Vince Gironda- the Iron Guru- what can we learn from him today?

February 26, 2012 Leave a comment

Since the Mike Mentzer article has gotten such good feedback, I thought: “Why not write a series about pioneers of the iron game?”
So today, I want to write about one of the forgotten pioneers of bodybuilding, who coincidentally, was almost as sociable as Mike Mentzer: Vince Gironda aka the Iron Guru. Vince, born  in the Bronx, later settled in California and was one of the first trainers to the stars.
His clients were : Clint Eastwood, Cher, Larry Scott, Arnold Schwarzenegger and so on. But it wasn’t so much his clientele that makes him remarkable , but his contributions to the sport  which pushed weight lifting in a new direction. I just want to list the most important ones.
He was one of the first to develop a low carb approach to dieting, where he prescribed a whole eggs and lean meats combination along with some vegetables ( pretty much a paleo diet).
Interestingly enough, he only proposed 3 meals a day and bridged the time in between with amino acid and liver tabs. I myself am a huge fan of liver tabs, its a convenient protein and vitamin B source and I feel my physique looks better and leaner when I use them. So this is more or less an intermittent fasting approach, as it has become popular today.
Even though he didn’t like back squats, he used front squats in every workout as a hormonal optimizer in order to create growth in all muscle groups. This is something I have done with clients and I urge everyone to try. If you have a period of time where you can focus on your training and resting, up your calories by 10% and train your legs every time you got the gym for 2-3 weeks. You will be very pleased with the results.
The bench press got no love from Vince , he felt it places too much stress on the front deltoid and doesn’t develop a good chest. As a bodybuilder, I have to agree. The flat bench is very hard on the rotator cuff and front delts, while creating a droopy chest. I prefer the dumbbell version or the incline bench. For power lifting, that’s a different story
Vince also dismissed the then common notion of bulking for the sake of getting bigger as nonsense since it only lead to fat gain. He was very much concerned with creating a physique as opposed to just heaping on mass ( where has that idea gone??). I think the appropriate term for Vince would be “Physique architect:, he was very much concerned with a v-tapered physique. Vince was actually punished at a contest for appearing to “ripped”  and was placed lower for being too lean …( those judges later oversaw Lehman Brothers real estate portfolio).
In a way, I feel that Vince was too ahead of his time. In today’s world he would have been a multimillionaire over and over.
He also created the 8×8 routine ( the “honest workout”),which consists of a whole body or split routine where you perform 8×8 sets with short rest only.  Again, this is also a form of training I would like anyone to try out for a week or two, either for the whole body or to bring up a lagging bodypart.
Another invention of his was the drag curl , one of my favorite exercises for the biceps.
Most interesting though was his attitude toward bodybuilding as such. He really cared about the sport, not his financial success. Without hesitation, he would dismiss paying clients if they did not follow his routine and rather work pro bono with a talented and dedicated lifter. He also couldn’t stand it if people did not follow his advice. According to Don Howorth, Vince hated crunches. So when he saw a member doing them despite Vince’s advice , he walked to cash register, took out 100$, gave it to the member and told him to get the f..out of his gym.This lead to near bankruptcy of his gym on multiple occasions but he surely kept his integrity.
I feel this is something the sport has lost over the last decade or so and its helpful to recall what it is all about: getting yourself in shape and helping others.
Vince’s teachings are all but forgotten, yet many current bodybuilding diets and routines are based on Vince’s wisdom.
Thanks Vince!
I am off to an 8×8 shoulder workout
Maik

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Setting goals to achieve your dream physique

February 10, 2012 2 Comments

I was recently asked to write about the journey of training and dieting. While this seems like a rather arduous task, it really isn’t. In a way, bodybuilding is somewhat similar to business. You need a vision ( of yourself) and a strategy as to how to get there.The biggest mistake people make is to say : I want to get in shape. This is way to general, getting in shape means vastly different things to LeBron James than it does to the average gym rat. You need to be more specific : Do you have body parts that lack? Do you want to add another 15 lbs of muscle? Do you want to compete?

From there on you draw up a plan for 6 or 12 months and set the stage. As you go along ,you need to have smaller goals that are achievable within a 4 week time frame. ( upper abs coming through, bench up by 5 lbs etc). In my experience, athletes with a poorly laid out plan still do better than without one.
Another very important tool is visualization , you need to have a vision of yourself what you would like to look like. If that presents a problem, pick someone out of a magazine, or choose Tom Platz’s legs, Arnolds biceps, Ronnies back ,Cutlers haircut :-) as your model. Even if you only get 70% to what your idol looks like, you are still far ahead of the game.

