Gene Roberson, Life Story and Training Routines - Peary Rader (1966)

 

More here from the same year:
https://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2016/06/gene-roberson-terry-todd-1966.html 

As a child, Gene was interested in all sports, particularly baseball and football. As he grew older and entered high school he came to realize that most athletic endeavors do not contribute significantly to the physical development of the body. They keep the body in good condition, develop skill, coordination, endurance, etc., but are not progressive enough to develop the muscular system effectively.

When he was almost sixteen years old, he was introduced to weight training by a neighborhood friend of the same age. They trained in his basement for four months doing the following exercises: curls, presses, triceps presses and situps. It was at this time, just after Gene's sixteenth birthday, the he purchased his first barbell set and weightlifting course. 

Like all beginners, he bit off more than he could chew, by trying to do each of the several dozen exercises every other day. The fact that the training was so difficult would have made him quit were it not for the rapid progress he was making. When he began training, he was 5' 9" tall, weighed 145 pounds, had 12.5" arms, 31 waist and 39 chest. He was able to make one press with 100 pounds and bench press 120. 

By the time he bought my weights, he had improved greatly. His weight was now 155, he could press 150, curl 120, bench press 170 and now had 14.5" arms with corresponding improvements in chest size. Like most beginners his interest settled around a few lifts. These were curl, press, bench press, and triceps press. 

He had no set training routine, he just trained until he could train no more. He usually worked out about 2.5 hours a day, 3-4 days a week, in his garage. 

By the summer of 1959, he had been training nine months and had improved to the following stage of development: press 190; curl 150; bench press 200; all at 5' 9" and a bodyweight of around 175. 

During the summer he trained at night after work and made little progress. The following fall he went out for the football team but found that it no longer held any interest for him. By this time he was dedicated to weight  training. An elbow injury he received while playing football made him determined to improve his triceps strength in order to overcome this injury. 

It was at this stage that he embarked on a program of rigid triceps specialization. He trained three days a week for six months, doing NOTHING but prone French presses. He performed this exercise for 10 sets of 10 working up from his beginning weight of 60 to a final weight of 125. 

Soon, he began a regular routine. Once again, this routine consisted primarily of presses, curls, bench presses and other upper body work. 

By the summer of 1960, when he was seventeen, he was able to make the following lifts at a bodyweight of 185: press 235; bench press 330; curl 160; full squat 225. During the summer he discontinued training for about two months. When he began again, he weighed 170 and had lost considerable strength. In August of that year, he entered his first contest and placed last with a 195 press; 175 snatch; and 230 clean & jerk. 

During the following fall, he trained as follows: 3 days a week, press - working to a limit on Friday; snatch and clean & jerk, the same. He followed with bench presses and stiff-legged deadlifts from the bench. He entered another contest in December and placed third with a total of 635, weighing 178. He trained for the next few months, making very little progress, until it was his good fortune to lose a bet . . . 

A friend at the Birmingham YMCA and one of Alabama's best lifters, Bill Boyette bet him that he could make a leg press with 525. The stakes of the bet were "loser unloads the machine." Since Gene could leg press only 300 pounds, the loss of this bet coupled with the fact that he had beaten Gene soundly in the last contest made him decide to build up his leg strength. This decision marked the beginning of Gene's weightlifting career. 

His best squat at the time was 250. He decided to build his bodyweight from 175 to 198 during the spring and summer. This was the first routine which he employed that he feels worthy of note. 

His main lifts were designed to develop power. They were bench press, squat and deadlift. He worked the bench press and squat in the same manner doing 6 reps each set and working up as heavy as possible maintaining 6 reps. At the end of each week he would follow the same routine, then he would follow this by a limit attempt on these lifts. Gene worked the deadlift similarly but only one day a week. On this day he generally tried for a new training record. 

He also did the three Olympic lifts on the days when he had a training partner. Besides these, he did one-hand presses, leg curls, curls, triceps presses and incline presses on the days when he felt the need of more work.

Each workout lasted from 3 to 5 hours and was very demanding. Since he was not in during the summer the time was of no importance. The output of work which he had committed himself to perform required tremendous calorie and protein intake. This is when he first used special supplements and drinks. He ate three normal meals a day, six quarts of milk a day and untold quantities of honey, brewers' yeast, instant milk powder, vitamin/mineral supplements and wheat germ. He had no particular drink, he just mixed up as much "good stuff" as he thought he could drink. 

By the end of summer he had made tremendous progress. He weighed 200 pounds, pressed 245, bench pressed 350, snatched 215, and clean & jerked 280. 

But most important of all, he had squatted with 435 and deadlifted 525. 

When summer was over, Gene entered college and gave up power lifting. He began to train for the '64 Olympics. In December he won first place in the Dixie Open championships with lifts of 240-230-285. After considerable work on these lifts he found that his progress had stopped, and once again he turned to power lifting. He undertook the same routine as before, leaving out only those exercises for which he did not have time. 

By June, 1962, he was able to make the following lifts: press 270; snatch 239; clean & jerk 300; bench press 385; squat 500; deadlift 590. 

