The Abbreviated Workout

has proved to be the way for-

ward for many a working
man finding himself with little
time to train, or perhaps too
little energy for regular train-
ing on a full programme. For-
tunately, this problem has
been addressed over the last
100 years by a number of
wonderfully far sighted men
such as Mark Berry, Joseph
Curtis Hise and Peary Rad-
er, to name just three. They
all made excellent progress
in their personal training, as
did many of their pupils, and
today we find that Pavel
Tsatsouline, Russian
strength and conditioning
trainer and great admirer of
the old time strength teach-
ers, advocates an abbreviat-
ed workout as a result-
producing way of making
progress in strength training.
Let us look at a few short
workouts that have produced
excellent results, if worked
hard and coupled with a
nourishing diet and adequate
rest. Back in the 1930s, Mark
Berry was a very prolific iron
game writer, and also editor
of the popular Strength mag-
azine, as well as coach to
the American Olympic
Weightlifting Team. Whilst
training at Siegmund Klein's
gym in New York, he noticed
another fellow training. It was
Henry (Milo) Steinborn, prob-
ably the strongest man on
the American Weightlifting
Scene at that time. Henry
was performing Squats with
around 500 lbs, rocking the
barbell onto his shoulders
unassisted before commenc-
ing his first Squat, and Mark
Berry quickly linked Henry's
strenuous leg and back exer-
cise (the Squat) to the devel-
opment of a more powerful
physique.
It seems unbelievable today
that at that time, no-one
seems to have given much
thought to the use of squat
racks to make the positioning
of the barbell easier and to
enable the user to handle a
much heavier poundage.
Mark wrote an article for the
Strength magazine, which
included a drawing showing
how to make a home-made
squat rack. The article ad-
vised a short workout con-
sisting of one set of Curls,
and one set of Press On
Back, followed by one set of
20 Squats that would leave
you breathing heavily, and
finishing off with one set of
20 light Breathing Pullovers.
The whole workout only took
about 15 minutes. Mark
would also advise consum-
ing as much extra nourish-
ment as you could afford.
Mark Berry was a small
boned man with a slim phy-
sique, and he had not gained
a pound in bodyweight for
years, but by following his
own advice, he increased his
bodyweight from 130 lbs to
180 lbs, along with a major
increase in his overall
strength. Many others who
had taken his advice gained
a lot more. Two of them, Jo-
seph Curtis Hise and Peary
Rader, both transformed
their physiques and strength
levels, and Joe Hise who is
credited with popularising the
practice of taking 3 to 6 deep
breaths between squats, de-
veloped a very large and im-
pressive physique and the
ability to Deadlift 700 lbs and
Squat 20 reps with over 400
lbs. He achieved this despite
working very hard for his liv-
ing in various mines, and
sometimes even working a
By Ron Tyrrell
MARK BERRY
3
double shift! He helped many
hundreds of people to im-
prove their training methods
with no financial gain to him-
self, and he truly became
one of the great unsung he-
roes of the iron game.
Peary Rader also trans-
formed himself with the ab-
breviated Squat workout,
from a bodyweight of 128 lbs
to over 200 lbs, after many
years with no gains. He later
developed a workout for all-
round power and develop-
ment that consisted of Bench
Pressing four sets of 6 to 8
repetitions, Bent Forward
Rowing four sets of 6 to 8
reps, and one 20 rep sets of
Squats, followed by a light
set of Pullovers lying on a
bench.
Both Hise and Rader recom-
mended drinking at least four
pints of milk a day, to get the
best results. Peary Rader
went on to publish his Iron-
man magazine for fifty years,
and always recommended
the 20 repetition Squat
workout for producing the
best balance between mus-
cle strength and stamina.
Through the medium of his
magazine, he also recom-
mended the Deadlift as an
excellent power and muscle
builder. Not for nothing did
that great British old timer,
holder of many weightlifting
records, W A Pullum, refer to
the Deadlift as "the funda-
mental test of man's bodily
strength". The type of
strength gained from con-
centrating on this exercise
seems to translate quite
quickly into other strength
feats. Peary Rader recom-
mended a brief workout con-
sisting of one set of Bench
Henry Milo Steinborn, repetition squatting with 448lbs, 1930
JOSEPH CURTIS HISE
4
Presses and one set of Bar-
bell Curls, both for 10 to 12
repetitions, then a 20 rep set
of Deadlifts followed by a
very light set of Barbell Pullo-
vers, lying on a bench. He
recommended that 3 to 6
deep breaths be taken be-
tween each Deadlift. Mr Rad-
er had reservations about
using the Deadlift in this
strenuous manner, because
of the compression effect by
the arms on the sides of the
chest, so he would recom-
mend that between each
repetition you replace the
barbell back on the floor,
stand upright, and take your
3 to 6 deep breaths. He also
cautioned us to use good
form in the Deadlift with the
back flat and the hips low,
lifting with the legs as much
as possible.
Excellent results in strength
and muscle gains were re-
ported; the most outstanding
was a professional strong-
man by the name of Harold
Ansorge, who gained 100 lbs
on his Personal Best Deadlift
and 20 lbs of powerful mus-
cle in a very short time. Con-
centrating on either the
Squat or the Deadlift as their
Core Exercise induced an
overall improvement in
strength and muscle by all
who were prepared to work
hard on these short
workouts. Remember, with
all these abbreviated
workouts, start with a light
poundage and allow 2 to 3
weeks to work up to the
stage where you are working
hard to complete the last 2 to
3 repetitions, and try to add 5
lbs per week to your Core
Exercise bar. Do two or three
workouts a week.
Let us now spare a thought
for that "forgotten man" of
physical culture, the enthusi-
ast who works long hours
with many family commit-
ments, does not have much
spare energy, no time to visit
a gym' and no spare space
at home for a barbell. He
may well find the answer by
investing in a good quality
set of strands. Now, I must
admit it took me a few years
to be converted to the use of
strands, but I became con-
vinced of their value by the
PEARY RADER
5
writings of Leo Bowes of Ire-
land, Dave Webster OBE of
Scotland, and the help and
encouragement I received
from England's Jim Bartlett,
who has trained many great
strandpullers. The problem I
found with strands was how
to give the legs and lower
back a good workout. You
will not get as powerful a
workout for these body parts
as you would with weights.
However, with the aid of a
baseboard consisting of a
piece of wood 36 ins. by 9
ins. by 3 in. thick, and a few
strategically placed eye
hooks, you can do front
Squats for the thighs, and
the Good Morning exercise
for the lower back, by hold-
ing the strands with both
hands at the base of the
neck in the position as illus-
trated by that great old time
strand puller Alfred Danks,
and you will find that you get
a surprisingly good workout.
In keeping with the
"abbreviated" principle, the
rest of your strand workout
should consist of a few well
known strand exercises,
such as -
(1) Press Behind Back,
(2) Overhead Downward Pull
to the Back of the Neck,
(3) Front Chest Pull,
(4) Single Arms Curl: one set
each for 10 to 20 repetitions.
When 20 are easy, add a
strand and start off again
with 10 repetitions. Do three
or four workouts a week.
Alfred Danks, front squat with strands attached to a baseboard
(1) Press Behind Back
(2) Overhead Downward Pull to
the Back of the Neck,
(3) Front Chest Pull
(4) Single Arms Curl
6