Marvin Eder’s Mass-Building Methods

 

The Many and Varied Mass-Building Methods of Power Bodybuilding’s G.O.A.T.

Eder as he appeared in my article "Full Body Workouts" for IronMan magazine.

     In many ways, the essay you are now reading is the one that has had the “longest time coming.”  I have no clue why it has taken me this long to write an article specifically on Marvin Eder, especially considering the fact that I have long considered him the greatest bodybuilder cum strength athlete of all friggin’ time.  In fact, over 20 years ago, I wrote this in the pages of IronMan magazine: In my opinion, the greatest all-around bodybuilder, powerlifter and strength athlete ever to walk the planet, Eder had 19-inch arms at a bodyweight of 198. He could bench 510, squat 550 for 10 reps and do a barbell press with 365. He was reported to have achieved the amazing feat of cranking out 1,000 dips in only 17 minutes. Imagine doing a dip a second for 17 minutes. As Gene Mozee once put it, “Modern bodybuilders couldn’t carry his gym bag.”  That’s just as true today as when I wrote it then, probably more true considering the state of modern bodybuilding.

     It’s not just myself and Mozee who felt that way about Eder.  Most of the old-time strength athletes and bodybuilders who met with, or trained with, Eder in his heyday had much the same opinion of him—that he may have been the greatest power bodybuilder the world has ever seen.  Pat Casey, the first man to officially bench press 600 pounds, said this: “In my opinion, pound for pound, Marvin Eder was the strongest man of all time.”  Pretty matter of fact and to the point.

     The famous bodybuilding photographer Art Zeller trained at one time with Eder, Dominic Juliano, and Lou Degni.  Oh, and if you’re not familiar with Juliano and Degni—or the kind of training that old-time bodybuilders like Eder performed—here is what the great George Turner had to say about that era (the ‘50s) of bodybuilding training in the pages of IronMan magazine once upon a time: "Consider Roy Ledas and Buddy Pryor doing endless seated presses with 125-pound dumbbells when neither one of them weighed more than 170, or Doug Strahl and George Sheffield working out for 5 hours a day, 6 days a week.  I remember the New Yorkers Lou Degni, Marvin Eder, and my buddy Dominic Juliano training Monday through Friday in the gym and on Sunday doing chins and dips on the beach for endless sets of up to 50 reps (that's right, 50 reps) and Chuck Ahrens training arms and shoulders for 4 hours, 3 times a week, and doing standing triceps French presses for 5 or 6 reps with a 315-pound Olympic bar.  At the time, I trained everything from the abs down for 54 sets on one day and my entire upper body for 90 sets the following day, often working out 10 or 11 days in a row before instinctively taking a day off.  It was nothing out of the ordinary.  I was training at about the same level as every other real bodybuilder.  We were used to it, as we worked up to it for years.  We didn't have to take something to make us want to train.  We loved it!  Now, I hear about people hitting one bodypart per day, taking a week to work the entire body.  What kind of bullshit is that?  Get in condition for crying out loud; don't get everything out of a syringe."  Anyway, with that Turner-esque motivation out of the way, back to Zeller.  Zeller said that he and Juliano, both weighing around 180 pounds, would hang on Eder’s legs while he cranked out rep-after-rep of dips.

     Our aforementioned Mozee adds this about Eder’s dipping prowess: “I personally saw him do three reps with Juliano and Malcolm Brenner – a combined weight of 420 pounds – hanging onto him. He decided once to break Jack LaLanne’s record for parallel-bar dips: 1,000 in 20 minutes. Marvin and bodybuilder Manny Tsingis alternated doing 10 reps each without resting and blasted out 1,000 reps in 17 minutes.”

     The great Charles A. Smith, iron historian, and contemporary of Eder, said this about what he witnessed training with Eder: “I trained with Marvin many times and we were very friendly. It would be absolutely impossible for the average trainee to use Marvin’s routines. He trained all day long. No one I ever knew could workout with the intensity that Marvin did. No one—mention who you will. He never took steroids at all, and he never weighed above 198.  Marvin was the strongest man—pound for pound—that I ever met. I saw him, personally, at a bodyweight of 196, curl, press, and then lower down to his shoulders—arms parallel to the floor and palms up—a perfect crucifix with a pair of 100-pound dumbells. To add icing to the cake he counted out to ten while following the hand of the gym clock as it swept around the dial. How’s that for strength? How many could do that today? This took place in the mid ‘50s, at Abe Goldberg’s gym.”

