bodybuilder's bible. Top 5 bodybuilding books

Starting their bodybuilding journey, many cannot afford to hire a coach, but the desire to engage is very strong, so they have to study the information on their own. Nowadays, there are a lot of glossy magazines and various literature, but there is little quality information. Beginners begin to read everything in a row, and porridge forms in their heads. In different sources there is a contradiction of information and it is difficult for novice athletes to understand where is the truth and where is the lie. Each author tries to exalt his concept as the best and thereby confuses not only beginners, but sometimes experienced athletes in confusion.

Top 5 best bodybuilding books

1. "Think" by Stuart Mac Robert

Be sure to read this book, as it gives the basics, so to speak, for the most dummies. Gives basic principles building workouts, progression of loads, about the necessary rest, about periodization, and much more. It is easy to read, all the information is structured.

2. “The Anatomy of Strength Exercise” by Frederic Delavier

The book is beautifully illustrated. It understands all the exercises in bodybuilding, and clearly shows with explanations which muscles work in a particular exercise. Many do exercises and do not understand what muscles work for them, and after reading this book, you will learn to understand.

3. "Super Training" by Mike Mentzer

This is my favorite book and a must read. The author is a professional bodybuilder who competed at Olympia, so the book is not based on one theory, but really works in practice, verified personally by me and my students. Mentzer promoted the HIT (high intensity training) system, which was fundamentally different from the Joe Weider system. The essence of his method is short and rare workouts, thanks to which you will not drive yourself into overtraining and will constantly receive supercompensation. Dorian Yates, a 6 time Mr. Olympia, also trained this way and was one of the biggest bodybuilders in the world.

4. “Bodybuilding in our way”, author Alexey Kireev

Since the author of this book is our compatriot, the book has value, because the conditions of our life and those abroad are different. The book does not load with theory, but immediately gives working domestic training schemes. The author has brought up many successful bodybuilders, and if you want to grow according to his schemes, you will have to specifically smack.

5. "Super training without delusions", by Vadim Protasenko

A book that gives a lot of theory about strength training, the author collected everything, systematized and placed it in this edition. One of best books, it is also desirable that you read it. Yes, it is not very easy to understand, because. written in academic language, but if you overcome your laziness and read to the end, then you will gain an understanding of how muscle growth occurs.

Friends, I'm sure if you master and read all these 5 wonderful books about bodybuilding, then a clear understanding will appear in your head of how to train to get the desired result, and you will become a guru among your friends.

There is very little quality literature on the topic of bodybuilding, although there are more than enough books and magazines with a yellow tint. Everything is completely different from what it was in the 80s and early 90s, when at best they trained on clippings from Soviet newspapers, and at worst, simply intuitively. Now there is a lot of information. A huge number of books, both domestic and foreign, richly saturate the information space on the topic of bodybuilding. It is sometimes very difficult to figure out where the diamonds are and where the manure is.

Such a large variety of literature on the topic of bodybuilding only interferes, in my opinion. A person sometimes has to rush between opposing concepts that he has read in "respectable publications." In one they say about one thing, in the other about something completely different, assuring that you need to do only this way, and no other way. This only confuses most athletes. And not only beginners, but even already quite experienced ones. Therefore, I decided to help in the most important thing. Help in choosing reliable sources of information on bodybuilding. It seemed reasonable to me to limit "my top of the best" to ten books. For what? So as not to overload the husk. After reading these books, you will become well versed in the issue yourself and therefore will be able to filter literature that is not the subject of its quality.

TOP 10 bodybuilding books

Initially, I subscribed to myself as many as 20 books to form a rating. But then I removed many famous books (“Justice of Force” by Yuri Vlasov, “Dinosaur Training” by Brooks Kubik, “Cool Bodybuilding” by Robert Kennedy, “Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding” by Arnold Schwarzenegger, “Body Construction System” by Joe Weider, etc.), because they fell short in terms of the quality or usefulness of the information. In the end, many of these books are simply morally obsolete and in their place came materials that are more relevant to modern realities.

