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Vince Gironda - The Iron Guru
Before Arnold and Ronnie Coleman, there was Vince Gironda, known as the Iron Guru, a professional bodybuilder who was way ahead of his time. A genuine icon in the bodybuilding history books, Vince set many records during his career and has garnered a new legion of fans as his legend lives on. Vince may have died in 1997, but his meal plans and workout methods have influenced some of today's biggest bodybuilding beasts.
Vince was born in the Bronx in November 1917; by the time he was in school, he had already set various records for strength and agility. Take his shot put: He could throw it 47 feet. Or his pole vault: Vince could jump 12 feet into the air. Also a keen track runner and footballer, Vince competed in many sports - and often picked up a medal in the process.
In the late 30s, Vince started training at the Hollywood YMCA and entered his first bodybuilding competition in 1941, where he came sixth. Undeterred, he continued working on his technique and continued to get stronger. After making a splash in the movies, Vince opened his first gym in 1946 and came forth in Mr. California three years later.
However, it was his success in the 1950s that cemented his legend. He came second in Mr. America in 1952, competed in Mr. USA, and even appeared at the Scottish Highland Games. After coming second in Mr. Universe in 1962, Vince retired from professional bodybuilding for a few years, before making a massive comeback in 1966 when he appeared in excellent condition at IFBB Mr. Western America at the age of 50.
Vince had a huge knowledge of weight training and nutrition and even impressed doctors when his broken leg healed in record time. When it came to training, Vince used a workout that is similar to German Volume Training, according to Bodybuilding.com. Here the muscle fibers are exposed to a high volume of work in the gym and are "forced" to grow through lighter weights for multiple sets.
While today's gym-goers are used to four or five sets in the 10 to 12 rep range, Vince insisted on doing 10 sets of 10 reps for the same exercise with only a minute of rest between. Vince kept the weight relatively low, and although this might feel easy at first, after the fifth or sixth set, things become harder as the body starts to get tired. With only 60 seconds in-between reps, the body is shocked and forced to grow the muscle fibres.
Vince's diet was a lot more simple than some bodybuilders today. He consumed steaks, eggs and milk and egg protein powder with whole cream. His diet was full of high protein foods, low carbs, lots of vegetables and moderate fats - different from some carb-heavy bulking diets today. He once famously said that body sculpting was 80 percent diet. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other bodybuilders followed Vince's diet in the 1950s. This type of diet is similar to the ones your ancestors ate thousands of years ago, long before agriculture changed eating habits. Relatively low carbs stop the body from bloating and experiencing sugar crashes, something that can lead to overeating or eating too much junk food.
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