Clarence Ross Workout and Diet (training for bulk)

Subj: The Clarence Ross workout routine to bulk like an old school strong man.

“Life is so much more worth living when a person is strong and healthy. Building, good health and developing a muscular body is the world’s most fascinating hobby. It is one you never tire of, and one which brings you both success and happiness in life.” – Clarence Ross

Clarence Ross was an old school bodybuilder who gained fame in the 1940’s. He was a prominent figure in physical culture for decades and his legacy lives on to this day.

Ross was an entrepreneur, master trainer and writer who competed with the best of the best, including John Grimek and Steve Reeves.

Clarence Ross possessed a classic physique with good muscle separation, symmetry and balanced muscles. He was also incredible strong.

His most notable victories include the 1945 AAU Mr. America and 1955 Mr. Universe.

Trained in 3 phases leading up to a bodybuilding competition. Each phase was a month long. Phase 1 was Bulking, Phase 2 was Definition and Symmetry, and Phase 3 was Specialization Split Routine.

This post covers Clarence Ross’ bulking routine. This bulking routing was taken from ‘Your Physique’ magazine, printed September 1946.

Alright, let’s begin.

Clarence Ross’ Old School Bulking Routine

Overview: Clarence Ross did this routine starting 3 months out from his bodybuilding competition, and it was performed for a month.

The bulk routine consists of 3 full body cycles + legs EACH workout.

Training Frequency: Trained 4 times a week. He did the full workout (the 3 full body cycles and legs) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And on Saturdays he trained legs only.

Duration: The workouts lasted 3-3.5 hours.

Sets and Reps: 4 sets of 10 reps each.

Again. EACH WORKOUT CONTAINED ALL THREE CYCLES + SQUATS. Meaning Clarance Ross completed Cycle 1, then moved on to Cycle 2, the Cycle 3 and Finally ended his workout with Squats and Leg training. All three Cycles + Legs = 1 workout.

Cycle 1

The weight listed below is what was printed in the “Your Physique” magazine. This gives you an idea of the weight you should be using. Take your 1-rep max and do some quick maths to determine the weight you should use for each set. All exercises were performed with 4 sets unless otherwise noted.

Exercises

Military Press

(Set #: weight x reps)

Set 1: 140 x 10
Set 2: 180 x 5
Set 3: 200 x 5
Set 4: 220 x 1
Set 5: 230 x 1

Barbell Curl

130 x 10

Upright Row

130 x 10

Prone Bench Press

240 x 10

Incline Press

100 x 10

One Arm Dumbbell Rows

80 x 15

Deadlift

300 x 15

Weighted Dips

100 x 15

Whew, that’s it for Cycle 1. Now hydrate and get ready for Cycle 2.

Cycle 2

Upright Row

140 x 10 (an increase of 10 pounds from Cycle 1)

Barbell Curl

(Set #: weight x reps)

Set 1: 140 x 10
Set 2: 160 x 5
Set 3: 170 x 5
Set 4: 180 x 5

Prone Bench Press

260 x 10 (an increase of 20 pounds from cycle 1)

Incline Press

120 x 10 (increase of 20 pounds from Cycle 1)

One Arm Dumbbell Rows

100 x 15 (increase 20 pounds from Cycle 1)

Deadlift

370 x 12 (Increase of 70 pounds and 3 less reps compared to Cycle 1)

Box Dips

20 reps (Stacked boxes and performed bodyweight dips with hands on study wooden boxes.) Get a good stretch at the bottom.

Cycle 3 (Chest and Tricep Focus)

Barbell Curl

150 x 10

Upright Row

150 x 10 (an increase of 10 pounds from Cycle 2)

Prone Bench Press

(Set #: weight x reps)

Set 1: 280 x 7 (an increase of 20 pounds from Cycle 2)
Set 2: 300 x 5

Incline Press

100 x 10 (decrease of 20 pounds from Cycle 2)

One Arm Dumbbell Rows

100 x 12 (decrease 3 reps per set from Cycle 2)

Deadlift

370 x 12 (Same weight and reps as Cycle 2)

Weighted Dips

100 x 10 performed on parallel bars

Cycle 4 (Squats)

Squat

Barbell behind the back, high-bar squats

(Set #: weight x reps)

Set 1: 260 x 10
Set 2: 300 x 10
Set 3: 320 x 10

Leg Press

(Set #: weight x reps)

Set 1: 400 x 20
Set 2: 500 x 20
Set 3: 600 x 20

Pullovers

55 x 20

Sit ups

100 reps

Boom. You’re done. That’s if for today. rest up and get ready to repeat this workout in 2 days.

Clarence Ross Diet

All natural whole foods from God’s green Earth. No processed crap. Plenty of beef, steak, pork, greens, quality grains, and fresh fruit.

Old School Bodybuilding Tips

These are more like requirements. Not just tips. These are principles. If you want to grow and have the energy to train hard enough to make gains then you need to take care of the following.

Get plenty of sleep – 7 hours minimum. 8 hours or more if you can swing it. Rest and recovery is important. “Take life easy.” Relax and let your body do what it does best: heal and get stronger.

Expose yourself to the Sun – Vitamin D and nice glow for your skin.

Exercise for Health – Train for health means train your heart and lungs, stay lean, and get strong. Don’t have to kill yourself.

Focus when training – mind on training while training and nothing else. You can’t fool yourself. You know if you’re 100% committed or not.

Don’t smoke or drink – Booze and cigs are poisons that hurt your gains.

I’m not here to tell you what to do. It’s your life. Live it however you want. But if you want to be healthy and fit, you should consider these words carefully.

Seems like common sense, but if we’ve learned anything lately it’s that common sense isn’t too common. So it bares repeating.