Bob Birdsong

by Robert Kurtz
Posted on March 16, 2024February 16, 2024

Is Chemical Bodybuilding The Answer?/Part 2
ARE CHEMICALS REVOLUTIONIZING OR RUINING BODYBUILDING?
by Gene Mozee, Feature Editor
B odybuilders and athletes all over the world are aware of potential bene- fits of anabolic steriod hormones.
What they tend to overlook, or dis- regard, are the potential detriments, which greatly outweigh whatever value is ascribed to them. Ninety percent of the individuals using steriods are only con cerned with how much they need to take to produce gains in weight, muscle and strength. The adverse side effects concern them little, if at all.
What is particularly disturbing to me is the young athletes and bodybuilders of high school age who are employing steriods. Their bone and tissue growth of areas like the ligaments, tendons and other connective tissue is still undergoing natu- ral growth. What happens when you ar tificially place greater stress on this natural process? One prominent bodybuilding authority who has had over thirty years of experience in the field believes that it could result in damage to areas like the bursa, and other synovial membranes which act as cushions for the various joints in the body. Injury to these sensitive areas could result in crippling arthritis.
Perhaps the most startling new infor mation advanced about the use of steriods has been uncovered by researchers in En- gland. After extensive investigations, En- glish physiologists have discovered that steriod use can result in premature aging of the arterial system. Massive cholesterol deposits have been found in the arteries of athletes using steriods. Here is an ex- ample. A 26-year old English hammer- thrower who had been using steriods for five years was examined. He was found to have the vascular deterioration equiva lent to that of a 68-year old man! This is a life-and-death matter when the car-
diovascular system is involved! Unfortunately, the pharmaceutical companies who manufacture and distrib ute anabolic steriods-there are over fif
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New West Coast sensation Bob Birdsong used a six-meals-a-day diet and super intense workouts to reach stardom-not steroids. Look for his article on deltoid training which will soon be featured in MB.

Bob Birdsong, one of the first “natural” bodybuilders to emerge after steroids became widespread. He trained at Gold’s Gym with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bill Pearl in the early 70s.

