Bruce Randall (II)

This is the continuation of the first article about Bruce Randall and his amazing transformation. If you missed the previous article, we recommend you begin with it.

On 2 August 1955 the scale showed that Bruce weighted 182 kg. Then he took a hard decision, a decision to get rid of the excess fat. According to authorities in weightlifting and physical education, he would have never been able to lose the excess weight and participate in any bodybuilding competitions. But the word "never" motivated Bruce to begin to sculpt his body like a sculptor, a sculptor having only dumbbells and barbells as tools.

The Beginning

 Randall realized the need to radically change his eating and exercise habits . After pondering on the subject for a while, he decided to do the opposite of everything that helped him to increase his weight. At first he began reducing the amount of food he took. Then  he gradually eliminated carbohydrate and fat heavy foods from his diet, and accordingly increased the intake of protein, fruits and vegetables.

He also increased his training sets and repetitions - instead of 3 sets of 3-5 reps, he did 4-5 sets of 12-15, depending on the muscle group. His training included 20 exercises and takes about 6-7 hours a day. Bruce was consumed by the idea and was focused only on that specific idea.

Cardio

 Randall included running as a cardio along with his heavy weight training.In the first few weeks he just walked, while trying to increase the distance and pace every next workout.

After some time, Bruce began to run with a slow pace and when he got tired he would switch back to walking, but he did not stop. So gradually over time and by removing excess weight Randall began to run from 5 to 8 km almost every day. He found that jogging did not influence his weight training in a bad way, on the contrary, it increased his stamina.

Diet

 This was a typical day of eating for Bruce:

• Breakfast - 2 eggs, lightly cooked, normal size;half a liter of skimmed milk, a glass of fresh orange juice and  an apple.
• Lunch - salad, dried fruits and nuts.
• Dinner - a big steak, two vegetables, a liter of skimmed milk and gelatin.

Bruce mixed dry milk with the skimmed milk to increase its protein content. From time to time, Randall drank coffee since he discovered that coffee reduces appetite.

Training

Bruce Randall often changed his workout routine, here's an example of what it often consisted of:

• Crunches, lying/hanging leg raises- 20 to 50 reps;
• Squats with no weight - 20reps;
• Leg curls - sets of 25;
• Flat bench press and chest flies - sets of 15-20;
• Pull ups, dips, bicep curls,back rows, helicopter rows- sets of 15-25;
• Incline dumbbell press, shoulder press with dumbbells - sets of 10-15;
• More crunches and leg raises - sets of 20-50;

At the end of each workout he included additional exercises, depending on what muscle groups he wanted to focus on.

Randall spent an enormous amount of time in the gym during his transformation.
Once trained 27 hours in a period of two days and 81 hours in one week. Bruce gave himself a few days off and then reverted back to heavy training. Once he trained 27 consecutive days without a break.
Imagine yourself training for 6 hours every day for 27 days, while being in a caloric deficit, most of us won't last a week.

Goals

Before the start of the new 1956 Randall set a goal for himself, he had to do 5000 sit ups every day for 15 days. His task was quite hard, but he managed to execute it with 75,000 sit-ups in 15 days. According to Bruce that helped him to drastically reduce his waist size and it also made him believe in himself much more.

Challenges

Randall often we set personal goals in order to not lose his determiation. He gave him self a certain period of time to achieve something, such as a loss of 5 kg or a reduction of several inches from his waist, etc.With  Bruce taught himself this method of setting objectives when his focus was on increasing his weight and strenght. Back then set goals such as increasing his dead lift or bench press strength in a certain period of time. Randall loved to challenge himself.

The Result

In the end, after all the challenges on 20 March 1956 the scale showed a personal weight of 83kg.In 32 weeks Bruce Randall had lost 98 kg. According to some that weight loss was very "violent" and made Randall lose a big chunk of his strength, but that did not bother Bruce. Just a few years later, he won the prestigious "Mr. Universe" - in 1959, with a personal weight of 97kg.

Bruce Randall shared that two specific rules have always helped him in achieving his goals, and those rules were:

Ask and get answers.
God helps those who help themselves.

