The Amazing Transformation
of Bruce Randall
Randy Roach
Reprinted from Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors (Bloomington, IN: Author House Publishing, 2008): 562 pp.
Editors' Note: The following article is taken from a
book published two months ago by Randy Roach.
Called Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors, this fascinating
work is the result of six years of research and writing. A
full 562 pages in length, it is also the first of two volumes. Both volumes deal with the history of the relationship between bodybuilding/strength training and
nutrition. Roach has been an active participant in the
Iron Game for three decades, and for the past 20 years
he has operated a private training facility. A Canadian
living in Ontario, Roach has a background as a senior
!programmer in the fields of museum work and environmental engineering. The book may be ordered online
at:www. musclesmokeandmirrors. com.
In 1966, an 18-year-old Terry Strand responded
enthusiastically to a Chicago Sun Times advertisement
announcing the appearance of a former Mr. Universe at
a downtown Montgomery Ward department store.
Strand recalled very few people showing up to see and
listen to the physique star promote Billard barbells, a
company the muscleman represented. What impressed
the young Sh·and was not just the amazing physique of
the 1959 Mr. Universe, Bruce Randall, but the vety
demeanour and sincere nature of the athlete. Sh·and
reflected:
Bruce was much less interested in hawking
Wards' products than in evangelizing the
passersby as to the glory of a fit and toned
body. As an eighteen-year-old already with a
bad case of iron fever, I listened enthralled to
his impassioned pitch for health via the barbell
lifestyle. I squeezed in a question now and
then, asking him about protein, reps, sets ...
just the usual inquiries.
This photo of Bruce Randall was taken in the summer of
1955, when he weighed 387 pounds at a height of 6'2" and
his chest was measured at 61". Later that summer he
reached his top weight, 401 pounds, at which time he radically changed both his exercise routine and his diet. Thirtytwo weeks later he had lost 218 pounds.
23
Iron Game History
He could have blown me off, seeing that I was
a ragamuffin kid with no lucre for the till.
Instead he el).ded up volunteering his personal
home address in case I needed some further
illumination. 1
A year later, Strand met up again with Randall at
a Chicago Teenage Youth event where both were participating. Strand was fulfilling a commitment to the
YMCA, which awarded him a scholarship for being one
of the top five outstanding teenage athletes in the region.
Bruce Randall was still as impressive in character as
Strand remembered him from the year before:
He was as always more of a Jack Lalanne educator than a Joe Weider marketer ... He was
never given a lot of coverage because he headRandall, weighing about 350 pounds, was very strong, particularly in the deadlift. He claimed to have done 770
pounds, well ahead of the best dead lift done up until that
time. As can be seen in the photo, he also had unusually
well-shaped thighs and calves, which were two of the reasons he was successful as a bodybuilder several years later.
24
Volume 10 Number 3
ed up the Billard Barbell Company for Diversified Products of Canada. So he was looked
upon as a competitor by the Hoffman and Weider equipment companies.z
What was so special about this [future] 1959
bodybuilding champion that even Peary Rader would
dedicate both his editorial and a feature article to him in
the May 1957 issue of Iron Man? Rader set the tone in
his editorial titled, "A Lesson from Bruce Randall's Story":
VERY few, if any, men have come along in the
Iron Game who created such a sensation as
Bruce Randall. We had followed this young
man's rapid rise to fame during the past year or
so through friends who knew him and watched
his progress. His remarkable gains in bodyweight and power were truly unbelievable.
When he reached a little over 300 lbs. none of
us ever thought he would go on to over 400
lbs. How much farther could he have gone?
He feels he could have reached at least 500
lbs., and no doubt he could have. He feels that
at 500 lbs. bodyweight he could have dead lifted 1,000 lbs. After seeing his remarkable
accomplishments we would not want to doubt
his ability to lift so much.3
Rader's lesson in this story was firmly on faith
and detetmination in one's God-given abilities to do
what he or she sets their mind to. Randall not only
willed himself to bring his bodyweight up methodically
to over 400 lbs. (181.8 kg) for strength purposes, but to
then make such a dramatic transformation that he was
able to capture the 1959 Mr. Universe crown. In the
same May 1957 issue of Iron Man, Rader shared the
"Amazing Story of Bruce Randall. "4
Randall believed his appreciation for the value
of proper diet was obtained during a summer job on a
merchant vessel. It was during his stint at sea that he
attributed the fresh air, hard work, and good eating for
taking his bodyweight from 164 lbs. (74.55 kg) to 192
lbs. (87.27 kg) in 58 days. Back to school and playing
football and putting the shot, his weight dropped back to
185 lbs. (84.09 kg), where it remained until he graduated.
