George Eiferman's Prescription for Building A Huge Chest
By Robert Drucker
When George Eiferman was 15 years old and a thin 145 pounds, he underwent his first barbell workout with a borrowed set of weights. Eiferman managed to undergo only two workouts before he was forced to return the set. However, these two workouts proved to enough to form an impression in the young boy's mind that would lead him to bodybuilding greatness.
George Eiferman doing an impromptu pose at a friend's house, circa 1955. Photograph by and courtesy of Allan K. Nickell.
Wanting to serve his country and to travel abroad, Eiferman enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 16 and during the Second World War. It was on board his assigned ship, the U.S.S. Alcor, where he would resume his barbell training and set the stage for an outstanding bodybuilding career. After three years of training at sea, Eiferman had increased his bodyweight by nearly 40 pounds, most of which was hard muscle! This remarkable gain was well balanced, as the young sailor had developed thick arms, beefy legs, a wide and powerful back, and a large and heavily muscled chest.
After his release from the U.S. Navy, Eiferman would go on to win major bodybuilding competitions, including the 1947 Mr. Philadelphia, the 1948 Mr. California, the 1948 Mr. America, and the 1962 Mr. Universe. During his competitive years, Eiferman possessed huge measurements, and and his chest development was second to none.
More than any other movement, Eiferman gave credit to the bench press as being the single best upper body exercise. He also gave this exercise near full credit for his amazing chest development. In the June, 1952 issue of Your Physique, he said:
"...Since the first time I practiced the bench press, I have never taken a workout in which it has not been used. I sincerely feel that it has done more for my upper body than any other exercise and I owe 90% of my chest development to it!"
Eiferman favored the flat bench press, but he also found the incline press to be a very effective movement. He often performed the bench press with a wide grip. He discovered that a wide grip helps to spread and deepen the ribbox, and that it also brings out the frontal deltoids and outer pectorals, creating an impressive "blend".
Eiferman also regularly practiced the bench press with both a moderate and a narrow grip. The large bodybuilder stated that narrow-grip bench presses are particularly effective for stimulating the triceps, the anterior (front) portion of the deltoids, and the center section of the pectorals.
Occasionally, Eiferman would perform bench presses with a reverse grip. He found that a reverse grip placed greater emphasis on his lower pectorals, stimulated his biceps, and strengthened his wrists. Malcolm Brenner was another old timer who practiced the reverse grip bench press. He once benched a whopping 385 pounds in this style.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you decide to give the reverse bench press a try, be sure to do the movement inside of a power rack. When using a reverse grip, holding onto the barbell can be quite difficult, and the bar can suddenly slip out of your hands.
The incline bench press is another movement that Eiferman regularly performed to build his enormous chest. Incline presses, Eiferman stated, are superb for building the upper portion of the chest, and they are also great for beefing up the deltoids.
A typical chest workout for George Eiferman would begin with regular flat bench presses, 3 to 5 sets of 10 reps. He would then do 3 sets of dumbbell flat benches for 10 reps, and conclude with 3 sets of incline presses for 10 reps. For each set, the big bodybuilder would use the heaviest weight that he could handle in relatively good form. Eiferman strongly advised against bouncing a weight on the chest to gain momentum. Such a practice, he warned, will often lead to injury. A much safer way to bench, stated the big-chested guy, is to lower the weight under full control.
Eiferman liked to use a pair of dumbbells during his bench-press training because they allowed him to stretch below his chest line. He found that the extra stretch that the dumbbells allowed triggered additional growth.
During the early 1950s, Eiferman was asked who he thought was the greatest bench presser in the world. The big man stated that he had heard about or had seen some astounding bench-press lifts, including lifts made by Alan Stephan, John Grimek, Clarence Ross, Don Arnold, Marvin Eder, Doug Hepburn, and John McWilliams. However, according to Eiferman, the most impressive bench press that he ever witnessed was done by John Davis. In the June, 1952 issue of Your Physique, Eiferman observed,
"...there is one bench press which I saw, which I will never forget, and to me it represents a feat of strength which I have never seen equaled.It took place in Tanny's Gym, on one of those rare days when the temperature in usually mild California sunk way down to below freezing. John Davis was there, just sitting around and chatting with us. We were speaking about the bench press and we each offered a guess as to what Davis could do. Davis was non-committal, and we sort of ganged up on him, practically forcing him to try his hand. Taking off his jacket, he lay down on a bench, without warm-up and took the 400 pound barbell which we handed him, letting us place it flat across his chest. Then, from a perfectly dead start, this great champion pressed this weight to arms length, without any warm-up, in a freezing cold gym without much previous practice of any sort in the lift. As far as I am concerned, John Davis will head the list."
George Eiferman believed that the majority of bodybuilders, whether beginner or advanced, will gain best if they (1) perform whole-body workouts, (2) train three times per week, and (3) perform 12 to 15 exercises per workout. He pointed out that the majority of physique stars, including himself, trained this way during the 1940s and early 1950s.
For beginners (those with less than three to six months of lifting experience), Eiferman advised doing only one set per exercise. More advanced fellows, stated the former Mr. America, may grow best by doing two or three (or more) sets per exercise. In any case, however, Eiferman believed that the duration of every workout should be kept below two hours for best results.
Eiferman generally advised that bodybuilders do 10 to 12 repetitions per set of each exercise, a range he believed results in a balanced combination of strength, size, and muscular definition. For advanced fellows seeking greater power, Eiferman recommended training with heavier poundages, reducing the number of reps (6 to 8), and slightly increasing the number of sets (3 to 5).
For the bodybuilder who wishes to specialize or concentrate on the bench press, Eiferman recommended that he or she perform this movement first in their workout. This will ensure that the lift can be performed with maximum focus and energy. However, for general training Eiferman stated that it doesn't make any difference where you place the bench press within your workout. He generally included the bench press exercise in the middle of his program.
In conclusion, George Eiferman was extremely fond of the bench press. He adamantly stressed that this exercise did more to build his Mr. America physique than any other. If you are looking to pack your body with muscle and power, you might want to take Eiferman's advice and hit the bench heavy, hard, and regularly.