George was a heavyweight who used very heavy weights on all three competitive lifts, so he moved at a slow pace, often taking 2 1/2 hours to complete a session. Or for people to tell /u/WeaponizedSleep to eat more. The Hepburns helped lay the foundation for him to win a world title in powerlifting and to take part in the World’s Strongest Man contests. Hepburn was born in Vancouver, Canada, on September 16, 1926.

He was also as big as a tank. The one thing the article left out was timing between sets.

I worked his A routine with 2 min rests between everything for four months. Born with a club foot and a withered right leg, Doug was faced with many more obstacles than the average teenager when he began lifting weights at 15.

The same type of setup for bench and press on Mon/Thu. He was the first natural lifter to bench press 500 pounds, and he could squat 600 pounds for reps at the age of 54. You must be logged in to post a comment Only do them once a week for a specific bodypart. All he had to work with was some crude equipment in his basement, but he was determined to turn his weak body into a much stronger one. (POWER)Which was starting 5 singles at 90 % with 1 min rest adding a rep each workout building to 10 singles. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. Editor’s note: Bill Starr was a strength and conditioning coach at Johns Hopkins University from 1989 to 2000. (POWER)Which was starting 5 singles at 90 % with 1 min rest adding a rep each workout building to 10 singles. Each workout, you’d add one more single until you hit eight reps. Another variant attributed to him starts out with 8×2 (eight doubles) – just like the singles, these should not be maximal sets. ... You’ll enjoy the results. I personally love the power/pump routines. Here’s the routine: You do several warmup sets, followed by five singles, followed by five sets of five. As Hepburns are so demanding, I recommend doing them for only six weeks and then taking a few months off before doing them again. Then slow down so you can concentrate fully on the final sets of singles. Keep in mind that your nervous system takes a lot longer to recover than your muscular and skeletal systems. Born cross-eyed and with a clubfoot, Hepburn took up weight training when he was 15 and overcame his disabilities to become incredibly strong – by age 18 he could squat 340 pounds, bench press 260 and curl 140. No, not the dedicated versus the lazy. Doug was old school strong.

Bill Starr. This routine also teaches you how to focus 100 percent on every rep of every set, which is a valuable lesson because it carries over to other exercises and sports.

I also went a month on the B routine. Bodybuilding: From Heavy Duty to SuperSlow. It's a very valuable and useful concept that activates the complete range of muscle fiber types. Plus, your nervous system is being put under a new form of stress and will need time to adapt to the additional load. There are very few programs where you have to maintain your concentration for 10 sets in a row, but once you hone the skill of being able to lock into using perfect technique on every set, you’ve taken a giant step toward becoming stronger. Ramp up with about five sets of warm-ups, then hit five singles at about 90-92% of 1RM. In just 10 years he had gone from being a puny teenager to the strongest man on the globe. Let’s say that you are currently benching 335. I just started on one of the variants, and over an hour in when 24 sets are done there's no time or energy to go for more, I've had to stick to just the power phase.

If you miss even one of the required reps, you must stay with the same numbers the next time you do the routine. His routines are really what you make them.

Again, very doable. He showed us the incredible portable isometric machine that he’d invented, told stories, asked us about his friends at York Barbell and answered our many questions. Mondays are the best day to do Hepburns, when you have the most energy. Tweet. Hepburn had incredible results with this training program and said it worked just as well for others. Editor’s note: Bill Starr was a strength and conditioning coach at … They made up his entire week’s workouts. One of Doug Hepburn’s training routines – known as Program A – is known for its uncanny ability to create consistent strength gains. Here’s a numerical picture of what I just outlined. Heavy, yes, but not grinders. It is crucial you stay strict with rest times. That will help you get the feel of the program, and once you can do those sets without difficulty, move to four and five sets on the singles and back-off work sets. I'm glad to hear he eventually decided to drop doing both power and pump at the same time. The key to getting stronger on this routine is making every set of singles and fives. There’s no way to hurry through it because it’s those final few sets on the singles and fives that enable you to get the results you’re after. I worked his A routine with 2 min rests between everything for four months. Should you attempt to jump ahead when you failed to make all the planned lifts the time before, you will hit a sticking point or become overtrained. While it may not seem like much of an increase, it is because you’re pushing up the intensity and stamina factors considerably. We’ve got your new favorite high-protein breakfast option. Author of Bodybuilding: From Heavy Duty to SuperSlow, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. In 1969, Wes Woo, the coach of the Canadian team that competed in the ’68 Olympics in Mexico City, invited Bob Bednarski and me to lift in a meet in Vancouver, his hometown.