After entering the Marine Corps and finishing
August 2008
boot camp, he was stationed at
the Norfolk Naval Base. It was at
this point where Randall stated
he was six months past his 21st
year in January of 1953 when he
was introduced to the finest
weight h·aining facility in the
Navy, mn by Chief Petty Officer
Walter Metzler. Randall was still
playing around with his shot put
and weighed 203 lbs. (92.27 kg)
but he wanted to get up to 225
lbs. (102.3 kg) in order to play
football for the base.
Randall stated his initiating strategy for getting bigger
and sh·onger:
In order to mcrease my
food intake, each time I
sat down to a meal I
would take an extra chop,
glass of milk, slice of
bread, etc. before leaving
the table. By doing this
at every meal, (and I
made it a point never to
miss a meal), my stomach seemed to stretch in
order to accommodate
the increase in food. Also
my digestion, assimilation and other body functions stepped up to take
care of the increase.
(Now I do not necessarily recommend this
method for those who
wish to gain weight. I
merely relate this to illustrate how I gained so rapidly.)s
Iron Game History
This photo, from the Todd-Mclean Collection, was given to Ottley Coulter by Randall
in the late 1950s, when he weighed approximately 225 pounds. It demonstrates the
body Randall had when he won the coveted NABBA Mr. Universe title in 1959. The
remarkable physical transformation he was able to make in just a few years, before
the arrival of anabolic steroids, is unprecedented in the annals of physical culture.
Even today-with anabolic steroids, human Growth Hormone, food supplements, and
an improved understanding of nutrition and training techniques-no one has come
close to doing what Randall did.
Randall shot from 203 lbs. (92.27 kg) up to 225 tion, but was a bit perplexed over his choice of training
lbs. (1 02.3 kg) in six weeks. By spring, he was up to 265 routines. It was well known that Rader and others were
lbs. (120.5 kg). At that point, Metzler convinced him to adamant about heavy leg work anchoring a big
drop football and focus on the weight training. Peary eating/strength program, but strangely enough, Randall
Rader liked and respected Randall's attitude and disposi- chose to work nothing but arms for those first initial
25
Iron Game History
months of training. However, Randall was quite diplomatic about his approach:
Let me say here and now that I do not believe
one can just get fat and become strong. Things
such as what foods were used to gain the
weight, routines used in training, living habits,
etc., all have to be done properly in order to
become stronger through increases in bodyweight. In other words if one makes a corresponding increase in the weights used in training as he gains weight the end result is
increased strength. This of course is not the
only way to get stronger. It just happens to be
the method I employed.6
Bmce Randall did make some alterations to his
program, but nothing elaborate and still no squats. He
I
Volume 10 Number 3
added some chest work and the "good morning" exercise
to his routine. On the latter movement, he would build
up to an unbelievable weight of 685 lbs. (311.4 kg).
Most people were afraid of doing the good morning
exercise with an empty barbell or even a broomstick, let
alone dare think of a weight of that enormity. It was tmly a Herculean feat of strength.
Randall originally shied away from the squat
because of a serious injury three years previously in
which he broke his leg in seven places. He would periodically test his strength in this movement and attributed
the hard work in the good morning exercise for allowing
him to squat 680 lbs. (309.1 kg). Not bad for an occasional attempt. He actually once took a shot at a 750 lbs.
(340.9 kg) good morning, but had to drop the bar
because the weights shifted on him.
The only thing rivaling Randall's incredible
feats of strength was the quantity of food he consumed.
In this photo, Randall weighs 187 pounds, which is almost as low as he went before upping
It was his belief that in order
to increase his strength, he
would have to increase his
size, and this meant a significant increase in food. He
structured his diet around
four meals starting at 6:30
a.m., 11 :30 a.m., 4:30 p.m.,
and finally 9:30 p.m. The
only food he would allow
between meals was milk.
On average, he consumed
eight to ten quatis (7 .26 to
9.08 L) a day along with 12
to 18 eggs. As mentioned,
this was average! He stated
it was not uncommon for
him to drink two quarts
(1.82 L) of milk for breakfast, along with 28 fried
eggs and a loaf and a half of
bread. He once consumed
19 quatis (17.25 L) of milk
in one day, and 171 eggs in
total over seven consecutive
breakfasts! That's almost
five gallons, or close to
15,000 calories and over
600 grams of protein in milk
alone. He was known to virtually fill an entire cafeteria
his food intake and altering his weight-loss training program. He added almost 40 pounds
before he won the Mr. Universe contest. The training programs and the diet he used to trim
down were at least as radical as the techniques he used to gain from 203 pounds to 342
pounds in just over 14 months. For example, during his weight-loss period he once trained
for 81 hours in one week, and in the first 15 days of 1956 he did at least 5,000 sit-ups every
day. He realized that these procedures were potentially dangerous, and did not recommend
them.
