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I do not think I have seen six men in my life do a chin properly. Don Howorth was one of them. Don pulled up with his chest high and touched his chest to the bar almost as low as his low Pec line. His elbows were drawn down to his sides, touching his lats, and with the chest high and the shoulders down and back, he contracted his lats to the maximum. If you look up the function of the lat in any Kinesiology book, it will show that the lat – in the fully contracted position – the shoulders are drawn down and back! Round the back and shoulders forward, and you shift to the Teres major muscles. Also, if you do not arch your back to full contraction, you will not develop any of the fibres across the back that attach to the spine. This will give you a flat underdeveloped look with no thickness. This is how you do the chin: Reach up and grasp the chinning bar, but not too wide…closer than you ordinarily do them, because the lats are partially contracted in a wide grip. Next, stand on a box so that you can jump up into the contracted position and hold at the top for a split second. Now, lower your body and stand on the box (Do singles). Jump up again and touch your low pec to the bar and arch the back. Most important – elbows must touch the sides in the top or contracted position to achieve maximum contraction. The next most abused exercise is the parallel dip for pec development. The average bodybuilder does this exercise with his elbows back and his chest up and the back arched. Also, he does not drop down low enough, plus his body usually swings due to excessive speed in pec – forming the exercise. The proper way to dip is as follows: Hands should be 32” wide, elbows straight out to the sides (never back), and chin on chest. Chest must be concave and back rounded, feet forward under the head. In short, the body is in a crescent shape. The bottom of the dipping movement is the most important part of the dip; the first 8-10 inches are very isolated pec and most important – dipping receives less help from the deltoid than any other pec exercise. Bench Press plus Incline Dumbell Press – knuckles not facing each other but forward, about 90 percent assistance from delts. The wider the parallel bar, the wider the stress on the pec where the pec disappears under the front deltoid. This gives the chest a greater illusion of width. Here, in Vince’s Gym, we have V-shaped parallel dip bars and by just moving your hands back you get a wider portion of the pec. By the way, if you hump up your back at the top of the movement, you work the Serratus muscles very forcibly. |
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 The most famous bodybuilding trainer in the world reveals special training advice for more mature bodybuilders.
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Read more... [Bodybuilding For Men Over 40 By Vince Gironda]
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The real problem with writing a Vince workout is so much is lost in the translation. Side Laterals to Vince took on a whole new meaning, as did pretty much every other exercise performed at Vince's. He, Nick, or other members were quick to bark orders commanding you to perform a movement with a certain, precise style. It was this “style” (for lack of a better word) that would make Vince’s hack squat a multi exercise station. I am hoping that most people on this forum understand what I mean, and already know many of Vince’s “rules” for the exercises I am about mention.
I was asked to provide a “Vince” routine. Also mentioned is people’s misconception of Vince’s hatred toward squats and bench presses. So in order to satisfy the squatters below is a sample leg workout from many years ago. Keep in mind there were no routines or typical workouts at Vince’s.
Day One: Quads, Hams, Calves
Leg Extensions 8x15
Hack Squat (a) 8x15
Hack Squat (b) 8x15
Leg Curl 8x15
Calf Raises 8x20
There was VERY LITTLE REST – EVER. I’m talking 15 – 20 seconds break, “take 10 deep breaths…GO!”.
All of these were performed in a very strict manner – Vince Style. I am not going to go into great detail about each exercise, but briefly put:
Leg Extensions were performed while basically performing a sit up motion coordinated with the flexion and extension of the knee.
Hack Squat (a) was performed with the feet together, toes out, heels all the way to the back of sleds platform, and the knees bent way over the feet upon descent.
Hack Squat (b) was performed with the feet together, toes straight forward, and toes nearly hanging off the front of the platform.
Leg Curls were performed in a similar coordinated fashion as Leg Ext…rocking upper body up and down while performing Leg Curls.
Calf Raises had to be performed with your SHOES OFF, and very strictly. If you are using a ton of weight - you’re doing them wrong.
