Melvin Wells

 

Ray Van Cleef on Melvin Wells at the 1949 Mr, America in Cleveland . . . 

Melvin Wells placed second with a score of 63.5 points. The enthusiastic response that greeted this muscular marvel in the competition was only surpassed by Jack Delinger. A month earlier this new physique sensation won the "Mr. New York State" title by a comfortable margin. At Cleveland again justified the praise that has been showered on him so liberally since he came into sudden prominence at Bob Hoffman's birthday show in York last November. 

His unassuming nature is particularly evident in a contest of this kind. The majority of the contestants are puffed up like pouter pigeons when exposed to the audience. Some make themselves ludicrous with the exaggerated postures they assume endeavoring to accentuate their development. 

The naturalness of Wells' stance and actions is by contrast especially admirable. Wells differs from the majority of physique contestants in other respects. This superman from Buffalo does not participate in the self-inflation orgies that take place in the dressing room prior to a contest, when the frenzied "pumping up" activities dominate the atmosphere. 

In the Mr. America competition it was noticeable that Wells confined his posing display to the restricted number of poses. Some of the other contestants took advantage of the situation by doing a series of poses much in excess of the specified number. Wells' good sportsmanship in this connection added to his prestige. 

His greatest liability is his comparatively poor calf development. But his drawback is overshadowed by the extraordinary features of his physique, particularly the remarkable development of his upper arms, shoulders and upper back. Wells won more individual honors than any other contestant at Cleveland. In addition to placing second in the Mr. America event, he was selected as Most Muscular Man and won the subdivision contests for Best Arms and Best Back. It was truly a field day for this popular athlete. 

From Joe Roark: 

After his final try for the Mr. America, Melvin Wells stopped competing but did guest pose for approximately ten shows, some of them in Canada. In October, 1993 I spoke on the phone with him, a black bodybuilder in an era when being black, in some cases, blacklisted you from the best placing. His wife Julia joked that maybe he should have painted him white so he would have a chance of winning at the AAU Mr. America. Melvin stopped most exercise in 1990 due to kidney problems and bone cancer. 

Melvin Two articles on Wells, the first from HEALTH and STRENGTH, March 24, 1949 . . . 

Heralded as the greatest discovery since John Grimek, sensational Melvin Wells, the Buffalo Hercules, hit the headlines when he stole the show at Bob Hoffman's 50th birthday show held at York last November. This dusky superman is no doubt a phenomenon and I prophesy a tremendous future for him in the body-building world. 

Twenty-nine years of age, this outstanding discovery who was brought out of oblivion, says Frank Wrzesinski in the (second article to follow) in the January issue of Strength & Health, just simply grew up strong. 

At the age of eight Melvin began to use rocks as weights. Anything that was heavy fascinated him and he would try to lift it. Rock-lifting was his hobby for many years, though he did not understand nor could he explain this unusual urge. While serving overseas in the USAAF he kept in trim by lifting small car wheels. 

Returning from overseas he took some professional tuition. He is now lifting 281 pounds Clean & Press, cleaning the weight without splitting. His one-arm military press is at about 150 pounds and he performs deep knee bends with 450. 

Employed at the Ford Motor Corporation, Melvin plays softball for the work's team and is a keen swimmer. 

His measurements?

Height - 5'10"

Weight - 203 pounds

Neck - 17-1/4"

Upper Arm - 18-3/8"

Cold forearm - 13-7/8"

Waist - 30-3/4"

Thigh - 25-1/4"

Calf - 16-1/8"

What I can't understand is that the chest measurement is 48" normal, 48-3/4" expanded. 

I wish that all authorities would adopt the standard Health & Strength form and give normal inflated and expanded measurements, from which much can  be learned. Anyway, it will be interesting to compare the lifting abilities of "wedge-torso" Wells with the "square-torso" Johnny Davis! 

From Strength & Health, January, 1949 . . . 

The Buffalo Hercules, by Frank Wrzesinski

The average person today seems to have the erroneous impression that strong men and perfect physical specimens are totally extinct in this 20th century of ours and that the crowded and unhealthy conditions of our big cities in which most of us live are not conducive to the growth and development of strong and healthy bodies. 

Oh, that pesky modern world. 

When speaking of strong and physically developed men most everyone seems to think first of the circus or fall back on their knowledge of history which recounts the daring feats of the bold and powerful Vikings or some other barbaric tribes that lived a long time ago. Those were supposed to have been real he-men in comparison with whom the men of today are mere weaklings. 

Berserkers? Average height and weight 5'8" and 160 pounds. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend. 

Such supposition is far from truth. As a matter of fact, today we have more physically strong men in this so-called "soft" world of ours than they did in the days of yore. [but then, where's the marketable sales hype in facts when a guy wants to sell supplements and pre-workout crap to kids of all ages and levels of intelligence?) Recent research has shown that even an average college athlete of today would have quite a difficulty fitting into one of those steel armor outfits which were worn by these supposedly strong heroes of the Middle Ages. 

