10 RENEGADE Beliefs of Vince Gironda
by Mike Westerdal
Vince Gironda is one of bodybuilding’s pioneers. In fact many call him the father of bodybuilding. His roots go all the way back to the mid-1900s, when he opened his own gym in 1948, in North Hollywood, California. As a trainer and gym owner, Vince quickly developed a reputation as a trainer of champions, including the very first IFBB Mr. Olympia in 1965. From there, his fame grew and his gym began attracting some of the biggest names in bodybuilding, including Lou Ferrigno, Frank Zane and even Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Vince became well known for being a trainer of champion bodybuilders and Hollywood celebrities, but his training concepts and philosophies generated a lot of controversy. Many of his ideas were considered to be unconventional by much of the bodybuilding community. Despite his ‘unorthodox’ viewpoints, a lot of people really believed in Vince and his theories about bodybuilding and nutrition. Let’s take a look at some of the most polarizing things Vince said, and you can decide for yourself if he was truly ahead of his time.
1. Vince was one of the earliest professionals to make a strong connection between nutrition and performance. In fact, he went even said that bodybuilding was ‘85% nutrition.’ Some of his nutrition ideas were very controversial—like reducing carb intake during a cutting phase. Or the fact that he was a big proponent of drinking raw, unpasteurized milk, which has generated a big debate over the last couple of years. Some bodybuilders swear by it, but governmental health regulators consider drinking raw milk a dangerous practice—so much so that it’s banned in a number of states.
2. He didn’t believe in the bench press for building the pecs. He said that it put too much emphasis on the front deltoids and not enough on the pectoral muscles. Yikes! Tell that your buddies at the gym and see what kind of reaction you get. Instead of the bench press, Vince favored what he called the ‘neck press,’ which is sort of like a bench press, but instead of lowering the bar to your chest, you lower it to your neck, using less weight and a wider grip.
3. To improve digestion, Vince believed that it was important to put your legs and feet up higher than your stomach after every meal.
4. Vince did not believe that you should listen to music when working out. He felt that it was too distracting to bodybuilders. For him, music was only good for doing aerobic exercises.
5. In sharp contrast to what most experts say, Vince believed that beginning bodybuilders should train six days a week—not the three to four days a week you see advocated today. He reasoned that beginners are so full of energy and enthusiasm, that six days a week was good for them. He ruffled a lot of feathers with this one.
6. A fierce advocate of all natural bodybuilding, Vince believed that bodybuilders should eat up to 36 raw, fertilized eggs every day. He said that the effects of this were equivalent to taking the steroid Dianabol. Can’t even imagine where you’d find raw, fertilized eggs these days.
7. Unless you were a woman or a guy without any ‘junk in the trunk’ Vince didn’t believe in regular back squats—a staple of most any bodybuilding routine. Instead, he favored sissy squats, front squats and his own modified squat.
8. This isn’t so controversial now since it’s pretty widely accepted but Vince was one of the very first bodybuilding professionals to deride the sit-up as a strategy for building the abs. Back when he first made his thoughts on the subject known, you can bet riled some top professionals of the day.
9. And speaking of abs, Vince believed that most guys wasted far too much time training their abs. According to him, spending too much time training the abs shocked the central nervous system, disrupting muscle growth in other areas of the body.
10. According to Vince, there is such as thing as too much protein. A lot of guys would disagree with this but Vince said that excessive protein intake results in the opposite effect of what you want to achieve by consuming lots of protein. Vince had this crazy idea that you should consume the amount of protein that is right for you, based on gender, age, fitness level, training routine and lifestyle. In his mind, it’s foolish to consume massive amounts of protein just because some other guy is doing it.
So there you have it, ten of Vince’s more controversial viewpoints. You can decide for yourself whether or not you think Vince just liked controversy or was way ahead of his time. Leave a comment below and let me know which points you agree with, disagree with or if you have any other favorite quotes or view points of Vince that you’d like to share.
Keep training hard,
Mike Westerdal
CriticalBench.com
P.S. This is pretty incredible, we’ve had 18,954 people join our “early bird” VIP list in the past 24-hours. Looks like the release of the Gironda Manual is still on track for the 11th and I’m excited to share that I’ve nailed down a few really cool surprise bonuses you’ll be hearing more about real soon.
P.P.S. If you haven’t seen the previous reports and updates, make sure you check them out below!
Step 1: Get On The VIP Early Bird Notification List For New Updates
FREE Report: 8 SETS OF 8 “The Way Vince Instructed” (PDF)
Update #1: The Greatest Trainer That Ever Lived Part 1 (article)
Update #2: Top 7 Gironda Exercises Of All Time (demonstrations)
Leave A Reply (15 comments So Far)
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Nandano
229 days agoHi, In New Zealand growing up all milk was delivered raw,straight from the farmer. So I grew up on raw milk and I totally agree with Vince on that one. Also I have never listened to music while working out for the same reason, it’s a distraction. I like the way Vince stirs it up, it takes a strong will and belief in yourself not to conform to the greater body building world belief’s. There are many ways to build a body and they are all relevant but in the end I think you end up doing what feels right for you. Vince is an example for us all to think outside the box, to be our own mind and to stop just going along with the so called experts. Ultimately we know and feel what is working and what’s not…..It might not be what someone else agrees with but if it works go for it!!
