Classic Bodybuilding: Vince Gironda's Weight-Gaining Tips

 For the last few days, I've been working on a post/article on the original Muscle Beach Iron Guru Vince Gironda.  That piece will be much more extensive than this one, but it will also be largely about his training principles, revolutionary as they were at the time Gironda unleashed them upon the bodybuilding world.  But in rummaging/scouring through old Ironman and MuscleMag International articles, I came across an article in the October '95 Ironman where Gironda listed his weight-gaining suggestions.

Gironda at his peak

Gironda had so many innovative - not to mention downright cool sometimes - training ideas that it would be almost impossible to discuss them in one article, but I will discuss a couple of other additional nutrition ideas he had at the end of this post.  But first, the tips!  Here they are*:

• Drink water during your workout.  Drink at least one pint after each muscle group worked, but dont' drink out of a fountain, because you swallow air.
• It's a necessity to eat three good, generous meals a day.  Even more beneficial, if time permits, is six small meals per day.  Include a lot of broiled meats, baked potatoes, stewed fruits, eggs, brown rice, thick soups, stews, nuts, and natural grains.  Be sure also to include lots of green and yellow vegetables.
• Drink a pint of certified raw milk in addition to your regular meals at 10am, 2pm, 4pm, and one hour before bedtime.
• Give your food a chance to digest thoroughly by lying or sitting with your feet propped up on a high  footstool after each meal.
• If you take your lunch to work, be aware that the best sandwiches for gaining weight are made with 100 percent whole wheat, pumpernickel, or rye breads.  Ground beef patties, tuna with mayonnaise, turkey, meat loaf, avocado and bacon, peanut butter and bacon, and cream cheese all make excellent high-protein, high-calorie sandwiches.
• Don't miss a workout unless you're ill or it's absolutely imperative.  Remember, your whole bodybuilding program is based on regular habits
• It's essential to get sufficient rest and sleep in order to fully recuperate from your workouts and for muscle growth to occur.  I recommend eight to nine hours of sleep each night.

Here is a sample diet that Gironda recommended for anyone attempting to gain weight:

Breakfast – two-egg cheese omelet, buttered whole wheat toast, milk. 10 liver tablets, 1 ounce amino acid, wheat germ oil, Sterogyn, Vitamin C.

Lunch – one-half pound hamburger, green salad, protein and milk drink. 10 liver tablets, 1 ounce amino acid, Sterogyn, wheat germ oil, Vitamin A.

Dinner – one-half pound meat of any kind, baked potato, salad, milk. 10 liver tablets, wheat germ oil, Sterogyn, Vitamin B, Iron tablet.

Before retiring and between meals – Protein and milk drink.**

One cool "additional" tip that Gironda used was that of combining whole cream and ginger ale in equal amounts for any bodybuilder who was really struggling to gain weight.  Gironda claimed this addition to your diet alone could really pack on the muscle mass!

Another secret of Vince's was his "special protein drink" which was as follows:

• 12 oz. half & half
• 12 raw eggs
• 1/3 cup protein powder (Typically Rheo H. Blair’s product)
• 1 banana

*From the October, 1995 issue of Ironman magazine entitled "Messiah of Muscle, part 2"

**From the November, 1973 issue of Ironman