Big Muscles Forever

Just got news from author Joe Vitale that Pete Siegel passed away. You might remember Pete from Muscle and Fitness in the early eighties. Pete was a great motivational writer regarding using your mind in bodybuilding and will surely be missed.

This was an article by Ben Weider rehashing some bad contest results and some possible solutions for avoiding bad judging in the future. He mentioned Franco Columbu losing to Pierre Vandensteen despite being ahead in the judging. Ben Weider also thought Franco Columbu losing to Chris Dickerson in London wasn’t right. Columbu was said to have been too muscular. According to Ben Weider Rick Wayne should have prevailed over Dave Draper in the Mr. World. Ken Waller should have also won against Chris Dickerson.

The article then goes into some detail on what judges should have to know to judge a contest. If you really want that information you will have to buy the magazine. By the was the September 1971 Muscle Builder/Power gets a B+ which means go buy it if you can find it .

In a brief but informative article Peter Fashing, the IFBB German Director, gives the scoop on the 1970 Mr. Europe Contest. First of all the guest posers were Frank Zane and Dave Draper, recent contest winners themselves. Here are the results:

1). In the short class, Franco Columbu finished first with Pierre Vandensteen in second. Giuseppe Deianna finished third with Mr. Austria Adolph Zigner in fourth.

2). The medium classwas won by Mr. Germany , Gunther Heinlen. In second was Janko Rudman along with Helmut Schneider in third. German weightlifter Hans Sheimann finished in fourth.

3). In the tall classSerge Nubret easily took first place. Karl Kainrath finished second with Harald Gobetz in third.

The overall winnerof the 1970 Mr. Europe was Franco Columbu.

This was a nice, short but thorough article by Mike Katz on back building. Mike advises you to think of your back in three sections; upper, middle and lower back. With this in mind Katz states that the upper back responds best to very wide stretching exercises like the wide grip chin up. On the other hand, narrow grip movements will work the middle portion of the back. The lower lats need the stretching action of the long range pulley machine, hyper extensions and so on. Mike Katz uses the Weider Priority Principle by working the back first in his workout. Mike also works the triceps following the back.

Mike Starts his back routine with wide grip chins. He starts by hanging from a bar, pulling himself up until his nose is level with the chinning bar, holding for a count of three and then lowering back to the starting position. He does as many reps as he can and then adds weight with a belt. Mike then does five sets of ten reps with the added weight. Mike then moves on to wide grip lat pulls for five sets of ten reps.

Mike then moves on to the end of bar row (performed with the t-bar). He does four sets of eight reps using as much weight as possible. Long range pulls are next for five sets of fifteen reps. This is where you are sitting down and pulling the weight into you. Mike will then finish off his back routine with four sets of fifteen reps of light deadlifts. Mike works the back two times per week.

Blogger note: This looks like a very do able routine two times a week.

This article by Arnold Schwarzenegger starts off by asking, “Can music really affect muscle growth?” Arnold cites a study by Dr. Edward Podolsky that indicates certain music can increase or decrease strength. Here are some observations that Arnold Schwarzenegger came up with regarding muscle and music:

1). The right kind of music can stimulate the imagination for bodybuilding.

2). The right kind of music can increase enthusiasm for training.

3). The right music can bolster training confidence in blasting through sticking points.

4). The right music can help the bodybuilder’s spirit soar and psych him/her up to perform greater feats of strength.

5). The right music can make the workout more interesting.

The above music formula will also work for powerlifters.

Good music will help the competing bodybuilder’s posing routine. Harold Poole would pose to “Exodus,” while Dave Draper would pose to the theme from the “Ten Commandments.”

As far as the scientific study by Dr. Podolsky, most of the music used was classical. A few songs mentioned were Rhapsody in Blue, The Can-Can and Flight of the Bumble Bee. Use the instinctive training principle to find what music helps you to train. Pick the music to fit your mood and training tempo.

Dick Tyler takes up where Art Zeller left off in his Golden Impressions article.  Some extra photos with Dave Draper giving a relaxed back shot and training with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Rick Wayne was shown doing curls. Mike Katz and Ken Waller were pictured doing heavy dumbbell work on the incline bench. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ken Waller, Frank Zane and Dave Draper were shown blasting away doing dumbbell curls by the dumbbell rack. Arnold, Mike Katz, Serge Jacobs, Zabo Koszewski and Dave Draper lined up at the water fountain for the final photo of the article. Don Peters also got a mention as to his frequent appearances at Gold’s Gym in order to train for the Mr. America contest.

Art Zeller wrote a nice article describing the upbeat in training as contest time was nearing for the champs. Some guys were training two and three times per day utilizing the Weider double split system. The East coast gang of bodybuilders arrived for serious contest training. This group included Mike Katz, Leon Brown, Ed Giuliani and Pete Caputo. They were seeking the same winning formula that the West coast champs such as Frank Zane, Larry Scott, Dave Draper and Arnold Schwarzenegger used with great success. Franco Columbu was also mentioned as was IFBB Mr. Belgium Serge Jacobs.

