Ken Waller, YMCA Mr. America…His Story & Training

By Franklin Page

Iron Man June-July 1968

 

In writing about a new physique star with enthusiasm it is always a temptation to lay on the superlatives heavily; great, sensational, the lot. I am faced with that temptation now but I cannot help but feel the superlatives here would not be misplaced.

A new physique marvel has recently entered AAU competition who gives every indication of forging a new and higher development standard than we have yet seen. He is Ken Waller, recent winner of the National YMCA physique title in Chicago. This is the second contest he has ever entered; the first was the Mr. Kentucky contest in 1966 which he also won. Between these two appearances Ken had neither competed nor even seen a contest, so it is evident he is just beginning his climb. But what a beginning! In spite of his inexperience and resultant poor posing, and the fact that he has not yet reached his full development, the impact that Ken made in Chicago was tremendous. He has, in my opinion, every qualification to become perhaps our most spectacular muscle man. Let’s take a look at these qualifications in their formative stages and meet a man who will certainly be one of our greatest strength athletes.

To begin with, Ken is a very big man. He is 6 feet tall and weighs, at the moment, a rather light 218. His size begins with a very large bone structure, evidenced by wrists a bit over 8 ½ inches and substantially proportioned hands and feet. On this base he has remarkable depth and density of muscle, which although he has already achieved great muscle size, will soon give him a physique of unsurpassed quality. At the moment one cannot say his physique is yet perfected or fully developed in every detail, but I can say he is one of the most muscular men I ever saw. What will he be like a year from now? Today every muscle is clearly defined, in spite of their size, with each fiber and striation completely revealed. Ken has very fair skin, thin and translucent, so that it lies very lightly over the muscles and tendons. It is almost as though every muscle is laid bare and this body characteristic alone is sufficient to make his display dazzling. Imagine this coupled with his tremendous size and obvious strength and you have the picture of a really extraordinary athlete.

Ken has trained with weights for 6 years. He began with the intention of gaining weight and speed for college football. It is only in the past year that he has trained for bodybuilding. I first saw him at the 1966 Kentucky contest, when he was good but had nothing in any way comparable to his present development. All this has come within the past few months of concentrated effort. During the past Christmas vacation Ken went to California and sought advice from Zabo Koszewski, picking up points on training and diet. This seemed to turn the trick and get him really started along the road that it was obvious, even in 1966, that he should take. Now the dedication and drive are firmly rooted and growing.

Ken is a graduate of Western Kentucky University at Bowling Green. It was his ambition to make all-conference in football, accomplished as a Junior. He was also team captain. In the college days Ken worked out an average of 3 days a week for 1 ½ hours, doing nothing bug strength exercises: presses, squats, cheat curls, bench presses. During this time he developed tremendous strength which is now paying off in the rigorous training he now follows, enabling him to handle heavy poundages, to push his muscles hard. For example, on the day we took the training shots Ken put 235 lbs. on the bar on the floor. He cleaned and pressed it easily, then slowly lowered it behind his neck for the squat, all with no apparent effort.

At present Ken is training 5 times a week for 3 hours each session. His split schedule is as follows:

Schedule I

Bench Press, 8 sets, heavy, as many reps as possible.

Super set for chest: DB inclines, DB flies, DB pullovers

Roman chair sit-ups, 500 reps

Front chins, 5 sets, 10 reps

Back chins, 5 sets, 10 reps

·        Super set for arms: No. 1, triceps press-down, lat machine; concentration curl, reverse curl, DR triceps extension

·        Super set for arms: No. 2 – Seated DB curl, French curl, Reverse curl, E-Z bar, Decline French curl.

·        Both the above super sets, 2 sets of each, 10 reps

Schedule II

Seated press behind neck, 4 sets, 8 reps

Super set for shoulders: DB press, 4 sets. Upright rows, 4 sets

Super set for back: Hyperextensions, 4 sets. Bent over rows 4 sets

3/4 squat, heavy, 5 sets

Super set for legs: ½ squat, heavy, 5 sets. Good morning exercise, 4 sets. Calf raises, 4 sets.

