At 16, Reg Park did not look like the future Mr. Universe.
His scrawny body weighed just 160 pounds in a 6-foot-tall frame.
But finally, Reg Park had 250 pounds of solid muscle with true 18-inch arms. (Some statistics put his arms as big as 20 inches.)
Furthermore, he was one of the strongest men of his time. Not only did he play Hercules on the big screen, many of his elevators were also absolutely Herculean.
Take a look for yourself:
Back in the 1950s, Reg Park said:
One 605 pound squat for two reps.
He was the first bodybuilder to bench press over 500 pounds.
A 700 pound deadlift and a 315 pound behind the neck press.
While much of his strength was developed through basic exercises and basic workout routines, his competitive bodybuilding training is legendary for the amount of volume he would accumulate in a single workout.
Not only would I use extremely heavy weights (3 sets of 20 squat reps at 315 pounds) but each workout consisted of over 100 sets.
How could one man handle such brutal training?
Perhaps the secret was Reg Parks’ homemade training drink.
Here is the prescription:
2 pints of dilute orange juice concentrate + honey.
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 large amount 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.
Therefore, replacing the potassium your body loses through sweat is essential for maximum performance.
If you’re having a hard time getting through your workout sessions due to low energy levels, you may want to try Reg Parks Homemade Workout Drink.
And if you’re struggling to gain weight and build muscle, why not follow in the massive steps of Reg Parks and go through the same training program that transformed you from a 160-pound wimp to a 250-pound Hercules?
Here’s a variation on one of Reg Parks’ many brutal, effective, basic 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.
Deadlift: 1 heavy set of 5 reps.
Instructions: This training program should be done 3 times a week. (Monday Wednesday Friday). Monday is your heavy day.
This means you use as much weight as you can while completing the recommended number of sets and reps.
If you can complete all the sets and reps as written, put on 5 pounds over the next week.
If you can’t complete all the sets and reps for a given exercise, keep the weight the same for the next week.
Wednesday is your day of light. You do the same exercises, sets, and reps, but you use 80% of the weight you used on your heavy day.
So if you used 100 pounds in the barbell curl on Monday, you would use 80 pounds on Wednesday.
This workout allows your body to recover from your intense training day (Monday) without the risk of detraining.
Friday is a medium load day. Again, the same exercises, reps and sets on Monday but with 90% of the weight.
To get the maximum gains, you need to sleep a minimum of 8 hours a night and eat plenty of healthy foods.
Reg himself ate a lot of steak, whole milk, whole eggs, orange juice, salads, and supplemented his diet with handfuls of liver tablets.
If you want to develop Herculean size and strength, try this workout.