Vince Gironda
Encyclopedia
Vince Gironda was an American professional bodybuilder, author and owner of the celebrity-famous Vince's Gym. His nickname was the Iron Guru.
when his father, a stuntman, got 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.
nut. He was also an early proponent of low carb dieting, and recommended the use of numerous supplements, including desiccated liver tablets, kelp, digestive enzymes and glandulars such as adrenal and orchic. In certain circumstances Gironda would recommend up to 3 dozen fertile hen-eggs a day, along with raw (unhomogenized, unpasteurized) milk. Large amounts of fertile eggs, he said, is equal to the anabolic steroid Dianabol in effectiveness. He almost never provided supporting scientific evidence for his theories.
He had what many consider "unorthodox" training ideas. For example, unlike many other physique trainers, he did not prescribe regular back squats
for most male trainees (his gym had no squat racks), stating that they caused the over-development of the glutes and hips relative to the thighs. The exception would be female trainees and rare men who actually needed more glute and hip development. Typically, Gironda prescribed sissy squats, hack lifts, front 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 sit-ups do nothing to the formation of abs.
He also admonished against using the regular bench press
for chest training, thus, for Vince, the bench press was an inferior exercise - he favored the "neck press" in which the bar is lowered, with a wide grip, to the neck instead of the chest. He considered his Gironda dips
(on the "V-bar") the best overall pectorali developer (the dip could be considered equivalent to the decline bench-press). For Vince, pecs should be a wide slab, and not some kind of woman breast look.
When the 1960s rolled around, Vince's reputation grew as a personal trainer
due to his pupils winning all the important contests, the most well known being Larry Scott winning the first IFBB
Mr. Olympia
in 1965. Bodybuilders who have trained at Vince's Gym over the years include "Body by" Jake Steinfeld
, Lou Ferrigno
("The Incredible Hulk
"), Frank Zane
, Don Howorth and even Arnold Schwarzenegger
. Gironda came to be known as the Iron Guru, a name former magazine editor and photo/journalist Denie Walter gave him.
A short list of stars who trained at Vince's Gym includes Robert Blake
, Cher
, Clint Eastwood
, Denzel Washington
, James Garner
, Brian Keith
, Tommy Chong
(of Cheech & Chong) and Erik Estrada
.
, managed his mail-order business, started a nutrition supplement company and authored his own training and nutrition manuals, all the time still operating his Gym.
In the 1980s, a book was published with the collaboration of MuscleMag International publisher Robert Kennedy titled "Unleashing the Wild Physique". It contained tons of knowledge Vince gathered and tested throughout his 30+ year career. The release of the book prompted a promotion tour where the Iron Guru gave sold out seminars throughout the US and Canada.
Early life and career
Vince Gironda was born on November 9, 1917 in Bronx, NY. While Vince was still a young child, the family moved out west to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
when his father, a stuntman, got offered work in the upcoming Ben Hur
Ben-Hur (1925 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1925 silent film directed by Fred Niblo. It was a blockbuster hit for newly merged Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This was the second film based on the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace...
film. Vince tried his hand at being a stuntman as well but when he saw a photograph of John Grimek
John Grimek
John Carroll Grimek is recognized as one of the world's greatest bodybuilders and weight lifters of the 1930s and 1940s.Grimek was born on June 17, 1910 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, son of Slovak immigrants George and Maria Grimek.Besides his bodybuilding exploits, in which he was never defeated,...
, 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
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. 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.
Training philosophy
Gironda is often quoted as saying that bodybuilding is 85% nutrition. In fact, he was what some may call a health foodHealth food
The term health food is generally used to describe foods that are considered to be beneficial to health, beyond a normal healthy diet required for human nutrition. However, the term is not precisely defined by national regulatory agencies such as the U.S...
nut. He was also an early proponent of low carb dieting, and recommended the use of numerous supplements, including desiccated liver tablets, kelp, digestive enzymes and glandulars such as adrenal and orchic. In certain circumstances Gironda would recommend up to 3 dozen fertile hen-eggs a day, along with raw (unhomogenized, unpasteurized) milk. Large amounts of fertile eggs, he said, is equal to the anabolic steroid Dianabol in effectiveness. He almost never provided supporting scientific evidence for his theories.
He had what many consider "unorthodox" training ideas. For example, unlike many other physique trainers, he did not prescribe regular back squats
Squat (exercise)
In strength training, the squat is a compound, full body exercise that trains primarily the muscles of the thighs, hips and buttocks, quads , hamstrings, as well as strengthening the bones, ligaments and insertion of the tendons throughout the lower body...
for most male trainees (his gym had no squat racks), stating that they caused the over-development of the glutes and hips relative to the thighs. The exception would be female trainees and rare men who actually needed more glute and hip development. Typically, Gironda prescribed sissy squats, hack lifts, front 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 sit-ups do nothing to the formation of abs.
