Frank Zane: photo, training program, height, weight, biography

Strongmen are always admired by their forms. For some, huge biceps attract attention, for others - an outstanding torso or back. Looking at the figure of Zane Frank in his youth, you can’t help but compare it to a statue of a Greek god. The athlete was able to pump up such muscles with a meaningful approach to training. He never tried to gain weight. The athlete was more concerned about proportions and symmetry, which were and remain indicative for many athletes.

The three-time winner of the Mr. Olympia title managed to do 3 things during his sports career:

• build a perfect body;
• become the most aesthetic athlete in the history of bodybuilding;
• defeat Schwarzenegger.

Childhood of "Mr. Symmetry"

The future “God of Aesthetics” - Frank Zane was born in Pennsylvania in June 1942 into the family of an electrical engineer. Frank spent his childhood in the provincial town of Kingston, where fights to the point of blood were considered commonplace. Zane had a younger brother who took part in a street show, and he often had to answer for him.

But at 14 years old, he looked like a “nerd” whose money could easily be taken away. With a height of 174 cm, Zane weighed only 50 kg. This was the main reason for doing heavy sports. The desire to carry iron was driven by pictures from a sports magazine that he accidentally pulled out of the trash can. Looking at the pictures of the athletes, he realized what he needed to do. Frank picked up the dumbbells and said:

“To avoid dying of dehydration in the hot desert, you need to be prepared to drink from a variety of sources.”

How difficult it is for a boy who excels in the exact sciences to come to that decision, one can only guess. However, sports did not prevent him from teaching mathematics in the future.

Conclusion

In order to look like Frank Zane, you need to keep your carbohydrate intake under control; there should be less of them than proteins. There is also no need to corrode in the off-season, so that it is easier to achieve a drier form.

Choose a training program that suits you personally, when your muscles have time to recover, and at the same time, smaller muscle groups are worked out. The push-pull split is the most suitable type of training in Frank's opinion.

He also does not approve of this type of training, such as CrossFit, because such training creates increased stress on the cardiovascular system. Naturally, training should be hard, but you shouldn’t die in it. You need to approach any training wisely, then the results will be visible very quickly.

1. Frank Medrano • Height, Weight, Figure (body) measurements, Age, Biography, Wiki

Smart hunk

At the age of 18, he already took part in a bodybuilding tournament in his home state and took 5th place , beating 44 participants. For the guy it was a success, but most of all he was motivated by the words of the strongman and athletics team coach Bob Hoffman:

“Young man, if I had a body like this, I would go shirtless.”

This phrase inspired the guy and pushed him to new victories.

Zane combined training with studies. Already at the age of 22, he received a diploma in chemical engineering. Work in the chemical industry did not appeal to him. It was 1964, when America was at war with Vietnam, and the prospect of ending up in a hot spot loomed ahead of the guy. Since teachers were not called up for service, Frank began teaching mathematics while migrating around the country. The total working experience ended up being 13 years.

His memories of Arnold Schwarzenegger

When the Mr. Olympia tournament took place in 1980, Arnold posed with only one side, ignoring the requests of the judges. In the end, they agreed that Arnold would pose exactly the way he wanted. As a result, he won. Therefore, the winners are those people who can make their own decisions.

Olympia 1983 Frank Zane

Igor December 28, 2010

Love and sport

In 1967, the guy got married . Christina Zane, inspired by Steve Reeves' victories and her husband's figure, began visiting the gym with him. This was a feat, because half a century before the mini-bikini, girls with a barbell in their hands were rarely seen. In 1970, she already posed in a one-piece swimsuit at a beauty contest, where she won .

