I know that Chris Cormier was known for extremely heavy training, however....

[Royalty]

What’s the point when Vince Taylor annihilates him on the first pose of the mandatories?

[michael arvilla]

Strength doesn’t equate to muscle growth (insertions / full muscle bellies / roundness and small joints on billowing muscles ) if it did Brian Shaw be MR Olympia! … Vince Taylor built one of the all time greatest physiques by “ pumping the muscles full of blood)

[wes]

Taylor was awesome.

[Royalty]

Strength doesn’t equate to muscle growth (insertions / full muscle bellies / roundness and small joints on billowing muscles ) if it did Brian Shaw be MR Olympia! … Vince Taylor built one of the all time greatest physiques by “ pumping the muscles full of blood)

And Cormier did have great insertions and muscle bellies. But Vince Taylor was on a different level.

Vince at the 1995 Niagara Falls Pro

[Hypertrophy]

sarcoplasmic vs myofibrillar hypertrophy: https://www.elitefts.com/education/bigger-is-guy-fallacies-of-muscle-hypertrophy-for-strength-athletes/


Cliff Notes: You don't have to be super strong to be super big

[jude2]

Vince was awesome.  THat is a young CC. there.

[robcguns]

Some people like to be strong as well.

[Hypertrophy]

Some people like to be strong as well.

[bhank]

Let's not forget Don Youngblood beat Vince Taylor

[Dave D]

Let's not forget Don Younglblood beat Vince Taylor

In one contest. Vince beat Don in longevity.

[nerdoldnerdith]

Lifting heavy weight is cool

[pamith]

Lol at assuming Vince Taylor was ''weak'', he was probably just as strong as cormier, srs

[karasan]

Lol at assuming Vince Taylor was ''weak'', he was probably just as strong as cormier, srs

I can definitely believe that, he had one of the best ever triceps in the business and had amazing thick back, I haven't seen many weak people with crazy triceps and impressive back thickness.
He probably had amazing cardiovascular effifiency not unlike Serge Nubret and Ahmet Enunlu.
A normal person would hardly go through their workouts with an empty bar.

[Gym-Rat]

Let's not forget Don Younglblood beat Vince Taylor

Vince destroys Youngblood all-day long. Don looked like a red-lobster who would pop, and he did.
A purple-headed warrior.
Don was a 1-trick pony, Vince is one of the GOAT's:

=======

1987

Mr America - AAU, Medium, 1st
Nationals - NPC, Light-HeavyWeight, 4th

1988

Nationals - NPC, Overall Winner
Nationals - NPC, Light-HeavyWeight, 1st

1989

Grand Prix England - IFBB, 2nd
Grand Prix Finland - IFBB, 2nd
Grand Prix Holland - IFBB, 4th
Night of Champions - IFBB, Winner
Olympia - IFBB, 3rd

1991

Arnold Classic - IFBB, 3rd
Grand Prix Denmark - IFBB, Winner
Grand Prix England - IFBB, 2nd
Grand Prix Finland - IFBB, Winner
Grand Prix Italy - IFBB, Winner
Grand Prix Spain - IFBB, Winner
Grand Prix Switzerland - IFBB, Winner
Ironman Pro Invitational - IFBB, 5th
Olympia - IFBB, 3rd
Pittsburgh Pro Invitational - IFBB, Winner

1992

Arnold Classic - IFBB, Winner
Ironman Pro Invitational - IFBB, Winner
Olympia - IFBB, 6th
Pittsburgh Pro Invitational - IFBB, Winner

1993

Arnold Classic - IFBB, 3rd
Grand Prix France - IFBB, 2nd
Grand Prix Germany - IFBB, 2nd
Ironman Pro Invitational - IFBB, 3rd
San Jose Pro Invitational - IFBB, Winner

1994

Arnold Classic - IFBB, 2nd
Grand Prix France - IFBB, 2nd
Grand Prix Germany (2) - IFBB, 2nd
Ironman Pro Invitational - IFBB, Winner

1995

Grand Prix England - IFBB, Winner
Grand Prix France - IFBB, Winner
Grand Prix Germany - IFBB, 2nd
Grand Prix Russia - IFBB, 2nd
Grand Prix Spain - IFBB, 2nd
Grand Prix Ukraine - IFBB, Winner
Houston Pro Championships - IFBB, 2nd
Niagara Falls Pro Invitational - IFBB, Winner
Night of Champions - IFBB, 2nd
Olympia - IFBB, 5th

1996

Arnold Classic - IFBB, 4th
Grand Prix Czech Republic - IFBB, 4th
Grand Prix England - IFBB, 6th
Grand Prix Germany - IFBB, 6th
Grand Prix Russia - IFBB, 3rd
Grand Prix Spain - IFBB, 6th
Grand Prix Switzerland - IFBB, 5th
Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Winner
San Jose Pro Invitational - IFBB, 3rd

1997

Arnold Classic - IFBB, 5th
Grand Prix Czech Republic - IFBB, 7th
Grand Prix England - IFBB, 7th
Grand Prix Finland - IFBB, 6th
Grand Prix Germany - IFBB, 9th
Grand Prix Hungary - IFBB, 9th
Grand Prix Russia - IFBB, 6th
Grand Prix Spain - IFBB, 8th
Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Overall Winner
Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Masters 40+, 1st

1998

Arnold Classic - IFBB, 3rd
Arnold Classic - IFBB, Masters, 1st

1999

Arnold Classic - IFBB, 6th
Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Winner

2000

Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Winner

2001

Olympia - IFBB, 13th
Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Winner

2002

Olympia - Masters - IFBB, 2nd

2006

Grand Prix Australia - IFBB, 3rd
Olympia - IFBB, 11th

2007

Arnold Classic - IFBB, 10th
Grand Prix Australia - IFBB, 3rd
Olympia - IFBB, Did not place

2008

Atlantic City Pro - IFBB, Masters 50+, 1st
Atlantic City Pro - IFBB, Masters, 7th

Lets not forget how they're doing today:

Don



Vince:

[Gym-Rat]

We may as well add Dons resume for comparison:


Don Youngblood

Born April 7, 1954

Died May 2005

[pamith]

I can definitely believe that, he had one of the best ever triceps in the business and had amazing thick back, I haven't seen many weak people with crazy triceps and impressive back thickness.
He probably had amazing cardiovascular effifiency not unlike Serge Nubret and Ahmet Enunlu.
A normal person would hardly go through their workouts with an empty bar.