     At the AAU Pan-American game tryouts in 1951, Eder broke the world record in the press with 337 pounds while weighing 192.  (This was a time when the press was the third lift in competitive weightlifting, along with the snatch and the clean and jerk.)  The AAU, however, refused to allow Eder to compete because they claimed he was a professional.  “I quit competing when I was 23,” Eder said, “because the AAU wouldn’t let me compete. They said I was a professional because I had appeared so many times in the Weider magazines Your Physique and Muscle Poser. I never received a dime for my articles or pictures. I might have set records that lasted a long time. I was blessed with God-given strength.”

     If you weren’t aware before just how exceptional of a strength athlete Eder was—or maybe you weren’t even aware of Eder at all—this should already have given you an impression of his physical prowess.  Among the greatest lifters and physique athletes of the ‘50s, he was the greatest.  And it wasn’t just his strength, either.  His physique was incredibly impressive, especially considering the fact that he was so young when he was competing.  Despite his short career, he did win a number of bodybuilding titles, such as the Mr. New York, Mr. East Coast and Mr. Eastern America.

     Now that you have a taste for the greatness that was Marvin Eder—I hope I have, at the very least, whetted your appetite—let’s look at the training programs that he used.  Even though he didn’t compete for very long there were still a number of articles written about him during the peak of his Olympic lifting and bodybuilding career, and even more articles written about him in the years after.  Doing a little research, I’ve come up with a few of his different and varied training programs that I thought most readers would find interesting, informative, and, heck, maybe downright enlightening.

Eder’s Full-Body Mass & Power Routine

     The one training program of his that you can probably find most readily on the internet is his full-body “mass and power” program.  I originally read about this program in the ‘90s, when Gene Mozee wrote an article about it in IronMan magazine.  It’s simple, but it also offers an approach that is invaluable for anyone looking to gain as much as possible on such a routine.  The program is simple, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s easy.  On 3 non-consecutive days of the week—Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, for instance—do the following program:

1. Barbell squats

2. Barbell bench presses

3. Bent-over rows

4. Barbell Military Presses

5. Chins

6. Dumbbell Curls

7. Cool down - 100 reps of light abdominal work

     You want to train on this program for 6 weeks straight, although I think running it for 12 weeks consecutively might be even better, assuming you make the appropriate changes after the 6 week mark.  Here’s what you should do on each of the training weeks:

• Week 1: 3 sets of 8 reps (after warm-ups) on each exercise

• Week 2: 4 sets of 8 reps

• Week 3: light “active recovery” training

• Week 4: 5 sets of 5-7 reps

• Week 5: light “active recovery” training

• Week 6: 3 sets of 3-5 reps followed by 3 sets of 6-8 reps

     I think that Eder’s set/rep scheme progression is almost perfect.  The first week may be tough, but you can handle it (although feel free to start off the first week with an “active recovery” week just to break in the program).  The 2nd week will be a little harder, but you can still handle it.  However, after a couple of hard weeks of training, your body is ready for a break, so the 3rd week is a light week.  For Week 3, do 1 or 2 sets of each exercise on each day, but for half the weight of Week 2.  On Week 4, you crank it up by doing 5 sets of 5-7 reps on each exercise.  By the end of Week 4, you will be tired, but that’s cool because you get another light week in Week 5.  After that light week, you will do your toughest week of training, utilizing 6 sets per lift - 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps followed by 3 sets of 6-8 reps.  The only other thing I will add is that you should not take each set to muscular failure.  Leave a little something in the tank, so to speak, after each set.  In other words, you should always leave a rep or two left in each set.  This way your workouts will still be tough but also doable.

     As mentioned, I think you should run this program for 12 weeks ideally if you plan on utilizing it, and, actually, 13 weeks would probably be more ideal, because I would take another active recovery week on your 7th week before running it for another 6 weeks.  For the 2nd 6 weeks, change exercises.  Good replacements for the lifts include front squats, bottom position squats, incline bench presses, dumbbell bench presses, one-arm or two-arm dumbbell rows, behind-the-neck presses, one-arm dumbbell presses, t-bar rows, lat pulldowns, barbell curls, or e-z bar curls.  Follow the same set/rep protocol as the first 6 weeks.