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Albert
229 days agoHey,
I remember reading all the stuff back in the 70′s concerning Vince. It was all good in my opinion. I picked up some information organic meats, raw milk, etc. I attempt to be organic as much as possible. The raw milk is difficult since I haven’t found anything really close to me. Does one need to do something wuth the eggs before eating them raw (like super clean them)? My intent is to be as natural as I possibly can.This is good, keep up the good work!
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Great post Mike.
Not so sure about the neck press and raw milk bit, but all other view points look believable to a certain extent. Vince was ahead of his time and I hope that you will post more articles on Vince’s work in the future.
Tim
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Peter
228 days agoHi Mike! The neck press was absolutely awesome to hear! I have been using a neck press for 15 years after training with Shane, Peterborough, Ontario, a young Canadian/American bodybuilder. He was up on this exercise at 28 years of age. I am almost 6’3 and battle with gaining size on my chest. This was one of the first exercises Shane changed me in my routine and I use it faithfully today, along with my standard bench press. It increased my strength and size dramatically,particuliarly along the upper edge redefining my chest. BE CAREFUL obvioulsy. Smith Machine is the best place to start until you are used to it. You are actually pressing to your throat. Try it! I still get some funny looks at the gym, but the results are obvious. I often see them using the exercise at a later time.
Thank you for the highly informative and interesting article. We may not use all the information but we can take something helpful out of any bodybuilders routine/advice who achieved the results Vince did.[Reply]
admin Reply:
October 6th, 2011 at 2:50 pmInteresting. I think the key to that exercise would be to use lighter weight so that you don’t strain your shoulders. With heavier weight I prefer the regular bench press (obviously) so that I can tuck my elbows. Might actually make a nice follow up exercise after doing regular bench.
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Nassir Carr
228 days agoMakes for interesting reading, very informative. I do find allot of this quite intriguing. Have to say though that i do agree with some of the things like the situps not playing a major role in ab building as most exercises incorporatrate the use of core muscle activity. the thing about training six days aweek is abit baffling, one has take into account many statistics eg. age,sex, fitness level even at a beginner level.
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Alan
228 days ago“Can’t even imagine where you’d find raw, fertilized eggs these days.”
My back yard, that’s where. My chooks give me at least 6 extra large raw eggs a day and they are delicious. We’ve just hatched out 10 more chickens so should be getting even more eggs soon.
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Steve Mason
228 days agoLoved this story. Read it to my wife in bed last night. Hope to hear more.
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Geordie
228 days agoJust wanted to say that I loved the article. I’ve been drinking raw milk my whole life (30 years) and find it awesome that mainstream would even think it should be part of a healthy diet. It is a staple food for me, and has a whole host of health benefits. I can show my buddies this article because they give me crap about how athletes shouldn’t be drinking “hippie milk” or owning part of a cow. Her name is Lacey in case you wonder.
It’s also nice to learn about Vince’s take on training and be reminded that a tough mental attitude combined with a bottom line for results even if you go against the system will get you there. Thanks for such a good article.[Reply]
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dennis graham
227 days agoMike;
perhaps you can give some advise.
over 30 years ago when i was working out regularly i was in very good shape (a muscle head) just a shorter Frank Zane, but through the years i quit exercising and would like to start again, not to get really big again , but for my well being and to remain strong and healthy through my later years. do you have any advise for a 69 year old that might held?thank you for your time .
Dennis
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Mimi
225 days agoI cannot help but to agree with Vince, especially about how many eggs a person should eat. It is obvious that he knew a lot about the body and may have been privvy to things that others were not which may have given him the advantage. Also, he likely had some experience with the way (specific) muscles respond to certain exercises before he reached a full understanding. I really do believe that his focus was not upon how large he could make himself and the rewards he could get out of it. He listened to his body and was more perceptive than anyone realized and that is what put him ahead of the times. He was, and still is, a rare and invaluable find.
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Hey Mike,
Stephen here again. I’m the same guy who posted yesterday about visiting Vince’s gym in Cali in the late 70′s when I use to live out there. Great experience. Previously, I mentioned I’m a proponent of organic pasteured meats, eggs & raw milk.
You make the comment regarding raw milk being difficult to find. There are only 7 states which allow raw milk to be sold off the shelves. However, in the majority of states you can find Cow Share programs and On Farm sales. You just have to google it for your state. These are legal.
Regarding fertile eggs, usually the same farmers who have raw milk also have pasteured eggs and follow organic methods. Eating these eggs raw is not the same as eating store bought eggs raw, which should never done; even if it says organic!
Farm fresh pasteured eggs are superior to any store bought. Once you have real eggs you’ll never go back to store bought. We have our own farm, therefore fresh eggs, raw milk & real meat is a way of life for us and the athletes and Special Forces who I train. I do most of my training camps on the farm.
keep up the great work Mike!
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admin Reply:
October 6th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Thanks for the insight. Where are you guys located?
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