Strong and physically developed men are right in our midst and walk the sidewalks of our big cities today, their powerful muscles and marvelous physiques hidden from our eyes by the ethical and fashion requirements of our civilization. The age of mechanization in which we live overshadows them entirely as they are seldom called upon to perform unusual feats exhibiting their strength. It is only a sheer incident that leads to their discovery, otherwise in the privacy of some gymnasium, garage or a cellar they train their beautifully developed bodies and get into play their bulging muscles that could be the object of admiration by many.

In recent years the trend in physical culture as well as the fine publicity and promotion by such magazines as "Strength and Health" in glorifying the strong men of today has done a great deal for those forgotten physical specimens. Until recently they were like the pearls on the bottom of the ocean bed waiting to be discovered and brought to the surface where they can dazzle the eyes of onlookers with their brilliance and beauty. 

You've guessed by now that the author is getting wordy in an attempt to make a full article out of the limited knowledge of how Wells trains . . . 

Such was almost the fate of Melvin Wells, the strong man from Buffalo who possesses a most phenomenal physique and herculean strength. 

Melvin, who only recently was brought out of oblivion, just simply grew up strong. This was as natural for him as for the eagle to soar high into the sky or the panther to slink noiselessly and gracefully while stalking her prey. 

What is more amazing is that Melvin never had any professional training in the development of his almost mythical physique nor had he any forethought of ever cashing in on his strength or physical prowess. He simply grew strong by responding to that urge or rather a yearning to become physically fit which all men possess to a certain degree but in most cases never follow up. 

Next is something from John McKean in 2015 . . . 

It will surprise many that during Grimek's heyday there was another competitor who pressed and curled better, but according to serious, expert officials of the time, actually displayed more impressive arm musculature! 

His name was Melvin Wells, a physique man who placed second in a few early 1950s Mr. America contests, while always winning best back, and most muscular awards. It is said that no photo did this man justice, but he achieved the first REAL 19" arm, so full, thick, and defined as to defy description during those times. 

And he got size and strength with a very basic, all-round training scheme. 

Mel's entire arm program consisted of only 3 x 10 in the strict curl and press! Yet, when I say STRICT, Wells took this to a whole 'nother level. Our USAWA rules tell us for curling to put a sheet of paper behind our head and butt, backed up to a wall, then curl (without the paper slipping) for training. Wells didn't use the paper thing, but very reliable witnesses observed him ALWAYS performing very SLOW, picture-perfect barbell curls, full range, with 150 pounds for his 3 sets of 10. One writer counted him doing 12 perfect strict reps with 145 in front of a large crowd at the famous York picnic. 

 

His presses were perhaps even more noteworthy -- 3 sets of 10, super strict with 120 pounds. 

Oh, wait . . . 

I forgot to mention these were ONE-ARM PRESSES. Absolutely no side leaning or back bend either. 

And finally, "Marvelous Marvin Wells" by Charles A. Smith:

Since Melvin Wells appeared at the Bob Hoffman birthday strength show there have been requests for more information and photos of this sensation. We are glad to be able to present the following interesting story and the accompanying photos. Whether you agree with the author that Melvin is the finest built man in the world you must admit that he has the type of physique that is distinctly different and very outstanding. We will have still better photos to show you at a later date. In the photos Melvin is 5'10.5" tall and weighs 205 pounds, with a 48" chest, 18-3/8" arm (cold), 14" forearm, 31" waist and 26" thighs. His arms and shoulders are outstanding. -- Peary Rader

As I begin this story, I have a picture of Melvin Wells in front of me. Looking at it, I suddenly realize how incapable I am of doing justice to this most remarkable athlete. Not if I strummed a million minutes away on this typewriter could I give you any idea of the superhuman development of this man.

It is quite a few weeks ago since I first met Melvin at the Bob Hoffman birthday show. Ever since then, I have been wondering about him. How did he get this way? What exercises did he use? Was he always well built? 

You and I have perhaps seen the top flight physique men. We may have witnessed Ross pose, thrilled to the superb development of Grimek, admired the beauty of Reeves' statuesque musculature. We think we have a pretty good idea of what makes a man a strength athlete, an outstanding specimen of manhood. 

Right here and now, we will have to scrap those ideas and opinions. Melvin Wells sets standards which will in all probability, never again be approached in our time. 

Those who know me have wondered at what I have had to tell them about Wells. They know I am not the kind of guy to go overboard about anything or anyone. They regard me as a bit of a cynic, a hard man to please. Many frankly disbelieved my statements about Melvin, upon my return from York. They ate their words when I let them see the pictures. They were frankly and openly amazed. 

And yet, astonishing as these pictures are, they simply do not do the man justice. To gaze upon the flesh instead of the image, is an experience no one is ever likely to forget. 

There are many wonderfully developed athletes in our world of weights. There are men of gigantic power. Melvin Wells ranks with the best. His is the perfect combination of bulk, definition and strength.

