Vince Gironda “Old-School” Bodybuilding Methods…

If you are a fan of “old-school” bodybuilding, then no doubt you are also a fan of
Vince Gironda. And if you are not, then you should be!


Vince Gironda – The Legend & Myth

He was known as the Iron Guru and a lot of today’s effective training methods have developed from the basis of what Vince was teaching his muscle building students over 60 years ago!

In fact, Vince even coached the great Arnold Schwarzenegger back when he first came to America in the 1960’s. Vince’s teachings helps mold the physique for the world’s most famous bodybuilder ever!

The knowledge, depth, and complexity of Vince Gironda can be seen in all his works. Vince’s Gym in Studio City California was the first Mecca of bodybuilding. Established back in the 1940’s. There have been more bodybuilding champs and movie stars trained under Vince Gironda’s watchful eye than any other gym in the world.


Vince’s Gym in Studio City, California.

Unfortunately, Vince passed away in 1997 just shy of his 80th birthday. To say he was ahead of his time is an understatement. His love and passion for exercise and nutrition was overwhelming. But thankfully you can still get access to all of his unique and effective bodybuilding tips, tricks, and methods in the book “Vince Gironda – Legend & Myth” which is available at: www.VinceGirondaProgram.com

Vince Gironda Book
Click Here for more info…

In fact this is the book that I’m currently reading and I’ve literally been face and eyes into it, I just can’t put it down because I’ve been enjoying it so much!

And this blog post is going to basically be a quick summary of some of the insights that I’ve picked up so far from reading this 334 page piece of bodybuilding history!

First off, I must tell you that this book is NOT just another “workout program”
Let’s face it, they can get pretty boring… But rather this is like an education to the way bodybuilding was back in Golden Era of bodybuilding… The “Pumping Iron” Days… And how the champs of yesterday trained and ate to build their classic physiques!

Old school bodybuilders
The Classic “Old-School” Bodybuilder Physiques!

Vince Gironda was one of the first bodybuilders ever to build a “ripped physique”. In fact, in his early bodybuilding contests the judges actually placed him low because he was “Too Ripped” and they weren’t used to seeing that level of shredded muscularity on anyone.

His secret was in the combination of proper exercises, strict diet, and the strict adherence to exercise form. He used to say that the more you know about training, the less complicated the equipment you need. And the more you know about nutrition, the faster your results will be.

Now while Vince had some very unique methods with training and nutrition, he knew there were exceptions to everything and said that:

“Rules are made to be challenged, questioned, changed or completely broken.
There is no absolute right way, or wrong way, to workout.”

He expressed what he felt and showed things his way, but he was also open to alternatives for anything that didn’t work well for a particular individual.

Vince was the first guy to advocate that your bodybuilding success is 80% nutrition.
Now whether or not you actually agree with the number, you can’t argue with the fact that what you eat, when you eat it, and what supplements you take and when you take them is much more important than most bodybuilders could possibly imagine.

Vince had some very unorthodox eating strategies that he followed and taught to his students;

Do NOT combine carbohydrates with protein in the same meal:
Proper protein digestion requires a higher level of an acidic base in the stomach. Where as proper starchy carbohydrate digestion requires an alkaline medium. If you consume both together you’ll only get partial digestion and the residue will result in severe discomfort, gas, bloating, heartburn, and hyperacidity… Not to mention the dreaded bodybuilder farts LOL…
This is covered in much more detail on Page 54 of the Vince Gironda Program.

Vince was often asked about gaining weight and he would reply with a question of his own:

“Do you want increased body weight, or is it an increase in muscle size you are after?”

Of course the response would usually be “size”.

Vince claimed that muscle size is desirable, but not simply adding body weight, which will only smooth out your definition and increase the size of your waist and hips while causing a loss of symmetry.

The Steak and Eggs Diet:
Vince believed this was the best way to build quality muscle mass while stripping away excess fat from the body. He reported personally achieving his all time best shape of his life by following this diet… The specifics of his exact diet plan are outlined on Page 16 of the book.

Now of course in some cases guys actually did need to “Gain Weight” to fill out their frames. Especially guys with a naturally lean and slim ectomorph body type. In these situations Vince would often recommend the…

The European Weight Gaining Trick:
Vince claimed this special mix was a proven and tested way to gain weight and he stated that he had students of his who gained as much as 40 pounds by having this simple “in between meal” drink… Details on Page 58.

And speaking of different body types. Vince had a unique, but very realistic view on the subject of genetics and muscle building. He used to say that:

“Champions are born, NOT made.”

Now I realize that comment is going to ruffle some feathers, but if you really look at it from a big picture you’ll see that it’s actually very true.

Most people who take up bodybuilding could no more be a Mr. Olympia than they could be a professional basketball player, which requires another type of genetic extreme altogether. But does this mean all your training is hopeless???

Not at all, for the truth is: You can probably develop a body that appeals to more people and is more esthetically pleasing than that of most professional bodybuilders of today…

Which Body Type Would You Prefer To Have?

Big Ronnie Coleman In The Off Season The Ripped Physqiue Of Frank Zane.

Don’t Do Sit Ups!
Another thing that really stood out was Vince’s stance on abdominal training…
He advocated minimal abdominal work. Vince did NOT do endless sets of ab work like a lot of people do. In his mind excessive ab training thickened the waist and actually slowed your gains. He believed in training the abs just like any other muscle group and to get a ripped 6 pack you focused on your diet and doing faster more intense training sessions.

