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C.S.Sloan'sIntegralStrength:OldSchoolArmTrainingSecrets:JohnMcWilliams'sArmTrainingRoutine
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Monday,June2,2014
OldSchoolArmTrainingSecrets:JohnMcWilliams'sArmTraining
Routine

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OldSchoolArmTrainingSecrets:JohnMcWilliamssArmRoutine

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MymostpopularpostshereatIntegralStrengthtypicallyfallintotwo
categories:oldschoolbodybuildingprogramsorseriousstrengthand
powerroutines.
Withthatinmind,IthoughtIwoulddoaseriesofarticlesonvarious

TheBestLegWorkoutYou've
NeverTried!
SenecaontheQualityofLife
OldSchoolArmTrainingSecrets:
JohnMcWilliams's...

oldschoolliftersandbodybuilders(thetwooverlappedonceupona

May(4)

time),andonvariousoldschoolmethodsfortrainingdifferentbodyparts

April(1)

orlifts.Thus,thisfirstentryisonoldschoolarmtraining,butotherswill
beonoldschoolchest,shoulders,back,legs,squats,benchpresses,
overheadpresses,powercleans,etc.Andforthisfirstentry,Idecided
uponanoldschoolbodybuildercumpowerlifterthatmanyofyoumay
neverhaveheardof:JohnMcWilliams.

March(3)
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MyTwo
Orthodox
Blogs:

McWilliams'sbackdoublebicepspose.Hewasimpressiveeveninhis40s.

WhenIfirstcameacrossanarticleaboutMcWilliams(writtenbyGene

BlueJean
Theosis
EnteringintoFaith
Slowly,Througha
ProcessofDoubt
10monthsago

Mozee)intheearly90s,Ihadcertainlyneverheardofhim,despitethe
factthatIalreadyhadimmersedmyselfintheprogramsofmanyother
oldtimebodybuilders.Inthe1950s,McWilliamsbuiltarmsthat
stretchedthetapeatover20inches.Thatsabsolutelymassivewhen

FromEastto
East
TheMethodofthe
JesusPrayer
1yearago

youconsiderthedecadehismuscleswerebuiltbeforetheadventof
rampantsteroiduse,andwhenmostofthebiggestarmsontheplanet
werearound17inches.
WhentheMythSergioOlivasawJohnMcWilliamssphysique,he
remarkedthathisarmsweretoobig,andthatssayingsomethingwhen

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AboutMe

C.S.Sloan
Iamafreelance
writer,contributing
editorforIronMan
magazineandPlanet
MuscleMagazine,
strengthathlete,
martialartist,and
converttoOrthodox
Christianity.Ihope
youwillenjoymy
blogs,whetheryour
interestisserious
strengthtrainingor
theunique
contemplative
spiritualityofthe
OrthodoxChurch
Viewmycomplete
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youconsiderthefactthatOlivahadsomeofthebiggestandbestarmsin
thehistoryofbodybuilding.
HereswhatMozeehadtosayaboutMcWilliamsandhismassivepair
ofguns:
In1951,whenIfirstbeganbodybuilding,IusedtogotoMuscleBeach
inSantaMonica,California,everydayduringsummervacationandon
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C.S.Sloan'sIntegralStrength:OldSchoolArmTrainingSecrets:JohnMcWilliams'sArmTrainingRoutine

weekendsduringtherestoftheyear.ThesuperstarsofthateraSteve
Reeves,ArmandTanny,JohnFarbotnik,MarvinEder,GeorgeEiferman,
MalcombBrenner,JoeSanceri,ClarkCoffee,EdFury,JoeGoldand
ZaboKoszewski,amongotherswerealwaysthere,andyoucould
watchthemtrainatthebeachoratVicTannysfamousgym,whichwas
justacoupleofblocksaway.
Todaysstarsarepracticallyunapproachable,buttheatmospherewas
totallydifferentinthosedays.ThechampsandMuscleBeachregulars
wereaccessibleandeasytogettoknow.Oncetheyunderstoodthatyou
weresincereandthatyouwerentaflakewhowaswastingtheirtime,
theywouldfreelygivehelpfultrainingadvice.MybrotherGeorgeandI
gotalotofworkoutideasandroutinesthatway.
Therewillneverbeanothereralikethatinbodybuilding.From1950to
1980Imetalmosteverygreatbodybuilderintheworld.Ihadthe

Someofmy
Favorite
Strength
TrainingSites
AboutLifting

opportunitytointerviewthemanddiscusstheirtrainingandnutrition

AlKavadlo'ssite:
We'reworkingOut

secrets,andIevenhadtheopportunitytotrainwithseveralofthose

DragonDoor

greatsuperstars.Ithelpedmetobuild20incharmsatabodyweightof

IronManmagazine

220poundsandbenchpress455instrictform.
In1956,IboughtthePasadenaGymfromFarbotnik,whoheldthe
titlesofMr.America,Mr.WorldandMr.Universe.ThatswhenIbeganto
useallofthegreattrainingtechniquesandexerciseroutinesthatI
learnedfromReeves,Eiferman,JanDellinger,ClancyRoss,Vince
Gironda,BillPearl,Farbotnik,Sanceriandmanyothersonmyclients.