Melvin Wells was born 29 years ago (article is from IronMan, Jan-Feb 1949), in Sulligent, Alabama. His mother had a family of three boys with Melvin being the firstborn. Mrs. Wells soon knew that her son was something above the ordinary boy. When the family moved to Buffalo in upstate New York, Melvin was but a child, but a child with a remarkably sturdy frame for his eight years. Even at that early age, the desire for health and strength was making itself apparent. Melvin cluttered up his bedroom with rocks and large stones which he used to lift in as many ways as his imagination conjured up. 

In school, he excelled as an all round athlete. During the years he attended Hutchinson High, he played basketball, baseball, and football. He was a letterman in baseball and football and an ALL HIGH in basketball.

In his after-school years, Melvin played basketball for a transportation company, helping them to win five titles in 1940. It might be mentioned here that at present Melvin plays softball for the Ford Motor company, his present employers, as first basemen and has belted out the most home runs on the team. 

The natural desire for strength, which had always been with him since his earliest childhood days, prompted him to take up weight training. In 1942, Melvin bought his first set of weights. They scaled 205 pounds. Such was his natural strength, and the progress he made during the first three months, that he soon found the original set much too light for his needs, and he was forced to make another purchase. 

Although his training was rather haphazard, his power and presence was such that his friends soon began calling him Hercules. They of course now realize that the term is a trifle inadequate. 

Melvin served in the armed forces during the was as a member of the Air Force. He rose to the rank of First Sergeant and out of 25 months, served 14 overseas. His opportunities for weight training did not come very often, but he managed to keep in trim with small railroad car wheels. 

It was upon his return from military service that Melvin really started to go to town. The prewar years' training was irregular, but now he took his workouts seriously and made astonishing strides. 

Melvin is an advocate of HEAVY training. He has never had professional tutelage or training of ANY description. 

When he first commenced his weight workouts, he was told that he should never use more than eight repetitions, as this was the best number for strength and development. Melvin has kept to this advice, and it has certainly worked out wonderfully well with him.

He told me that on the nights when he feels in form, he does several sets of 8 reps, but on the training days when he doesn't feel so energetic, he uses up to 15 reps with less sets. 

The measurements listed for Wells are of course interesting. They were ALL TAKEN COLD. No pumping up beforehand. 

During the Hoffman birthday show, Melvin gave ample proof that his muscles are not merely for show. He performed several strict curls with 145 pounds -- 12 reps as I counted them. 

Several rowing motions with 250, an uncounted number of squats with 350 and many ridiculously easy presses with 205 pounds. 

He has made 10 reps with 400 pounds in the deep knee bend. Some of his other lifts are as follows: 

Military press. Strick style, no back bend. 281 pounds. 

One arm military press. 150.

Squats (Melvin says "several"). 450 pounds. 

Bench press, several reps. 330.

For his military press, Melvin cleans the weight WITHOUT SPLITTING OR BENDING THE LEGS. He aims to train for competition lifting, and his greatest ambition is to represent his country in the next Olympics.

Melvin has no diet fads. He eats whatever he fancies. "Good and wholesome food is the best" he tells me. He does however, eat regularly and PLENTY. 

He reads all the weight training magazines avidly, and his favorites are, needless to say, IronMan and Strength & Health. Effing Weider A-holes. 

Contrary to popular supposition about weight men, Melvin does not have a single track mind. He likes quiet entertainment, music, the theater, swimming, and plenty of rest. 

So, not much in the way of brand spankin' new and innovative wonder layouts with the weights. Heavy training on the basic lifts of the time. The ones we all use. Good food in abundance. Plenty of rest. A tranquil mind that enjoys life while it lasts. Simple enough! 

Enjoy Your Lifting! 

 

  

Improve Your Clean with the Sequential Approach - Bert Proffitt (1971)

 Iron Man February 1971

For those of us in the US, great to see Hampton Morris come away with an Olympic bronze medal.  The kid even took a poke at silver and his own world record.  Love to see it!

How many of you weightlifters are sure you can press and jerk much more than your best lift if only you could clean more? Well, read on this could be the answer to your problems.

Several years ago, the advent of the power rack helped tremendously in overcoming sticking points in the press, squat, deadlift and bench press. All of these competitive lifts soared in poundage as a result. But how can you improve your clean? It is such a classic example of power or dynamic action that it is impossible to isolate the lift through the use of static contractions or isometrics. The Segmental Approach is one of the best methods of providing this isolation.

Basically, when using the Segmental Approach, the trainee breaks down each component of the particular exercise and using this as a basis, selects particular exercises which will strengthen the muscle utilized. Relative to the clean, the Segmental Approach can be utilized as follows. First analyze the muscles used from toe to head while cleaning. They would be the following: calves, frontal thighs, lower back, brachioradialis, forearm muscles, shoulders and trapezius.

