For anyone in need of some training inspiration, this classic image from the 1970s features two of the greatest (if not the two greatest) bodybuilders of all time.
At the height of the golden era of the sport, we see the two kings of the gym, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu, taking a bit of time away from the iron. To the far left and far right, we see two of the benefits of their training.
For anyone in need of some training inspiration, this classic image from the 1970s features three of the most dedicated and motivated individuals of that decade’s bodybuilding scene.
- Former Mr. Universe, Mr. USA, Mr. International and Mr. World champion Ken Waller.
These three men were instrumental in the growth of a young sport and inspiring athletes of future generations to break through the pain barrier in their own training as they pursued their own goals.
Today’s Colin Timberlake Training Role Model (see right) is a man who reached the pinnacle of the bodybuilding circuit in the Arnold Schwarzenegger era, and was indeed Arnold’s best friend and most trusted workout partner.
The two typically would square off against each other in the Mr. Olympia final showdown, with Arnold having won the over-200-pound division and this man, Franco Columbu, having won the under-200-pound crown. Columbu was also an accomplished weightlifter and powerlifter. His personal bench press record was a mind-boggling 525 pounds.
Franco Columbu won the Mr. Olympia title twice, in 1976 and 1981. He can also be credited to some degree with the creation of the superhuman version of Sylvester Stallone that appeared in the mid-1980s.
The transition Stallone experienced — from an athletic looking guy in the 1970s to the superhuman Rambo figure everybody can instantly picture — is due partly to his employment of Franco Columbu as his bodybuilding coach. The result was that Stallone himself would not have been out of place in the under-200 category at Olympia.
Along with Frank Zane and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Columbu has done a great deal to dispel the “bodybuilder as brain-damaged-gorilla” myth, joining them (and others) as accomplished academics and professionals. Columbu has published is now a doctor of chiropractic and maintains a high level of strength and fitness while using his wisdom and experiences from the chemically-enhanced era to currently promote natural health and fitness.
With the accomplishments of Dr. Columbu in mind (and our more modest standards) let’s try to have a reasonable day of training, shall we?
TODAY’S PERFORMANCE
One Mile: 6:24
iPod songs during training (custom): 1. E.G. Daily – Mind Over Matter
2. Eddie Money – Take Me Home Tonight
3. EMF – Unbelievable
4. Europe – Rock the Night
5. Expose – What You Don’t Know
6. Falco – Rock Me Amadeus
7. Foo Fighters – The Best of You
8. Four Tops – Standing in the Shadows of Love
9. Frou Frou – Holding Out for a Hero
TRAINING NOTE
Oh my god, that was disgusting. I went down to the runner’s road to do several sprints of 400m. On the very first run, maybe 150m in, my back put an absolute end to that idea. The legs weren’t happy either but this was two days in a row the back went from seriously uncomfortable to crippling.
Well, I lay down on a bench for a little bit and decided that I would at least make myself do my best mile before I went home, tail between my legs. It was a struggle, but I managed to come in at 6:24. For a one-off mile, I should be more in the neighborhood of five minutes flat. But anyway, for a back spasms mile, I guess Franco wouldn’t be too disgusted.
Four hours in the prone position later…
Do you think Franco Columbu would approve of calling that a day? Fuck that. This back may be able to stop be from running but it won’t stop be from lifting and it won’t stop me from biking. It may hurt like hell but if it doesn’t make me physically unable to perform the task then I am going to perform the task.
iPod songs during training (custom): 1. Freaknasty – Da Dip
2. Gavin DeGraw – I Don’t Want to Be
3. Geto Boys – G-Code
4. Glass Tiger – Animal Heart
5. Good Charlotte – I Just Wanna Live
6. Gunther feat. Samantha Fox – Touch Me
7. Hall and Oates – Cold Dark and Yesterday
8. Hall and Oates – Make You Stay
9. Hall and Oates – Rockability
10. Ice Cube – Check Yo Self
11. Iggy Pop – The Passenger
12. Immediate Music – Serenata
13. Iron Maiden – The Wicker Man
14. Janet Jackson – If
15. Jermaine Stewart – The Word is Out
16. Joanna Pacitti – Watch Me Shine
17. Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill
18. Kenny Loggins – Welcome to Heartlight
PAIN…THE GREAT MOTIVATOR
Well, how about that. I guess knowing that your screaming back will leave you the hell alone once you finish your 10 miles on the bike can’t hurt your time. And my four hours of groaning and stretching on the floor before this second session was enough to let me put out a reasonable bench press performance.
The pace on the bike was pretty good from the get-go and by seven or eight miles in, I knew that if I simply kept my pace without even sprinting at the end, I would be flirting with my personal best. My plan was to kick it at the nine-mile mark, but once I got to 8.6 miles, I figured that I would be kicking myself if I reached 10 miles at or near a personal best and still had something left in the tank. So I started sprinting there and kept the pace up for the whole last 1.4 miles. I beat my personal best by a way bigger margin than I thought possible.
iPod songs during training (custom): 1. Kiss – King of the Mountain
2. Kiss – Psycho Circus
3. Kiss – (You Make Me) Rock Hard
4. LeAnn Rimes – The Right Kind of Wrong
5. Lou Gramm – Lost in the Shadows
6. Lisa Lougheed – Run With Us
And don’t forget the personal best on the elliptical trainer as well today.
INSPIRATIONAL CLIP
The following clip is some fan-made compilation of Franco Columbu footage, but it is pretty cool in that it include some “then and now” clips, with Franco showing that he can still explode a hot water bottle on lung power alone (at age 60). It is also nice to see Franco and Arnold still hitting the gym together in the present day. The numbers may not quite be the same, but the spirit is there.
I am a longtime fitness advocate and a veteran of many grueling battles in the gym.
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