It was Tuesday night, August 27, about 6:30, to be exact, when I heard the phone ring upstairs, as I was squatting on my home-made squat rack in my home-made gym, in my dingy, clay-walled yet unexplainably comfortable ”snake pit” of a cellar. “Honey,” my little wife exclaimed, “there’s some fellow on the phone named Julius Gadsden, who says he wants to speak to you about your article concerning maximum circulation in the last issue of Iron Man.”
Well, I’ll talk my head off with any enthusiastic weight trainee, especially since our part of Elizabeth has sadly seemed to have lost its interest in the Iron Game. So, in about 10 seconds there I was with my ears glued to the phone waiting to hear what this stranger had to say.
It seems that Julius Gadsden has lived in Elizabeth for quite some time, is married and has been training on and off for about 3-4 years. It has only been for the last eleven months, however, that he has started training seriously with a set scheme in mind and also, a definite goal. Julius has a most earnest desire to become a professional wrestler. He also would like to have a massively muscular physique, with power to match, as he feels this would undoubtedly aid him in his wrestling career. Massive muscles act as cushions in the falls, and enable a fellow to exert great force and power when trying to break clinches. Weight training will also enable a wrestler to add on additional pounds of useful muscle quicker than any other method, he said.
Truer words were never spoken, and in Julius’ case, nothing short of a miracle has taken place. From a bodyweight of 164 lbs, he has steadily gained for the last eleven months up to a bodyweight of 202 lbs. and all this in less than one year!
Standing only 5’7″ in height, you can imagine how powerful this fellow appears in person. With a chest of 48½”, a neck which stands presently at 18¼” and tree-trunk thighs which measure a hefty 26½”, his present waist measurement of a full 38″ does not seem excessive in the least! Remember also that this is completely relaxed measurement, not ”vacuumed” and then measured to be only 33″ as so many bodybuilders do. “I train primarily for muscle size and power,” he states. Well, I could not argue with that, for as these photographs clearly show, at his height and high bodyweight, the muscles are still quite shapely and defined. “I train four days a week at the Elizabeth YMCA and wrestle on Saturdays at the YMCA in Plainfield, New Jersey,” he said.
Most of his weight work is centered around power lifts such as Hang Cleans, Bent Over Rowing, Bench Presses, Presses Off the Rack, Presses Behind Neck, and Full Squatting. Occasionally heavy Deadlifts and Leg Presses are included whenever he feels in the mood.
By this time you are probably wondering what on earth all this historical information has to do with the title of this article, “Maximum Circulation for Massive Arms.” Well simply this: Julius Gadsden had never performed a direct arm movement in all his training routines, up until only three months ago, and then only as a sort of “pump-up session” at the end of his workouts. Now examine the photographs included with this article very closely. Notice the size of the triceps group in the back shot? And what of the symmetry of the whole arm section? See how the bicep head and triceps meet directly in line with each other? Look at his overall arm size and then remember I stated he has been training his arms for only the past three months. See what I mean?
Julius purchased the last issue of ”Iron Man”, at the ”Diet Shop”, a health foods store on East Grand and Broad Streets in Elizabeth, and in it was my article on increasing the size of the calves using artificially applied circulation. The thoughts involved must have agreed with his own and he decided to experiment with the prementioned theory but instead of using it on his calves he decided to use it on his arms. “I used the routine on my arms for a period of five weeks and I gained a little over an inch and a half on each one,” he said. During this experiment he cut his general training to two days a week and he included two days for an exclusive arm routine. He still included his wrestling once a week. “Each Tuesday and Friday night I’d trudge into the gym ready for my arm workout full of enthusiasm with a bottle of Ben-Gay lotion under my arm,” he stated. After a warmup of tight cleans and presses he would begin with the standing Barbell Curl, performing five sets of repetitions ranging anywhere from fifteen to five, with weight increases on each and every set. Standing Triceps Presses followed, using the same set and repetition scheme. He would then rest for ten minutes. Fully refreshed, he would continue his regime with the Seated Barbell Curl and the Lying Triceps Press. Three sets of 15-10-5 repetitions were used on both of these movements and when finally finished he was then more than ready for another ten minute rest.
Finally, for the last two movements he chose the Scott Bench Curl and the Triceps Pressdown on Pulley Machine. These were both done with light weights and the repetitions were somewhere between 12-15. Three sets of each were used.
In this arm specialization routine, Julius used the same circulation technique that I recommended in the last circulation article which appeared in previous issues of ”Iron Man” magazine. His diet was slightly increased with additional protein and carbohydrates for muscle growth and training energy. Before the experiment, his arms taped in at 17-inches. Five weeks later they measured 18½”. There is no exaggerated claim here. Only Gospel truth.
Fellows, if you need any further proof than this concerning maximum artificially applied circulation for muscle growth, your guess is as good as mine as to where you can find it!!!
This article originally appeared in Iron Man magazine
To learn more about the training methods of Anthony Ditillo click on the following link:
