Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Building Massive Biceps on the Scott Curling Bench - Vince Gironda (1969)

 



From the early Weider/Arnold era, when every second article had Arnold photos included. Hand, wrist, elbow placement from Gironda, bomb and blitz . . . 

Save some wasted time and skip ahead to the paragraph beginning with 
"There's a cool photo in this article . . ." 

At least there's something almost funny there. It's just more Gironda nonsense and hooey here . . . more paid for hyping of an early Arnold what's-his-name that also helped The Vince promote his gym and "techniques" or whatever you'd call his crap. 


So many bodybuilders have concluded that the Scott Curling Bench (the so-called "preacher" bench) was designed solely for exercising the under-belly of the biceps that I should like to clear up this misunderstanding by stressing that its importance goes beyond this. In fact, it is an absolute must for anyone who expects to build the fullest biceps. 

Of course the bench is incomparable for developing the lower biceps. No other piece of auxiliary exercising equipment makes this area so accessible to heavy bomb and blitz attacks on the outer and inner heads of the biceps simply through variations in placement of elbows and spacing of the hands. 

But that's not all! Not only can you develop rounded biceps with this bench, you can also build fantastic curling power  because the ligaments, tendons and muscles directly involved in the curling are totally isolated, and cannot therefore be "assisted" by other muscle groups. Everything else, to use a military term, is "neutralized." Consequently, you can quickly perform curls with the greatest stress placed on your biceps only! 


Developing Thickness in the Lower Biceps

Many bodybuilders favor just one height of the Scott curling bench, and this is wrong. Invariably the adjust the bench so that the top of it comes above the pectorals, when actually it should come exactly even with the lower pectoral area.  

In this position the lower biceps is isolated, with only the lower biceps and brachialis anticus (the shell-like muscle under the biceps) doing the work. Since the brachialis is a lengthy muscle stretching from upper forearm to lower biceps, it is the muscle responsible for bending your arm to the point where the lower biceps takes over. Thus is it responsible for the development of thickness in your lower biceps.

However, if you use only this position of the Scott curling bench, the end result will be a flat-appearing rather than a round-appearing over-all biceps. You might call it a "maxi-low" and a "mini-high" biceps. This, of course, is not what you want because it is not complete. You can that that full completeness through other adjustments of the Scott curling bench. 

There's a cool photo in this article I can't be bothered to scan. It features a bored looking roided Howorth (turns out to be Don Peters in trunks doing that leg up balls out pose) standing behind the drug- and as always proud to be ego-bloated Arnie as he makes use of the miracle-for-biceps, gift from above "preacher" curl bench at Vince's Gym. Howorth's face says, "What's all the fuckin' fuss about THIS fat fuck?" I believe Arnie's a mouth breathing inconsiderate ego-fuck misrepresentation of what bodybuilding can be, but hey, that's just me and my view, hopefully, has no clout whatsoever. 

No matter . . . it's more Gironda "stuff" . . . put your arms in worst possible position to "get at" the inner or outer or length of or peak of your biceps. You know the stupidity of this all I am sure . . . one "technique" learned at the foot of the "master-Vince" is to put the elbows real REAL close and position the hands very VERY wide on the bar, then go to it until a physiotherapist arrives. Garbage. More garbage from a sham and a scam artist full of hype and lies. Wait . . . no steroid use at Vince's? What was this guy . . . blind? No, but it paid the rent. 

Okay . . . nix on this one, it's another dead end lacking any humor or interest for me in any way, other than the way The Arnold got shot into "muscle stardom" as paid for and directed by Ben & Joey. 

Now . . . how 'bout some real lifting stuff already. That Belknap pair of articles was rather pointless, really, aside from my obsession to find all articles written by Anthony Ditillo during his life on Earth.

It would be heaven and one helluva treat to find some of what Tony discarded after being in a bad mood and ranting on the whole lifting establishment, wouldn't it!  

Okay then . . . moving on . . . 


 







































10 comments:

  1. Your commentary is hilarious as always! What cracks me up is Tony's comment about how strong Tim Belknap is for such a light bodyweight but he left out his height which I looked up and said he was 5 ft. 4. That's very heavy for a man that short which is the equivalent of you and I weighing 300 lbs. since we're both over 6 ft. Additionally, I'm sure that like most short guys when he presses he only moves the bar a few inches to lockout. When I do military presses I move the bar 2 feet to lockout and same goes for my deadlift. Also, short compact guys like him are built for squatting so it most likely was easy for him to hit that. However, I do acknowledge that squatting 720x1 with high bar position and narrow foot stance is impressive despite his advantageous leverages.

