This 1993 article fits nicely with the one from 2005:
A warm breeze, coming directly off the blue Pacific made its way up the side of Mt. Haleakala and flowed into my room. I was at my typewriter, attempting to catch up on my correspondence. By glancing to my left, I could see over the tops of the eucalyptus forest and pineapple fields to the Pacific coastline that makes up the back of the neck of the island of Maui. It is a splendid scene to behold.
I was on a good roll when a blue pickup pulled in the lane of Camp Coryell and the seven resident dogs went into a frenzy of yapping. Camp Coryell isn't actually a camp, but rather the residence of my hosts. But they have so many visitors of late that the name seemed most appropriate.
Arthur, son of one of my friends, got out of the pickup truck and tapped on my open door.
"Come on in, Arthur."
He stepped inside and said, "You busy?" "Writing letters. Never seem to be able to actually catch up. Can I help you?"
"I'm hoping you can. Dad said I should talk to you. I need to put on some bodyweight. I have one more year to play football and if I'm going to have any chance at all of getting a college offer, I gotta get bigger."
I pulled the finished letter from my typewriter and turned my attention to Arthur. "How much weight are you wanting to put on?"
"As much as I can. Hopefully, 15 or 20 pounds. I weigh just over 180 now and really need to be at least 195-200 when summer camp opens."
"What position do you play?"
"Linebacker. They'll probably put me in the middle this year, since I'm the only senior linebacker."
"Are you lifting?"
"My Dad bought me your book about two months ago and I've been following your program ever since. I just started out on the advanced program last week."
Page 88, "The Strongest Shall Survive"
"Are you getting stronger?"
"Meh, I'm surviving."
No. Not THAT line.
"Oh yeah, my squats are up 100 pounds for five since I began. I'm doing 275x5 and I'm benching 225x5 and power cleaning 195x5."
"That's excellent progress and good balance in the lifts. Okay, you stick with the program in the book. Let me talk about your diet. Are you eating lots?"
"My folks are about to disown me," he chuckled. "Dad keeps talking about putting a lock on the fridge door. I eat plenty but my bodyweight seems to stick at 180."
"How often do you eat?
"Whenever there's food in front of me."
"Be a bit more specific. How many meals or snacks in a given day?"
"Let me think," he studied my wall and counted on his fingers as he spoke, "I have three eggs, toast, milk and juice for breakfast. I carry three sandwiches, a piece of fruit and a quart of milk for lunch. Then at supper, I eat whatever Mom cooks. And usually a snack before going to bed."
"What sort of snack . . . pussy?"
"Usually cereal. Shredded Wheat, or a peanut butter sandwich."
"Do you get plenty of protein at supper?"
"I guess, although Mom cooks a lot of casseroles and sometimes they don't have much protein in them."
"Anything else?"
"Not on a regular basis. On weekends, when I'm out on the beach I might get a bit extra, or sometimes less, depending on what's around."
"Okay, Arthur, I'll give you a few suggestions on how to put on some quality bodyweight."
I made my usual blend of high-powered bean, added a generous portion of coffeemate and honey, leaned back in my wicker chair and savored the smells that filtered in my room. The plumerias were in full bloom and the air was thick with their rich fragrance. That smooth, rich Coffeemate taste makes everything in your life more enjoyable . . . Try it in a cup. You'll never give it up. If pucks were cups and cups were pucks hockey would suck and all shirts would be polka-dotted. Such a weary place we'd live in, all hustle & bustle with little time for reading a Bill Starr article. Dear me and no please!
"One other thing you need to know," he said as he pulled a chair across from me,"I know a few of the guys on the team are using steroids to put on weight, but I decided not to use them."
"Good decision. You'll be ahead in the long run. Now, let's talk about your diet. The basic rule for gaining bodyweight is that you have to take in more calories than you're burning off. From what you told me, this is not happening. That leaves two courses of action. One being to cut back on your energy output, the other being to take in more calories."
"I don't think I can, or want to, cut back. I have my job. Mostly yard work. Then my training. And I don't want to give up my weekend surfing."
"So we proceed in the other direction. During the next few days I want you to keep an accurate record of just what you do eat. Put down exactly how much you eat and when you eat it. Note every apple, hamburger, potato chip, everything, no matter how small. That will help give you a picture of your current food consumption.
"I want you to start eating more often, not necassarily a lot at a time, but more often. When you eat a huge meal, much of the value may be lost because each individual's digestive system can only handle so much at a time. It's a lot easier to assimilate food when it's taken in small doses."
"But I'm on the job all day. There's no stores where I work."
"Use your head ya puppy fuck, I'm not talking meals per se, but food that's easy to carry with you when you go to work. Fruit, for example. You can put a half dozen bananas in your lunch bag, can't you"
"Does this have anything to do with those wooden crates in the corner? But yeah, there's loads of bananas around our place."
