Getbig.com: American Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure
Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: affeman on December 07, 2015, 07:47:08 AM
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Mentzer, Ronnie, Dorian or Platz?
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Platz.
Saw him at Workd Gym in Columbus back in 1990 the weekend of the Arnold. He was training with Jim Quinn. I watched him do a set of donkey calf raises with the entire stack and the set took forever. Not just 10-20 reps, but like 50, then he did like 6 drop sets, then partials...the set must have took like 10 mintues!
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ronnies training was based on platz high volume heavy
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Mentzer, Ronnie, Dorian or Platz?
Ronnie Coleman for sure.
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Platz.
Saw him at Workd Gym in Columbus back in 1990 the weekend of the Arnold. He was training with Jim Quinn. I watched him do a set of donkey calf raises with the entire stack and the set took forever. Not just 10-20 reps, but like 50, then he did like 6 drop sets, then partials...the set must have took like 10 mintues!
Yeah wow, doing cardio for 10 minutes, thats INSANE!!!! :)
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COLEMAN FOR SURE !!!
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ue5RyH_vl9U/TvxzSOROHgI/AAAAAAAAAeE/a2McSbLYVY0/s1600/4y1wf.jpg)
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Ronnie trained himself into a coma ffs
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Ronnie is a very stpid man. He could train just like Shawn Flex Cederic Freeman Glas Robinsson Dexter Dilett Kai Phil and all the other smart dudes! And yet become Mr O and have a functional body at 50+
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Yeah wow, doing cardio for 10 minutes, thats INSANE!!!! :)
His leg extensions def were some sort of Cardio @ 28:50
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chrome dumbells made that annoying clang when they bumped each other.
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Ronnie is a very stpid man. He could train just like Shawn Flex Cederic Freeman Glas Robinsson Dexter Dilett Kai Phil and all the other smart dudes! And yet become Mr O and have a functional body at 50+
Wrong.
The only reason that Ronnie rose to the top was because he was movin dat heavy ass weight.
Levrone & Flex would've been trading the Olympia back and forth if Ronnie took it easy in the gym
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Platz
Defendis?
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Wrong.
The only reason that Ronnie rose to the top was because he was movin dat heavy ass weight.
Levrone & Flex would've been trading the Olympia back and forth if Ronnie took it easy in the gym
What would've been if Flex was movin dat heavy ass weight as well? ???
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His leg extensions def were some sort of Cardio @ 28:50
Wow is he clean/retired in that vid? Upper body looks awful.
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What would've been if Flex was movin dat heavy ass weight as well? ???
Levrone & Wheeler trained heavy
But Ronnie was doing squats and deadlifts with 700LB-800LB, barbell rows with 500LB. Only Ronnie was doing that stuff (Francois did it too for a while)
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Jocelyn Peletier.
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Platz
Defendis?
Platz is known for his lower body---his squatting. Ronnie just went all out with everything, except arms. He apparently did that when he was younger.
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Platz is known for his lower body---his squatting. Ronnie just went all out with everything, except arms. He apparently did that when he was younger.
I remember a seminar from Ronnie where someone was asking him about how to get biceps peaks, and he said he can't really give any tipps, as he always had huge biceps. Never did much more than a couple of sets preacher curls and hammer curls.
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Platz
Defendis?
Defendis and Michalik.
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Casey Viator should be mentioned.
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Levrone
Coleman
Yates
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might get laughed at here but I am going to say Lee Haney because he trained twice a day year round CONSISTENTLY and did not destroy his body even after competing and managed to take home 8 Olympias
Arnold as well because when he was not in the gym he was building what would later become an empire none of them have been able to match, especially since most did and do fuck all between workouts/competitions
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Jay Cutler. He's on the right in this picture.
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Jay Cutler. He's on the right in this picture.
Good eye. That is indeed Jay.
Nice jeans too.
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Yup....Casey Viator as well
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Have to go with Ronnie and then Yates.
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Viator arnold Coleman
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Wrong.
The only reason that Ronnie rose to the top was because he was movin dat heavy ass weight.
Levrone & Flex would've been trading the Olympia back and forth if Ronnie took it easy in the gym
True, and LOL@giving training advice to Ronnie, sure!
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Jay Cutler. He's on the right in this picture.
Who has smaller legs in this pic?
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i talked to casey viator a few times in 2003
he told me arnolds pre contest training was brutal and would kill most pros.
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Who has smaller legs in this pic?
Bodybuilding is all about illusion :-\
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got his pro card this year so can mention him, John Meadows one of the hardest working trainers around.
kills himself in the gym, trains brutally hard.
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got his pro card this year so can mention him, John Meadows one of the hardest working trainers around.
kills himself in the gym, trains brutally hard.
Hi John Meadows.
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Have to go with Ronnie and then Yates.
