This article contains so much more than a workout. In contains hidden gems lost to the pages of bodybuilding history. This post is DENSE with training wisdom from former Mr. Universe George Eiferman.
Let’s start at the beginning…
George Eiferman grew up running the streets in his hometown of Philadelphia until he enlisted in the Navy after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Life aboard ship was stressful. Eiferman lifted weights to blow off steam in order to cope with the looming possibility of being shipped overseas to fight.
After years of pumping iron on the Navy vessel, his military service term ended and he went back home to Philadelphia.
His years of hard work build his body started to pay off. He was crowned Mr. Philadelphia in 1947, and quickly followed up with a fifth place finish in the Mr. America contest that same year.
Much of his time was committed to bodybuilding training. When he wasn’t training he was making music, eating, or working odd jobs to finance his lifestyle.
California Dreaming
Like many bodybuilders, California was calling to George. It wasn’t long before he headed West to the Golden State. Before finding his fortune, he slept on a trampoline in the gym where he trained worked.
Eiferman roughed it for a while while preparing to compete in the Mr. America competition. George’s grit and determination paid off when he won the Mr. America in 1948, which gained him national exposure.
George appeared in the national spotlight almost overnight. He used his fame and platform to help troubled youth. He joined forces with the National School Assemblies of America and spend time preaching the benefits of physical culture to packed auditoriums. He is responsible for helping kids stay on the straight and narrow by instilling values of discipling and self respect. Fitness was Eiferman’s tool to build character in our nations children.
A Triple Threat
George Eiferman was a natural showman who captivated audiences with feats of strength, athleticism and musical talents. He would hoist a giant barbell over head while playing the trumpet and cracking jokes. Once he won over the audience, he told his story of how he went from a scrawny kid running the streets to a Navy Seaman and bodybuilding champion.
George Eiferman is an inspiration to many. He introduced physical fitness to 100,000’s of people during his long career as a public speaker.
However, no one would have cared about him if he was a pencil neck geek. But when you’re Mr. America you turn heads.
The follow is George Eifermen’s workout routine he used to bulk up as a young chap. This is his foundational routine. It was total body training performed three times per week. After the workout you will find variations of his training routine as well has tips and tricks he accumulated over 30 years of weight training.
George Eiferman’s Training Routine
Perform the following routine 3x per week. Aim to get stronger within the prescribed rep range.
Hack Squats 3 Sets 7-10 Reps
Bench Press 3 Sets 7-10 Reps
Bent Arm Flyes 3 Sets 7-10 Reps
Standing Side Lateral Raise 3 Sets 7-10 Reps
Alternate Dumbbell Press 3 Sets 7-10 Reps
Cheating One Arm Rowing 3 Sets 7-10 Reps
Cheating Barbell Curl 3 Sets 7-10 Reps
Dumbell Concentration Curl 3 Sets 7-10 Reps
Dumbell Wrist Curl 3 Sets 7-10 Reps
Side Bends with Kettlebell 3 Sets 7-10 Reps
Sit Ups (bodyweight only) 3 Sets 8-12 Reps
Rest 2-3 minutes in between sets.
This routine is a great starting point for beginners, as well as an effective routine for advanced trainers.
As Eiferman matured he added more to his training repertoire. Much more in fact. At one point he was squatting every day of the week.
George Eiferman’s Timeless Training Wisdom
“You’re only as old as your legs.”
George’s leg training is one of the reasons he won the Mr. Universe at age 36. An age when most athletes get put out to pasture, he was crushing the competition.
George liked to squat. A lot. His ideal squat training was 6 sets of 15 reps.
Rapid fire squats were his favorite. Each rep was performed at ballistic speed. Each rep taken to parallel. Squats were performed every day.
He’d do 2 sets of 20 reps to carve the finer details into his legs. He often varied his heel and toe placement during squats. As well as his heel and toe elevation to attack his leg muscles from new angles.
How to Build an Elite Chest
George’s gorgeous pectorals where a result of bench press. He said that bench press was the main contributor to his chest muscle development. He performed some bench press variation every workout.
Chest Training Tips from Mr. Universe
He preferred the standard bench pressing movement performed on a flat bench. Incline bench presses of all angles/grips using dumbbells/barbells were done regularly.
