Ab Training for a Classic Physique: Pre-Roid, Golden Age Approaches!

(Photo Above: Steve Reeves - Mr. Pacific Coast 1946, Mr. Western America 1947, Mr. America 1947, Mr. World 1948, Mr. Universe 1950)

In previous posts, we mentioned that Steve Reeves didn't directly train his abs most of the time. This is certainly true. The beginning, intermediate, and advanced routines that he followed didn't contain any direct ab exercises (see his book, Building the Classic Physique - The Natural Way available at http://www.stevereeves.com/). However, the specific routine that he used to prepare for the Mr. America and (at least one of) the Mr. Universe contests that he competed in, did contain 2 sets of knee raises on a vertical bench (with some light ankle weights). That's it!

However, it would be wrong to conclude from this that Steve did not really train his abs. On the contrary, he felt that his abs got plenty of training from all the other exercises in his routines. He noticed, for example, that when he did tricep pushdowns, he would strongly contract his abs. This was true for his other exercises as well. When you consider the amount of concentration and all-out-effort he put into every set of his exercises, then it is quite believable that his abs got plenty of training. So much so, that he didn't feel the need to train them directly. I'm sure if he had felt that his abs needed more training, he would have done more.

That being said, as we look over the pre-roid Golden Age of the 1940s and 50s, we can identify 3 basic approaches that the champs seemed to follow:

(1) The Indirect Approach - followed by Steve Reeves as described above,

(2) The "Normal" Approach - followed by those who felt the abs were just like any other muscle and needed to be exercised in the same way (this is the approach taken in the Weider 1950 Muscle Building Course),

(3) The "High Rep" Approach - followed by those who felt that the abs were a "high rep muscle" requiring training with very high reps - and even daily training (this was the approach used by Zabo).

There are pre-roid Golden Age champs who followed each approach and they all have great abs. So what can we learn from this? That all 3 approaches work!

But each approach may not work for everyone. Many people trying to gain mass find that they cannot do so when they include direct ab work in their routines (this phenomenon was noticed by Vince Gironda). Others do fine when training the abs normally. Still others can take the high rep approach. The bottom line is that you have to see what works for you.

But remember, proper exercise can only tone (tighten up) a muscle, or increase its size. There is no such thing as "spot reducing." No amount of exercise is going to define your abs (despite all the TV commercials for various ab exercisers that imply that it can). It doesn't matter what approach above you take, your "six pack" will not show if there is a layer of fat over it and ab training will not reduce that fat (even cardio is not the best way to burn up calories). So your number one "tool" for ab training is YOUR DIET!

Vince Gironda once said not to even bother training your abs until you can see them! In other words, he is making the point to GET YOUR DIET ON TRACK - lose the spare tire first! Then when you can see your abs, you can start training them and actually see the effect your exercise is having on them. Vince had other reasons for avoiding ab training during mass building, but we will save that for another time.

Just remember, if you want great abs, get your diet right first - then pick one of the three approaches above and see what works best for you.

- CPB

P.S. If you would like 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 Golden Age of Bodybuilding (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 our info with anyone, so you won't get on any unwanted lists or receive unwanted, automated email (spam) - even from us!

Classic Physique Definition: Principles and Practices!

(Photo Above: CPB Champ Leo Robert - Mr. Canada 1951, Mr. Universe - Pro 1955)

One of our CPB Readers asked how the pre-roid Golden Age champs achieved their definition without doing all the cardio that is popular today. This is an important question because the time will come, in building a classic physique, when you will want to improve your definition. So it is important to understand the principles and practices that they used.

First, we should re-emphasize that classic physique definition of the pre-roid Golden Age was different than the "ripped, shredded, cadaver-like" look of today. The ideal of that age (the 1940s and 50s) was to have a classic physique that "radiated with vitality and the glow of health." For this look, the muscles had to be defined, yet there had to be a higher level of bodyfat (compared to modern bodybuilders) in order to provide the skin with that radiant look of vitality and health. So they (classic physique builders and judges) were not impressed by straited gluts and seeing every subcutaneous vein. The definition they admired still recalled the muscularity seen in the ancient classical Greek sculptures of the gods and heroes.

The following list is an incomplete list of principles and practices that the pre-roid Golden Age champs used in order to achieve their classic definition. These principles and practices would have been used differently by each individual depending on their circumstances (e.g., whether they "bulked" up and needed to "trim down" or whether they stayed in shape and simply wanted to improve their muscularity a bit). So please don't think that they necessarily used all these principles at the same time. Feel free to discuss these principles and practices in our comments section. It is the comments of the CPB Readers that really enrich CPB Blog!