The main criterion for selecting books in the rating for me was the BENEFITS FOR THE ATHLET, which he can get from it. I did not look at the eminence of the authors, but only at what they can give you. And he appreciated it. That is why, for example, Arnold Schwarzenegger's book "The New Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding" was not included in the rating. Yes, Arnie is a legend! BUT the book, for the most part, just exploits his name (I'm not even sure if he wrote it personally) in order to make money. Really useful information small, so she was not included in the rating. After all, in our TOP only the best 10 books.
Fine. Enough words. Let's get started ....

10. “THINK! BODYBUILDING WITHOUT STEROIDS” (Stuart McRobert)

The book, which began to be intensively promoted even at the time of the publication of Russian-language FLEXes (in the late 90s). Many people remember the bright yellow cover and the author's inspiring slogans about “steroid-free training”, “basic exercises”, “weidor system errors”, etc. By the way, the author of this work, Stuart McRobert, who lives on the sunny island of Cyprus, cannot boast of any significant strength achievements or achievements in muscle mass. Which in many ways served as criticism for his work.
Nevertheless, the book is required reading, because it is written according to all the canons "for dummies" i.e. very convenient, structured and plain language. Moreover, many things from this book really work. First of all, this is the cycling of loads according to the macroperiodization system, the progression of loads, the choice of basic exercises. On the other hand, there are a number of things that show that MacRobert is more of a theorist than a practitioner. But, in my opinion, this book is more than worthy.

9. "ANTI-MACROBERT" (Faleev Alexey)

The peculiarity of this work is that it is beautifully illustrated. I know that there are many "dummies" who do not read books without pictures. Well folks, then this book is for you. It covers all the basic bodybuilding exercises in graphic form. There are excellent diagrams with the designation of those muscles that are reduced in this exercise.
And although many professionals will say that there is little useful information (what if you know what certain muscles are called), however, for beginners, the book will be very useful. You will begin to understand what you are, after all, training with this or that exercise.

A rather old bourgeois little book, which, nevertheless, I really like because it promotes the most basic things that modern glossy magazines forget about. The book is about the most important things. ABOUT THE BASE! And not just about the base, but about the very important exercise in this database - about squats with a barbell on the shoulders.
There is no better exercise for increasing overall body weight than squats. Simply no. And experienced bodybuilders know this very well, squatting regularly. No other exercise actively engages such large muscle masses as the squat. When a person understands this, he begins to regularly squat hard and .... progresses. Randall (the author of this book) is well aware of this need and voiced it in his book.

This book is very practical. It has little theory. In it, the author tries to convince you to do what many do not want to do, i.e. squat. Squat to exhaustion. Squat with heavy weights. Squat for 20 reps. Squat always. For his commitment to the Old School (Old School) we will give Strossen the seventh place in the ranking.

The book of a very famous champion and coach all over the world - Frederick Hatfield. This "Doctor Squat" in addition to being a great theoretician of strength training, very successfully manifests this in practice, demonstrating strength records.
The book is written with a focus on powerlifters (strength development), not bodybuilders (muscle performance development). However, since these disciplines are very related (strength training both here and there), then the book is required reading for both groups. After all, strength progression is the goal of both bodybuilding and powerlifting.

Hatfield demonstrates a great combination of a cool theorist and a cool practitioner. The book is a must-read, despite its "antiquity".

"The Dark Side of the Force" from the famous author Yuri Bombela. Many of course remember his interesting articles in the Iron World magazine, where he led the pharmacological section.
In "Anabolic Review" Yuri reviewed all the major doping from bodybuilding. There is a review of almost all anabolic steroids along with a review of other hormonal (insulin, growth hormone) and non-hormonal drugs such as synthol.

And although the book does not contain specific schemes for using all this "wealth", it will nevertheless be a very useful assistant for those who decide to use doping. At any time, you can open it and carefully study the description of a particular drug that you want to use.

