I would wrestle six nights a week, and there were times when I would wrestle every other Sunday at the Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto. In 1956 in Minneapolis my buddies and I, Reps and sets ranged from 510 to 10-15 sets of lower reps, to the aforementioned 50-rep sets on some exercises,. Q: Who would you consider the most powerful person you've met? Then he got a break and wrestled for the Canadian Heavyweight Championship, which he won. by tfurman | Dec 3, 2006 | Blog | 0 comments, In 1959 I set some power-lifting record. Bruno published a book about training and wrestling. When five football teammates tried to jump Bruno, wrestling legend, the Iron Sheik, came out from the showers and the two old timers cleaned house. Oliver Bateman is a contributing writer to MEL Magazine. Because when we hid in those mountains for 14 months from the Nazis, we nearly starved to death. He held the title until . HE LEFT US LAST WEEK. bodybuilding training will not give you the strength you need for the mat . He wanted to keep his strength up but also most important to him was his endurance in the ring. This is the Bruno Sammartino few people see. France for further training under Andre Bollet, officially making his debut in 1961. Like many of you, on Wednesday April 18, 2018, we learned about the death of the living legend, Bruno Sammartino. Because of the limited motion I handle more weight, usually about 550, for 5-7 sets of 3 reps. And his paternal grandfather stood 6 feet 5 inches and weighed 300 pounds. There, he held the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship (WWWF Heavyweight Championship during his second reign) for more than 11 years (4,040 days) across two reigns, the first of . This finishes off my chest power work. Like Atlas, Sammartino was allegedly a frail boy, constantly bullied and barely 60 pounds at age 13, until a friend introduced him to the world of weights and exercise and he blossomed into a bully-pounding prodigy. The only exercise I did with Bruno was the bench press, which was also his favorite movement. By early 1957 he weighed 285lb. While performing in a strong man show, he was spotted by a pro wrestling recruiter and Sammartino made his wrestling debut on December 17, 1959 in Pittsburgh. Thats when I did my 565-pound bench press. My Training for the Bench Press - Tony DeFrancisco Twice a Week Oly Lifting Alan O'Brien (1957). The promoters who were auditioning Bruno advised him against boxing for several reasons, among which was the fact that they considered his chest too big. The first exercise course involving a barbell I was exposed to was the Bruno Sammartino Bodybuilding Course, which was sold during the aforementioned period of time. Namely, he ate all of the time, consuming thousands of calories a day in the form of milk, eggs, organ meat (especially liver) and thelike. I used to make weekly trips to the doctor for vitamins, tonics, etc. I came down with rheumatic fever and I wasnt expected to live. Due to the hardships he endured in Italy because of German occupation when he came to the USA he was very thin and spoke very little English. Required fields are marked *. I had heard so much about guys who trained there [at Joe Golds gym in Venice] and the lifts they did, I wondered if I was up to par with them. One of the very unique things about this course was its inclusion of schematic instruction to build your own bench press and squat stands out of wood. But the war erupted, and it was not until 1949 that the Sammartinos were all reunited and in their adopted land. The trainer came up with Partner Interval Training to make workouts a team effort. I was a human skeleton when I came to the United States. On one occasion he shyly confided that he drank a huge quantitiy of beer six whole bottles! I had hip replacement, and the doctors tell me I can walk as fast as I want, but Im not allowed to run. Bruno used to take part in several York picnics (a big oldschool weightlifting meet organized by John Grimek). His own survival points to the fact that young Sammartino inherited a marvelous constitution. A: Not at all. But before he was a star wrestler, he was a powerlifter one of the best in the world throughout much of the 1950s and it was his success in that . Larry Zbyszko on Training with Bruno Sammartino"WWE Hall of Famer," final AWA World Champion and former WCW Wrestler & commentator "The Living Legend" Larry . One of the biggest thrills of his life was when he wrestled Haystack Galhoun when he weighed 605lb and lifted him above his head and body-slammed him to the mat. Curl 3 x 65. Exit thoughts of the prize ring! An avid lifter throughout his career, Bruno would workout every morning. Its difficult to take any one thing and say this was it. Who knows if Sammartino really was weak or sickly as a kid, since that could just be part of the myth, says Chow. Sammartino underwent heart surgery in 2011. A: True. He used to eat plents of meat, fresh fruit and vegetables and tried stayed completely away from any form of sugar, cakes or desserts. Bruno Sammartino had been wrestling professionally since 1959, and the Italian immigrant - who had left to the US with his family from Italy in 1950 after hiding from the Nazis during World War II - captivated a rising influx of immigrants into the US during and post-war. Inno Supps Complete Gut Health Stack: Doctor Approved 3-Step Process for UFC and Project Rock Team Up For BSR 3 Shoe Collaboration. Three of his brothers and sisters perished under these conditions. In his last outing, he wrestled as a tag partner with Hulk Hogan. . He did not smoke. Training under these conditions is erratic, so I keep a routine of three basic exercises -- Bench Press, Curls, and Standing Laterals. . At age 22, he turned to professional wrestling. 