Our heroes are individuals that are strong in body and in mind, capable of kindness and compassion. In 1959, a new hero emerged. He brought on the silver screen the body of a God. Movie magnates everywhere were amazed by his animal magnetism. And the world of cinema was never the same since then.
STEVE REEVES - A Hero is Born
He was born in Glasgow, Montana in 21 January 1926. He was always an active child but he discovered bodybuilding during high school. In the early 1940's, bodybuilding was considered by the public as being a muscle bound cause. But Reeves really liked what he saw. John Grimek and other bodybuilders of the time inspired him. His muscle growth story started in the garage of the family house, using a simple barbell set. He used to collect pictures with parts from the body of other bodybuilders, uniting them in a single picture that represented his ideal body. Not long after that he joined a body builder gymnasium. Working with the raw material of the greatest genetics the world of body building has ever seen, within a year and four months, he gained over 30 pounds. He started workout at the age of 16 years. Month by month he was making outstanding progresses, succeeding to build 10 pounds of lean muscular mass every month. In Oakland, the Reeves philosophy began to materialise. "We not only strive to build a balanced life, but also a balanced physique" was his saying. He had no interest in building muscular size merely for the sake of size. Shape and proportion are also important goals. "To be in shape and to be fit is a good thing, but I don't think it should dominate and lead your life. It's just one of the aspects of your life. I would recommend a person to have a symmetrical physique. I believe that is more desirable to the general public. When I start working out my arms were 14.5, and my calves were 16.5. Very disproportionate. So I didn't workout my calves until i gained 16.5 in my arms. Then i build them until 18."
accident when he was just 18 months old. From then, he was raised by his mother. The boy seemed destined for fame in the world of health and fitness winning the
World War 2 - the muscle growth stories of a soldier.
Upon Reeves graduation from high school, in 1944, Steve Reeves joined the army. Soldiers were being shipped overseas quickly, and he was no exception. After 6 short weeks of basic training, he received order to ship out to the Philippines. He was stationed to some of the bloodiest actions in the war. Not long after, he acquired a severe case of malaria which made him unable to do workout for a long time, thus resulted to a loss of over 30 lbs. After several occurrences of malaria followed, he was then transferred to master core, assigned in Kato Island in Japan, and ended up in Tokyo together with Gen. McArthur's troops.
Reeves was aware he had to do something about his weight loss and that he must think of a way of getting back in shape. He managed to have a 210-lbs barbel set for himself, which he kept under his bed in the barracks. Soon, his fellow soldiers were able to notice his improving physique and started to refer him as "The Shape". In addition to that, his superiors has requested him to make trainings for the rest of the troops to increase strength and fitness levels.
By the time the second world war has ended, Reeves, together with rest of the army moved homeward. And from this started a career that made him a legend in the field of bodybuilding.
The Bodybuilding Legend
His muscle growth story continues and on September 18, 1946, Reeves went back to Ed Yarick's gymnasium, not as the latter's student, but now as Yarick's equal. In fact, the Legend had started to eclipse his mentor as well as the other bodybuilders in town. In December 1946, Reeves joined his first bodybuilding contest, Mr. Pacific Coast in Oregon. His great physique has blown the competition and made him the winner. Fueled by this success, he joined another contest, Mr. West Coast in Los Angeles. These two contests served to be his stepping stones to the major contest he had been planning to join, that is, the Mr. America, which was held in Chicago. Here, he was able to compete with other well known bodybuilders, including the legend George Eiferman. Eiferman was also one of the people eager to see Reeves, hearing rumors of how this man drew crowds just by merely walking along the beach. " I was anxious to see this man and when we did, we knew he's gonna be the Mr. America for that year."
Part of Reeve's training was the Power of Visualization or the Positive Visual Imagery. This has helped him to stay focused and motivated. " W hen i was training for the contest, i visualise that i was winning the contest before it even existed. Before i was actually on the stage."
Reeves started to be sought after by top physique photographers including the legend Tony Montreal. However, unlike today, there were no endorsements for bodybuilders. That's the time he decided to be an actor. Unluckily, he didn't get along with this so he shifted to Theater school for Dick Berney and started performing in clubs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York during weekends. During these times, Reeves was again approached by a Hollywood mogul Cecil B. DeMille who saw Reeves to star in his biblical epic Samson and Delilah. Though DeMille had one request, that is, for Reeves to lose 10 lbs. Upon doing this, Reeves felt he was a contradictory of what really he is - a bodybuilder who worked hard to gain physical perfection.
Further success of Reeves muscle growth story included winning the title of Mr World in France, and Mr. Universe in 1954, and the highest paid actor in Europe. What set him apart from the other bodybuilders was that he did not struggle to be famous, instead he was contented being Steve Reeves and lived with his own terms. That was enough to brought him fame and legendary status.
Once returned in America, he focused to the only title that eluded him: Mr. Universe. But the time was to short. Only 4 weeks until the competition. He started training at the faimos York Barbell Club with such ferocity and deep concentration that he amazed all that were present by his quick transformation. "I didn't give myself any limitations. I didn't know is difficult to grow your muscles. No one told me that is really hard to do it, you have to work for years before you can gain inches. I had no limitations and i used extreme concentration. When i work out i concentrate on the muscles i work. A nice and slow movement so i can feel the muscle all the way up and down, full range of motion and it really worked out well for me. Because what you have to do is to create a superior line of communication between your brain and your muscle. And you can only to that in 2 ways:
- by concentrating;
- by practicing muscle control, in the spare time when you are not working.
Respecting this process with every workout, Reeves was able to transform his muscle growth story into the physical body that helped him to win the Mr. Universe contest in 1950.
His passion for horses lead him to accidentally discover a revolutionary total fitness approach which he called Power Walking.