Comparing this work with Dr. Luber's work on chemistry, I vote in favor of the former. Bombela described everything in more detail, IMHO. Yes, there are some excesses (for example, Bombela constantly recommends too high doses of steroids), but in general the book is very informative.

What is its feature?

feature in the author. This is Chris Aceto. Perhaps the most famous professional nutritionist in the United States. And not a simple nutritionist, but a nutritionist of professional bodybuilders. The man is superbly and soundly versed in nutrition, training and pharmacology (although he does not write about the latter in the book). Suffice to say, Chris has been Cutler's personal nutritionist since the 90s. That is, as you understand, he does not advise garbage.

Add to this the fact that Chris himself is a professional bodybuilder in the past (he is a US champion bodybuilder) and it becomes clear why I have such great confidence in this man.
His bodybuilding instruction book has been reprinted numerous times. This indicates its demand in the market. Therefore, if you speak English, then the book is a must-read. And if not, then he can simply type in the search engine "Chris Aceto" and read his Russian-language articles. You will understand that this is a specialist the highest level.

3. "SUPER TRAINING" (Mike Mentzer)

The “Three Prize-winners” closes another great practitioner - Mike Mentzer, God rest him. You can talk about Mike for a long time. This is a professional bodybuilder of the highest level, who once performed at Olympia and demonstrated magnificent muscles.

And so the “super training” was born (rare, but very difficult and short workouts), according to which many outstanding athletes have achieved great results. Suffice it to recall only one Dorian Yates, a multiple champion among professionals (M. Olympia).
And although this training is just one of the ways to train muscles (works on a par with others), nevertheless, in order to understand it, you need to study. This book is a must read for athletes of all levels.

2. BODYBUILDING IN OUR WAY, or SECRETS OF THE "ROCKING CHAIR" (Aleksey Kireev "Doctor Luber")

I gave the second place to Alexei Kireev (in the world "Doctor Luber") for ideological reasons (the book describes "domestic" methods). In addition, I am very biased in this regard (I have friends in Lyubertsy).

But seriously, I really like the book, because it lacks that "beach blowjob" gloss, which is full in modern magazines and books. The author does not overload people with theory, but immediately gives proven working schemes in practice. Moreover, the value of these schemes is that they came to us not from behind a hillock, but our .... relatives.

Schemes are great for beginners if they are serious about the result. But absolutely not suitable for most ordinary visitors to fitness centers. There is a minimum of exercise. All of them are basic and heavy. You need to plow on them and then they work.
Dr. Luber trains many famous competitive athletes. And he does it for free, for which he deserves special respect.

1. "THINK!" OR SUPER TRAINING WITHOUT MISTAKE (Vadim Protasenko)

This is my favorite book. The first time I read it was in the magazine Pump Muscles many years ago. Even then, she made an indelible impression on me.

This book is THE THEORY of strength training, which was collected and systematized in one place by Vadim Protasenko. Better than this, about the theory, I have not read anything. And not here, not abroad.
The book is not the easiest to understand. There are few pictures, but a lot of academic information. However, if you find the strength in yourself to comprehend all this, then your understanding of the mechanisms for the growth of achievements in strength training fundamentally change. You will gain UNDERSTANDING! Learn to look at familiar things (sets, repetitions, weight on the projectile) deeper. You will see from the essence at the biological level, which means you will learn how to manage them better.
This book is a MUST READ for everyone! And it can be read again and again.

CONCLUSION

Well, that's actually all that I wanted to tell you today, friends. I hope this review of the best books will help you understand the variety of information that surrounds us. Remember that the benefit is not in the amount of information, but in its quality.

(edited by Adam Campbell) - contains illustrated descriptions of modern exercises, best programs workouts to gain mass, burn fat and improve physical form. Men's Health Publishing, 2011.

Relief torso in 3 months (Dmitry Murzin). Author Dmitry Murzin Publisher Litres, 2014

Serious training for endurance athletes.

Heart rate, lactate and endurance training

Competitive weight. How to get dry for peak performance.

Fitness. Life guide.

