Post by Tim Wescott on Jun 11, 2004 18:28:18 GMT -5
DOUG IVAN HEPBURN
By Osmo Kiiha
Reprinted with permission of The Iron Master
This outstanding example of rugged physical power was the greatest heavyweight strong man to appear in Canada since the days of Louis Cyr and Horace Barre. Doug Hepburn was born in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, on September 16, 1926. At birth he had two handicaps: a mild clubfoot condition in his right leg and an eye ailment known as "cross-eyed."
As long as he can remember, Doug has always had a very intense desire to be strong. While in school, he participated in softball, hardball, swimming, soccer, bike-riding, high bar, hand balancing, springboard, and various forms of gymnastics.
At the age of sixteen, Doug met Mike Poppell, a bodybuilder whom he had come to admire. Mike helped get Doug started on the road to weight training. Doug spent countless hours on end doing repetition chin-ups, handstand presses, and dips between parallel bars. These undoubtedly had a great deal to do with developing his tremendous pressing power.
At the age of seventeen, Doug underwent an operation that corrected his eye condition. By the end of 1948, he weighed 208 pounds and could do twelve reps in the handstand press and five reps in the tiger-bend. His weight-trained muscles were capable of military presses in excess of 200 pounds.
On Saturday, September 30, 1950, lifting under official conditions, Doug pressed 330, snatched 255, and clean and jerked 317-1/2. He attempted but failed twice to clean 340. The 330-pound press was weighed out to 327-1/2 pounds, which was a new Canadian and British Empire record.
Doug has always been comparatively weak on the clean, mainly due to his club foot condition. Many operations were made to correct the condition. In the last of three operations, several bones in his right ankle were fused together. Thus, cleans and other fats that required a forward lean of the body or an exceptional amount of support from the tibia are rather restricted due to a lack of flexibility in this area. Surprisingly, his squats were not affected by this condition.
During a public exhibition in Vancouver on November 19, 1950, Doug cleaned and pressed 341 pounds (which was weighed out on scales). He also bench pressed 400 pounds and did a full squat with 550 pounds. Previous to this exhibition, Doug had written a letter to the Weider Barbell Company. It was received around the latter part of October 1950, in which he listed his strength feats and complained that no one believed him. Joe Weider gave Charlie Smith, an employee, the responsibility of checking this out. Shortly thereafter an invitation was extended to Doug by Joe Weider to come to New York for a visit.
It has also been one of Doug's dreams to visit York, Pennsylvania, "famous strength and health center of the world." Thanks to his uncle, George Town, who generously financed him, Doug's dream came true. Doug left by rail for New York on December 16, 1950, on the "Pacemaker," famous cross-country train, and arrived at Grand Central Station on December 19. Joe Weider had given the job of picking Doug up at the station to Charlie Smith. Charlie recalls his impression of Doug Hepburn when he saw him for the first time, among the last of the passengers coming through the gate: "So broad was he, so massive, so striking in appearance, that everyone around stopped, stood, and stared. His very carriage spelled POWER."
That same night at Val Pasqua's gym, before Val, Charlie Smith, and about 30 other witnesses, Doug performed the following: curl, 200; side press, 200; pressed from rack, 365; push press, 385. Doug Hepburn was for real. Less than a week later at Abe Goldberg's gym, for the benefit of Abe, Smith, Marvin Eder, Joe Weider, famous golfer Frank Stranahan, and a few others, Doug succeeded in doing a push press with 405, bench press with 410, and full squat with 550 pounds.
Doug spent the holidays in New York City, making new, lifelong friends.
Hepburn's next stop was York, Pennsylvania. He arrived there on Saturday, January 6, 1951. During his stay in York, Doug performed many feats of strength (most of which were witnessed by Bob Hoffman, Ray Van Cleef, John Grimek, Steve Stanko, Jules Bacon, and others), such as a press of 345, a push press with 400, and a right-hand military press with 155. Doug also succeeded in lifting the famous 235-pound thick-handled Cyr dumbbell off the ground with his right hand.
Doug left the York gang on January 14, 1951, for his long journey back home.
Doug Hepburn had built himself to world championship standards but remained largely unknown until Charles A. Smith, the prolific weight lifting writer for Weider mags, took a hand in the proceedings. Doug recognized Charlie as his coach in the years prior to winning the World Championships and acknowledged the part Smith had played in assisting him.
During the months of March and April 1951, Doug performed some superhuman feats while training: a push press with 410, six reps in the bench press with 380, a limit bench press of 430 (touch and go), and a 410 bench with a three-second pause. Doug also accomplished a press behind neck with 305, a right-hand military press of 165, and a one-hand snatch with 180. He crucifixed a pair of 85-pound dumbbells for three seconds. In addition, Doug also performed 16 full squats with 460, eight full squats with 500, and one full squat with 560 pounds. On April 6, 1951, Doug performed a tremendous press (taken off the squat rack) with 370 pounds. This was witnessed by the famous Clarence Ross, 1945 Mr. America.
