Steve Reeves' Training Principles - The Natural Way

Steve Reeves is an actor and bodybuilder who was known and respected by such prominent figures as Winston Churchill, Sylvester Stallone, James Dean and many others. It was about him that the eminent sculptor E. Fairbanks said that his body was a dream for Michelangelo, and if Steve had lived in the time of the master, masters would have fought for the right to create canvases and statues from his life. What causes this attitude, read on.

Biography of “the most beautiful of people”

Steven Lester Reeves was born into the light of day in a very simple family in 1926 in winter in the state. Montana in the northwest of America. As soon as the boy turned one and a half years old, his beloved dad tragically died. All the worries about her young son fell heavily on the mother’s shoulders.

Interesting! Baby Stevie became a screen star at the age of 6 months, when he was recognized as the healthiest baby in the country. For this, his mother received a cash prize.

In his childhood, he recklessly played ball with the kids in the yard, and as a teenager he began to engage in strength sports. His hobbies coincided with the dawn of the era of weightlifting, so at that time there were no sources of useful information for beginners. John Grimek became a role model for the boy. Soon the future champion shared: “My opinion about a real bodybuilder was at odds with the photos I saw on the pages of magazines. One athlete had a beautiful chest, the second had legs, the third had a back. For myself, I wanted the ideal in all respects.”

https://youtu.be/jlGGUOXXAnc

Big changes, impressive results

Before me was an example of a friend who lost about 5 kg. Inspired by his success, I believed that I, too, could get rid of extra pounds, and asked a friend to tell me about his technique. He ran every day, and for the whole day he ate only three small portions of food. I started training with him, and my weight slowly crept down.

Every week I was able to lose more and more. I started out with modest goals and my first priority was to get to double digits. I remember the day when I climbed on the scales and they showed 99 kg. I was in seventh heaven! I went to the gym twice a day: once at noon for a 5-kilometer run, and then around 5-6 pm for strength training.

Read more: How many times a week should you train in the gym?

Every day I worked until I lost my pulse, because the result was worth it, but when I reached the 88 kg mark, I hit the wall. Back then I had no idea what a training plateau was or how to deal with it, but later I found a lot of information about how a real bodybuilder should eat and train. I thought that I could try drugs for burning fat, after which I didn’t even notice how I reached the final goal - 80 kg.

My abs were clearly visible and I was amazed at my results. In 6 months I lost 40 kg! My happiness knew no bounds, but such a sharp weight loss led to my skin becoming loose in some places. Everyone told me it wasn't a problem, but it really upset me. I wanted to look perfect so I could start a career as a fitness model or even try my hand at competitions.

I felt like the loose skin was preventing me from moving forward. I read that gaining muscle mass helps tighten the skin, but when I started working on mass, I noticed that I was starting to gain fat again, and this was not part of my plans. In short, I realized that the only solution was plastic surgery.

My idol is Steve Cook. I watched all his training videos and listened to all his advice; they motivated me to become better. He talked about setting long-term goals. Remembering this was good, but writing down your goals on paper was even better. In the future, these goals pushed me forward.

Steve Reeves' debut experience

• Having studied the material available in the press, the boy independently developed a training program for himself and even began training with a barbell.
• This is how he gained initial experience and moved to a sports club. Surprisingly, the owner of the hall, Edd Yarik, began to deal with Steve. The man immediately realized how great the boy’s potential was and began to work hard “with promising raw materials.”
• Reeves managed to gain 16.5 kilograms in just 4 months. After the first successes, a mass plateau arrived.

• Another 4 weeks ended, but no changes were observed, only the muscles became much larger and more prominent. Over time, the athlete gained another 5 kilograms.
• After 3 months, it was impossible not to notice his pumped up and tall figure. Colleagues in the gym were shocked by such dramatic changes in the body of the young athlete.

What are you currently doing?

Now the athlete is intensively preparing for the summer performances of the 2018 season under the guidance of coach Neil Hill.

