MAXIMUM BOB - Bob Whelan

(Title of article given by Stuart McRobert - Bob's first HG article.)

With permission of Hardgainer, Vol. 6, No. 2 (September-October 1994)

I come from the old school of “health first, muscle second.” I believe that if you can’t get it the natural, healthy way, it’s not worth getting. I practice what I preach and am not one of those 12-inch-arm academics. I am also not a “death-row convert” to the drug-free philosophy. Real champions never take drugs! I quit competitive powerlifting in 1983 because, even in the military, drugs were common.

I started a “personal training” business in 1990 and created a private gym in my studio apartment. My philosophy is basic exercises, hard work, and results. Business is booming. Real men want to work hard, but most “personal trainers” are the “toner” type. I have a sign over my “gym” door that says, “Maximum Bob, Proprietor of the World’s Smallest World Class Gym.” The layout has everything in its place like a Swiss army knife (only one client at a time can fit). I have a stairstepper, a rubber floor, no mirrors, no chrome, nine pieces of Jubinville-made (the best) heavy-duty black steel equipment, several York Olympic bars, and about 1,000 pounds of York (only) plates. I have slept on the floor between the equipment I plan to move to a roomier location soon.

Getting on the Right Track

Chris Hartman is one of my new clients. He looked like a walking skeleton when he arrived. He weighed 155 at 6-4! He was going to the gym 5-6 days per week and taking all sorts of exotic pills and powders, amino acids, etc. I had to twist his arm to get him to train only twice per week, and I had to twist it hard at first. But after the first workout he did not want to train more because he was so tired. He threw away his exotic “miracle” potions and powders, and burned his former training instruction.

He now eats three knife-and-fork meals a day with three snacks in between. His daily nutrition includes five fruits and vegetables, one simple multiple-vitamin-mineral pill, and two cans of tuna (or turkey/chicken). He has gained 20 pounds already. He never realized he needed food, not BS from the health food store. He is now 6-4 and 175 pounds--a long way to go, but he is a believer.