my correspondence with these men is their Ordinary, Common Sense Approach to training problems. I am sure that you will receive very wor- thwhile results from the suggestions of these men. I realize that these routines and suggestions were meant for my personal needs. The advice will still relate to a lot of you readers because you are hard gainers as I am.
You will notice that I do not go into an explicitly calculated explanation of the personalities or the exercise advice given. The reason I do not is because most of you dedicated readers of Iron Man are fairly well acquainted with the personalities and exercise per- formance. A novice in the iron game who is new to reading this magazine will be better off reading this advice and keeping the advice for future use. One of the best things a novice or even an in- termediate trai trainee can do is place an order for The Rader Master Bodybuilding & Weight Gaining Course as per ad found in this magazine. It will be the best $5.00 00 you will ever spend on a bodybuilding course. It takes you from total beginner stage to the intense ad- vanced areas of bodybuilding. After you have done these things you will then be ready to explore the merits of these training suggestions. You will also find that you will handle these suggestions correctly for best results. For the man who is ready for these suggestions, you will find that this advice evolves from basic exercise principles. What makes these suggestions effective is the little change made in the training grooves, positions, and combinations of exer- cises, etc., etc. Here is what the instructors and champs have had to say about training
advice comes from Donne onne Hale, former Mr. Florida winner. In the 1960s he published his own weight training magazine, The Florida Weightman. He so had his own bodybuilding studio. With the knowledge that this man gave he could easily have been called the Vince Gironda of the veast coast He currently runs his own well stocked health food store. This is what Donne told me personally about training on the body parts for development and training for strength gains. He said that when your job requires that you work the graveyard shift the best plan is to take a nap of several hours and then. train an hour after waking up. Then, get the rest of your sleep before going to work. If you are one of those persons. who simply CAN'T break up the sleep in this way, the next best bet is to train immediately after work if your work is not too strenuous. After all, you should magazine
problems: Our first personality and
not miss a whole week's training even if you have to make it easier! Donne's training advice was always very sound because he always stressed that one must train for HEALTH first, then EFFICIENCY, STRENGTH and last APPEARANCE.
Donne mentioned to me how I could cut down on my total training time. The first is to "speed up to rest EXACTLY one minute between sets, no more and no less, but time it. You will be sur- prised how much time you are probably wasting now, without realizing it. You might also rest only one minute between exercises. Both practices will take a little time to get used to, as working so fast will be a strain at first. Cut down This will not interfere with results in fact, it will probably improve them. The only other way to cut down the total training time is to super set some of your exercises. This makes your program more severe, of course, and the total time saved may not be much more than the other suggestions.
When I questioned Donne about.
forearm development he had this to
forear arm. If you are a slow gainer on the forearms don't expect to get it fast. Be content to work on them steadily and hard for a year or so. In that length of time you can build excellent forearms BUT you won't notice the growth from day to day. Best things to do are barbell. wrist curls (back and front), Zottman curls with dumbbells, using the wrist roller, winding in both directions, use of hand grippers or squeezing a rubber ball. These are all simple, all basic, but there is nothing better and, if you really work, they WILL produce, eventually. On upper arm training (biceps) he told me not to look for a 2 gain. Think in terms of the next then then worry about another half, etc. The simplest thing to do is first use a program of the simple, basic exercises-heavy barbell curls, erect rowing, a form of heavy pressing-performing 6 sets of 6-8 reps, striving always to use heavy weights. while still doing them doing them properly. Feel them every inch of the way, working slowly and powerfully. Stay on this routine for about 6 weeks; then lay off arm work entirely for a full week, let- ting them rest and grow. Then adopt a different program for the next six weeks, using more advanced exercises, such as concentration curls, Gironda curls (on the spider bench) triceps extensions, French presses, dips, etc., concentrating on shaping and bringing out the finer cuts. Follow with another layoff of say one week. Next, go on a super program, using super sets of everything, maybe even tri sets, not worrying about the weights, just ac- cumulating plenty of pump and burns.
say: An inch on the forearms is HARD
to get equal to about 3" on the upper
Keep this one up for 6 weeks, rest one.
week. Now, keep the arms active for one
month or so but forget about
specializing. Then, if you still want
more gains, repeat the whole process
once more. Always keep the muscles
covered and warm when specializing
and use plenty of massage on the
muscle area. Once I was having a having a problem doing presses over the head after my squat exercise. This is what Donne told me. There is no reason why you should have trouble pressing after squats unless you are completely exhausted (in which case you would have trouble with ANY other exercise) or, you have bad position of the bar on the squats and it is cutting off circulation to the arms and shoulders. Check your form and see what you are doing in that respect. The problem was the position of the bar on my shoulders. I was carrying the bar too high on my traps. When I dropped the bar down 3" and used a piece of armoflex padding, the problem was solved.
I was trying to build up my shallow chest and 1 and I again turned to Donne for advice. Some of you readers won't care for this advice but it surely works and it is the best that is available even today. I gained 3 in 3% months using this exercise scheme. He said: The only answer for a flat chest is BREATHING
29 Tinerino was declared ineligible because of his participation in another competitive contest according to reports. Bob has one of the greatest of physiques and should go even further. Reynolds photo.
SQUATS (reps of at least 20 a set, with plenty of huffing and puffing between. reps, holding the chest full of air while you go down, exhaling on the way up make yourself completely breathless. when you do them) Immediately af- terwards, while still puffing, do LIGHT straight arm pullovers over a small bench (lying just between the shoulders, so head hangs over and hips hang down in front), holding the lungs full while you make the pullover, continuing the puffing in between reps, stretching the rib cage up, as much as you can. Do these for about 20 reps too. You will feel an ache in the sternum, if you do these two exercises properly. That's the best basic and simple advice for chest ex-
pansion.
To have complete thigh development. the inner thigh must be in balance with the quads and thigh biceps, Hale's. suggestion to correct this faulty area. was: Do squats with feet wide and knees going out as you squat; also straddle hops with weight on shoulders, jumping the feet very wide apart, leg spreads (Continued on page 60)

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