Vince Gironda broke the mold with his unorthodox training methods and nutrition strategies, but he left a lasting imprint on the bodybuilding community. Â As part the ubiquitous Arnold, very few famous bodybuilders are known by their first name alone. Vince Gironda, however, predates the mighty Arnold for being known by just his first name or nickname the “Iron Guru.”
Perhaps it’s just coincidence that they were referenced the same way, or maybe each man’s major impact on bodybuilding warranted the special title as Vince and as Arnold. Â Certainly, both are legends in their own rig
ht, and Vince was one of the best bodybuilders of his time.
For Vince, there were only ever two ways to train: the wrong way or the Vince Gironda way; there was no in between.   Let’s take a look at some of Vince’s theories towards bodybuilding training.
1. Train 21 – Rest 7
This is unique concept Maximize Your Muscle members are familiar with – three weeks of hard training followed by one week of rest. Â In my experience, three weeks is the average length of time, some can actually train hard for four or five, maybe some for six weeks. It depends on the individual and many variables. Â If you incorporate the Train 21-Rest 7 Rule into your regime, ensure it’s a planned part of your training program just as your exercise routine.
Rest is nature’s method of restoring the nerves and whole body. Robbing yourself of needed rest  will prevent central nervous system recovery and metabolic recovery. Nerves requires more rest than muscles.  Vince recognized that none can train exclusively on a concentrated program for too long because the time will come when it will cease to get further results.  Some term this point as being a sticking point or staleness, whereas Vince termed it over taxing the nerves and muscles.
This is a concept that does not need to be applied to enthusiastic beginners. Â It’s an advanced concept for experienced bodybuilders who experience sticking points more frequently.
Agree or disagree with Train 21-Rest 7 ? Let me know below.
2. A Muscle Has Four Sides Â
If you ever got the chance to review some of Vince’s courses you’ll recall his course called A Muscle Has Four Sides. This peaked bodybuilders interest from the time it was published. Vince stated, “All concepts I have advanced over the years have initially met with certain amount of skepticism, usually because initially they seem too simple to achieve the results desired in the time given. Yet eventually, sometimes twenty-five years later, these concepts are accepted around the world as standard training aximos. I will tell you now what the secret of success really is. Believe that the course I give will work and it will. If you have doubts, and don’t put everything into it, then you will find it will not work. The following course, A Muscle Has Four Sides, is based upon the fact that different exercises develop different parts of a given muscle. By doing four exercises, one for each part of the muscle, you will achieve the fastest muscle growth…”
A Muscle Has Four Sides Sample Workout For BicepsGet all equipment ready for all four exercises so you can do each exercise one right after the other with no rest between.
1) Barbell Preacher Curl (for low biceps)
2) Reverse Preacher Curl (for high biceps)
3) Alternate Incline Dumbbell Curls (for middle outer biceps)
4) Seated Dumbbell Curls (for middle inner biceps)
Important Points
Do each exercise for 12 reps.
Do only one compound set (1 time through all 4 exercises with no rest in-between).
Do this workout in the AM and then again in the PM (at least 4 hours apart). In the second workout, you can do lighter weight but keep your form stricter style and tighter muscular contractions.
There is no abdominal work done in this course. This is a muscle-size building course and ab work can shock the solar plexus and slow gains.
Work each muscle every 4 to 5 days like the following split below .
Eat protein every 2 to 3 hours that you are awake.
A sample split would look like:
Day 1 – Back, Chest, Shoulders
Day 2 – Triceps, Biceps, Forearms
Day 3 – Legs, Calves
Day 4 – Same as day 1
Day 5 – Same as day 2
Day 6 – same as day 3
Day 7 – Rest
3. Common Bodybuilders ErrorsÂ
Vince has a list of common errors bodybuilders were guilty of. I’m not certain but I believe he added to the list as time went by. If he noticed something it would placed on the list. Here’s just a small list of things he distinguished as wrong:
- Working upper body and legs on the same day.
- Not touching chest to bar and calling it chinning.
- Not raining the big toe and pulling heels together when performing calf raises.
- Bench presses for pecs. This is 90% front delt work.
- Not touching all four bells together on dumbbell benches. This also is 90% front delt work if you do not touch the bells together (when doing chest press).
- Under working or overworking a muscle by performing too wide a variety of exercises on a given muscle.
- Cheating exercises.
- Presses for delts.
- Mixing carbohydrates and proteins.
- Behind the neck chins or pull downs.
- Skipping breakfast.
- Swimming.
- Side Bends.