Early Training Programs
In his early career, Doug devoted himself exclusively to bodybuilding, even entering a physique contest. It wasn't until the beginning of 1949 that he began to incorporate heavy squatting into his program. A year later, he realized that he was better suited to weightlifting than to bodybuilding. He began to specialize in the three Olympic lifts, although most of is efforts were steered toward the Olympic press.
The emphasis of most of his training during the early 1950s was on the powerlifts such as curls, presses, squats, and deadlifts. Doug favored reps in the 3 to 6 range. He trained four to five times a week, spending 40 minutes or so with each workout. If he trained only three times a week, he worked out from 1-1/2 to 2 hours, with very little resting between exercises. Sometimes on occasion he devoted entire workouts to one or two exercises such as curls and presses, or bench presses and squats, or other combinations.
Doug made a very interesting statement that summed up his way of training: "If a man's temperament is suited to it, I believe he will make better progress in weightlifting by training for strength primarily and style secondary than if he puts great emphasis on learning form."
Training for the 1953 World Championships
Let's follow how Doug trained for the 1953 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden: He worked out three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Monday
Cleans 280 - 2 reps
300 - 2 reps
320 - 8x2 reps
The first clean was made from the floor and second from the hang.
Bench press - regular grip
350 - 5 reps
400 - 2 reps
450 - 5x2 reps
Full squat 475 - 5 reps
520 - 3 reps
550 - 5x3 reps
Wednesday
Snatch 200 - for several reps
240- 2 reps
260 - 8x2 reps
First from floor, second from hang.
Bench press - same as Monday
Squat - same as Monday.
Friday: Entire workout same as Monday.
It was interesting to note that he relied on bench pressing to keep up his pressing power for the Olympic press. His official lifts at the World Championships, which he won, were 371-1/4 press, 297-1/2 snatch, and 363-3/4 clean and jerk.
Training for the British Empire Games - Vancouver, B.C., 1954
Prior to the British Empire Games that he won in 1954 (with 370 - 300 - 370 for a total of 1040), Doug placed great emphasis on heavy pulls to waist height. In the pulls, he strapped his hands to the bar and worked up to the point of pulling 520 pounds waist high for a single effort. During one of these training sessions Doug also worked up to a 320-pound squat snatch.
His squat style was very erratic. During one training session Doug pulled 405 pounds in the clean so high that it came down with such force, it knocked him on his back. At the time, he weighed 285 pounds. It would have made a nice clean and press had he held it.
He changed his style of lifting from the squat to the split style for the British Empire Games. His performance was very smooth and polished, completing all nine attempts.
By Osmo Kiiha
Reprinted with permission of The Iron Master
This outstanding example of rugged physical power was the greatest heavyweight strong man to appear in Canada since the days of Louis Cyr and Horace Barre. Doug Hepburn was born in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, on September 16, 1926. At birth he had two handicaps: a mild clubfoot condition in his right leg and an eye ailment known as "cross-eyed."
As long as he can remember, Doug has always had a very intense desire to be strong. While in school, he participated in softball, hardball, swimming, soccer, bike-riding, high bar, hand balancing, springboard, and various forms of gymnastics.
At the age of sixteen, Doug met Mike Poppell, a bodybuilder whom he had come to admire. Mike helped get Doug started on the road to weight training. Doug spent countless hours on end doing repetition chin-ups, handstand presses, and dips between parallel bars. These undoubtedly had a great deal to do with developing his tremendous pressing power.
At the age of seventeen, Doug underwent an operation that corrected his eye condition. By the end of 1948, he weighed 208 pounds and could do twelve reps in the handstand press and five reps in the tiger-bend. His weight-trained muscles were capable of military presses in excess of 200 pounds.
On Saturday, September 30, 1950, lifting under official conditions, Doug pressed 330, snatched 255, and clean and jerked 317-1/2. He attempted but failed twice to clean 340. The 330-pound press was weighed out to 327-1/2 pounds, which was a new Canadian and British Empire record.
Doug has always been comparatively weak on the clean, mainly due to his club foot condition. Many operations were made to correct the condition. In the last of three operations, several bones in his right ankle were fused together. Thus, cleans and other fats that required a forward lean of the body or an exceptional amount of support from the tibia are rather restricted due to a lack of flexibility in this area. Surprisingly, his squats were not affected by this condition.
During a public exhibition in Vancouver on November 19, 1950, Doug cleaned and pressed 341 pounds (which was weighed out on scales). He also bench pressed 400 pounds and did a full squat with 550 pounds. Previous to this exhibition, Doug had written a letter to the Weider Barbell Company. It was received around the latter part of October 1950, in which he listed his strength feats and complained that no one believed him. Joe Weider gave Charlie Smith, an employee, the responsibility of checking this out. Shortly thereafter an invitation was extended to Doug by Joe Weider to come to New York for a visit.