Now select the best exercises for strengthening these muscles:

Calves – Barbell toe raise

Frontal Thighs – Front squat (this is chosen because it approximates the recovery from the clean and helps utilize existing motor pathways)

Lower Back – Stiff leg deadlift

Brachioradialis & Forearm Muscles – Reverse curls (again, this movement approximates a movement used in the clean, thus aiding isolation.)

Shoulders & Trapezius – Shoulder shrug (approximate cleaning movement.)

By now another tenet of the Segmental Approach should be apparent. Namely, try to incorporate exercises which closely approximate movements used in cleaning. The purpose is threefold:

1.        It helps strengthen exactly the cleaning muscles

2.        It provides isolation of particular cleaning muscles, thereby helping to overcome sticking points.

3.        It helps utilize motor-pathways.

In explanation, tests have shown that the more a movement is repeated correctly, the easier it becomes to perform the movement in the future. Conversely, it requires five correct movements to counteract the effects of one mistake.

Now the remaining step is to consolidate these exercises into a logical sequence and shape them into a routine.

Model SA Routine

Warm-up: Form Cleans 1x10 (using 1/3 of best weight)

Exercises:

Stiff Leg Deadlift 3x4

Barbell Toe Raise 2x20

Shoulder Shrug 3x4

Reverse Curl 2x6

Front Squat 3x5

Technique Practice: Form Cleans 1x10 (using 1/3 of best weight)

So, that’s the routine. Be sure to lift as heavily as possible while maintaining proper form. Ideally, the routine should be performed once a week and integrated into your present training schedule.

If you’re having trouble with your clean, this type of routine will provide the jolt your muscles need to respond with heavier efforts. And you fellows who think your clean is in good shape – how much more could you press or jerk if your clean improved by 10 to 20 pounds? Try it and find out.

Enjoy your lifting!

The East German Olympic Training System - Frank Shuman (1977)

 

The East German Olympic Training System – Frank Shuman (1977)

Strength & Health June-July 1977

With the Olympics starting in a couple weeks I figured it'll be fun to look back at some all-time bad takes on past Olympic performances.  At least one photo in the feature was a Bruce Klemens heater that I didn't see him get credit for.  Do yourself a favor and go check out his flickr account:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bklemens/albums/72157669291356315/

Bruce is still showing up to US Nationals and taking photos.  

The 1976 Olympics in Montreal were filled with many surprises by the emergence of East Germany as an Olympic power might have been the biggest surprise of all. And yet, it did not come as a surprise to anyone following international competitions, for they knew that the East Germans had developed an all-encompassing training system for their athletes in all sports.

This year, however, for the first time, some of the secrets have been revealed to the West. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) invited a group of Western journalists to visit their sports facilities around the country and to investigate, somewhat, their training programs.

Much of the information in this article is based on the report of one of these journalists, Craig B. Whitney, to the New York Times.

Although the East Germans won more gold medals (40) than any other country except the USSR, they are already laying the groundwork for their assault on the XXII Olympiad in Moscow in 1980.

Their system which also produced 25 silver and 25 bronze medals in Montreal is comprised of teams of doctors, coaches and athletes. There are 21 sports clubs around the country and 19 specialized sports schools, which arrange their curriculum hours to fit around the student-athletes’ needs.

The Sports and Gymnastics Club in East Berlin is one of the largest in the country and it has over 600 athletes training there for three and four hours a day under 32 professional coaches. The budget is over $500,000 and the training facilities include gyms for soccer, handball, basketball and gymnastics. There are also special weightlifting rooms, boxing rings, an indoor ice-skating rink, and swimming pools with diving boards made in Sparks, Nevada.

Since East Germany is a relatively small country (population 17 million), it can be assumed that the sports clubs and specialized schools are within easy distance of all their athletes. This isn’t really true, of course. The clubs and schools are open only to those athletes with promise. Ulrike Richter, the 18-year old backstroke champion, for example, was “discovered” by a “scout” when she was six years old and she was put in a special boarding school in East Berlin even though her family live 100 miles away.

Unfortunately, this is the rule and not the exception. Most of the East German athletes have been in serious and supervised training since their early, formative years.

The United States can loo with envy upon the results of other systems but there will surely be no one clamoring for us to emulate these systems and “imprison” our young and potential champion athletes.

On the other hand, the East German athletes do not consider themselves imprisoned. They seem genuinely concerned with strengthening the international reputation of the German Democratic Republic and this is why the long-isolated East German regime is willing to spend so much money on it.

In addition to the clubs and sports schools, the army is another organization entrusted with turning out athletes. They are able to offer outstanding facilities for training and their soldier-athletes are often promoted in the ranks according to how they’ve progressed in competition.

The system itself, however, is built upon a foundation of national sports. Physical education classes of two to three hours a week, for example, are compulsory for every East German schoolchild, beginning with the first grade. The coaches in these schools, then, act as “talent scouts” and they appear to know what they’re looking for as most schools send five or six students a year to the special sports schools. There is some room for dissent, though, and a student who is picked for one of the sports schools can refuse to attend.