- Not taking enzymes at every meal.
- Not arching the back while performing lat work.
- Distraction.
- Music in the gym.
- Not selecting the proper exercise for deficient muscle areas.
- Not keeping chin on chest, feet under the face and elbows wide on parallel dips for pecs.
- No knowledge of combing exercises.
- Not changing an exercise program often enough.
- No knowledge of breaking a rut.
- Not specializing on slow growing areas.
- Not taking supplements.
- Taking too many supplements.
- Lack of conentration during workouts.
- Unwillingness to accept new or different concepts.
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Hi Vince. I don’t compete in bodybuilding competitions. But during pre-summer (Jan to March) season, I do a six-day a week program that has day 1 and 4 doing Legs and Back; Day1: Heavy Legs, Light Back; Day 4: Heavy Back, Light Legs. I’ve been doing this program during pre-summer season for more than 4 years already (I started 2006 but tried this only in 2008) to prepare for the beach.
In connection, you stated above that it’s a mistake to do both legs and upper body in one day. I would like to disagree because it did me good.
So Vince do you think training your upper body and lower body is good. I have been doing a full body workout 3-4 times a week
Hi Vince, how to not mixing carbohydrates and proteins?
I want to share this, I think is very important: ‎”To get a maximal hypertrophy stimulus you must contract your muscles as hard as possible during the whole range of motion. To do so, imagine that your whole set is one big pose down. You must use an intense focus to make sure that your muscle never relaxes one bit during the set. That means contracting hard on the concentric portion, contracting hard in the fully flexed position and contracting hard even as you lower the weight under control.”
Does the 1st mistake mean it is not wise to do super sets which require muscles from both upper and lower body?
Regarding not mixing the carb and proteins together around workout, of course today it is usually done using using forms of both where virtually no digestion is needed so you get rapid absorption of both together into one’s muscles. They may not have had such forms of at least proteins such as whey hydrolysates back in Vince Gironda’s day readily available. So his viewpoint likely would have been based on not mixing whole forms of carbs and protein – if that makes a difference.
Presses for delts?what now?and what’s wrong with that?
Hi Pieter,
Remember, “No Presses for delts” was another opinion of Vince Gironda and it was in context of not being the most ideal exercise for building shoulder mass. There is nothng “wrong” with presses but they do put a lot of strain on the shoulder joint, and emphasize the front delts primarily which is already pretty dominant on many bodies.
Vince was primarily interested in symmetry and found that an emphasis of lateral and rear raises were more ideal for rounding and shaping the shoulder.
Every exercise has pros and cons.
To clear up a few remarks that seem to keep appearing:
1) Enzymes refer to digestive enzymes. Vice taught about maximizing digestion and absorbtion of nutrients instead of over eating.
2) Not mixing carbs and proteins is still highly touted today by Dr. John Berardi. Again this deals with the differnt digestive processes and maximal nutrient absorbtion.
3) Bench presses for chest- Vince advocated the Gironda Dip, Dumbbell Chest Presses, and Bench Presses to the neck (on rare occasion) to work the chest. Each of these exercises done his way really hit the pecs. I suggest you research the moves and give them a try to actually understand the true nature of the comment.
Finally, remember what you are reading in the list are notes that Vince made to refer back to and speak or write more on at a later date. Read his stuff and you will see that he sometimes would disprove an earlier thought or improved on it. Many of his ideas were actually proven to be true many years after he first thought of them as I’m sure others have been disproved as well.
Thanks for contributing your insightful comments Jason.
I don’t understand.. Vince Gironda said that mixing carbohydrates and proteins is wrong, because protein must be consumed with fat, for building muscle. But everything we hear nowadays is that fat shouldn’t be consumed right after the workout, as the absorption of the protein is blocked by the fat. Vince del Monte, Jaysin Hunter (What to eat after your workout) and a lot of fitness experts say exactly the opposite of Vince Gironda. So confusing!
Hi Lorena,
As Jason mentioned, many of Vince’s info was proved years after he stated it but a lot of his ideas were disproved years later too.
Thanks Vince for coming on with an explanation. For a quick second I felt like a kid again when I found out Santa was not real.
To any one that doubts you? Let me say this.
Just by suscribing to Live Large and using only the info there and via your Emails. In the last 8 weeks I have dropped 18lbs of fat. Following your workouts have gained 1.25 inches on my arms, in just 8 weeks my arms went from Joe fat a$$ if I may? To showing tone and definition.
Someday I will be able to afford your DVD.
Thanks for all the info and issuing your views on the other Vince.