Gene weighed about 210 so he decided not to gain any more weight with the thought of going back to the 198's. He entered two contests that summer totaling 825 and 830. 

Power lifting had not yet come into prominence, so he continued training on the Olympic lifts even though he much preferred the power lifts. He went back to school for his sophomore year, and his training suffered greatly. Among other things, he had a bad cold, intestinal flu and several minor injuries. When Gene finally got back in shape, he weighed 197 and totaled 785 in the Dixie Open championships in January. 

This contest marked the beginning of the most rapid progress he had ever made. He made lifts of 255-225-305. Up until this time he had used the split technique in the quick lifts. After this contest, however, he decided that the squat style lifts were more suited to his physique. 

Although he practiced very little in the Olympic lifts, while working mainly for power, he was able to make lifts of 300-260-340 for a total of 900 in July, and lifts of 315-265-360 for a 940 total in August while weighing 215. He continued to train primarily on the power lifts while entering Olympic competition and his lifts improved very slowly, but his power increased rapidly. 

During the summer of 1964 Gene trained intensely for the Heart of America power lift championships which were canceled at the last minute. This was his first period of extensive training on the power lifts with the idea of entering a contest. At the first of summer, his lifts were approximately: bench press 400; squat 525; deadlift 600. By the middle of August, he had made the following lifts: bench press 450; squat 610; deadlift 640. He trained for this contest with great determination and very hard work. His routine was a follows: 

Monday

Bench press: 135x10, 225x8, 315x6, 335x6, 375x6, 355x6 [dead stop]

Triceps press (bench), 135x8, 145x6, 155x6, 165x6

Dead lift, 225x5, 315x5, 405x5, 495x5, 545x3, 600x1

Tuesday

Front squat: 135x10, 225x6, 315x6, 335x6, 355x6, 375x6

Curl: 115 x10, 125x8, 135x6

High pull on power rack: 225x2, 255x2, 275x2, 295x2, 315x2, 335x2

Wednesday

Bench press: 135x10, 225x8, 320x6, 340x6, 380x6, 360x6 (dead stop)

Triceps press (bench): 135x8, 145x6, 155x6, 165x6

Dead lift: 225x5, 315x5, 405x5, 495x5, 545x3, 600x1

Situps: 25 reps. 

Thursday

1/2 Squat: 405x10, 545x8, 715x6, 785x4, 835x2, 885x1

Leg curl and calf raise: same as Monday

One hand press: 100x8x2

Dumbbell lateral raise: 35x8x2

Bent row: 205x8x2

Upright row: 115x8x2

Shoulder specialization

Lat pulldown, 150x8x2

Friday

Bench press: 135x10, 225x8, 325x6, 345x6, 365x6, 385x6, 365x6, 405x1, 425x1 (dead stop)

Triceps press: same as Wednesday

Curl: same as Tuesday

Dead lift: same as Wednesday except higher poundages

Handball: 1-3 games. 

Saturday

1/2 Squat: 405x10, 545x8, 715x6, 785x4, 835x2, 885x1, 935x1

Power clean: 135x10, 205x6, 255x6, 275x4, 290x2, 305x1

When Gene heard that the contest was called off, he was very disappointed and had a tremendous lapse in training. When he returned to school in the fall, he became interested in Olympic lifting again and dedicated himself to making a 1,000-pound total at the Dixie Open championships that December. 

Gene determined that his weakness was in the quick lifts so he devoted all his time to improving them. His workout consisted of bench presses, squats, front squats and high pulls for assistance exercises, and power cleans, squat cleans, power snatches, squat snatches and jerks from the rack to improve his quick-lifting ability. 

He did no training on the press for he had intended to make his 1,000-pound total with lifts of 300-300-400. He had been able to press 300 on any occasion for the past two years and so did not train for the press.

By the first of December, his training lifts indicated that he would be able to make his 1,000-pound total. 

When the day of the contest arrived, Gene found that it was held in an unheated gym, and the heavyweights started lifting at 9 p.m. The contest lasted until 1:30 a.m. and the temperature was too cold for limit efforts in the quick lifts. In the press he made 325, barely missing 340. He made lifts of 275, 290 and a near miss with 300 in the snatch. In the clean & jerk, he made only a first attempt success with 360 before failing with 385. 

This was his last Olympic contest, but he still entertains thoughts of making that 1,000-pound total. Although he has not trained on the Olympic lifts for the last year, he can still make lifts of 350-300-350. 

After carefully analyzing weightlifting picture in the United States, he realized that, with some training, he could expect to be in the top ten in Olympic lifting; however, he felt that he could rank much higher as a power lifter.

Since he had never trained for an extended period of time on just the power lifts, he was uncertain as to what his true potential was. His best lifts at the time were approximately as follows: 455 bench; 610 squat; and 655 deadlift. This was his stage of development when he began to train for the power lift contest in Chattanooga in February of 1965. 

Note: I seem to be getting hungry and this place would be a real slice, treat, joy, piece of life's absurd pie to dine at were we in Chattanooga in the past . . . 