    You know it's funny how I used to like Arnold and actually admired his physique when I was a teenager and while in college. Later on when I gave up bodybuilding and switched to powerlifting my opinion changed and I saw how pointless all that crap was and still is. Plus, all those years he competed were staged and rigged by Weider! What good are big bloated muscles if you don't have the strength to back it up? Besides, he concentrated way too much on his chest and biceps. John Grimek, Reg Park, Marvin Eder and Chuck Sipes are some of my favorites that had strength to back up their looks and had great symmetry. Arnold just had glamour muscles. And now he complains everyday he looks at himself in the mirror with his aging body and hates it. That's what happens when you cling on to superficial nonsense. As for me, I take after Karl Norberg and look forward to lifting heavy in my advanced years when I get to that stage in my life.

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  2. And, anyway, as-weeeee-all-knowwww Arnold was born totally lacking arm biceps.

    (photographic proof here, when he was age 18; note, the complete lack of ANY and all bicep?)
    https://www.simplyshredded.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/arnold_shvartsenegger45.jpg

    Only when he arrived in the US and learned the esoteric Weider System principles and techniques, each and every one invented, created, and originated by Joe "Master pertubator" Weider, did Arnie build any biceps, using this Weider product:

    https://www.usawa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/ArnoldtheArmBlaster.jpg

    The only truth Arnie gleaned from Vince "I-transformed-Larry-Scott-from-mere-Mr. Idaho winner-to-Mr. Olympia-with-my-contrary-to-genetics-and-muscle-function-working-four-sides-of-a-muscle-incantations, -and -with-my-perfected-Scott, er Preacher Bench; it-was-not-the-Dianabol, nor-anything-I-care-to-credit-learning-from-from-the-Easton Brothers" Gironda, was, as referenced, "You're a fat fuck."

    And, after all, as Arnie states right here in this copy I'm holding of "Sports Illustrated" magazine, dated Oct. 14, 1974, in the feature article, on page 120, "...For the last six weeks [before the Olympia] he has also [along with his training] taken orally 15 mg of Dianabol, an anabolic steroid, each day. Schwarzenegger says that steroids not not build muscle, but may help sustain it while he is stripping down for definition. "actually," he says, "I think they are virtually worthless, but everybody uses them before contests - - so I do too."

    So, there! The facts! 'Bolics do not build muscle, he swears he was taking only 15 milligrams of drugs a day anyway just for a lark and, as photographic evidence proves, his bicepsual success was due entirely to the Space-Age Weider Arm Blaster!

    So, fuck off, Vince Gironda, you cigar-ash-dumping-in-some-poor-paying-member's-sweat-pants, too-cheap-to-buy-more-barbell-plates-so-disparaging-heavy-back-squats Hollywood panderer, youuuuu!...

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    Replies
    1. 15 mg of D-bol! Well, well, ain't he just a great responder. When did the guy actually start in with the stuff? 14 years old or something? Odd how these "virtually worthless" drugs got used back then so much. I bought the wrong company's Arm Blaster . . . that explains everything!

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    2. "I bought the wrong company's Arm Blaster..."

      Exactly!
      Plus, as Vince would have screamed at you from across the gym, "You have your elbows positioned WRONG!!! No one can build lower biceps like that, regardless of how many have built their lower biceps to their genetic maximum while doing any damned bicep exercise progressively! Here's your membership fee back, now get the hell out of my gym!!"

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    3. And out I was thrown, never to set foot in Vince's Gym again . . . ejected amid a hail of hydrochloric-acid tummy tablets and kelp capsules . . . with not even enough time to grab my leopard-skin posing trunks!

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  3. Would love to see the photo of Howorth watching Arnie you mentioned

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    Replies
    1. I'd love to find where I put that mag! Not big on "order" at home.

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    2. Not bit at all on remembering this stuff much either it seems! Why bother? Put the pic on that Gironda article now.

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  4. IronMan has a interview with Don Howorth online ("Legends of Bodybuilding: Don Howorth", May 1, 2003) which is worth a read. He openly acknowledges using some Dianabol later in his career (as do Larry Scott and Dave Draper) but the drug also had an adverse effect on him. Don, Larry and Dave all had outstanding genetics, trained hard (but sensibly) and ate well across their lifetimes. Even though he is associated with Vince, it seems most of Don's physique accomplishments were without Vince's input or advice. Don seemed to be a sensible and likeable fellow.

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    Replies
    1. Mr. Howorth was honest about it, and he credited doing everything Vince Gironda said NOT to do with his success. The guy got popped doing pickup and delivery of roids for the Angels and did time for it. One of the "Muscle, Smoke and Mirrors" editions has some great phone interview stuff with him. He made out great in prison, people wanting to know how to develop this, how much of this to use in conjunction with that, a bit of a locked up personal trainer thing went on it sounds like. I wonder if ANY of the "top shelf" guys followed Gironda's advice much at all. An odd gym alright, filled with hype and well, smoke and mirrors.

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