Unleashing the Wild Physique
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars The concepts in this book can still be applied today
I’ve been an athlete (now Coach and Trainer) for 20 years. At one point, my 2 main passions were Martial Arts and Natural Body Building. With that said, I’ve read my share of books on the subject of Bodybuilding and Vince Gironda’s book the “Wild Physique” is one of the best (if not the best) books I’ve read on the subject. He was indeed a Master Trainer and way ahead of his time. The concepts in this book can still be applied today, not only to Body Building but Sports and Fitness in general. He is to Body Building what Bruce Lee is to Martial Arts … Legend has it that Bruce Lee studied Vince’s training principles. Vince Gironda was a visionary and one of a kind. If you what to learn from a Master, get this book.
4 Stars As Expected
This book was as expected although a little expenseive at the price ($30.00?). I, like one or two other reviewers, was puzzled by the number of pictures of quite obviously steroidal athletes, considering how anti-drug Vince was in his views. That said, he tells it to you straight, and years before anyone subscribed to higher fat, and high protein diets, Vince was out there advocating the consumption of whole eggs, cream and other saturated fats to gain lean muscle mass. He also leaves nothing to chance on the range and number of exercises listed, most of which I wouldn’t use, but that’s just a personal preference. Not quite worth the money, but Vince had interesting views and was years ahead of his time.
5 Stars Good Old Style Muscle Building
For anyone who is familiar with Vince Gironda, this book is a must have. If you are a body builder and you have not looked into Vince Gironda you are missing out on a lot of valuable insight into creating muscle. This book not only gives exercises the Gironda way, it shows body building the way it should be done, you against the iron. Gironda trained many of the best including Schwarzenegger. If you think you are tough, try out Gironda’s 8×8 routine, what he called the honest routine (not included in this book).
5 Stars Info not found else where…
Note: there are several versions of this book on amazon at widely varying prices from used book dealers. Buy the cheapest version…they’re all the same. if the title says “unavailable”, then search amazon for another version by another seller…it’s worth the trouble. Now for why i think this book is worth your reading (I only review excellent books…a small percentage of the books i read…why waste more time even talking about something that’s not excellent?)…
Mr. Gironda had some ideas that were ahead of his time and a few places where i think he may have been incorrect. Here’s the part you should study…
1. Go for symmetry instead of bulk. Unless you’re into a professional sport or occupation that requires great stregth (example…have friend who’s the first ATF agent through the door when making bust on crack house…he needs to be capable of brutality)..unless you need to be huge…extra weight can require more time in sleep and eating and slow you down. You can look plain fat in your clothes and most women are more attracted to the lean tarzan sort of look.
Don’t believe me? Get a copy of Men’s health and a copy of muscle and fitness…now ask the women you know which group of men (out of which magazine) would they want to choose their next vacation partner.
So if huge muscles make you more sleepy, less likely to get laid, less healthy, and require more time to maintain…I’d say a more lean tarzan look just works better all around.
Vince teaches this strategy (tarzan over hulk) and gives practical suggestions for pulling it off.
A let down was the fact that most of the photos in his book show people hulked out on steroids (not consistent with his philosophy). But if you look at photos of the author himself…he lived what he preached. In the photos in his clothes, he looks lean and not huge. With his clothes off he looks strong but not too bulky and the symmetry and vascualrity give him the “wild [and healthy] physique” of a Tarzan.
2. A few more extras…he gives a leaning up diet that is basically Atkins made better with it’s suggestion of a high carb meal every 3 to 5 days to reload the muscles with glycogen and avoid weakness. When i do this diet, i make friday and monday carb days and stay with raw eggs (mix 6 in blender with scoop of whey and a tablespoon of diet jello and handful of ice), sushi or steak for supper, occasional atkins bar, and a teaspoon of metamucil per day (to avoid the constipation of all meat/egg diet).
I can’t officially reocmmend the raw eggs (ask your own doctor…and don’t have your lawyer even think of calling me if you get a stomach ache), but the way i do it is buy fresh eggs and just keep them cold until i’m ready to eat them. I’ve been eating raw eggs almost daily for about 30 years and never got sick from them (and keep a total cholesterol around 160…but i eat very very few sweets, don’t drink any alcohol at all, and i exercise once almost every day and most days two times a day).