Bodyflex. Breathe and lose weight.

Rock climbing.

Mass Titans.

Anatomy of Fitness and Strength Training for Women (Vella)- a manual containing training programs and more than 80 exercises of various profiles specially designed for women, described and illustrated in detail.

Anatomy of Pilates (R. Isakowitz, K. Clippinger) - this book will serve as a tool to bring Pilates professionals and enthusiasts together in an international community that speaks the same common language.

yoga anatomy(Author: Leslie Kaminoff, Aimee Matthews) is a practical yoga guide with detailed, multi-colored analytical illustrations that allow you to appreciate the role of each muscle and understand how even the slightest change in posture increases or decreases breathing efficiency, as well as trace the relationship between the spine , breathing mechanisms and body position.

(edited by Adam Campbell) - Contains illustrated descriptions of modern exercises, the best training programs for gaining mass, burning fat and improving physical fitness. Men's Health Publishing, 2011.

Relief torso in 3 months (Dmitry Murzin). Author Dmitry Murzin Publisher Litres, 2014

Serious training for endurance athletes.

Heart rate, lactate and endurance training

Competitive weight. How to get dry for peak performance.

Fitness. Life guide.

Bodyflex. Breathe and lose weight.

Rock climbing.

Mass Titans.

Anatomy of Pilates (R. Isakowitz, K. Clippinger)- This book will serve as a tool to bring Pilates professionals and enthusiasts together in an international community that speaks the same common language.

The original layout was prepared by Agata Publishing House LLC

Foreword

This book is intended for beginners who have the most vague understanding of bodybuilding, who want to get into the "building" of their own body, but do not know where to start.

I recently read Brooks Kubik's Dinosaur Training. And this is the phrase I liked among many others: “Commercial interests, “armchair” theorists in slippers and soft, warm armchairs, and “experts” guided by good intentions, but completely confused, complicated this matter (“body building” - Note. author) so much so that now no one really knows how to train productively. Instead of gyms where people could train productively and efficiently, all over the world we see gyms in which people make some ridiculous movements and unthinkable swings that will not help them build even a gram of muscle mass - and they develop strength no better, than a leisurely game of checkers on a warm summer day."

I am ready to subscribe to this phrase, especially since I am not an "armchair" theorist. He devoted several years to weightlifting, reached the level of the first category in weight up to 90 kg.

But from the very beginning of the classes, I was very impressed by the story about the master of sports in weightlifting, who died of cirrhosis of the liver. And he developed cirrhosis due to the consumption of nerabol (methandrostenolone). These pills in those rather distant times were recommended to be washed down with holosas, rosehip berry syrup, in order to weaken the negative effect on the liver.

Indeed, sport is health! Yes, now the statement “Big sport and health are incompatible things” has acquired the status of an axiom. But high achievements in big-time sports, hundreds and even millions of dollars and euros are paid, but what kind of payment did that unfortunate “non-worker” who died more than forty years ago receive?

But after all, the most famous - to the general public, not only to specialists - bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger admits that the success of Yuri Vlasov decisively influenced his life choice.

In any case, one cannot deny the fact that the athletes of the past, who were not “pure” bodybuilders (bodybuilders), outwardly looked just as good. current stars"bodybuilding".

Bodybuilding Star Secrets

Gallery of "pure" strongmen

First, let's talk about athletes who have achieved outstanding results without the use of anabolic steroids.

Yuri Vlasov

Yuri Petrovich Vlasov was born in 1935. At the age of 69, he set a personal record: he squeezed 185 kg lying down (with his own weight no more than 110 kg).

It seems that not every man can take at least half of this weight off the racks, lower it onto his chest and fully straighten his arms with this weight.

And keep in mind that Vlasov performed this movement without a "bounce", without a "bridge". Not to mention such a thing as a bench shirt ("equip"). I just lowered the barbell to my chest and calmly squeezed it up. By the way, the bench press was perhaps the athlete's favorite exercise.