    

Later that same day in previous Chattanooga time . . . 

It's beyond me how Gene got any training in, what with all these great past places to go, people to see, meals to eat and curves to gorge upon. Geez, the discipline and dedication of this guy, eh! Go Gene! 

His routine was essentially the one he had used before the Senior Nationals so we will not yet go into detail. Although he totaled only 1,780 with lifts of 455-650-675, he narrowly missed lifts of 475-680-695 on a bar which weighed 5 lbs. heavy. He was very impressed with the tremendous ability and scientific approach of a lifter/entrepreneur named Terry Todd. When he resumed training (without a layoff), he changed the performance of his bench press and squat to more closely simulate the form used by Mr. Todd [fortunately, that's ALL he mimicked]. 

Since graduation was approaching and he had much hard work to do in class and in extracurricular activities, his training lapsed considerably. He began training seriously again on June 3rd with his eye on the Senior Nationals. His lifts were 430-550-600 at the time, and he weighed about 250. He took a light load in school during that summer, allowing him to train seven days a week for a time. His training was limited to the performance of the three power lifts plus power snatches since the gym at school had no facilities for heavier training using partial movements [also known now by bozos-without-a-clue  as "ego lifting."]

  

He feels that it is NECESSARY, particularly for the young lifter, to do some short-range (partial) movements with overload weight to develop tendon strength. His routine was very simple . . . 

Since bench presses had always been hard for him, he trained every other day on the bench. He worked up to a maximum effort for 6 reps by way of 8 sets. On days that he felt particularly strong, he usually performed one or two singles with a moderately heavy poundage. On the alternate days, he did either squats of dead lifts using the same routine. 

By the first of August a strange thing happened to him. [Incidentally, this year's International Water Balloon Day fell on August 1st! Sorry to break up the overwhelming seriousness of this stuff with that stuff.] The many workouts that he had performed on the squat and deadlift had proved too much for his lower back. His lower back did not hurt, but it was extremely fatigued. 

Note: this next bit is golden and rarely spoken of in these articles . . . 

He could not walk more than two blocks without having to stop and rest. When he walked, the muscles seemed to pump and cause considerable binding. This had happened to him once before so he recognized the symptoms and began to train only 5 days a week. 

Each time his training progressed well, something happened. He had an infected wisdom tooth, bad cold, muscle tears in each pectoral muscle, got married, had finals and graduated. One week before the contest, his training began to improve rapidly, and he was able to make an 1,855 total in training. 

During his final bench press workout, he reinjured his chest but the injury, although painful, did not seem to sap his strength appreciably. 

During this entire period of training, he tried to gain weight. He knew that if he were to compete with heavyweights, he must be a heavyweight himself. 

To gain weight, he drank about five quarts of milk a day, used a protein supplement, a vitamin supplement and powdered milk. His favorite weight-gaining drink is easily made in a blender. He used milk, milk powder, honey, a protein supplement, ice cream and Ovaltine. This drink is rich in calories and protein, but he was able to use it only on the weekends. During the week, his protein supplement was powdered milk. It was easy to fix in his dormitory room, tasted very good in whole milk and provided the necessary protein and calories required for him to gain 18 pounds in three months. He recommends this drink because it a very good source of protein and very inexpensive.

Because he is an unnatural heavyweight, he finds the rules of life are far more stringent than for other people. He must have nine hours sleep at the same time every night. He does not drink, smoke or indulge in any activity that will decrease his efficiency. He does not use aspirin or other common drugs because on occasions when he has used them, he has noticed a sluggishness that is not compatible with weightlifting progress. It seems that the drugs now on the market for relief of headache, the common cold, etc., deaden the nervous system to the extent that the average person never notices it, but the weightlifter has to have complete control over every muscle and nerve in his body to lift a heavy weight. This is why he would rather have a cold and feel the symptoms rather than not to be able to feel anything. 

Whoa. Where's this Gene guy buying this aspirin that sounds so potent? Got a number there, Peary?  

Gene's training for his upcoming contest seems hardly worth mentioning, he says, because he's doing nothing special. He confined his training primarily to the three lifts. 

He trained on each lift with approximately the same number of sets and repetitions doing the squat and bench press twice a week, and the deadlift once a week. 

For variety he did behind the neck presses and power snatches. 

A typical workout in the squat looks as follows: 

135x10, 250x8, 340x6, 470x6, 520x6, 570x6, 620x1, 670x1 . . . 

followed by flat-footed high jumps to a massage table which is about the height of an ordinary dining room table. He makes 10 leaps from the floor, landing on the table in the squat position each time. This exercise helps him to limber up and gives him a good bit of springing power. 

Just like the Olympic lifter needs to practice some form of athletics other than weightlifting, he feels that the power lifter must develop not only his strength but the ability to DELIVER  this strength all at one time with maximum efficiency. This kind of effort can only be learned through explosive movements such as the standing broad jump, standing high jump, power snatch, etc. 

We predict even greater things for Gene Roberson in the future. 

Enjoy Your Lifting!