George Frenn, Part Two- Fuck Programming. Just Lift Heavy (OG Westside Series)

George Frenn, a fucking luminary in the nascence of powerlifting who is all but forgotten in today’s lame-as-fuck strength scene, puts historians like myself in a difficult position. The rules of powerlifting were markedly different at the outset, as I mentioned, as was the gear. Thus, guys like Frenn find their records buried because their walked out, “wrapped” squats with Ace bandages done with both a “squat” and an “up” command get compared with those done out of a Monolift with Inzer wraps in a flight system. Flipping that on its head, however, you have elbows wrapped with ace bandages in Frenn’s time, but with a two second pause on the chest. It’s the same sort of difficulty one runs into when comparing Pudzianowski to Thor- you’re almost comparing apples to oranges. Nevertheless, there is a hell of a lot to be learned from guys who put up astonishing fucking numbers with no supplements, homemade equipment, and utterly new methods for getting ridiculously strong in a brand new strength sport.

That said, Frenn’s best numbers, which don’t appear on any rankings online I saw, should still have him at #15 (above Dan Green) in the squat, #18 in the total, #19 in the deadlift, and #18 in the bench. Put in the raw category (an argument I think is worth having), he’d be first by a long way in the squat, tenth in the bench, and fourth in the total, over 40 years after he competed. And yet, I’d be surprised if you could find 10 powerlifters who could tell you a thing about him without Googling it, which is a goddamned shame.

What makes Frenn’s utter invisibility in modern discussions about the greatest powerlifters ever is the fact that the bodybuilders, strength athletes, Olympic athletes, and Soviets at the time considered Frenn to be a fucking god among men. If Larry Wheels, Klokov, and Thor were merged into a single being, they still wouldn’t have the same cred that George Frenn and Jon Cole had in the 60’s and 70’s. According to Dr. Greg Shepard, the guy who founded the Bigger, Faster, Stronger program, George Frenn was the fucking man in his day.

“Also joining George at that time were many other elite throwers who came from all over the country to live in the LA area, where they could throw all year round with many of the best athletes in the world. As a football coach, I looked at these guys and was amazed at their conditioning. There were at least 30 of them, and they weighed an average of 270 pounds and ran 4.6 to 4.7 in the forty. They were far bigger, faster and stronger than the pro football players of that era”(Shepherd).

When Frenn squatted 853, Paul Anderson was not only considered to be the greatest squatter of all time and one of the strongest humans ever to walk the Earth… but Anderson had never squatted 850 under meet conditions, weighed 400lbs, and was so fat he might as well have been wearing squat briefs, because the pressure of his body pushing against other parts of his body got him out of the hole. Jon Cole ended up breaking the 900 barrier, but only did so after bumping up to what is now 308 to do it. Simply stated, Frenn is a guy to whom you have to pay attention if squatting a fucking brontosaurus is on your bucket list.

Given Frenn’s hyper-competitiveness, which the rest of Westside shares, it’s a fucking miracle we have any info on their training methods in the first place. The only guy to ever have reported on their squat workouts in detail, Ron Fernando, got stonewalled by every big swinging dick in the club when he pressed them for details. According to Fernando, “we spoke to half a dozen members and got the same reply: ‘Nothing doing. You want answers, talk to George. We don’t encourage competition.'” Even after getting an audience with the legend,

“then they wouldn’t let George say a word. No sooner was he letting me in on the secrets of heavy squatting than Bill West threatened to hide his favorite 150-lb. biggies (plates). Frenn was stymied — his personal code of sportsmanship says everybody should share all their secrets for the growth of the game — but he winded at me and signaled with his head. ‘Peek through the window,” he seemed to say. “Watch the exercises and listen to me instruct the guys'” (Fernando).

