Mr. America 1957 tells just how he built his

Superb Physique . . .

A Product of Sensible Physical Training

Ron Lacy

WE HEADED EAST out of Lexington in John Idleman's Volkswagon three weeks prior to the Mr. America contest, pointed for York, where I wanted. to polish off my training for the big event. Through West Virginia and part of Pennsylvania the mountain roads were pretty crooked and we had to watch where we were going, but when we hit the broad Pennsylvania Turnpike we could roll along without a care in the world, and before we knew it we were thirty miles past the York interchange and headed for Philadelphia. John woke up just in time to stop me from diving into the Atlantic.

So we back-tracked to York and presently pulled up at the Muscle Works at 51 North Broad. Up the stairs and into the office where we greeted all the famous Yorkers, Bob Hoffman, John Grimek, Harry Paschall, Johnny Terpak, George Shandor, Jules Bacon, Dick Bachtell and the rest of the staff. As always, we knew we were among friends.

Next day we came down and went to lunch with Johnny Terpak, John Grimek, Harry Paschall and George Shandor and rested a while before our first session in the famous York Gym. We found this about the most practical barbell gym we ever saw, no fancy gadgets, but with four lifting platforms, plenty of benches, pulleys and racks, and simply tons of iron in every shape and size. You could tell when you entered the big room that a lot of weight had been lifted here, and the pictures around the walls proved

it.

The gang assembled in the gym in late afternoon and John Grimek began to help me with some train-

ing hints and advice on posing, at which everyone knows he is a past master. For the three weeks I spent in York I was greatly impressed by the helpful attitude of everyone of the staff. There were three or four other out-of-town fellows working out, too, and together we had a lot of fun, both at training sessions and roaming about Muscletown.

We all trained hard for about a two hour session each day, doing all kinds of exercises and a spot of lifting on the three Olympic lifts. I weighed in at about 185 and needed to train down very little. As a matter of fact I stay at about the same weight all the time, and do a lot of track work during the season, so I am never far out of shape. I never need to burn off twenty or thirty pounds for a contest.

I realize that most Mr. Americas have a terrific program to offer the magazine readers, but I must confess that I simply train the way I first learned to work out from the York courses five years back. I was a fair athlete before I took up weight training, and began to lift weights to help me do better at my regular sports activities.

Back in Winchester (Kentucky) High School I won letters in football, basketball and track, and I entered the University of Kentucky on a football scholarship. I played with Kentucky before I entered the army and spent about 14 months in Japan. When I came out of the service I worked with my father for a while. in the Forestry Service and then went out to California in 1954. I had trained with weights a bit at the University, and while in California I attended the (Continued on page 30)

The 1957 Mr. America was practically the unanimous choice of both judges and audience at the Daytona Beach Mr. A Event. He has a lot of muscle everywhere, tied together in a harmonious and symmetrical whole. He looks like an athlete because he is an athlete.

AS TOLD BY SPECK LACY

Lacy is solely a product of the regular York training programs. These are some of the standard exercises he uses in his routines: at top, the "warmup flip snatch," at right, the press. Middle row, left: the pull-up, right, the regular curl. Bottom: the bent-over rowing movement.

STRENGTH AND HEALTH

NOVEMBER, 1957