Only the Strong

Shall
Survive
The Strength Factor In Bodybuilding
• by Bill Starr •

T
Throughout the years Eventually, I got to know them ing lift appeared in the March ’71
quite well, and my regard for them edition of Strength & Health. He
I’ve had the opportunity went up another notch. Besides weighed 185 when he did extraor-
to meet and train with being legendary athletes, they were dinary feats such as those and
some of the greatest exemplary human beings. What I many more, including supporting
admired most about them was their a half ton overhead and deadlift-
bodybuilders in the history strength. Grimek thought of himself ing 600. And he was undefeated in
of the sport. Those I as a strength athlete first and body- physique competition, winning the
admired the most all had builder second. He always preached Mr. America title in ’40 and ’41. He
the doctrine of having sufficient probably would have continued to
similar traits: They were strength to back up big muscles and take the crown except that a rule
symmetrical, took pride was willing and able to support his was enacted that forbade him—or
in their athleticism and beliefs. He was a member of the ’36 anyone—from entering the con-
Olympic weightlifting team before test after having won it. In ’46 he
were strong. They thought he turned his attention to the new captured the Most Muscular Man
of themselves as strength sport of bodybuilding, but even title, and he was Mr. USA in 1949.
athletes who chose to after he switched goals, he contin- He retired undefeated—the only
ued to train hard and heavy, just as bodybuilder who ever earned that
participate in physique he had when he competed in Olym- distinction—and is considered the
competition rather than pic lifting. He once told me of the greatest poser in the annals of body-
weightlifting. Quite a few time he cleaned 350, which he had building. He really set the standard
never done before. He proceeded to for others seeking the ideal phy-
were champions in both press the weight, push-press it and sique to emulate.
bodybuilding and Olympic then jerk it. When I asked him why Grimek’s closest friend, Steve
lifting. Two such men he didn’t do the three lifts separate- Stanko, was cut from the same
ly, he replied that he wasn’t sure he cloth. Both grew up in Perth Amboy,
were my first idols: Steve would ever clean that much weight New Jersey, became interested in
Stanko and John Grimek. again. Olympic weightlifting and moved
Model: John Grimek

After I saw their photos in At an exhibition at the Los An- to work and lift at the York Barbell
geles Athletic Club in 1940, Grimek Club in the ’30s. Steve, like Grimek,
Strength & Health, I was cheat-curled 320 and pressed it was a weightlifter who later turned
hooked. overhead. The photo of that amaz- to bodybuilding—in his case, out

310 FEBRUARY 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com www.ironmanmagazine.com \ FEBRUARY 2006 311

SUBSCRIBE TO IRON MAN

 Only the Strong Shall Survive

ended up in a ditch with his car on I trained with Bob Gajda in Chica-
its side. He was so incensed that he go four years before he won the Mr.
grabbed the underside of the car American title. I’d been competing
and flipped it upright. That wasn’t a in Olympic lifting for five years and
VW either but a full-sized American had an excellent background of hard
model. training due to the influence of Sid
His successor to the top title in the Henry, who coached me in Dallas.
land, Val Vasilef, was, in my opinion, Yet whenever I trained with Gajda, I
even stronger than Vern and much would stay sore for several days. He
more athletic. The ’64 Mr. America carried a much larger workload than
possessed a rare combination of I did and worked at a faster pace.
natural strength and coordination That foundation carried him to the
not seen in the physique world since pinnacle of American bodybuild-
Grimek

John Grimek. When he trained at the ing. Whenever I get on this subject,
York Gym, he would outlift all the I think of Ronnie Ray of Dallas. After
Warner \ Model: John

