At 16 years old, Reg Park did not resemble a future Mr. Universe.
His scrawny frame carried just 160lbs on a 6 foot tall frame.
But eventually, Reg Park carried 250lbs of solid muscle with true 18 inch arms. (Some stats put his arms as big as 20 inches).
Plus, he was one of the strongest men of his time. Not only did he play Hercules on the big screen, many of his lifts were absolutely herculean as well.
Take a look for yourself:
Way back in 1950s, Reg Park hoisted:
A 605 pound squat for two reps.
He was the first bodybuilder to bench press over 500lbs.
A 700 pound dead lift and a 315 pound behind-the-neck press.
While much of his strength was built using basic exercises and basic workout routines, his contest bodybuilding training is legendary for the amount of volume he would cram into a single workout.
Not only would he use extremely heavy weights (3 sets of 20 rep squats with 315lbs) but each workout consisted of over 100 sets.
How could any man handle such a brutal workout?
Perhaps the secret was Reg Parks home-made workout drink.
Here is the recipe:
2 Pints of diluted orange juice concentrate + honey.
Just as you would expect from Reg Park, it is a simple and basic drink.
But if you run the numbers, you can see why it is so effective:
The drink contains a boatload of concentrated energy. Nearly 600 calories and 142 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates.
Not to mention nearly 2,000 milligrams of potassium. Why is this important?
Potassium is crucial for muscle contractions and nerve transmission. And when you sweat, you lose potassium.
So replacing the potassium that your body loses through sweat is essential for maximum performance.
If you find yourself struggling to get through your training sessions because of low energy levels, you might want to give Reg Parks homemade workout drink a try.
And if you are struggling to gain weight and build muscle, why not follow in Reg Parks massive footsteps and follow the same training program that transformed him from a 160lb weakling to a 250lb Hercules?
Here is a variation of one of Reg Parks many basic, brutal and effective training programs:
Barbell Curl: 4 sets of 6-8 reps.
Barbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets of 6-8 reps.
Bench Press: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Barbell Row: 4 sets of 6-8 reps.
Barbell Squat: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Dead lift: 1 heavy set of 5 reps.
Instructions: This training program should be done 3x a week. (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Monday is a your heavy day.
This means you use the most weight you can while still completing the recommended number of sets and reps.
If you able to complete all sets and reps as written, increase the weight 5lbs during the next week.
If your unable to complete all sets and reps of any given exercise, keep the weight the same next week.
Wednesday is your light day. You do the same exercises, sets and reps but you use 80% of the weight that you used on your heavy day.
So if you used 100lbs on the barbell curl on Monday, you would use 80lbs on Wednesday.
This workout allows your body to recover from your heavy training day (Monday) without any risk of de-training.
Friday is a medium load day. Again, same exercises, reps and sets from Monday but with 90% of the weight.
For maximum gains, you must sleep a minimum of 8 hours a night and eat plenty of wholesome foods.
Reg himself ate lots of steak, whole milk, whole eggs, orange juice, salads and supplemented his diet with handfuls of liver tablets.
If you want to build herculean strength and size, then give this workout a shot.