NATURALSTRENGTH.com – Old School Weight Training Strength Strongman Power Vintage Bodybuilding: For Rugged Strength and Muscle Size
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I’ve often written about the glorious history of lifting weights for the purpose of gaining muscular size and strength. Most of us who “hoist the steel” were initially motivated to do so by the goal of getting stronger and bigger. Realistically, very few of us were “97 Lb. weaklings,” but we were lifted weights in order to increase our size and become stronger. And we often turned to the muscle magazines in order to increase our training knowledge and become inspired by what lifting weights had to offer.
There have been a myriad of magazines over the years devoted to various phases of the “Iron Game.” Whether you practiced weightlifting, powerlifting, bodybuilding, or used progressive resistance training as an adjunct to other sports, or if you lifted simply for the pure love and pleasure of it, there was a magazine for you. York Barbell, Dan Lurie, and Weider all put out numerous different magazines during their “heyday.” I’m not going to go into the “muscle wars” that developed between the big three publishers. Suffice to say that I am very proud to have been a “York Barbell” man through and through. My love for all things related to York began upon my joining Bruno’s Health Club in the Summer of 1983. And even though York’s best days may be behind them, my love, respect, and admiration for York Barbell and its glorious history has not diminished over the years.
But as much as I have always loved York, there was a magazine that, in my opinion, was the seminal publication for those who lift weights. I’m talking, of course, about Ironman magazine. To be more specific, Peary Rader’s Ironman, which was in existence from 1936 until 1986. It covered every aspect of the Iron Game. Its articles contained no commercial slant, they did not try to hawk useless supplements, and they did not advocate for steroid-bloated druggies. Mr. Rader did not claim to be a master blaster or trainer of champions, and he did not publish worthless articles for the purpose of advancing his own business interests.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Ironman was the quantity and quality of great articles. If you look through old issues, a casual look at some of the Content would reveal a literal “Who’s Who” of great Iron Game writers. Leading the way was Mr. Rader himself, who has written many great editorials, articles, and books. But to illustrate what kind of a man he was, he recognized the importance of having a variety of writers. He was secure enough to have numerous talented authors write for him. And, boy, were there some great writers! Anthony Ditillo, Michael Salvati, Ted Sobel, Arthur Jones are but a few of the great writers whose byline appeared in Ironman.
One of my all-time favorite strength writers is a man about whom I have written in previous articles. Bradley Steiner was one of the greatest and most influential writers in the history of training. Several years ago, I wrote a tribute to him for this website on the occasion of his passing. During the course of his career, he wrote numerous books and articles. If you can get your hands on any of his books, please do yourself a favor and get them. Quality training material is not only timeless, it is in short supply these days.
The January 1972 edition of Ironman had an article written by Mr. Steiner, “For Rugged Strength and Muscle Size,” in which he advocates for an underappreciated concept of drug-free strength training: Abbreviated Training. Even though the exact phrase used by Mr. Steiner is “Limited, Heavy, Basic Schedule,” the idea is the same. Do not waste your time trying to follow a six-day-per-week “split” routine espoused by so many so-called champions.
If you are a drug-free lifter, then you should already know the importance of lifting twice or, at most, three times per week utilizing heavy, basic movements. “Pumping and light, muscle-spinning movements are a waste of time.” Heavy, basic movements and sufficient rest and recuperation between workouts are essential. Dr. Ken, Bob Whelan, Stuart McRobert and other notable strength coaches have been advocating this type of training for years. The limited amount of movements, according to Mr. Steiner, are as follows:
Press
Bench Press
Bent-Over Row
Deadlift
Squat
Abdominal Exercise
Curl
By dividing these movements over the course of two, or three times per week you will build size and strength and allow yourself enough time to allow for proper recuperation. There are three salient points to the article that should be known.
First, “muscles absolutely must be given sufficient rest BETWEEN exercise sessions if they are to GROW.
Second, “No man ( or woman ) can work his/her entire body to its absolute limit more than two or three days a week without suffering a breakdown.”
Third, “when a bodybuilder becomes advance, it is possible to include more exercises in his training IF HE CAN KEEP HIS WORKOUTS AN HOUR TO AN HOUR AND A HALF in length.”
It is quite obvious that Mr. Steiner believed in abbreviated training. It is equally obvious that such training is effective and safe. One of the biggest lessons I learned when I joined Iron Island Gym in 1992 was the fact that you can build great strength with only two workouts per week. And today, more than thirty years later, I still find that I make my best gains by training no more than two or three times per week.
There are a few more bits of advice that are given towards the end of the article, and they, like everything else written by Mr. Steiner, make complete sense. First, “do not attempt to set up a pre-planned schedule of either sets or reps.” What he means by this is, simply, listen to your body. How many times have you gone to the gym with a specific workout in mind only to find that your energy and/strength isn’t cooperating? What you should do is listen to your body, and alter your workout. Drug-free lifters will certainly experience their share of workouts where things just are not going as you would hope they would.
“Heavy weights are needed to progress- and you must strive constantly to make them progressively HEAVIER.” Poundage progression is the name of the game. It’s not called progressive resistance training for nothing! Push the poundages!
“You must have adequate rest.” Again, listen to your body. If you feel you have to back off, or give yourself an extra rest day between workouts, then by all means do so and don’t beat yourself up over it.
Heavy, progressive workouts on the basics sound simple, and in theory, it is simple. But whether or not such a system will work for you is something that you must decide. And the only way to make such a decision is to work hard, give yourself adequate rest and proper nutrition. If this is your first introduction to Bradley Steiner, then I hope you will try to find some of his other articles. As I’ve often mentioned, quality training information withstands the test of time. And the information that Mr. Steiner published decades ago is better than just about anything you will find today.
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