Bibliography

• 1979 - “Zane’s Path to a Great Body”
• 1982 — “Superfigure in 12 weeks”
• 1992 - “Incredible Shape Forever”
• 1997 — “Consciousness, Body, Spirit. Personal training diaries"
• 2005 – “Frank Zane’s Study Guide”
• 2009 – “Mind in Bodybuilding”
• 2016 – “91 Day Wonder Body”
• 2017 – “91 Day Wonder Abs”

Frank Zane

(English – Frank Zane) is an American bodybuilder, multiple medalist and three-time winner of the Mr. Olympia competition (won in 1977, 1978 and 1979). He is one of the ten most decorated bodybuilders in the history of this sport, second only to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates, Phil Heath and Jay Cutler in terms of the number of awards. According to many experts and fans, Zane is the best aesthetician with the most harmoniously developed muscles among all athletes of the past or present.

Business, achievements, science

1969 turned out to be a landmark year for the athlete. He defeated Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Mr. Universe competition in Miami. In the same year, Frank and Christina moved to California (Santa Monica), the capital of bodybuilding. In 1982, in Palm Springs, the bodybuilder the Zane Experiences training camp For 3 days in the center, everyone paid $595.

In 1977 – 1979 Frank becomes Mr. Olympia . But already in 1980 he dropped to 3rd position, and the next year he did not participate in the tournament at all. In 1982 he took 2nd position, and in 1983 only 4th. Immediately after the tournament, Zane plunges headlong into business and science. In 1998, the family moved to San Diego and moved camp there. In parallel with training, Mr. Olympia is engaged in science , studying the effects of light and sound waves on the brain.

Personal life

In December 1967, Frank married Christina Harris. They were introduced by the future wife's sister, Zeina's student. The young people lived in California, in Santa Monica, the unofficial capital of bodybuilding, and in 1978 they moved to Palm Springs and founded the Zane Haven resort area with a training center for people seeking to gain a strong, aesthetically developed figure.

Frank Zane and his wife

In 1988, the couple bought Cary Grant's estate and opened the Zane Experience sports complex.

Personal life turned out well. Christina immediately accepted and supported her husband’s lifestyle: she trained with weights and became his personal photographer. She won the Miss Universe bikini crown in 1970 and then left the competition to devote time to her studies and art. She graduated magna cum laude from California State University, Los Angeles, with an MFA in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and jewelry. And in 1990, Christina received a master's degree in clinical psychology from California State University at San Bernardino.

Frank and Christina Zane

In 1994, Zane was inducted into the Joe Weider Hall of Fame. In 1998, the athlete wrote the newsletter “Building the Body,” introducing readers to new training methods, the goal of which is a classic proportional figure.

Frank Zane workouts and programs

The athlete adhered to different training concepts . One of them is “push-pull,” when each muscle group is pumped at different times.

1. on the first day, the back and biceps are worked;
2. in the second - legs;
3. in the third – torso, shoulders, triceps.

After a day of rest, everything was repeated in a circle. It turned out that he trained one group twice a week. However, the system had one drawback : after the first exercise, the muscles became very tired, so the progression in the load was slow. The advantage of the method is that it well loaded small and deep-lying muscles.

Training program[edit | edit code]

Training credo

In one workout, always work with two large muscle groups and one small one, and these muscles must be connected to each other anatomically and according to the principle of operation. Due to this, the blood flow in these muscles is delayed for a long time and creates conditions for their growth. He is a supporter of high-quality training, with short breaks between approaches.

Day 1

Back:

• Upper pulley to chest
• Sitting abdominal row
• Shrugs
• Pulldown of the upper block to the chest with a narrow parallel grip;
• Dumbbell row to waist

Biceps:

• Dumbbell Concentration Curls
• Scott Bench Curls
• Alternating biceps curls with dumbbells

Forearms:

• Reverse grip biceps curl (EZ bar)
• Barbell wrist curls
• Carpal trainer

Day 2

Hips:

• Hip machine exercise
• Leg flexion/extension superset
• Leg press
• Squat

(Between sets, he stretches his quads and hamstrings.)

