You got a taste of old-school bodybuilding when you stepped back in time to the Bronze Era of Bodybuilding, and now you’re longing for more? How about getting a glimpse of Silver Era Bodybuilding? What made those Silver Era bodybuilders legends during that time? Did they have natural physiques? Are you looking for examples of Silver Era bodybuilding diet plans, routines and workouts?

Let me first give you some background information: not so long ago, there was a time when men were active, strong, flexible and supple. Kids grew up playing in the open air. Their food was free of chemical preservatives and additives. Europe was busy rebuilding itself after World War II while North America thrived. Physical culture flourished during this time. Within a short time, dozens of men and women became athletes, training with equipment ranging from barbells to dumbells to gymnastic rings. In a few years, the first hand-made machines were manufactured, along with cable stations. During that time, the first beauty, strength and health contests were held, and bodybuilding spread throughout the US through magazines and ads. 

The world of bodybuilding was a natural one back in the days when testosterone was just synthesized, supplements didn’t exist, and the bulk of bodybuilders were natural. Here are three champions who emerged from this industry at the time and what we can learn from them regarding training, eating, and living.

Steve Reeves, “The Shape” of the Silver Era Bodybuilding

Steve Reeves, aka “The Shape”, was perhaps one of the most iconic figures of this Silver Era. He was the epitome of the “Classic Physique” with broad shoulders, thick arms, wide lats, a small waist, tree trunk like thighs and gigantic calves. Even to this day, he is still considered one of the best bodybuilders ever, in terms of aesthetics and overall good looks. I believe that several of our superhero shapes are modeled after his classic physique. The four years between 1946 and 1950 saw him win several titles, from Mr. America to Mr. Universe, including Mr. World and Mr. Pacific Coast.

He moved into acting after his very short bodybuilding career and played one of the most famous on-screen Hercules in “Swords and Sandals” as well as action movies of the 1960s. In other words: Arnold before Arnold!

He trained full-body three times per week, very common at the time, and sometimes 6 days per week upper/lower just before competitions to give his conditioning a bit of a kick. Despite not being a big advocate for Olympic weightlifting or powerlifting, he set some decent numbers in more bodybuilding exercises, including playing with 50kg/110lbs on the DB Incline Press, 45kg/100lbs on the French Press and going up to 31kg/70lbs on the Incline DB Curl (the benches were 45 degrees then), continuously lifting 180kg/405lbs on Back Squats and deadlifting the same weight while gripping the plates, thus creating the famous Reeves Deadlift (even if the original intention wasn’t to mimic the deadlift but to perform another exercise altogether).

It may not seem like much, but keep in mind everything was done in the same workout that lasted between 2H30 and 3H30. He could also perform a one-arm chin up, and clean 220lbs from a kneeling position. Every 2 months or so, he would alternate his rep ranges, going from 6-8 to 8-12 to 12-15.

As I outlined in my Ultimate Guide to Structuring Your Diet, he ate everything in a balanced way. He was one of the first athletes to experiment with peri-workout nutrition, mixing honey with lemon juice or drinking orange juice while training to maintain high electrolyte levels and provide easy-to-digest carbs to fuel his workouts.

Here’s an example of a Silver Era bodybuilding program he followed:

• Wide Grip Upright Row: 3×6-15
• Standing BTN Press: 3×6-15
• Lateral Raises: 3×6-15
• DB Incline Press: 3×6-15
• DB Flyes: 3×6-15
• DB Pull Over: 3×6-15
• Bent-Over Row: 3×6-15
• BTN Pulldown: 3×6-15
• Cable Seated Row: 3×6-15
• Incline DB Curl: 3×6-15
• BB Curl: 3×6-15
• High Cable Curl: 3×6-15
• Close Grip Bench Press: 3×6-15
• Standing French Press: 3×6-15
• Cable Extension: 3×6-15
• Back Squat: 3×6-15
• Front Squat: 3×6-15
• Hack Squat: 3×6-15
• Lying Leg Curl: 3×6-15
• Walking Lunges: 3×6-15
• Good Morning: 3×6-15
• Standing Calves Raises: 6×20-25
• Abs Crunches: 3×15-20
• Neck Curl: 3×15-20

He performed a consistent 10 x 10 for all muscle groups, varying the angles and resistances between free weight, cable and machines. After every set, he took about 45-60 seconds of rest, just enough time for his workout partner to complete his own sets. Steve, who stood at 185cm/6ft1 tall, built a physique peaking at 100kg/220lbs, and stayed at around 86kg/190lbs during his acting days while potentially taking the earliest form of low dose testosterone and not training seriously after age 25. In comparison to his small waist, between 73-76cm/29-30″, his arms peaked at 47cm/18″ 1/4 just like his calves and neck, his chest expanded up to 136cm/52″, while his shoulders were just under two feet (60cm/23,6″) and around 10% body fat.Shorten with AI

 

Leroy Colbert, A Classic Physique From The ’50s

Unfortunately, racism was still alive and kicking in the 1950s, so Black people struggled to get noticed and celebrated within the bodybuilding industry. One man, however, who had both genetic potential and a hard-working attitude paved the way for others to follow: Leroy Colbert, who won Mr. New York City in 1952 and Mr. Eastern America the following year. He had a humongous upper body, a very sleek waist, and broad thighs.