As stated, however, attending these schools and belonging to the clubs or the army is a privilege open only to superior athletes. Anyone who has any ambition as far as the Olympics are concerned will join because there are simply no other ways to attain the Olympic standards. There is no such thing in East Germany as training on one’s own in neighborhood gyms.

How does the government pay for its programs and facilities? We in the United States have seen all sorts of fundraising events but it is doubtful if we would accept the East German way. They encourage workers to spend an extra shift at the factory and then to donate those wages to the sports programs. A sports official in Leipzig says “The majority do it voluntarily, but of course those who don’t volunteer, go along with the others anyway.”

And it takes a lot of extra shifts to pay for the East German program and facilities. In addition to the half-million dollar budget in East Berlin, the little town of Wunschendorf has a budget of at least $160,000 a year for its programs.

The East German Gymnastics and Sports Federation has 2.66 million members and there is an elite sports club in Zella-Mehlis specializing in skiing, skating and wrestling. In Halle, in a modern building along the Saale river, there is a sports medicine office (wink wink, cough cough) specializing in swimming. In Leipzig, there is the German Sports Institute, which has produced more than 7,000 trained coaches and athletes.

There is a special department of sports medicine at the Institute with a staff of 85, and research there is believed to be the most advanced in its field in the entire world. The Leipzig Research Center is equipped with all sorts of complex medical equipment and swimmers train there with masks on so that doctors can study their metabolic rates. Dr. Alois Marder, who was graduated from the Institute and worked at the swimming club in Halle with Kornelia Ender, fled to West Germany two years ago. He is the one who provided the first information about the East German swim training.

According to him, the tests made on the swimmers involve blood samples taken in the first, second, fifth and 10^th minutes of a workout, so that the buildup of lactic acid in the blood- and thus the level of physical exhaustion – can be monitored at every stage.

This method is used to predict the maximum performance attainable by an athlete. Dr. Marder said that he took a sample of blood from Kornelia Ender’s earlobe in 1973 and he knew she could swim the 100-meter freestyle in 56 seconds. That is exactly what she did last summer in Montreal! Dr. Marder explained at the West German Sports Institute in Cologne, where he is now trying to do the same kind of research, that the lactic acid level is the key.

“Lactic acid builds up in the bloodstream as the muscles work hard,” he said. “It builds up to a certain level and then exhaustion sets in. If you measure the levels in a swimmer’s bloodstream at a constant speed after one, two, five and 10 minutes, you can draw a line on a graph and predict accurately how fast he can swim – and then train him to that level.”

Some athletes’ metabolism, he claims, make it impossible for them to work their bodies as hard as Miss Ender could. The athletes who can work as hard are the ones who care given such intensive training. And is it all worthwhile? Well, maybe not by American standards. Living in a free enterprise system, our athletes are pressed with the need of making a living. Such a thing is not a factor in East Germany.

The athletes who do succeed make nowhere near the money and get nowhere near the benefits our professional athletes receive but neither do they go wanting. After her spectacular performance of winning one silver and four gold medals in Montreal, Miss Ender received a government-sponsored vacation trip to Cuba along with her fiancé, Roland Matthes, the backstroke swimmer. They will also be assured of an apartment and maybe a new car without the standard eight-year wait. Miss Ender will probably receive another important benefit. She wants to study medicine – a coveted field in East Germany – and her plans will probably not be disappointed, although no one else contemplating a career in medicine can be so sure.

“I gave the state quite a lot with my four gold medals,” said Miss Ender, “and now I’d like to make a contribution to society as a pediatrician, perhaps, or in some other field of medicine.” (Not so surprisingly, in 1977 she was banned from the East German team as she refused to take PEDs as prescribed by the team doctors.)

She is right when she says she gave the state quite a lot. After all, she was discovered by a coach in her hometown of Bitterfeld when she was only eight years old. When she was 11, she was sent to the sports school and club in Halle. Probably because of her fantastic performance in Montreal, Miss Ender received more attention from the Western journalists. It was pointed out that she is a big woman – broader in the shoulders than most men her age – and the question of steroid usage was raised.

Professor Kurt Tittel, head of the division of sports medicine at the German Sports Institute in Leipzig said, “We have developed our athletes without recourse to anabolics.” Eberhard Schramm, head of swimming department at Leipzig said that the ideal training regimen for athletes should include gymnastics, isometrics, games and weightlifting.

“Weights are quite effective” he said, “but only up to about 40 percent of the maximum a swimmer can lift. We want to build endurance and flexibility, not maximum strength.”

Ski jumpers and skaters also work with weights but they do it differently. They use heavy weights so as to prepare their muscles for the bursts of maximum strength required in their particular sport.

