gains. Keep in mind that this is/was a routine for advanced, natural bodybuilders (lets say with more than 2 years of training) who hit a rut in making gains in their arm development or perhaps needed to undertake some arm specialization in order to bring them up in proportion to the rest of the body. This arm routine hits the biceps and triceps from 3 different angles. Here it is in a nutshell:

Biceps:

1. Standing Barbell Curls - 3 sets, 10 reps (5 strict, 5 cheating)

2. Zeller Curls - 3 sets, 10 reps

3. Bent-Over Concentration Curls - 3 sets, 10 reps

Triceps:

1. Lying Barbell Triceps Curls - 3 sets, 10 reps

2. Seated Triceps Curls - 3 sets, 10 reps

3. Rear Triceps Extensions - 3 sets, 10 reps

That's a total of 9 sets for biceps, 9 for triceps. Remember, this was for the advanced bodybuilder.

What if you are in a rut, but you are an intermediate bodybuilder? If so, then this routine can be modified with good effects as follows:

If you have more than 1 year, but less than 2 years of consistent training - perform 2 sets of each of the above exercises. If you have more than 6 months, but less than 1 year of training - perform 1 set of each exercise. Total beginners with less than 6 months of training should not try this rountine. - Classic Physique Builder

Check out this interview with Marvin Eder at http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson304.htm