Joseph Weider As I Knew Him
BY SIEGMUND KLEIN
Klein's Gym, 717 7th Ave., New York City
As busy as Joe Weider is, he usually finds time to stop off at my gym at least once a month, when he spends a few moments with me chatting about bodybuilding, weightlifting and his future plans in the publishing field.
I can not recall any one of these visits that Joe doesn't tell me about his own training, his constant measurement improvements and of his abundance of enthusiasm for working out.
He is one of the few successful business men whom I know who actually takes time off from pressing professional duties to devote time to obtaining shape, strength and development, coupled with an overflowing quantity of energy.
Joe enters my gym with a smile and says:- "Sig, yesterday I took another terrific work-out. My fifth this week. Feel my 'lats' and see how my arms are pumped up. Would you like me to take off my shirt and show you how I look now? I think you'll be surprised for I am getting bigger, stronger, better developed all the time!"
Naturally I'm interested, so I feel his 'lats', his arms, and note that they do feel bigger. Then I say - "But how about your waist line? You know you have to keep that in shape too when you gain so much muscle on the rest of the body."
Then, with a really broad smile, Joe strips to the waist and to my surprise I see that his waist is firm and trim, in spite of his other measurements getting larger.
Joe likes me to measure him too, for he knows that with my years of experience I am very accurate with the tape. The last time I took his measurements were in December 1954 and here is how he shaped up. Normal Chest 51", neck 17.5", waist (relaxed) 34.5", upper arm 17.3", thigh 25.2", calf 16.8", bodyweight 206 pounds.
After questioning Joe about his training schedule, I find that he enjoys heavy workouts, trains on the average 5 times a week for about an hour at a time. By using heavy weights he feels that he is forced to concentrate on his training, while lighter weights would permit his mind to wander, possibly to business matters, which he wants to forget during his training.
The following program is one he currently follows:
First, Joe curls a pair of 70 pound dumbbells, 3 sets of 8 repetitions each. Then he loads up a barbell with 185 pounds and curls that once or twice. This, he follows with a bench press of 355 pounds and then a standing Olympic Press of 245 pounds. For speed he performs a One Arm Snatch of 145 pounds with the left hand and 150 with the right. He then winds up his workout with a two arm snatch of between 220 and 240 pounds, a clean and jerk between 280 and 305 pounds, followed by several repetitions of the squat with 400 pounds.
His overhead lifts are really remarkable for a man who has not actually specialized in weight lifting as such, for years. And by concluding his work-out with heavy squats, he reminds me of that old champion, Milo Steinborn who always finished his training with the same exercise. A better man you could not follow.
PHOTO CAPTIONS
- Joe didn't know an admirer was taking this shot last summer. It shows him relaxed, at the age of 34. Below is an account of his feats of strength & measurements by Klein.