George Frenn’s Basic Program

For the first four years of his training, George Frenn treated the bench press like A-List Hollywood flicks treat Scott Adkins, or evangelicals treat masturbation. Thinking that it wouldn’t aid him in the hammer throw one iota, Frenn didn’t bench at all while training by himself in his garage. It wasn’t until 1966 that he decided to plop down and bench a bit, since he’d joined up with Bill West and the original Westside Barbell Club, and those guys were serious about the big three. Powerlifting still hadn’t seen its first official meet, though the lifts were contested at odd lifts meets around the country, but the guys at OG Westside wanted to be ready the second the first official meet was announced. Thus, Bill “Peanuts” West assembled what was essentially the strength world’s version of the motherfucking Avengers, and they started training like goddamned animals. The crew consisted of at least 15 guys, but the major players were:

• George Frenn (obviously)
• Frenn’s arch nemesis thrower Harold Connelly (which I was very amused to discover)
• Bill Thurber (multiple record holder in the 148 class)
• Len Ingro (the first 181lber to squat 500)
• Olympic bronze medalist and 11 time WR holder in the shot put, Dallas Long
• Jim Klostergaard (who still holds USAPL masters records and benched 254 at 181 last year… at age 70)
• 1946 Mr. America Joe DiMarco, who switched to PL in 1958 and nipped at Frenn’s heels throughout his career
• bodybuilder, powerlifter, World’s Strongest Man competitor, arm wrestler, and WWE phenom “Superstar” Billy Graham
• two time Olympic silver medalist in the shot put, George Woods
• Pat Casey (first man to bench press 600), and for short periods
• and for a short period of time, both the ultimate powerbuilder (and focus of an upcoming article) Roger Estep and “The Man With Four Legs” Phil Grippaldi.

Frankly, after compiling that utterly ridiculous list of strength sports superstars, it’s possible that there has never been a more accomplished assemblage of strength athletes in one gym, and that there never will be again.

As you’ll see, most of the crew trained twice a week in marathon workouts. Their routines varied in execution but the main lifts kept the same tried-and-true rep scheme for the most part, even if the six sets listed for bench below often stretched to 18. They included all sorts of wacky shit, like the belly toss, which had only really fallen out of fashion in the 1950s, and they’d frequently have impromptu competitions on lifts like the hang clean.

“Perhaps the most important aspect of George’s training to emphasize once again is that he treated his lifting very seriously, putting it absolutely number one in is life” (Fitten).

Saturday (Heavy)

Bench Press– 135 x 10; 225 x 5; 295 x 4; 320 x 2; 360 x 1; 285 x AMRAP (when his max was 420)
Bench Press with pads (basically a soft board press)- 405 x 2; 425 x 2; 440 x 1
450 x 1; 460 x 1; 470 x 1; 295 x AMRAP

Squat-135 x 10; 225 x 5; 325 x 5; 425 x 4; 525 x 3; 565 x 2; 600 x 1 – 2; 635 x 4 singles; 655 x 1; 500 x AMRAP

Deadlift– 225 x 6; 315 x 5; 415 x 4; 500 x 4; 550 x 3; 575 x 2; 620 x 1 or 2 singles

“Lift as much as you can as easy as you can. Success begets success.”

Tuesday (Light)

Warmups same as Saturday. No deadlifting on this day.

Bench Press– 375 x 5 singles; 295 x AMRAP

Squat– 575 x 5 singles (and these were later replaced entirely by box squats)

Notes: Frenn believed that strong calves could add 1 or 2% to your squat numbers, which could mean the difference between winning or losing, breaking a record or languishing in obscurity. Thus, he did a calf raise at the top of every rep of his squat. Interestingly, deadlifting monster Ernie Frantz also believed that strong calves were absolutely essential for a big pull, so train your fucking calves already.

For the AMRAP sets, use 100-120 lbs less than your max and shoot for for 10+ reps. “In this way when one rep is tried, the mind can draw on the physical ‘bank’” (Fernando).

