More on Larry Scott's Training

 

The Larry Scott exercise program is severe; always has been. 

Watching him pump iron today one gets the same impression one had when observing his workouts of the Sixties. 

His training is different, ahead of his time, even now. 

For shoulders he practices a form of dumbbell presses whereby the bells are first held in position identical to that which one finds at the completion of the two arm dumbbell curl movement. In other words . . . his elbows are digging into the sides of the waist and the dumbbells are held (knuckles forward) at the shoulder. 

Note: more on this in a five-part deal starting here: 

https://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2021/09/how-to-build-massive-deltoids-part-one.html  

His press begins and as the arms extend overhead, the elbows come out and the thumbs curl inwards, to ultimately face the front. What happens is that the weight twists around from one extreme to the other while the arms are straightening. 

The exercise is often perform "up and down the rack going from one pair of dumbbells to another of a different weight, with little rest. 

Note: more here as well: 

https://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2011/03/advanced-deltoid-routines-larry-scott.html 

He follows this with standing lateral raises, shifting the bells forward 

as they raise up to shoulder height [that "pinky" thing]. 

Posterior deltoids are trained, one arm at a time in the bentover position while supporting the body with the free arm. This exercise is almost unique to Scott, as indeed were preacher curls in the Sixties. Although some bodybuilders have dropped the preacher curl from their workouts, Larry remains loyal. He sees no other acceptable substitute which gives the thickness and roundness to his biceps. He uses both dumbbells and barbells with this exercise. He also does standing barbell curls an often finishes off his biceps with Zottman curls. 

More here: 

https://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2011/03/advanced-arm-training-larry-scott.html  

Only one man, Chuck Sipes, works his forearms more frequently or harder than Scott. 

Here: 

https://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2009/09/4-forearm-routines-larry-scott.html 

Larry performs wrist curls (resting his forearms on the end of a bench) and reverse curls using an EZ-bar, both on the preacher bench and in the standing position. 

Triceps training involves a variety of movements, but "they all pale in comparison to the lying triceps stretch for actual size building" says Scott. "If I want more arm size that is the exercise I fall bock on for real results." 

Triceps pressdowns on lat machine also find their way into the Scott schedule. 

                                                                                      Pushdown

                                                                                     Pressdown

For calves Larry likes the seated calf raise (for the soleus at the back of the lower leg) and the donkey calf raise for "gastrocs" and that "diamond" shape. 

Lats: chins to upper chest and his special dumbbell rowing movement whereby he leans over at a 45-degree angle, almost on his toes and brings the dumbbells way back with a type of swinging movement, endeavoring of course to "feel" the stress in the latissimus area.

Although Larry didn't do squats at Vince's, today he does occasionally perforjm the basic movement . . . 

 

He also does hack slice machine work and thigh extensions. Thigh biceps are worked with thigh curls.

Ab work is limited to supersetting leg raises with situps. He believes diet is the most important factor in waistline trimness. 

Repetitions are usually around the 8-per-set mark, although for forearms and calves he will do up to 15 or so. 

Scott does not change his exercises much, having after years of trial and error finally found which ones work for him. But he does change around the system of sets -- for example, when he works his forearms he may just do a few straight sets, yet on days when he has a little more time he will do no fewer than 10 supersets of wrist curls, first 8 reps with a heavy weight then a second, immediate set of 8 reps with a lighter weight.

For chest he often performs giant sets, one exercise after another to fully pump the area. The same with delts, he will switch around his exercises and training tempo to "surprise" the muscles and create variation and training energy. 

Larry Scott has many beliefs and formulas for success. Among those he listed at his seminar are:

Be content to gain muscular bodyweight slowly. Aim for a 1/4 inch at a time. 

Take choline and inositol, a fat emulsifier, for a thinner skin, but take it in conjunction with a carbohydrate-reduced diet. 

Nutrition is 80% of bodybuilding. If you are not prepared to spend $50 a month on nutrition forget it! [Ah, the good ole days and the price of food].

Eggs are a fantastic aid to general muscle-building and they are still a relatively cheap form of protein. 

The preacher curl is the greatest piece of apparatus I have come across in my bodybuilding career. I have never found an exercise quite as pure in ability to work the biceps, especially in the lower biceps/forearm tie-in area.

Enjoy Your Lifting!