This outstanding weightlifter expressed open support for bodybuilding - this is how bodybuilding was called in the USSR in the 60-70s of the last century. I must say that official propaganda in those years scourged bodybuilding as an ugly phenomenon - something from the series "their morals."

Here is what Yu. P. Vlasov wrote in his book “The Justice of Force”:

“Several years later (approximately in the middle of the 60s of the XX century - Note. author) in Paris, I again witnessed the competition of bodybuilders, but only for the title of "Mr. Universe" of Europe. I wanted to take a closer look at the guys. I was then famous enough to penetrate without hindrance into any place where strength was valued. Behind the stage of the Palace of Chaillot, I was surrounded by naked swarthy guys (the conditions of the competition required performances only in swimming trunks). What a muscle workout! I admired them, and the guys touched me through the suit. Then they squatted down at my feet: massive muscles of the thighs fascinated them. We took pictures one by one and together, laughed at jokes. I explained my workout.

Although they scold this direction in sports, it’s a pleasure to see these guys. What a bust, head fit, waist! Add running and flexibility exercises to their methodology - and the flaws of bodybuilding are nullified. And the virtues - here they are: strong and beautiful people. After all, organizing the muscles, they necessarily exercise a lot with weights. Therefore, they are saturated with power.

By the way, big sport has little to do with health. It is frantic work, and often to the detriment of health. Otherwise, the first athletes would not have been awarded the highest orders. You can’t say the same about bodybuilding if you add something to it. And in general, why is it permissible to worry about the beauty of soulless objects - furniture, houses, streets, cakes, dresses, shoes, cars, flower beds, but the perfection of addition, the energy of muscles - this is "perversion", "egoism"? The logic is not entirely clear.

Bodybuilding takes care of the size and harmony of the muscles and, in general, improves health. Fold powerful muscles - how much work you need to do! And this cannot but affect metabolic processes and the cardiovascular system. The body cannot be indifferent to such loads. When you add endurance running, flexibility exercises and limited body weight to the bodybuilding methodology, you get a solid health system. In this case, bodybuilding is transformed into athletic gymnastics, accepted and promoted in our country.

To prove the ugliness of some phenomenon by referring to its extremes is an unscrupulous method. Costs accompany any phenomenon. Literature is famous not only for perfect examples. This does not mean that it should be banned. Extremes are repulsive. Ugly and muscular people, boastful of the pomp of forms, but these are just costs! Bodybuilding has suffered damage from becoming a commercial industry. Hence the absurdity. However, not only beauty is for sale. Talent was and is a subject of sale.

Vlasov, without any exaggeration, was the most atypical heavyweight athlete. He looked graceful compared to such giants as Paul Anderson (168 kg with a height of 176 cm) or Leonid Zhabotinsky (170 kg with a height of 189 cm).

I would especially like to dwell on his phenomenal bench press. Vlasov, one might say, forever inscribed in the history of the world record in this movement - 199 kg.

Many will object: the world record in this movement is 236.5 kg, it belongs to Vasily Alekseev (USSR) and was set in 1972.

Yes this is true. But Vlasov and Alekseev carried out two different exercises.

Vlasov performed almost a “soldier's bench press” - with perfectly even legs, a minimal deviation of the upper body from the vertical and without a pronounced breakdown from the chest. Alekseev, on the other hand, did a press push - he bent his knees before falling off his chest, pushed the bar up, then leaned back strongly (this is practically the same as going under the bar when pushing from the chest), and only then he squeezed the projectile.

In those days when Vasily Alekseev set his record, athletes almost got up on the wrestling bridge, doing the bench press.

Many athletes have received spinal injuries in this exercise. The latter circumstance served as a formal basis for the prohibition of this movement.