competitive weightlifters, including he won the Mr. Texas title, he began

superheavyweight powerlifter Terry competing in powerlifting and won
Todd. the Nationals within a year. The
John Grimek: As strong No article dealing with strong heavy lifting he’d been doing in his
as he looked. bodybuilders would be complete physique workouts carried over to
without some comment on Marvin the strength sport. In fact, he con-
Eder. Although he never won any tended that training for powerlifting
of necessity. In 1941 Steve totalled major titles, due to his being shafted was a breeze after being a serious
1,002 (press, snatch and clean and by the AAU, he’s regarded by most physique contestant. I hate to admit
jerk), becoming the first lifter to experts as the strongest physique it, but I think he’s right.
break the 1,000-pound barrier. He contestant in modern history. I hap- Then a number of events occurred
was on course to become a multi- pen to agree with them. Eder did that altered the way bodybuilders
ple world champion when a severe seven dips with 400 pounds around trained. One of the most important
case of phlebitis, an inflammation his waist and a single with 434. was that Joe Weider made body-
of the walls of the veins, curtailed Throw in a 515 bench, a 355 military building a professional sport and
his lifting career. He turned to phy- press and a 550 squat for 10 reps, got rid of the athletic points require-
sique competition and became Mr. all done at a bodyweight of 195 and ment. When the AAU ran physique
America in 1943. long before steroids came along, and competitions, points for athletic
Stanko was still training, de- you can easily see why he belongs at achievement were awarded at the
spite his painful affliction, when I the top of the strength ladder. national-level contests. Those very
joined Tommy Suggs on the staff of There were lots of others who valuable five points often spelled the
Strength & Health in the mid-’60s. were strength athletes as well as difference between taking the top
Naturally, there were a lot of exer- physique champions: Bill Pearl, Ken honors and being an also-ran. They
cises that he was unable to do, but Waller, Chet Yorton, Mike Katz, Ser- could be acquired in a variety of
on those he could work, he was im- gio Oliva, John DeCola, Ed Corney, ways: earning a black belt in karate,
pressive. His favorite was the Weav- Dave Draper, Bill St. John and, of being on a championship team in
er stick. A five- or 10-pound weight course, Arnold and Franco. Franco
was attached to a broomstick and Columbu, in particular, could have
placed on the floor. With your arm contended for national titles in pow-
completely extended, you had to erlifting if he’d been so inclined. He
lever the weight to horizontal. No wasn’t—for good reason. Bodybuild-
one in the York Gym could match ing by then was a professional sport,
Steve—not Bob Bednarski, Bill whereas powerlifting was purely an
March, Joe Dube or Ernie Pickett— amateur endeavor.
and he was in his 60s. There were many more, but the
Vern Weaver was a protégé of list is enough to get my point across:
Stanko’s and Grimek’s from the be- All the top physique men in the
ginning of his bodybuilding career, country incorporated lots of strength
and he adopted their emphasis on work in their yearly routines.
strength. Many who trained with And it just wasn’t the bodybuild-
him and saw him lift in Olympic ers who were winning major titles
Yasuda

contests will argue that he was the who were doing the heavy lifting.
strongest Mr. America ever. I saw Those starting out and on their way
Neveux / Model: Ken

him do a rough version of a power up trained for strength as well. They

clean with 370 and jerk it. were following the examples set by
I heard a story about Vern and successful physique stars and un-
asked him if it were true. It was. derstood the principle of building a
Bodybuilders should
Seems he was run off the road and solid base for future definition work.
cycle in power training.

312 FEBRUARY 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

SUBSCRIBE TO IRON MAN

 Only the Strong Shall Survive

Powerlifting for a Marvin Eder

couple of months can once did seven
build strength and dips with 400
more mass. pounds strapped
to his waist.
Farnsworth
Neveux / Model: Derik

high school or winning a weightlift- came on the scene, each supposedly working harder in the gym. Rather,
ing meet. Since all the bodybuilders better engineered and therefore more the course of action was to increase
of that era included one or more of functional than the last. As a result, the dose or add yet another type of
the Olympic lifts in their routines, free-weight training became passé— muscle enhancer into the mix.
the easiest way to gain athletic except for those interested in Olym- Bodybuilders no longer studied
points was to lift in Olympic meets. pic and powerlifting. Bodybuilders programs or examined training
Another reason that the body- didn’t see the need to train heavy any methods in order to make improve-
builders lifted in meets: The phy- longer. That was strike two. ments. Instead, they gleaned the
sique contests were always held after Strike three came during that same pages of their new bible, The Physi-
the weightlifting contests, and the time frame and may have been the cians Desk Reference, hoping to find
men who served as judges for the most damaging of all to strength a tidbit of information in the hal-
lifting usually judged the physique training—the rampant use of ste- lowed PDR to aid their cause. I dare
events as well. So bodybuilders who roids and other commercial anabolic say that bodybuilders and competi-
competed in the lifting meet got to products. Now anyone who wanted tive weightlifters knew as much as
display their physiques in a dynamic to get bigger and stronger had only or more about the properties of any
fashion nine times prior to the body- to obtain the required pharmaceu- anabolic product as doctors and
building contest, giving them a defi- tical, and he was halfway home. It pharmacists.
nite advantage over opponents who really didn’t matter what routine he Once a selection was made, pro-
didn’t lift in the meet. followed or how hard he trained. curing the drug was a simple matter.
Once the athletic points were Gains came if he took enough of the Nearly every gym that catered to
dropped, however, there wasn’t any magic pills or injections. When prog- bodybuilders had an in-house deal-
reason for bodybuilders to bother ress stalled, there was no thought of er, and every town had at least one
with the Olympic lifts, and for the drug doctor. When I lived in Venice,
most part they were dropped California, in the early ’70s, the
from bodybuilding routines. most popular drug dispenser
Concurrently, Nautilus machines operated in the center of town,
began pushing free weights to only a short walk from Gold’s
the sidelines in commercial gyms Gym. Talk about convenient. The
across the country. The concept patient handed the doctor a shop-
of doing just one exercise on a ping list; the doctor wrote the pre-
machine was revolutionary, and scriptions, collected his fee and
Arthur Jones, the inventor of sent the happy athlete downstairs
Nautilus, ingeniously married to the pharmacy he owned to have
his impressive machines to a them filled.
new method of training. It was Within a decade the concept of
quick and easy to learn, and doing some heavy training in order
Domer