Roman chair sit-ups, 500 reps

Go through 1 set of each arm exercises.

 

In his diet Ken relies mainly on meat, fish, eggs and salad. He drinks milk in the form of milk shakes. He eats a substantial breakfast and includes in it whatever he wants, even occasionally wheat cakes. He is sparing with food supplements, using only Vitamin B12, calcium and wheat germ. Like all bodybuilders he gets a minimum of 8 hours of sleep each night.

In the National YMCA contest Ken won the overall title, plus most muscular, best arms and best abdominals. The strenuous concentration on arms in his recent workouts has clearly paid off in a hurry, but the abs have had concentrated treatment only for the past month or so.

Ken is now 25 years old. He has an 18 inch neck, 50 inch chest, 33 inch waist, 19 ½ inch arms, 26 ½ inch thighs, 17 ½ inch calves. With those 8 ½ inch wrists and wide hips (42 inches) it is evident that his muscle size will increase markedly as his training steps up.

Physically, Ken’s outstanding characteristic is a tremendous massing of muscle in every body part. Especially notable are his great arms, tying in to the most massive deltoids I have ever seen on any man. The muscles of his neck, traps, and entire back separate into furrows and mounds of tremendous depths and rounded formations. He is now doing hyperextensions (a relatively recent addition to his schedule) to further emphasize the lower reaches of the erectus muscles, but already there is a thick development of these muscles all the way down to their insertion at the hip. They need to be brought out still more, however, to match the development of his upper back. His arms are spectacular – no other word for it -  with true baseball biceps and fully defined and massive triceps. The forearms are very good but need a bit more work to balance the gigantic upper arms. As in every other part of his body, each muscle is fully separated from its insertions out into the body of the muscle. His further training will greatly enlarge his chest and pecs and continue molding his already remarkable midsection. For a big man, his abs are outstanding but there will soon be deeper separation and form in that area. In time his legs will improve their already fine shape and muscularity, necessary only because of the great size of his upper body. Predictions of significant future gains in every area are safe because Ken’s body is quickly responsive to every effort he expends.

Well-educated, immaculate in appearance, courteous and soft-spoken, Ken is an outstanding man. He is a science teacher in a suburban Louisville high school and is quite serious in his attitude. Everything points to a very bright future for Ken Waller as one of the most powerful and best developed young men we have had the good fortune to have in many years.

Building Big Arms - Dennis Tinerino

 Building Big Arms

By Dennis Tinerino (Mr. America 1967) as told to Joe Abbenda

Strength & Health February 1968

Big bulging biceps and clearly outlined, massive triceps form one of the bodybuilder’s most impressive body parts.  The muscles of the arms are the most in the eyes of everyone.  I’m sure almost everyone has felt the arm of the neighborhood strongman or flexed his arm muscle to impress someone. Perhaps a reason for this concern with the arms is the fact they are almost constantly on display, especially in the summertime.  Since winning the Mr. America title, I have traveled throughout the United States and recently through Europe, and 90% of the questions I am asked are about the arms. My arms have been pinched, poked, prodded, measured, and even punched at by spectators at these shows. The point I am making is that the arms are a very impressive body part to the majority of people, whether they are bodybuilders or not.

Pride alone is reason enough to train your arms, but there are several other reasons as well. The arms are used day in and day out in hundreds of activities from strenuous sports like football and weightlifting to lifting yourself out of bed in the morning. Fully developed arms are important to our daily life as well as to our appearance.

I hope I have made my point clear. I have found several exercises to be most effective for increasing my arm size and shape. When exercising the arms, remember that the triceps are 2/3 of the arm’s mass so they should be worked at least as hard as the biceps if not harder.