Weightlifters, on the other hand, use a variety of calisthenics and gymnastics-type exercises to increase their flexibility. The GDR Weightlifting Federation is a strong, independent body with five full-time administrators and two part-time secretaries as well as two paid national and five paid regional coaches. There are 7,500 registered lifters in East Germany compared  to just a little over 2,000 for the United States. Their athletes also participate in far more international competitions a year than ours. They hose four major international events and they send teams to about 12 others. Actually, international travel is one of the big incentives of the East German system. Athletes and government officials are the only ones who are allowed to travel to capitalistic countries and, it seems, everyone wants to be among those fortunate few who are allowed outside the closely-watched borders.

Although there were no defections in Montreal and all the East German athletes professed a sincere desire to boost  the international reputation of their government, security of the entire sports organization is extremely tight. Representatives of the FDJ (Free German Youth) and the KEPD (German Communist Party of Unity) are present at all trainings and competitions to exercise their supervisory function. The President of the Weightlifting Federation of the GDR himself is a political appointee and has no experience in weightlifting.

The top lifters are well0-known throughout the country and are treated as national heroes. Even minor weightlifting events are attended by huge crowds, whose interest is aroused by detailed reports about the progress of the sport in the daily press. International weightlifting events are given direct TV coverage throughout the evening hours for as many days as the competition lasts.

East German citizens are extremely proud of the accomplishments of all their athletes. But for Dr. Marder and others in the West there is doubt about the ideals of amateurism and international brotherhood that were revived with the Olympic Games in 1896.

“Is this really sport?” wondered Dr. Marder. “You in the West will have to decide that because someday you won’t be able to compete with those people fairly if you insist on being amateurs while they put computers, medicine and a whole society to work turning out champions.”

The choice is ours… and that is appropriate because our system of government is based on choice. Hopefully we will decide to improve our system of training by following the recommendations of the recent Presidential Committee on the Olympics and seek the support of private industry an the American public as well as the Federal Government. 

Enjoy your lifting!

Updating the Program - Tommy Suggs (1971)

 Strength & Health April 1971

The paintings used on the early 70's "Lifter of the Year" covers was not the most flattering

As mentioned in previous articles featuring "Charlie" the author may have been Bill Starr and being published under Tommy's name.

One problem about being in a small town is that you can’t get away from people you know. Since I run a gym I serve as a 24-hour authority on fitness, which is terrific, but sometimes I would like to talk about bussing my kids or inflation. No one ever asks me what I think about the Women’s lib or Janis Joplin’s death. And so it was on this day as I wandered downtown to buy some household supplies. I hadn’t even picked out my brand of toothpaste before a friend I bank with cornered me about a jogging program. By the time I got to the Right Guard I had arranged appointments with three men and one woman, and volunteered to speak at a PTA meeting. Charlie grabbed me at the cash register.

“Hey, what you buying?”

“Just some home supplies.”

“See you have a little body odor problem.”

“No, you knucklehead, it’s for the family. Don’t you use deodorant?”

“Sure, just bugging you. Say let’s work up my new schedule.”

“Now?”

“Sure, we can set over in that booth. I’ll get some paper and write down the program.”

And he was off. Charlie never seems to be in one place very long. I paid my bill and sat down while he grabbed a handful of napkins from the counter dispenser.

“Nice paper. Best you could buy huh?”

“It’ll be all right. Nothing too good I always say.”

“Tell me your present program.”

“Don’t you know it?”

“Charlie, I’m pretty sure that I do know it but I’ve laid out 20-30 programs since yours and in orer to save time just tell me.”

“Mondays and Thursdays I do power cleans, bench presses, and back squats. On Tuesdays and Saturdays I do overhead presses, power snatches, and front squats. But since you gave me that program I have added Olympic presses, cleans, jerks, and snatches. I need to fit in the Olympic lifts.”

“Fine. Let me take just a minute to explain why I’m setting your program up this way. When you first got started we were interested in building a stronger base to work from. This is why benches, squats, power cleans, and power snatches were included. Now, we need to work more on the technique of the Olympic lifts so that your form progresses along with your strength. You with me?”

“Sure, you’re making sense for a change.”

“We will be doing a combination of form and power work with an eye towards a contest in about three months.”

Charlie’s eyes light up at the suggestion of a meet. “You think I’m ready for a contest?”

“A lifter is never, ever ready for a contest – or at least he doesn’t think he is – but you will be ready to get your feet wet soon. Not the Seniors mind you, but there’s a novice meet coming up within reach that we’ll plan on attending. This program is a good one to get you ready for a contest although we’ll alter it yet again about six weeks before the actual meet.”

Charlie now had a blank look on his face. The idea of lifting was flashing visions in his head so fast he couldn’t hear what I was saying.

“Charlie, you listening?”

“Yea, sure. Feed it to me.”

