Reg Park is the real embodiment of the power and strength of Hercules

Reg Park was born in 1928, on June 7 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England.
He won the Mr. Universe title three times, in 1951, 1956 and 1958. In his youth, Reg played football and ran 100 yards in 10.3 seconds. Inspired by Dave Cohen's figure, Reg began training at the age of 16. Like most boys, Reg became interested in sports at an early age. He was very good at athletics and football. After the knee injury occurred, Reg rehabilitated his leg using special exercises. He became interested in strength training and began training regularly. Reg Park and some of his friends trained outdoors in an unheated building using candles as a light source! Reg will don as many as four tracksuits to combat England's brutally cold winters. Clearly, his hard work and dedication paid off.

Dave Cohen was 24 years old when he was seen by young Reg Park at the local city pool. Dave had an ideal classic physique: Neck, biceps and calves were 44.5 cm in volume, weighed 86 kg, and his height was 175 cm. Dave never participated in tournaments. Reg thought Dave had the best physique in all of Britain. Cohen wasn't the only one Reg Park looked up to. Another of Park's idols was Vic Nicoletti, who won the Mr. New York title in 1945. Naturally, Reg was also inspired by Steve Reeves and John Grimek.

It turned out that Dave was training with dumbbells in a room at his friend's house, and when Reg Park asked if he could join him, he readily agreed.

Reg began weight training around August/September 1945, and after about six months of training he was conscripted into the British Army for two years. He spent most of this time in Singapore as a physical training sergeant. Although he was unable to train much during this time, he returned home to England in 1948, weighing about 86 kg, just in time to see the spectacular Mr. Universe competition held in London for the first time.

John Grimek won the Mr. Universe title that year, Steve Reeves came in second, and Andre Drappe, a well-built Frenchman, came third.

Reg Park: “When Steve competed at Mr. Universe, I thought he was excellent. This man had everything. Appearance, physique, skin, hair and teeth - everything is perfect. It was the physique of the century, a God given mixture of beauty, strength and masculinity!”

That's when he made his epic remark that he would be just as good, if not better, than Steve.

He remembers telling Oscar Heidenstam, who was also in the competition, that he was determined to win the Mr. Universe competition, Oscar didn't believe him, or thought it was a stupid boast.

Reg won the Mr. Britain tournament in 1949. The victory encouraged me to take a more detailed and responsible approach to nutrition and training issues. Reg really wanted to win the 1950 Mr. Universe. He never overeated so that his stomach would not bulge. I ate well, moving on to powerful strength training. Reg sought to stimulate the maximum number of muscle fibers to grow. Perhaps he acquired this strategy in the training process in the USA after meeting Joe Weider.

After winning Mr. Britain, his parents bought him a round-trip ticket to America for his 21st birthday, giving him the opportunity to visit many states. Having received a 6-month trip to the USA as a gift from his parents, Reg meets people from the world of fitness.

During this tour, he met and trained with bodybuilders such as Ed Theriault, Floyd Page, Clarence Ross, Marvin Eder, Abe Goldberg, George Eiferman and many others.

Joe Weider, in his book The Body Building System, describes Park's visit to the United States: “I remember Reg Park, one of the greatest champion athletes, visiting the United States in 1949. He had a good physique, which allowed him to win the Mr. Britain title. Reg mainly trained using the “pumping” system. Didn't work on maximal effort development. By that time, his biceps volume was 42.5 cm. Joe Weider advised making training intense, but shorter in time. Reg pushed himself to his strength limits. The results were stunning. He gained phenomenal amounts of muscle and with his power, he gave the impression of a real Hercules. It is unknown how long it took him to build up such volumes. Anthropometry is impressive: Chest volume - 127.5 cm, Hips - 67.5, Biceps volume - 50 cm.

By June 1950, he returned to England and began preparing for the upcoming Mr. Universe competition. Training in your garage, with a minimal set of equipment. Subjects his body to real bodybuilding torture.

He spent most of his training in a garage near his home with one or two selected friends. Throughout his training, Reg hardly rested, and chatter and jokes were excluded. His concentration was maximum and 100% effort was put into every exercise.

There was no luxury here, as people often think. Winter and summer, Reg went to work in the cold, dreary garage with two candles to light the gloomy place and rags to fill the broken windows. The equipment was nothing more than a pile of old disks, a couple of parallel bars, dumbbells, squat stands, a makeshift bench and a pull-up bar.