That would be a negative , as usual Ronnie is far behind Dorian ;)
http://www.flexonline.com/training/rated-hardcore
Maybe you puke. Maybe a groan that’s more like a scream escapes your contorted maw, a cry for help unanswered. Maybe you lie spent on the gym floor, drenched and dazed and numb, knocked down by the self- imposed barrage. Or maybe the torment is evident only in your unwavering glare — eyes that seem to peer through concrete, but attest to the focus inward, to your lonely journey further and further through the pain barrier. Different men breach that barrier in different ways. In selecting the hardest-training bodybuilders of all time, we accepted no limits on philosophies or styles. Each pushed himself to new heights in virtually every workout, whether with maximum weights, reps, intensity or volume. Keep a bucket handy, because you may feel queasy as we count down the ultimate metalheads — the top 10 greatest iron warriors ever.
#10: CASEY VIATOR
(Pro: 1979-82; plus one masters show, 1995) The mercurial man-monster who placed third in the 1982 Mr. O is an apt choice to kick off our top 10, because at various times, Viator employed three distinct volumes — low, mod- erate and high — but he perpetually pushed himself to new realms. As the first disciple of Arthur Jones, Viator helped popularize high- intensity training in the 1970s and outlifted the Mentzer brothers, his frequent training partners. By the early ’80s, his volume had spiked — a typical leg workout was squats, leg presses, hack squats and leg extensions, all for 8-10 sets of 20-30 reps. Whether he did 4 sets or 44, Viator applied his blue-collar work ethic to every session of agony.
“I worked hardhat jobs. Hard work makes you feel alive. When you give your all, everything you’ve got, you can feel yourself literally growing — physically, mentally, spiritually.” -Casey Viator
#9: ROY CALLENDER
The third-place finisher in the 1978 Mr. Olympia was the ultimate volumizer. Workouts could take as long as six hours, and he often went several weeks without a rest day. Most current pros don’t even train forearms; Callender did 24 sets twice weekly, and that was his briefest routine. One sample back workout consisted of up to 85 sets and over an hour hanging at the chinning bar. What’s more, he wasn’t pumping lightly. Most sets stayed in the moderate range and often went to failure, and he perpetually pushed his strength. No pro consistently trained as hard for as long as the marathon iron man from Barbados.
“Four hours, six hours, I go till I’m done. I never think about the end, only the next set. I want to know the muscle has been completely exhausted before I call it quits.” - Roy Callender
#8: RICH GASPARI
The Dragon Slayer didn’t just smite bigger bodybuilders. He conquered weights bigger bodybuilders didn’t dare approach. He still does. As an unknown teen, Gaspari was squatting seven plates (675 pounds), and 26 years later and long retired from the stage, we watched the 46-year-old CEO of Gaspari Nutrition knock out front raises with 105-pound dumbbells (see “The Dragon and the Dragon Slayer” in the October 2009 issue of FLEX). In the years between, the three-time Olympia runner-up pushed Lee Haney onstage and in the gym. With workouts that combined maximum weights with intensifiers — such as drop sets, supersets and negatives — The Dragon Slayer waged war with iron.
“I’ve always made everything a competition, and that includes every workout. I try to train heavier or harder, or both, every time I walk through the gym doors. If I don’t, then I wasted a workout. I lost — and I really, really hate to lose.” — Rich Gaspari
#7: DAVID HENRY
Doggcrapp is a training methodology that involves maxi- mum weights for minimum volume. Working sets of 11- 15 reps are pushed beyond failure via rest-pause and sometimes static contractions. Upping the pain quotient, bodyparts are often finished off with a single high-rep set called, ominously, a widowmaker, and postworkout stretches are taken to agonizing extremes. Henry was just another undersized ex-middleweight when he entered the pros in 2004, but within two years, he had transformed himself via DC torture sessions into a 200-pounder vying for pro titles. He brings his logbook to each workout and tries with all his might to top what he did before, regard- less of the internal torment.
“Pain means growth. I ignore it. It’s just there. There’s no fear. I’m not going to let the weight beat me. I’m going to move it, and for more reps than ever before. No surrender.” -David Henry
#6: CHRIS CORMIER
Upholding the balls-to-the-wall tradition of the mecca — Gold’s Gym in Venice, California — is Chris Cormier. At his strongest in the ’90s, Cormier’s arm and leg pushing force was the stuff of legend: inclines with 525 pounds for two or 200-pound dumbbells for eight; 1,200-pound leg presses for 30; 675-pound squats without even a belt; 900-pound reverse hack squats for 10. More than once, he continued without pause after losing his preworkout protein and as blood streamed from his nose and vertigo spun the gym — ignoring all caution signs, running every red light. For nearly a quarter century, this West Coast warrior’s work- outs have been the real deal.
“I know people have a misconception, because I laugh a lot and like to have a good time, but in this gym, I’m a beast. Come play with me in here and see how funny that shit is.”— Chris Cormier
#5: RONNIE COLEMAN
Just as you can argue that Coleman is the greatest bodybuilder ever to tread earth, you can argue that he is the strongest of all time. His exploits are legendary: parking lot lunges with 365 pounds across his shoulders for 100 yards (gravel surface); 800-pound squats and deadlifts; 585-pound barbell rows. FLEX was there during a sweltering August when he was repping out T-bar rows with 645 pounds and the handle broke. The weight “tapped out” before he did. But it wasn’t just his phenom- enal strength that earned Big Ron a spot in our top five. It was also that he could have trained anywhere any way, but he remained in MetroFlex — a primitive Texas open-air gym — using mostly free weights, hitting each bodypart twice weekly and toiling twice daily. Well into this century, Coleman kicked it old school.
“Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but don’t nobody want to lift no heavy-ass weights.” — Ronnie Coleman
#4: JOHN DEFENDIS
If there were only one name on our honor roll that you didn’t recognize, this would be it. After all, the 1988 NPC USA winner competed only twice (unsuccessfully) in the pros, and that was before some of you were born. He never made it to the Olympia stage, but no man who ever posed in the O withstood harder, longer workouts than DeFendis. As the greatest proponent of Steve Michalik’s aptly named “Intensity or Insanity” system, every routine was an unflagging barrage. Fifty sets of barbell curls. Done. A hundred sets of inclines. Yep. A typical leg day was 400-pound squats; 1,200-pound leg presses; 300-pound leg extensions; and 15-30 reps each, in sequence, sans rest, over and over again, 25 or 30 times — whatever it took to leave partners in a heap. DeFendis’ seemingly endless tribulation sessions were the epitome of intensity and insanity.
“There are few who can go into a gym and train till the onlookers drop with exhaustion. My goal was always to tire out the people who peered from the treadmills. Be the last one standing; that’s what it’s all about.” — John DeFendis
#3: BRANCH WARREN
Warren recounts a leg workout he did when he was 18: some inhumane amalgamation of 100-rep leg extensions, 25-rep leg press drop sets and a reverse pyramid of hack squats that ended with 450 pounds for 50. Afterward, unable to stand no matter how hard he tried, he crawled upstairs to a “dirty, nasty bathroom,” where he puked, and then collapsed. It was 45 minutes before he could stand again. As he says, “We used to do insane stuff like that just to see if we could do it. I was the only one who could.” Seventeen years later, combining mind-bending poundages at a rapid pace — often in the torrid Texas heat — Warren still wills himself to do what others can’t. The Bulldozer is the hardest-working man in bodybuilding.
“Take no prisoners. I come to the gym to work. When I go, I go all out. That’s the whole point. Heavy, free weights. I go to failure in every working set I do, and I accept no limits.” — Branch Warren
#2: DORIAN YATES
During his six years atop bodybuilding as Mr. Olympia, The Shadow’s success spoke to the efficiency of high-intensity training and the precise execution of carefully plotted workouts. Photographer Kevin “Hardcore” Horton recalls that when he was shooting Yates in the dungeonlike Temple Gym and wanted to capture the same exercise from a different angle, it was a no-go. Yates couldn’t fake it. He had successfully completed his one working set and refused to repeat even a single rep. Horton had to get the shot next time — a week later. The Shadow was as strong as he looked, regularly underhand row- ing over 400 pounds for 10, but every set had a preplanned purpose. The ultimate HIT man, Yates did his minimal quantity with maximum intensity, going to failure and beyond via forced reps, negatives and rest-pause — often in the same sequence.
“By retreating into myself, I’m eliminating any and all distractions, and I’m focusing totally on what I’m in the gym to do. To many, that approach may appear too intense, but as far as I’m concerned, you have to cultivate training tunnel vision.” — Dorian Yates
#1: TOM PLATZ
He would not give in. He refused to admit defeat. When he couldn’t get another rep, a training partner lent helping hands. When he couldn’t get another full assisted rep, he did halves. When he couldn’t go half way, he did quarters or even less — barely moving, but keeping the blowtorch on his cells until every last one admitted defeat. Platz, who finished third in the ’81 Mr. O, is noted foremost for his legs and for the brutalizing workouts that built him. Weighing under 230 pounds, he squatted 635 pounds for 15, 350 pounds for 52 and 225 pounds for 10 minutes straight — presumably not in the same workout, but with him, anything was possible. What’s less known is that he brought the same “never give up” ethos to other bodyparts. Whether at the squat rack, the chinning bar or the incline bench, Platz would not stop until his muscles did.
“When I say, ‘Your life passes in front of your eyes,’ I mean you go to the point where you get 10 reps, and then somehow you manage to get 15 or 20. It’s just conjuring up the deep-rooted emotions, passions and energy that you have within your body, your soul and your mind to push the weight up one more time and one more time and one more time.” — Tom Platz
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Platz is known for his lower body---his squatting. Ronnie just went all out with everything, except arms. He apparently did that when he was younger.
Platz trained upper body hard, I don't know how smart but that isn't thread title. He worked his ass off on everything. You can't help you insertions or genes... or how the judging panel in 1981 fucks you over.
There is a guy in my gym who kills himself training. Great form, lifts heavy as fuck, compound exercises and hammer machines - strong as an ox. Juices too. Great upper body. Legs of a child. I had better legs before I lifted (if you removed the fat)... Nothing the guy can do - he squats 4-5 plates a side for 10 slow reps full ROM, hits calves hard etc - nada. I do 3 exercises for legs and they are my best bodypart.
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Where is Benny Podda on the list? Oh, not Pro, but still hardcore.