    Now, to be perfectly honest, I think it would be good to continue with the program for another few months, but slowly build up to more sets of each movement and add another exercise or two.  You just don’t want to rush it.  Old-school bodybuilders took their time working up to an immense workload indicative of the sort of training Turner previously mentioned here.

Forced Reps for More Bulk and Power

     A 1952 issue of Muscle Builder—a Weider mag; they were notorious for not telling the truth, so this may have to be taken with a grain of salt—claimed that Eder gained a ½ inch on his arms and 7 pounds of muscular bodyweight in only 2 weeks(!) by using forced reps on 3 exercises: wide-grip bench presses, lying triceps extensions, and barbell curls.  Here are the tips as presented in that very article:

1) Select only three upper body exercises to begin with. Bench press, barbell curl, and lying triceps extension being good ones.

2) Use a poundage you can handle for 4 or 5 reps unassisted.

3) Have two training partners, one standing at each end of the bar, ready to give you just a little help in raising the weight when you get stuck.

4) Perform a total of 7 reps, forcing out the last 2, and from 3-5 sets of each exercise.

5) It's very easy to overtrain with force reps, so be sure to get lots of Vitamin C from bioflavonoids, protein, and sleep.

6) Don't make the rest of your program too long, rounding out your routine with 6 to 8 exercises for the other parts of the body, performed the way you always do them.

7) Don't continue the forced reps program for any bodypart for more than a month at a time - rest - hit any other area or two - rest again for a few weeks - and go back to the curls, extensions and prones. And watch your muscles grow, grow, and GROW!

     I actually think the advice in the article is decent, but let me add a caveat about forced reps.  Although they may be good for hypertrophy, they are not necessarily good for strength gains.  That may seem as if it’s an odd statement, especially considering the fact that they are often presented as a way to increase strength more than muscle, but as with things such as super-slow reps and negative-only training, another couple of training techniques presented as “strength builders,” they just don’t do much for strength.  In fact, Louie Simmons—a veritable godfather of powerlifting, and the founder of the famous Westside Barbell—said that forced reps and negative-accentuated training did nothing to build strength.  Once again, that doesn’t mean this isn’t a good method, on occasion, for those of you only interested in aesthetics and muscle growth, but I wouldn’t do this program for too long if strength is your ultimate goal.

     By the way, if you want to know just what kind of crap Weider was hawking back then, the magazine added this after presenting Eder’s results from the program: “These gains are even more remarkable when you consider that Marvin didn’t have our Crash Weight Formula #7 or our Super Pro 101 to work with.  With their help, his gains would have been much higher.”  Insert massive eye roll.

These are the pictures from the above Muscle Builder article.

Eder Trains the Overhead Press

     As mentioned in our intro, Eder was one hell of an Olympic lifter.  The June, 1953 issue of Strength and Health (perhaps the best magazine of the ‘50s) contains an article entitled “Marvin Eder Trains for the Press,” which outlined his approach for Olympic lifting meets.  Most of the articles on Eder before this one showcased more of his bodybuilding workouts—even if those workouts would look more like strength sessions these days—so it was nice to find an article outlining his Olympic-lifting training.

     Here is the workout as described in the article.  Afterwards, I’ll offer a few comments.

     Like most lifters, Marvin begins with a warm-up. In this, he presses 205 pounds 5 times. After this, he jumps the weight to 255 for 3 reps. Then he presses 290 x 3, and tops off the workout using 300 pounds for 4 to 5 sets of 3 repetitions. Naturally these poundages are not to be regarded as permanent. Even as I am writing this article, they may be slightly inaccurate because as Marvin improves his pressing ability he increases the weight used in his workout. To date, Marvin's press has usually increased about 15 pounds every six months. As of February, 1953, his best press, at a bodyweight of 193, was 340 pounds.

     Of course, Marvin's workout doesn't consist solely of presses. To help one's pressing ability one must, he believes, do auxiliary exercises. Thus he follows his pressing routine with dips on the parallel bars, doing 8 sets of 10 with 220 pounds tied around his waist. 