I would like to say that I have never specialized on my arms. I believe that in most cases, as one trains over the years, he will eventually develop his arms to their maximum along with the rest of his body. We must remember that the arms are worked on almost every upper body exercise, except abdominal work. I have at times over-trained my arms and have noted a decrease in muscular size rather than a gain. I believe that a lasting pair of sturdy arms are not developed overnight. To develop  a pair of arms that will not shrink when away from the weights a month or two, will take hard work and time. I have met a great number of novices who are convinced that they will find a method that will turn their arms into Bill Pearl-type arms in two weeks. I have not found any such program. If someone finds one, I will be the first to try it. In order to build big arms, one must get rid of this fallacy that they will become huge overnight. When you realize this, you are on the path to building bigger arms. The following are the exercises I have found best for my arms. You will notice that I work my triceps first.

TRICEPS

 #1 Dumbbell triceps extension

To do this exercise correctly, you should be seated on a bench with one hand under the elbow. This will eliminate arm sway and put more tension on the triceps, particularly the lower portion, which is vital for a complete looking arm.

#2 Triceps push-down on pulley

Press down with an even, smooth motion, keeping the elbows locked in to the sides. Do not sway back and forth on this exercise. The benefit comes from doing the exercise correctly.

#3 Lying barbell extensions

Pull the bar over the head to the starting position in front of the forehead. From the forehead, straighten the arms completely, keeping the elbows as stationary as possible.

#4 Standing barbell extensions

Stand straight and tall with the barbell behind the neck and your elbows hight. Push the bar overhead with pure triceps power. As with the other exercises, do not use such a heavy weight that you cannot use proper form. If you stagger and bend back, you are not getting the triceps stimulation you need. Remember to lock the elbows completely out with each exercise. Concentrate on putting the stress on the triceps!

I work my triceps twice a week when I am not preparing for a contest. When I’m competing, I work them three times a week. I do 5 sets of each exercise doing 5-12 repetitions per set. Beginners should do two sets of 6-10 repetitions. I normally work my triceps on my upper body workout days.

For the biceps I prefer the following movements:

#1 Preacher Curls

I like this movement because you can put a great deal of stress on the entire biceps and develop a complete muscle rather than the lumpy development that some bodybuilders have. I prefer doing this exercise with barbells, but I change off to dumbells every so often to insure a complete development.

#2 Dumbell Incline Curls

If there was one exercise I had to point to as the exercise that gave me the best results, I would say this is the one.  To develop full biceps, you must get a complete extension and contraction. This exercise insures complete development.

#3 Close grip barbell curl

Every weight trainer has done this exercise at some time or other. For best results, start this exercise in a complete hang position, insuring a complete extension. Curl the weight to the neck and squeeze the biceps into a full contraction at the top. This will help to build a high peak as well as full biceps.

#4 Lying dumbbell curls

To get the best results from this exercise you must pay a great deal of attention to foot and hand position. The hands should not be next to the sides but rather out in a type of lateral movement. This will work the outer head of the biceps, which is often not worked by regular curls. Remember to concentrate and let the biceps do the work.

Beginners should do 2 sets of each exercise from 6-10 reps. I do 5 sets of 6-10 reps. I have done many other biceps and triceps exercises but these have given me the best results.

In conclusion:

1.      Do each exercise as outlined… concentrate on doing the exercise correctly.

2.      Work your triceps more than your biceps as they are a larger muscle group.

3.      Do each exercise slowly and smoothly.

4.      As far as poundages go, use a weight that will allow you to complete the set number of reps without cheating – strive to increase the weight, but not to the point where you sacrifice form.

5.      To increase your arm size appreciably, you must add to your body weight. I have never seen a bodybuilder with a 20” arm who didn’t weight at least 220.

6.      Stick with this program at least 6-8 weeks – by the end of this time you will know whether this routine is suited to your body structure.

7.      If this area is really lacking in your physique, then work it first in your program before you become too tired to perform the exercises properly.

There are no secrets to building big arms. It takes determination and hard work, combined with all the scientific knowledge you can obtain from reading and experimentation. Now go to it and build yourself a pair of ARMS!

One-Set-Per-Exercise for Strength (complete) - An Interview with Coach Merian Cooper (1936)

 

Coach Cooper with his Star Pupil 

Editor's Note: We are pleased to present this rare and informative Q&A interview with Coach Merian C. Cooper, and hope that you may garner information sufficient to increase your knowledge of both weight training and weight-lifting history.

