Max Unger was a German strongman born during the bronze era of bodybuilding. He was a bodybuilder around the same time as Eugen Sandow. I like showcasing these old school bodybuilders because they were around before steroids so we know they were natural. They are a good measure of what is achievable today without drugs.
Lionel Strongford was a (mostly) Vegetarian bodybuilder. Eat ate very little meat. But he did consume eggs and milk.
Maybe the vegetarian angle it was a marketing ploy to differentiate himself among the other victorian era bodybuilders. Could be but I doubt it. And besides, I don’t care what he ate. We know he wasn’t eating dianobol or pinning test twice a week.
I think Strongfort is an honest example of the body you can build with a vegetarian diet.
Strongfortism bodybuilding programs
Fastforwarding a bit here but Lionel Strongford became a success and sold his muscle building courses by male. Men would eagerly send in for a muscle course to get jacked. It was 10 lessens typewritten and mailed to each enrollee. Each lessen had exercises with a detailed explanation of how to execute each exercise.
Many of the exercises required a pair of dumbbells which weighed 5-10 points. They were hollow and you could unscrew the side of the bell and place a shot inside to increase the weight.
The advertisments for the muscle courses were hilarious. Basically calling your manhood into questions. Giving the reader a gut check and a nut check.
A tale as as old as time, playing on people’s insecurities. That’s the game and Strongford was good at it. People signed up in droves for his bodybuilding lessons.
Lionel Strongfort Workout
Old school exercises included push-ups, sit ups, side bends, high-knees, leg lifts, pull overs, cross-overs, double overs, up and under, and lots of lateral raises and Hindu squats.
Perform reps until tired.
Put full concentration on the movement you are doing.
Light weight, high repetitions – Trained with light weight dumbbells – 5 pound dumbbells for added resistance.
Progressive Overload – Try to do the same amount of work in less time to accumulate more volume and intensity to train the muscles and keep them progressively overloaded.
In addition you can engage in boxing, bag punching, wrestling gymnastics and other sports are recommend while weight training. 3 days a week should be a sufficient amount and not interfere with your bodybuilding efforts.
Many of the first bodybuilders trained wrestling. It was a common sport in bodybuilding history. Many other popular sports that exist today didn’t exist yet.
Interesting thing to note: People back in the 1900’s suffered from hunch back. they called in Occupational overture of the spine. And Lionel Strongford even had an exercise dedicated to it in his course. To help fix rounded shoulders.
Old School Bodybuilding Tips to Build Muscle
Cold Showers and Baths
Cold baths and showers. Good for you. Help you stay healthy and strong. So a cold doesn’t knock you off course.
Meal Timing
Don’t train within 30 before a meal and 90 minutes after a meal. Train in the morning is best but any other time is fine as long as you space out your meals.
How to sleep better
Sound sleep is important for bodybuilding. If you want to build muscle you need to sleep well. This is two fold. Good sleep helps build muscle and it also gives you energy to train. Her’s how you can sleep soundly.
Don’t eat anything heavy within 3 hours of bed.
Drink warm milk to sooth your nerves.
If you are alert due to nervousness or racing thoughts, wear warm socks on your feet and put a cool wet towel on your forehead. This will send blood out and sensation out of your brain and into your body and should help you relax.
Make sure you sleep with the windows open for fresh air flow. Bonus points if you sleep outside.
Don’t cover up too so must that you are too warm. Your sleeping chambers should be cool. you should be comfortable and not overheat.
If you still have trouble sleeping go for a mile long walk before going to sleep this should take the edge off and help you drive toff to sleep well.
Lionel Strongfort Old School Bodybuilding Diet
Eat a lot of lightly cooked green vegetables. Raw vegetables and acidic fruits can be eaten to your heart’s content. Eat acidic fruits like apples organs and grapes.
Eat vegetables as raw as possible . You want their mineral salts and compounds and if you cook them too much or incorrectly you loose a lot of the nutritional value. Eat lots of green vegetable. Strongfort notes that green vegetables that grow above ground are better than those that grow below ground. If you eat potatoes it’s best to bake them.
Eat as little meat as possible.
Eat 2 eggs per day.
Drink unskimmed milk instead of coffee or tea after meals. Sip milk slowly to get all the nutrients out of it.
Diet tips
Don’t eat unless you have a healthy appetite. Follow your taste buds.
Chew your food thoroughly this helps the digestion processes so you can fully assimilate the nutrients in the food.
Drink 3 quarts MINIMUM per day.
This amount is excreted by your body on a daily basis and muscle be replenished. Banks are good too. chew everything in a paste before swallowing.
Avoid white flour food products and baked goods like cake, pies and sweets.
The sport of male bodybuilding wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for these guys.
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