“On Mondays you will be doing Olympic presses from the rack for form. You will do 6-8 sets of doubles going up to 30-40 pounds of your best. You should stress timing and position and not try to go heavy. Next, you will do squat cleans in sets of three. They’re really murder, but they will help you develop a pattern for cleaning like no other exercise. Do 6-8 sets counting your warm-ups. Go as heavy as you can for three and try to increase the poundage each week. Follow the cleans with three sets of high pulls using straps. Do the first set of high pulls with 20 more pounds than the final clean, add 20 more for the second and 20 more for the third. Finish off with 30 sit-ups and 20 leg raises and call it a day.”

“Tuesdays will include jerks off the rack, power snatches, and back squats. Do 6-8 sets of jerks in doubles and go as heavy as possible every session. The power snatches will be done in sets of threes. Do eight sets of these. Four warm-up sets and then four sets of three across at a given poundage. The squats are the same as before, five sets of five increasing weight on each set. Any questions so far?”

“No questions, but slow down a little. This napkin keeps getting bunched up.”

“Are you going to carry that crumbled napkin to the gym every day?”

“No, I’ll put it in my workout book when I get home. Go ahead. I’m ready.”

“Wednesday will be a rest day from the weights, but not a do-nothing day. Get some form of running in, either at the high school track or a game of volleyball, paddleball, or whatever at the Y. Run at least 20 minutes to insure plenty of cardiovascular work.”

“Jim and I have been playing paddleball once a week, so we’ll just switch our playing day to Wednesday.”

“Fine. Thursday’s workout will begin with power cleans. Eight sets. Work up a heavy poundage in sets of three and then handle the same weight across the five sets of three. Gives plenty of pulling work. Get the weight up every week if possible. Next come incline presses.  We have a 45 degree incline board that we will use.”

“Why inclines?”

https://billstarrarticles.wordpress.com/2016/01/11/stabilizing-the-shoulder-girdle/

“Two reasons. They work the shoulder girdle in a little different position from the overhead press which is good and they take the stress off the lower back. Too much overhead pressing has a tendency to fatigue the lower back which in turn could lead to injury. Inclines are done in triples and a total of six sets is plenty. Front squats for five sets of three will round off the day.

“Friday is a rest day and make it just that. We want to give Saturday a good shot so Friday should be a day of almost complete rest from physical exercise. This doesn’t mean that you couldn’t partake of some recreational activity but don’t get into something that will fatigue you in the least. Saturday is the day you test yourself. You will go heavy on two of the Olympic lifts and do squats. We only do two because all three tend to be extremely exhausting week after week. Do presses and snatches on Saturday and Clean and jerks and presses the next week.”

“How do I decide which to do on a given Saturday?”

“A great deal depends on how you feel that day. Some days you just feel more like doing cleans and jerks rather than snatches. Whichever two you select make certain that the third is included the following Saturday. Warm-up sufficiently and work on singles going up as heavy as you can. As I said, it’s a test day to see if your form is improving as well as your strength. Finish off the day with five sets of three in the back squats, again going as heavy as possible. You should be tired Sunday, but get out and do some running for 20-30 minutes. Nothing strenuous, but it will help to get the kinks out and will have you ready for Monday better than if you stay on your back all day.”

“Whew, looks like I asked for it didn’t I?”

“Well, it’s not a program for the undetermined athlete. Lots of work but there’s success at the end of the rainbow.”

“Sure, sure, along with the pot of gold. When should I start on this new program?”
“Today’s Saturday, so do your regular program today and start on this fresh Monday.”

“Got it.” He was out of the booth in a flash, folded the napkin, stuck it in his Levis and was out the door before I realized we were through.

I was about to be late myself, so got my supplies together and headed for the parking lot. Almost made it too, but Doctor Ames whom I have known since I was a wee tot stopped me as I was about to get in the car. He asked if I could give a brief talk on fitness at the next medical association meeting. Flattery works wonders on me so the following Thursday was set aside. It makes life interesting anyway.

Picking the Opening Poundage - Bill Starr (1970)

 Picking the Opening Poundage - Bill Starr 

Strength & Health April 1970

The Philadelphia Open has built up a reputation throughout the years as the number one contest in the east. The primary reason for its seasonal popularity is that it is the first big open contest of the new year and the lifters are anxious to get in the thick of things and test their training programs. The Philly Open brings out a great audience and, this too, adds to its appeal. The fans that show up in Philly are knowledgeable and extremely responsive to good lifting. The level of competition is also a factor in the meet’s popularity. It is an ideal time to test your skill against some of the best in the nation. It is often referred to as the “Little Seniors” because of the pressure of tight competition. Every year a couple of fellows shine while others fail to meet the crowd’s expectation. The fun at Philly is largely due to the people there. Every official within 250 miles is on hand to assist Steve Stoyan with his show. To name them all would be to go through the AAU roster. And the audience is filled with lifters, some who have been through the course themselves such as Grippaldi, Shephard, and Mills and a large group who are watching and learning from the more experienced.