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HARDCORE HONORABLE MENTIONS
These 10 (in alphabetical order) were edged out of our ultimate honor roll, but few could match their workouts at their peaks.
■ JOHN BROWN (Pro: 1984-91) J.B. was noted for his strength, as well as his relentless giant set barrages.
■ FRANCO COLUMBU (Pro: 1972-81) Competing at under 200 pounds, this two-time Mr. O benched 500-plus, squatted 600-plus and deadlifted 700-plus, training twice daily and hitting bodyparts thrice weekly.
■ JAY CUTLER (Pro: 1998-present) This Mr. O three- timer moves, plowing through maximum sets in minimal time.
■ MAT DUVALL (Pro: 2004-present) Early in his career, this “Beyond Failure” proponent used forced reps and drops to get many more reps after failure than before.
■ DERIK FARNSWORTH (Pro: 2005-present) Noted for leg- day feats such as squatting 405 pounds for 30, the smallest man on our list turned pro as a lightweight who dominates super-heavy weights.
■ MIKE FRANCOIS (Pro: 1994-97) The ’95 Arnold champ deadlifted 800 pounds, and always sought both power and mass.
■ JOHNNY FULLER (Pro: 1981-87) Sixty sets for quads, 70 sets for chest — it seemed no workout was too long for this enigmatic Englishman.
■ IAN HARRISON (Pro: 1993-98) He upped the intensity of his Herculean sets by pre-exhausting bodyparts.
■ JOHNNIE JACKSON (Pro: 2002-present) With lifts including 800-pound deadlifts and 100-pound side laterals, Branch Warren’s old training partner is even mightier than he looks.
■ CHUCK SIPES (Pro: 1966-67) A proponent of power bodybuilding via low-rep sets, he was probably the all-time strongest Mr. Universe
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Jay Cutler? No. Just no.
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There comes a certain point where you're not doing your body a favor when you're training until you get sick and pass out.
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Skip LaCour trained pretty hard.
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There comes a certain point where you're not doing your body a favor when you're training until you get sick and pass out.
I've done/do that. Wouldn't call it addiction, just a compulsion to do more like a workaholic - why rest when you can work and do something.
That said Platz killed himself in training and left it there- said he'd take 10 days off between squats/leg workouts and I can't argue with how hard he trained.
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Dorian heaviest with perfect form.
Ronnie trained very heavy but he cheated on some of the heavy stuff like leg presses.
Lol at the people listing Levrone.
I don't know about Platz.
Nor Mentzer.
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Dorian heaviest with perfect form.
Ronnie trained very heavy but he cheated on some of the heavy stuff like leg presses.
Lol at the people listing Levrone.
I don't know about Platz.
Nor Mentzer.
That's after he stopped bbing.
The way he went through the pain - total sicko. As it should be when training. That is how you do it.
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How come Philth Heathenstein isn't mentioned ::)
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Jay Cutler
He trained really hard but didn't put on too much theatrics, if you watch his videos and recognise his bodyweight, pace through his sets, time under tension, heavy weight he was busting his ass constantly.
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Where is Benny Podda on the list? Oh, not Pro, but still hardcore.
You knew Benny Podda? How? When he left Muscle Mill (Ray Mentzer's gym) he started to train at Barlow's in Torrance where I worked in the mid 1980s. The guy was a beast and the most powerful personality that I ever encountered. He just didn't have the genetics to make it big. Really trained like an animal. I remember went I went to Gold's Venice there was nobody there at the time that trained like him. The familiar faces were Flex, Cormier, Dillet, Aaron Baker as well as others. That's when it became clear to me how much genetics played a role. Benny juiced and trained way harder than any of those guys, and he was very intelligent, too. But he just wasn't at any of those guy's level.
It sucks. To be so hard core and to have a guy like Dillet sleep walking through his workouts dwarfing you.
(http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=453413.0;attach=499015;image)
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Jay Cutler
He trained really hard but didn't put on too much theatrics, if you watch his videos and recognise his bodyweight, pace through his sets, time under tension, heavy weight he was busting his ass constantly.
He was consistent but he certainly didn't do balls to the walls training and rarely did he do any intensity variables (forced reps, negatives, drop sets, partials, super sets).
When you see him train and terminate a set ask yourself if you think he could have eeked out one more rep if, say, Arthur Jones was standing over him with a gun to his head? He didn't even seem to go to positive failure let alone forced reps.
Jay was more into the pump and volume type. Watch Platz and he is taking himself far beyond what most humans are willing to endure.
Another guy who did "to the death" training was Trevor Smith and his "beyond failure" philosophy. Failure was defined by Arthur Jones as when you are no longer able to perform another rep in good form despite your best, digging deep, volitional effort. For Trevor, that's when the set really begins. Then it's forced reps, rest pause, drop sets... depending on the day.
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Aaron Maddron
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Jay Cutler? No. Just no.
exactly... 3 sets of 8... for everything...
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Two Words
Vince Taylor.
End of thread. Boom
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Geoffrey Seid.
