Bill Seno is a name you have almost certainly never heard, because although he was famous in his day, he didn’t have enough lifting vids of his warmup weights and heavily digitally modified photographs to make you think he was far more important than he was. That, and he was a one-lift wonder in powerlifting who specialized in the bench press, making him uncool by the “serious” lifting standards a bunch of 140 pound pussies from Reddit decided to implement, That said, Seno was still on Michael Soong’s all-time list for the bench and the total at 220 and 242 as of 2013.

Seno hit a 525 raw bench press at 220 pounds on 11/10/1973 (age 34) he went 640-525-675 for a 1840 total.  Eight years later, Seno his a 578 bench press at 242 in an AAU meet, putting him at #9 on Soong’s list and tied for 25th with a half dozen people on Openpowerlifting’s rankings (though Seno competed raw in a single-ply meet for that lift, so it is listed as single ply in his contest history). And if that weren’t enough, he won a national title in olympic weightlifting on top of his powerlifting title, and although he never won the AAU Mr. America, he did win the most muscular more than once (beating Sergio Oliva along the way). But the really impressive shit?

BILL SENO SET A BENCH PRESS WORLD RECORD IN THE MIDDLE OF A BODYBUILDING CONTEST IN WHICH HE WON MOST MUSCULAR, ALL WHILE DRUG FREE.

Put that in your fucking pipe and smoke it, people- not even hotter-than-a-solar-flare Stefi Cohen has pulled off that sort of a coup, and there is very little that diminutive Latinx member of the all-time pantheon of strength gods hasn’t done in the strength game.

Before you go all Natty or Not on me, bear in mind that his friend, training partner, and spotter Terry Strand made the drug free assertion about Bill, for the first ten years of his weightlifting career. From ages 20 to 30 (1959 to 1969) Bill and most of the other bodybuilders in the US weren’t gassed up, and according to Harold Poole, even Sergio wasn’t even really all that gassed up until 68 or 69. As Sergio and Seno trained at the same gym and were in the same crew of lifters, I would say it’s pretty likely this drug-free decade isn’t a misprint or a fanciful claim. After 1969 was when he really started to turn huge, and by 1974 he was competing in the 242 class after packing on about 50 pounds of muscle in his thirties- and that is generally not a common practice for natty lifters.

Bill Seno Vital Statistics

Born: May 6, 1939, Chicago, IL

Height: 5’8″

Weight: 198, 220, 242

Sports: Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, bodybuilding

Occupation: high school English teacher

Notable Titles/Records/Influences

• mentored/coached Ed Coan to superhumanity
• heavily influenced the bench techniques of Louie Simmons and the Westside Barbell Club
• beat Sergio Oliva for the Most Muscular in 1964 AAU Mr. America
• set bench press world record in an exhibition set during the 1963 Jr. Mr. America, in which he also won the Most Muscular title and took fifth overall.

Best Lifts

• Standing Olympic Press: 300lbs
• Snatch: 250lbs pounds
• Clean and Jerk: 310lbs
• Bench Press: 461 (in a non-AAU meet held during the Mr. Chicago contest, raw, at 198); 578lbs (official, raw, at 242); 2 x 550; 6 x 500 pounds; 9 x 470; 15 x 420.
• Squat: 760.6lbs (Marathon suit, 242#); 640 (Ace bandages for wraps, 242#)
• Deadlift: 711lbs 
• Total: 2039.2lbs (Marathon suit, 242#)

Measurements (weighing around 220)

• Chest: 49″
• Waist: 32″
• Bicep: 18″
• Thighs: 26″:
• Calves / Neck: 17″

If you’re wondering why this isn’t a BME, you needn’t- BME’s are reserved for genuine maniacs, and Bill Seno is about the most level-headed human about whom I have ever read. Though he grew up impoverished and in the projects, Seno managed to claw his way out of poverty using a combination of sport and books. Though he was damn near out on his ass at 16, he managed to pull himself together using football and ended up with an athletic scholarship to Western Illinois State.

“A gifted athlete, Bill excelled in sports at a public high school. He played four years of football at Western Illinois University, however, his interest waned in football during his freshman year when he became involved in weight-training. Exceptionally powerful, at a bodyweight of 178 pounds, he overhead pressed 175 pounds during his first workout session” (Countryman). 

By the end of his collegiate career, Seno ended up a massive bookworm, so after spending six months in the US Army Reserves (they were the years of conscription, after all) he spent the next thirty or so teaching high school English and pursuing his masters all while he competed in both powerlifting and bodybuilding (though his competitive career obviously didn’t span three decades). By the time he was really peaking, Bill was 30, married, had a 13 month old daughter and was in grad school, but the man made no excuses- he just went out there and kicked fucking ass, because if nothing else Bill Seno was fucking determined to be the ultimate beast.