gym owners loved it. Customers to establish—or reestablish—a

could be in and out in half an solid foundation of strength was
Neveux / Model: Eric

hour, and there were no loose virtually lost. Sure, a few body-
plates or dumbbells to clutter builders were quite strong, espe-
up the place, Heavy work on the big basics can cially in comparison with their
Due to the success of Nauti- help you prevent injuries. peers, but they weren’t even close
lus, more and more machines to being in the same class as those

314 FEBRUARY 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

SUBSCRIBE TO IRON MAN

 Only the Strong Shall Survive

mentioned above. In most cases, that leave them only a few hours
when the bodybuilder went off the per week for training. Their motives
juice (which was never for very long), for lifting weights are different from
his strength dropped appreciably those of the pros as well. Amateurs
because it was based on chemicals are mainly looking to add muscular
rather than hard work. The notion of size and shape to their physiques
hammering away with heavy weights while improving their fitness and
during those layoffs from taking the overall health. They understand that
drugs never entered their heads. training benefits their mental as well
They just started the next cycle a bit as physical states and heightens their
earlier than planned self-esteem. They like to look good
It got to the point where young in a bathing suit and take pride in

Yasuda
bodybuilders really didn’t have any the results of their work in the weight

Neveux / Model: Ken

models to follow, such as we had room. And, most important, they
with Grimek, Stanko, et al. Even if aren’t willing to risk short- or long-
someone could afford the costly term health problems by using ana- Six to eight weeks of strength
pharmaceuticals, his lifestyle was bolics in any form. work can do great things for
a world apart from those of profes- Those are the people I’m address- your physique.
sional bodybuilders. The programs ing here. They’re the trainees who
presented by the pros do not relate to need to consider the value of includ-
99 percent of those who read IRON ing some strength training in their of them came to me for advice. I told
MAN and other publications aimed yearly routines. them that even though they were
at bodybuilders. Typical readers who After my Hopkins athletes had training on a bodybuilding routine,
are interested in improving their used up their eligibility, the majority they should not completely eliminate
physiques have jobs or are full-time switched from pure strength train- strength exercises. If they wanted to
students. They also have family re- ing to bodybuilding. While many become more muscular, they should
sponsibilities and social obligations organized their own programs, a lot set aside some time during the year

Ad

www.ironmanmagazine.com \ FEBRUARY 2006 315

SUBSCRIBE TO IRON MAN

 Only the Strong Shall Survive

trainees don’t understand is that

Machines should they’re also valuable to anyone who
play a minor wants to get bigger arms—as are any
role in a strength
other pulling movements done with
phase.
heavy weights: power cleans, power
snatches, bent-over rows, shrugs and
deadlifts. All of those lifts involve the
prime movers of the upper arm, the
brachialis and brachioradialis. When
those muscles are made consider-
ably stronger, you will be able to
handle more weight plus additional
l Gee