     Next, to get the hip and thigh power so necessary to the weightlifter, Marvin does squats, 8 sets of 3 with 500 pounds. 

     Finally, Marvin does snatching, here favoring 10 sets of 2-3 reps.

     This, then, is his typical workout on days when he seeks to improve his press. I would like to underscore again the fact that the key to gaining power, in Marvin's estimation, lies in employing very heavy weights for a great number of sets with low repetitions.

     Marvin follows this workout devoted to the improvement of his press with another of a different type on the very next day. In this, he presses dumbbells together in sets of 5, doing 7 to 10 sets with 120's. He then does bench presses, 5 x 8 with 350 pounds. 

     Note that he does standing presses and supine presses on different days. He never does them in the same workout. Incidentally, Marvin has done 450 in the bench press.   

     The remainder of his routine on this day, which we might call rather imprecisely his bodybuilding day, is extremely flexible. Since Marvin does not believe in engaging in intensive bodybuilding while training to improve his press, he has no set routine but merely engages in those exercises he feels inclined to do or believes will be of most immediate benefit to him.

     Thus his schedule runs as follows: 

Day One - pressing workout

Day Two - bodybuilding routine

Day Three - rest

Day Four - pressing workout

Day Five - bodybuilding routine

Day Six - rest

     First off, his “pressing” workout is obviously a press/squat/pull workout, as he does around 8 to 10 sets of each movement.  If you aren’t aware of it, that kind of workout is the key for gaining boatloads of strength and muscle mass.  I do wonder exactly what the “bodybuilding routine” portion of his program looked like.  I have a feeling that it wasn’t exactly light.  But if you want to attempt something similar, then make sure that you treat the bodybuilding portion as more of an active recovery program.  In fact, if you want to take advantage of Eder’s pressing principles, try a program something like the following.  It’s still going to be intense, but not quite to the level of Eder.  This is what I would recommend:

Day One: Overhead presses, squats, and power snatches for 8 to 10 sets of 3 to 5 reps each

Day Two: Bench presses, chins, barbell curls for 3 to 5 sets of 6 to 8 reps each (Make this a lighter workout by leaving several reps “in the tank” on each set of each exercise)

Day Three: rest

Day Four: Repeat Day One

Day Five: rest

Day Six: repeat Day Two

Day Seven: off

     As you advance, start adding an extra day of training during the week.  You could start training on a 2-on, 1-off program; that’s just an example, but it would work well to make sure you’re steadily increasing your workload.  Also, personally, I believe programs such as this one and not ones such as his forced-reps routine are what built his physique.  This one is much more indicative of old-school strength programs, the kind of ones also used by Doug Hepburn, Pat Casey, and, later, the great strength writer Anthony Ditillo.

Eder’s Bench Press Program

     Eder trained at a time before modern powerlifting—the first official “national championship” for powerlifting in the U.S. wasn’t until 1965—but training in the bench press had become a mainstay for bodybuilders in the ‘50s to build ponderous pecs.  In ‘51, a couple years before the above pressing program appeared in Strength and Health, Eder’s bench press training was outlined in Your Physique (what would later become Muscle & Fitness).  The article is a lengthy one, and contains a lot of the biographical material that has already been highlighted in this essay, so I just want to outline his bench program as it appeared in the article.

     Eder would perform this program 3 times per week when specializing on the bench, but that’s too much for this lift for the average trainee.  I’m fond of training the squat, the overhead press, and quick lifts with that much frequency, but the bench press simply needs a little more rest.  If you want to attempt this program, 2x weekly is plenty:

1. Wide-grip bench press: Here is how he trained this first movement according to the article: His exact method of practicing the bench press is one which will build both power and muscular size. He performs at least 5 sets each workout (C.S.’s note: If you include warm-ups, his total sets were probably closer to 10, as he took his time to work up to his heaviest “starting” weight.). The first is the heaviest, using a weight he can handle for about 3 reps. Then he drops the weight 20 pounds and performs about 5 reps. Then another drop in weight and about 7 reps. He continues this until his final set finds him using a weight he can handle for up to 12 reps. This, in a sense, is a variation of the rest pause method of training, which is known for creating tremendous power. Marvin's variation includes the essentials for large muscle building as well.