• Steve writes articles on functional training and nutrition and posts content on Bodybuilding.com.
• Manages a YouTube channel.
• He is the face of Optimum Nutrition.
• Tirelessly posing for sports gloss.

After losing at Mr. Olympia in 2014, he focused on business. Steve monitors the sales of his own line of clothing, sports nutrition, and the income of the hairdresser. This year he opened a huge fitness club and built workouts into the smartphone application of the same name.

Steve's anthropometry data

Larry Scott Steve, the first Mr. America, called Steve Reeves "the most beautiful of people." This title is especially valuable, since the athlete achieved ideal forms without the use of steroids.

The experience of natural bodybuilding became motivation for beginners, and sparked tens of thousands of acting careers, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Phil Heath.

Steve Reeves: I don’t understand why you should ruin your body with steroids. If an athlete lacks natural testosterone, then it is better to play ping pong.

Photos by Steve Reeves show the following data:

• height - 1 m 85 cm;
• training weight - 98 kg;
• biceps volume - 47 cm;
• waist circumference - about 73 cm;
• torso circumference - 1 m 28 cm;
• neck circumference - 46 cm.

At the time of Reeves, only a few were engaged in bodybuilding, so the figure of Hercules constantly attracted the attention of others. At just under 30 years old, the guy became the star of the Muscle Coast beach, and there a retinue of fans followed him on his heels.

What exactly do you want to share?

The word split means split. What exactly do you want to break down: 75 sets per week, 100 sets per week, or 200 sets per week. Schwarzenegger did 200 sets a week.

Most often people contact me who have done less than 50 approaches over the past week.

There are 12 major muscle groups in a bodybuilder's body. And for each group, according to bodybuilders, you need to do exercises: biceps, triceps, trapezius, forearms and back erector.

Bodybuilders do several exercises for some muscles. The same biceps need to be pumped in a stretched, medium and concentrated position. These are three exercises.

Twelve muscles with three exercises each - that’s 36 exercises in a complex. Do they want to divide 50 sets per week into 36 exercises? One and a half sets each?

This is why when beginners read articles about bodybuilding they say: “I’m completely confused, what’s the right way?”

Create a training program for the first year of study automatically

How to properly divide 50 approaches into 36 exercises?

Reeves' military-sports youth

• Immediately in 1944, after completing his studies at school, the young man was called up for army service. After six months of training, he was already sitting in the Philippine trenches, after which he participated in the Battle of Ballet Pass.
• The young man contracted malaria and went to a military hospital, where he lost 15 kg of body weight. Upon recovery, the athlete was transferred to Otaraon, and then to Tokyo. Already there the guy purchased a barbell weighing 100 kg, which he hid under the bed, and worked hard to return to his former shape.

• After 2 years of service, Stephen returned home, and 3 months later he had already chosen the Mr. Pacific Coast award in 1946.
• In 1947, the athlete became the best at the “Mr. West Olympia" for the best shape of quadriceps, biceps, and torso.
• At just 21 years old, the guy received the title “Mr. America" ​​(1947), where he rode 35 competitors, including the super-star of the world of bodybuilding George Eiferman.

Chronology of successes

In 2009, he made his debut at an amateur competition. The first victory further inspired the athlete to receive a PRO card. The dream came true the very next year after the championship at the Gold's Gym Classic. Over these months, he noticeably progressed in strength indicators and built up “cool” muscles. The preparation period coincided with the divorce. The bodybuilder had to get rid of negative energy by hard work in the gym.

“Winning my category at Musclemania in Las Vegas made me love what I do even more.”

Then he performed in 7 tournaments, where he lost the championship only once. However, the performance at Olympia was unsuccessful. Steve didn't even make it into the top 5.

Acting career as a bodybuilder

With the growth of a bodybuilder's career, the demand for this type of figure in theatrical circles has increased. Steve realized that he wouldn’t last long on the income from bodybuilding, so he decided to accept an offer from agents to act in films.

