bruce randall

8/6/2019 Bruce Randall

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Incline Clean & Press - 330 lbs.


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Mr. Universe 1959, 225 lbs.


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At 187 lbs.

How Bruce Randall TrainedUp and Down to a Mr. Universe Titleby Bruce Randall & Peary Rader (1957)

My introduction to the wonderful world of weights did not begin until I was six months past my21st year. Of course, I knew such things existed but I was busy during my school months playingfootball and flipping the shot. During the summer months I held a wide variety of jobs consistingof everything from working on a merchant vessel and work in a lumber camp to taking a job as acoal miner in a coal breaker in Pennsylvania. I believe that it was during my voyage on thefreighter that I learned the value of a proper diet that I was later to apply in conjunction with my


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weight training. During my summer at sea on the freighterI ate and slept regularly and thecombination of sea air, hard work and good food increased by bodyweight from 164 pounds to192 in 58 days. I was 17 at the time. Upon my return to school I played football and droppeddown to 185 pounds at which weight I remained until after graduation.

Upon entering the United StatesM

arine CorpsI

was determined to do something with my sparetime so when I received my orders to report to the Norfolk Naval Base for duty after boottraining I took along my shot. For several months I concentrated on putting the shot and thensuddenly I made the great discovery! Just a short walk from the Marine Barracks was one of thefinest weight training rooms in the Navy under the supervision of THE finest weightlifting coachin the Navy Chief Petty Officer WalterMetzler.

When I returned from Christmas leave on January 3, 1953, I weighed 203 pounds and wanted toweigh 225 in order to play football for the base team. Now I realized that ifI were ever to weight225 in time for spring training I would have to increase my intake of food somewhat. In order toincrease my food intake, each time I sat down to a meal I would take an extra chop, glass of

mild, slice of bread, etc. By doing this at every meal (andI

made it a point never to miss a meal)my stomach seemed to stretch in order to accommodate the increase in food. Also my digestion,assimilation and other body functions stepped up to take care of the increase. Now, I do notnecessarily recommend this method for those who wish to gain weight. I merely relate this toillustrate how I gained so rapidly.

My training methods to be with consisted mainly of arm work. I had a fairly good start as isindicated from the measurements taken when I began training. This was due no doubt to thedifferent types of physical workI had done in previous summers. I love chop wood and spentmuch time cutting and selling cord wood while I was in school. This in itself is, I believe, awonderful exercise. Nevertheless I believe that while hard work never hurt anyone, there is no

substitute for weight training when it comes to developing a fine body and great strength.

I did 6 different types of exercises consisting of the following:

2 arm Military curl with barbell 3x6-8, 110 lbs.Concentration curl with dumbbell 3x 6-5, 50 lbs.Two arm French curl with barbell 3x6-8, 70 lbs.Bentover triceps extension with DB 3x6-8, 35 lbs.Curl on incline with DB 3x6-8, 45 lbs.(done with one arm hanging over a gymnastic horse)

These weights above were my starting weights but these naturally increased with my training.The number of reps may be puzzling at first, but this is the way I would work out: I started with aweight I could handle for 3 sets of 6 reps and work to 3 sets of 8 reps. Then I would add 10pounds and drop back down to 3 sets of 6. I used this system in almost all of my routinesalthough the reps differed depending on the exercise.

Surprisingly I found that in my case I could work on my arms almost every day and make gains.I assume that this is due to the natural recuperative powers of the arms. Because they are always


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in use they seem to be able to regain total strength with just one nights rest and are ready formore the next day (I know men with fine arms who do not agree with this idea at all. Some ofthem claim that they have to give their arms a days rest between workouts. All I can say is thateveryone is different and has to experiment to find which routine, number of reps, weight,frequency of workouts, etc. best suits his individual needs). Of course, in a large muscle group

such as the back or legsI

found that this is not true at all. They need longer periods of restbetween workouts and hence cannot be worked successfully every day.

With this routine I found that my weight had increased from 203 pounds to 225 in the space ofsix weeks and that my arms had increased an inch-and-a-half to 17 . Because of the fact thatfootball practice was still several months in the offing I decided to try to go to 250 pounds andthen drop back to 235 during Spring training.