MikeMahler's
AggressiveStrength
PlanetMuscle
Magazine
ScottAbel
TestosteroneNation

Weproduceddozensofprofootballplayers,trackandfieldrecord

The"IronGuru"
VinceGironda

holders,baseballandbasketballstarsandweightlifting,powerliftingand

TheIronSamurai

bodybuildingchampions.

TheMasculineHeart

OneofthegreatestphysiqueathletesofthepresteroiderawasJohn
McWilliams.ItsbelievedthatMcWilliamsandBudCountswerethefirst
bodybuilderstohavearmsthatmeasuredmorethan20inchescold.
Johnwasalsooneofthefirstmenintheworldtobenchpress500
pounds.ImethimatapowerliftingmeetinSanDiego.Atthemomenthe
wasworkingasthetrainingdirectorofGeorgeandBeverlyCrowiesgym
intheSanDiegoarea.HehadmostofthetopstarsoftheChargers
footballteamunderhisguidance,includingAllProsJackKemp,Keith
LincolnandRonMix.
McWilliamswasmorethan40yearsoldatthetime,andhedtrimmed
downtoabodyweightof186pounds.BillPearlsmentor,theimmortal
LeoStern,measuredJohnsarmat19inchescold,hischestat52
inchesandhiswaistat31inches.Thesearephenomenalnumbersfor
someonewhoweighs186pounds,andhegotthemwithoutsteroidsor
thebenefitoftodaysnutritionalsupplements.
JohnandIbecamefriends,andhedescribedoneofhisfavorite
routinesforbuildingmoremassiveupperarms.NotonlydidIusethis
workoutmyself,butIput37membersofmygymonit.Theaveragegain
was1inchesinsixweeks.
So,whatwereMcWilliamsssecretsforbuildingsuchmassivearm
musclesinsuchanera?Readon.
TrainforthePump
Oneofthemorepopularwaysoftrainingthatmostoldschool
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C.S.Sloan'sIntegralStrength:OldSchoolArmTrainingSecrets:JohnMcWilliams'sArmTrainingRoutine

bodybuildersfollowedwassomethingoftenreferredtoaschasingthe
pump.Theworkoutswerefrequentlyperformedwithminimumrest
periodsbetweensetsandplentyofvolumetoboot.This,obviously,
resultsinalargepumpinthearmmuscles.
Thebetterthepumporsoitwasbelievedthebetterchancesthat
theworkoutwouldresultinmusclegrowth.
Inordertokeeprestperiodsbetweensetstoaminimum,McWilliams
likedtoemploygiantsets,wherehewouldperformaminimumof4
differentexercisesconsecutivelyworkingbothhistricepsandhisbiceps
untilhisentirearmswereengorgedtothemaximum.Hereis
McWilliamssfavoritearmroutine:
Giantset
Barbellpullovers2x12
Closegripbenchpresses2x12
Barbellpullovers2x6
Closegripbenchpresses2x6
Giantset
Barbellcurls3x12
Tricepspresses3x12
Dumbbellcurls3x10
Dumbbelltricepspresses3x10

Lyingbarbelltricepsextensions3x12
Closegripbenchpresses3x10*
Onearmkickbacks2x20**
*Gorightintothenextexercisewithouttakinganyrest
**Perarm

TrainAntagonisticMuscleGroupsTogether
NoticesomethingelseaboutMcWilliamsprogram?Helikedtotrain
hisentirearminasingleworkout.Buthewasntalone.Mostoldschool
bodybuildersArnoldSchwarzeneggeramongthembelievedthatthe
mostmusclegrowthoccurredwhenblood(thepump)couldbelocalized
amongantagonizingmusclegroups.Andarmsrespondparticularlywell
tothistechnique.

Arnold'sarmsweren'ttooshabby,either.