26
August 2008
tray with rice and pork and consume it all at a single sitting. [Editors ' note: On one occasion, this resulted in a
trip to the hospital. What happened is that by the time
Randall got to the mess hall most of the food that he
liked was gone- except for rice. So he ate a cafeteria
tray fit!! of rice which, not having been thoroughly
cooked, swelled so much once Randall had eaten it that
he had to have his stomach pumped.}
Randall was discharged from the Marines on
March 11, 1954 and tipped the scales at 342 lbs. (155 .5
kg). This was a gain of 139lbs. (63.18 kg) in just over
14 months. He continued to bring his weight up to 380
lbs. (172. 7 kg), when he made the following lifts:
Press: 2 repetitions with 365 lbs. (165.9 kg),
1 rep with 375 lbs.(170.5 kg);
Squat: 680 lbs. (309.1 kg);
Good morning exercise: with legs bent, back
parallel to floor, 685 lbs. (311.4 kg);
Deadlift: 730 lbs. (331.8 kg) 2 repetitions,
770 lbs. (350.0 kg) 1 rep;
Curl: 228 lbs. (1 03.6 kg);
Dum bell bench press: with pair of 220 lbs.
( 100 kg) dumbells, 2 repetitions;
Supine press: with 482 lbs. (2·19.1 kg) after 3
seconds pause at chest;
Decline dum bell press: with pair of 220 lbs.
(1 00 kg) dumbells, 1 repetition;
45 degree incline clean and press: 380 lbs.
(172.7 kg), twice, 410 lbs. (186.4 kg) once;
[Ed. Note: This was probably a continental
clean of some kind and not a power clean.}
Support weight at chest for 1/4 squats:
1320 lbs. (600 kg);
1/4 squats: with weight well in excess of
2100 lbs. (909.55 kg).7
These lifts were rivaling those of the phenomenal 1956 Olympic heavyweight weightlifting gold
medalist , Paul Anderson. Randall stated that he brought
his weight up to a final401lbs. (182.3 kg), but was finding it difficult to focus strictly on his training. [Ed. Note:
Not to mention the expense of his diet.} To this giant athlete, his quest for strength through sheer size was driven
by the power of a willful mind resembling that of The
Mighty Atom:
I am a finn believer in the power of the mind
when it comes to lifting (or anything else for
27
Iron Game History
that matter). It is only with the constant urging
of the mind upon the body to do more and
more that one attains the pinnacle. As much as
one uses his body in this spmi I believe he uses
his mind more. Strength, I believe, depends
upon one's mental attitude. How many times
I have seen a man say, 'I can't lift this,' and
consequently he can not. Conversely many
men can lift a weight because they think they
can. And they do! It all boils down to this.
Without the proper frame of mind nothing is
possible and with the proper frame of JRind
nothing is impossible.s
What Goes Up Must Come Down!
His "never say never" attitude was about to be
put to the test. It was August of 1955 when he hit 401
lbs. (182.3 kg) and decided he wanted to "look at life
from the other side of the weight picture." Upon his
decision to reduce his weight dramatically, he was met
by some negative feedback, including some from
authorities in the industry. Undaunted, Randall viewed
the challenge methodically as he stated:
Take a sculptor about to create a statue. He
takes a big, ungainly piece of rock and with his
hammer and chisel he chips away at the rock
until he creates the desired effect. Well, I was
that big ungainly hulk of rock and the dumbells and barbells were my hammer and chisel.
I also had something on my side that the sculptor does not have, Diet.9
Randall's strategy was basically to reverse all
engines. Just as he gradually increased his calories by
incrementally adding food to each meal, he did the
opposite by slowly reducing the size of each meal until
he settled into the following regimen:
Breakfast
Lunch
2 soft boiled eggs
Plain pint (0.45 L) of skim milk
Glass of orange juice
Apple
Salad, dates, nuts
Supper
Round steak
Two vegetables
Iron Game History
Quart (0.91 L) skim milk with
additional powdered milk
Gelatine
Coffee occasionallyiO
Volume 10 Number 3
chronically over-trained state. He probably had little difficulty bringing his competition weight up to 219 lbs.
(99.55 kg). According to the November, 1957 issue of
Muscle Power, he placed sixth a year later at 195 lbs.
