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Reg Park Bodybuilder

Reg Park Tribute Page

Reg Park Picture

Roy "Reg" Park was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England and after a life dedicated to health and fitness and having affected thousands of people in a positive way he died on 22 November 2007. Reg played a major part in the beginning of what bodybuilding has become today.

With a muscled figure of 6 ft 1 in he also got noticed by film directors and starred in many films including Hercules. Arnold Schwarzenegger has described him as his second father and the reason why he is the person he is today. Arnold went on to compete against his mentor in 1970 and beat him into second place at the Mr Universe - Pro – NABBA.

Reg Park won this Mr Universe title three times which is something only a small handful of bodybuilders can say today. The sports commentators on the subject of the growth of bodybuilding explain that the popularity of muscle and health started with people like Reg and then Arnold.

It all started with Arnold’s exposure to the general public with movies that occurred after his Mr. Olympia title. People started to see the sport of bodybuilding as a healthy lifestyle with or without competing. It was Reg who was Arnold’s guidance and mentor at the time.

Reg always refused to take steroids and it is ironic that he died of skin cancer at 79 but he did a lot for the health consciousness that we are in today.

Reg Park Workout

Arnold explains that it was Reg who explained to him the hard work that he must be prepared to put in to achieve the Mr. Universe title. Arnold remembers fondly about being woken up at 5am by Reg to train his calves with 1000 pounds sets.

Reg Park was the first bodybuilder to ever write down the 5 X 5 training system. Reg explained that to get fast results and increase your core strength and start to gain muscle you need to train three times a week. His simple explanation of the now time tested version of the 5 x 5 system is also also unique. It was split into three phases, which you can see below.

Phase One for Bodybuilders
45-degree back extension 3x10
Back squat 5x5
Bench press 5x5
Deadlift 5x5
Rest 3-5 minutes between the last 3 sets of each exercise.
Train three days per week for three months.

Phase Two for Bodybuilders
45-degree back extension 3-4x10
Front squat 5x5
Back squat 5x5
Bench press 5x5
Standing barbell shoulder press 5x5
High pull 5x5
Deadlift 5x5
Standing barbell calf raise 5x25
Rest 2 minutes between sets.
Train three days per week for three months.

Phase Three for Bodybuilders
45-degree back extension 4x10
Front squat 5x5
Back squat 5x5
Standing barbell shoulder press 5x5
Bench press 5x5
Bent-over barbell row 5x5
Deadlift 5x3
Behind-the-neck press or one-arm dumbbell press 5x5
Barbell curl 5x5
Lying triceps extension 5x8
Standing barbell calf raise 5x25
Rest 2 minutes between sets.
Train three days per week for three months.

Note: For information on volume training for natural bodybuilders checkout Muscle Express Training.

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