We all probably wish we looked like we were photoshopped, but for most of us, that’s merely a distant and ephemeral dream. Not so, however, for the biggest, baddest, freakiest motherfucker of whom you’ve never heard- Jeff King. Many reasons for this have been bandied about for why he abandoned bodybuilding, but King was, in his prime, considered to be an uncrowned Mr. Olympia even as an amateur. He had quads as big and detailed as Tom Platz with an upper body to match, and the biggest, most vascular neck anyone’s ever seen.
He apparently dropped out of bodybuilding due to the politics of the sport, and as such we never got to see the best of him. That’s pretty horrifying, given the fact that Jeff King would likely have produced a physique that would never be replicated, and might have rivalled Ronnie Coleman for strength at his peak. In the picture above, for instance, King is only 22 years old and 230 lbs.- as such, he’d have another 20 years to pack on mass and gain muscle maturity if his career lasted as long as Ronnie Coleman. What he would have looked like at that point is mere fantasy, but that fantasy really could be considered a nightmare, since the sight of the man probably would have reduced the average passer-by to a pile of sobbing mush.
King’s legs were perhaps his most impressive bodypart, as they were absolutely enormous, and comparisons of 1980s bodybuilders are often drawn between King and Tom Platz. His training regimen for legs was pretty unique, much like Platz’s, and consisted of a three part cycle in which he’d do anywhere from four to ten reps per set and max out once every two weeks (King, Colescott). He trained each bodypart twice a week on a schedule that looked like this (King):
Day One– Chest, Back, Abs, and Neck
Day Two– Legs, Calves
Day Three– Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps, Abs, and Neck
Day Four– Off
In the off-season, King’s training differed somewhat from in-season, though he’d stick with the same basic exercises and just not push as hard. His two favorite leg routines, however, were these:
Off Season Leg Training
Front Squats- 3 x 8
Duck Leg Press (popular in the 80s, you’d place your feet so your heels were
nearly touching and your toes pointed out at roughly 45 degrees)- 4 x 8
Hack Squats- 3 x 8
Leg Curls- 4 x 10
Standing Leg Curls- 2 x 10
Standing Calf Raise- 3-4 x 15-20
Calf Press- 3 x 12-15
“Powerlifting” Squat Routine
Back Squats- 135 x 12, 185 x 12, 225 x 10, 315 x 8, 405 x 6, 495 x 4, 495 x 4
Duck Leg Press- 400 x 10, 500 x 8, 600 x 6, 700 x 4
Leg Curls- 3 x 10
Just a fucking monster, and very chill about having one of the freakiest physiques ever in interviews. Look for some insanity to drop here tomorrow. “Until then,” as Jeff King said in 1984, “train hard and be an animal.”
Sources:
Colescott, Steve. Jeff King’s Animal Leg Training! RX Muscle. 5 Dec 2009. Web. 11 Feb 2013. http://www.rxmuscle.com/articles/nutrition/1018-jeff-kings-animal-leg-training.html#.URpW0x3WKqk
King, Jeff. How I Trained for the Mr America and Mr Universe (1984), reprinted in a Forum Post. Professional Muscle. 6 Mar 2011. Web. 11 Feb 2013. http://www.professionalmuscle.com/forums/articles-forum/70844-jeff-king-training-diet.html
Jamie,you know what routine he used for his neck?Because holy fuckin shit,this is a big one.
I never saw it mentioned in he interviews I read, which is bizarre. It's the only question I'd have asked.
Down syndrome?
Thoghts on the bloatmax pill, Jamie?
I had to google it and it smacks of incel theory. Am I on the money with that?
Maybe some resemblance to Eddie Robinson?
A bit, yeah.
Steroids, etc
Of course. I also think pro bodybuilders are a shit source of training advice. Having said that, the King split was not so bad.
One thing I would say for natty lifters is that you need to up the frequency. The roiders grow for a longer time frame after stimulating the muscle. The natty gets maybe 48 hours.
ok….
That's the polar opposite of what most natty guys say.
I've never saw such a high neck/waist ratio hahaha
I'm always surprised at how… unremarkable these guys workouts are. Obviously the weights are high, but its basically a few sets of squats, a few sets of leg press / hacks, and then a few sets of calves and ham curls. Done.
Aside from Defendis, most pro's really dont train much differently than the average gym bro in terms of the composition of the workout. They are just getting MUCH more out of the their sets.
They're putting much more into those sets. High input leads to high output. Most people just go through the motions.
I MET JEFF KING, IN 1999, IN BRICK NEW JERSEY, AT A LOCAL GYM. HE CAME DOWN FROM CONNECTICUT TO VISIT HIS FATHER WHO LIVED IN POINT PLEASANT. EVEN THOUGH HE RETIRED YEARS PRIOR, I RECOGNIZED HIM IMMEDIATELY WHEN HE ENTERED. AFTER I TOLD HIM THAT I WAS AN ACQUAINTANCE OF HIS FATHER´S, HE WAS WILLING TO ANSWER A FEW OF MY NERDY QUESTIONS. HE TOLD ME THAT AT 5´11" HE ONLY STILL WEIGHED 200 POUND ( BUT HE WAS SHREDDED TO THE BONE!). LOOKING AT HIS WRISTS IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT HE WAS RATHER SMALL BONED. THAT MADE IT EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE IF YOU CONSIDER HOW BIG HE GOT WHEN HE WAS A PRO- ATHLETE. OF COURSE I INQUIRED ABOUT HIS NECK. HE TOLD ME THAT, BACK IN THE DAY, HE FOCUSED ON HIS NECK BECAUSE HIS TRAPS DID NOT RESPOND AS WELL AS THE REST OF HIS BODY DID. SO HE TOOK IT TO AN EXTREME. HOWEVER HE DID NOTHING SPECIAL. JUST SIMPLE WORKOUTS REVOLVING AROUND USING A HARNESS FOR THE REAR NECK AND PLATES ON THE FOREHEAD FOR THE " STERNOS". ALL IN ALL HE WAS A VERY PLEASANT AND PATIENT PERSON TO TALK TO.