Coach Cooper, or "Coop" as he is known to his friends and charges, has a vast and varied background in training the movie stars and celebrities you see onscreen at cinemas worldwide. 

Mr. Cooper comes from an extraordinarily varied background, having been an aviator in both the U.S. Army Air Service and the Polish Air force, time spent as a Soviet P.O.W., and as a member of the board of directors of Pan American Airways before settling on a career in film, his strongest love and passion. 

Having trained multiple stars male and female requiring strength as well as a film-worthy "look of power" . . . physique changes for specific roles . . . the entire spectrum of what weight-training has to offer, we feel that he is a man of extensive training knowledge, one we are more than happy to have here, and are grateful for the opportunity to grace these humble pages with his presence.

Our interview with Mr. Cooper, now living in South America while working on a recent film project, was conducted via the wonders of modern telephone communication. The line was at times riddled with static, but the conversation that took place over the great physical distance between Boston and Buenos Aries, on South America's southeastern shore, was no less than a miraculous blessing to be involved in. Modern times, and our civilization appears to be on the cusp of wondrous technological progress. 

We will skip the initial section of our interview with Mr. Cooper and go straight to the Question & Answer portion. Assistant editor Richard Farnsworth is shown as "Q" and did the interview, one in which Mr. Cooper freely offered his training wisdom to our readers. 

Q: Our readers are very grateful to you for allowing them to in some way gain from your experience Mr. Cooper, and I am certain it will be put to use by them. 

A: Call me Coop. It's good to know what I've learned will be further experimented with by them.

Q: Heading directly to the meat, no, the marrow of our query, when you signed on to train King Kong, what condition did he initially present? 

A: Well, that's a funny story, if I may spend a moment relating it to your readers.

Q: By all means, please do! 

A: Well, Richard, at this point in his career, Kong had become accustomed to living in our world, the jungle was a fading memory for him, and he had adapted to city life quite well. Living accommodations were, of course, rather troublesome for the big fellow at first, but seeing the potential value of his singularity a group of "backers" and movie producers footed the bill with a view to the future financial opportunities presented them. 

Kong availed himself of all parts of our world and its conveniences, however, he found he had a fondness for fine dining and good wine, which led to him being in a very poor state of physical conditioning when I first met with him at his home, a city-block long, very strongly constructed single floor dwelling. 

The initial task I was presented with was to get him "up and running" again, off the enormous couch and back into what we might refer to as jungle condition. This part of his total training regimen took about three months, as he had sunken into a quite decadent lifestyle at that point. 

Q: Sounds like a huge undertaking, Coop! 

A: Oh yes . . . it most definitely was. Now, if I may transition to the central issue you've told me via mail that this interview will focus on . . . How did I train Kong to get that look of power so readily visible in his first feature film, was strength a large part of achieving that look, and what methods did I use in order to keep his interest up and motivation high. 

Kong, being of the quick-thinking, easily bored temperament subset of lifters, required a routine that would maintain his interest over the period of months required to achieve our goals. 

Q: Would you mind expanding on the progression of selected methods you tried, Coop? 

A: I'd love to, Richard, and still find it hard to believe there's much interest in this, aside from the few who always seem to seek variations of the old, sometimes seen as new. 

After the initial period of getting the big fellow, oh, incidentally, King Kong is the stage name he uses. His real name is King Cong and his original birthplace is an undisclosed location deep in jungles of Viet Nam. Kong is rather protective of his background, choosing to have his backstory remain private. I'm sure your readers will understand. He is working in Hollywood, after all. 

Q: I am certain they will. 

A: It's appreciated and I will relay my confidence in this to Kong. To continue, Once he was back in jungle condition, I had him transition to the weight-training section of the cycle I devised. 

We tried the Five by Five for a period. His temperament, as I mentioned earlier, was not of that nature by nature. By the second week, and I had him on a three-a-week layout composed of three basic selected movements . . . squat, power clean, and an object pressed over his head. You must remember that his strength, relative to ours, is near-impossible to conceive of. The problem of constructing enormous bars and plates was not an easy task, of course. An army of machinists, building contractors, heavy equipment designers and the like were recruited and in my view they handled the task like champs. A bangup lot of very fine chaps, many donating their abilities freely, just to be a part of this very different project.