It has also been one of Doug's dreams to visit York, Pennsylvania, "famous strength and health center of the world." Thanks to his uncle, George Town, who generously financed him, Doug's dream came true. Doug left by rail for New York on December 16, 1950, on the "Pacemaker," famous cross-country train, and arrived at Grand Central Station on December 19. Joe Weider had given the job of picking Doug up at the station to Charlie Smith. Charlie recalls his impression of Doug Hepburn when he saw him for the first time, among the last of the passengers coming through the gate: "So broad was he, so massive, so striking in appearance, that everyone around stopped, stood, and stared. His very carriage spelled POWER."
That same night at Val Pasqua's gym, before Val, Charlie Smith, and about 30 other witnesses, Doug performed the following: curl, 200; side press, 200; pressed from rack, 365; push press, 385. Doug Hepburn was for real. Less than a week later at Abe Goldberg's gym, for the benefit of Abe, Smith, Marvin Eder, Joe Weider, famous golfer Frank Stranahan, and a few others, Doug succeeded in doing a push press with 405, bench press with 410, and full squat with 550 pounds.
Doug spent the holidays in New York City, making new, lifelong friends.
Hepburn's next stop was York, Pennsylvania. He arrived there on Saturday, January 6, 1951. During his stay in York, Doug performed many feats of strength (most of which were witnessed by Bob Hoffman, Ray Van Cleef, John Grimek, Steve Stanko, Jules Bacon, and others), such as a press of 345, a push press with 400, and a right-hand military press with 155. Doug also succeeded in lifting the famous 235-pound thick-handled Cyr dumbbell off the ground with his right hand.
Doug left the York gang on January 14, 1951, for his long journey back home.
Doug Hepburn had built himself to world championship standards but remained largely unknown until Charles A. Smith, the prolific weight lifting writer for Weider mags, took a hand in the proceedings. Doug recognized Charlie as his coach in the years prior to winning the World Championships and acknowledged the part Smith had played in assisting him.
During the months of March and April 1951, Doug performed some superhuman feats while training: a push press with 410, six reps in the bench press with 380, a limit bench press of 430 (touch and go), and a 410 bench with a three-second pause. Doug also accomplished a press behind neck with 305, a right-hand military press of 165, and a one-hand snatch with 180. He crucifixed a pair of 85-pound dumbbells for three seconds. In addition, Doug also performed 16 full squats with 460, eight full squats with 500, and one full squat with 560 pounds. On April 6, 1951, Doug performed a tremendous press (taken off the squat rack) with 370 pounds. This was witnessed by the famous Clarence Ross, 1945 Mr. America.
Early Training Programs
In his early career, Doug devoted himself exclusively to bodybuilding, even entering a physique contest. It wasn't until the beginning of 1949 that he began to incorporate heavy squatting into his program. A year later, he realized that he was better suited to weightlifting than to bodybuilding. He began to specialize in the three Olympic lifts, although most of is efforts were steered toward the Olympic press.
The emphasis of most of his training during the early 1950s was on the powerlifts such as curls, presses, squats, and deadlifts. Doug favored reps in the 3 to 6 range. He trained four to five times a week, spending 40 minutes or so with each workout. If he trained only three times a week, he worked out from 1-1/2 to 2 hours, with very little resting between exercises. Sometimes on occasion he devoted entire workouts to one or two exercises such as curls and presses, or bench presses and squats, or other combinations.
Doug made a very interesting statement that summed up his way of training: "If a man's temperament is suited to it, I believe he will make better progress in weightlifting by training for strength primarily and style secondary than if he puts great emphasis on learning form."
Training for the 1953 World Championships
Let's follow how Doug trained for the 1953 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden: He worked out three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Monday
Cleans 280 - 2 reps
300 - 2 reps
320 - 8x2 reps
The first clean was made from the floor and second from the hang.
Bench press - regular grip
350 - 5 reps
400 - 2 reps
450 - 5x2 reps
Full squat 475 - 5 reps
520 - 3 reps
550 - 5x3 reps
Wednesday
Snatch 200 - for several reps
240- 2 reps
260 - 8x2 reps
First from floor, second from hang.
Bench press - same as Monday
Squat - same as Monday.
Friday: Entire workout same as Monday.
It was interesting to note that he relied on bench pressing to keep up his pressing power for the Olympic press. His official lifts at the World Championships, which he won, were 371-1/4 press, 297-1/2 snatch, and 363-3/4 clean and jerk.
Training for the British Empire Games - Vancouver, B.C., 1954
Prior to the British Empire Games that he won in 1954 (with 370 - 300 - 370 for a total of 1040), Doug placed great emphasis on heavy pulls to waist height. In the pulls, he strapped his hands to the bar and worked up to the point of pulling 520 pounds waist high for a single effort. During one of these training sessions Doug also worked up to a 320-pound squat snatch.
His squat style was very erratic. During one training session Doug pulled 405 pounds in the clean so high that it came down with such force, it knocked him on his back. At the time, he weighed 285 pounds. It would have made a nice clean and press had he held it.
He changed his style of lifting from the squat to the split style for the British Empire Games. His performance was very smooth and polished, completing all nine attempts.
