Reg Park

Three time NABBA Mr Universe winner 1951,1958,1965 Reg Park set new standards for size and definition in the fifties and sixties. Born on June 17 1928 in Leeds England he took part in many sports during his school years. After using weights in hospital to recover from a knee injury sustained playing football  Reg began reading Health and Strength magazine and doing gymnastics. While reading one of these magazines he came across a picture of Vic Nicoletti who had just won Mr New York City, He decided that this is how he wanted to look. He was also inspired by two greats of that era Steve Reeves and John Grimek, he noted that in those days America was  way ahead of Britain in terms of quality of physique.    Reg first started training in 1946 with a guy called Dave Cohen after the two met at a swimming pool, he later gave  Dave credit for really getting him started. This training gets cut short when Reg has to go in the army for the two year national service that all young men had to do in Britain in the forties and fifties, he does however become a physical training  instructor while in the army and stays in shape.   After his national service he attended the 1948 Mr Universe held in London. Grimek wins and Reg is inspired to train for competition. Attending business school during the day he trained evenings in his parents back yard sometimes in temperatures below freezing, wearing several jumpers! and later in a garage. He entered his first competition, Mr North East Britain in 1949 and wins, beating the 1948 Mr Britain Charlie Jarrett and securing an invite to enter the 1949 Mr Great Britain.   Having joined Henry Atkins Viking Gym, Reg increased his weight from 196 to 226 lbs training twice a day six days a week working legs in the morning and upper body in the afternoon. Exercises included 20 rep squats and standing presses, curls, bench press and rows using both dumbells and barbells, no other sports or cardio. He wins the 1949 Mr Great Britain and John Grimek who has flown in from America to judge is impressed with Reg.   The 1950 NABBA Mr Universe took place in London, Reg entered and was placed second after Steve Reeves with Juan Ferrero from France third, he does however win the Mr Europe which is  held in conjunction with the Universe at a weight of 215 lbs. Reg trained for the 1951 Mr Universe in South Africa working out 3 hours a day, legs one day and upper body the next. Diet included his favourite food, steak, sometimes eaten twice a day along with a dozen eggs a day and 8 pints of milk! He won the 1951 NABBA Mr Universe again held in London, becoming the first Englishman to do so, and after only two years of serious training.   Establishing the Reg Park Equipment Co, with his father as Business Director, they sold weight training equipment and supplements and in January 1953 published the Reg Park Journal of Physical Culture, then in January 1954 The Reg Park Journal, which ran until December 1959 with a readership of 60,000. Also they published 16 issues of Muscleman from September 1952 to December 1953. During the next few years Reg toured the world giving exhibitions and married Mareon the sister of South African bodybuilder Johnny Issacs. By 1956 his body measurments were as follows: weight 230 lbs, hight 6'-1", bicep 19", calf 18", thigh 28", chest 52", waist 32", wrist 8" and forearm 16".  And a typical routine was as follows:  Deltoids and Upper Back - Press Behind Neck 4-10 Sets, 5 Reps. - Heavy Bent arm Lateral Raises 5-10 Sets, 10 Reps Chest - Bench Press 5-10 Sets, 2 Reps (Yes 2 Reps!) Thighs - Squat 5 Sets, 5 Reps - Hack Lift 5 Sets, 5 Reps Biceps - Barbell Curl 5 Sets, 5-8 Reps - Incline Dumbbell Curls 5 Sets, 5-8 Reps Triceps - French Press -  standing and lying on the bench. Calves - Calf Machine 25 Reps, Many Sets. - Donkey Calf Raises 25 Reps, Many Sets Back - High Pullups 5-8 Sets, 3 Reps. - Power Clean 5-8 Sets, 3 Reps. - Chins Behind Neck 5-8 Sets, 5-8 Reps (weights tied to waist.) Waist and Trunk Area - Leg Raises and Side Bends 100 or more Reps.   Reg moved to South Africa in 1958 and set up a fitness studio and mail order business, leaving his father in charge of the UK side of the business. He also won the NABBA Mr Universe the same year, beating Bruce Randall from the USA in the tall man class. His brother in law won the short man class. He was guest poser at the 1963 NABBA Mr Universe weighing 235 lbs and won  the 1965 NABBA Mr Universe thus becoming the first person to win the title three times.   After a busy time opening three more gyms and not being able to train 100%, Reg entered the 1970 NABBA Mr Universe in London and placed second to a young Arnold Schwarzenegger in the tall man class, Dave Draper came third. At the 1971 Universe he came in underweight at 216 lbs trying to look more defined but the bigger guys stole the day, with Bill Pearl winning the tall man class, Sergio Oliva second and Reg third. Bill Pearl won overall.   In 1973 Reg entered the NABBA Mr Universe and placed second in class, he then retired from competition. A typical workout from 1973 was as follows: First Day Deltoids - Seated High Incline Dumbbell Press 5 Sets, 5 Reps - Seated High Incline Dumbbell Press 5 Sets, 5 Reps - Lying Face Down on Bench Lateral 5 Sets, 8 Reps Triceps - Pulley Pushdowns 5 Sets, 8 Reps - Lying Tricep Z-Bar Extensions 5 Sets, 8 Reps - Decline Z-Bar Tricep Extensions 5 Sets, 8 Reps - Lying Face Down on Bench Pulley Push Out 5 Sets, 8 Reps - Standing Extensions with Floor Pulley 5 Sets, 8 Reps Second Day Back - Chins 5 Sets, 8 Reps - Seated Pulley Pulldowns Behind Neck 5 Sets, 8-10 Reps - Seated Pulley Pull-Ins to Waist 5 Sets, 10 Reps - Seated Pulley with floor Pulley 5 Sets, 8 Reps Biceps - One Arm Seated Dumbbell Curls 5 Sets, 8 Reps - Preacher Curls 5 Sets, 8 Reps - Lying Flat On Bench Curls 5 Sets, 8 Reps - Incline Dumbbell Curls 5 Sets, 8 Reps Third Day Thighs - Leg Press 5 Sets, 5 Reps - Hack Squat with Machine 5 Sets, 8 Reps - Hack Squat with weight on belt Behind Back 5 Sets, 8 Reps Calves - Standing Calf Raise 5 Sets, 20 reps - Seated Calf Raises 5 Sets, 20 Reps Abdominals - Leg Raised hanging from Chinning Bar - Ordinary Leg Raises - Leg Raises on High Bench - Twists on a Swivel Machine