Following generally the same routine my weight soon exceeded the 250 pound goal and I foundmyself deeply engrossed in the sport. During this time I became acquainted with two of the finestmen I have ever met. I believe that I was extremely fortunate to have been training in the Norfolk

Naval Air Station weight room under the supervision of Chief WalterM

etzler. His expert helpand guidance were invaluable to me during my tour of duty in Norfolk. Chief knew me betterthan I knew myself and when I was discharged I really felt the loss of his tutelage greatly.

The other man who inspired me greatly was Steve Massios. Steve was a very fine man and hisdeath was a shock that I, for one, still find hard to believe. Were he alive today he would be oneof those rare individuals in the world of weights. A man who combines a great physique withworld champion lifting ability.

By the time spring football training began, I weighed 265 pounds and found myself vastlyincreased in strength. At this time ChiefMetzler persuaded me to forget football and concentrate

on weight training. ThisI

decided to do and continued to use the principle of increasing mybodyweight in order to increase my strength. Let me say here and now that I do not believe thatone can just get fat and become strong. Things such as what foods were used to gain the weight,routines used in training, living habits, etc. all have to be done properly in order to becomestronger through increases in bodyweight. In other words, if one makes a corresponding increasein the weights used in training as he gains weight, the end result is increased strength. This, ofcourse, is not the only way to get stronger. It just happens to be the method I employed. At thistime I altered my routine and did the following exercises:

DB Bench Press 3x5-8, 120 lbs.Decline DB Bench Press 3x5-8, 130 lbs.Incline BB Presses 3x5-8, 250 lbs.Good Morning Exercise 3x3-5, 295 lbs.

These are beginning poundages which increased with practice and effort. I also did someoptional exercises at the end of each routine which differed according to my whims at the time.Here again I worked until I could get the high amount of reps and then would add weight andreduce the reps to the lower amount again. I took plenty of rest between sets so as to be able togive the next one my all.


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Of course, during this time of bodyweight increase I had to increase my intake of food. I spentmuch of my own money on such items as milk, but seldom found myself without the necessaryamount of vegetables, meats, etc. The Marine Corps feeds it personnel well indeed! Actually Iused to astound the cooks and men when I sat down to eat. Breakfasts consisting of two quarts ofmilk, a loaf and a half of bread and 28 fried eggs were not uncommon. I ate four meals a day and

never ate between meals unless it was milk.I

usually ate breakfast at 6:30, lunch at 11:30, supperat 4:30 and a meal at 9:30 just before bed. Milk was taken in great quantities with an average of8 to 10 quarts per day. An average of 12 to 18 eggs per day also comprised my diet. I once drank19 quarts of milk in one day in addition to regular meals, and once had 171 eggs at breakfastduring the course of a week. The boys used to keep score!

I remember one incident that happened to me at lunch. I weighed about 330 at the time andcame to lunch ready to eat like a horse. They were serving a favorite Chinese dish of mine, friedrice with pork. It happened that I was eating at the Navy mess hall at the time and so had a metaltray with five different compartments in it to eat from. Well, I filled the entire tray with rice andpork. The mound was so high that if another spoonful was added it would run over the side of the

tray. Carefully balancing the tray so as not to drops a precious grain,I

made my way back to atable amid incredulous stares from every sailor in the hall. Upon sitting down and tasting a fewspoonfuls I found the rice to be slightly undercooked. The center of each grain was a little pastyand absorbed all the moisture in my mouth when I chewed. In order to solve this frustratingdilemma, I secured several quart bottles of water and proceeded to eat the rice with a swig ofwater every so often. Under this procedure I was able to finish the entire tray of fried rice andpork (I made it an absolute rule to finish everything I took. Wasting food is an unpardonablesin!). Upon getting up, I was, to put it mildly, sufficiently filled. When I arrived back at theMarine Barracks I found myself feeling rather strange sensations going on in the region of mystomach. I made a hasty retreat to my bed and lay upon my back for five hours taking shortpanting breaths because I found that deep breathing caused even more pressure on the stomach.ThereafterI made quite certain that the rice was well cooked before I loaded up the tray!

