Wisdom cubed: Keys to Progress…purposefully primitive philosophic foundation
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I get asked repeatedly for book recommendations and always draw a blank because with one or two notable exceptions books on physical transformation are invariably whorish product plugs, woefully inadequate or downright misinformed. I glanced over at my book shelf the other day and for some subconscious reason my eyes strayed and stayed on the black book spine with the white writing: “Keys to Progress” I had a Zen kensho experience and pulled down off the shelf the closet thing to a training bible I’ve ever had. Now I will qualify that by saying when I started reading this material originally I was a 15-year old boy. However a few years back I took it upon myself to reread the compiled Keys to Progress articles and these polished gems stood the test of time remarkably well. It all started when another purposeful primitive, Randall Strossen Ph.D. had the brilliant idea to collect and anthologize the 100-plus articles that comprised the Keys article series. Upon rereading the book, 80% of the information and assertions were still valid. In my opinion it should be mandatory that a copy of Key to Progress be provided to every barbell purchaser. John McCallum wrote a monthly column for Strength and Health magazine from June of 1965 until November of 1972. I was a devotee and his admonitions and admonishments, his heroes and zeroes, shaped and influenced me for the rest of my life. His tactical training approach was grounded in the idea that hard work pays big dividends. Pure unadulterated effort was the key to muscle growth. Let the Man himself tell you in his own inimitable style…
I remember watching Reg Park workout one time. He was doing squats. He had half the weights in the gym draped across his shoulders and the owner biting his nails in case the wood floor broke. Park did rep after rep and each one looked like the last. One of the guys watching nudged me and said,
“Have you ever seen anyone work harder than that?”
“No.” I said. “I haven’t. I never saw anyone with more muscle either.”
We watched Park finish his workout. Then we went out for a bite to eat and the guy said. “Do you think it’s really necessary to workout that hard?”
“Sure.” I said. “Don’t you?”
He thought for a minute. “I dunno. I never worked that hard but I got a few muscles.”
“Sure.” I said. “But you look like somebody’s mother-in-law alongside Park.”
The guy munched his sandwich with a pained look.
“That’s what makes the difference.” {hard work} I said. “Anyone can work out easy with moderate weight and develop a fair body. That’s what most trainees do. But hard work on the right exercises is what separates the champions from everyone else.” I bite into my sandwich and chewed it down. “How much do you squat for reps?”
“Around two-fifty.” He said.
“Okay.” I said. “So your muscles have grown enough to handle two hundred and fifty pounds, and that gave you some fair development. But Park was using over 500 for reps! That means his muscles have grown enough to handle twice what you do. And that, pure and simple, is why he has so much more muscle than you.” He looked like he was thinking about it so I continued. “Reg Park was at your stage of development at one time. He probably squatted 250 and had a corresponding level of development. But the difference with Park is that he had the ambition and mental drive to keep forcing the weights upward even after he had a nice build. He wanted to be the best so he kept adding weight a few more pounds at a time. Now he looks like Superman.”
The guy finished his sandwich. “You figure that does it, eh?”
“Right.” I said. “Correct exercise, tremendous weights, and hard, hard work. It’s simple as that.”
Could Ivan Turgenev have said it any better? This snippet is representational of McCallum’s whimsical storytelling style: a moral tucked inside a fable and always ending in a concrete lesson. His pithy encapsulation about Reg Park remains an object lesson in how to achieve success in progressive resistance training: what to do and how to do it. This approach stands up as well today as when it was first written 41 years ago. Randy Strossen has lassoed over 100 articles penned by Mac. The article titles set the thematic tone of this master tome: Concentration, Squat! The Get Big Drink, For Size and Strength, Sleep, Power training, The High Protein Diet, Bulking the Upper Body, The Home Gym, Neck Specialization, Parallel Bar Dips, Hard Work, Shoulder Specialization, Back Work For Bulk, Softening Up for Gains, The Fountain of Youth, Arm Specialization, Energy, Maximum Effort parts I, II and III, The Causes of Failure…on and on it rolls. Great stuff told in great style; a voice from an innocent bygone era that (predominately) rings as true today as when it was all first uttered. Back in the day Mac’s articles were a red-meat call to arms for any red-blooded American juvenile delinquent/athlete worth his salt. We’ve leaned a lick or two since the mid-sixties but Mac set us straight on the basic facts of weight training life and his storytelling ability still charms the pants of folks newly introduced to his fables and foibles. Each month he would tell a story through the eyes of his rotating cast of characters…Ollie, Marvin the boyfriend, the virile Uncle Harry, Reg Park, Bill Pearl and Maurice Baker. His homilies were constructed around the idea that boys could transform themselves into physical giants infused with power, muscle, sinew and grit – all by striving for pure unadulterated strength. The methods preached were Old School even back then: squat above all else, 20-rep breathing squats, 5-rep power squats, triples, doubles, single reps, by becoming a squat master you would transform your physique. I ate it up with a fork and spoon from ages fifteen through nineteen. I could not have had a better coach. By demanding that I become strong as possible in the prime movers (“Anything less than 500×5 in the squat is unacceptable” he told us in no uncertain terms) he established a method, a tone and timbre that has formed the spine, the core, the essential essence for my training ever since. It has resonated true for me for over 40-years. Hugh Cassidy and Ed Coan (and to a lesser degree Doug Furnas, Mark Chaillet and Kirk Karwoski) verified and amplified Mac’s assertions about training and effort as being spot on. I in turn pass down this approach to those who seek my advice. This isn’t any genius on my part….all I do is hand down the Old School tactical approach I was given from Mac and Bill Starr and Sergio and Bill March and Ski and Bill Pearl and Marvin Eder and Hugh and Ed and Doug and Paul Anderson, our Patron Saint. If you want to purchase a copy of Keys to Progress contact sales@ironmind.com
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Wisdom cubed: Keys to Progresspurposefully primitive philosophic foundation
10 June 2005I get asked repeatedly for book recommendations and always draw a blank because with one or two notable exceptions books on physical transformation are invariably whorish product plugs, woefully inadequate or downright misinformed. I glanced over at my book shelf the other day and for some subconscious reason my eyes strayed and stayed on the black book spine with the white writing: Keys to Progress I had a Zen kensho experience and pulled down off the shelf the closet thing to a training bible Ive ever had.