Richard, I do hope I'm not going on too long here with some of these details.

Q: Not at all, sir! Do continue, and if needs be we can publish this interview in two parts. Those who seek only the training "nuts and bolts" can easily find them once we complete our interview, but I trust our readership are slightly finer-designed than that. 

A: Seeing as your readers in the main use bars and bells for the most part, I will avoid any of the odd-objects we used in Kong's training, perhaps at a later date when the door of my timeframe is slightly wider and more open, I can return to that factor of his training. 

The 5 x 5. By the second week Kong was utterly disinterested in this method. A fine approach, but not suited to my huge trainee's temperament at all. He became lackadaisical rapidly, and by week three simply refused to show up for his sessions. Understandably, in my view; however, I have trained other film stars who thoroughly enjoyed the format and threw themselves wholeheartedly into the process. 

Q: What method, what "combination of methods," perhaps, did you try next? 

A: Kong's attention span, even though he is a very quick-witted and creative individual, as are many of the non-human people I've trained in the past, demanded variety in order for him to put out, to throw himself into the program fully with all his massive energies. 

I realized that Kong found the counting of repetitions to be tiresome and rather childish for reasons he did not explain to me. The big fellow was what I call  a "by feel" individual. Therefore, I next experimented with single repetition training.

A warmup process, and I am certain your readership are fully aware of how to perform that, and have individualized the process to suit their bodies already. If not, perhaps they are not yet experienced enough to engage in this form of training, and, once more experience is gained, could return to this form of training. 

Kong is a true natural athlete, and owing to that did not require any technique training, aside from a quick view or two of a seasoned lifter performing the movements. He near-immediately altered the movement performance on his own, over the course of a few days, and soon was capable of smoothly moving huge poundages within the pattern of many exercise movements. 

Next, I experimented with multiple single sets of four movements. 

A basic back squat . . . Kong found that a "moderate" bar placement suited him. Not a high-bar location (his enormous neck structure quite simply would not allow it), not a low bar location; he settled on a bar-position somewhere just above the top of his rear deltoid area. We chose not to endlessly agonize over this in an anal way, of course, being sensible beings, human and not-human persons. My work with members of the animal kingdom has shown me much in the way of how I perceive my fellow beings, but forgive me, Richard, I've gotten of the topic here, and shall continue with the training end alone. 

It was really quite natural for Kong to find his appropriate movement patterns, grips, bar placements, etc., and I am very grateful he had the common sense and body-connection to do this; otherwise it could have been another nightmarish, under-the-microscope event, and Kong would have simply walked away from such nitpicking nonsense. 

I had him perform a form of "high pulling" movement, and he found this to be his favorite exercise, in all its variations, choosing a version of this glorious multi-headed movement that suited him on that particular day. The myriad of variations to this exercise, even when limiting our consideration to the use of a barbell and not the multitude of other objects available, is nothing less than staggering! 

Here we are, Richard, alive in 1936 and, honestly, I predict that these multiple alterations, iterations and slight variations of exercise performance will likely be given many names in the history of lifting to follow. Credit will of course be taken by some seeking profit, others will simply pass on their knowledge freely, sidestepping the mire of monetary gain, wanting only to advance the progression of weight-lifting itself. Might I, may one be so bold as to term these multiple and everchanging names given old and very basic methods a "conjugation of con games" and hopefully not offend? 

Q: Absolutely, Coop! Do continue. 

Mr. Cooper had to step away for a moment to deal with Buenos Aires-based business on another project. A short intermission:

Goof Troupe

It is a walk.

A performance.

A slope-shouldered

simian affair.

In front of the mirror-like window

of a gym. A reflection of something

not art.

A tightly clad puffer, a dumbbell

lover's delight in a tight T.

Apelike, swelled, swollen-

ego and shaven, one-centered

brain

dead

to all other things but

this mirror and view of it.

