Jim Park - 1952 Mr. America

Jim Park - 1952 Mr. America

1952 AAU Mr. America Jim Park, on the cover of the June 1952 Iron Man Magazine. Park also won the 1952 Mr. World and 1954 Mr. Universe bodybuilding contests.

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Mr. America 1960 Red Lerille

Mr. America 1960 Red Lerille

It all began with a skinny, red-haired kid from Louisiana who wanted to grow up to be Mr. America -- and he did it!

That skinny kid was Lloyd "Red" Lerille, shown here on the cover of the March 1961 issue of Strength and Health magazine. Red was famous for his chest development which is evident in this picture. In 1963 Red opened his first gym and went first class all the way. Through the years it has grown into one of the finest gyms/health clubs in the country. If you're ever in the Lafayette, Louisiana area, be sure to stop by and get in a workout (and tell Red we said "Hi!")

(Bonus points for noticing the first appearance of "Protein from the Sea" in this issue.)

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Ken Hall

Ken Hall

Well-known for his superb abdominal development, Ken Hall has been one of the most active bodybuilders in history winning over 250 trophies in a career that has spanned the better part of the last five decades.

After moving to the U.S. from his native Barbados, Hall began winning many contests around the New York City area.

His first place finishes include 1957 Mr. New York City (AAU), 1959 Mr. New York Metropolitan (AAU), 1960 Mr. New York City (AAU). He also competed in the 1962 AAU Mr. America contest, finishing 10th (His friend Joe Abbenda, who he had previously defeated at the 1962 Mr. New York State contest, was the eventual winner.)

Ken Hall keep competing well into his 70's and won many Masters Bodybuilding titles.

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Moore's Squat Bar

Moore's Squat Bar

1959 AAU Mr. America winner Harry Johnson demonstrates Moore's Squat Bar, a unique piece of equipment often advertised in the old Iron Man Magazine that eliminates much of the discomfort of squatting.

Look familar?

The rights were eventually purchased by multiple-time Mr. Olympia winner Frank Zane, and re-released as the Frank Zane Leg Blaster (which is still available today.)

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Walt Marcyan

Walt Marcyan
Walt Marcyan was a great lifter, bodybuilder and hand balancer during the early Santa Monica Muscle Beach days. Walt first picked up a barbell and started training when he was 19 years old and shortly afterwards won the Central AAU Light Heavyweight Lifting Championship.

He followed that up by winning the northwest, Pacific, California, Pacific Coast and Illinois State lifting titles. Walt possessed unusual strength in a number of lifts, above he just missed a one-arm snatch of 210 pounds (at a bodyweight of only 180.)

Marcyan was also the inventor of several pieces of training equipment and his "Marcy Gym" line is still going strong today.

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Sam Loprinzi

Sam Loprinzi
Sam Loprinzi was a very popular bodybuilder in the 1940s and 1950s. The picture above shows the kind of shape that he was in when he finished second at the 1946 AAU Mr. America contest and also took home the "Most Muscular" sub-division trophy.

Sam Loprinzi was on the cover of Strength and Heath Magazine several times and also ran a successful gym in the Portland, Oregon Area (which, evidently, is still in business.)

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Elwood Holbrook - Master of the Bent Press

Elwood Holbrook - Master of the Bent Press
Elwood Holbrook took 4th at the 1941 AAU Mr. America Contest AND took home the "Best Arms" award (He had also competed in the afternoon's weightlifting contest where he finished 6th with a 715-pound total in the 165-pound class.)

While Holbrook was a very talented strength athlete and equally good at bodybuilding as well as weightlifting, his real gift was the bent press -- he won the national Bent-Press Championship in a contest held by Sig Klein.

Holbrook was also one of the few men to bent press the famous Rolandow Dumbbell - a feat which he did on his first try and without a warmup.

Here's a shot of a 48-year old Elwood Holbrook bent-pressing 240 pounds -- 75 pounds above his bodyweight. That unique dumbbell belonged to Paul Anderson.

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Melvin Wells

Melvin Wells
Melvin Wells was a great bodybuilder during the 1940's and 50's.

He won the "Most-Muscular" title but finished second in the 1949 AAU Mr. America contest to Jack Dellinger. He repeated this feat the next year, finishing second at the 1950 AAU Mr. America contest, this time to John Farbotnik. but again winning the "Most Muscular" award.

Wells did eventually win a contest, finishing first at the 1951 "Mr. Strength and Health" contest.

What is most interesting about Melvin Wells though is that he didn't lift barbells and dumbbells, he lifted rocks in an unheated garage at his home in Buffalo, New York.

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Frank Leight - Mr. America 1942

Frank Leight - Mr. America 1942
Frank Leight, AAU Mr. America 1942, with some classic globe barbells and kettlebells on the cover of the July, 1942 issue of Strength and Health Magazine.

