5 Vintage Routines From Bodybuilding Legends to Sculpt a Body Like Breon Ansley’s
No period in bodybuilding history produced more classic physiques than the Golden Era. Try these five workouts, demonstrated by reigning Classic Physique Olympia champ Breon Ansley,to sculpt your own vintage body.
There was a time, before most of you reading this were even born, when bodybuilding wasn’t the culturally entrenched ubiquitous activity we enjoy today. You didn’t have a choice of gyms to join in your town, and after traveling miles to the nearest store that happened to sell Joe Weider’s Muscle Builder magazine, you often found yourself the subject of sideways glances at the cash register.
Even names like Steve Reeves, Bill Pearl, and Reg Park—as popular and influential as they were within the bodybuilding community—weren’t enough to spark the revolution that turned their sport from sideshow to main event. What bodybuilding needed was the right combination of people, place, and timing that equaled more than just the sum of its parts—to transcend other niche activities and move into the realm of mainstream cultural phenomenon.
If the world were ever to begin embracing bodybuilding to any degree, the late ’60s was the time, and if there ever was to be a place where it would first take hold, Southern California had to be it. The driving force in all this change was bodybuilding mogul Joe Weider. Weider’s offices were based in Union City, NJ, but he held the belief that to successfully promote bodybuilding to the masses, he couldn’t just sell muscles. He had to sell a lifestyle. And that lifestyle, to his way of thinking, had to include sun, sand, beautiful girls…and bodybuilders.
That training location, of course, was Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, CA, and legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dave Draper, Franco Columbu, Frank Zane, and a handful of others helped turn it into the epicenter of bodybuilding. And so it was that, by the turn of the ’70s, Southern California—and more specifically Gold’s Gym Venice—had become the home of the world’s most famous and successful bodybuilders, all training, eating, and growing together.
Fast-forward four decades, and Gold’s Gym Venice remains the unofficial bodybuilding headquarters. But if you happen to walk in on a day when North Hollywood resident and two-time Classic Physique Olympia champ Breon Ansley is training there, you may feel as if you’ve just been transported back in time. Under the tutelage of X-frame creator extraordinaire Chris Cormier, and by incorporating many of the exercises and training principles of the Golden Era legends, Ansley has sculpted a physique that has catapulted him to the very top of the IFBB Pro League. You can bet it’s a physique that would have caught the eye of Joe Weider himself, too.
As for how Ansley trains to maintain such a legendary body, he says, “I love to use dumbbells and free weights, particularly very old-school movements.” Also, he insists that it’s how he trains, not what he trains, that makes the difference. “Pretty much all methods of training from the Golden Era encompassed superb intensity,” Ansley says. “Modern-day bodybuilders definitely need to learn from the Golden Era bodybuilders in that aspect.”
In the spirit of the Golden Era, we’ve compiled five signature routines from the men who inspired Breon Ansley. Give them a try to develop your own classic-looking physique. These workouts may be old, but they’re anything but dated.
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Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Biceps/Triceps Routine
At the 1968 Mr. Universe contest in Miami, a show won by Frank Zane, Joe Weider came face-to-face with 21-year-old runner-up Arnold Schwarzenegger. Standing nearly 6’2″ and weighing in at 250 pounds, the Austrian native was a sight to behold. Joe Weider had an eye for potential, and he saw the future of bodybuilding in this kid. Weider’s instincts couldn’t have been more accurate, as Schwarzenegger went on to win seven Mr. Olympia titles (1970-75, 1980) and became one of bodybuilding’s most well-known and admired characters.
THE ROUTINE
Exercise
Sets
Reps
1A. Standing Dumbbell Curl
5
8
1B. Lying Dumbbell Extension
5
10
2A. Incline Dumbbell Curl
4
8
2B. Overhead Triceps Extension
4
10
3A. Preacher Curl
4
8
3B. Dip
4
10
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Ed Corney’s Back Routine
Often training at Gold’s Gym Venice, Ed Corney was a star in the 1977 iconic film Pumping Iron, alongside Schwarzenegger, Columbu, Lou Ferrigno, Mike Katz, and Serge Nubret. Ed and Arnold became training partners while they prepped for the 1975 Mr. Universe and Olympia, respectively, and Corney was one of the few guys who could match Arnold’s intensity in the gym. Although he never won an IFBB Pro League title, Corney did take top honors at the Masters Olympia in 1994-95.
THE ROUTINE
Exercise
Sets
Reps
1A. Barbell Row
5
10
1B. Wide-Grip Pulldown
5
10
2. T-Bar Row
6
8
3. Chinup
5
to failure
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Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Frank Zane’s Shoulder Routine
After being inspired by Bodybuilding magazine, Frank Zane started lifting as a teenager and moved west in 1967, taking to California’s Zen aesthetic like a bodybuilder to a barbell. With his legendary aesthetics, Zane racked up one of bodybuilding’s most impressive résumés, including multiple Mr. Universe and Mr. America titles, as well as becoming a three-time Mr. Olympia (1977-79).
THE ROUTINE
Exercise
Sets
Reps
1A. Behind-the-Neck Press
6
8-10
1B. Alternating Front Raise
6
8-10
2. Lateral Raise
6
8
3. Bentover Lateral Raise
6
8
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Dave Draper’s Leg Routine
By age 21, Dave Draper earned the Mr. New Jersey bodybuilding title and then arrived in California in 1963. Big, blond, and boyish, Draper looked as if he’d been born straight out of the Venice surf, and, for a period of time, he was the face of Weider’s publications. He went on to win Mr. America in 1965, Mr. Universe in 1966, and Mr. World in 1970, as well as placing fourth at the 1967 Mr. Olympia.
THE ROUTINE
Exercise
Sets
Reps
1A. Leg Extension
3-5
10-12
1B. Leg Curl
3-5
8-12
2. Calf Raise
3-5
15-20
3. Back Squat
5-7
15-6
4. Deadlift
5
10-6
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Courtesy of Weider Health & Fitness
Franco Columbu’s Chest Routine
After a few months in California, Arnold asked Weider if he could also bring his former training partner from Munich over. Enter 5’5″ powerhouse Franco Columbu, who remains Arnold’s best friend to this day, and a man who has earned two Sandows of his own in 1976 and 1981. Pound for pound, Franco was one of the strongest champion bodybuilders of all time, and despite being nine inches shorter, he was as wide and thick as his best buddy Arnold.