They (Vince and Nick) liked higher reps for legs, at least my legs. Those eight sets were built over time, starting with one each and each workout building. But I gotta tell ya, for some reason I can not come close to doing that workout any more. There was something special at Vince’s Gym that could make me like a machine and keep going.
Some of you may find it interesting that while they used high volume training in his gym, they also openly advocated Mentzer’s Heavy Duty back in the day. They said it was sound training, but for most people its better for them to handle more volume. Maybe they meant safety, but in my opinion they were probably referring to creating the “illusion” of a perfect body.
Please remember this was performed after years of training and under guidance.
That workout was/is brutal. Like I said I’ve tried going back to it and I can’t seem to do it without utilizing major drop-sets. Those days of training like that was when I was 19 years old and in excellent shape (my waist was 27” and my thighs were 28”). 8 x 8 is not for the novice. And yes, like I said, it was months before I could work up to that volume. The main part was focus and drive to just get it done. I think those leg workouts lasted at most 35 minutes. I often tried to do too much too soon (because I always figured more is better) but I would try to stop myself as I matured, otherwise he would yell at me for overtraining. I was actually sent home one day because I just kept training (I was about 15 or so).
A sample beginner workout was more like:
One set each between 8 to 12 reps
Leg Extension
Leg Curl
Hack Squat
Pull Downs
Decline Fly (with those low pulleys Vince had)
Side Laterals
Scott Curl
Tri Pushdown
That’s what I started with more or less. And still, that is more or less what I start my clients with as well.
Vince performed this as a circuit. Each workout the volume increased by performing the circuit one more additional time. I know he really liked two-a-days with this as well.
Really the importance of Vince’s training wasn’t in the “routines” so much as it was in the way an exercise was performed. They (Vince and Nick) were VERY specific about the way an exercise was to be done in their gym.
Today, I perform very few sets per workout, but the sets I perform are done with precision. I think Vince would still approve of my current training, yet still have many suggestions to make it better.
At Vince's I was often instructed to do routines consisting of three sets per exercise and between two and three exercises per bodypart. The first set was light and used to get perfect form. The second set was heavy and to failure, and then the third was a no rest, drop set. The emphasis was on form and failure. Reps were moderate between 8 - 15.
Vince was very specific about a muscle needing 72 hours of rest. But he also had most of the beginners (including me) workout day after day using a circuit routine. |
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Simply put, use the muscle not momentum. Vince or Nick would be quick to point out when I was cheating myself by using momentum instead of focusing on using the muscle to perform the movement. This also means don't "explode" at any part of a movement. Usually I was aiming at completing a perfect 8 reps, but sometimes they would yell at me to keep going by doing "burns" - which consist of performing quick, short range of motion reps (focusing on the contraction part of the rep). Otherwise I performed reps in a very strict and focused manner. Quick note: I remember Nick talking about one of the real old school guys (sorry I can't remember his name - but I think he called him "pumper" or something like that, cause he only tried to get a pump) who would show up at Vince's and use light weight, fast reps, and no real form. According to Nick the guy was huge. His point was...different strokes for different folks. |
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I hope you guys understand Vince (as far as I know) never really started anybody out doing the 8 x 8 routines. Rather he started people (from the advanced athlete to the overweight actor) by doing more of a one set "circuit" style of training. And in doing so they (Vince or Nick) would endlessly critique your form on every movement or exercise. From there they would increase the trainees' work load gradually and steadily. I know Vince (or his fans) talked a lot about the 8 x 8 routines, but remember that first came mastering the forms and rest intervals. Also, please remember they would not let me train longer than 45 minutes...so if you are going to do some of these routines I've seen, you better hussle as well as keep strict form. I am not trying to discourage anyone from doing 8x8, rather I am just emphasizing what was emphasized to me from Vince and Nick. Be patient, be disciplined, and be tenacious. |
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Vince Gironda with actor Bill Smith take a break from training.
Bottom: At 43 yrs