I asked a friend when I began training to suggest an exercise that would help me to build greatstrength. His reply consisted of one word, Squats. I decided to try to do this exercise and tooka bar off the racks and proceeded to go down with it. Unfortunately I found that when I tried tocome up with it I could not. The bar weighed 190 lbs. and I weighed 203. My legs were so weakdue to the fact that three years ago, prior to my weight training, I broke my leg in seven places,five in the ankle, one in the calf and one in the thigh. The doctor who set it was a bone specialistand claimed that it was the second worst break he had ever seen. Because of this I decided,somewhat foolishly, not to include squats in my routine.

One day when I weighed about 245 I thought Id try one with 300 pounds just to see ifI couldmake it of not. I went down with the weight and had little difficulty coming back up with it.Several months later at a bodyweight of 280 I made a 405 lb. squat successfully. Every so often Iwould try a squat as my weight increased. In nine separate attempts I went from a failure with190 lbs. at a bodyweight of 203 to a success with 603 lbs. at a bodyweight of 355.

I did do one exercise during this time which may have had some influence on my squat. Thiswas the good morning exercise. When I reached over 400 lbs. on this exercise I found that I


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could not do the exercise in the strict sense because I had to band at the knees in order tocompensate for the weight at the back of the neck. I made 685 in this manner with my backparallel to the floor and once almost made 750 but was forced to dump it because of a shift in theweight.

I

continued my training routine through the summer and fall and trained an average of three tofour days a week. In December of 1053, just 11 months afterI began training, I entered my firstmeet, the Capital District, and was fortunate enough to win with a 300 press, 230 snatch, 315clean & jerk and 845 total. I seldom worked on the Olympic lifts because I devoted all my timeto other heavy movements.

On January 1, 1954, one year afterI started my training, my routine consisted of the followingmovements:

Incline Clean & Press 3x3-5, 355 lbs.Quarter Front Squat 3x6-8, 1,010 lbs.

DB Bench Press 3x3-5, 205 lbs.DB Decline Press 3x3-5, 195 lbs.Good Morning 3x3-5, 565 lbs.

I found the Front Squats helped me push-press heavy weights and believe it to be a fineexercise. My training progressed until March 11, 1954, at which time I received my dischargefrom the Marine Corps.

My arrival in New York caused some excitement among my friends because I hadnt beenhome in 14 months since I began training. When I last had seen them I weighed 203 lbs. and nowtipped the scales at 342, an increase of 139 lbs. in 14 months.

I realize now that I was rather self-conscious and therefore felt ill at ease when I appeared at ameet. Perhaps that is the reason that I lifted better in a gym that I was accustomed to and where Iknew everyone. In any event, my lifting was usually better in the gym than at a meet. These aresome of the lifts I made at a bodyweight of about 380. None were done officially and I make noclaims to anything.

Press 365x2, a single with 375.

Squat 680.

GoodM

orning with legs bent, back parallel to floor, 685.

Deadlift 730x2, 770x1.

Curl 228.

DB Bench Press 220s x 2.


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Bench Press 3 second pause at chest, 482.

Decline Bench 220s x 1.

45 degree Incline Clean & Press 380x3, 410x1.

Front Squat 1,320, stood supporting weight at chestwith well in excess of 2,100.

I continued my training and went to a bodyweight of 410 lbs., but for man reasons I found itdifficult to completely concentrate on my lifting.

I am a firm believer in the power of the mind when it comes to lifting, or anything else for thatmatter. It is only with the constant urging of the mind upon the body to do more and more thatone attains the pinnacle. As much as one uses his body in lifting, I believe that he uses his mindmore. Strength, I believe, depends upon ones mental attitude. How many times Ive heard a man

say, I

cant lift this, and consequently he cant. Conversely, many men can lift a weightbecause they think they can. And they do! It all boils down to this without the proper frame ofmind nothing is possible and with the proper frame of mind nothing is impossible.

The reasons for my decision to reduce are manifold and too complex to go into here. Suffice tosay that I decided to look at life from the other side of the weight picture.