Tbh Vince probably could bench 500 lbs but I'm not sure

[Gym-Rat]

Tbh Vince probably could bench 500 lbs but I'm not sure

I would guess not as he didnt train that way. Im sure he wasnt weak though. Epic genetics...

[Humble Narcissist]

sarcoplasmic vs myofibrillar hypertrophy: https://www.elitefts.com/education/bigger-is-guy-fallacies-of-muscle-hypertrophy-for-strength-athletes/


Cliff Notes: You don't have to be super strong to be super big

For a competitive bodybuilder there is no reason to work on strength specifically.

[Hypertrophy]

For a competitive bodybuilder there is no reason to work on strength specifically.

Exactly!

[Hulkotron]

Many years of strength and conditioning research has suggested a phenomenon I think is lost on most of the smaller guys in the gym: if your goal is muscle mass, the key variable of your workouts is volume (sets x reps x weight), and adding more reps is a much faster way to progress volume than adding more weight.

[Rambone]

Lmao look at Vince still stewing over his unforgettable loss to Don Youngblood. I’m sure he wakes up every morning thinking about it. Hey, speaking of which. Where’s Don nowadays?

[20inch calves]

Don youngblood didn't have the greatest genetics. I'm sure he pushed the envelope with the chemicals. If you remember he was always red with high blood pressure

[Matt]

Strength doesn’t equate to muscle growth (insertions / full muscle bellies / roundness and small joints on billowing muscles ) if it did Brian Shaw be MR Olympia! … Vince Taylor built one of the all time greatest physiques by “ pumping the muscles full of blood)

Absolutely correct. I'm not 100% certain that Vince necessarily trained that way on purpose - I always got the impression that Vince was a genetic freak who could basically just lift light dummbells for an hour or two a day and grow.

I had totally forgotten the name of his 1990 training video was "Getting Pumped" - and what I wrote confirmed that Vince wasn't an intense trainer, even then:

The video allowed me to get a close look at Vince Taylor's training techniques and also confirmed many of the rumours for me - Vince was not particularly intense in the gym. He was much like your average fitness enthusiast who worked out for the fun of it. This was probably why he remained injury free for so long and kept improving his physique until well into his forties - VERY few bodybuilders have been able to do so, but some like Ronnie Coleman and Albert Beckles come to mind.

https://web.archive.org/web/20100115122916/http://bodybuildingpro.com/vincetaylorgettingpumpeddvd.html

You can buy the DVD here - although I don't know if GMV has a digital copy available:

https://gmvbodybuilding.com/bodybuilding-videos/male-bodybuilders/male-bodybuilding-dvd/vince-taylor-workout-getting-pumped-dvd/?v=3e8d115eb4b3

Clip from the DVD:

https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/gmvbodybuilding.com/Sample-Videos/20160913171518/V-008_H264_PREVIEW.mp4

Though he was 50 years old at the time, you get an idea of how hard he didn't train in his segment on the Battle for the Olympia DVD from 2006.

I just never got the impression he was a hard trainer or a particular "bro" eater either.

It's not like genetic shape [muscle bellies/fullness] was obtained in the gym - it was assigned to him along with his lungs and his pancreas. His ease of gaining muscle was the same, IMO - not to mention placing 3rd at a legit pro show at age 50. He also only dieted for seven weeks for the 2007 "O", and he 51 at that time.

Vince was a straight up genetic gift altogether. I say that not to bash his work ethic, but...it is what it is.

I'd bet any money Vince Taylor could be 85% of this from TRT+ level doses and a normal healthy diet only slightly high on protein:

[Gym-Rat]

Vince is a genetic freak. Don is a corpse.

Rumor has it Vince would show up w/ his lunch at the gym each day, eating McD's and drinking coke.

Has a ton of Pro wins, more than most in history...

[Matt]

Don youngblood didn't have the greatest genetics. I'm sure he pushed the envelope with the chemicals. If you remember he was always red with high blood pressure

Don Youngblood was BayGBM's favourite bodybuilder. 

Below is one of Don Youngblood's last known photographs - this was taken at the 2004 NPC Nationals, where Don was 50 [approximately half a year before he died]:



http://www.getbig.com/news/2005-02/050905youngblood.htm

Don had underwent angioplasty sometime around 2004, and was diabetic and had sleep apnea. Despite that, and despite injuring his triceps while attempting to bench press 585-lb during a Chris Lund photoshoot in 2002, Don was planning a comeback for the 2006 Night of Champions [which became the NY Pro after he died].

Don was independently wealthy, and his nutrition was done by Chad Nicholls. I have no doubt at all that he was on everything and the kitchen sink. Not good for pushing 50 - nor to walk around at 300-lb in the offseason at 5'9". It's a sad story - given he had a wife and kids, in addition to his successful trucking business [and being BayGBM's personal favourite].

The picture below was taken in 2001. Don was around 295 here, and competed in 2001 at 240, and in 2002 at 247.

RIP.