Wednesday or Thursday (Piddling Days)

High Pulls– 225 x 10; 275 x 10; 325 x 4 – 5 (his max was 405 x 10 with wrist wraps)
Tricep Extensions – do some. Doesn’t matter what.

For Fuck’s Sake, Don’t Skip Your Assistance Work

Unlike modern trainees, who seem to fear (but secretly jerk dicks to) innovation and “program hopping” like comics nerds do badass chicks, the guys at Westside were all about embracing new methods and new exercises. As such, the Westside Club’s methods were definitely more of a Hunter’s Stew of training methods and exercises, though the guys who served primarily as the “chefs” were Bill West on the deadlift, George Frenn on the squat, and Pat Casey on the bench. As a result, the pre-eminent guys in each of the individual lifts ended up innovating and honing their craft to the point where the entire team

Each lifter would bring in the new shit they’d learned from other lifters. Having trained with John Cole while on the European Track and Field circuit, Frenn brought with him some tricks he’d learned from that beast. DiMarco pushed the belly toss hard in addition to the bench/box squat, Pat Casey and Bill West did the same with skull crushers, and because they were all “odd lift” competitors, all of them injected their pet odd lifts into the workouts.

One such innovation was what they call the bench squat, which is now called the box squat. According to powerlifting historian Dave Yarnell, Joe DiMarco introduced the bench squat to the Westside guys after learning the exercise from 1946 AAU Mr. America and 1949 IFBB Mr. America Alan Stephan while training with Stephan in Minnesota. Stephan apparently hated regular squats and eschewed their use altogether for bench squats, and since he was moving some serious weight that way, DiMarco started doing them and introduced them to Bill West when he moved to LA… leading to the intense irony of tr00 powerlifting bros who look down their nose at bodybuilders owing their chief squat assistance exercise to the sport they profess to hate.

Each lifter would bring in the new shit they’d learned from other lifters. Having trained with John Cole while on the European Track and Field circuit, Frenn brought with him some tricks he’d learned from that beast. DiMarco pushed the belly toss hard in addition to the bench/box squat, Pat Casey and Bill West did the same with skull crushers, and because they were all “odd lift” competitors, all of them injected their pet odd lifts into the workouts. In short, these guys absolutely had no set routine, because they knew that they needed to stress their bodies in insane ways in order to move insane weights.

Frenn’s Squat Assistance Work

With Frenn leading the team on the squat, “15 members gained an accumulative total of 3325 pounds on the squat since we went operational on assistance training” (Frenn). Although no one in the club other than Frenn was a squat specialist, all of the guys in the club put up impressive numbers in the squat. And before you scoff, remember that powerlifting was in its infancy, and these guys were using nothing but Ace bandages for wraps, often following themselves for attempts because there was no flight system, and were using homemade squat stands that were basically just poles stuck into concrete poured into car wheels.

• Joe Molloy (165) 547.5lbs
• Bill West (181) 655lbs
• Harold Connolly (220) 705lbs
• Dick Allen (218) 705lbs

Using the above program as the basic framework, the team used the following shit as assistance work designed to “condition” their legs to perform under massive loads. As you’ll see, Frenn’s methods were basically adopted wholesale by Louie Simmons.

High Bench Squat / High Box Squat

Done with a bench between 14″ and 20″ high (they just put bricks or cinder blocks under a bench to get it to the right height), “you descend with your hips well to the rear of the bench. Keeping the hips back make contact with the butt and much of the hamstrings. For an instant relax after landing, then rock forward and using this momentum drive erect. We find results are better if the feet are kept fairly straight or at least aligned with the thighbone. Suggested poundage: 100-125 lbs. over your best squat. Sets/Reps: 5 x 5″ (Frenn Squat).