The garage that Reg specifically rented for training was approximately 12 x 10 meters in size. These workouts had to be seen to be believed, the sweat and concentration was intimidating. In those days, Reg used as much weight as possible, even if it meant doing the exercise incorrectly, this was the general tendency. This paid off, but Reg later realized that it also brought muscle pain and joint problems.

Because he moved so much, his weight dropped to 98 kg. This made him lighter, but gave him sharper musculature.

Reg Park was ready to fight anyone for the 1950 Universal Championship. He weighed only 97 kg against Steve Reeves, who weighed about 102 kg.

Reg and Steve Reeves were called to the judges again and again, and they must have repeated their poses a dozen times. Reg takes second place at the 1950 Mr. Universe. First up is Steve Reeves. Reg was extremely disappointed.

He thought he was more muscular and had good size. Apparently the extra ten pounds Steve had on him made him a lot heavier than Reg Park looked. This served him as a lesson.

Maximum muscle size with good definition was his main goal. And so, he began to train with this image in his head.

Oscar Heidenstam witnessed this competition and wrote: “I have never seen anyone put more determination into his posing than Reg Park! His musculature was fantastic, but perhaps not being as big as he was later he lost. Steve won by being bulkier and due to his overall physical beauty."

Reg Park was determined to become so good that no one could beat him.

From 1950 to 51, he added 4.5 kg of strong muscle to his body. He was 23 years old, and along with his muscles, his strength also increased. He squatted 204kg for 5 reps. I worked out with 83 kilogram dumbbells (one in each hand) on a bench press for 5 reps. I did overhead presses with a weight of 90 kg for five repetitions.

Reg wins the 1951 Mr. Universe title. Confirms his title in 1958 and 1965.

Statistics: weighed 102 kg and had a height of 185 cm, neck 45 cm, thigh 71 cm, calves 43 cm.

After winning the Mr. Universe title, he was invited to give demonstration performances in Hawaii, the USA, Canada, South Africa, Mauritius, Rhodesia and a number of European countries.

Reg first flew to New York, he wanted to visit and see Sig Klein in his famous gym. John Grimek visited this gym in 1932.

After that he ended up in Detroit. He met George Jakos and trained at his gym. George arranged for Norbert Shemansky to be present. Reg Park said Norbert injured his spine a year ago and was unable to really train. Reg also had a back injury and recommended Norbert see his physiotherapist, Mr Ted Truscott from Leeds.

In the USA, he won the title of “the best physically developed athlete in the world.” Subsequently, Reg decided to step away from competitions and build his own business together with his father in his homeland, based in Leeds. His training from 1951 to 1955 was limited and he could only train when he found the time.

From 1956, Reg moved to regular strength training, instead of training only for muscle size. As a result, his weight increased to 107 kg. He squatted 272kg for one rep.

Reg traveled to South Africa and fell in love with a beautiful South African girl who became his wife Mareon Isaacs. She lived in Johannesberg. Reg brought his wife Mareon home and settled in Leeds, where he bought a house.

Mareon was a former ballerina and loved to keep in shape. An ideal partner for Reg, but she was never able to settle in Britain.

In 1958, he finally decided to live in South Africa and open a large health studio. Reg himself works as a trainer and travels a lot, promoting the ideas of fitness and a healthy lifestyle. He also develops his publishing business there. Reg Park publishes the magazine “Physical Culture: Reg Park”. The magazine was published since 1954 and was very popular among advanced bodybuilders of the time.

He decided to try the Mr. Universe competition again, hoping to win both the amateur and professional titles. Reg's only real rival was Bruce Randall. Randal had to admit that he never expected to beat Reg Park. Bruce was grateful for the opportunity to fight Reg and was inspired enough to return in 1959, looking fantastic and taking the professional title for himself.

Despite being competitive, Reg was very kind and helpful when it came to training. When Bruce Randall approached Reg for advice to help him prepare for the 1958 Mr. Universe pageant, he didn't hesitate, even though they were both competing! Reg, of course, won the overall competition, but the advice Reg gave Bruce was so good that Randall came in second! The following year, Bruce Randall won the 1959 Mr. Universe competition.

So Reg in 1958 became the first man to win two Universal Championship titles.