Here is the partial list:

1. Cut calories and lower carbs (especially starchy foods and any foods considered fattening)
2. Use a very low carb diet (Vince Gironda's approach)
3. Use a higher rep range on exercises (e.g., 12-15 reps per set)
4. Cut down the rest time between sets and exercises
5. Increase the number of exercises and sets per body part
6. Some champs did add running to their exercise regimen (this was not a universal practice)
7. Switch from a 3 day per week full body schedule to a 4, 5, or 6 day split a few weeks before a contest
8. Train with chest expanders (steel cable exercisers)
9. Take a vitamin-mineral supplement
10. Reduce salt intake
11. Don't eat between meals
12. Avoid excessive rest and do not take naps
13. Be more active in general

Again, this is a partial list (gathered from the muscle mags and courses of the pre-roid Golden Age). But it gives you a good idea. They didn't need high tech "fat burning/thermogenic" supplements or intense, daily "cardio" sessions, roids, or even extreme diets (except in the case of Vince and his very low carb approach). You will notice that their principles and practices also didn't cost a lot of money! Theirs was a simple and effective approach and left them with physiques that looked great and healthy! What more could any classic physique builder want!

- CPB

P.S. For a free 1 year subscription to Classic Physique Builder (CPBzine) - a pdf "zine" (do-it-yourself magazine) patterned after the muscles mags of the pre-roid Golden Age of Bodybuilding (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!).

Steve Reeves on Classic Definition and Reducing!

(Photo Above: CPB Champ Steve Reeves on the cover of the Reg Park Journal July 1958 issue)

OK...we learned some new tools from Vince Gironda about obtaining "Maximum Definition" - but here is the Steve Reeves approach to classic (not maximum) definition - another tool. It worked for Steve.

As you can see from comparing Steve's photo above to Vince's in our previous post, Steve had definition all right - but not the "maximum" or "extreme kind" that Vince was going for (and Vince still didn't get quite the same level of definition as a steroid user such as Frank Zane). But Steve's level of definition is what we call "classic definition" - meaning he had muscularity & muscle separation, but his skin still had a healthy glow and he looks full of natural vitality. This is because he had a higher level of body fat than Vince (or those that go for extreme definition).

Here is what he said about "training" for definition (we will follow this with some of his diet advice). This comes from his book "Building the Classic Physique - The Natural Way" (1995: p. 154)

"Question: When you were training for your Mr. America and Mr. Universe wins, did you ever include any aerobic training along with your bodybuilding workouts in order to become more defined?"

"Steve Reeves: No, I never had to. I was always in fairly good shape all year around. If there was a contest coming up, I would simply train a little harder. In other words, I would just train a little bit faster and increase the intensity of my workouts by having less rest time in between sets and muscle groups."

"The whole key to acquiring a Classic Physique lies in the proper balance of intensity, duration and frequency of your workouts. If you work out at too high an intensity, you can't work out very long - which means you may stimulate some muscle growth but you'll not burn off much body fat. If, on the other hand, you train with an intensity that is too low, you can go on for long duration - and burn some body fat - but it's too low an intensity to stimulate much increase in muscle size. Training to either extreme is not desirable. It's a waste of time unless you have a balance of both intensity and duration in your workouts, as well as adequate rest periods in between workouts to enhance your recuperation from training."

CPB Commentary: The bottom line is that Steve had no special routine for definition. He used his same routine, but just increased the intensity of the overall workout by going through it a bit faster - by reducing the time between sets and between muscle groups. His normal time between sets was 45 seconds and normal time between muscle groups was up to 5 minutes. So he is reducing these times.

Now, let's look at his diet advice regarding reducing - which can also be used for those needing a bit more definition. It is based on his typical diet and is very simple.

Breakfast: Steve Reeves Power Drink

Lunch: Steve Reeves Power Drink

Dinner: One huge salad (with rice vinegar & olive oil dressing - 1 tablespoon each), turkey, fish, or chicken, and one of the following carb sources: whole wheat bread, potatoes, corn, pasta, beans or rice.

In case you forgot how he made his power drink, here is the recipe again:

14 ounces of freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon of knox gelatin

1 tablespoon of honey

1 banana

2-4 raw eggs (pasteurized)

2 tablespoons of high protein powder (Steve's custom mix)

OK...here is how he made his protein powder:

Combine 1/2 lb of powdered egg whites, 1/2 lb of powdered skim milk, and 1/4 lb of powdered soy protein. That's its! Then use 2 tablespoons of this in the power drink above.

CPB Commentary: Steve believed there was nothing magical about losing body fat - just take in less calories than you need (to maintain your weight) and you will start losing. He recommended not losing more than 2 lbs a week - otherwise, he felt you would start losing lean muscle tissue.

His protein drink probably has about 40 grams of protein. So the overall protein intake of this diet is still high (although it seems that it might be less than 1 gram per pound of bodyweight for him and most people - unless you are eating quite a bit of meat for dinner).

For those that can't take or don't like low carb dieting, Steve's approach here is another tool. You probably won't be able to achieve "extreme definition" on it, but then for classic physique builders, that is not our goal. You should be able to attain "classic definition" - a much healthier look in our book!

If you find that you cannot lose fat on this diet, then cut back a bit on the portion of your carbs at dinner. If that doesn't work, then you can cut out all the carbs at dinner except for the salad. You will still have carbs in the orange juice, honey, and banana. If you still need to cut more calories, then go down to 1/2 banana and use 10-12 ounces of orange juice instead of 14 oz.

In any case, you can make adjustments as necessary for your situation!

- CPB

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