“The orthodox bench press is the King of all upper body exercises, those that develop the ‘foundations of Power’ and build muscle form seen only the world’s strongest and best developed men. My first reaction to the bench press was one of chest, arm and deltoid fullness. It gave me a feeling of massiveness that curls and standing laterals and presses in standing position had never done. As I looked into a mirror after my first of bench presses, I knew I had at last found my ideal Upper Trunk exercises, for my whole upper physique appeared thicker and more muscular and ever sice that days. I have been sold on the merits of bench pressing”
– George Eiferman
Grip wide and breath deep – He used the wide grip. He has found the bench press spreads and deepens the entire rib box, raises the chest high, fill it with air, and pull your shoulders back. This is how you develop the pectoral muscles.
Vary your grip – George used wide grip, close grip and everything in between. The wide grip trained the outer head of the pectorals while a closer grip builds up the triceps and deltoids, as well as the elusive middle portion of the chest muscles.
Dumbbell bench presses are excellent too, particularly if you drop the dumbbells as lowe as possible below the line of the chest. This version stretches the pectorals tremendously and “pumps” them up.
Superset presses – Superset wide-grip bench press with dumbbell press. Dumbbell presses where done in slow motion to keep an incredible amount of tension on the chest muscles. He’d make it a point to pull his elbows as far back as possible each rep to really stretch the pecs.
What a bigger chest? Expand your ribcage – The tension places on the chest will increase the size of your ribcage overtime. This is achieved with presses of all kinds and pull-overs. Pull-overs helped increase the width of his chest and created an aesthetic appears with his shoulder-chest muscle tie in.
George Eiferman’s Training Notes
Back Training Tips – Rows are the best exercise for building the back musculature. Bent over rows were preformed in a rotary fashion. That is, pull the barbell to your waist then, keeping it close to your chest move it toward your chin. If you followed the range of motion of your elbow it would make an oval path. Pull-ups and lat pulldown should be performed regularly to build strength. (If you can’t do a pull-up that should be your a primary goal. Unlocking the pull-up is a critical milestone.)
Deltoid training – Behind the neck presses where a shoulder building staple. Eiferman had very very strong shoulders capable of pressing 315-pounds overhead. Front lateral raises where done by lifting the weight almost straight up overhead (instead of stopping at shoulder level).
Tricep Training – Bench presses of all kinds helped build his horseshoe triceps. Narrow grip being a preferred tricep annihilator.
Forearm training – George’s massive forearms were the result of manhandeling heavy weight plus direct forearm training. Grip strength should be improved. As George put it:
“If your grip is powerful, and your forearms strong, when you lift heavy weights in your training, they will feel easier to handle. You will never have to worry about your grip failing you.”
Arm Trisets – Trisets are three exercises performed back to back to back. George cranked out wrist curls between bicep/tricep exercises.
Reps/Sets – Under 5 sets of 8 reps or less build muscle mass and power. High reps and sets develop endurance and muscle definition
The best exercises for muscle growth, strength and power – The Big 3 barbell exercises, Bench press, squats, and deadlifts stimulates growth because of the heart and lung stimulation. Heavy hang cleans and other power moves are also great growth exercises.
There you have it. I little tidbit go timeless wisdom from one of the greatest bodybuilders to ever live.
I’m trying the squat everyday workout. Today was day one. I’m going to do it for a minimum of 30 days. Hopefully I get enormous tree trunk thighs. We’ll see.
I was at Twin Fals, ID high school in the 195os and George Efferman came to our auditorium and gave a talk. I went into the USMC in 1960 and, the six months before, I worked out three times a day for an hour. I still have my routine from York Barbell. I never put down my pondages as I was too embarrassed. But I remember I tripled my strength. I was known in the Marines for being strong: out of 400 officer candidates, only I could go up a rope hand over hand. And I had never done it at home – just chin-ups. I never pulled a muscle, got stiff or gave up lifting for the next ten years so I stayed in shape. Still do.
I called George in Las Vegas at his gym, around 1974, and thanked him for influencing me. He was a great guy. – aways spoke softly and always humble. When I started to lift, I was 23 and Arnold was only 13.
Great comment I enjoyed reading it – Thank you for your service, William. And thank you for sharing!