Ranking in competitions

1956 - "Mr. America" ​​- AAU - 13th;
1957 - "Mr. America" ​​- AAU - 6th;
1958 - "Mr. Universe" pros - NABBA - second in highest class;
1959 - "Mr. Universe" pros - NABBA - first in highest class;
1959 - "Mr. Universe" pros - NABBA - Overall winner.

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Personal Training

Almost every, if not every gym has one or more fitness instructors, but not every instructor is a certified personal trainer, in fact for you to be an instructor you do not have to own a personal trainer degree. Everybody that has been to a gym or is currently a member of one has some sort of an idea of what an fitness instructor is. As the representatives of this new species called "personal trainer"are still relatively few but increasing quite rapidly, I'm going to introduce you to their characteristics.

What is personal training?

This is when a person stands next to another person that is sweating and panting and encourages him to sweat and pant even more. Or so it seems.

Personal coaching is a new kind of animal - it doesn't bite nor growl, in fact it is quite strong, agile, resilient. And smart. Supposedly.

What is a personal trainer?

Personal means personal - when you workout out this person will be with you, beside you, beside you and nowhere else. Of course, not until death do you part, but at least the end of the workout. A personal trainer won't do small talk with the hot chick doing leg curls while you're doing your heavy squats or won't on the phone talking with his girlfriend while you're busting your ass on the bench, or at least a good one is not supposed to do that.

A Personal Trainer:

• Is someone who understands your needs, sees your options and helps you achieve your goals. These goals might be like :having more energy, feeling better, muscle gain, strength gain, fat loss etc. it depends on the case. Sometimes practitioners have desires that are well beyond their capabilities - then the coach's job is first increase the athlete's capabilities.
• A person with excellent knowledge of bio mechanics and kinesiology (ie someone who understands the functions of the various muscles, their qualities and properties and hence - the movement of the whole body). That, combined with his knowledge on which type of training is required for the event in question and a training suitable for the athlete grants a higher quality to the methods a personal trainer uses.
• A person that possesses excellent technique of execution of most movements. This is one of the most important characteristics for a personal trainer, a man can teach you what he can do, so you can do it as well as he can, but a man can't teach you what he does not know. Of course, there are exceptions, but they are rather rare, and usually it comes to coaches who were much better, but at some point they had to stop due to an injury (for example).personal trainer degree online
• A person that possess knowledge about nutrition, human physiology and biochemistry. Or at least, it is advisable to have that knowledge because there is no way to hard for a long time without quality recovery. There is no way to hard and with quality without being in good health. A good health and a quality recovery can't exist without good nutrition. For our good nutrition, however, it is necessary for us to know the body well enough, to know which foods will helps us reach our goals.personal trainer school online
• A person that is a good psychologist.By a"good psychologist" i don't mean that one will tell athletes to lie comfortably on the bench and then an hour he will hear your complaints about the your boss, traffic, weather, etc. and help you with your relationship problems Yes, you can have those moments, but the job of the trainer is to make it so that the nothing interferes with your training, a personal trainer should not share his problems with you as well, he can't tell you how his own boss is busting his balls every day or tell you how his wife is cheating on him etc.A good coach will not stress you with his problems he is there to encourage you and motivate you not stress you further.
• A person that will choose the best for your current physical and mental state. As I mentioned above - the intensity should be regulated to fit your current possibilities (because one day we can be at 100% and the next we can be at 5) the direction remains -he/she is to to satisfy your needs and desires. On the other hand, your personal trainer as a good psychologist should be able to sense your emotional state and know whether it is better to annihilate your body to clear your head of the crap that it has collected through the day . Or is it a better idea perform a simple toning workout because your stress has already exceeded the limit of what you can take.
• It is advisable for the coach to be familiar with the structural balance of the body. This is because most people's daily life nowadays is related to sitting on chairs and furniture which is quite often related to computer work. This leads to muscle inactivity, muscle tightness and muscle weakness in certain parts of the body (usually abdominal, waist and shoulder girdle), which in it's own turn leads to muscle imbalance that often carries health risks. A distinctive muscle imbalance may prevent us from safely executing a movement or even cause an injury that prevents us from fully or stop us from training for awhile.