Reeves' most famous films:

• "The Labors of Hercules";
• "The Last Day of Pompeii";
• "Trojan War"
• "Il figlio di Spartacus";
• "Romulus and Remus" and others.

At a certain period of his life, Stephen showed himself as an author. His book “Building a Classic Physique. The Natural Way" is completely autobiographical, and describes in detail all the ups and downs of Steve's life, his comments and statements about himself.

Motivated by Memories

I found motivation in family and friends. Although the friends didn’t realize it, every phrase they uttered like “Wow, you’ve lost a lot of weight!” gave me confidence in my abilities. I loved that everyone could see the results of my hard work and celebrate my dedication to my new lifestyle.

During this time, my parents were a source of inspiration for me, thanks to which I became better and trained even harder. They were pleased with my successes and the fact that, getting rid of excess weight, I became happy. Unfortunately, my father had to fight cancer during the last year of his life, and he passed away in March last year.

This loss was the most difficult moment of my life. I will never forget him. But I try to think positively and look at this as additional motivation. It made me stronger. I know my father wanted me to be a happy and successful person, and that is why today I dedicate my life to bodybuilding and helping other people maintain their health.

Mr. Reeves's sports career

• The title “Mr. Universe” never went to the natural bodybuilder, but the King of Denmark invited Reeves to become his personal trainer, and he refused such a tempting offer.
• In 1948, the French Cannes “Mr. World” award fell under the bodybuilder’s feet, the jury of which was amazed by the natural parameters of the athlete.
• In 1950, after intense training and persistent struggle, the athlete became the champion at the Mr. Universe competition.

Cook's training program

A bodybuilder's weekly split consists of 4 hours of strength training and 2 hours of cardio, which the athlete often adjusts. He periodically increases weights, sets, and changes styles depending on his mood. Alternates more dynamic training with heavy bench presses and combines exercises.

“I do everything to keep my muscles toned, without giving them the opportunity to adapt to the same loads.”

For this he uses:

• basic principles of Dorian Yates;
• pumping and power techniques for stretching the fascia FST7;
• Schwarzenegger method with multiple repetitions and sessions.

“Always look for methods for muscle stress and don’t be afraid of an athletic plateau.”

Each training includes: deadlifts, bench presses, squats.

• On the first day, Steve trains quads, hamstrings, and calves.
• In the second - pectoral muscles, abs, biceps.
• The third devotes to cardio
• Fourth - back, triceps, ankles.
• Fifth - shoulder girdle, abs
• Sixth – HIIT cardio.

A bodybuilder does not consider it advisable to work only with weights, and devotes a lot of time to aerobic exercises. He always starts work with an intensive warm-up, which allows him to better wash the muscles with blood and saturate them with useful substances.

Champion Training Basics

All Steve Reeves training is subject to certain principles and rules. In the 90s, the owner of the house that the athlete was renting found a diary in which the training program was recorded with notes and explanations. Here are the main ones:

• Prefer basic exercises.
• Do 12 repetitions per set, and 20 repetitions for the legs, and leave them until the end of the training.
• The work must be technical, and the muscles must be loaded to capacity. If you fail, increase the weight and reduce the repetitions to 7, and then increase again to 12 times.
• Change the weight every 15 workouts.

• Use a variety of grips. This way you will pump up your muscles “from different sides”.
• Walk more on rough terrain with a weight of 2 kg hanging on your arms, 1 kg on your legs, and 8 kg on your belt.
• Cardio is the optimal choice for the drying process.
• Drink plenty of fluids during training. For energy, add lemon juice and honey.

Higher, further, stronger

The star spent her childhood and youth under this motto. Steve Cook was born on December 10, 1984 in Idaho, Boise, in the family of a coach and sports manager. Besides him, his parents raised 6 more children. Everyone was involved in athletics and fitness. Steve showed good results in running and gym. Push-ups were a mandatory requirement of the daily program. Only after a certain number of repetitions did his father allow him to go outside or watch TV.