Hi Jonathan,
Tha’ts great.
One chef in the kitchen and you’ll bake a beautiful recipe!
Words to others – if reading contradicting info is overwhelming to you then it means you have not learned anything from experience yet. Keep training, documenting your changes and you’ll see what your body responds to.
@GmanC – Its my kind of cardio, do it twice a week, the best recovery from weights possible, relaxing for the mucles, and i had huge gains on my last bulk with it, so, BS
I think it’s clear referring to the advice of a bodybuilder from the early part of the century is bordering on lunacy.
Every field of study, bodybuilding included, has made monumental strides in the last 50 years. Some of these points might make sense but most are ridiculous.
To say that bench press is 90% delts is not only an exageration but it’s just patently false. Plenty of studies have been done using electrodes to track the contraction of muscles across various exercises and it’s a plain fact that this is untrue.
And rule #1? Name any mainstream sport that won’t train lower body almost every day…
#7? Cheating definitely has it’s place and its uses.
#9? Please – there’s hardly a quality nutrition program that exists that doesn’t promote eating protein with every meal.
#14? Could you be more vague? You might as well replace “enzymes” with “food” and it would mean about the same thing.
And half the list is just vague generalities without providing any specific action items or highlight specific actions to stay away from.
Being one of the best for your time doesn’t make you the best today. Following this advice would be the same as following 19th century medical advice in 2011… something I hope no one with half a brain would ever do.
Hey Dave.
I agree that a lot of Vince’s info are “interesting sound bites” and without him able to share the context of his advice, it’s hard to know if we’re interpreting his teaching properly.
The reason I’m sharing Vince’s knowledge is because I’m more impressed with his ability to think against the norm during his time and be an original, rather than a copy. He was a true renegade and not afraid to think for himself – even though we know some of his teaching have been disproved today.
I obviously don’t agree, employ or promote all his methods but I think he had a really pure and no nonsense approach to training whch we can all learn from.
Thanks for sharing.
Vince
@GmanC –
i rekon it’s more down to energy expenditure… the body burns a fck ton of energy maintaining temp in water… which could lead to the body using mucsle for fuel to maintain such tempeture… that’s my theory.
SOME OF THIS STUFF IS VERY CONF.
NOT MIXING PROTEIN AND CARBS LOT OF RUBISH
I imagine the no swimming thing is because it elongated the muscles so that might be a negative as far as pure bodybuilding is concerned. But as far as being great overall exercise, swimming is the best there is.
Haha this is a little ridiculous I agree with Frank, some don’t really even make sense the way they are written.
Some of these points are really out to lunch given much of what we know today, and likely even for his time. Vince D,I really think you should refute some if these points if you what to maintain your credibility. Let’s get real…avoid combining proteins and carbs????? Bench presses 90% delts???? No music….lol
Excellent tips. Thanks …
#10. Behind the neck chins or pull downs: I’ve heard this before, but what exactly is wrong with them? I’ve never had a problem.
Vince Gironda would tell you that behind the neck exercises place the shoulder joint into the dislocation position and the range of motion puts unnecessary stress on the rotator cuff tendons of the shoulders.
Many trainees may experience injuries from this behind-the-neck movement and I believe it can be introduced for some clients and not for others.
Just glancing over it, much of it sounds like nonsense – like the preacher curl hitting “the lower bicep”???
The whole muscle shortens during work, whether it’s the short or the long head.
Taking enzymes at every meal??? Is this Vince-guy a fruitcake or has he just no knowledge of biochemistry?
Hi Martin.
When Vince said the “lower bicep” i”m guessing he is referring to the short head and since the preacher curl does not allow any shoulder flexion (that comes from the long head)…it’s targeting the “lower bicep” I don’t think he had a scientific understanding of biomechanics….
@Mike –
Yeah I really want to know the answer to this as well. i thought carbs & protein were essentail
although i know Vince advocated fats with protein too big time.
Swimmings an interesting one…i can take an educated guess as to why…
As for bench press for pecs.. what is good for chest then? i do aggree front delts get hit big time though…
Vince (D’)… would be great if you could counter this list with an explination for why for each. i’m sure we’d all appreciate it…
I can understand that if you swim for long distances mainly focusing on endurance it can be taxing on recovery and also on type II fibers, but if you do swimming sprints like i do, using it as intervals i cant see whats wrong with it, i even think its the best weight recovery activitie there is..
Interesting. Is #17 because of #26?
Why is mixing carbs and proteins an error?
It’s not an error based on what we know now.