reps on a variety of specialized bi-

Neveux / Model: Dary

ceps exercises.
The same idea holds true for the
triceps. Take a few months and im-
prove your strength on weighted
dips, flat- and incline-bench presses
and overhead presses, and you’ll find
that you can use higher poundages
for increasing overall strength. more rapidly.” on your auxiliary exercises for your
Their comments usually went That gets their attention, so I triceps.
something like this: “I don’t care go on: “Whenever you improve For example, let’s say that Bob
how much I can lift anymore. I just strength in a major muscle group can incline-press 290 and flat-bench
want to get a six-pack and add a few such as the back, legs or shoul- press 350. Because of his strength, he
inches to my arms and chest. Heavy der girdle, you can use that newly uses 180 for 15 reps on triceps push-
lifting is history.” gained strength to help you define downs and does his straight-arm
Yet another objection to my idea parts of those larger groups, such pullovers with 125 for 20. In compar-
comes from the aspiring bodybuild- as the middle portion of your back, ison, Ralph can only incline-press
ers I encounter at fitness facilities and do more specialized work for 225 and bench 300. The most he can
and gyms: “I’m not interested in the smaller muscles, like the bi- do is 15 reps on the pushdown with
seeing how much I can squat or ceps and calves.” By that time I’ve 90, and on the straight-arm pull-
deadlift, although I would like to convinced them that they should overs he’s been stuck at 65 for 20 for
add 20 pounds to my bench. I’m not do some strength work during the several months. Which one of those
into powerlifting at all.” year and am helping them outline a bodybuilders is going to have the
Being a patient man, I explain, program they can use right away. most impressive triceps?
“How much total work and intensity High pulls are a great exercise to Looking at it from another per-
you put into your workouts is com- include in the strength cycle. Both spective, let’s say that you can
pletely dependent on how strong wide- and clean-grip pulls are not back-squat 350x5. You take a couple
you are. More strength also enables that difficult to learn, and they work of months and concentrate on bet-
you to recover from a tough session all of the muscles of the back in a tering that lift to 405x5, and when
faster. Strong muscles and attach- dynamic fashion. It’s obvious that you’re done, the amount of weight
ments are less likely to get hurt, and high pulls are beneficial for build- you can use on specialized leg move-
when they do get injured, they heal ing back strength, but what most ments like leg extensions, leg curls,

Franco Columbu
often deadlifted
giant poundages
in his workouts.
Even dogs were
impressed.
r Elshahat

Model: Franco Columbu

Neveux / Model: Tame

Low-down, low-rep
squatting will pack on mass.

316 FEBRUARY 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

SUBSCRIBE TO IRON MAN

 Only the Strong Shall Survive

some strength work in a yearly rou-

tine appeals to lots of bodybuilders
because it lets them keep a great
many exercises in their programs
and they enjoy the variety that af-
fords. You work only one of the
major muscle groups in a strength
set-and-rep formula and continue to
train the rest of your body as always.
For example, for two months you
attack your back with those exer-
cises I recommended, using lower
The programs the pros use don’t relate to reps, trying to move the top-end
99 percent of those who read IM. weights up as high as possible. It’s
a smart idea to set some realistic
goals before embarking on any
strength program. Then, when you
reach those goals for the back exer-
cises, give another major group the
strength treatment. Make sure that
the adductor machine and calf rais- intent was to get as strong as possible you always put the strength exercise
es will go up in direct proportion to and not worry about their overall or exercises first in your workouts.
the gains you made on the squat. It’s appearance. Changing the way you attack the
simple logic that seems to have been At the conclusion of the strength various muscle groups throughout
lost along the way. cycle they went back to their former the year is very beneficial. It lets you
When you finally decide to in- routine and started dropping body- steadily improve strength in the big
clude some strength training in weight. As I’ve already mentioned, muscles, which, in turn, carries over
your yearly bodybuilding schedule, the boost in overall strength helped to the smaller groups. It’s a win-win
there are two approaches to choose them to charge through their lower- deal.
from. Your selection will be a mat- weight, higher-reps routines. They Keep in mind that strength is as
ter of individual preference. What did two more, shorter cycles just important to bodybuilders as it is to
the majority of the bodybuilders in before Christmas and again at the any other athletes. A physique built
the ’50s and ’60s did was set aside end of winter. Gains came continu- on a solid foundation of strength is
six to eight weeks in which they did ously throughout the year and culmi- going to be not only imposing but
strength work exclusively. During nated onstage at the Mr. USA or Mr. also more enduring.
the strength cycle they also added America shows.
bodyweight, knowing that one of It should be noted that a number Editor’s note: Bill Starr was a
the best ways to get stronger was to of bodybuilders lifted in Olympic strength and conditioning coach
get bigger. Since the most important meets to make improvements in one at Johns Hopkins University from
contests corresponded with the of the contested lifts, realizing that 1989 to 2000. He’s the author of The
national-level Olympic meets in late the competitive atmosphere would Strongest Shall Survive and Defying
spring and early June, they did their elevate them to higher levels. Gravity. IM
longest strength cycles in the sum- The second method of including
mer.
Primary, big-muscle exercises
took priority. Some dropped all More
auxiliary work for the smaller strength
groups, while others included a can create
few exercises for parts that needed a bigger,
more attention. Programs were built more solid
around handling heavy poundages foundation.
on squats, flat- and incline-bench
presses, overhead presses, weighted
dips, high-pulls, bent-over rows,
shrugs and power cleans and power
snatches, and a number also did full
Morris

snatches and clean and jerks.

Neveux / Model: Mike

Reps were in the low range—sixes,

fives and threes—with six to eight
sets being the norm, They trained
much like the Olympic lifters, doing
one core exercise for each major
muscle group per session. Their

318 FEBRUARY 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

SUBSCRIBE TO IRON MAN