Low Box Squat

Same as above, but with a bench 6″ lower than the high box squat, so that on the bench you’re at competition depth (RPS depth, not USAPL’s retarded “asshole to the floor” depth). Frenn claimed that the weight here would be less than the high box squat but more than your competition weight because the rocking motion would propel you out of the hole. Suggested poundage progression: Squat max minus 75 pounds to squat max plus 50 pounds. Sets/Reps: 5 x 5 (Frenn).

Good Mornings

These were suggested by the aforementioned Jim Klostergaard, and they all loved this exercise. Suggested poundage: 66%1RM. Sets/Reps: 3 x 5 (Frenn Squat).

Yoke Walks

Frenn would often walk 70 yards (down to the end of the driveway and back with about 700lbs on his back, then do calf raises with it before re-racking it (Yarnell 180). Suggested poundage: 90% 1RM. Sets/Reps: Unclear, but he generally did 3-6 sets of assistance shit.

Front Squat

According to Frenn, “this is a damn good assistance exercise for PL men because it attacks quad fibers left untouched by any other type of squat; the angle of descent and ascent are so different. It also taxes the back and abs to keep the trunk erect at all times. And cheating, such as the rocking in the bench squat, is impossible…. If you drop the back squat until the front and back are equal you should be able to add 50-75 pounds to the rear (depending on your power squat style) the first workout you retry it. Suggested poundage: 80-90% back squat work weights. Sets/Reps: Same as the Saturday workout (Frenn Squat).

Leg Extensions

“Obviously leg extensions are not a power exercise; yet they have a more important purpose — preventative medicine. [Dallas] Long recommended by physical therapists for patients with weak knees, extensions with 150-200 pounds work even better wonders for powerlifters. They strengthen the ligaments, tendons, sinews and muscle around the knees, thereby cutting down squatting injuries, those terrible calamities which can wipe out a year’s progress in a flash” (Frenn Squat).

Leg Curls

“Thick bulgy thigh biceps help in squat rebound; they shorten the distance between the thigh and calf a tiny bit making it just that much easier to hit the full squat and bounce back up. But more importantly, strong thigh biceps add to an overall stronger, fitter and better prepared leg and that’s the entire import of this routine” (Frenn Squat).

Frenn’s Deadlift Assistance Work

Though Frenn’s focus was on the deadlift rather than the squat (and he had to follow himself twice on the squat before moving directly into following himself on the deadlift due to the meet structure of the day, Frenn’s deadlift was still elite as fuck at the time. In another stroke of what seems to be a “great minds think alike” situation with Frenn, he concluded that the deadlift didn’t need to be trained weekly in order to make improvements. As he put it,

“If you perform religiously the following four exercises – power cleans, snatch-grip and clean-grip high pulls, and good mornings – your actual deadlifting can be limited to once every ten days. Then you should take a weight about 100-120 lbs less than your maximum and try to get 10 reps with it. I venture to guess that a fellow like John Kuc who can pull 870 plus can easily take around 730-745 and perform 10 solid reps with it. Hey, that in and of itself is one hell of a feat. As far as reps go in the assistance moves, 4-9 sets of 3-5 reps would do nicely” (Fernando).

Frenn’s deadlift assistance work consisted of the following exercises:

Block / Rack Pulls

These were a favorite of “Peanuts” West, and early in his career Frenn did them almost exclusively. He “occasionally did 3 reps with 680” but his workouts mostly consisted of “half, or partial Deadlifts, and from the knee I did 760, from just below the knee I made 775, and from just above the knee I succeeded with 840” (Frenn Deadlifts).

Deficit Deadlifts

Another favorite of West, these helped with breaking the weight off the ground for big pulls. After having his national record of 713 smashed by Gary Young, he looked into Young’s training. Young did high rep deficit deadlifts and had pulled 685 off a low box, so Frenn started doing 10 rep sets of deads off a low box. After some experimentation, he settled on doing light, fast, ten rep sets of deficit deads (with 425, though he could pull 575 for ten in a set of grinders), then nothing but heavy singles later in the week. That ended up being the magic formula that got him over 800 in a competition pull (Ibid).