Personal Training Certificates

I'll talk a little about how you can get a personal training certificate for those that are just curious or want to actually own one.
As it is now one can get a certificate even at home.
For example you can even apply to online personal trainer courses and get a personal trainer degree online by taking online personal trainer certification programs.
There are personal training colleges and also various personal trainer courses etc.
There are many organizations that offer certificates make sure you do your research before applying to one.
I don't want to get really into this topic in this post, i might cover it in a completely separate post in the future.




Above all, a personal trainer should be a role model! And that is perhaps is the most important feature because  for you to train people to get in shape, you first need to be fit. To train people to become stronger, you first need to be strong. To train people to build muscle, you need to have plenty of your own. To train people to burn fat, you must have burned your own unnessesary one first.
The difference between personal trainers can be from heaven to earth.Those are the characteristics that i believe a good personal trainer should have.
(sources:bbteam)
(pictures:fralinca.ca)

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Bruce Randall (Part I)

Bruce Randall started lifting weights just before his 21st birthday. However, before he came along in the iron game,as a teenager Bruce was employed in some really physically demanding jobs, he worked as a coal worker and as a logger.After he got a job on a freighter, thanks to a good diet, good sleep and fresh air he increased his weight from 74 kg to about 87 kg in only 58 days. After he returned to school at the age of 17, Randall enlisted in the football team, and slightly reduced his weight and he maintained it that weight up to his graduation.

The Navy

After he graduated school, Randall enrolled in the U.S. Navy. Several months later, while walking around the base he stumbled upon the finest gym for weightlifting in the U.S. fleet, led by the best instructor of weightlifting at the time - Chief Petty Officer Walter Metzler.

The Beginning

On January 3, 1953, after returning from Christmas vacation, Bruce weighed about 90 kg.He wanted to bulk up to 100 kg, so he can join the football team. Randall realized that in order to increase his weight, he needs to eat more food. So at every meal began to take something extra - a glass of milk, a slice of bread, one more piece of meat etc.And the weight gradually increased, and his body adapted to the larger amounts of food.

First Workout Routine

The first routine that Bruce used was entirely for arms:

• Barbell Military Curls – 3x6-8, 110 lbs/50kg.
• Dumbbell Concentration Curls  – 3x 6-5, 50 lbs/22,5kg.
• Barbell French Curls/Skull Crushers – 3x6-8, 70 lbs/32.5kg.
• Dumbbell Bent Over Triceps Extensions – 3x6-8, 35 lbs/20kg.
• Dumbbell Preacher Curls – 3x6-8, 45 lbs/20kg.

With this routine and his football training Bruce increased his weight from 92 kg to 100 kg, by now his arms were almost 46 cm Randall was completely absorbed in sports, his dream was to become a professional at American football.

Weightlifting

A little later, in the midst of football season Bruce already weighed 120 kg, his strength also increased. At that time his coach Officer Metzler advised him to give up football and focus on weightlifting. Randall decided to listen to his mentor and focus on increasing his weight with the purpose of gaining even more strength.

After he was devoted to weightlifting, he began to train with the following program:

• Dumbbell Bench Press – 3x5-8, 120 lbs/55kg.
• Decline Dumbbell Bench Press – 3x5-8, 130 lbs/60kg.
• Incline Barbell Presses – 3x5-8, 250 lbs/115kg.
• Good Mornings – 3x3-5, 295 lbs/135kg.

These are the initial weights,with which he started but after a while the weight increased dramatically. At the end of each workout Bruce performed several exercises like squats, dead lifts, barbell rows, shoulder presses etc. Breaks between sets and exercises were a few minutes.

Nutrition

During this period, in which Randall increased his weight and strength, and because of that he had to also increase food, which was of utmost importance. Bruce spend most of his money on food, although the fleet fed its staff pretty well. Randall always amazed the cooks and the people around him when he sat down to eat.

Often his breakfast consisted of about two liters of milk, a loaf of bread and a half and about 28 fried eggs.
Bruce ate four times a day,while drinking milk between meals.

• He had breakfast at 6:30, lunch at 11:30,and usually dinner was at 16:30 and at 21:30 he ate something more before bed.
• Usually eaten 12 to 18 eggs and drank about 7 to 9 liters of milk a day.
• I once drank 18 liters of milk a day in addition to their standard diet.
• The guys in the Navy counted the eggs Bruce ate for a week, the results were unbelievable, he consumed 171 eggs only for his breakfast for a week.