Some other unique training theories that Vince Gironda had…

To increase a muscle’s size you must increase the intensity of work done within a given period of time. This means minimum rest between sets and pushing yourself hard during your workouts. A prime example of this principle can be seen when you compare sprinters and marathon runners. Even though the marathon runner is doing a greater volume of work, the sprinter is doing more work per unit of time thus builds more muscle.

Training To Failure VS. 60% – 80%…
Vince recommended training with weights that are in the range of 60% to 80% of your maximum for sets of 8 reps. He advocated shortening up the rest periods between sets before increasing the weights to get more concentrated work volume done per unit of time. In his opinion speeding up your workout is your best form of progressive resistance.

Vince Hated Doing Squats…
Another thing that really got my attention was that Vince absolutely hated doing regular back squats the way most bodybuilders and powerlifters do them. He believed that they over developed the hips and glutes and ruined your symmetry. And I can see his point of view on this. However, he was a huge fan of doing unique front squat variations and “sissy squats” to develop well balanced and proportional legs…

This is pretty deep stuff isn’t it?
And it’s just the tip of the ice burg… The book “Vince Gironda – Legend & Myth”
is jam packed with 334 pages of absolutely inspirational and fascinating info for any bodybuilding fan.

It’s one of those books that you can just get lost in…
Once you start reading, you won’t want to put it down, it’s that good!

And right now you can pick up a copy of this for yourself for a huge 50% discount over at:

www.VinceGirondaProgram.com


Get Your Copy Of The Vince Gironda Program
Click Here To Get Your Copy Now…

About The Author

leehayward

Lee Hayward is a former competitive bodybuilder and muscle building coach who has been online coaching people since 1997. His work has been featured in several international magazines such as: FLEX, Muscle Insider, Muscle Mag International, Testosterone, Ironmag, and Forbes. Lee's main focus right now is with helping men over 40 - who don't want to be fat anymore - lose the gut, build muscle, and get back in shape. If you're ready to "Start Again" for the last time and finally build a lean healthy body that you can be proud of, just e-mail Lee to discuss a realistic action plan that's right for you... lee@leehayward.com

14 Comments

  • SOLID information. Thanks

  • There is so much info in the book, I’ve only managed to read 65 of the 334 pages and this is a quick summary of what I’ve gotten from it thus far!

    The Vince Gironda Program is a “must have” book for any serious bodybuilding fan!

    http://www.VinceGirondaProgram.com

  • Patrick

    leehayward,

    Are there any points you disagree with in the book Lee? I know that Vince is a huge proponent of eating mass volumes of eggs.

  • Mark

    I have a copy of Vince Gironda’s Master series training book. Very deep stuff. I have a few pages that are missing from the book but mostly complete. Everyone should check it out

  • Patrick:
    leehayward,

    Are there any points you disagree with in the book Lee? I know that Vince is a huge proponent of eating mass volumes of eggs.

    For the most part I agree with a lot of his methods, but every now and then I’ll read something and say to myself “This guy is friggen nuts… LOL”

    I’m not a fan of consuming raw eggs, but I am a fan of pasteurized liquid egg whites.

    I don’t agree with some of the supplements he recommended and several of them are not even available today.

    One thing that just made me shake my head was when he said was that mixing shakes up in the blender made them too fine and they wouldn’t digest properly… To me that makes no sense at all, but again keep in mind their points of view on things were quite different back in the 1950’s

    However, when it comes to training in the gym, this guy knew his stuff!

  • Thank you for sharing Vince “The IRON GURU” Gironda’s training principles. This is my 1st time reading Vince’s methods & I am now a big fan. Yes, he is interesting & I respect him for his tenacious independent thinking & not following the crowd. He is a “Pioneer” of bodybuilding & though I don’t agree with all Vince’s 27 bodybuilding errors, I too like how he “thought for himself” & his great physique shows his dedication to building his all-natural muscular physique. -David ROCK Nelson, independent Sci-Fi filmmaker, actor, comic. Here’s a fun video of me flexing in my backyard in Des Plaines, IL. Enjoy! http://youtu.be/IVdnVHUsUAs

  • Patrick

    leehayward,

    Thanks Lee.

  • harry

    Vince Gironda’s Master series training book is really great..i read it

  • Marquise

    Outta all the Vince Gironda books out there….nothing and I mean NOTHING will ever compete with the original.

    Why not just get The Wild Physique written by Vince Gironda himself?

    !

  • Dani

    leehayward,

    Thanks for being honest about your opinions on the book as well bout some of it not making sense because just from some of the dieting stuff that i read from vince and your post on ‘training for your body type’ i do find some of them bit clashing….and yeah 36 eggs a day!!!!!! for fricks sake thats gotta go some damage to your body, specially if ya did it more than 1 day a week

  • Omar

    This is one of the best things I’ve ever read, thanks Lee.

  • Dylan

    Of interest in regards to not eating carbs and proteins at the same time; a good extended release enzyme with solid food meals really helps alleviate gas and bloating as well as daily fiber/probiotic blend such as FiberSmart. Nutrient absorption is increased with this approach as well. Eating 4-6 meals a day is tough enough sometimes. It’s absurd to think people would eat their macros separate as well!

  • brandi

    Marquise,

    Unfortunately those who have it want to 100 or more dollars for it. I wish it could be reprinted so I could read it.

  • brandi,

    Just visit http://www.vincegirondaprogram.com and you can get the complete program for just $24.95