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C.S.Sloan'sIntegralStrength:OldSchoolArmTrainingSecrets:JohnMcWilliams'sArmTrainingRoutine

TraintheTriceps!
Asktheaveragelifterorgymratwhathedoesforhisarmroutine,and
hellprobablyspitouttheusualaboutbarbellcurls,dumbbellcurls,
concentrationcurls,etc.Theproblemisthatthebicepmuscleonly
makesupabout1/3ofyourtotalarmmass(orshould!)therestisall
triceps.
McWilliamsstricepsweremassive(Iwasgoingtosaysomething
clichdaboutthemevenneedingtheirownzipcode,butIllrefrain).In
fact,asbigashisbicepswere,itwashismassivetristhataccountedfor
his20incharms.(Ofcourse,notalloldtimerstrainedinquiteas
intelligentofamannerevenArnoldstricepswerealittlesmall
comparedtohispeaked,almostotherworldlybiceps.)
Ifyouvebeenneglectingyourtriceps,andwouldlikeapairofguns
thatstretchyourshirtsleeves,thentrythebelowarmroutine.Iusedone
similartothistomuchsuccesswhenIwasyounger,anditmeetsallof
thecriteriathatMcWilliamsandtherestoftheoldschoolarmtrainers
wouldhaveadheredto.
BarbellCurls:5setsof12,10,8,6,and4reps.Takeseveral
minutesbetweensetssothatyoucanpusheachsetcloseto
yourlimitonlyleaveaboutonerepinthetank,sotospeak.
Addweightwitheachsubsequentset.
CloseGripBenchPresses:5setsof12,10,8,6,and4reps.
Usethesametechniqueasthebarbellcurls.
TriSet:
Dips:3x10
StandingDumbbellCurls:3x10
Skullcrushers:3x10
TriSet:
BenchDips:3x20
ConcentrationCurls:3x15
Kickbacks:3x20
LastButNotLeast:FeedtheBiceps(andTriceps)Beast!
JohnMcWilliamshadthreefundamentalsthathelivedandtrained
by:
1)consistenthardtraining
2)
propernutrition,includingsupplements
3)sufficientrest,relaxationandgrowthpromotingsleep.
Icantstresstheimportanceofallthreeoftheseenough,butifIhad
topickonethatismostimportantwhentryingtoaddmusclemass,I
wouldpick#2.Youcantgrowbigandstrongwithouteatingenough
quality,musclebuildingnutrients.Consumeatleast12xyour
bodyweightincalorieseach,andevery,day,andmakesureyou
consumeattheminimumonegramofproteinperpoundof
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C.S.Sloan'sIntegralStrength:OldSchoolArmTrainingSecrets:JohnMcWilliams'sArmTrainingRoutine

bodyweight.
Forevery10poundsofmusclethatyougain,youcanexpect1to1
andinchestoyourarmgirth!Sogetgaining,andgetgrowingthose
bicepsandtricepsmuscles.
PostedbyC.S.Sloanat8:15PM

Labels:armtraining,bicepsworkout,eatingformass,GeneMozee,JohnMcWilliamsarmroutine,
JohnMcWilliamsarmtraining,massivearms,oldschoolworkouts,oldschoolarmtraining,oldtime
bodybuilders

4comments:
September26,2014at11:58AM
Hi!
Is it mistake in a routine bellow about Barbell Pullovers? Probably it was meant Barbell
curls?
>>>HereisMcWilliamssfavoritearmroutine:
>>>Giantset
>>>Barbellpullovers2x12
>>>Closegripbenchpresses2x12
>>>Barbellpullovers2x6
>>>Closegripbenchpresses2x6
Reply

C.S.Sloan

September26,2014at12:47PM

Nope,itmeansbarbellpullovers.Formanyoldtimers,pulloversweredecidedlyNOTaback
exercise. They were used to expand the rib cage whether this can actually occur, of
course, has always been up for debate and, thus, they were regularly a part of chest
routines,armroutines,squatroutinesyounameit.
Inthiscase,theyweremeanttoworkthetricepswhichisthereasonthisisone"giantset"
of4backtobacktricepsexercises.
Ifyouhaven'tusedthemlately,pulloversaregreattricepsbuildersalthough,ifitwasme,I
wouldsubstitutebarbellpulloversandpressesperhapstheultimatetricepsexercise.
Reply

October19,2014at9:04AM
Thanksforananswer.That'sdefinitelysomeinterestinginformation.
Could you please also clarify how often that routines were used back then? Once a week,
twiceaweekormaybeevenmoreoften?
Alsowasthearmstrainingcombinedwithsomeotherexercises?Iheardthatoneoftheold
timemethodicswastrainingarmsafterhighrepsquats(3x20forexample).
Reply

C.S.Sloan

November4,2014at4:21PM

At least 2x per week, although most "oldtimers" (at least of McWilliams's era) would have
trained each muscle group about 3x weekly. Usually, the body was split twoways, training
one half of the body one day, and then repeating the next day with the remainder of the
body,and(typically)onlyonedayoffduringtheweek.
Armswerecombinedwithwhateverotherbodypartsweretrainedthatday,and,yes,training
armsafterhighrepsquatswouldhavebeenafrequenttactic.
Reply

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C.S.Sloan'sIntegralStrength:OldSchoolArmTrainingSecrets:JohnMcWilliams'sArmTrainingRoutine

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