From his successes on the body building stages of the world to his bravery under fire in the second world war, to the pulling down of temples with his hands in films, Steve Reeves life was no less heroic than in movies. It was a mans man who lived his life in his own terms from beginning to end. To such an artist of life death can only claim the bones. The spirit lives on.
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STEVE REEVES - A Hero is Born
He was born in Glasgow, Montana in 21 January 1926. He was always an active child but he discovered bodybuilding during high school. In the early 1940's, bodybuilding was considered by the public as being a muscle bound cause. But Reeves really liked what he saw. John Grimek and other bodybuilders of the time inspired him. His muscle growth story started in the garage of the family house, using a simple barbell set. He used to collect pictures with parts from the body of other bodybuilders, uniting them in a single picture that represented his ideal body. Not long after that he joined a body builder gymnasium. Working with the raw material of the greatest genetics the world of body building has ever seen, within a year and four months, he gained over 30 pounds. He started workout at the age of 16 years. Month by month he was making outstanding progresses, succeeding to build 10 pounds of lean muscular mass every month. In Oakland, the Reeves philosophy began to materialise. "We not only strive to build a balanced life, but also a balanced physique" was his saying. He had no interest in building muscular size merely for the sake of size. Shape and proportion are also important goals. "To be in shape and to be fit is a good thing, but I don't think it should dominate and lead your life. It's just one of the aspects of your life. I would recommend a person to have a symmetrical physique. I believe that is more desirable to the general public. When I start working out my arms were 14.5, and my calves were 16.5. Very disproportionate. So I didn't workout my calves until i gained 16.5 in my arms. Then i build them until 18."accident when he was just 18 months old. From then, he was raised by his mother. The boy seemed destined for fame in the world of health and fitness winning the
World War 2 - the muscle growth stories of a soldier.
Upon Reeves graduation from high school, in 1944, Steve Reeves joined the army. Soldiers were being shipped overseas quickly, and he was no exception. After 6 short weeks of basic training, he received order to ship out to the Philippines. He was stationed to some of the bloodiest actions in the war. Not long after, he acquired a severe case of malaria which made him unable to do workout for a long time, thus resulted to a loss of over 30 lbs. After several occurrences of malaria followed, he was then transferred to master core, assigned in Kato Island in Japan, and ended up in Tokyo together with Gen. McArthur's troops.
Reeves was aware he had to do something about his weight loss and that he must think of a way of getting back in shape. He managed to have a 210-lbs barbel set for himself, which he kept under his bed in the barracks. Soon, his fellow soldiers were able to notice his improving physique and started to refer him as "The Shape". In addition to that, his superiors has requested him to make trainings for the rest of the troops to increase strength and fitness levels.
By the time the second world war has ended, Reeves, together with rest of the army moved homeward. And from this started a career that made him a legend in the field of bodybuilding.
The Bodybuilding Legend
His muscle growth story continues and on September 18, 1946, Reeves went back to Ed Yarick's gymnasium, not as the latter's student, but now as Yarick's equal. In fact, the Legend had started to eclipse his mentor as well as the other bodybuilders in town. In December 1946, Reeves joined his first bodybuilding contest, Mr. Pacific Coast in Oregon. His great physique has blown the competition and made him the winner. Fueled by this success, he joined another contest, Mr. West Coast in Los Angeles. These two contests served to be his stepping stones to the major contest he had been planning to join, that is, the Mr. America, which was held in Chicago. Here, he was able to compete with other well known bodybuilders, including the legend George Eiferman. Eiferman was also one of the people eager to see Reeves, hearing rumors of how this man drew crowds just by merely walking along the beach. " I was anxious to see this man and when we did, we knew he's gonna be the Mr. America for that year."
Part of Reeve's training was the Power of Visualization or the Positive Visual Imagery. This has helped him to stay focused and motivated. " W hen i was training for the contest, i visualise that i was winning the contest before it even existed. Before i was actually on the stage."
Reeves started to be sought after by top physique photographers including the legend Tony Montreal. However, unlike today, there were no endorsements for bodybuilders. That's the time he decided to be an actor. Unluckily, he didn't get along with this so he shifted to Theater school for Dick Berney and started performing in clubs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York during weekends. During these times, Reeves was again approached by a Hollywood mogul Cecil B. DeMille who saw Reeves to star in his biblical epic Samson and Delilah. Though DeMille had one request, that is, for Reeves to lose 10 lbs. Upon doing this, Reeves felt he was a contradictory of what really he is - a bodybuilder who worked hard to gain physical perfection.
Further success of Reeves muscle growth story included winning the title of Mr World in France, and Mr. Universe in 1954, and the highest paid actor in Europe. What set him apart from the other bodybuilders was that he did not struggle to be famous, instead he was contented being Steve Reeves and lived with his own terms. That was enough to brought him fame and legendary status.
Once returned in America, he focused to the only title that eluded him: Mr. Universe. But the time was to short. Only 4 weeks until the competition. He started training at the faimos York Barbell Club with such ferocity and deep concentration that he amazed all that were present by his quick transformation. "I didn't give myself any limitations. I didn't know is difficult to grow your muscles. No one told me that is really hard to do it, you have to work for years before you can gain inches. I had no limitations and i used extreme concentration. When i work out i concentrate on the muscles i work. A nice and slow movement so i can feel the muscle all the way up and down, full range of motion and it really worked out well for me. Because what you have to do is to create a superior line of communication between your brain and your muscle. And you can only to that in 2 ways:
- by concentrating;
- by practicing muscle control, in the spare time when you are not working.
Respecting this process with every workout, Reeves was able to transform his muscle growth story into the physical body that helped him to win the Mr. Universe contest in 1950.
His passion for horses lead him to accidentally discover a revolutionary total fitness approach which he called Power Walking.
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