I expressed my idea of weight reduction to many people and while the majority thought it agood idea, many (including an authority in the field of weights) did not believe it possible.This authority, after listening to my plan said, Never. I replied that as far as I was concernedthere is no such word as never in a lifters vocabulary. I felt this way about the matter take a

sculptor about to create a statue. He takes a big, ungainly piece of rock and with hammer andchisel he chips away at it until the desired effect is created. Well, I was that big ungainly bulk ofrock and the barbells and dumbbells were my hammer and chisel. I also had something on myside that the sculptor does not have Diet. With this attitude I began my reduction ofbodyweight. On August 2, 1955, I weighed 401 pounds in my tee-shirt, slacks and loafers.

I felt that I would have to change my routines and diet radically ifI were to make a successfulreduction of bodyweight. After giving the problem some thought I decided to try to reverseeverything I did in order to gain weight, just to see if that would be effective. Each time I satdown to eat I reduced the quantity of food slightly and cut down on such foods as bread, potatoesand other starchy and fatty foods. At the same time I made certain that I had a high intake of

protein and plenty of green vegetables, fruits and generally a good, well-balanced diet.I

n myroutines I reduced the amount of weight used and increased the number of sets and reps.Whereas formerly I had 3-5 reps for 3 sets, I now did 4-5 sets of 12-15 reps depending on theexercise. My routine consisted of more than 20 exercises and lasted 6 to 7 hours a day. Becauseof this demanding schedule I put all else aside and concentrated (believe me, it takes a lot ofconcentration) on rearranging my body.


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I would like to bring out something here that helped me immensely, and which I included in mydaily workouts. It will, I believe, help those who wish to reduce. This exercise is running. Ibelieve it to be very beneficial and it really works wonders in reducing the circumference of theankles, calves, thighs, buttocks and hips. Of course I did not start running immediately. For acouple of weeks I went for walks, gradually increasing the distance and pace. After a month or

soI

began jogging and walking at alternate intervals and finallyI

found myself running 3-5 mileseach day in conjunction with my training routines. I found that it did not adversely affect myworkouts in the gym and in addition to the above mentioned benefits it increased my stamina andendurance greatly.

A typical diet would consist of something like this:

Breakfast 2 soft-boiled eggs, plain; pint of skim milk; glass of orange juice; apple.Lunch salad, dates, nuts.Supper round steak, two vegetables, quart of skim milk, gelatin.

I

use powdered milk and skim milk mixed together, thus increasing the protein content.I

alsotook coffee at times finding it tended to curtail my appetite.

My routine, although constantly changing, went something like this:

Situps, leg raises, hanging leg raises 20-50 reps.Squats without weight sets of 20.Leg curls and extensions sets of 25.Bench presses, flyes sets of 15-20.Chins, dips, curls, rows, upright rows sets of 15-25.Seated DB presses, incline presses sets of 10-15.M

ore situps, leg raises and hanging leg raises sets of 25-50.Miscellaneous optional exercises at the end of each workout.

I spent a good deal of time in the gym during this transformation and once trained 27 hours intwo days, and 81 hours in one week. I took very few days off and once trained 27 consecutivedays. This constant working has the desired effect of tearing down the superfluous tissue in thebody.

I remember my 1956 New Years resolution that in addition to my regular daily routines andrunning, which kept me really busy, I promised I would do 5.000 situps a day for the first 15days of 1956. It was a grueling task but I finally accomplished the 75,000 situps and feel thatthey helped me greatly in reducing my waist some 33 inches, as well as giving me more faith inmyself.

I constantly put personal goals before myself and these goals acted as a stimulus of sorts. Inother words, I would set a date, perhaps three weeks hence, when I would try to accomplishsome change such as a loss of 12 pounds or a reduction around the chest or waist of severalinches. This idea of using goals is something that I learned when I was gaining weight and


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strength. I would tell myself that at a certain date I would press or deadlift, etc., such a poundage.Thus I found myself constantly challenged and I love challenges!

In any event, I found myself on the morning ofMarch 20, 1956, tipping the scales at abodyweight of 183 pounds, having made a reduction of 218 pounds in a period of 32 weeks.