The bench press was removed from the competition program in 1972. How did the athletes react to this IWF decision? Here is what the 1970 world champion Gennady Ivanchenko says in an interview:

Wrestling bridge while doing the bench press

“The press was canceled due to numerous back injuries, sometimes it got to the point that the athlete was practically parallel to the platform, such a deflection was done. Fuchs was allowed, hence the injury. Previously, they used to press in a soldier's stance. I was addicted strength exercises. Some guys saw how I bench press 160 kg, in particular Pavel Pervushin ... and at one of the joint trainings he decided to start an argument. When Jan Talts began to press sitting, Batishchev and Alekseev started 110 kg. Pervushin approached them and bet me that you are suffering here, that Genka will beat you. They argued for grape juice. In general, I approached 120 - 5 times, then 140 for 5 times, and 160 for 2 times !!! Surprise knew no bounds. Jan Talts says: “What kind of athlete are you if you press the world record while sitting! I won’t squeeze it while sitting, and you have to bench press for 200 standing!” Here it was a matter of technique, I could not press like everyone else, since my vertebra was knocked out earlier. ”

Yes, in the bench press, Gennady Ivanchenko lifted “only” 178 kg.

And here is a quote from “The Justice of Power” - this is Yu. P. Vlasov talking about his training at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, a few days before the competition: “In the press“ four ”170 kg from behind the head - one, second, third , the fourth approach.

Yuri Petrovich spoke quite definitely about the “chemical” force created with the help of preparations: “The time of pure and noble strength. All drugs that artificially increase strength were obtained in the second half of the 60s, when we had already left the platform. These so-called power restorers have distorted the face of world sport. A forgery has been made: the ceiling of records has been raised on preparations, and sports historians and journalists continue to compare the results - the results of athletes, in fact, from different eras. Yes, forgery was carried out, dishonesty gave additional, and significant, strength. It is impossible, unacceptable and highly unfair not to notice this and continue to compare the strength of honor, the courage of training with the strength nurtured and nurtured on drugs and various kinds of reducing agents.

Steve Reeves

Have you seen the film "The Labors of Hercules"? If not, I suggest you take a look. Mainly for the performer leading role Steve Reeves. Created specifically for the famous athlete, the film instantly became incredibly popular thanks to its true hero - the body of "Hercules".

Post-war America experienced a boom in an unrecognized sport - bodybuilding (bodybuilding). Basements, garages, empty hangars - everything went under the "rocking". Parents, doctors, and sports "experts" staged "crusades" against bodybuilding ... And suddenly - a bodybuilder on the Hollywood screen! Reeves was seen by housewives and senators, teenagers and clerks, students and the military ... Of course, their hearts trembled! America agreed: bodybuilding is worth it.

Is it only America? Sir Winston Churchill wrote in his autobiography that Steve Reeves was one of his two favorite movie actors, along with John Wayne!

Reeves was a bodybuilder and competed back in the days before the world heard of steroids and other stimulant medications. muscle growth. But he looked amazing.)

"Swinged" Reeves in the 40s of the XX century. In 1947, he became "Mr. America". A year later - "Mr. World". And two years later - "Mr. Universe".

The Labors of Hercules was filmed in 1958-1959, when Reeves was about 33 years old. During this period, with a height of 185 cm, he weighed 94 kg. Chest circumference - 134 cm, hips - 67 cm, biceps - 47 cm, waist - 80 cm, lower legs - 46 cm.

We emphasize right away that Steve Reeves was naturally strong, he was able to develop his body with hard training and a balanced diet. His “crown” exercise was the “deadlift” with a barbell weighing 180 kg with a fingertip grip on the edges of the “pancakes”.

The appearance on the screen of a strong and handsome man became the beginning of a real pilgrimage for millions of people in GYM's. Steve Reeves made then, in the early 60s, the same impetus to mass bodybuilding as Arnold Schwarzenegger did twenty years later.

Steve Reeves

Let's compare appearance these two strong men. Compared to the handsome Reeves, Schwarzenegger's face is distinguished by a disproportionately large lower jaw. It's a consequence

effects on the body of growth stimulants. They, besides other parts of the body, such lower jaw at the Terminator and raised.

Now about the muscles. Schwarzenegger, with a height of 188 cm, in his best form, had a weight of 109 kg. Biceps circumference - 56.7 cm, chest - 145 cm, waist - 84 cm, hips - 72.4 cm, lower legs - 51 cm.