High Pulls

Frenn was an absolute monster on the high pull, but could never manage to get his arms underneath the bar for a clean (one of many reasons he chose powerlifting over Olympic lifting). Frenn (very rightly, in my opinion) believed that high pulls were a fan more effective movement than cleans for this reason- the brute strength they requires translated nicely to the deadlift and required none of the skill and flexibility (which was a waste of fucking time for a powerlifter) that the clean did (Fernando).

Good Mornings

Frenn worked up to over 500 on these (Ibid).

Pullups / Pulldowns

Both Frenn and DiMarco remarked that the pullup or pulldown served as a good bench accessory as well as a deadlift accessory. For the former, lat flare helped get the weight moving off the chest, and for the latter it was simply a matter of building and conditioning the entire back (Fernando, Yarnell 170).

Cable Row

Though this was DiMarco’s pic for building a thick back and added deadlift strength, Frenn did them periodically to the same reason he did pulldowns (Yarnell 170).

Upright Row

This was another DiMarco special that Frenn did on occasion (Yarnell 170).

Frenn vehemently denied that form work on the deadlift was necessary because “the form on the pulling movements, at least the start of the pull, is, or in my opinion should be, the SAME. That is, close stance, hands outside the knees, flat back and head up,” a statement with which I completely agree after having made a similar discovery with the combination of shrugs, Pendlay rows, and stiff-legged high pulls (Ibid). He went on to say:

“Basically, there should be one main philosophy behind deadlifting, something that I have shown countless times and that many of the other great lifters have shown. That is, the willingness to continually lift heavy weights. You have to mentally, emotionally train yourself to pull those big numbers, regardless of the time of year it is” (Fernando).

And in case you’re curious where he came down on the subject, he though sumo deadlifting was a joke, and that the guys who used that method were just fooling themselves about being strong. Shots, apparently, have been fired.

Frenn’s Miscellaneous Assistance Work

• Pad (board) presses, starting with 4 pads and working down to one as their competition neared. This is the origin of the board press, so if you want to know how to do the progression, just Google it- I don’t know a fucking thing about using boards, because they involve lifting partners I don’t have and equipment I don’t own.
• Belly tosses, which were sort of the type of bench presses you used to see in high school weight rooms. The bar would be brought to the top abs/solar plexus area, then the lifter would arch crazy hard and do a hip thrust to get the weight aloft. DiMarco, who benched 440 in competition, was doing 660 in the belly toss for a single (Tanny DiMarco).
• Bench press static holds. These aren’t what you think- they’d hold the weight at most people’s sticking point, 2″ off the chest, for 5-8 seconds, and then complete the rep (Yarnell 180).
• Rack presses. They’d bench off the pins while laying flat backed on the floor to build lockout power (Tanny DiMarco).
• Incline bench press. All of the guys at Westside loved this exercise, and both Frenn and DiMarco wanted to see it contested under meet conditions (likely because they both inclined over 400). It was also a favorite at the Dungeon, the local mecca for bodybuilders that boasted Steve Merjanian, Dave Draper, and Chuck Ahrens as members, with whom the Westside guys seemed to have trained periodically. As a result, they hammered the shit out of the incline like it was the drunkest slut at a frat party.
• Cardio / stretching: Frenn believed that running was more essential than Truvada on a whore house tour in Swaziland. As such, he did twice weekly sprint training consisting of 10-50 yard sprints. He believed these would help him maintain intra-thoracic pressure during max squats and deadlifts, which would convert to bigger weights moved. Additionally, he also swam and stretched regularly to ensure he wouldn’t injure himself through inflexibility (Tanny Frenn).