Reg still  trains six to seven days per week for about 1 1/4 hours in the early morning, usually between 6-8 am, still weighs around 225 pounds and has this say of being young and starting out today;   I would aim to be number one and even with today's physiques, I know that I could beat them all without drugs. I think that those who sell drugs to young bodybuilders, especially female bodybuilders should be jailed for life and the key should be thrown away. Youngsters who are taking drugs are advised to stop at once. The full effects are not known, but those that are, and the deaths that have resulted should say enough. It is not only the quality of the mind and body at age twenty that you should consider, but also how you'll function at seventy-five. I feel very sorry for the present generation of bodybuilders today because the athleticism is secondary, nutrition is tertiary and chemistry is everything.

Some of Reg Park's lifting records. - Behind the Neck Press - 300 lbs. For one rep. - Behind the Neck Press - 260 lbs. For four reps. - Behind the Neck Press - 240 lbs. For eight reps. - One Arm Dumbbell Press - 165 lbs. For two reps. - Front Squat - 405 lbs for a single. - Lying Triceps Extension - 300 lbs. For three reps. This was done at   Muscle Beach in 1957. - Standing Dumbbell Press - Two 120 lb. Dumbbells for five reps. - Standing Dumbbell Press - Two 140 lb. Dumbbells for one rep. - Dumbbell Bench Press - Two 185 lb. Dumbbells for five reps. - Squat - 605 for two reps at Buster McShane and Ivan Dunbar's Gym in   Belfast. - Strict Barbell Curl - 200 lbs. For one rep. - Incline Dumbbell Press - Two 185 lb. Dumbbells for five reps. -Bench pressed 500 lbs., April 23, 1954, at around 225 bodyweight at   a Health and Strength show in Bristol. He was the first in the UK and   second in the world to bench over five hundred pounds (Doug Hepburn   was the first person in the world to bench 500 pounds on May 28, 1953 at   around 285 bodyweight.)

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