"And you can hardboil a dozen eggs the night before and take them and "After-Dinner Story" by Cornell Woolrich with you, can't you?"
Click to Enlarge
"Yeah, I can do that. I see what you're getting at. That many eggs a day?"
"The top bodybuilders of the pre-steroid era used to eat as many as three dozen eggs each and every day to put on pounds; chicken farmers were happy in the main. Eggs are one of the most economical high quality foods available. Everything in them is nutritious. A real plus for the strength athlete.
"So start eating more of them. Have four or five for breakfast, instead of your usual three, along with two glasses of milk, two pieces of toast, and juice. Lunch as usual as you eat a lot anyway. Any more fruit would likely be wasted. Midafternoon, eat 2-3 more pieces of fruit and another 3-4 eggs. This will increase your daily food intake considerable."
"I like that idea. I was getting hungry around midmorning, but didn't want to pack more sandwiches. How about at night, after I train?"
Before, during, and after . . .
any time's the right time for Shredded Wheat."
"You wrote about protein shakes in The Strongest Shall Survive. Do you really think they'll help?"
"I do. I know a number of hard-training strength athletes who have added up to a half-pound a day by adding a daily protein shake to their diet.
"Wow, that would be super, Mister Bill. Any special kind of protein powder My budget is kind of thin, I'm still paying off that truck."
"Almost all of the commercial protein powders are excellent. The basic formulation is very similar in all of them, aside from that added trillionth of a gram of something exotic and currently popular that makes for a proprietary blend. Price is generally the primary factor in selecting one over the other. If loot is tight, I suggest that you simply use instant dry milk solids as your protein source. A cup of dried milk contains over 30 grams of protein and, along with the milk in the milkshake, you'll have all the protein that your system can assimilate at one time. Dry milk is about one-third the cost of most protein powders.
"That's what I'll use for now, until I can get a bit ahead. I'm putting some dollars into my vitamins and minerals now. Any special formula for the shake or should I just throw anything and everything into the blender and are ya sure Dahmer done it this way?
"I've found that a a simple, good-tasting shake is the best. When they're overly thick with too many ingredients people get tired of them more quickly. Mix together things that you like the taste of separately and the end result should be favorable. My personal favorite is a mixture of whole milk, protein powder, a cup of blueberry yogurt and a couple of scoops of chocolate ice cream. It's not too thick and I can drink it easily."
He's very consistent with his favorite protein shake, over all those years.
"Why the yogurt?"
"Yogurt contains acidophilus, which aids in the digestive process. Which, by the way, is a
VERY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF PUTTING ON WEIGHT.
"It's not just how much you eat, it's how much is finally utilized by your cells."
"Is there anything else I can eat to help my assimilation?"
"Papaya are plentiful around here; they are excellent digestive aids. Start having one after breakfast and supper. Also, I want you to increase your B vitamin intake. How much B are you taking now?"
"I'm just taking a multiple, which has lots of Bs in it."
"Go ahead and invest in a bottle of high potency B-complex vitamins and bonus! . . . enjoy the color of your pee while you're at it."
"They really help?"
"Here's a thumbnail sketch of what some of the Bs do. Thiamine, B1, riboflavin and B2 are vital for the metabolism of carbohydrates. Pyridoxine, B6, biotin and folic acid are essential for protein and fat metabolism. The Bs, in a nutshell, are responsible for converting the bananas you eat into usable energy and the hamburgers into muscle cells."
"Okay, I see what you're driving at. How many should I take?"
"The Bs are water-soluble, you flush them through your system rather rapidly. I would take two in the morning following breakfast, two more after lunch and one after supper. You do have to be aware that they are, in effect, energizers. So, keeping this fact in mind, I don't recommend taking them too late in the evening as they may keep you awake."
"Okay, I have the program. Anything else I should know."
His expression changed, dropping into a look of disappointment and near-bewilderment.
"I can't give up surfing."
"I didn't say that you should give it up. I know how much you love the sport. I'm suggesting that you merely cut back on how much time you spend in the water for a while. Instead of three hours in the surf, cut it to two and relax on the sand more. Just for a time."
He didn't seem at all pleased with this idea. Surfing is almost like breathing to a youngster on Maui.
"Should I alter my weight program at all?"
"No, continue with the advanced program. Work hard on your squats and on your back work."
The leg and back work factors in a lot when trying to gain bodyweight and strength . . .
"You can pack a lot of good weight on your legs, hips and back. Give these muscle groups priority. Your chest, shoulder and arm work is not nearly as important just now."
Arthur got up and put his chair back against the wall.
"Thanks for your time. I'm going to stop at Foodland on my way home and pick up some Carnation dry milk. Those family-magic dry crystals dissolve instantly. Best get some yogurt and ice cream and start in on my milkshakes today. I wonder if that health food store in Makawao carries a good B-complex"
"More than likely. You can also check the shelves at your grocery store as they stock vitamins too."
Enjoy Your Lifting!