2. Weighted dips: 3 sets of 10 reps.  Eder followed up his wide-grip bench presses with weighted dips.  He was, quite obviously, as this essay has already shown, a prolific dipper, and dips were often used at the time to improve benching and overhead strength.  Pat Casey was another incredibly strong lifter of the era that believed in the power of dips.

3. Floor presses: Same set/rep scheme as the bench presses.

4. Overhead dumbbell triceps extensions: 4 sets of 10 reps.

     Eder did this as part of a full-body program, so when he was finished with the bench portion of his workout, he went on to train squats, bent-over rows, chins, curls, and the like.  If you want to try it, I would recommend using a split.  Yes, I’m a fan of full-body workouts, but most modern lifters would have a problem with doing that much work at once.  A good option would be to do the above 2-days-weekly and then do some squats and pulls on another 2 days of the week.

Eder’s Volume-Oriented Arm Specialization Workouts

     In doing my research for this essay, I came across two different arm training articles, both of them written by Barton Horvath (who wrote the article where I found the bench press info above) and both of them for Your Physique in ‘51.  One was on total arm training for both the biceps and the triceps, and the other was only on Eder’s triceps training; his triceps and chest were probably considered his best bodyparts.  I have taken some information from both of the articles, and amalgamated them together here.

     “This is the story of one of the most famous arms of all time,” begins one of the articles.  Here are some highlights, along with a couple of training routines.

     Whenever I interview popular Marvin Eder, there are three things which always impress me. The first is his direct reply to any question I ask him. The second is his wide knowledge of bodybuilding in all its various phases. The third is his absolute sincerity and truthfulness. 

     Those who are fortunate enough to speak to him never get the impression that building muscle is a complex or mysterious subject, for Marvin has the ability to explain things simply and intelligently. He removes the frills and gets right down to the meat of the topic. I think that this is the way the subject should be presented, for, after all, the bodybuilder is particularly seeking information. 

     When Marvin speaks you get just what you need.

     The other day when I fitted a snug tape around his 18 and 5/8 inch upper arm, during one of his workouts at Abe Goldberg's Gym in New York, I realized that here was a really great arm, one of the best of all time, and one worth writing about. Asking Marvin to hold the pose for a moment I examined his arm, trying to discover its secret of impressiveness, and I saw it. 

     It's Marvin's triceps which give him that balanced appearance. A powerful arm, full and muscular, without a weak link. 

     This wasn't always so. I have been watching Marvin's career for years, practically from the time he began to train with weights. I have watched his arm grow . . . first 14", then 15, 16 and so on, until today, for his height and weight he owns one of the biggest muscular arms of all time. Only Alex Aronis with a muscular arm of close to 19" at about the same height and weight as Marvin, and Ed Theriault who at 133 pounds and 5' 1" tall, has hit over 17" can compare in proportionate hugeness to Marvin's arm. 

     Of course there are larger arms. Ross, Reeves, Grimek, and Park have all taped bigger sizes, with Reg Park recently reporting a 19.2" measurement. All these men are bigger and heavier though, outweighing Marvin by 30 pounds or more in several instances.

     The following are the arm workouts exactly as they appeared in the magazine articles:

Workout #1: Total Arm Training

Exercise #1 - Two Arm Barbell Curl.

Start off your program with the barbell curl. Use a moderately heavy weight, one which will permit 5 fairly strict repetitions. Perform those 5, then cheat for another 5 reps, making 10 in all. Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Exercise #2 - Zeller Curl.

This curl is named after Artie Zeller who popularized it some years back, and it is now widely used by New York City bodybuilders. (Zeller was mentioned at the start of this essay.) Take a heavy dumbbell, heavier than you can curl to the shoulder in good form, and swing this weight to the shoulder. Hold the curling arm elbow against the side, on the hip. Now, lower the weight, leaning back while doing so, fighting the downward movement of the weight every inch of the way. When it is down all the way, swing it up to the shoulder again and repeat for 3 sets of 10 reps.

Exercise #3 - Bent Over Concentration Curl.

Use a light dumbbell for this one. Concentrate strongly on biceps action and flexion for 3 sets of 10.

Exercise #4 - Lying Barbell Triceps Extension.

Keep the upper arms stationary and contract strongly at the top. 3 sets of 10.

Exercise #5 - Seated Triceps Extension.