Other Random Tips From Frenn

• DON’T RELY SOLELY ON THE FUCKING BACK SQUAT. I’m looking at you fucking goofball martyrs who endlessly yammer on about how you squat daily. Not only does that shit not impress big squatters, it’s fucking stupid. Frenn agrees, saying “nothing BUT squatting to improve your squat may cause problems later on. Variety can extend your lifting life and help you avoid wear and tear injuries. Power competitors should keep in mind the style aspects of squatting even if it means slightly lower poundages” (Frenn).
• Abs aren’t just for the Athlean-X / Zyzz / Instagram fuckboy crowd. Strong abs make for a huge squat, and play a massive role in your ability to overhead press big weights. If you neglect them, you will fail as a squatter, a lifter, and a human being in general.
• Shrugs are good, and more shrugs are more gooder. “Big hunky traps cushion the weight with less pain than little ones and make enduring the load and concentration on the lift easier” (Frenn).
• Warm up your knees before squatting heavy. “Do plenty of light or freehand reps before hitting the big bars” (Frenn).
• Peaking for meets is a fucking joke. A real lifter should be, in Frenn’s mind, ready to put his ass on the line at any time, anywhere, and demonstrate the full, beautiful brutality of his Earth-shaking strength. In his words:

“From what I know about cycling, I personally don’t believe in it per se. Yes, of course, I realize that one can not (especially in the beginning stages of his career) lift max 100% weights every session – however, even a beginner can respond well to utilizing 85% of max for a certain number of reps. Cycling is fallacious to me because it seems that the environment controls the lifter – you have to control the environment. By building up a physical ‘bank’ of strength and emotion by simply doing the lift with heavier and heavier weights, one can always ‘peak’ for any given meet. For example, I entered (and won) the YMCA Nationals in 1976. Prior to the meet the very best that I had pulled in the deadlift was 585×5 reps. Yet by drawing on these reserves in my ‘bank’ I was able to pull a 765 that day” (Fernando).

He’s a Fucking Threat to Everyone- BURN HIM

It’s possible that I’m off base here, but I believe much of the reason Frenn’s name is not more widely remembered and revered is because Frenn was at odds with everyone but the Westside guys, all of the time. A strongly principled man who would today be considered an SJW, Frenn pissed off the IOC by siding with athletes throwing up the black power salute at the 1968 Olympics. He then proceeded to piss off the US Olympic committee by self-financing a documentary on the pathetic state support for the US Olympic track team (at a cost of a cool $25k out of his own pocket, which would be $172k… on a fucking teacher’s salary) diplomatically titled The Hard Road to Munich (Twersky). The film mocked the expectations of the US and their professed support for track athletes and ultimately predicted the US’s poor showing in Munich in 1972. His favorite bit of the film was an interview with the only American to ever serve as the head of the International Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage.

“‘The present status of amateur athletics in the United Statist,’ Brundage, who broke into laughter, replied, ‘there no status of amateur athletics in the United States.’ Over the long run, the only reason track and field survives, says Frenn, is because of the ‘oddballs and weirdos’ who bear any burden and pay any pricer for the chance to compete” (Twersky).

If it weren’t enough to piss off his fellow throwers, various white Olympic athletes in the Olympic Village in Mexico City, and the US Olympic committee, Frenn also butted heads with the AAU and Bob Hoffman and the York Barbell lifters. Frenn worked tirelessly with Joe Weider to promote powerlifting and get it sanctioned by the AAU, but only succeeded in making Hoffman and the AAU crazy in what turned out to be nothing more than Frenn’s use as a pawn by Weider (Fair 261-2, 282, 301-2). And when I say crazy, I mean they referred to him as the Ralph Nader of powerlifting, which in today’s terms would be like calling him the AOC of powerlifting. What was likely the final straw, though, was Frenn’s participation in the inaugural Gay Games in 1982.