He did Hepburns three times a week—benches on Monday, squats on Wednesday and deadlifts on Friday. I’ve used it myself through the years and have taught countless athletes in a wide range of sports how to do it. You must have energy left for those last money sets, and you must be rested and ready when you come to the gym. (PUMP)Do five sets of 3 at 70% adding a rep each workout building to 5x5, with three min rests between sets. That is very doable for any athlete with a solid background in heavy lifting, but, if it proves to be too much right away, use a modified version of three singles and three sets of fives. Doug Hepburn’s feats of strength include: Strict overhead press of 371.25 pounds; Push Press 500 pounds; Squat 800 pounds; Deadlift 800 pounds; Bench Press 580 pounds; Doug Hepburn was also the first man to bench press 400, 450, and 500 pounds. We spent the afternoon talking with him. On Friday I would do the deadlift power routine, and then the squat pump routine. I also went a month on the B routine. Let’s say you were able to make every rep at your inaugural workout, so the next time you do Hepburns, your routine will look like this: warmups at 135×5, 225×5, 275×3 and 300×2; five singles with 330 and five sets of five with 280. A subreddit for general weight training discussion, focused on intermediate level and above in experience and strength, for those ranging from strength sport competitors, sports that benefit from weight training, or weight training enthusiasts. Individuals... Say goodbye to frozen waffles. You’ll enjoy the results.
Barski and I also hoped that we’d get to meet Doug Hepburn, one of the legends in our sport, who also lived there. Looks like you're using new Reddit on an old browser. I was most interested in the routines he devised because I knew he possessed one of the most creative minds in all of physical culture.

... Barski and I also hoped that we’d get to meet Doug Hepburn, one of the legends in our sport, who also lived there.

That’s how I learned about the following routine, which I call simply Hepburns. So take baby steps, and you’ll end up being ahead in the long run. You need to set aside an hour for the modified Hepburns and an hour and a half for the full program. Then he set a world record in the press with 345 1/2 and shocked the weightlifting world when he defeated the great John Davis to become the heavyweight champion of the world in 1953 in Stockholm. If you find that you’re running out of gas on the final sets of singles or fives, switch to the modified version for a while. One such athlete was Doug Ivan Hepburn. Each workout, you’… Share. He claimed the "A Program" would add 120 pounds to any compound exercise in one year, and would add 60 pounds to any isolation exercise.

(PUMP)Do five sets of 3 at 70% adding a rep each workout building to 5x5, with three min rests between sets. You don’t want to do too many warmup sets because that will tap into your reserve. I've had success following the method as Twiceborn described, and also doing the power and pump routines but in a split fashion. Pin. At your initial workout you will be using 325 for your work sets with singles. The most devout fan of Hepburn’s was George Hechter, who started training with me when he was still in high school. Hepburn's routines and template are based on the concept popularized by Olympic weightlifting and bodybuilding champion Tommy Kono in the 1950s, and later endorsed by famed fitness writer John McCallum in the 1960s (The Keys to Progress) and sythesized by powerlifter Fred Hatfield in the 1980s. He’s the author of The Strongest Shall Survive—Strength Training for Football, which is available for $20 plus shipping from Home Gym Warehouse. Improve speed, power, and neuro drive with this exercise created by a foremost authority in spinal biomechanics.

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He got some well-deserved recognition in the strength community when he squatted 500 reps, push-pressed 400 and benched 450 in a single workout at the New York City Gym in 1951—unheard of numbers in those days. But, Doug wasn’t just strong. The routine as outlined by Starr was simple. Begin with two warmup sets of five, then two more done for triples and doubles, and you will be ready for the singles.

It’s a perfect combination that was formulated by one of the greatest strongmen in the history of weightlifting and certainly one of the most creative minds in all of strength training. Thought the B routine would be easier than the A routine, I was fucking wrong. It’s smarter to start conservatively, since, as everyone quickly discovers, Hepburns are a test of endurance as much as pure strength. Barski and I were nicely surprised when Doug contacted us and came over to our hotel. That inspired me to look up the half-forgotten Hepburn bench routine I saw in Starr's book. Finally, in order to do the routine correctly, you must budget at least an hour in your workouts for just one exercise. Boredom is the only thing I struggled with. Beginners and intermediates are better off doing a less demanding routine. is the lightest man ever to lift together the two Dinnie Stones which have a combined weight of 785 lbs. Move through the warmups and knock out the first couple of singles rather quickly. For example, on Tuesday I would do the squat power routine (triples or singles), and then the deadlift pump routine.