He also admonished against using the regular bench press
Bench press
The bench press is an exercise of the upper body. For bodybuilding purposes, it is used to stimulate the pectorals, deltoids, and triceps. While on his or her back, the person performing the bench press lowers a weight to the level of the chest, then pushes it back up until the arm is straight...
for chest training, thus, for Vince, the bench press was an inferior exercise - he favored the "neck press" in which the bar is lowered, with a wide grip, to the neck instead of the chest. He considered his Gironda dips
Dip (exercise)
The dip is an exercise used in strength training. Normal, shoulder-width dips primarily train the triceps, with major synergists being the anterior deltoid, the pectoralis muscles , and the rhomboid muscles of the back...
(on the "V-bar") the best overall pectorali developer (the dip could be considered equivalent to the decline bench-press). For Vince, pecs should be a wide slab, and not some kind of woman breast look.
When the 1960s rolled around, Vince's reputation grew as a personal trainer
Personal trainer
A personal trainer is a fitness professional involved in exercise prescription and instruction. They motivate clients by setting goals and providing feedback and accountability to clients. Trainers also measure their client's strengths and weaknesses with fitness assessments...
due to his pupils winning all the important contests, the most well known being Larry Scott winning the first IFBB
IFBB
IFBB can refer to:* Independent Family Brewers of Britain* International Federation of BodyBuilders...
Mr. Olympia
Mr. Olympia
Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Weekend - an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness . Joe Weider created the contest to enable the...
in 1965. Bodybuilders who have trained at Vince's Gym over the years include "Body by" Jake Steinfeld
Jake Steinfeld
Jake Steinfeld is an American actor and fitness personality. He has a line of fitness equipment called "Body by Jake" and also once hosted a Body by Jake TV show. He also starred on a sitcom on the Family Channel called Big Brother Jake. In 1985, he played a small role in the Jeff Goldblum comedy...
, Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno
Louis Jude "Lou" Ferrigno is an American actor, fitness trainer/consultant, and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles, and appeared in the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron...
("The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk (1977 TV series)
The Incredible Hulk is an American television series based on the Marvel comic book character of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The pilot episodes were a pair of TV movies on the CBS network beginning on November 4, 1977; the series soon followed, airing from March 10, 1978 to...
"), Frank Zane
Frank Zane
Frank Zane is an American former professional bodybuilder and teacher.- Education :Zane received a B.Sc in Education from Wilkes University in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania in 1964. For 13 years, he taught mathematics and chemistry while living in Florida and California. Later he earned a B.A...
, Don Howorth and even Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
. Gironda came to be known as the Iron Guru, a name former magazine editor and photo/journalist Denie Walter gave him.
Trainer to the stars
By the early 1950s he was a very well known trainer of both champion bodybuilders and movie and television actors. Gironda claimed to be able to get a person into shape faster than anybody. He also claimed that the movie studios would send their actors and actresses to him for that reason.A short list of stars who trained at Vince's Gym includes Robert Blake
Robert Blake (actor)
Robert Blake is an American actor who starred in the film In Cold Blood and the U.S. television series Baretta. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted for the 2001 murder of his wife, but on November 18, 2005, Blake was found liable in a California civil court for her wrongful death.-Early...
, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
, James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
, Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
, Tommy Chong
Tommy Chong
Tommy Chong is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, writer, director, activist, and musician who is well known for his stereotypical portrayals of hippie-era stoners...
(of Cheech & Chong) and Erik Estrada
Erik Estrada
Henry Enrique "Erik" Estrada is an American police officer and actor, known for his co-starring lead role in the 1977–1983 United States police television series CHiPs...
.
Writer
In the 1970s Vince wrote countless articles for Iron ManIron Man (magazine)
Iron Man Magazine is a publication which discusses bodybuilding, weightlifting and powerlifting. It was founded in 1936 by two Alliance, Nebraska natives, Peary Rader and his wife, Mabel Rader.-History:...
, managed his mail-order business, started a nutrition supplement company and authored his own training and nutrition manuals, all the time still operating his Gym.
In the 1980s, a book was published with the collaboration of MuscleMag International publisher Robert Kennedy titled "Unleashing the Wild Physique". It contained tons of knowledge Vince gathered and tested throughout his 30+ year career. The release of the book prompted a promotion tour where the Iron Guru gave sold out seminars throughout the US and Canada.
Downfall of Vince's Gym
In the 1990s the growing popularity of state of the art gyms appealing to the masses and more personal trainers to the stars made it difficult for simple gyms to operate and so Vince's Gym closed in November 1995. A contributing factor to the gym closing was Vince's beloved son Guy who had severe health problems. This took the wind out of Vince and had no motivation to run his gym.Books
- Robert Kennedy and Vince Gironda, Unleashing the Wild Physique, 1984, Sterling Pub. Co, ISBN 0-8069-7888-0
- Alan Palmieri, Vince Gironda Legend And Myth, CD-ROM, 2004
- Daryl Conant, "InVINCEable, 2009
External links
- http://www.vincegironda-nsp.com/
- http://www.bodybuildinglive.com/vincegironda/
- http://ironguru.com/
- http://girondatalks.com/
- http://www.seeing-stars.com/Play/VincesGym.shtml
- http://www.palmieribodybuilding.com
- http://www.darylconant.com
- http://www.palmieribodybuilding.com