Skip to main content

Posts

Clancy Ross’s Mr. Universe Training

A High-Frequency, Mass-from-the-Past Training Program for Stupendous Size and Peak Conditioning Ross as he appeared in a Weider publication in the '50s      Clarence “Clancy” Ross was one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time yet has been almost forgotten in our day-and-age.  You hear or read more about some of his fellow “Silver Age” bodybuilders, such as Bill Pearl , Steve Reeves, or Marvin Eder, than you do Ross—heck, I’ve written more about his fellow world-renowned lifters.  But back in the early-1950s, Muscle Power and Your Physique magazines, a couple of early Weider publications, dubbed him “King of the Bodybuilders.”  That’s right.  King.  He ruled over those other guys.  He received the moniker because he had won the Mr. America, Mr. USA, Mr. North America, and Pro Mr. America, along with virtually any other title in existence.  Keep in mind that the Mr. Olympia didn’t come along until 1965, and at that time it ...
Recent posts

Hard Muscles for Hard Times

      “In my view the best equipment anyone has for confronting the adversity that comes with hard times is the possession of a healthy, powerful body and the sense of spiritual equilibrium that comes from being centered and in solid personal control.” ~Bradley J. Steiner*      Bradley Steiner, in the pages of Ironman , penned the words above in 1995.  Apparently, he thought the world was going through some hard times back then, though I’m not really sure exactly what it was.  Bill Clinton was in the 3rd year of his presidency.  Perhaps he didn’t like Clinton—I was a Perot man myself those days—and thought the world was headed in directions that could be detrimental for its future.  Steiner passed on from this life in December of 2020, when everyone was in isolation from Covid.  I wonder what he thought of the world then?  Oh, well.  Whatever it was that he thought in ‘95, his words ring true no matter ...

Proportionate Strength, Proportionate Physique

Various Tips and Thoughts on Developing Proportionate Strength, a Well-Rounded Physique, and Bringing Up Your Weak Points       “Achieving a high level of strength fitness is a constant, everchanging challenge.  The program that enabled you to reach one level may no longer be as effective when you try to move up another notch.  To some this is quite frustrating, for change is bothersome and requires you to adapt by learning new exercises, alternating the order of exercises or even switching the sets and reps sequence.  To me, however, this is what makes strength training so intriguing.  It’s also one of the main reasons that there aren’t many genuinely strong people in this country.” ~Bill Starr      The great strength and conditioning coach Bill Starr, in the same article where I discovered the quote above, wrote that one could count on two fingers the number of truly strong lifters in the average American gym. ...