Sergio Oliva Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Frank Zane, Sergio Oliva, and Chuck Sipes

Posted on Monday, May 24th, 2021 by John Wood

That’s Frank Zane on the chest crusher, Sergio Oliva on the expander, and Chuck Sipes on the Iron shoe! If you didn’t know any better you might think I was talking about a salsa band, but one thing is for sure, that’s a whole lot of muscle. You are looking at twenty six overall bodybuilding titles won between these three, including six Mr. Olympias, three Mr. Universes and two Mr. Americas (IFBB).

Turkey and Sergio

Posted on Monday, November 11th, 2019 by John Wood

Larry “Turkey” Gilmore shakes hands with Sergio Oliva, some time in 1970. “Turkey” was a lifter who happened to live in Deland, Florida and became friends with Arthur Jones in the early days of Nautilus. Among other things, Turkey helped Arthur build “The Blue Monster,” spotted during workouts in the Quonset hut, and generally did any other odd jobs that were necessary — he was instrumental in getting Nautilus off the ground. You can read more about him here and here.

1967 IFBB Mr. Universe

Posted on Thursday, June 20th, 2019 by John Wood

A look at Joe Weider shaking Sergio Oliva’s hand on the winner’s platform of the 1967 IFBB Mr. Universe contest. This event was held at Montreal’s Paul Sauvè Arena and the Jr. and Sr. Mr. Canada contests were also held in conjunction. Vic Downs, winner of the “Most Musclular” award, is on the left. Christopher Forde, 4th in his class, is at the right. Frank Zane, fresh off a win in the Mr. Eastern United States, finished third in the tall class.

Here’s the complete results:

1967 IFBB MR. UNIVERSE

Overall Winner: Sergio Oliva (Chicago, Ill.)

Most Muscular: Vic Downs (Toronto, Canada)

Best Physique / Short Class:
1. Rick Wayne (London, England)
2. Rock Stonewall (Chicago, Ill.)
3. Dennis Gauthier (Montreal, Canada)
4. T. Kanazawa (Hiroshima, Japan)

Best Physique / Tall Class:
1. Sergio Oliva (Chicago, Ill.)
2. Vic Downs (Toronto, Canada)
3. Frank Zane (Tampa, Fla)
4. Christopher Forde (Trinidad, W.I.)

Most Muscular / Short Class:
1. Elliot Gilchrist (Grenada, W.I.)
2. Pierre van den Steen (Brussels, Belgium)
3. Mitsuo Endo (Tokyo, Japan)
4. Eino Akkila (Sweden)

Most Muscular / Tall Class:
1. Vic Downs (Toronto, Canada)
2. Glen Wells (Nassau, Bahamas)
3. Conrad Laframboise (Toronto, Canada)
4. David Sheppard (New York, N.Y.)

Sergio Oliva: The Myth

Posted on Friday, June 22nd, 2018 by John Wood

Is there any question as to why Sergio Oliva was known as “The Myth?” Here’s a simple, casual shot playing pool with friends. Even though there may be bodybuilders these days with bigger arms there has never been nor will there ever be anyone more physically impressive that Sergio Oliva. He was simply blessed with the greatest genetics of all time. In addition to several other titles Sergio won the Mr. Olympia crown three times:(1967, 1968, 1969)

Sergio The Weightlifter

Posted on Monday, December 4th, 2017 by John Wood

Like many bodybuilders in the 60’s, Sergio Oliva got his start in Olympic Weightlifting. In fact, he did well enough to compete for his native Cuba at the 1963 Pan-Am games. Though he was very strong, his Olympic lifting ability was actually hampered by his relatively thin waist. The foundation built by Olympic lifting still served Sergio well in his bodybuilding career though, he went on to win the Mr. Olympia Contest in 1967, 1968 and 1969.

Mr. America Magazine: June, 1968 – Sergio Oliva

Posted on Thursday, November 2nd, 2017 by John Wood

A look at he cover of the June, 1968 issue of Mr. America Magazine, featuring Sergio Oliva and much of the hardware he had won.

As of that publication date, Sergio had won: The “Most Muscular” Sub-Class at the 1965 AAU Mr. America (although he finished fourth overall),the “Most Muscular” Sub-Class at the 1966 AAU Mr. America (this time finishing second), 1966 AAU Jr. Mr. America , 1966 IFBB Mr. World, 1967 IFBB Mr. Olympia, 1967 IFBB Mr. Universe, and the 1968 IFBB Mr. Olympia. He’d compete another decade and a half adding another IFBB Mr. Olympia title (1969), 1972 WBBG Mr. Galazxy, 1974 WBBG Mr. International, 1976, 1976, 1978 WBBG Mr. Olympus, and two more WABBA Pro World Cups championships to his haul – whew!

Notice Sergio is pointedly noted as “a Weider Trained Man” on this cover.

Sergio’s Other Job

Posted on Thursday, January 12th, 2017 by John Wood

Sergio Oliva’s “real” job was a Chicago police officer, a position he held for 27 years. With a 60 inch chest and 20 inch arms, unsurprisingly, his uniforms had to be custom made. You’d probably think twice about jay walking with this guy coming your way.

Sergio Oliva ~ The Ultimate Physique

Posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2016 by John Wood

…But, regardless of their measurement, Sergio’s arms are so big that they literally must be seen to be appreciated – and some people, upon first seeing them, are almost unable to believe their eyes; in a recent full-length picture of Sergio, the width of the flexed upper arms exceeded the height of Sergio’s head – his arms were literally larger than his head, a size ratio never before approached by anybody else.

Is that, then the “ultimate physique?” For most people, it is far beyond the limits imposed by individual potential; but it is almost certain that somebody will eventually exceed even Sergio’s present size and proportions. I recently measured the “cold” upper arm of a 19 year old boy in New York at 19 1/2 inches, and with continued training this boy can almost certainly exceed Sergio’s measurements – but he is at least six inches taller than Sergio, so even with Sergio’s measurements he would not have Sergio’s almost unbelievable proportions, would not give the “impression of size” that Sergio does.

I am reasonably certain that Sergio could attain even more size with continued training – while maintaining or improving his present degree of muscularity (muscular definition), and if so, then his proportions would be almost unreal. But in the meantime, until he does get larger, or until somebody at least matches his present proportions, Sergio certainly does represent the “ultimate physique.”

Arthur Jones,
Nautilus Training Bulletin #2

The New Bodybuilding for Old-School Results by Ellington Darden

Posted on Wednesday, September 28th, 2016 by John Wood

GONE.

The New Bodybuilding for Old-School results is sold out, but we can point you toward this classic Ell Darden title which is available on Amazon Kindle:

Strength and Conditioning for Football by Ellington Darden

Sergio Oliva and the Nautilus Pullover

Posted on Wednesday, March 21st, 2012 by John Wood

Sergio Oliva and the Nautilus Pullover

The Nautilus Pullover, demonstrated here by Three-time Mr. Olympia winner Sergio Oliva, was often called “The Upper Body Squat” because it trained the largest and strongest muscles of the back in a way that is not possible with regular barbells and dumbbells…

However, like any tool, the pullover must be used correctly. “Correctly use” entails not just the form of the movement itself but also the volume and intensity in which sets and reps are performed.; A lot of people didn’t do it right from the outset and wrote it off, which is a shame… Once you “get” how to use the pullover correctly, the results are like night and day. Though this particular machine was originally in production over forty years ago, they are still surprisingly easy to find — we may actually do a special feature on the pullover at some point.