Shin:

• Standing calf raises in the machine
• Straightening your toes on the leg press machine
• "Donkey" calf raises
• Seated calf raises

Day 3

Breast:

• Bench press or dumbbell press on a bench with an incline of 70%
• Dumbbell bench press with an incline of 30%
• Butterfly
• Dips
• Pullover

Deltas, triceps:

• Lateral dumbbell raise/overhead extension with dumbbell (superset)
• Arm extensions on a block or bent over extension with a dumbbell

Before starting the workout, do a chest stretch in the doorway and a shoulder stretch.

Separately about the press:

It was Frank Zane who first introduced the “vacuum” pose

and showed it to the admiring audience, like abs carved from stone.

His ab program

• Roman chair raises 3-4x25-30
• Leg raises 3-4x15-30
• Crunches 3-4x25-30
• Torso turns with bar 3-4x50
• Twisting with cable 3-4x25-30

Arnold Triple Split

In the 70s, all bodybuilders held the “Iron Arnie” system in high esteem, pumping every muscle to the maximum . The scheme is scheduled by day:

1. Back + torso.
2. Lower part of the body.
3. Shoulder girdle + arms.
4. Legs.
5. Again deltoids + biceps + triceps.

After experimenting with this program for some time, the athlete returned to the previous system. The refusal was explained by the fact that the deltoids and triceps are inferior to the torso in development, and the large muscles do not have time to recover. The triple split was more suitable for the author himself, who had experience in full-body training. At the same time, Arnie did not hesitate to throw handfuls of Nerabol into himself to increase his vigor and increase his ability to work.

Frank Medrano's Sports Rules

1. Consistency.

The more consistent you are, the more and faster you will develop towards your own goals.

2. Diet and nutrition.

No matter how hard you work out, you won't be able to get into perfect shape if you don't follow a proper and healthy nutrition plan.
Frank is also convinced that the best diet is vegan
.

3. HIIT.

High-intensity interval training helps train your heart, boost your metabolism, and burn fat.

Frank Zane Nutrition

At that time, the athlete did not have advertising contracts with sports nutrition manufacturers, and he ate and drank what he considered necessary. The bodybuilder understood that the body needs energy for training. During the carbohydrate window, he did not consume anything. Frank sat down at the table as hunger appeared. After a couple of hours, I happily drank milk or a protein shake. Zane's diet was low in carbohydrates - 150 g and high in protein - 200 g per day. With a weight of 90 kg, the caloric intake was 3000 Kcal. As soon as he exceeded the norm, he immediately began to gain weight. This nutrition system allowed him to have the leanest figure .

Performance history

Frank Zane in old age

Although the bodybuilder turned 75 years old in 2020, he looks great . Despite his advanced age, he is still in service and continues to do what he started 60 years ago. Yes, Frank Zane has now lost his strength, as muscle mass fades over the years, but his stature and figure remain with him. Today, the former athlete is upset that the standard of bodybuilding has become not muscles, but volumes. He says:

“Attention is paid to shapes, symmetry, but I would like to see better muscle detail and better proportions.”

Improving Nutrition for Muscle Growth

Advances in amino acids and antioxidants are of great value to bodybuilding. Frank Zane studied this constantly and was always up to date with the latest developments. Despite this, no major changes have occurred in this area. For many years, the athlete used a nutritional supplement based on egg white and whey protein. At the same time, sodium predominates in egg white and calcium is less, and in whey protein, on the contrary, calcium predominates. Be that as it may, these are the 2 most affordable and effective proteins that can serve as a quick meal replacement, especially when there is very little time.

Lack of any magic

Many people, when meeting, ask the athlete to create a special nutrition program for them. For some reason they thought that Frank Zane had some kind of special diet that allowed him to maintain his body in such amazing shape. All the magic lies in, as the athlete said, devoting enough time to your activity. The athlete has always shown people how to do things correctly, since the correct and sensible approach is crucial, especially if it is necessary to isolate a certain muscle group. Muscle development requires regular blood flow.

Despite his 75 years, Frank Zane still works on himself, although not as intensely as in his younger years. He no longer works on increasing the mass of his muscles, but on his endurance. To do this, he connects the expander to the load blocks, which helps to slowly increase the load.