The Squat

When Bruce Randall started his training, he asked his coach which exercise can generate the greatest strength in the whole body,Walter Metzler replied that that exercise is the Barbell Squat. In the beginning, when Bruce weighed 90 kg his legs were very weak, he tried to squat 85 kg and failed. Several years before he started training with weights Randall had an accident in which he had one leg broken at 7 spots, but that did not stop him. Later, at a weight of 112 kg Bruce squatted with 140 kg. A few months after he managed to squat 185 kg with a body weight of 127kg. And once he weighted 161 kg, was able to hit a 275 kg squat.

The Good Morning.

Randall's favorite exercise was the Good morning. When reached over 180kg in this exercise, he realized that he could not continue to add weight and perform the exercise with strict form(legs straight),so he started bending his knees slightly when leaning forward. With this form he reached 310 kg in this movement.Once  he tried a Good Morning with 340kg his torso was parallel to the floor, but was unable to get up and dropped weight.

First Competition

In December 1953., Only 11 months after he began training Bruce participated in his first competition in weightlifting. He won the competition with an overhead press with 136 kg, 108 kg jerk and a clean and jerk with143 kg. By this time Bruce trained 3-4 times a week performing the basic compound exercises, and rarely practicing the Olympic movements

New Routine

On 1 January 1954, a year after he began to train his training program was as follows:

• Incline Clean & Press – 3x3-5, 355lbs/160kg.
• Quarter Front Squat – 3x6-8, 1,010 lbs/460kg.
• Dumbbell Bench Press – 3x3-5, 205 lbs/90kg.
• Dumbbell Decline Press – 3x3-5, 195 lbs/85kg.
• Good Morning – 3x3-5, 565 lbs/256kg.

On March 11, 1954 Bruce Randall was dismissed from the Navy. After returning home to New York, Randall amazed friends and family with the dramatic increase in weight in just 14 months. At that time he weighed 155 kg.

Personal Records

After returning home, Randall continued to train and increase his weight. These are unofficial records in his personal weight of 172 kg:

• Overhead Press –375/170kg.
• Squat – 680lbs/305kg.
• Good Morning – with legs bent, back parallel to floor, 685lbs/310kg.
• Deadlift – 770lbs/350kg.
• Curl – 228lbs/102kg.
• Dumbbell Bench Press – 220lbs/100kg x2.
• Bench Press – 3 second pause at chest, 482lbs/218.5kg.
• Decline Bench Press– 220lbs/100kg.
• 45 degree Incline Clean & Press – 410lbs/186kg .
• ¼ Front Squat – 1,320lbs/600kg

Randall continued to train and reached a weight of 186 kg/410lbs. But this body weight made it difficult to lift weights, and maintain such a large mass.

In the second part of this post I'll talk about how Bruce transformed from a 410lbs beast to a man with a physique of a greek god, and won the 1959 Mr.Universe.

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Deadlift

The deadlift is one of the best and a core exercise for building muscle mass and density across the back and legs.The deadlift is one of the best back strengthing exercises it's also a good workout for your legs, it is included in most of the proper workout routines.Any athlete seriously involved into the fitness franchise performs this exercise, almost every certified personal fitness trainer will include this exercise into his clients workout programs. When carried out properly, the deadlift can bring serious progress and fast muscle gain. But improper technique or trying to lift too much weight can lead to serious injuries.
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It is advisable to first master the proper technique of the deadlift exercise and then increase the weight. It is important to keep good form even on warm-up sets. For proper implementation of the deadlift some flexibility is needed (especially the Achilles tendons,the muscles on the back of the thighs and buttocks),  if  there is an absence of such a flexibility it is recommended to stretch before performing the exercise.
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With heavier weights you could use weight lifting straps, as in most cases the weight will cause the forearms to fail before the back therefore the back won't be stressed enough. A weight lifting belt can be used as well, such a belt adds additional stability to the lower back. But its use should be limited to heavy weight sets to prevent the muscles from getting acustomed to the weight lifting belt.
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The width and the type of the grip are important factors for muscle loading, so choose an option that is the most convenient. You should have your feet roughly shoulder width apart.
The ordinary deadlift recruits the erectors, glutes, quadriceps, back of thighs, lateral and traps muscles and forearms.personal trainer certification schools