From 1959 until the late 60s he was very busy in South Africa. He ran his own medical center. This project included separate studios for men and women, a judo and karate section, and a mail-order equipment business that included wholesale and retail sales.

At the age of 43, Reg took part in the 1970 Mr. Universe. He ranks third after Arnold Schwarzenegger. Reg Park left behind such bodybuilding giants as Sergio Oliva, Bill Pearl and Dave Draper.

One day, Weg Bennett, president of the European Bodybuilding Association, wrote a letter to Reg. In the letter, Weg made an offer to perform at the Mr. Universe tournament according to NABBA. Wegh included photographs of Arnold with the letter. Arnie has held the title for the last three years. Weg hinted in a letter that the reigning champion could be overthrown. Reg, flattered by this offer, decided to teach his admirer a lesson. Reg didn't notice the trick. The photos sent were taken when Arnold was out of shape. At the Mr. Universe competition, Gordon Allen saw Reg strutting around backstage. Arnold was called onto the stage. The audience was stunned, uttering a voice of admiration, Arnold was magnificent, his muscles were beyond competition. Reg didn't expect this outcome. He realized the full meaning of the invitation to the tournament. Arnold had one goal - to outshine, win, prove his superiority over his idol.

This competition did not destroy the friendly relationship between Arnold and Reg Park. A few years later, Reg's son moved to the United States to study in Newport Beach. Arnold looked after the guy and visited John-John (that was the name of Reg's son) every Friday. I never refused to go to him; the journey took 1.5 hours one way. Arnold and Reg kept in touch and periodically flew to visit each other. Reg was invited to Arnold's wedding.

In 1971 and 1973, Reg tried to take the stage again. Reg Park (number 56) competed against such big wolves as Sergio Oliva, Bill Pearl (55), Frank Zane and finished third, and in 1973 second.

Reg Park: “The fact that I had already won all the major bodybuilding titles made me realize that I had no reason to compete anymore. However, I continued to train to maintain my muscles and stay in good shape. I find that when I exercise regularly, I feel more mentally active, energetic and seem to enjoy life more fully.”

Reg Park begins acting in films. Reg says: “If Steve Reeves could play the role of Hercules in a movie, then why shouldn’t I play him?” 1961, the film “Hercules Conquers Atlantis” and “Hercules in the Kingdom of Shadows” are released. Two years later, “Hercules in the Mines of King Solomon” and “Ursus: The Horror of Kyrgyzstan.” In 1965 “Challenging the Giants” and others. Reg's film Hercules Saves Atlantis was shown throughout Britain.

Having completed his film career, Reg returned to South Africa. With the fees he received from films, he opened five gyms.

After Arnold's victory at Mr. Universe 1967, Arnold went to visit Reg in South Africa. It was Reg who convinced Arnie to star in the film Hercules in New York. Cinema is a lucrative business. Despite the fact that the film was criticized and failed at the box office, Arnie still achieved absolute absolute excellence in cinema, becoming the highest paid actor.

Reg fought for his life for 8 months, he overcame this challenge with the same determination, courage and grace as he approached all his life's problems, the prognosis was poor. He was surrounded by the love of family and friends. Almost a year passed, and the inevitable happened: Skin cancer turned out to be stronger than Hercules.

Reg Park, the most powerful of the movie Hercules, left this world on November 22, 2007.

Reg Park will remain in the memory of everyone associated with bodybuilding, because he personified all the best that bodybuilding could give.

During the times of Reg Park, Steve Reeves, John Grimek, Clarence Ross and many other stars of the golden era, bodybuilding was perfect. Men, coming to this sport, got what they wanted: confidence, strength and masculine appearance.

Bodybuilding from the 40s to the 70s was nothing like bodybuilding today. Everything people wanted: confidence, strength and proportions of the heroes of ancient Greek myths.

Childhood

Year and place of birth of Reg Park - June 1928, English province of Leeds, Yorkshire. The future champion's childhood was devoted to football. The teenager dreamed of it until he was 16 years old, until he met David Cohen, who suggested trying his hand at weightlifting. A cramped room with primitive equipment in the form of homemade exercise machines, dumbbells and barbells can hardly be called a gym. Nevertheless, it was a well-equipped place where people passionate about one idea gathered. They shared their experiences and helped each other with advice. With each new workout, the guy’s muscles became stronger, his figure became wider. The physical changes were even more exciting. Football began to gradually fade into the background.