1963 1971 during those years he not only wrestled in the United States and Canada, but places such as South Africa, India, Japan, Australia, New Guinea, Tasmania, Europe and China. He owned the title two years and gave it up when he became World Champ in 1963, defeated Buddy Bodgers. Inside of this gym, Bruno would place a bar upon his shoulders and load it with as many plates as possible. Without these hidden heroes of wrestling, this sport would be vastly different today. He would work out with the University of Pittsburgh wrestling team, compete in bodybuilding shows, and, in 1959, he set a record with a 565 pound bench press. . Next is the floor press. Karl and I trained together over that time, and I did my best bench press ever, 565 pounds. Bruno employedheavy poundages in all of his movements. Privations and near starvation were Brunos lot during the terrible war years in the ravaged Italian hills. By the time he was a teenager and into his early 20s, Sammartino was competing in strongman and. . The only exercise I did with Bruno was the bench press, which was also his favorite movement. . Because you are viewing this site from a location address that appears to be covered by the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 ("CCPA"), many of the features of TribLIVE.com -- like videos and social media elements -- are disabled. As I sad, wrestling demands a different kind of power than weight training. I would eat an early dinner no later than 3:00 so that it would be fully digested by the time I went in the ring. But Im proud to say, too, that I was pretty good lifter on my own. For weight lifting power, I'd say the Baillargeon brothers of Canada are the best I've seen. In 1959 he set a record in the bench press with a lift of 565 lbs. Sammartino continued in his physical culture training. So two weeks out of the month Id be wrestling seven days a week, and the other two weeks Id do six nights a week. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for WWE toy belt signed by 2013 HOF Bruno 'The living legend' Sammartino *PSA/DNA* at the best online prices at eBay! Earth, receive an honored guest: Legendary WWE champion and phenomenally strong man Bruno Sammartino has been laid to reset. Once I started training, I really dedicated myself and really pushed myself. The story of Bruno Sammartino is the story of the American dream. He writes about the extreme sides of fitness, the weirder sides of MMA and pro wrestling, and the unorthodox lifestyles of professional athletes. Hes routinely mentioned as having been edged out by Anderson for a slot on the 1956 Olympic weightlifting team (then still coached by York Barbell magnate Bob Hoffman), and most articles from that era note that he was a prominent rival of Andersonsa true Pittsburgh Hercules, as this vintage Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story callshim. On one occasion, a 51 year old Sammartino was taunted by a CFL football player. A: I think 74-year old Karl is a truly amazing physical specimen. The weight lifting work out was as follows: (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), The bodyweight work out looked like this: (Tuesday, Thursday). Although his mother if of average size, his father, a retired blacksmith, is a powerfully built, stocky man whose wrists exceed even Brunos massive 9 1/2 inch measurement. Bruno started with his 330.when he reached 20 repetitions all the members came over to watch this strongman do his thing. Unlike too many of the present day strongmen who specialize in the so-called odd lifts, Bruno is not afraid to show what he can do in public in open competition. Hindu Squats 2 x 1004. During the 1960s, his suggested training was as follows: Love it. Later, he would workout regularly with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbo, and Dave Draper. The time and energy he devoted to his workouts didnt allow too much time for other activities, but the agile strongman practiced a great deal of wrestling while in high school and frequently worked out with the wrestling squad at the Univerity of Pittsburgh. A: In the wrestling world, I'd say Gorilla Monsoon. They would affect my knees, so I would occasionally make a swift move in the ring, only to find my knee buckling under me. This version is a bench press done off boxes, while I'm lying on the floor. Even moreamazing than his rapid growth of muscularity was the growth of his bone structure. . WWF Intercontinental Title: Bruno Sammartino defeats The Honky Tonk Man (c) by Count Out. by Joe Wuebben Born: October 6, 1935 Height: 5'10" Weight: 275 pounds (when he was a pro wrestler) Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA Sit Ups x 3 sets. All rights reserved. In all we would do ten sets. For added back and shoulder power, I next do high pulls. He said this was particularly important if you were trying out for a high school sports team. You mentioned training with Karl Norberg . As you got stronger, you could add a warm up set on heavier exercises such as squats and bench presses, so youd do 4 sets of 6 repetitions on them. Whats your exercise regimen like today at 77 years old? Youre in great shape.Three days a week I do roadwork. Whenever I finished a workout with him I felt that my pecs were going to burst, it was great. I was 14 years old and I weighed, like, 83, 84 pounds. Chin Up (Behind Neck) 2 x 152. 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