A grace-lacking gannet.

Devourer in-and-of many wheys

day and night.

A feeble-boy's not-strong way to plug a leak

self-constructed, imaginary, destructive.

Waste of space, face intent,

checking, ever-checking.

Big yet small.

Tall but short

on all but this

one

singular

expression

of life.

Obsessive.

Another follows.

It must have a mother.

They all do.

Crude tattoos, similar

view.

A plague.

A disaster.

Someone's son.

Oh, Brother, where art thou now.

Q: Welcome back, Coop, I hope that business of yours was handled well.

A: Nothing major, Richard, all nipped in the bud. I see you used poesy to pass the time and fill the gap, so to speak, while gone. 

Q: I hope you enjoyed it.

A: Yes, quite did, and, poetry always reminds me of something John (Ford) taught me about framing a scene, movement vs stillness, in his own way, of course. 

Q: The man shows great promise as a director. 

A: Most certainly. He and I are planning to open our own film company, Argosy, in the near future. It appears to be a very promising avenue that may well lead to our independence from the big studios. John's view of true freedom .  . "the sweetest freedom is an honest heart" . . . certainly applies cleanly to Kong.

Would you mind if I commented on the poem and relate what I saw in to weight-lifting?

Q: Not at all, Coop!

A: Well, what I see here, and I don't know who wrote it, is the way the white of the page is broken by the black of the words. The spaces and words being equally important. 

Richard, we can easily translate this same concept to our training routines. The breaks and rests between exercises are of no less import than the exercises themselves. 

I applied this same knowledge to Kong's single-repetition sessions. 

Complete. It should be simple enough to figure out the rest of the training end of this without any of the rest. My readers are now in good hands. It was a good ride, this blog and the lifting thing. Moving on away from it for good and feel better without it the last couple of months, much better physically, mentally, spiritually and creatively. 

It was a hella long run and a good one, this and the lifting while it lasted! I hope I've added something to your enjoyment of the hobby, and best to you all. Anyone near me here in Vancouver, check the bins for mags and books and the second hand gear stores for some nice stuff.  

Enjoy Your Lifting!  

Wonderful News!

We at Ditillo2 Mission Control and the TTSDB Research Clinic are pleased to announce the submission and acceptance of a rather large quantity of original articles from various authors recently. 

Our team of one-armed dwarf typesetters and Martin, our blind proofreader, have been working round the clock to get these articles out. 

Bear with us, be patient as we go through them. 

The first will fit nicely as a follow-up to The Potpourri (single set) Routine. 
"SFB for Strength" written by Merian C. Cooper. 

Mr. Cooper has a background in the film industry and has trained many of its stars, specializing in those who need added strength and a look of power for Hollywood roles. 

His article may prove to be of worth to strength trainers finding themselves temporarily in the mire of staleness. 

We are excited, and the possibility of more original article submissions is proving to be a positive enhancement to our work here. 

All author submissions accepted will receive a free one-month subscription to the blog . . . 

The Potpourri (single set) Routine

 

                                    Listening to this in its entirety before continuing is required, Sirs!

Slow Fried Baloney

Dutch Mason Band.

Want some . . . 

Get some! 

This method of training predates the set system. It can be traced all the way back to the old time strong men [from all parts of the world] who used it to build strength in all sorts of various lifts throughout time with all kinds of stuff that can be lifted. 

 

The routine consists of a series of 6 or more exercises for each muscle group. Each is performed for only one set. It equals the amount of work provided by 2 to 4 done for 3 or more sets. [I worked from one to three for five hours, ya dang number types]. 

The advantage is the variety of angles you are working each muscle, thoroughly activating all the muscle fibers. 

Exercise monotony is one of the major causes of progress slowdowns. This program is a slow fried baloney, no, a buffet, er, potpourri of exercises making your workout an interesting one. 

The Spirit-Nature of Massive Shoulders, Potpourri Style (Baloney pre-Workout)

Keeping with Spirit, being in, of, surrounded by and inhaling spirit, fish-and- water style, utilize different repetitions on each exercise. Use heavy weights with low reps on some, medium reps and high reps with lighter weights on others.