Filmography

• Ercole Alla Conquista Di Atlantis
  (1961) Italti.
  aka Hercules conquers Atlantis
  (1962, UK title)
  Hercules and the Captives
  (US title in 1963)
• Ercole Al Centro Della Terra
  (1961) Italy.
  aka Hercules at the Center of the Earth
  (1962 UK Title) and
  Hercules in the Haunting World
  (1963 US) starring Christopher Lee
• Maciste Nelle Miniere Di Re Salomone
  (1964) Italy.
  aka Maciste in King Solomon's Mines
  (1964)
• Ursus, Il Terrore Dei Kirghisi
  (1964).
  Italy. aka Hercules, Prisoner of Evil
  (1964)
• Sfida Dei Giganti
  (1965) Italy.
  aka Hercules the Avenger
  (1965)

Youth years

At the age of 18, Reg was called up to serve in the elite troops. By this time, he was already squatting with a barbell weighing 190 kg on his shoulders. In the army, the guy became even more physically stronger and matured. He refused the offer to remain in the service. He made a choice for himself - most of all he wanted to carry iron and compete.

This opportunity came in 1946 at Mr. Britain. There he saw his idols live - John Grimek, Steve Reeves, whose photos were adorned in sports magazines. took 4th place in this tournament . For a novice 21-year-old athlete, this was a brilliant result. The first success finally determined the fate. A year of hard training helped him win the Mr. Great Britain 1949 competition.

Championship achievements

The son's successes impressed his parents. They offered to go to America for six months to find a professional training base. Reg took advantage of this chance 100%. Upon arrival, he met Joe Wider, who published his photo in his magazine and advertised for the guy. This happened when he won the amateur competitions “Best Developed Athlete” and “Mr. Europe” and became a star.

Anthropometry

The colorful figure of the young bodybuilder attracted everyone's attention. Reg's physical characteristics:

• height – 185 cm;
• weight after drying – 102 kg;
• biceps volume – almost 50 cm.

Compared to the anthropometric data of modern athletes, Reg's parameters are not so impressive. But at that time he looked like Hercules. Considering that at the dawn of bodybuilding little was known about doping, he achieved such indicators with proper training and nutrition. At 22 years old, the guy had fantastic strength: he could bench press 227 kg, dumbbells 90 kg, and squat 225 kg.

Professional victories

In 1950, Park returned home and began preparing for Mr. Universe. Only Steve Reeves beat him in the competition. A year later, the bodybuilder won a clear victory at the professional show “Mr. Universe” according to NABBA in America.

Reg turned out to be the first foreign athlete who was able to climb to the highest step of the podium.

Over the 15 years of his professional career, he won this show 2 more times - in 1958 and 1965, and showed the second result three times - in 1970, 1971, 1973. After the last performance, at the age of 45, he left big bodybuilding .

biography

Roy Park was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire on 7 June 1928. Having shown an interest in sport at an early age, Park devoted his teenage years to excelling in football where he played in the Leeds United reserves.[3] He didn't have much interest in bodybuilding until he was 16, when he met the muscular David Cohen. After learning that Cohen was lifting weights at his friend's house, Park joined him out of curiosity. Puck's legendary physique will begin to grow with a barbell, dumbbells and a simple chin.[4]

During his national service he was a Physical Education Instructor in Singapore.[5] On discharge from the British Army in 1948, he witnessed his first physique competition; the first NABBA Mr. Universe competition in London, in which John Grimek edged out Steve Reeves in controversial fashion. It was this competition that inspired Park to compete himself.[4]

After a year of rigorous training, Park received the title of Mr. Britain in 1949.[4] He then spent six months in the United States (thanks to a gift from his parents). There he met publisher Joe Weider, who began featuring the Englishman in his muscle magazines.[4] The following year, Park finished second to Steve Reeves at the NABBA Amateur Mr. Universe 1950 in London (also a close competition).[4]

After his second full year of training, Park broke what had been the American monopoly on world bodybuilding titles by winning the 1951 National Amateur Bodybuilding Association (NABBA) Mr. Universe. He cemented his status by winning the 1958 and 1965 NABBA Pro Mr. Universe titles.[4] Standing 6'1" tall and weighing a maximum of 250 pounds, Park was known for his muscular bulk and was the forerunner of modern bodybuilding.[4] Park was also known for his strength, which he often demonstrated in competitions and strongman exhibitions. He is known as the second person to bench press 500 pounds after Doug Hepburn. As an actor, Park made five films - all Italian Hercules. sword and sandals pictures.[4]

Laura Efrikian and Reg Park in
Hercules Conquers Atlantis
Until his illness in 2007, despite being in his seventies, Park continued to train clients at the Morningside Virgin Active Gym in Sandton, South Africa. He has been featured in many fitness and bodybuilding magazines and has also appeared on the cover of Muscle and Fitness

. He was inducted into the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) IFBB Hall of Fame first ballot in 1999.