“In 1982 he agreed to carry the Olympic flag into San Francisco’s Cox Stadium at the inaugural Gay Olympic Games, which he calls ‘the biggest mistake of my life.’ Frenn says he isn’t gay–he agreed to participate at the request of organizer Tom Waddell, a friend and fellow Olympian. ‘I always had been a loner and done whatever I wanted, so I said yes.’ But after the games people, including his students, had a hard time believing he wasn’t gay. The controversy, he says, contributed to his leaving a teaching job. ‘All it did was wreck my reputation,’ he says” (Syken).

Because 1982 America very much resembled modern day Reddit and 4Chan, it was not ok to be gay (even if you actually weren’t in the first place), and Frenn found himself immediately unemployed, dateless (chicks who saw the article thought he was an icky gay guy), and apparently ostracized by the powerlifting community. Although Frenn was able to find work thereafter, his participation in that event seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, and he fell from grace in the strength world altogether.

And thus, one of the most badass powerlifters and throwers in history has been all but stricken from memory for being nothing more than a man who had his own ideas and give a fuck what other people thought about them. As I’ve written in the past, being a wild-eyed eccentric in a sport inexplicably filled with conformists may be the best path to infamy, but is not a methodology by which one either makes money or finds themselves remembered fondly. This essential heretic, however, stands as a beacon of badassery for those of us who want to forge our own paths to relentless, unforgiving, soul-crushing strength.

“I want to keep throwing as long as I can. I’ve got nothing else to do. And when they put you away, there’s no more existence. So I’ve got to enjoy what I dig as long as I can.”

Sources:

Fernando, Ron. Deadlifting Theories of George Frenn. The Tight Tan Slacks of Dezso Ban. 12 Jan 2011. Web. 5 Mar 2019. http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2011/01/deadlifting-theories-of-george-frenn.html

Frenn, George. Conditioned Legs Break Squat Records (1972). The Tight Tan Slacks of Dezso Ban. 13 Jul 2016. Web. 5 Mar 2019. http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2011/01/deadlifting-theories-of-george-frenn.html

Frenn, George. Some New Ideas on Deadlift Training. Reprinted from Jan 1970 issue of Muscle Builder/Power. The Tight Tan Slacks of Dezso Ban. 23 May 2017. Web. 15 Mar 2019. http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2017/05/some-new-ideas-on-deadlift-training.html

Putnam, Pat. He knows how to throw his weight around. Reprinted from March 9, 1970 issue of Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated. Web. 5 Mar 2019. https://www.si.com/vault/1970/03/09/554134/he-knows-how-to-throw-his-weight-around

Scott, Don. George Frenn really gets it on. Reprinted from April 1972 Strength and Health. Forgotten Secrets of the Culver City Westside Barbell Club Revealed. Lexinton: Self Published, 2014.

Shepard, Greg. The history of the BFS total program for athletes. Reprinted from Nov/Dec 2009 Bigger Faster Stronger Magazine. Bigger Faster Stronger. Web. 6 Mar 2019. https://cdn4.sportngin.com/attachments/document/0010/5713/BFS_Total_Program_History.pdf

Tanny, Armand. George Frenn, Power Lifter (1966). The Tight Tan Slacks of Dezson Ban. 18 Jun 2011. Web. 5 Mar 2019. http://ditillo2.blogspot.com/2011/06/george-frenn-powerlifter-armand-tanny.html

Tanny, Armand. Joe DiMarco, Power Lifter. Reprinted from a 1967 issue of Muscle Builder. Forgotten Secrets of the Culver City Westside Barbell Club Revealed. Lexinton: Self Published, 2014.

Twersky, Marty. Frenn puts up $10,000 that says nobody beats him in the hammer. New York Times. 29 Apr 1973. Web. 6 Mar 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/04/29/archives/frenn-puts-up-10000-that-says-nobody-beats-him-in-hammer-aau.html

Tyler, Dick. West Coast Bodybuilding Scene: The Golden Era. Santa Cruz: On Target Publications, 2004.

Yarnell, Dave. Forgotten Secrets of the Culver City Westside Barbell Club Revealed. Lexington: Self Published, 2014.