Ken Waller was seen doing incline 120 pound presses. Chuck Collras and Zabo Koszewski were also hard at work. Arnold was gunning for Sergio as usual. The article ended with the following contest results, which were mainly won by the gang at Gold’s:

1970 Results

Dave Draper-IFBB Mr. World

Franco Columbu-IFBB Mr. Universe, Mr. Europe, Mr. International.

Ken Waller-Amateur Mr. World

Mike Katz-IFBB Mr. America

Frank Zane-Amateur Mr. Universe

Arnold Schwarzenegger-Professional Mr. Universe, Professional Mr. World, Mr. Olympia.

Here is another great article from the September 1971 Muscle Builder/Power. Franco Columbu clearly spells out in this article the difference between definition and separation. Definition is being cut whereas; separation is the delineation of one muscle group from the other. Franco Columbu cites Sergio Oliva in losing the 1966 Mr. Olympia to Larry Scott. Oliva look great and was cut but it was hard to tell where one muscle group left off and the other began, hence the loss to  Larry Scott.

Oliva resolved the problem the following year with an additional twenty three pounds of muscle along with intense muscle separation. When Franco started training he developed great training but not enough muscle mass. Arnold Schwarzenegger observed his training and said it was all wrong. Franco decided he had to train fast, like before, but heavy as well.

As a result of training heavy and fast Franco began winning bodybuilding as well as power-lifting contests. Franco mentioned the Scott curl as great for isolating the muscle. By training heavy and fast he developed size and definition. Training fast refers to rest between sets and not speedy movements. Thirty to sixty seconds between sets is the definition for fast in this article. For every body partFranco did five exercises and sometimes six. He would start out very heavy with say the bench press, performing every rep slowly and completely. The second exercise would be the inclined bench press to isolate the upper pectorals. Super-sets were also used to increase blood flow top the area. Franco averaged 25 sets per body-part with 10 repetitions completed in no more than 50 minutes, all with heavy weights and minimum rest between sets.

Franco also indicated that having great abdominals is an absolute must. Here Franco did tri-sets. Starting with hanging leg raises he moved to sit ups and then onto fishtails. All three were done one right after the other for four tri-sets sets of twenty reps. Franco had a good metabolism and just cut back on food and cut out the pies when trying to cut up. One unusual thing he did was eat ice cream before a workout which gave him extra energy. Power, muscle, cuts and separation accurately define the photos of Franco Columbu in this informative article.

Always an interesting column as Dick Tyler starts out with a photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger and former love interest Barbara Oatland. There was a second picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sergio Oliva in gym sweats prior to Arnold winning the title.

Dick also mentioned Monty Wolford and other old timer Seymour Koenig. Monty came out of hibernation while Seymour Koenig was discussing going to chiropractic school. Dick also mentioned the following workout by Arnold, Dave Draper and Franco Columbu: 25 sets each for the lats, chest and shoulders done in 100 minutes.

Art Zeller bet Monty Wolford he couldn’t do 100 chins. According to the article there was a $10,000 bet riding on it but a three year window to do it in for Wolford. Former Mr. Universe and Pro Wrestler Earl Maynard was heard from. Seemed Earl wanted to compete again. Monty Wolford said that Frank Zane was the greatest bodybuilder ever. George Eiferman and Bert Goodrich were mentioned for running their gyms. Eiferman was also mentioned for being on TV. That pretty much wrapped up Between Sets. Blogger note: I met George Eiferman in his Las Vegas Gym in 1979. He has to be one of the nicest guys ever:) .

From the September 1971 issue of Muscle Builder/Power comes an interesting gossip type column from Rick Wayne. Some current gossip of that day included Chuck Sipes desire to quit competing due to steroid users. Rick Wayne wrote that Chuck beat the roid heads in the past but his recent loss To Franco Columbu in the IFBB Mr. Universe was due to Chuck being out of shape more than anything.

Rick Wayne also mentioned that some other bodybuilding magazine mentioned that Rick lost the Mr. Fire Island Contest to Harold Poole. This would have been hard to do since Harold Poole did not compete in that contest.

Other gossip included that Freddy Ortiz got sick and dropped to 140 pounds. Six weeks of training brought him back up to a healthy 190. Frank Zane was scheduled for an appearance on the tv show, To Tell the Truth. Tony Carroll and Gordon Press were up for movie roles.

Sergio Oliva returned his trohies from a recent contest for being too small. There was a mention of an Esquire cover with the head of Aristotle Onasis and the body of Dennis Tinerino. Blogger note: I remember that cover . And to finish up, Rick Wayne asked readers if they saw Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie, “Hercules in New York.” Arnold might be trying to forget about that one .