Steve Reeves

Steve Reeves

Steve Reeves, the 1947 Mr. America shows why he was known as THE Classic Physique. Reeves' favorite exercises for building his 23-1/2" wide shoulders were lateral raises and the behind-the-neck press.

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Steve Reeves - HERCULES!

Steve Reeves - HERCULES!

Many actors have played the mythical Greek hero Hercules, but certainly one of the most memorable was bodybuilding legend Steve Reeves. Although the 1947 Mr. America winner played Hercules only twice -- in the 1958 film "Hercules" and its sequel "Hercules Unchained" (1960) -- they became very popular, and many more "Sword and Sandal" pictures followed.

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Jack LaLanne, Strength and Health Magazine, January 1947

Jack LaLanne

Jack Lalanne on the cover the of the January, 1947 issue of Strength and Health Magazine. Jack is still going strong at 94 years of age!

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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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The Iron Guru Vince Gironda

The Iron Guru Vince Gironda

Known as "The Iron Guru," Vince Gironda left an indelible mark on the bodybuilding world. For over fifty years "Vince's Gym" was one of the most popular bodybuilding gyms in the country and a number of famous bodybuilders AND movie stars often trained there. Vince was one of the first muscle experts to place a great deal of emphasis on nutrition and was also well known for his "unorthodox" training methods and unusual exercise ideas.

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Sandow's Books

The great Eugen Sandow wrote a number of books over his lifetime. Here is a look at them, in order of publication:

Sandow's System of Physical Training (1894) Strength and How To Obtain It (1897) The Gospel of Strength According to Sandow (1902) BodyBuilding - or Man in The Making(1904) The Construction and Reconstruction of the Human Body (1907) Strength and Health (1912) Life is Movement (1919)

Eugen Sandow

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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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Chest Expanders

Chest Expanders
It's hard to tell from this angle but I believe that's 1945 AAU Mr. America Clarence "Clancy" Ross demonstrating one of the very best chest expander exercises.

Just another example in the long line of Champions who have built their strength from using them.

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Walter Good

Walter Good
Walter Good, one of the Good Brothers as he appeared in the early 1930s. Like his brother Bill, Walter Good was also an Olympian, competing in the 75-Kilo Class at the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin.

Walter also appeared on the cover of several early bodybuilding magazines.

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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 McWilliams: Dumbbell Curls

John McWilliams

Many people have wondered exactly how it was that John McWilliams built such big arms... The reasons for that should be as straightforward as can be: a)Genetics b)Progressive resistance exercise I hear dumbbell curls are a good bicep exercise -- looks like they worked well enough for John McWilliams. Can't do much about your genetics,but you certainly CAN use this great exercise to build bigger arms.

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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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Armand Tanny's Favorite Exercise: The One Arm Clean

Armand Tanny's Favorite Exercise: The One Arm Clean
Armand Tanny (brother of Vic Tanny) was a very successful bodybuilder in the late 40's and 50's, and a regular at the original Santa Monica Muscle Beach scene.

Tanny competed in many major bodybuilding contests and won the Pro-Mr. America in 1950. His favorite exercise was one you don't often see these days: the one arm clean.

Its hard to tell how heavy the bar is loaded to in this shot -- I'd say at least 225 or so, and you sure won't find any bodybuilders who could do that these days.

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Bill Pettis: 23-1/4 Inch Arms!

Bill Pettis Big Arms
Another look at Bill Pettis' 23-1/4 inch arms. Bill actually did compete in a few Bodybuilding contests in the 1970's, finishing as high as third in the IFBB World Pro Championships.

Maybe, just maybe, Bill's arms didn't quite stretch the tape that far, but they certainly are impressive. Bill's not too shabby in the forearm department either...

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John McWilliams - Big Arms For You

The well-known bodybuilder John McWilliams wrote his own arm development course entitled "Big Arms for You" which he advertised in Iron Man Magazine for years. As you can see, his arms were quite impressive. -- McWilliams wasn't all show though, he also had a 710 pound deadlift to his name.

John McWilliams - Big Arms For You

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Reg Park Dumbbell Press

Reg Park

There's not too many folks who are instantly recognizable from the back but any iron fan knows that this is undoubtedly Reg Park. Here's Reg pressing a pair of 110-pound dumbbells at the original Muscle Beach. I sure couldn't think of anyone better than Reg to play Hercules in the movies. ... The two-dumbbell press is a great shoulder builder, as you can see.

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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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Harold Zinkin

Harold Zinkin
Harold Zinkin, shown here on the cover of the June, 1947 issue of Strength & Health Magazine, won the 1941 "Mr. California" bodybuilding contest and was a fixture on the original Santa Monica Muscle Beach scene where he thrilled the crowds with feats of strength, hand balancing and acrobatics.

Zinkin later invented the Universal Gym Machine.

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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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Curling With Casey Viator

Casey Viator

Casey Viator was easily one of the strongest bodybuilders of all time -- here he is curling 225 pounds during one of his workouts. There was no secret to Casey's success -- basic exercises trained at an intensity level that has to be seen to be believed. Don't let anyone tell you curls are a worthless exercise -- building stronger biceps will help with a stronger "pull" and also balance out tricep development which means stronger presses. ...All worthwhile goals for every strength athlete.

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