Clearly, Steve Reeves is a little “thinner” than Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But if you recall the best strength achievements of the “Black Plowman” (this is how Arnie's name is translated - Schwarzen Egger), then they do not look too impressive: bench press - 245 kg, squat - 250 kg, deadlift- 340 kg.

Here is what Steve Reeves wrote in his book Building the Classic Physique. Natural way" about his followers in bodybuilding:

“I don't want to criticize the big bodies of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sergio Oliva. These two champions, through many years of hard training and sweat, were able to make truly the biggest bodies we have ever seen in our sport. Looking through their careers, I see what they could have done a lot. more benefit to promote and popularize weight training, if not succumbed to the temptation of advertising in magazines " More body means better!” and “To look like a bull means to be beautiful!” I can't figure out why they did it! However, a great responsibility for what is happening today in bodybuilding lies with the judges, who chose the winners in competitions not by symmetry and proportion, but by maximum muscle mass, neglecting the true beauty of the human body.

Believe me, if the judges paid more attention to symmetry and proportions, then Schwarzenegger, Oliva, Nubret and others of their caliber would still become the greatest bodybuilding stars. The difference is that it wouldn't take many years for others to become more massive than they are!"

Sergio Oliva, who emigrated from Cuba to the United States, made his debut at Olympia-66, but lost in the final to the first Olympian in IFBB history, Larry Scott. However, after such an application, they began to speak about Sergio only in superlatives, repeating “invincible” through the word.

Oliva captured the Olympic crown for 3 years - from 1967 to 1969. The victory in 1969 was the last for the man who was called the "Cuban Myth" of bodybuilding. The sunset of his career was "provided" by the young and extremely ambitious Austrian Arnold Schwarzenegger.

It must be said that these weightlifters - Steve Reeves, who did not take any drugs, and the "anabolists" Oliva and Schwarzenegger, had excellent genetic potential. All the talk that Arnie was skinny and frail as a child is speculation.

At competitions in 1972 in Essen (Germany), Schwarzenegger won the title of "Mr. Olympia" from Sergio Oliva (left) for the second time (the first - in 1970)

So, Sergio Oliva at the age of 21 was already a member of the Cuban barbell team. As for bodybuilding, then here he had an excellent "starting capital". Here is what bodybuilding specialist Arthur Jones wrote about this strongman:

“If you look at the tense muscles in his arms, you will see that their width - from the bulge of the biceps to the lower edge of the triceps - is greater than the size of his face from the chin to the top of the head. No one else in the history of bodybuilding could boast of such an achievement. hard work(and, as Jones himself acknowledged, steroid use is Note. author) is directly related to this. But Sergio Oliva also had an extraordinary innate potential that is very rare. He had extremely long bellies for the muscles of his biceps, triceps, and forearms. As a result, the muscles of his arms had a remarkable ability to grow in all directions. But Olive is doubly lucky. All main muscle groups his bodies had long bellies, which allowed him to achieve a rare combination of size and symmetry. Some modern bodybuilders have more massive musculature, but I have not yet seen one who has arms as big as his head.

I don’t know about you, but personally, Steve Reeves’ physique seems to me more harmonious. As for the rare combination of size and symmetry ... Steve Reeves, for example, considered the ideal proportions of a bodybuilder's body: biceps - 252% of the circumference of the wrist; calves - 192% of the ankle circumference; neck - 79% of the head circumference; chest - 148% of the circumference of the buttocks; waist - 86% of the circumference of the buttocks; thigh - 175% of the circumference of the knee.

Sergio Oliva

Well, yes, Oliva has a bicep the size of basketball. But why?

Steve Reeves looks more human compared to Oliva. And more harmonious - for sure.

There are people far from sports who have never opened glossy magazines about bodybuilding. Ask one of them who they like more - Oliva or Reeves? I can predict the answer in advance - Reeves. And if a person is engaged in design, painting, etc., then the answer in favor of Reeves is more than likely.