(88.64 kg), 24 lbs. (10.9 kg) lighter than the year
He adopted a system formatted similarly to one before.l2 Randall's off-season weight seemed to have
Vince Gironda used the next year, but Randall would be settled between 230 lbs. (104.5 kg) and 240 lbs. (109.1
much more radical in his exercise regimen. He elimi- kg). He competed and won the 1959 NABBA Mr. Uninated the starch and much of the fat from his diet and
verse title at a body weight of222lbs. (100.9 kg). went very light on the lunch. His eating plan was pri- Randall said it was unlikely that he'd bring his marily lean protein and some fmits and vegetables.
Once again, Randall matched the dramatic reduction in weight to such a size again, but would not totally mle the
calories with an equally phenomenal increase in his possibility out. His food bill was often over $100 a week
h·aining. Repetitions jumped from three to five up to 12 and that wasn't cheap back in the mid-1950s. He did
to 15. His sets went from three to five and his repertoire state, however, that if he did choose to do so, he felt he
of exercises went from six to 20. He claimed his ses- could reach 500 1bs. (227.3 kg) in 18 months.
13 Bmce
sions lasted from six to seven hours. He stated that he Randall finished his revelations to Peary Rader in that
once h·ained 27 hours in two days, and 81 hours in one May 1957 article with the following advice, "In concluweek. sion I should like to say that I have found these two mles
In his New Year's resolution for 1956, he vowed enmmously helpful in any undertaking I have attempted.
to do 5,000 sit-ups daily for 15 days straight. He feels 1. Ask and ye shall receive. 2. The Lord helps those who
the 75,000 sit-ups helped him reduce his waist to 33 help themselves."l4
inches (83.82 em). Randall also incorporated a lot of It may have been the muscles of Bmce Randall
mnning into his routine and by March 20, 1956, he that first drew the young Chicago native, Teny Strand, to
weighed in at 183 lbs. (83.18 kg). This was an amazing go with such enthusiasm to see the 1950s physique star.
drop of 218 lbs. (99.09 kg) in 32 weeks. Below are However, it was Randall's nature that left so powerful an
Bmce Randall's measurements at his various weights. impression on Strand that 40 years later, Strand had He stated the measurements listed at 401 lbs. ( 182.3 kg) exhausted all Iron Game avenues in order to ascetiain
were actually taken at a lower weight. II
.----:-----=---:--=-==------=----:--:::--:-==-------:-::---:--=---:-:=-=:::,---, the remaining legacy of the idol of
January 3, 1953 August 2, 1955 March 20, 1956 his youth. Surely, many would be
203 lbs. (92.27 kg) 401 lbs. (182.3 kg) 183 lbs. (83.18 kg) curious as to just what else the amazArm: 16 ~" (41.28 em) 231/8" (58.75 em) 17 W (43.81 em)
ing drive of Bmce Randall brought
him through the subsequent decades
Chest: 45" (114.3 em) 61 %" (156.84 em) 49" (124.46 em) ofhis life.
Waist: 31" (78.74 em) 58 W' (148.59 em) 29" (73.66 em) Notes: Thigh: 23" 58.42 em) 35 W 89.54 em) 24" (60.96 em) 1. Interview with Terry Strand, 2006.
Calf: 16" (40.64 em) 22 1/8" (56.21 em) 17" (43.18 em) .__ ___ __;_ ___ _;__ _____ ....:...,_ __ __;_ ___ ___; ___ ....;.____. 3. Peary Rader, 'Editorial: A Lesson From Bruce Ran- 2. Ibid .
Randall went on to compete in the Mr. America
that year and placed thirteenth. His weight had gone
from 183 lbs. (83.18 kg) to 219 lbs. (99.55 kg) for that
event. What was amazing is that it was noted in Iron
Man that after all the weight manipulations, there were
no stretch marks or loose skin visible on his body at the
America show. At six feet two inches tall (187.96 em),
183 lbs. (83 .18 kg) was not an appropriate weight for
him and most likely represented a vety emaciated,
28
dall's Story,' Iron Man (April/May 1957): 7.
4. Peary Rader "The Amazing Story of Bruce Randall," Iron Man (April/May 1957):
12-17,42, 47-51.
5. 1bid., 12.
6. Ibid., 13-14.
7. Ibid., 15-16.
B. Ibid., 16.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid., 42.
11 . 1bid.
12. Charles Coster, "Ron Lacy Gains Double Victory at Daytona," Muscle Power
(November 1957): 25.
13. Rader, "Amazing Story of Bnuce R
Poll