Frank Leight finished 2nd in 1940 (losing to John Grimek and 3rd in 1941 (again behind Grimek, and Jules Bacon)before finally winning the Mr. America contest himself in 1942.

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John Grimek

John Grimek

This photograph was taken on May 25, 1940 as John Grimek competed in the Heavy weight class (weighing 183 pounds!) at the weightlifting Senior Nationals at Madison Squar Garden, New York City. In the afternoon he placed 3rd by totalling 860 pounds (including the 285 pound press shown here) Later that day he beat Frank Leight to win the AAU Mr. America bodybuilding title, including the "Most Musclular" and "Best Arms" subdivions.

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George Eiferman's Favorite Strength Feat

George Eiferman was the 1948 AAU Mr. America and 1962 IFBB Mr. Universe winner and was particularly well-known for his chest development. On of the ways in which he built such a deep and impressive chest was regular trumpet playing. Eiferman used to like to show off a bit too and was fond of playing the "Hawaiian War Chant" on his trumpet with one hand while holding a loaded barbell overhead with the other. -- Talk about core strength. He regularly performed this feat at Muscle Beach.

George Eiferman

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David Willoughby

David Willoughby

Strength author and historian David Willoughby gracing the cover of the January, 1936 edition of the British physical culture magazine "Superman." Willoughby was the AAU Southern California AAU weightlifting champion from 1923-1926 and eventually went on to author countless books, articles and training courses. He also owned a successful gym in the Los Angeles area, the same gym where Bert Goodrich got his start.

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1938 Mr. America Bert Goodrich With Strongman Stage Weights

1938 Mr. America Bert Goodrich With
Strongman Stage Weights
One of the great things about the history of strength training is that many of the early strength athletes had their own personal training equipment made up which lent quite a bit of character to their training.

Here is a very rare picture of 1938 Mr. America Bert Goodrich with some very interesting oldtime equipment, a globe barbell and kettlebell.

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Mr. America 1957 Ron Lacy

Originally from Hazard, Kentucky, Ron Lacy was the winner of the 1957 AAU Mr. America Contest. He also won the 1955 Mr. Kentucky Contest and finished first in the medium class in the NABBA Mr. Universe contest. Ron was also well known for his leg development and once squatted 300 pounds for 50 consecutive reps.

Mr. America 1957 Ron Lacy

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Bert Goodrich - The First Mr. America (1938)

Bert Goodrich The First Mr. America

The first ever AAU Mr. America was Bert Goodrich, shown here on an early cover of Iron Man Magazine. Bert got his start by training with Earle E. Liederman's courses and was a tremendous athlete in highschool, excelling in hand balancing, swimming, and track and field events. He went on to became a stuntman in several Hollywood Movies and later opened up his own gym.

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Chuck Ahrens and Bert Elliott

Chuck Ahrens and Bert Elliot

Two fixtures in the Santa Monica, California Muscle Beach scene share a laugh in the late 1950's - Chuck Ahrens and Bert Elliott. Chuck Ahrens was a man of immeasurable power, and Bert Elliott was a champion weightlifter and bodybuilder (He won the 1954 Sr. Nationals Weightlifting Title in the 165 Plound Class (totalling 765 pounds), the 1953 "Iron Man" bodybuilding contest as well as the 1954 AAU Mr. Southern California.) At their feet is Bert Elliott's 201 pound "challenge" dumbbell which he could bent- press with ease.

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1971 AAU Mr. America Casey Viator

1971 AAU Mr America Casey Viator
On June 12th, 1971, Casey Viator went on to win the AAU Mr. America bodybuilding contest in the most dominating fashion imaginable.

In addition to winning the overall title, in that contest Casey also nearly swept the sub-categories of Best Arms, Best Back, Best Chest and Most Muscular.

The only award Casey did not win at that contest was "Best Abdominals" (probably because He won everything else.)

Find out his exact training here.

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Steve Reeves' Favorite Exercises for Building The Classic Physique

You can see why they say Steve Reeves has the classic physique -- he looked like a Greek statue brought to life. He was also one of the most successful bodybuilders of all time, winning almost every contest he entered including the 1947 AAU Mr. America title. Reeves trained at the York Barbell Club in York, PA for the 1950 NABBA Mr. Universe contest (which he won.) While there, John Grimek, watched him train, and later wrote an article about what he saw in the November, 1964 issue of Muscular Development Magazine.

Steve Reeves

Here are some of Steve Reeves' favorite exercises, as written by Grimek:

Hack Squats

Cable Rowing

Incline Bench Dumbbell Curls

Behind Neck Press

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1963 Mr. America Vern Weaver

Vern Weaver won the AAU Mr. America contest in 1963. He was well known for his superb back development could power clean close to 400 pounds! Here's a look at one of his weekly routines: Monday and Thursday: Decline Bench Press: 6x6 Chins: 6x6 Tuesday and Friday: Parallel Squats : 6x6 High Pulls: 6x6

1963 Mr. America Vern Weaver

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Ellington Darden

Before authoring over 50 books on strength training and meeting Arthur Jones, Ellington Darden was a very successful bodybuilder in the 60's and 70's. Interestingly enough, Ellington Darden won the 1969 Mr. Texas Bodybuilding contest, the same contest where a 17 year old Casey Viator finished 4th. This shot was taken a few days after Ellington Darden won the 1972 AAU Collegiate Mr. America Contest.