The harmonious physique of Steve Reeves, who did not take any anabolic drugs

However, not all so simple.

The tastes of the modern generation, who 20 years ago chose Pepsi (and other chemical muck), are spoiled - even perverted! - Consumer Industry.

It prefers heavy rock (or even just the vulgar “pop”) to the music of the Beatles, not to mention the classics. Boulevard novels prefer Hemingway or even more recent Haruki Murakami. It, this generation, was brought up on "Conan the Barbarian", "Conan the Destroyer", "Terminator". But Hollywood also produced other film products ...

Unfortunately, what is difficult to understand is “not cool, not cool.” It should be clear, intelligible - like a hook in the jaw. Hence, “machism” (even, paradoxically, the “weaker sex”) has a quality that is very revered by the Pepsi generation. "Macho" is a synonym for usefulness.

You read the "revelations" of some members of the "jocks" forums and you wonder - how much aggressive denseness, how much militant ignorance. And why from them, intensively studying recipes food additives, can be expected?

I foresee the angry protests of ardent admirers of such supplements and steroids: they say, this book is about bodybuilding or what?!

Of course, about bodybuilding. About building your own body. And it must be built using your own head as much as possible (we will discuss the book “Think” in detail below). That is why the results in bodybuilding are largely dependent on the personality of the bodybuilder.

Considering the fact that Americans have always taken money very seriously, one cannot help but notice that the atmosphere in bodybuilding competitions during the Reeves era was cleaner in terms of commercialism: “In May 1947, I won Mr. West America in Los Angeles . Of course, I liked these titles, but there was the one that I wanted most in my life - "Mr. America" - and when I won it in June 1947, it was probably the greatest moment of my life. sports career. Naturally, my victories did not pass by the print media specializing in bodybuilding.

Here is what Gordon Venable wrote in those days in Bob Hoffman's Strength & Health magazine:

“Thunderous applause greeted the hall with the news of the recognition by the judges of Steve Reeves as “Mr. America”. Gotta see this young man to appreciate his physique and good looks. Photographs are not able to convey the true picture. His physique is simply breathtaking! I once said that the competition for the title of "Mr. America" is not a real "iron man" competition. After this contest, my opinion changed. Now we have the concept of the ideal male body. The ideal of this concept was Steve Reeves. His broad shoulders and a narrow waist - the new standard of physique. It symbolizes speed and flexibility rather than brute force!”

Steve Reeves, George Eifferman, Armand Tunney, Bob McCun (McCun) are truly beautiful people of the late 40s of the last century. They certainly have not heard of steroids, not to mention the use of them. They ate simple healthy food, and the main secret of their achievements was hard and hard training.

freak parade

Do you know what synthol is?

A conversation about the creation of synthol usually begins with the mention of esiclene. This drug, which gained immense popularity back in the 80s of the XX century, has an extremely low anabolic activity, but when injected intramuscularly, it causes a strong inflammatory reaction, which results in swelling and, accordingly, a short-term (about 24 hours) increase in muscle volume.

These properties have led to the widespread use of esiclene by competitive bodybuilders. It allows, together with a drug that increases the size of the veins, to achieve a special relief "pattern" of muscles, characteristic of the pros (and one should not think that they achieve this solely by training and diet).

This prompted German amateur chemist Chris Clark to think that it would be nice to create a similar long-acting drug. The composition obtained in the early 90s of the XX century, he called "Synthol" (Synthol) - like the name of one of the most powerful nuclear fusion technologies. However, this name turned out to be already patented, so a new one was invented - "Pump'N'Pose" (Swing and pose). Under this brand, the drug is now sold all over the world.

Clark found a true goldmine (for himself, of course), as he provided the opportunity for thousands of people who are ready to do anything for the sake of the masses, a practically fail-safe method that neither amateurs nor pros disdain. Yes, synthol is banned for "intended purpose" use by all bodybuilding federations and committees, condemned by bodybuilders, but sold ... as posing oil!