Muscles Involved

Target 

• Erector Spinae

Synergists

• Gluteus Maximus
• Adductor Magnus
• Quadriceps
• Soleus

Dynamic Stabilizers

• Hamstrings
• Gastrocnemius

Stabilizers

• Trapezius, Middle
• Trapezius, Upper
• Levator Scapulae
• Rhomboids

Antagonist Stabilizers

• Rectus Abdominis
• Obliques

Variations

• Deadlift with legs straight (Roman deadlift) - Recruits the lower back, but the main stress falls on the back of the thighs and buttocks. Here the weight is usually lighter than the ordinary deadlift. This option can be performed in leg workouts, after leg curls. 

Deadlifts with straight legs can be: classical and roman. In classical one powered the weight hangs freely throughout the whole exercise (when bent) it is 50 to 60 cm in front of your feet. Classical deadlifts causes more strain on the lower back because the center of gravity is shifted forward.
Therefore, the preferred option is a straight leg Roman deadlift. In this variation the weight is near your feet throughout the exercise and you're not allowing it to swing, even in the lower position. So you have to work a little with your hands steering. Roman deadlifts put less strain on the lower back. Whether it's Roman or classical - the muscles involved are the same. The difference is only in the lower back straining.

• Deadlift type "Sumo"(sumo deadlifts) - is widely used by power lifters. Legs wide apart, feet pointing outwards. Thus the main load falls on the legs and buttocks with less involvement of the back. Grip is narrower than normal

• Upper (partial) deadlift - only the upper part of the range of motion is performed, this variation is oriented toward a greater load on the upper back muscles and traps.

• Deadlift with dumbbells - technique is like a regular deadlift. This variation is easy to implement.

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Method of execution

Preparation

With feet flat beneath bar, squat down and grasp bar with shoulder width or slightly wider over hand or mixed grip.

Execution

Lift bar by extending hips and knees to full extension. Pull shoulders back at top of lift if rounded. 

Slowly and controlled return to the starting position.Repeat.

Recommendations

• Deadlift can significantly burden the waist, especially in with heavier weights and improper form. Until you get used to the movement, it is advisable perform it with light weights.
• Perform the exercise slowly and precisely, without swinging the body. Keep your back straight throughout. Otherwise, you will easily get your injury or the lower back and the spine that are strained significantly and are very vulnerable. If you can not keep the weight with your back straight, lower the weight.Leave your ego out of the gym when performing this exercise.
• Look forward throughout. If you bend or lift your head high there's a risk of a spine injury, though not as great as a  rocking body and a curved back.
• Do not use your arms to pull the weight up. Your hands should just be holding the bar nothing more arms should be inactive.
• If you're performing a variation where you're bending your legs,bend them to the point where your thighs and lower legs are at a straight angle(90 °). Do not bend legs further as you turn it into a squat exercise.
• Do not lock out your knees. This will put unnecessary strain on your knees, and you will lose muscle load. Stretch legs almost, but not entirely.
• If you're performing the straight leg variations, don't lean too much, especially if you use heavy weights. Some bodybuilders even prefer to perform the deadlift on a bench so they can go lower. But the more you bend, the more you strain your lower back.
• Always warm-up well, especially before heavy sets. The load on the muscles and joints will be very large, and in can easily lead to an injury.

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Relevancy

The deadlift is an excellent exercise, developing strength and mass on the lower back and hamstrings.You can see them in tons of bodybuilder training videos, included in most of the personal trainer programs it's an amazing exercise. It may be beneficial to bodybuilders at any experience level.
However since it is a dangerous exercise,it's best not to implement it in your training if you are a beginner. You can "try" deadlift workouts occasionally, with light weights.
Include them into your workouts only after you've gained some knowledge and experience in the gym.
Do not do them if you are recovering from injury or you're prone to such.
Where in your leg workout you will choose to perform it it's your choice.
It's usually in the end of back training workouts(because lower back strain) or leg workouts (because of the strained tensors, and hips).
If performed right the deadlift can transform your body.
(sources:exrx.net)
(pictures:thedeadlift.com)

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