Actor and businessman

The athlete was also famous for his roles in films. He was offered work by Hollywood and Italian directors. The bodybuilder is known from the film story of 5 films “The Adventures of Hercules”, filmed in 1961–65. Thanks to the filming, I managed to save money for my business. He published a magazine and was involved in the production of sports equipment.

After finishing his career, the bodybuilder trained future stars, including Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also traveled a lot around the world to popularize bodybuilding. On one of his trips to South Africa, he met a girl whom he married and moved to live with her permanently. Within 6 years he opened a network of sports centers and small gyms . Park managed to turn his hobby into a business and become successful.

Reg spent the last years of his life in South Africa, where he died in November 2007 at home. The cause of death was melanoma. His friend Bob Chicherilo conducted an open broadcast of the funeral on Internet radio so that admirers of Reg Park's talent could express condolences. Today his father’s work is continued by his son Jon Park. The famous bodybuilder also has a daughter, Jeunesse, who is the owner of a charitable foundation.

Recommendations

1. Strutz, Rudolf J. (2010). Arnold Schwarzenegger - How it all began
   . AuVi e-books. paragraph 22.
2. "Arnold Schwarzenegger: It all started in Leeds." BBC News
   . November 14, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
3. "Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals Leeds United connection." Yorkshire Evening Post
   .
   Retrieved March 22, 2022. [ dead link
   ]
4. ^ a b c d f f gram hour
   Hotten, John (22 March 2022).
   Reg Park. The keeper
   . London.
5. "RIP Reg Park." Beyond strong
   . November 23, 2007. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
6. "A Tribute to Arnold Schwarzenegger." RegPark.net
   . Retrieved September 19, 2012.
7. Preston, John (1 July 2015). "An Austrian Hillbilly in London: Arnie's Early Years." Daily Telegraph
   . London.

Reg Park training program

The bodybuilder is one of the founders of classical bodybuilding. Park used “Stronglifts 5x5” to gain weight at the beginner and intermediate level, and during preparation for filming. In the 60s, he wrote the book “Strength Bulk Training for Weight Lifters Body Builders,” where he outlined the technology in detail. The future stars of the golden era of bodybuilding worked on it.

After so many years, novice bodybuilders are still training in the system. It is designed for hour-long training sessions every other day. After 2 months, the exercises are changed. The principle of the program is a constant increase in weight by 2.5 kg. This applies to all techniques except deadlifts. Here he progresses by 5 kg. By the end of the month, the barbell becomes 30 kg heavier.

The program consists of plan A and B. First option:

• bench press;
• standing press up;
• deadlift;
• squats with weight on shoulders;
• bent over row.

Option B:

• squats;
• bent over row;
• wide pull-ups;
• exercises for the forearms and grip development;
• calf raises

The training involves 2 warm-up approaches: the first - with 60% load, 2 - with 80%, followed by 5 repetitions in 3 sets. In the deadlift, perform the first 2 repetitions, then there is a session with a maximum weight with 5 lifts of the barbell.

Training strategy

The program is aimed primarily at increasing strength and using the same weight for all 5 sets and 5 reps.

When choosing weights for exercises, be guided by the fact that in the first two approaches you simply must perform 5 repetitions with this weight. In other approaches, you can perform 4 and 3 repetitions without changing the weight on the bar. Most trainees will only be able to complete two reps on the last set. This is fine.

As soon as you can perform 5 sets of 5 reps with the same weight, increase the weight on the bar. Rest between sets of one exercise is 1 minute.

The workouts are short and intense, 3 times a week, based on the use of trisets with short rest periods. On average, it will take you 60 minutes to complete the workout. After 1.5-2 months, the program can be changed to avoid overtraining.

What is a triset? This is performing 3 exercises in a row without a break, or with a very short rest between them.