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That would be a negative , as usual Ronnie is far behind Dorian ;)
http://www.flexonline.com/training/rated-hardcore
#2: DORIAN YATES
During his six years atop bodybuilding as Mr. Olympia, The Shadow’s success spoke to the efficiency of high-intensity training and the precise execution of carefully plotted workouts. Photographer Kevin “Hardcore” Horton recalls that when he was shooting Yates in the dungeonlike Temple Gym and wanted to capture the same exercise from a different angle, it was a no-go. Yates couldn’t fake it. He had successfully completed his one working set and refused to repeat even a single rep. Horton had to get the shot next time — a week later. The Shadow was as strong as he looked, regularly underhand row- ing over 400 pounds for 10, but every set had a preplanned purpose. The ultimate HIT man, Yates did his minimal quantity with maximum intensity, going to failure and beyond via forced reps, negatives and rest-pause — often in the same sequence.
“By retreating into myself, I’m eliminating any and all distractions, and I’m focusing totally on what I’m in the gym to do. To many, that approach may appear too intense, but as far as I’m concerned, you have to cultivate training tunnel vision.” — Dorian Yates
#1: TOM PLATZ
He would not give in. He refused to admit defeat. When he couldn’t get another rep, a training partner lent helping hands. When he couldn’t get another full assisted rep, he did halves. When he couldn’t go half way, he did quarters or even less — barely moving, but keeping the blowtorch on his cells until every last one admitted defeat. Platz, who finished third in the ’81 Mr. O, is noted foremost for his legs and for the brutalizing workouts that built him. Weighing under 230 pounds, he squatted 635 pounds for 15, 350 pounds for 52 and 225 pounds for 10 minutes straight — presumably not in the same workout, but with him, anything was possible. What’s less known is that he brought the same “never give up” ethos to other bodyparts. Whether at the squat rack, the chinning bar or the incline bench, Platz would not stop until his muscles did.
“When I say, ‘Your life passes in front of your eyes,’ I mean you go to the point where you get 10 reps, and then somehow you manage to get 15 or 20. It’s just conjuring up the deep-rooted emotions, passions and energy that you have within your body, your soul and your mind to push the weight up one more time and one more time and one more time.” — Tom Platz
[/b]
Doesn't really matter, but if you want to play that game then Platz takes the cake ;D
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How do you measure this? I'm sure most train their balls off at some point or another. Very difficult to measure.
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I know the thread is about training but even hard training is fun, the real work is done with the diet. I wonder who was the hardest dieter.
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Dorian heaviest with perfect form.
Ronnie trained very heavy but he cheated on some of the heavy stuff like leg presses.
Lol at the people listing Levrone.
I don't know about Platz.
Nor Mentzer.
Dorian had a recent Instagram post with Levrone where he said he was the hardest trainer he had trained with
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(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee57/Fyrenza/Forum%20Stuff/LOL-HugeBouncing_zps735d0ecc.gif)
JAY CUTLER :D
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Platz trained upper body hard, I don't know how smart but that isn't thread title. He worked his ass off on everything. You can't help you insertions or genes... or how the judging panel in 1981 fucks you over.
There is a guy in my gym who kills himself training. Great form, lifts heavy as fuck, compound exercises and hammer machines - strong as an ox. Juices too. Great upper body. Legs of a child. I had better legs before I lifted (if you removed the fat)... Nothing the guy can do - he squats 4-5 plates a side for 10 slow reps full ROM, hits calves hard etc - nada. I do 3 exercises for legs and they are my best bodypart.
I think it should be in totality. Ronnie Coleman seems to enjoy training everything, like he was a workhorse for pain. Platz is known for his lower body workouts, he may have trained his upper body with intensity, but was it with the same intensity as his lower body? I don't think so, or it would have been talked about.
But, the two known for their intense workouts, and have won Mr. O's, Ronnie and Dorian, are also known for their torn muscles.
Honorable Mentions should go to Shawn Ray and Mike Francois. Both known for their work ethic---Shawn for using more weight and a fast pace, and Francios for using a hybrid bodybuilding-powerlifting training program.
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Parker,would you include Cutler in the list?
Hypothetical Question Of Peace ;)
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COLEMAN FOR SURE !!!
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ue5RyH_vl9U/TvxzSOROHgI/AAAAAAAAAeE/a2McSbLYVY0/s1600/4y1wf.jpg)
jeez
check out the GH hands on Ronnie
like baseball mitts
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That would be a negative , as usual Ronnie is far behind Dorian ;)
http://www.flexonline.com/training/rated-hardcore
Maybe you puke. Maybe a groan that’s more like a scream escapes your contorted maw, a cry for help unanswered. Maybe you lie spent on the gym floor, drenched and dazed and numb, knocked down by the self- imposed barrage. Or maybe the torment is evident only in your unwavering glare — eyes that seem to peer through concrete, but attest to the focus inward, to your lonely journey further and further through the pain barrier. Different men breach that barrier in different ways. In selecting the hardest-training bodybuilders of all time, we accepted no limits on philosophies or styles. Each pushed himself to new heights in virtually every workout, whether with maximum weights, reps, intensity or volume. Keep a bucket handy, because you may feel queasy as we count down the ultimate metalheads — the top 10 greatest iron warriors ever.
