John Grimek Inspired Routine

Alright everyone here's the deal. If you don't know who John Grimek look him up. He may not be as famous as some of the guys from back in the day like Reg Park and Steve Reeves but it he was right there with them in the same class of lifter. Not only did this guy have a good physique but he also had MASSIVE strength. At one point he was probably the strongest bodybuilder around. And the dude knew how to train like a boss. He stuck to the basics and focused on progression. Meaning he mainly only performed bench, squat, deadlift, clean and jerk, snatch, dumbbells, and barbell rows. This was long before Planet Fitness, so he was actually allowed to do this stuff.

Since no one really knows what his routine actually looked like. A while back I took the time to make up a routine that I thought would be similar to something he might have done back in the day. Now this routine does involve olympic lifts so please use caution; let your ego take a hit, if you must, and use lighter weight in order to save yourself from injury. Sure it's cool that you've got all the weight on there, but you won't be looking too cool sitting in a hospital bed with a broken neck.

This routine is considered an A/B Split. Meaning that your weekly layout can be done one of two ways. The first is pretty basic, just like any other Full Body Routine you would train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, alternating Workouts A and B. The alternative is to perform Workout A on Monday and Workout B on Thursday. This is best for people that are crunched on time during the week.

This can be considered a beginner routine but PLEASE do be careful with those olympic lifts. You must use good form. And the best way to get good form is to practice, practice, practice.

Workout A
Squat 3x3-5
Bench 3x3-5
Deadlift 3x3-5

Workout B
Snatch 3x3-5
Powerclean 3x3-5
Barbell Rows 3x6-8
Seated Dumbbell Press 3x6-8

*Add in isolation work and ab work if you have the time.