Power & Bodybuilding with Steve Sepaniak - Anthony Ditillo (1973)

 

Things are warming up here in the northern hemisphere.  Had my first "three shirt day" of the year yesterday.  Train safe out there!

https://startingstrength.com/article/training_in_the_heat

Power & Bodybuilding with Steve Sepaniak

By Anthony Ditillo

Iron Man November 1973

Forcing growth in the way of muscular size and strength is not as easy as it seems. There is more to correct training for physical size and strength than meets the eye.  Many would have you believe the way to success lies within a pill bottle or perhaps a special new training system or machine. This is not the truth. And this information which is propagated in certain articles, magazines, etc. is the major cause for so many would be greats to give up, so many would be trainees to sit on the side lines and become spectators instead of achievers.

It is possible to stimulate muscular growth to an extent that such growth becomes frightening. The problem lies most of the times within the head of the trainee. Many would have us believe there is not enough available literature on the subject. Nothing could be further from the truth. The opposite is the case in more situations than otherwise realized. The average fellow is not capable either mentally or time wise to decipher the truth from the lies, the facts from the fiction. He hears so many different ways to perform this movement for the most benefit, so many systems of sets and repetitions, so many training regimes to choose from that in most cases he simply drifts from one routine to another without any knowledge of just where it is he is going.

It takes brutally hard work to cause continuous muscle growth. You cannot allow the tissues to become used to the stress you are placing upon them. They must continually be stimulated and restimulated just beyond their present capacity. This can only be accomplished through MUSCLE OVERLOAD! There are many ways of achieving this overload for increased size and strength. I myself, prefer heavy partial movements on the power rack or with two spotters on the bench or what have you. Others use the forced reps principle. In other words, performing more repetitions with a heavy weight and slight assistance from a spotter in helping you get through the sticking point of the lift or movement. All of these build strength. All build muscle.

The fellow whose photos are used with this article has been my training partner since last September. He is the reason for this article being written. He has impressed me with his fine physique and incredible strength to such an extent that I cannot as of yet fully comprehend his great and vast potential. It is one thing to have a fine physique. It is another to be a genuinely strong lifter. But to be able to achieve BOTH at the same time, WITHOUT drugs is quite an achievement. Steve Sepaniak is one of the naturally strongest men I have ever met. He is also tremendously developed. Without a doubt he could walk away with the Mr. New Jersey title if he cared to train solely for bodybuilding symmetry. He could also do QUITE well in powerlifting if it were not for a serious injury to the knee cartilage which occurred while playing football during college. This has stopped him from heavy leg and lower back work up until now. And it is a shame, believe me. I am sure he could total at least 1400 as a 198’er with very little specialization on his part. His ultimate potential is simply incomprehensible.

Steve Sepaniak is interested in training solely for his own enjoyment and he formulates his training goals around this theme. At the present time he wants to bench press 500 lb. while weighing not over 200. After seeing him perform two repetitions with 405 I can see this goal reached in the not too distant future. He has also squatted, full, thighs on calves, fifteen reps with 325. He calls this ‘light leg training’. Most other guys would call it plain hard work! But hard work is no stranger to Steve. I have never met a more dedicated or serious trainee. His enthusiasm is contagious. Many times he has caused me to far exceed my limits in training. He lets you know he CARES about you. And, believe me, this can mean all the difference in the world.

Just to let you get to know him better, I’ll fill you in on his background. He has been training seriously for around five years. He is married and a lawyer by profession. He stands around 5’10” and weighs close to 200 lb. He originally trained at the Morristown YMCA but for the last ten months he has been training in Elizabeth. As I stated earlier, Steve trains for both physique and power and he does not feel there should be any reason why a bodybuilder should not be as strong as he looks or a powerlifter look as strong as he is. The reason for his success in achieving both these goals in such a short time lies within his dietary habits and in his training routine and philosophy.

Steve believes definition is achieved through diet and proper nutrition and not through the usual High sets, high repetitions, Light weights routines many utilize. To do this is only to cheat yourself out of precious muscle size and muscle power. Steve’s way is to follow a High Protein-Low Carbohydrate diet all year long, with accent on heavy supplementation when training exceptionally hard. This way, you can still train as HEAVY as possible at all times without the fear of becoming over bulked. Too many fellows are carrying around useless weight in the hopes of achieving larger size, but if the extra size is primarily FAT and not muscle, then what use has it for a bodybuilder? Steve would rather work EXTREMELY HARD AND HEAVY while at the same time eating cautiously and I can only speak for what my own eyes have beheld: the stronger this man gets, the MORE DEFINED AND MUSCULARLY DENSE HIS PHYSIQUE APPEARS!

Very few fellows use Steve’s philosophy of training for forced muscular growth through correct nutrition and brutally hard and long workouts and this is probably why there are not too many Steve Sepaniak’s walking around the streets. The photos accompanying this article were taken by a mutual friend and photographer, William Kother, but they still do not do his physique justice! You have to see this fellow to believe him. I have watched him performing overhead presses with over 250 lb. on the bar and during his repetitions, his shoulders and pectorals are unbelievable. There is just no fat on the man. He is solid bone, gristle and muscle. You can actually see the striations through the muscle fibers of his stomach when he is performing his presses. Such a sight can usually be seen only on lightweight gymnasts and a few lightweight Olympic lifters.

When I say Steve works hard I mean just that. He is presently training six days per week. Two days Chest and Shoulders, two days Upper Arms and Legs and on two days he works his entire back. The following workout is performed on Monday and Thursdays and if anyone would care to come down to the Elizabeth YMCA to get a truly accurate idea s to how hard he works and how muscular he is, you’re more than welcome. He is there all week long between the hours of four and seven.

Monday and Thursday: Chest and Shoulders

1.        1. Bench Press: From 225 up to 425 and back down again for a total of 15 sets.

2.       2.  Lying Flys: Three sets of eight to ten reps using 100lb dumbbells

3.        3. Parallel Dip: Three sets of six to eight reps using 100lb. resistance.

4.        4. Clean and Press: Eight sets up to 255lb. and back down to 205 for 6 reps.

5.        5. Seated Press Behind Neck: Three sets of 6 reps using 205.

6.        6. Seated Dumbbell Press: Three sets of 6 reps using 90 lb. dumbbells

7.        7. Dumbbell Lateral Raises: Two sets of seven reps using 50 lb. dumbbells.

He begins and finishes this workout with 200 leg raises.

Steve’s diet is pure and simple. Here is what he eats each and every day:

Three lb. of Cottage Cheese, one lb. mixed in a blender as a drink.

Fourteen ounces of Tuna.

One lb. of ground round sirloin steak.

The only beverage allowed is WATER!

Is there any wonder why he has achieved such great success in forcing growth and strength when he trains the way he does and eats the way he eats? He doesn’t need Anabolic Steroids or Thyroxin to give him size and definition. He works HARD AND FAST and he has achieved much MORE than the DRUG ADDICTS on the POSING PLATFORM have achieved. He knows that he has done everything on his own. He is solely responsible for his success.

I have seen Steve bench 405 strictly and confidently and without all the cheating, bending arching and bridging which is done by so many others today. He has also cleaned and pressed 255 lb for two repetitions and let us not forget that these presses were done after FIFTEEN sets of Bench Presses!

 

Enjoy your lifting!