Then on carb loading days i have a salad, fruit, and even some pizza or something crazy to reload.
Anyway, sorry, don’t won’t to write a book just telling you a way to apply his all egg and meat diet (which he wrote way before atkins wrote his book).
3. The other ideas about training after 40 are excellent (i’ll soon be 47 so i’m relating more to these chapters).
***What to ignore…he’s not a fan of aerobic exercise. DEAD WRONG. Weights will not substitute the health benefits of walking. Do both..or do you not think you’re worth it?
***Read more on my website and read my reviews and get healthy (guess what the people you’re taking care of and using as an exuse for not working out…like your family and friends and customers…remember them? Guess what? you’ll take better care of them if you’re healthy).
Buy this book, throw away the sugary poison that’s in your pantry…the stuff that you wouldn’t feed to your dog, and go workout. Vince is right…it’s 85% diet but the diet becomes easier if you’re doing the workouts…it takes both.
Peace & health to you.
5 Stars Inspiring: great addition to BB book collection
I’m not sure if this is the best BB book ever, but I would rank it very highly, partly because it contains information you may not find any other place. BTW, I waited to write this review until I had read the entire book.
Gironda makes it clear that his ideas were criticized in his day. Bodybuilders were laughed at when he first started, but he didn’t let that stop him. His low carb, high protein diets must have seemed really weird back then. However, not so much in the post-Atkins world.
Then again, his recommendation to consume raw eggs and raw meat sounds like an invitation to food poisoning. Also, I am concerned that if I followed his advice to use dessicated liver tablets, I might be consuming too much iron and increasing my risk of heart disease. In fact, he recommends using a ton of supplements, and I’m not sure that this is necessary or that I could afford it.
Although he gives several different diet plans, they are actually for people who are already in good shape. He says he has no patience for fat. To lose fat, he says “eat less”. He expected people coming to his gym to already be in good condition before they came asking for his advice. Of course, if you are out of shape, that doesn’t mean you can’t get something from this book. Just don’t expect it to give you a lot of guidance on weight loss.
Also, don’t expect it to be a book about getting huge. Gironda’s idea of bodybuilding was not about that. He was really into the V shape.
He discourages heavy back squats, becuase he says it can make the gluts and waist too big, thereby detracting from the V shape. He also mentions that a guy with a short neck should not work the traps specifically. He even mentions that some bodybuilders look fat when they have their clothes on, because they have gotten big in the wrong places.
One interesting idea I picked up from this book is the use of hyperventilation. The idea is to take several deep breaths before beginning an exercise to get oxygen circulating so the muscles don’t give out too soon. I found this very useful when doing high rep sets. I was able to get through the set more easily.
I think it is definitely worth following his advice on back development, given that he had one of the widest backs of his day.
Finally, he includes a chapter for bodybuilders over 40, which I particularly appreciated since I just turned 40.
I’m not sure what Kennedy’s contribution was to this book. Probably some editing and choice of pictures. It was originally published under a slightly different title with only Gironda’s name on it.
In Kennedy’s book, Beef It!, he promotes the use of heavy, high rep squats, especially for those with a slow metabolism. Also, he argues against the idea that bodybuilders need a lot more protein than the average person. Instead, he recommends a high carb diet low in sugar, salt, and processed foods. He does not seem to think that a lot of supplements are necessary except maybe just before a contest.
Anyway, I don’t know why Kennedy would want his name to be used on a book which clearly disagrees with his own ideas, so I suppose it had to be more of a business deal rather than a true collaboration. Of course, Kennedy is a self-described hardgainer, so I don’t think he ever had the kind of personal bodybuilding success that Gironda did. He is, however, a very successful publisher and author.
I’m generally not all that impressed by pictures. There are books out there with great pictures and little information. However, for such a slim book, the author has included a wealth of information. And since the book is not so huge, there is no excuse not to read it all.
This is definitely a classic, and I’m surprised that it went out of print. I think it is one of the few bodybuilding books written about this time which has appreciated in value. I think that it will continue to do so as it becomes more rare, so get your copy sooner than later.
Filed under: Bodybuilding Book Reviews