Ellington Darden

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Roy Hilligenn - 1951 Mr. America

Roy Hilligenn 1951 Mr. America

Roy Hilligen was a great all-around "iron athlete." As a bodybuilder, he won the Mr. South Africa title in 1943, 1944, 1946 and 1976 as well as the AAU Mr. America Title in 1951. As an Olympic lifter, Hilligenn was the first South African to Clean and Jerk double body weight. His lifts in 1946 were Press: 245 pounds, Snatch: 255 Pounds and Clean & Jerk: 321 pounds. In the early 1950's, and weighing just 173 pounds, Hilligen unofficially equaled the world record in the Clean & Jerk with a lift of 375 pounds.

He eventually Clean & Jerked 405 at a slightly heavier body weight, which was an unofficial world record at the time. It was voted as one of the greatest "lifts" of all time. Hilligenn also "cleaned" a pair of 142-pound dumbbells (but did not press them) at Ed Yarick's Gym in Oakland, California in the 50's.

Interestingly, he was also a life-long vegetarian.

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George Eiferman - Chest Development

- George Eiferman - Chest Development

Back in the old days, "chest development" meant chest and ribcage expansion. Here's a look at George Eiferman, a classic bodybuilder, who was famous for his chest development, on the cover of the February, 1948 Strength and Health Magazine. Eiferman won the AAU Mr. America, AAU Mr. California and IFBB Mr. Universe titles. In this picture Eiferman weighed around 190 pounds. You can tell that ribcage and chest expansion contributes greatly to the "look" of strength and power.

Kind of amazing that six decades later most professional bodybuilders out weigh him by 60-70 pounds yet still aren't as impressive.

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The Arm of Casey Viator

At just 19 years of age, Casey Viator became the youngest man to win the Mr. America title. This impromptu shot from 1971 gives you a pretty good idea why. Under the tutelage of Arthur Jones, on May 16, 1971, Casey Viator won the AAU Junior Mr. America contest.

The Arm of Casey Viator

Then, four weeks later, Casey Viator won the AAU Mr. America contest in the most spectacular fashion in the history of such contests.

In addition to the overall AAU Mr. America title, Casey took the Most muscular Man in America title and the subdivisions for Best Arms, Best Back, Best Chest and Best Legs.

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Competitive Rope Climbing

Rope climbing used to be a competitive sport and once appeared in the Olympics. Rope Climbing was also sanctioned by the AAU and NCAA as a gymnastic event. A 20 or 25 foot natural fiber Manila Climbing Rope was used. The climber began while seated on the floor straddling the rope. Upon their first movement, the stopwatch started and they were timed while climbing the rope without the use of the legs, pulling all the way to the "tambourine" a black, wooden disc that served as the finish line. Don Perry of Champaign Illinois and Robert Manning of San Fernando, California could each climb a 20 foot rope in 2.8 seconds. - Amazing! Another great rope climber was Garvin Smith of UCLA, who could climb a 25 foot rope in 4.2 seconds. Rope climbing is still popular with wrestlers, gymnasts and any other athletes looking to build a stronger grip and upper-body endurance.

Competitive Rope Climbing

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Old School Strength: Wilbur Miller

Old School Strength: Wilbur Miller
Wilbur Miller was Kansas wheat farmer who became the best amateur deadlifter in America back in the 1960's.

He trained by himself when the day's farm chores were done.

In 1963, Wilbur Miller pulled an official AAU record 705 lbs. and a year later topped that when he pulled 715 at the very first National Powerlifting Tournament held in York, Pennsylvania.

Wilbur Miller was also widely known as having some of the strongest hands around -- notice the palms forward grip in the deadlift pictured above.

He could also close the "Extra-Heavy" Iron Man Hand Gripper with ease.

You've got to admit -- it looks pretty darn cool when the bar is loaded all the way to the end like that.

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Steve Stanko

On April 19, 1941 Steve Stanko made history as he the first man to break the mythic 1000-pound total in an official weightlifting contest.

Unfortunately Stanko also suffered from painful blood clots in his legs and five weeks later found himself in the hospital. By mid-1942 he regained enough health to begin light upper-body training again. He was told to stay off his legs and could only train while sitting or lying on a bench.

Steve Stanko

Through his specialized upper-body training program he was able to build himself into a bodybuilding champion, winning the 1944 AAU Mr. America and Junior Mr. America, the 1945 Most Muscular Man in America and the 1946 Mr. Universe.

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