Begin with a set of 10 on the PBN. It has a nice rhyming sound to it. Keep the barbell moving, don't lock out overhead or bring the bar completely down. Partial range of motion, right? . . . leave out the very lower and most upper section. 

Follow with front presses, licking your elbows if flexible enough, and if not, locking your elbows out at the top of each rep. LOWER SLOWLY. 6 reps. 

Move on to side lateral raises. Start with the two D-bells held together in front of you  [d-bol d-bell joke here if you like, start with two d-bol etc.). Lift 'em out to your sides, keeping the fronts and backs of the dumbbells even, Steven. Your arms stay slightly bent throughout the movement. Bring them level, you devil, to the top of your head. Hold them in that position on this delt mission for one second and LOWER SLOWLY, Owen and Everly. Use light weight (Baby!) and do 15 reps, Darlene.

Okay, Dexter, next . . . hold a heavy barbell at arms' length . . . pull it up to your chest, raising your elbows high in an upright row. Do four reps. LOWER SLOWLY. 

Sit on a bench, John, you lousy Judy Dench wannabe with mousy shoulders-not-boulders . . . what is this . . . 50 ways to pump your delts, by Paul Simon . . .

Sit on a steady bench with two light dumbbells at your shoulders, Leopold (damnit!), palms forward, as shown by Norm in Illustration Minus Three. Without bending from side to side, press them alternately for a set of twenty reps, Henny. Do a set . . . have consciousness and is it a living thing? 

Do a hardish, noisy set, ahem, of alternate dumbbell front raises, palms down, twelve reps, Asa, oi vey.

With light-dumbbells, I mean light dumbbells, keep your arms straight, do a set of thumbs-up side laterals for a set of eight and stop trying to lick your elbows already, Freddy.

Conclude your shoulder workout with straight-arm barbell front raises. Hold it (hold what? my horses?) at the top position, head level, and LOWER SLOWLY. Do 6 reps. 

Isn't it amazing how pumped you get on one set per exercise?

Gains for the Whole Body Not Including the Privates

You can Dad-blast-it, the whole body with this method, or completely incinerate a specific bodypart Tokyo, March 1945-style with this method. 

To formulate a potpourri routine, the more exercises you're familiar with, the more selection you'll have to choose from, hint hint. 

Use this method in a split routine, doing half your body one day, and the rest (not that kind of rest) the other day. Or, do your whole amazing body three days a week, you crazy. 

Here's a routine I used to break through a training rut, and it's only one of the countless variations you can come up with on your own: 

Lower Back and Obliques

Hyperextensions, weighted, 10 reps

Reverse leg lifts, hanging upper body over Roamin' chair, 20 reps

Good mornings, 20 reps

Side bends, barbell across shoulders, 12 reps

Side bends with dumbbells, 30 reps

Shoulders and Traps

PBN, 10 reps

Front press, 6 reps

Side laterals, 15 reps

Upright row, 4 reps

Barbell high pull, 3 reps

Alt DB press, 20 not-so-so see-saw reps

Barbell front raise, 12 reps

Thumbs up laterals, a.k.a. Siskel & Eberts, 8 reps

Alternate DB front raises, 6 reps

DB shrugs, 12 reps

Upper Back and Rear Deltoids

Pullups to chest, 20 reps, want more than now, get more over time

Bentover DB row, 6 reps

45-degree row, 8 reps

Pulldown behind neck, 10 reps

Straightjacket, er, straight arm push(pull)down, 15 reps

Nautilus puke-all-over, 12 reps

Low cable row, 5 reps

Bentover laterals, 10 reps

Bentover DB row, elbows out, now well-licked, 6 reps

Bent arm pullovers, 8 reps

Chest

Incline barbell press, on incline, 10 reps

Bench press, do a search if you're not 100,000% sure of the correct technique, which, after researching the first 10,000 of the results should take you approximately point oh-oh one percent of the way through the mass of bench technique how-to's online, 8 reps