#10: CASEY VIATOR
(Pro: 1979-82; plus one masters show, 1995) The mercurial man-monster who placed third in the 1982 Mr. O is an apt choice to kick off our top 10, because at various times, Viator employed three distinct volumes — low, mod- erate and high — but he perpetually pushed himself to new realms. As the first disciple of Arthur Jones, Viator helped popularize high- intensity training in the 1970s and outlifted the Mentzer brothers, his frequent training partners. By the early ’80s, his volume had spiked — a typical leg workout was squats, leg presses, hack squats and leg extensions, all for 8-10 sets of 20-30 reps. Whether he did 4 sets or 44, Viator applied his blue-collar work ethic to every session of agony.
“I worked hardhat jobs. Hard work makes you feel alive. When you give your all, everything you’ve got, you can feel yourself literally growing — physically, mentally, spiritually.” -Casey Viator
#9: ROY CALLENDER
The third-place finisher in the 1978 Mr. Olympia was the ultimate volumizer. Workouts could take as long as six hours, and he often went several weeks without a rest day. Most current pros don’t even train forearms; Callender did 24 sets twice weekly, and that was his briefest routine. One sample back workout consisted of up to 85 sets and over an hour hanging at the chinning bar. What’s more, he wasn’t pumping lightly. Most sets stayed in the moderate range and often went to failure, and he perpetually pushed his strength. No pro consistently trained as hard for as long as the marathon iron man from Barbados.
“Four hours, six hours, I go till I’m done. I never think about the end, only the next set. I want to know the muscle has been completely exhausted before I call it quits.” - Roy Callender
#8: RICH GASPARI
The Dragon Slayer didn’t just smite bigger bodybuilders. He conquered weights bigger bodybuilders didn’t dare approach. He still does. As an unknown teen, Gaspari was squatting seven plates (675 pounds), and 26 years later and long retired from the stage, we watched the 46-year-old CEO of Gaspari Nutrition knock out front raises with 105-pound dumbbells (see “The Dragon and the Dragon Slayer” in the October 2009 issue of FLEX). In the years between, the three-time Olympia runner-up pushed Lee Haney onstage and in the gym. With workouts that combined maximum weights with intensifiers — such as drop sets, supersets and negatives — The Dragon Slayer waged war with iron.
“I’ve always made everything a competition, and that includes every workout. I try to train heavier or harder, or both, every time I walk through the gym doors. If I don’t, then I wasted a workout. I lost — and I really, really hate to lose.” — Rich Gaspari
#7: DAVID HENRY
Doggcrapp is a training methodology that involves maxi- mum weights for minimum volume. Working sets of 11- 15 reps are pushed beyond failure via rest-pause and sometimes static contractions. Upping the pain quotient, bodyparts are often finished off with a single high-rep set called, ominously, a widowmaker, and postworkout stretches are taken to agonizing extremes. Henry was just another undersized ex-middleweight when he entered the pros in 2004, but within two years, he had transformed himself via DC torture sessions into a 200-pounder vying for pro titles. He brings his logbook to each workout and tries with all his might to top what he did before, regard- less of the internal torment.
“Pain means growth. I ignore it. It’s just there. There’s no fear. I’m not going to let the weight beat me. I’m going to move it, and for more reps than ever before. No surrender.” -David Henry
#6: CHRIS CORMIER
Upholding the balls-to-the-wall tradition of the mecca — Gold’s Gym in Venice, California — is Chris Cormier. At his strongest in the ’90s, Cormier’s arm and leg pushing force was the stuff of legend: inclines with 525 pounds for two or 200-pound dumbbells for eight; 1,200-pound leg presses for 30; 675-pound squats without even a belt; 900-pound reverse hack squats for 10. More than once, he continued without pause after losing his preworkout protein and as blood streamed from his nose and vertigo spun the gym — ignoring all caution signs, running every red light. For nearly a quarter century, this West Coast warrior’s work- outs have been the real deal.
“I know people have a misconception, because I laugh a lot and like to have a good time, but in this gym, I’m a beast. Come play with me in here and see how funny that shit is.”— Chris Cormier
#5: RONNIE COLEMAN
Just as you can argue that Coleman is the greatest bodybuilder ever to tread earth, you can argue that he is the strongest of all time. His exploits are legendary: parking lot lunges with 365 pounds across his shoulders for 100 yards (gravel surface); 800-pound squats and deadlifts; 585-pound barbell rows. FLEX was there during a sweltering August when he was repping out T-bar rows with 645 pounds and the handle broke. The weight “tapped out” before he did. But it wasn’t just his phenom- enal strength that earned Big Ron a spot in our top five. It was also that he could have trained anywhere any way, but he remained in MetroFlex — a primitive Texas open-air gym — using mostly free weights, hitting each bodypart twice weekly and toiling twice daily. Well into this century, Coleman kicked it old school.
“Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but don’t nobody want to lift no heavy-ass weights.” — Ronnie Coleman
#4: JOHN DEFENDIS
If there were only one name on our honor roll that you didn’t recognize, this would be it. After all, the 1988 NPC USA winner competed only twice (unsuccessfully) in the pros, and that was before some of you were born. He never made it to the Olympia stage, but no man who ever posed in the O withstood harder, longer workouts than DeFendis. As the greatest proponent of Steve Michalik’s aptly named “Intensity or Insanity” system, every routine was an unflagging barrage. Fifty sets of barbell curls. Done. A hundred sets of inclines. Yep. A typical leg day was 400-pound squats; 1,200-pound leg presses; 300-pound leg extensions; and 15-30 reps each, in sequence, sans rest, over and over again, 25 or 30 times — whatever it took to leave partners in a heap. DeFendis’ seemingly endless tribulation sessions were the epitome of intensity and insanity.
“There are few who can go into a gym and train till the onlookers drop with exhaustion. My goal was always to tire out the people who peered from the treadmills. Be the last one standing; that’s what it’s all about.” — John DeFendis
#3: BRANCH WARREN
Warren recounts a leg workout he did when he was 18: some inhumane amalgamation of 100-rep leg extensions, 25-rep leg press drop sets and a reverse pyramid of hack squats that ended with 450 pounds for 50. Afterward, unable to stand no matter how hard he tried, he crawled upstairs to a “dirty, nasty bathroom,” where he puked, and then collapsed. It was 45 minutes before he could stand again. As he says, “We used to do insane stuff like that just to see if we could do it. I was the only one who could.” Seventeen years later, combining mind-bending poundages at a rapid pace — often in the torrid Texas heat — Warren still wills himself to do what others can’t. The Bulldozer is the hardest-working man in bodybuilding.
“Take no prisoners. I come to the gym to work. When I go, I go all out. That’s the whole point. Heavy, free weights. I go to failure in every working set I do, and I accept no limits.” — Branch Warren
#2: DORIAN YATES
During his six years atop bodybuilding as Mr. Olympia, The Shadow’s success spoke to the efficiency of high-intensity training and the precise execution of carefully plotted workouts. Photographer Kevin “Hardcore” Horton recalls that when he was shooting Yates in the dungeonlike Temple Gym and wanted to capture the same exercise from a different angle, it was a no-go. Yates couldn’t fake it. He had successfully completed his one working set and refused to repeat even a single rep. Horton had to get the shot next time — a week later. The Shadow was as strong as he looked, regularly underhand row- ing over 400 pounds for 10, but every set had a preplanned purpose. The ultimate HIT man, Yates did his minimal quantity with maximum intensity, going to failure and beyond via forced reps, negatives and rest-pause — often in the same sequence.
“By retreating into myself, I’m eliminating any and all distractions, and I’m focusing totally on what I’m in the gym to do. To many, that approach may appear too intense, but as far as I’m concerned, you have to cultivate training tunnel vision.” — Dorian Yates
#1: TOM PLATZ
He would not give in. He refused to admit defeat. When he couldn’t get another rep, a training partner lent helping hands. When he couldn’t get another full assisted rep, he did halves. When he couldn’t go half way, he did quarters or even less — barely moving, but keeping the blowtorch on his cells until every last one admitted defeat. Platz, who finished third in the ’81 Mr. O, is noted foremost for his legs and for the brutalizing workouts that built him. Weighing under 230 pounds, he squatted 635 pounds for 15, 350 pounds for 52 and 225 pounds for 10 minutes straight — presumably not in the same workout, but with him, anything was possible. What’s less known is that he brought the same “never give up” ethos to other bodyparts. Whether at the squat rack, the chinning bar or the incline bench, Platz would not stop until his muscles did.
“When I say, ‘Your life passes in front of your eyes,’ I mean you go to the point where you get 10 reps, and then somehow you manage to get 15 or 20. It’s just conjuring up the deep-rooted emotions, passions and energy that you have within your body, your soul and your mind to push the weight up one more time and one more time and one more time.” — Tom Platz
what a total BS article
the usual crap from Flex mag
cormier, Dorian?
Yates did not train hard, he did 1 working set , he trained with intensity but he did not train hard.
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it would have to be ROnnie, branch or Platz in terms of maximum effort, poundages used, and volume.
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what a total BS article
the usual crap from Flex mag
cormier, Dorian?
Yates did not train hard, he did 1 working set , he trained with intensity but he did not train hard.
Why did Branch make the list? :-\ :-\
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The first gym I trained at was previously owned by Callender and people would talk about how he would come to the gym and train exactly as described above, even if there was a massive snowstorm the guy was there day in day out training. That and half the people there used sponges when they trained because they trained under him at one point and he used sponges to keep his hands from getting all fucked up
Most people who own gyms today, even the small independant ones don't even seem to work out at all.
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I think it should be in totality. Ronnie Coleman seems to enjoy training everything, like he was a workhorse for pain. Platz is known for his lower body workouts, he may have trained his upper body with intensity, but was it with the same intensity as his lower body? I don't think so, or it would have been talked about.
But, the two known for their intense workouts, and have won Mr. O's, Ronnie and Dorian, are also known for their torn muscles.