There is much to be learned from watching. Often one learns by observing the mistakes other’s make. It is often quite wrongly surmised that York lifters are so wise and confident that they never flub. York lifters do, perhaps, have a slight jump over some other lifters because of the high level of competition found in the gym each week, but they are far from being infallible.

Back to the Philly Open for verification. Frank Capsouras, Gary Glenney, and Bob Bednarski have been three of the team’s most consistent performers for the past three years. Yet they all failed out with poundages below what they had done in the past. Bill March missed all of his starting attempts, Jeff Moyer missed his first two snatches. I, too, increased my own anxiety by missing my first two presses. Now comes the question of the hour. If experienced lifters who have lifted on the international stage, such as Bednarski, Glenney, Capsouras, March and Moyer all have, are having problems picking starting attempts, then how can a Class III or Class II lifter expect to be able to pick weights wisely? Tough question. It is a question that plages every international coach and every lifter at every level at every meet.

The advice contained in this month’s “Behind the Scenes” should help you set some realistic guidelines on selecting starting poundages, but it is no guarantee – since the human factor is involved. The following are some of the factors you must take into consideration before putting ain a starting poundage. First of all you must set your starting poundages from what you have done in prior competition and not from what you have done previously in the gym. I say this for two reasons. The one being that a contest has its own set of variables and these variables, such as long delays, added pressure, etc… influences a lift considerably. The other reason is that some lifters do much more in a meet than they could ever hope for in the gym whereas others must make a weight in the gym before accomplishing the same in a contest. Louis Riecke, for example,

https://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2019/11/louise-riecke-john-terpak-1964.html 

never remotely approached his best in the gym. For him to start with 265 or 270 in the snatch because that was the best he could muster in training would be foolish. Likewise, for Bednarski to start with a weight 20 pounds over what he can make in the gym would be a mistake. So, you must go by competition standards, not training standards. If your best press in a contest is 250, then a safe start would be 235 or 240 regardless of whether you just made 260 in the gym two weeks before.

A second major factor is, of course, your physical condition going into the contest. Have you been making gains? Is your overall strength level up? Are you satisfied with your technique on the three lifts? All of this is important as you approach contest time. And you must realistically consider injuries. Does your injury really slow you down or hurt your lock out? Has your injury curtailed hard training on critical areas such as the legs and back, thus affecting your pull? I said that you must look at your injury or injuries realistically. Some use injuries as an “out” – an excuse to explain poor showing, but this type of lifter never gets far anyway so time will not be wasted on him. An injury to the wrist or shoulder might necessitate a lower starting poundage even though your strength is up, just because of this new variable.

Another factor to consider in picking a starting poundage is the level of competition. This is not to suggest that you should be lazy and pull your starting attempt back to a ridiculous weight when the going is easy, but conversely, one should not sacrifice a win and team points because of a too-high start. You can always jump 20 pounds after you get in the contest. It should be added too, that you may have to start a bit higher if the contest is fierce and the stakes are high since every pound is essential. Bill March started with 360 at Seniors since the stakes was an international trip. At Philly 340 sufficed since a trophy was not as important.

Probably the number one factor to consider when selecting the starting poundage is your warm-ups. You can generally tell whether you are in the groove or not. If the weights feel unusually heavy, then it would be wise to drop the start back. If they are really zinging overhead, then perhaps a higher poundage than previously planned can be taken. I have actually seen cases when a too light poundage for a starting attempt has created more trouble than a slightly heavier one. Bednarski missed a 400 press twice in Monroe last year, moved to 420 and made it smoothly. The 400 was moving so rapidly that he lost his balance. The 420 was heavy enough to make him keep his balance. A lifter that is exceptionally strong on meet day would do well to adjust his start so as not to give anything away. It is extremely commendable to make nine out of nine, but any lifter could do that if he chose to sacrifice top weights. The trick is to make all the attempts and have the last attempt to be an absolute maximum. There’s few things more frustrating than to make a successful third attempt and know you could do 10-15 pounds more – and then end up losing by 5 pounds.

One final factor to consider is your mental attitude for the meet day. If you are bubbling with enthusiasm and confidence you just might turn a mediocre day into a good one. Should you, however, be in a mood of dejection then all the good training, strength, and technique may not make the difference. How to fight dejection and depression is the subject of another article, but at this point you should be wise enough to recognize mental states in yourself.

In summary, selecting a starting poundage is a most difficult task. The rule of thumb I learned was that the opener should be 10-15 pounds under you best (in competition), the second attempt should approximate your best, and the third idealistically should be a shot at a personal record. But all of this has to be considered on a given day. Your previous best in competition, your prior training, your injuries or lack of injuries, your mental state, the level of competition, and your warm-ups on meet day all have to be considered. Taking these factors into consideration might help you finish more contests than you have in the past, but as long as human factors intervene there is no guarantee of success. It has been found that if a lifter starts off well, with successes, he will generally build on this and proceed on to better and better lifts. All the more reason to make that first one.

Enjoy your lifting!