In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past and Present, Jake Doleschal and Chris Beardsley unpack the very first York Barbell course, discussing its warm-up approach and how it compares to other silver era routines. The second half of the episode zooms out to explore warm-ups more broadly, what they actually do (and don’t do), whether they affect hypertr…

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past and Present, Jake Doleschal and Chris Beardsley break down a pre-steroid bulking routine from Alan Stephen, an underrated Silver Era bodybuilder who trained with a pretty unique method. They explore how this high volume, low rep program makes sense with the stimulating reps model, and use it as a springboard to …

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past and Present, Jake Doleschal and Chris Beardsley explore whether full body training can be done every day, and what that really looks like. Drawing inspiration from Bronze Era strongman George Hackenschmidt, they unpack creative strategies for making high frequency training work. Key Topics: How training every da…

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past and Present, Jake Doleschal and Chris Beardsley return to Reg Park, but this time explore one of his most advanced programs. They compare this higher volume plan to Park’s earlier abbreviated routine before exploring whether all training programs eventually lead to the same outcome, and which variables actually …

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past and Present, Jake Doleschal and Chris Beardsley discuss one of the strongest bodybuilders of the Silver Era, and the third man to ever bench 500 pounds, Marvin Eder's training routine. The second half of the episode takes a deep dive into the mechanisms of strength, why strength isn’t a single adaptation, and wh…

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past and Present, Jake Doleschal and Chris Beardsley dissect Reg Park’s 1950s “Mr. Universe Bulk Course”. Unlike the high-variation, single-set approach of Steve Reeves discussed in the previous episdoe, Reg Park’s plan featured fewer exercises but high set volume, low reps, and heavy loads. The second half of the ep…

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past and Present, Jake Doleschal and Chris Beardsley break down Steve Reeves’ favourite full-body routines from the early 1950s. They explore how Reeves trained each muscle with three different exercises, and why this multi-exercise, single-set approach might still be one of the most efficient ways to train if progra…

In this episode of Hypertrophy: Past and Present, Jake Doleschal and Chris Beardsley examine Clancy Ross’ 1940s split set routine - an early experiment in dividing upper and lower body training that predated modern training splits. They break down how Ross evolved his training by splitting full-body workouts into AM/PM upper/lower sessions and disc…

In this second episode, Jake Doleschal and Chris Beardsley break down the York Barbell Mr America Course, a program from 1951 that evolved from the earlier Milo Barbell plan. They explore what changed in the decades following the first mass-produced bodybuilding programs, including the introduction of sets, improved exercise selection, and targeted…

In this debut episode, Jake Doleschal and Chris Beardsley dissect the very first mass-produced bodybuilding program: the Milo Barbell Course. They explore how early bodybuilders trained before steroids existed and what their exercise choices reveal about muscle understanding. They then connect these historical methods to modern muscle physiology, f…