Honorable Mentions should go to Shawn Ray and Mike Francois. Both known for their work ethic---Shawn for using more weight and a fast pace, and Francios for using a hybrid bodybuilding-powerlifting training program.
The sad (well... disheartening) part of it is he seemed to train upper body JUST as hard as lower body. See him hitting chest for example. You could not ask for more. His back training was a bit off technique but he never lacked heart. You just can't overcome your genetics and insertions. He did all he could with what he had.
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amongst well-known pros, tom platz, easily, end of story
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Ronnie, Platz and Viator.
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Steve Michalik was known to train like a beast also.
Defendis was his protoge`.
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Platz looked more hard/crazy in his approach.
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What about Phil? (at least a honorable mentioning)?FST-7 is no joke either
(http://i.imgur.com/XyHg80N.jpg)
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might get laughed at here but I am going to say Lee Haney because he trained twice a day year round CONSISTENTLY and did not destroy his body even after competing and managed to take home 8 Olympias
Arnold as well because when he was not in the gym he was building what would later become an empire none of them have been able to match, especially since most did and do fuck all between workouts/competitions
^^
MOST IMPORTANT thing with Haney, and I've heard him in interviews saying this- he NEVER went overboard with too heavy weights...
He used forced reps, spotters, cheat reps, etc... ANY technique except depending on having to move crazy weight.
***THAT'S what kept him from crippling himself***
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what a total BS article
the usual crap from Flex mag
cormier, Dorian?
Yates did not train hard, he did 1 working set , he trained with intensity but he did not train hard.
Not sure if serious ::)
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Doesn't really matter, but if you want to play that game then Platz takes the cake ;D
In the early 1980's I attended a Tom Platz seminar. He made a comment that Arnold's contest training was like 'off the charts.' So if Platz was the hardest training, but he thought Arnold was, then Arnold must take the prize.
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In the early 1980's I attended a Tom Platz seminar. He made a comment that Arnold's contest training was like 'off the charts.' So if Platz was the hardest training, but he thought Arnold was, then Arnold must take the prize.
or was he kissing ass? Tom Platz was the ultimate squater but Dorian was the King of pain. i do not think anyone since has surpassed Dorian Yates. The man was a Machine. I am myself not a Heavy Duty style trainer but Dorian you have to respect !
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I think it should be in totality. Ronnie Coleman seems to enjoy training everything, like he was a workhorse for pain. Platz is known for his lower body workouts, he may have trained his upper body with intensity, but was it with the same intensity as his lower body? I don't think so, or it would have been talked about.
But, the two known for their intense workouts, and have won Mr. O's, Ronnie and Dorian, are also known for their torn muscles.
Honorable Mentions should go to Shawn Ray and Mike Francois. Both known for their work ethic---Shawn for using more weight and a fast pace, and Francios for using a hybrid bodybuilding-powerlifting training program.
I don't think so. Tom Platz was an insanely driven individual. He wanted to win so, so bad and would do anything to achieve that goal. He also was no dummy. People who emphasize their strong points are driven by conceit and ego. Platz knew his upper body lacked. Ask MaxRep, a mod on this board, he has first hand experience with these guys. Platz trained, prioritized and brutalize his upper body more than his lower body. He knew he had to. Note the improvements he made in his back from the 1980 to the 1981 Mr. O.
Now you may have a point in regard to intensity of effort. No matter how hard you train your biceps or delts it will never match the intensity of effort involved in training quads because of the muscle groups involved. A moderate quad session is still harder than a balls to the wall bicep session.
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I don't think so. Tom Platz was an insanely driven individual. He wanted to win so, so bad and would do anything to achieve that goal. He also was no dummy. People who emphasize their strong points are driven by conceit and ego. Platz knew his upper body lacked. Ask MaxRep, a mod on this board, he has first hand experience with these guys. Platz trained, prioritized and brutalize his upper body more than his lower body. He knew he had to. Note the improvements he made in his back from the 1980 to the 1981 Mr. O.
Now you may have a point in regard to intensity of effort. No matter how hard you train your biceps or delts it will never match the intensity of effort involved in training quads because of the muscle groups involved. A moderate quad session is still harder than a balls to the wall bicep session.
I think also that people get so focused on Tom's legs (which is understandable) that they conveniently overlook that he had a very high quality upper body development.
Personally I would rather have his upper body development over any of the guys from the past 20 years with the exception of a few and some of the 212's
check out this guest posing from 1986
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I think also that people get so focused on Tom's legs (which is understandable) that they conveniently overlook that he had a very high quality upper body development.
Personally I would rather have his upper body development over any of the guys from the past 20 years with the exception of a few and some of the 212's
check out this guest posing from 1986
He probably should have at least 1 MR.O to his name.
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Tom trained hard but it was because he was supposedly always high on methamphetamines. :o
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Tom trained hard but it was because he was supposedly always high on methamphetamines. :o
wouldn't surprise me at all, based on some of the stuff i read
supposedly he did back squats with 225 for 10 min straight one time
i did a 5 minute set of squats once... i can't imagine what 10 min would be like.