Perform these seated, with a moderately light dumbbell held above the head in one hand. Keep the upper arm close to the side of the face. Do not move from this position, but lower the weight behind the head. Still keeping the upper arm against the face, return to overhead starting position and repeat for 3 sets of 10.

Exercise #6 - One Arm Rear Extension.

Bend over at right angle with the ground. Again keeping the upper arm in a fixed position. Flex hard at the top. 3 sets of 10 reps.

Workout #2: Triceps Specialization

Exercise #1 - Seated One Arm Triceps Extensions.

This exercise is performed by lowering a dumbbell behind the head and then extending the arm again. The upper arm stays close to the head at all times, with the full strain of the exercise being thrown on the triceps muscle. 3 sets of 10 reps each arm.

Exercise #2 - Triceps Pressdown.

Hold the bar of the lat machine at the chest, and then with no body motion the bar is pushed down to the thighs. The upper arms remain close to the sides at all times. 3 sets of 10.

Exercise #3 - One Arm Pulley Rear Extensions.

Facing the pulley and bent over, the arm is extended from the chest to the rear, forcefully contracting the triceps. 3 x 10 each arm.

Exercise #4 - Parallel Bar Dips.

3 x 10, using additional weight tied to the body as your strength increases. 

Exercise #5 - Seated Two Arm Dumbbell Triceps Press.   

One dumbbell is held in both hands, held on one end. The weight is lowered behind the head and then pressed up again. 3 x 10.

Exercise #6 - Close Grip Lying Triceps Curl.

Lie on a flat bench, barbell held with a very close grip. The upper arms remain in a fixed position and the weight is lowered and raised behind the head with triceps strength only. 3 sets of 10 reps. 

Exercise #7 - Triceps Kickback.

Grasp a light barbell in your hands, holding it behind the back and standing upright. With triceps strength, move the weight as far to the rear and away from the body as possible, and then bend the body forward, continuing to raise the weight back and up until it is held behind the back, above the head, flexing the triceps strongly. Raise the body again gradually to an upright position, lowering the weight while doing so. 3 sets of 10 reps. 

     These seven exercises are the ones Marvin has used the most in his training. When specializing for more triceps development he uses them all in one workout. At other times when some other part of his body demands more attention he picks out 2 or 3 of them, just to hold the gains he has made and to keep his triceps in shape. 

     If you actually want to attempt either of these programs, make sure you do them no more than 2x per week.  If you use the triceps specialization program, then you will end up doing more than 20 sets, which is quite a bit, needless to say.  You may want to cut down to 2 sets per movement until you adapt to it.

Final Thoughts

  Eder was truly one-of-a-kind.  One of the greatest strength athletes ever, but also just a fascinating figure, from his young, meteoric rise, to his early retirement from competition.  There are some great stories about him that I didn’t even have space to put in this essay.  For instance, Mozee wrote an entire article that delved into his “showdown” with Doug Hepburn, who was considered the strongest man in the world at the time by many, where Eder went toe-for-toe with him on every single lift attempted.  But I think what we have so far will suffice.

     Even though this essay may have been too long in the making, I hope that I made up for it with the length and breadth of the information herein.  I think it’s safe to say that Pat Casey may just have been correct: Marvin Eder was, pound for pound, the strongest man of all time.

     If you want more information on old-school bodybuilders and classic bodybuilding, I recently added a page to the sidebar entitled “Classic Bodybuilding Articles and Essays.”  Click on it and check out all the articles available there.

Sources

“Forced Reps for Greater Bulk and Power,” by Barton Horvath, ‘52 issue of Muscle Builder

“Marvin Eder Trains for the Press,” by Paul Waldman, ‘53 issue of Strength and Health

“Marvin Eder Trains for the Bench Press,” by Barton Horvath, ‘51 issue of Your Physique

“The Bench Press” by Charles A. Smith, ‘51 issue of Strength and Health

“Marvin Eder’s Triceps Training,” by Barton Horvath, ‘51 issue of Your Physique

“Marvin Eder’s Arm Training,” by Barton Horvath, ‘51 issue of Your Physique

“Full Body Workouts,” by C.S. Sloan, 2003 issue of IronMan

“The Charles A. Smith Letters,” by Charles A. Smith, ‘90 issue of Hardgainer