“I liked the feeling in the muscles. The blood circulated through my veins as if it were being pumped. So I treated fitness like a game.”

Every week his muscles became more and more powerful, and the contours of his figure became clearer. In high school, the teenager combined strength training with American football.

In the 9th grade, Steve Cook already bench pressed 145 kg, and was the strongest in school.

Masterly possession of the ball allowed the young man to receive a scholarship for 4 years and pay for college.

Unlike his comrades, Steve worked out according to the program compiled by his father, trying to develop all muscle groups proportionally. By the end of his training, the guy knew what he would do next, and completely switched to bodybuilding. All that remained was to figure out diet and supplements. Even then, Cook decided once and for all for himself that he would not use steroids.

“I want to have a body with ideal proportions that crowds of people will want to look at.”

So said Steve after reading Schwarzenegger's motivating Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding. This book played a big role in the athlete’s life. Inspired by the successes of Iron Arnie, Serge Nubret, and Steve Reeves, the guy decided to become like them and focused on training.

Life after career

• Having earned worldwide recognition, Reeves left sports and cinema and moved to California to organize his own business.
• His personal life is rich with three marriages. From 1994 until his death in 2000, he was married to Deborah Ann Angelhorn. The athlete had two children with this Polish noblewoman.
• The bodybuilder bought a ranch, began breeding horses, and continued to promote healthy eating and exercise in the media.
• In 2000, at the age of 74, Steve died of lymphoma.
• The famous athlete remained for hundreds of thousands of fans an unsurpassed natural bodybuilder with the body of Hercules, a talented, spiritual and comprehensively developed person.

What is your opinion about the iconic Steve Reeves? Share your thoughts with readers in the comments below.

Personal life

In between training and filming, Steve found time for his personal life, in which, according to American publications, he had at least two wives. In his first marriage to a Polish countess, the bodybuilder had children, and his wife named Alina was the embodiment of a real family.

It was with her that Reeves spent time in his old age on his own ranch in sunny California, feeling supported in writing a book and running a horse breeding business. But in 1989, Alina died after a serious illness, and the man abandoned the relationship, spending the rest of his days alone.

How did your career develop in sports?

Steve did not receive the star status of "Mr. Universe". Instead, the King of Denmark received an offer to become a personal trainer and an invitation to the cinema, which he rejected . In order not to return home without awards, the athlete immediately went to Cannes for Mister World. The French judges were amazed by the posing and unanimously awarded the victory . Returning home, Reeves rested and began training again for Mr. Universe, which was a month away. After frantic training, the weight increased by 9 kg in 25 days. The difficult fight for the title in 1950 brought victory.

Simple conclusions:

Answer the question, what year of development are you in? Exactly how many sets per week do you want to split? How many muscles do you want to split your workouts into? How many sets can one muscle absorb at a time? And what do you ultimately want to pump? Hands like Arnold's?

For myself, I answered these questions like this:

I’ve been stuck at the level of my fifth year of training for a long time now—my job doesn’t allow me to grow further. I do 120 approaches a week - work and family don’t allow me to do more. I only do three basic movements - it's hard to pump the whole body with two. I can master 10 sets of movement at a time: 20 minutes per exercise is a lot. I don’t have priority muscles—everything in the body is important to me.

If you agree with me, then be my friend on VKontakte or Facebook and I can advise you for free.

Few athletes in the history of bodybuilding have built as impressive a back taper as Steve Reeves. His 125 cm chest was crowned by a magnificent 72 cm waist. The director saved one of the most striking episodes of the famous film “Hercules” for the finale - grabbing the chains, Reeves’ hero brings down the pillars supporting the powerful vaults of the temple. It is at this moment that viewers see the amazing range of the latissimus dorsi muscles of one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.