While Joe Weider had his eye on him, a terrible motorbike accident in 1995 almost cost him one of his feet, ending his competitive days. Since he was unable to train his legs anymore he went on to maximize the potential of his arms -already big- and got them to 21″/54cm. This was the first record ever, in an era where 17″/43cm was already great, 18″/45cm was a dream for most, and 19″/47cm could only be achieved by a handful of athletes.

Up until the age of 82, Leroy advocated full-body workouts and gave training advice and tips. His Youtube channel is a treasure trove of wisdom and knowledge, and is being updated since his death by one of his friends. During multiple interviews, he described how he enjoyed high-volume training, experimenting with new things with his training partner, the legendary Marvin Eder.

It was common back then for trainees to do 3-6 sets per body part, but at some point, Leroy would do 10 sets for the easiest muscles and 15 to 20 for the more stubborn ones, resting no more than a minute or two between sets. He would go heavy by gradually loading up to a top set and then back offsets. In terms of heaviness, we can see good feats of strength, including seated DB Curls with 45kg/100lbs, DB Row with 60kg/130lbs and Dips with a man hanging off his legs (adding another 82-90kg/180-200lbs to his 90kg/200lbs frame). 

One of his bodybuilder routines to spur new growth and create momentum after a plateau looks like this:

• Bench Press: 10×8-10
• Bent Arm Flyes: 10×8-10
• BTN Pull-Ups: 10×8-10
• Bent Over Row: 10×8-10
• BTN Press: 10×8-10
• Lateral Raise: 10×8-10
• DB Alternated Curl: 10×8-10
• BB Seated Curl: 10×8-10
• Bent Arm Pull Over: 10×8-10
• Back Squat: 10×10-12

There are many points in common with Steve Reeves’ training methods: 10×10 schemes, a maximum of 2-3 exercises per body part, short rest intervals and a high frequency of training. In his own words, here is how he viewed building muscle and losing fat:

When we wanted to get big, we would train like the devil and eat everything in sight. When we wanted to lose fat, we would train like the devil and eat less.

 

Marvin Eder, The Strength Freak of The Silver Era Bodybuilders

Introducing another freak from this Silver Age of Bodybuilding who had a short competing career, never-before-seen strength, and broke records at the same time: Marvin Eder. Although he retired from bodybuilding competitions at the age of 23 due to racism/anti-Semitism (or both, concealed by politics), “The Biceps From The Bronx” was an impressive Olympic lifter and bodybuilder.

Despite standing 5ft8/172cm and weighing 190-200lbs/85-90kg max, he could overhead press 150kg/330lbs, squat 140kg/300lbsx50 and 261kg/575lbsx3, bench press 234kg/515lbs (setting a record for sub-200lbs lifters) and perform one-arm chin-ups for 12 repetitions. But his most amazing feat was weighted dips with two guys hanging off his legs: 3 reps with a total of 620lbs/282kg.

While he mostly trained full body like the other athletes above, he also experimented with half body training with two days on and one day off. He started off with this pretty simple workout routine:

• Back Squat: 3-5×5-8
• Bench Press: 3-5×5-8
• Bent-Over Row: 3-5×5-8
• Standing Press: 3-5×5-8
• Chin-Up: 3-5×5-8
• Seated DB Curl: 3-5×5-8
• 100 reps of sit-ups for abs

After years of training, he then moved onto a lot more volume, and his half body/split looked something like this:

Days 1 & 4:

• Overhead Press: 10-15×3-6
• Dips: 5×10 or 5×50 without weight
• Squats: 10-15×3-6
• Snatches: 10-15×3-6
• Abs sit up: 500 reps in a row

Days 2 & 5:

• Bench Press: 10-15×3-6
• Chin-Up: 5×10 or 5×50 without weight
• Deadlift: 10-15 pyramid sets and then back offsets
• Calves Raise: 5×30-50

Days 3, 6, 7: rest

When the foundation of strength and work capacity are built, much emphasis is placed on volume, and strength and performance are emphasized throughout the physical development process, not just on one side. Even though weight training and calisthenics alone can build a great body, the results are even more impressive when combined.

Conclusion

• High intensity with adequate volume promotes hypertrophy (as this recent study proved).
• You need to train like a beast if you want to look like one.
• Don’t be afraid to have your own “method” and listen to your body.
• Full Body & Half Body workouts of the Silver Era made true naturals and mild early steroid users stronger, bigger and healthier than most bodybuilders today, amateurs or professionals, natural or enhanced.
• Scientists have proven their methods by facts decades after Silver Era bodybuilders discovered a lot by experimentation and experience.

Here, I leave you to try out these amazing Silver Era workout routines for yourself, or read on to my next article about the Golden Era of Bodybuilding, when bodybuilders achieved symmetrical and aesthetic physiques despite using steroids. My online services can help you look like these legends.

Your lightkeeper,

-Hersovyac.