Another thing: set a time frame, do not train for infinity. There are different ways to do that, you can a. compete in a bodybuilding show. Standing in your 9 skimpy) underwear in front of 100+ people will definitely motivate you to get in shape. Another way to it is to book an expensive photo shoot 6 months out. Pay up front and you will have the motivation to do the right things.

Lastly, and this I stole from Arnold, tell everybody what you are about to do so you can not back out.
Equipped with these tools, you should reach your potential!
Train hard,
Maik

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Is it all worth it?

February 6, 2012 Leave a comment

The New York winter can be quite hard on the psyche. It isn’t so much the cold as it is the length and darkness ( even though a Super Bowl win can make a difference!).

Getting out of bed at 6 am when its pitch black and going to lift with several layers of clothing isn’t a lot of fun. Also, it is easier to gravitate toward ” comfort foods” than a bodybuilding menu. After all, there aren’t many  opportunities to show off your physique right now, so why bother? Is it really worth all the sacrifices?

In short: yes! Every meal, every rep sets me apart from those who cant do it. It makes me feel good about myself and life as such. Bodybuilding  is more than a sport , it is therapy, almost a religion. It can better you as a person, since it forces you into a structure and gives a schedule. When my mother fell ill, the sport was the only thing that kept me sane. It is the element of control that you have in the weight room:no matter what happens in the outside world, 100lbs will always be 100 lbs.So keep on training and eating right! Besides, you wont be in shape for a July 4th bash when you start training on Memorial Day.

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Shopping to get in shape-or the big U

January 30, 2012 Leave a comment

As anyone will tell you, preparing your own food is the most crucial step in order to get a lean physique. It all starts with cooking, but even before that, there is food shopping. Since you will always eat what you have at home, it is a must to buy the right things.
    
Unfortunately, the layout of the modern supermarkets makes it easier for you to run (and buy) the prepackaged foods that are high in sugar, fats, and salt. The way to avoid the supermarket trap is to make your pick in the outer aisles only, thus following a big U.
If you shop in the exterior aisles only, you will find produce, vegetables, meat, dairy, eggs and such. These are the items that should make up for 90% of your diet. Lean meats, fish, eggs and dairy for protein and fat, vegetables for their fiber and vitamin content, followed by potatoes, oats, and rice for complex carbohydrates. Throw in some nuts or nut butters for unsaturated fatty acids and you have a winning formula.

Try your best to avoid the middle aisles that primarily display prepackaged and processed foods such as cookies, breads, sweets and frozen meals. Eating those items regularly will derail any attempt to get leaner or more muscular.
Another very simple rule is the one ingredient rule: if you look at a label and you find 24-letter words, chances are that the item is full of chemicals that you shouldn’t be eating in the first place. You should not need a degree in chemistry to understand what you are eating. Stick to foods that simply say: oats, chicken, salmon.

And lastly, never shop hungry! You are bound to crave, overbuy, and reach for junk foods

Till next time

Maik

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A pro routine will make me big

January 28, 2012 Leave a comment

A pro routine will make me big

A routine that supposedly got Mr. Olympia to where he is will most likely not work for you.

By the same token, asking the biggest guy for advice is probably the worst mistake you can make during your quest for a better body.

Here’s why: Pro bodybuilders can train at a much higher level since they hold several advantages over you: superior genetics, the ability to sleep eight hours a night, and eating six to seven meals a day. If you look at pictures of top athletes as young people, they are already more muscular and leaner than their counterparts.  They tend to store less body fat and push nutrients into the muscle, which is why they can consume 5,000 calories a day without becoming obese.

And yes, there are drugs, a whole plethora of them, which enable them to diet more strictly and recover more quickly. There are anabolic steroids, growth hormone, insulin, diet drugs, thyroid medication, appetite suppressants, fat burners, and plenty more.

Anyone who tells you that this type of development can be achieved without drugs is lying or trying to sell you a supplement. ( I just have a book)

The average person, who has to deal with job, family, and career, simply cannot maintain such a demanding regime. If you’re like most of us, you just have to carefully track your progress and adjust your routine accordingly.