Some people thought thatI

made the reduction too rapidly butI

can honestly say thatI

felt finethroughout the entire transition and suffered no pain of ill feeling whatsoever. I would like topoint out here that I also felt very well at a bodyweight of 410 pounds except that I perspiredprofusely and found myself possessing a great deal of strength but rather short of endurance.

In conclusion I would like to say that I have found these two rules enormously helpful in anyundertaking I have attempted:1. Ask and ye shall receive.2. The Lord helps those who help themselves.

The following is a letter from Bruces trainer, WalterM

etzler, now living in Kansas City, andoffers a few sidelights on Bruce Randall.

Dear Peary,

I received your letter requesting photos of Bruce Randall over a week ago but have just nowfinished rummaging though things for these photos enclosed. Also have been trying to recallsome of the things of interest in his training. Ill just jot down things as they come to mind.

Bruce averaged about 2 hours training time and at first it was 5 to 6 days a week. After abouttwo-thirds or three-fourths of a year training it became too rough and he made it every other day,

sometimes with 2 days in a row.

He had an easy job of driving, so could conserve energy there and could get almost as much ashe wanted to eat in the Marines, but he did buy some himself. His consumption of food wasfabulous. One day he ate 28 eggs at one sitting. Of course he consumed a great quantity of milkand would drink it at times all through the day and evening. An ordinary cafeteria tray would befilled up and then piled up in a heap to overflowing Hed finish that and maybe get more. Hisassimilation of food was about as good as a person could hope for and very few people areblessed with this normal function of the body.

Rests between each exercise and each set of an exercise were long 5 to 10 minutes. at first he

did normal reps but during about the last 6 months reps hardly ever went over 5; mostly 3 repswith as heavy a poundage as he thought he could handle. Just as soon as he thought he couldhandle more weight he moved up, without a system of increases. During all his training it waspractically all upper body work. He did do some deadlifting once in a while during the latter partbut it wasnt actually part of his training program. Also a deep knee bend once in a long time tobreak his own record. I think his first squat record was with 400. Remember the old saying ofMark Berry? Increase the rib box and youll get big all over. Well, thats what Bruce did


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except that he only worked the upper body. Sort of like going into uncharted waters as he alsodid when he made his large reduction in weight.

One aspect of Bruce that you mustnt overlook and thats the mind, will power or whatever youwant to term it. Singleness of mind and the will power to stick to something with the courage to

go on in spite of what people might say is a great factor to success. Bruce is a very intelligentperson and I was happy to work with him on his training program, and to know him.

In fact, my best friends have all been barbell men. They seem to be a breed apart. They have abrighter outlook on life, cleaner living, cleaner thinking, independent thinking.

Bruce made sure to get plenty of rest and sleep. He also had an even temperament and was goodnatured and modest about anything he accomplished. Your frame of mind also has a lot to dowith your training even to a greater degree than your frame of mind while eating, because ifyoure upset, angered or troubled while eating the food will be delayed in being digested, but ifyou are distracted while youre working out you dont put the required concentration into your

lifts and the workout becomes almost a total loss.

I forgot to mention earlier that his gaining programs hardly ever consisted of more than 6exercises.

This is about all the information I can think of. A lot of it is just general because Bruce never hadany set system. He would change exercises, poundages, sets, reps and workout days whenever hefelt it would benefit him.

Bruce is an exceptional man in a lot of ways and a lot of the things he did the ordinary manwould never get away with.

Editors note In reply to my question as to whether he ever planned to increase his bodyweightagain, Bruce says, I doubt that I will ever increase my size greatly again, but do not discount thepossibility. Weighing that much alters ones life completely. I find I have been living two lives,so to speak. Actually, I felt fine when weighing 400 pounds but found that I perspired freely andhad a bit of trouble getting about the city. Of course I needed great amounts of sleep and food.My food bill (early 50s) was never under $80 per week and very often well over $100. I knowthat ifI wanted to gain again I could weight 500 lbs. in 18 months time. Many people say thatadded weight is not necessary to become stronger. Perhaps they are right, but in my case it was

necessary becauseI

believed it was.

bruce randall

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