Now I will qualify that by saying when I started reading this material originally I was a 15-year old boy. However a few years back I took it upon myself to reread the compiled Keys to Progress articles and these polished gems stood the test of time remarkably well. It all started when another purposeful primitive, Randall Strossen Ph.D. had the brilliant idea to collect and anthologize the 100-plus articles that comprised the Keys article series. Upon rereading the book, 80% of the information and assertions were still valid. In my opinion it should be mandatory that a copy of Key to Progress be provided to every barbell purchaser.
John McCallum wrote a monthly column for Strength and Health magazine from June of 1965 until November of 1972. I was a devotee and his admonitions and admonishments, his heroes and zeroes, shaped and influenced me for the rest of my life. His tactical training approach was grounded in the idea that hard work pays big dividends. Pure unadulterated effort was the key to muscle growth. Let the Man himself tell you in his own inimitable style
I remember watching Reg Park workout one time. He was doing squats. He had half the weights in the gym draped across his shoulders and the owner biting his nails in case the wood floor broke. Park did rep after rep and each one looked like the last. One of the guys watching nudged me and said,
Have you ever seen anyone work harder than that?
No. I said. I havent. I never saw anyone with more muscle either.
We watched Park finish his workout. Then we went out for a bite to eat and the guy said. Do you think its really necessary to workout that hard?
Sure. I said. Dont you?
He thought for a minute. I dunno. I never worked that hard but I got a few muscles.
Sure. I said. But you look like somebodys mother-in-law alongside Park.
The guy munched his sandwich with a pained look.
Thats what makes the difference. {hard work} I said. Anyone can work out easy with moderate weight and develop a fair body. Thats what most trainees do. But hard work on the right exercises is what separates the champions from everyone else. I bite into my sandwich and chewed it down. How much do you squat for reps?
Around two-fifty. He said.
Okay. I said. So your muscles have grown enough to handle two hundred and fifty pounds, and that gave you some fair development. But Park was using over 500 for reps! That means his muscles have grown enough to handle twice what you do. And that, pure and simple, is why he has so much more muscle than you. He looked like he was thinking about it so I continued. Reg Park was at your stage of development at one time. He probably squatted 250 and had a corresponding level of development. But the difference with Park is that he had the ambition and mental drive to keep forcing the weights upward even after he had a nice build. He wanted to be the best so he kept adding weight a few more pounds at a time. Now he looks like Superman.
The guy finished his sandwich. You figure that does it, eh?
Right. I said. Correct exercise, tremendous weights, and hard, hard work. Its simple as that.
Could Ivan Turgenev have said it any better? This snippet is representational of McCallums whimsical storytelling style: a moral tucked inside a fable and always ending in a concrete lesson. His pithy encapsulation about Reg Park remains an object lesson in how to achieve success in progressive resistance training: what to do and how to do it. This approach stands up as well today as when it was first written 41 years ago. Randy Strossen has lassoed over 100 articles penned by Mac. The article titles set the thematic tone of this master tome: Concentration, Squat! The Get Big Drink, For Size and Strength, Sleep, Power training, The High Protein Diet, Bulking the Upper Body, The Home Gym, Neck Specialization, Parallel Bar Dips, Hard Work, Shoulder Specialization, Back Work For Bulk, Softening Up for Gains, The Fountain of Youth, Arm Specialization, Energy, Maximum Effort parts I, II and III, The Causes of Failureon and on it rolls. Great stuff told in great style; a voice from an innocent bygone era that (predominately) rings as true today as when it was all first uttered. Back in the day Macs articles were a red-meat call to arms for any red-blooded American juvenile delinquent/athlete worth his salt. Weve leaned a lick or two since the mid-sixties but Mac set us straight on the basic facts of weight training life and his storytelling ability still charms the pants of folks newly introduced to his fables and foibles.
Each month he would tell a story through the eyes of his rotating cast of charactersOllie, Marvin the boyfriend, the virile Uncle Harry, Reg Park, Bill Pearl and Maurice Baker. His homilies were constructed around the idea that boys could transform themselves into physical giants infused with power, muscle, sinew and grit all by striving for pure unadulterated strength. The methods preached were Old School even back then: squat above all else, 20-rep breathing squats, 5-rep power squats, triples, doubles, single reps, by becoming a squat master you would transform your physique. I ate it up with a fork and spoon from ages fifteen through nineteen. I could not have had a better coach. By demanding that I become strong as possible in the prime movers (Anything less than 500×5 in the squat is unacceptable he told us in no uncertain terms) he established a method, a tone and timbre that has formed the spine, the core, the essential essence for my training ever since. It has resonated true for me for over 40-years. Hugh Cassidy and Ed Coan (and to a lesser degree Doug Furnas, Mark Chaillet and Kirk Karwoski) verified and amplified Macs assertions about training and effort as being spot on. I in turn pass down this approach to those who seek my advice.
This isnt any genius on my part.all I do is hand down the Old School tactical approach I was given from Mac and Bill Starr and Sergio and Bill March and Ski and Bill Pearl and Marvin Eder and Hugh and Ed and Doug and Paul Anderson, our Patron Saint. If you want to purchase a copy of Keys to Progress contact sales@ironmind.com
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