Ask yourself every ten weeks:  Am I getting stronger? Can I do more repetitions? Am I leaner?

If after several months the answer to all these questions is no, you need to adjust your routine and diet. Overtraining could be one of the problems.

If you haven’t progressed in the gym for several weeks, take a week or ten days off from the gym. You can take up other sports for a while, but rest as much as possible. While you’re resting, keep your calories slightly elevated without eating a lot of junk food. Many trainees are over-trained and underfed; so the combination of rest and food can produce amazing gains.

While your body is given a chance to recover and rebuild, you should use that time to come up with a new personal routine for the next eight to ten weeks and then stick to it.

When the eight to ten weeks are up, it’s time to reevaluate (pictures or an honest friend can be very helpful) and plan your next step.

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Welcome to find a workout!

January 26, 2012 3 Comments

My name is Maik Wiedenbach and this is my blog, where I would like  to present excerpts from my book “101 fitness myths ” in an attempt to cut through the clutter in the fitness world. My goal is to provide answers and solutions for the fitness enthusiast in regards to training, diet and the fitness lifestyle as such. I am trying to show people a way to succeed in the gym as well as in the kitchen, without giving up their lives. If you like what you read, my book has plenty more. Each blog post is a chapter from my book.

Today we start with the question about genetics or are we mere mortals doomed to have a sub-standard physique?

Myth 1: I don’t have the genetics

I hear this a lot––both in the gym and casual conversation. Genetics are a favorite scapegoat for athletic shortcomings. We blame genetics for our failure to build muscle or lose body fat. But how much do genetics really influence your success in the gym?

The answer is less than you would like to believe. While everyone has inherited a certain blueprint, which includes having good and not-so-good muscle groups, certain hormonal levels, and fat storage tendencies, it is also true that ANYONE can get in amazing shape.

You are trying to build the best body for you, not to emulate someone else.

Think of your body as a plant. Given the right conditions, a plant will grow and blossom. If it doesn’t, that means something is wrong–– a parasite, not enough light, or too much water, perhaps.  The same applies to your body: There is always an explanation for why you’re not progressing.

Success in training has three pillars: training, recovery, and nutrition. Most people at best get two out of three right.

Most of us don’t have the potential of Arnold Schwarzenegger, but that doesn’t mean we cannot achieve our own goals. By way of example, look at the guy next to Arnold: Frank Zane.

He had narrow clavicles, a long torso, sixteen-inch arms, and weighed 190 pounds at a height of 5’10″. In short, he had one of the worst possible genetic make-ups for a pro bodybuilder.

Yet, he won Mr. Olympia three times, beating Arnold!

How did he do it? He stuck to his diet, trained with unmatched intensity, and did not take no for an answer. He realized that he couldn’t compete with Arnold on the basis of mass; so he created the most symmetrical physique, which many people still consider as close to perfect as a human can get.

Frank Zane’s story is inspiring. Your first step is to honestly assess yourself, your schedule, and your training experience, and devise the plan that’s right for you.

What is my goal? Mass in the upper body? Lean legs?

If your progress has been snail-like, then you might need to work out less often to give your body enough recovery time. Another approach would be to focus on certain body parts that you deem weaker and train them twice a week. Look at your body like a piece of art. You are the artist; it’s up to you to create the perfect physique for your particular body.

For example, if you have wide hips, don’t waste your time with oblique training to make your hips narrow; train your shoulders instead. The wider your shoulders are, the narrower your waist will appear.

Be honest do yourself: have I really been eating all my meals? Doing my workouts? Also, take photos, or better yet have someone else take them gor you. An honest friend with a cell phone can go a long way here.

Also, stop working out and start training. Training means, “to increase the capacity to perform a skill or work.” If you are still training with the same weights after twelve months, you are simply not better. Push yourself to the limit in every workout to achieve your goals. Training is a lifestyle; whereas working out is neat and cute like a French class you take every two weeks. The only way you’ll really learn French is by moving to France and speaking only French.

The same applies to your body; it is a twenty-four/seven project––training, eating, resting, and learning.

Remember, creating a physique is not a race against other people. You are doing this for yourself. If someone else gets in shape quicker or with seemingly less effort, don’t be discouraged. Don’t psych yourself out with complaints about your genetics because you can’t change them. The time you spend complaining could be much better used cooking a healthy meal or working out.

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