Lean-forward dips, weighted, 4 reps 

Decline barbell press, 8 reps

Incline flyes, 7 reps

Pulley crossover, 20 reps

Naughty-more-or-less chest machine, 30 reps, Delores 

Triceps

Cable pushdown, 20 reps

One dumbbell two-hands-on French press, 6 reps

Kickbacks, 15 reps

Reverse grip pushdown, 10 reps

45-degree pulley extensions, 8 reps

One hand DB triceps press, 12 reps

CLOSE GRIP PRESS BEHIND NECK [there's one I used long ago that you don't see in many routines!], 5 reps

Lying triceps extension with EZ curl bar, 7 reps

Decline two-DB triceps press, 10 reps

Nautilus tricep machine, 30 reps

Biceps

Wide grip barbell curl, 20 reps

Barbell curl over vertical bench, 6 reps

Preacher Scott bench angular curl, 10 mormonic reps

Curls lying on bench under lat machine, 12 reps

Reverse curl, 7 reps

Hammer curls, 5 reps

Close grip EZ bar curl, 6 reps

Concentration moon curls, 15 Zappa reps

Incline DB curl, 30 reps

Forearms

Barbell wrist curl, 20 reps

Barbell reverse wrist curl, 20 reps

Wrist roller, 3 foot cord

Wrist curl with floor pulley, 10 reps 

Reverse grip floor pulley wrist curl, 10 reps

Thighs

Leg extensions, 15 reps

Standing leg curl, 19 reps

Leg press, 8 reps

Lying leg curl, 6 reps, plus baby reps, forced reps, forced forced reps with exaggerated grimace, feces-filled cheeks style

Front squat, 12 reps

Ballet squat, 12 swan-leg lake reps, Jake

Hack lift, 7 reps

Leanback squats, 20 sissy reps, Gene, Jack, and then Chrissy, you twat

Lunges, 10 reps

French squat (full squat to halfway up, as if you didn't already know! 20 reps 

Calves

Standing calf raise, erect 4-H style, 20 reps

Seated calf raise, milkmaid style, 8 moist reps

Donkey calf raise on Nautilus, Johnny Wadd Wonderland style

Calf raise on leg press, 10 reps, Rex and/or Abel and Don (net-factual!)

 

Alternate calf holding dumbbell raise, 15 reps; Milo be warned, that bull's offspring have had it with you kicking sand in their faces when not being carried all over the goddamned place, their tits are in a wringer, revenge will be had! 

Calf raise, heels turning inward in shame, introspective of what they have done; time wounds all heels. 

Deep calf raise, no weight, 10 reps, Sandeep

Abdominals

Now-dry elbows-to-knees situps, wait a minute, what? (weighted), 10 reps

Leg raise on stand (by), almost bye now to this one, 50 reps, Isaiah, Micah, Genesis, Jude, Hosea and Zephaniah.

 

Crunches, 100 reps or four-20 horsemen of the Equinox and no, I don't smoke weed anymore, and it's been quite a while now. Not even for Lughnasadh anymore, I swear! 

Nautilus A.I. ab machine, 25 reps, eh, Ike.

V-ups, 20 reps, and finally, this is the way we

Roll-ups, 15 reps. 

Sorry for not including photos for each exercise. 

On the nutrition and diet side of this type of routine, I recommend slow-fried baloney as a pre-, inter- and post-workout (within that wealthy widow-of-opportunity) energy booster, pump enhancer, and musclebuilding nutrient-builder. Or, in luau of that, pinapple/pineapple blended into a generous serving of tomato/tomahto juice. Reg Park worked up to three galloons of this health drink, and so can you, regardless of your body type, genetic gifts or shortfallings, and appetite/digestion/assimilation situation.  

And there we have it! I do hope you are able to at some time take some worthwhile uncharred timber away from this burning Vaudevillian building presented, at some point and/or in some way. The single set-apiece, multiple exercise idea is an old one worth trying at some point in these modern times and . . . even though you may not know who wrote it, when it was written, or how much heft and import it should be given according to those knowns unknown.

Enjoy Your Lifting!