“Growing up in public housing with others hoping to make themselves look better, by putting you down, had a propelling effect. It was the fuel that drove me to some of my highest accomplishments.”

As you can see above, Bill Seno wasn’t exactly Arnold when it came to bodybuilding, but as I’ve explained before it was typically the winner of the Most Muscular title in the AAU Mr. America who was the best built man onstage- the overall winner essentially was the best pageant winner with the best body. As such, you can think of Bill Seno as a cross between Kai Greene and Johnny Jackson of the 1960s. That said, he was capable of simultaneously displaying the best male physique in America and posting biggest bench press in his weight class in the world.

The Bill Seno Ridiculous Repfest Bench Press Method(s)

As any of you who are Westside fans know, Louie credits Bill Seno with a lot of the influence that resulted in Louie’s adoption of the conjugate method. As Seno’s name is not on anyone’s lips beyond Louie, I’ll just begin with what Louie has relayed and work backward from there- if you want to skip right to the program, just jump this block of text, as it’s summarized afterward.

“In 1971, I had a 340 pound raw bench. Not long after, I met Bill Seno, a bodybuilder and a powerlifter, a common combination in the ’70s. Bill was a bench-press record holder with massive size and using a close grip style. Bill told me to bench ultra-wide (illegal grip), one inch outside of the rings. He recommended that I do a six rep max, week after week, until I could no longer make progress, then an eight rep max, and then a 10 rep max, with each successive increase until I could no longer make progress. At that point, he recommended returning to sixes, and repeating the cycle going for a new record with six reps, then eight, and so on. Did it work? It took my 340 pound bench, at 172 pounds body weight, to a 515 pound bench at 212 pounds body weight. I warmed up a lot and made smart jumps. A three week wave at one weight worked best for me. Thanks, Bill. If you’re going to bench big raw, you need to get bigger. My version was to do a top set of three at one weight. My best was 13, 11, and nine reps with 155 pounds, 23, 21, and 19 reps with 125 pounds, and 29, 24, and 20 reps with 100 pounds. You’ll need about six minutes between each set to fully recover. Use one bar weight per workout” (Simmons).

If that seems a little loosey-goosey to you (especially given that Bill Seno recommended six rather than three all-out sets), it should- Seno was not a guy who rigidly adhered to any kind of program. In fact, he was known to for the most part train entirely by feel, and as a person who does the same I can say that the following outline of his training does not obviously include the conjugate parts of his training because he likely didn’t use it obsessively.

Bill Seno’s 1964 Training Routine

Seno usually trained six times a week heading into a contest. It was typical for guys to take a couple of months off from hard training and just do a couple of workouts a week for awhile before gradually ramping up their training, so I’d assume he did that as well, although Seno didn’t mention it in any of the source material I found. He’d simply alternate upper and lower body training days three times and then take a day off. Or so.

ALL RESTS FOR BILL SENO WERE 4-6 MINUTES LONG.

I cannot personally imagine waiting that long between sets without having a book onhand, so maybe bring a book, though I’d imagine most people are busy editing their photos to make them looks like attractive humans utterly unlike themselves between sets.

Lower Body Day

Squat– 4×6-8

Hack Squat– 4×10-12

Unilateral Calf Raise– 4×20

Situps– 3×50

(Occasional) Squat Lockouts and/or Leg Extensions

Upper Body Day

Bench Press– 6×8

Chins– 8 x AMRAP (4 wide grip and 4 close)

Rowing– 4×8

Military/Olympic Press– 3×6

Behind the Neck Press– 3×6

Seated French Press– 6×8

Barbell Curl– 6×6

(Occasional) Dips and/or Power Snatches

The Repfest

• USE AN ULTRA-WIDE, NON-COMPETITION GRIP NO MATTER HOW CLOSE YOUR COMPETITION GRIP. Seno was a close-grip bencher and this was his main training lift. Whatever your excuse might be for not using a wide grip in training, you can save us all your comment as to why you hate it by just repeating three words to yourself quietly, in the comfort of your own home- “I’m a bitch.” This method is seemingly dependent on the use of this grip.
• do each rep scheme until you cannot continue making progress, then move to the next block. From what Louie and Seno said, each rep scheme was used for roughly a month .
• warm up like fucking crazy.