Reeves' figure has been the admiration of thousands of bodybuilders and athletes for more than 50 years. Ellington Darden, Roger Schwab, Larry Scott, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Pearl and Lou Ferrigno are just a few of the athletes who have spoken highly of Reeves. He was the true embodiment of bodybuilding. Most bodybuilders have always wondered how Reeves managed to build such a back, how he made his muscles so thick and impressively converging to the waist, what exercises did he use to create his legendary figure? Fortunately for us, after winning the 1947 Mr. America competition, Reeves wrote a series of articles about his training principles and programs. We present excerpts from them below: Latissimus The most important group of back muscles is the latissimus. They start at the armpits and go down to the waist. It is the lats that give the back that same look, visually widening the shoulders. Therefore, any serious athlete tries with all his might to develop them. This is a real salvation for those whom nature has not blessed with broad shoulders. “I will list just a few of the exercises that allowed me to receive the “Best Back” prize at the Mr. America 47 tournament. • Bent Over Rows: A great exercise for building your lats. It is best performed with your head resting on a soft support to prevent cheating. From my own experience, I can conclude: if you pull the barbell higher towards the chest, then the upper regions of the lats develop more; if towards the stomach, then the lower regions, close to the waist. • Bent-over one-arm dumbbell rows: This is the best exercise for building your lats. When performed correctly, it gives them maximum load throughout the entire amplitude - full stretch and hard contraction. This exercise is performed in the same way as the previous one, with one exception - instead of supporting your head, you lean on the bench with your free hand and the corresponding knee. Another useful tip: start the exercise with your weak hand. This way you will do the required number of repetitions for it, and then do the same for your stronger arm. This way you will ensure balanced development. Thanks to the technique described above, I achieved equal development of strength in both hands. • High pull-downs: This is my favorite exercise. Along with incline benches, high pulleys were a fixture in all West Coast gyms. I attribute a good portion of my back development to working on a high block. Using a high block, I widened my back without resorting to pull-ups, which are not very suitable for me. The block is also good because it allows you to shift the angle of thrust in any direction, further expanding your shoulders. • Pullovers: This is a very good exercise for both form and definition, especially when using dumbbells. Here you have more freedom in movement, and your muscles receive a fuller load. In addition, a high bench should be used in this exercise, then the range of movement will be maximum. Starting with the deltoids “Working on the upper body, from my own feelings and from observing the training of other athletes, I came to the conclusion that training should begin with working on the deltoids. For most people, the deltoids are the hardest muscles to develop. Of course, you've seen plenty of bodybuilders with superbly developed front and middle deltoids. However, an athlete with fully developed all three fascicles (including the rear) of the deltas is a rarity. Large, wide deltoids are an assessment of an excellent physique. They exude power and confidence. If you have developed your shoulders and lower legs to the maximum, I guarantee that you are capable of having a mind-blowing physique! I highly recommend that you start your workout by working your delts when your energy levels, concentration, and enthusiasm are at their highest.”

We need to create an ideal line of communication between the brain and muscles. This can be done in two ways: concentration and practicing muscle control during non-training times. When you can get your muscles to contract in response to your brain's commands, then the connection between your brain and your muscle fibers is excellent. By creating the perfect line of communication, I was able to build muscle faster and easier. It saved me time. I trained three times a week for two and a half hours, training the whole body in one session, and rested the other four days, because rest is just as important as training.

So, the order in which I advise you to train the muscles of your body: 1. Deltas. 2. Chest. 3. Lat. 4. Biceps. 5. Triceps. 6. Quadriceps. 7. Biceps femoris. 8. Calf. 9. Lower back. 10. Press. 11. Neck.” Maximum Muscle Development For maximum muscle development, you should use a weight that you can do 8 to 12 reps per set with perfect form and resting 45 seconds between sets. I call the ideal technique for performing an exercise when each repetition is done slowly and smoothly, without jerking or swaying. Each repetition should be performed through the full range of motion for each muscle. Raising the weight should be done within 2 seconds and lowering within 3 seconds. Most people neglect the negative phase of the movement, but you must be extremely focused on the muscle being worked equally during both the lifting and lowering phases.