Vince Gironda
| Vince Gironda | |
|---|---|
Gironda in the 1950s
|
|
| Born |
Vincent Anselmo Gironda November 9, 1917 The Bronx, New York, United States |
| Died | October 18, 1997 (aged 79) Ventura County, California, United States |
| Occupation | Bodybuilder, personal trainer, author |
Vincent Anselmo "Vince" Gironda (November 9, 1917 – October 18, 1997) was an American professional bodybuilder, personal trainer, author, and owner of the celebrity-frequented Vince's Gym. His nickname was the "Iron Guru".
Gironda was born in The Bronx, New York. While he was still a young child, the family moved out west to Los Angeles when his father, a stuntman, was offered work in the upcoming Ben Hur film. Vince tried his hand at being a stuntman as well but when he saw a photograph of John Grimek, he realized he needed more physical development and began lifting weights at the age of 22.
The first gym he trained at was the local YMCA. He was there for approximately eight months before moving to the Easton brothers' gym. The Easton brothers taught him to be one of their instructors. He worked there and experimented with training protocols before opening his own gym in North Hollywood, California in 1948 called Vince's Gym.
Gironda is often quoted as saying that bodybuilding is 85% nutrition. He was also an early proponent of low carb dieting, and recommended the use of numerous supplements, including desiccated liver tablets, 225mcg kelp tablets, vitamin c tablets, digestive enzymes and raw glandulars such as adrenal and orchic. In certain circumstances Gironda would recommend up to three dozen fertile hen-eggs a day, along with raw (unhomogenized, unpasteurized) cream or half-and-half milk. Large amounts of fertile eggs, he said, are equal to the anabolic steroid Dianabol in effectiveness. However, he was vehemently against the use of steroids for physique development, claiming that they contributed to a grotesque appearance.
He had what many consider unorthodox training ideas. For example, unlike many other physique trainers, he did not prescribe regular back squats (his gym had no squat racks), stating that they caused the over development of the gluteal muscles and hips relative to the thighs. The exception would be female trainees who needed more gluteus and hip development. Typically, Gironda prescribed leg extensions, leg curls, sissy squats, hack squats and a special style of squat which he called the "thigh squat" for thigh development. In addition, he was one of the first few in the bodybuilding scene to comment that situps do not contribute to the development of abdominal muscles.
...
Wikipedia