Ultra-Wide Grip Bench Press– 6 x 6-8 (six to eight is the goal, but you go to total failure on each set. Louie only did three top end sets, so it’s really up to your discretion)

Next Block:

Ultra-Wide Grip Bench Press– 6 x 8-10 (to failure on each set, same bar weight)

Next Block:

Ultra-Wide Grip Bench Press– 6 x 10-12 (to failure on each set, same bar weight)

Next Block:

Back to sixes.

Bill Seno’s Pectastic Pyramiding Repfest

As I mentioned, Seno had absolutely no set plan going into the gym, and never tracked nor notated his workouts- like myself, he was a human being with dignity, self resepct, and a fucking brain, and he’d simply remember more or less what weight he’d used previously. Realizing that turning a hobby into accounting is likely no way to go about enjoying one’s avocation, Seno altered his methods and training to suit his needs, interests, and time constraints, so he had a variety of methodologies he could employ. One such method was his “pyramid system,” which was a series of escalating back-off sets after a max single, that looked at least as interesting as the system Louie Simmons ended up popularizing.

“This is the routine that evolved out of following my body week after week until something seemed to work best. The variance in repetitions is necessary because the individual may be strong one day and not another. On a strong day, stay with a heavier poundage for 10 reps, for example, whereas a light day will call for the 15 rep set. Also, lighter weights allow for the lifter to practice for speed thrusts, that is, firing the weight in one explosive movement form the chest to arms length all in one motion” (Seno).

If you do this one, you’ll be training chest twice a week, using one day as the heavy day and the other as the light. This method should work with just about anything- all that stands in the way of knowing if it rules or not is fucking trying it.

Heavy Day

Bench Press– work up to a max single; on next set drop weight to estimated 3RM and rep out; drop weight again for a set to failure of 6-8; end with a set of 10-15.

Light Day

Bench Press– work up to 90% of your most recent max single; followed by
a set of 6-8; followed by a set of 10-12; end with a set of 15, using a crazy close grip with hands 18″ apart.

“We are always fighting the battle between rest and work. The key is to find the proper amount of work, whether high or low sets and reps, and coordinate that work with the proper amount of rest. Only time and experimentation will tell you” (Seno).

To Recap

One of Bill’s friends and fellow competitors Terry Strand summed up the reasons you should know Bill Seno’s name up pretty succinctly.

From 1959 to 1969 Bill did this:

• Zero Drugs
• Zero Supplements.
• Zero Lifting Suit.
• Zero Wraps.
• Zero Bodybuilding Diet.
• Zero Written Workout Routine
• Zero Set/Rep Routine.

 And Bill Accomplished this:

• Winner 1962           Junior National Olympic Champion [1st]
• Winner 1962           Mr. Junior Illinois [1st]
• Winner 1963           Mr. Illinois [1st]
• Winner 1964           Mr. Chicago [1st]
• Winner 1964           Mr. America Most Muscular Title [1st]
• Winner 1965           Mr. Midwest [1st]
• Winner 1965           Senior National PL Champ [1st]
• Winner 1966           World Record BP 461 [I loaded the bar for this record]
• Winner 1966           IL State PL Champ [1st] 198 lb
• Winner 1969           IL State PL Champ [1st] 198 lb (Strand)

This shit is entirely DIY and mostly self supported. If you’ve got it like that and would like to throw me something for the effort, I’d be much obliged. Every penny you spend goes towards physically and metaphorically crushing the fucking weakness out of every single person who comes into contact with anything having to do with me.

Join the fight against mental and physical weakness- mash the fuck out of that button, and let’s verbally lump some motherfuckers up.

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Sources:

Artman, Bob.  Bill Seno- his philosophy on bodybuilding.  Muscular Development, Aug 1964,  pp. 6-9,42.

Countryman, Ralph. Coe wins Sr. Mr. America.  Reprinted from.  Muscle Memory.  Web.  25 Aug 2020.  http://www.musclememory.com/showArticle.php?im280612

Pearl, Bill.   Social media post.  Facebook.  8 May 2019.  Web.  26 Aug 2020.  https://www.facebook.com/116733248412758/photos/a.758901990862544/2193196664099729/?type=1&theater

Seno, Bill.  Pushing for power, part 2.  The Tight Tan Slacks of Dezso Ban.  31 Oct 2008.  Web.  9 Apr 2019.  http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2008/10/pushing-for-power-part-one-bill-seno_31.html

Simmons, Louie.  Big bench for big pecs.  Muscle and Fitness.  Web.  11 Sep 2020.  https://www.muscleandfitness.com/flexonline/training/big-bench-big-pecs/

Strand, Terry. Bill Seno retrospective. Iron History. 5 May 2019. Web. 11 Sep 2020. https://www.ironhistory.com/forum/index.php?/topic/32286-bill-seno-retrospective/