Bill March - John Terpak (1964)

 

Article Courtesy of Liam Tweed

Bill March, in four moves, demonstrates how to do the snatch. 

Upper left, he uses great strength and most powerful muscles.

Below, March uses momentum for boost. 

"Do not try to imitate me. Find your own sticking point." 

"I feel the trouble with most lifters is that they overtrain."

One of our bright hopes in the forthcoming Olympic Games will be Bill March, the sensational 26 year old middle-heavyweight and world record holder. He has the ability, courage, determination and strength to come home with a Gold Medal.

Presently the young lifter is favored to be a runner-up or third place winner at Tokyo this Fall. His roughest opposition will come from Louis Martin, of Great Britain, current world champion Louis Martin of Great Britain, current world champion; I. Palinski of Poland; and E. Brovko of the Soviet Union. March and Brovko were tied for third behind Palinski at Stockholm.

These questions are aimed at the muscular March, who believes he has a good chance to beat the field. He held the world record for the press at 354.5 pounds. 

What kind of system do you use to develop strength, I asked him.

"The March overload power system," he explained.   

http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2011/01/overload-power-system-bill-march.html

Please go into detail, I requested. 

My workouts are on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Fridays I rest. Then on Saturdays I work out as if I am in a contest. Whether you do the power lifts or Olympic lifts, go for the maximum. if doing this every Saturday is too much, do limit poundages on every other Saturday," he said. 

How does your Saturday work compare with the schedule of the other days? 

"I find that Saturday workouts really feel lighter and you suffer fewer mental blocks. I usually use 100 to 300 pounds less in the Olympic lifts than on the other days when working on the rack. It is an asset to the lifter. I know of men who are strong but when the weight gets to 300, 350 or 400 pounds they become afraid and cannot handle this poundage. It is not because they lack strength but because of their mental attitude," March revealed. 

What schedule of lifts do you follow in the workouts? 

"My routine is broken down into what I call low position and high position days. This I have done because as I progress and use increasingly heavier weight, the combining of the high and low positions places too work on the muscles and fatigue sets in. I try to stay away from this problem. You want to work the muscles to get maximum effort from them but still not overwork or fatigue them. This system uses only one set of three repetitions in each position," March said. 

What is the most important point of your plan, that is, if you have just one point?

"First thing that has to be done is to find the individual sticking points. You have done enough lifting movements to know where you push or pull hard. Work on this point.

DO NOT TRY TO IMITATE ME.

FIND YOUR OWN STICKING POINT. 

You might be interested in knowing that one inch up or down on the power rack can mean using 100 pounds more or less," the champion stated. 

Which day of the schedule is your favorite? 

"Saturdays I go all out on the three Olympic lifts. Each Saturday I try to do better than the week before," he said. (Photos on these pages show March during his Saturday workout, however, readers of Muscular Development can see March's weekday exercises in the March, 1964 issue.) See link above for that article. 

What keeps a good lifter from becoming a champion? Do you have any opinions? 

"I feel the trouble with most lifters is that they overtrain. They spend too much time doing endless sets and reps with weight they know they can handle. Take for instance the clean and jerk. There are many men who are good enough to do 380 pounds or 400 pounds, but they will never get there. The best exercise for the clean is high pulls, either on the rack or regular. If their best is 360, they never use that much weight or more, and they should do so just to get the feel of the heavier weights. When contest time rolls around, and they should reach 360, they have a mental block. With the rack, you are always using 300 or 400 pounds more than is necessary for your best Olympic lift," March figured.

Does food play an important part in your program? 

"Oh yes, of course. I eat lots of red meat, salads, milk, whole wheat bread, vegetables and plenty of fruit. I eat quite a bit of dry fruit," he declared. 

Do you have any gripes about the sport? 

"Not exactly. However, while traveling though Europe I noticed their youth have something we could use here in the United States. It is the desire to become a member of the Olympic team of their own nation. It is demonstrated down as low as the grade school classes. In our country, probably some high school athletes aspire to attain this greatness. We need a rebirth of interest among our young people along these lines," March replied. 

March's best official lifts are: 
Press - 355
Snatch - 315
Clean and Jerk - 405
Total - 1065

His unofficial top lifts are: 
Press - 370
Snatch - 315
Clean and Jerk - 405

His measurements: 
Weight 200
Height 5'9"
Upper Arm 17 inches
Forearm 15.75
Wrist 7.5
Chest, normal 46, expansion 48.5
Waist 33
Hips 42
Thigh 29
Calf 17.5

He was runner up in the Mr. Universe contest and held several other physique titles. He is a native of York, Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1956 from Dallastown, Pennsylvania High School where he played in football, baseball, track and basketball. He began lifting only seven years ago. 

BILL MARCH'S TRAINING SCHEDULE 

(Average Week)

(On the Isometric-Isotonic Super Power Rack there are 40 holes drilled one inch apart. On this rack, I hang from the overhead bar and do 20 to 30 frog kicks to loosen me and strengthen my groin and lower back as well as give my abdominals a good workout.

MONDAY/WEDNESDAY

Note: Because Mr. March is using the Hole No. to describe the lifts here, it might make things easier to understand if you refer to the photos in that link above. Oh. I haven't said it for a while. Enjoy Your Lifting! 

Dead Lift: 

This I do from Hole No. 5. I do not use my arms to pull in this position but rather use them as cables attached to the bar pushing with my legs until the weight comes off the pins at least two inches. I let go of the bar and repeat the movement. On the third rep, when the weight gets two inches off the pins, I hold it at that spot for 12 seconds then put the bar down and move on to the next position. 

Low Pull:

Using Hole No. 10, I pull the bar as high as possible to get some bend in the elbows. I pull up twice and on the third hold it for 12 seconds with the elbows bent as much as possible. 

Low Squat:

Using Hole No. 16 I push the weight off the pins as high as possible twice, then, on the third rep hold it up there for 12 seconds. I use a weight that I cannot come the whole way up with.

Low Press: 

Using Hole No 27 I push as high as I can twice and hold it on the third for 12 seconds trying to press the weight higher all the time.  

TUESDAY/THURSDAY

I Dead Lift the same as on Monday/Wednesday as this exercise is to be done every day. 

High Pull: 

I use Hole No. 14. Here I use the Snatch grip, pulling as high as possible and holding the third rep for 12 seconds.

Middle Press: 

I use Hole No. 32. From here I press the weight to arms' length for three reps, holding the third for 12 seconds.

Top Press:

From Hole No. 37 I push the weight up three times holding it on the third for 12 seconds.

Quarter Squat: 

From Hole No. 24 I push the weight off the pins and straighten my legs. On the third rep I bring the weight down to within one or two inches of the pins and hold it with knees locked for 12 seconds.

FRIDAY

Rest day.

SATURDAY

Attempt records on the Olympic lifts. 

I use the same poundage for one week, then increase it 10 or 20 pounds the next, always trying to use more and more. In this way I am using more and more each week. This builds a good mental attitude as well as overwhelming power.

If you are wondering about hitting a limit poundage with this routine - don't. I do not believe there is one! Each time I have taken a layoff from Power Rack training (about every two months), I always surpass my previous high poundage in each position.

Just for the record and as a guide for other power lifters, here are the highest poundages I have used in each position: 

Dead Lift - 575

Low Pull - 700

Low Squat - 430

Low Press - 525

High Pull - 475

Middle Press - 380

Top Press - 825

Quarter Squat - 1,425

There it is. For real power and a great bodybuilding workout you can't beat it. This system can be used on the power lifts or any bodybuilding movement. If you do try it, I hope it works as well for you as it did for me and the fellows who train with me.