This article is based on old bodybuilding magazines. Vince Gironda used to hold seminars through the world.
Robert Kennedy (publisher of Muscle Mag Magazine) was a big fan of Vince. He visited and taped the seminar. He put Vince’s speech into the magazine. None of the Muscle Mag articles were ghost written or made up. It was pure truth. Here are some cool quotes and wisdoms of Vince Gironda! Have fun!
| Guide |
| (1) Best bodybuilding nutrition sources by Vince Gironda |
| (2) Vince Gironda’s comments on supplements and nutrition |
| (3) Detoxifying diet for movie stars |
| (4) Diet plan for muscle growth |
| (5) Mr. Universe Diet Plan: High Fat (Steak and Egg diet) |
| (6) Diet Plan For Six-pack |
| (7) Vince Secret Supplement for Pump |
Gironda used to say that bodybuilding was 80% nutrition, and although this is scoffed at by many! The list of people who have inspired and been inspired by Vince is very long.
It includes: Cher, David, Bobby and Keith Carradine, Tommy Chong, Brad Davis, Clint Eastwood, Lou Ferrigno, William Holden, James Garner, Brian Keith, Jack LaLanne, Michael Landon, Burt Reynolds, David Lee Roth, Richard Roundtree, Kurt Russell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, O.J. Simpson, Carl Weathers, and Denzel Washington, among others.
Mr. America
Ray Routledge, Mr. America: “Vince Gironda possesses a broad knowledge of nutrition. He has helped me with diet plans for a number of years and deserved considerable credit for the success I have achieved in bodybuilding. Without his advice I would not be Mr. America today.”
| Protein | meats, eggs, milk, fish, cheese, protein powders, fowl, amino acids |
| Minerals | mineral tablets, kelp |
| Vitamin | A,B,C,E,F |
| Digestive supports | H.C.L. Enzyme tabs, fats and oils |
| Metabolic Stimulators | Kelp, fats and oils, minerals |
| Milk | Milk has too much carbohydrate in it. Only a handful of men like Larry Scott can take milk without getting fat. Most of us are going to get FAT on milk. |
| Eggs | Bodybuilding nutrition today is procuring male hormone! Well I can procure male hormone as good as any steroid pill with the used of raw eggs.
Eggs are the number one food and the number one protein! It’s a perfect protein and all units of protein are taken from the egg. Eggs have to be ingested every three hours because the bloodstream only holds protein for three hours. We should feed ourselves like Babies! They feed babied every three hours, because babies get hungry when their blood sugar drops. |
| How much protein | 45 grams of protein should do fine for a nonphysical type of individual, but this number is flexible depending on body type, sex, personality type, age and height. Hard working bodybuilders certainly can handle more units of protein than a sedentary office worker. Forty-five grams of protein should do fine for a non-physical type of individual, but this number is flexible depending on body type, sex, personality type, age and height. Do not mix Protein and Carbohydrates |
| Amino Acids | Keeping the aminos high in your blood! Working out lowers blood sugar! The body shuts down insulin production! Insulin production pushed aminos into the cell. Muscle growth can only occur after the workout when over tonus subsides. Or, use the old trick the boys used who were training at my gym in the sixties – go out and eat protein! |
| Vitamin B | Vince is against too much Vitamin ‘B’. He has kinda eliminated it from his reducing diets because he finds it holds water in the tissues so you should be careful if you’re trying to cut up. |
| Vitamin C | Vitamin C is a natural diuretic. For definition you can get a lot of water out of your tissue by using 1500 mg of C a day, and you can use as little as 500 mg. |
| Vitamin E | Without wheat germ capsules to back them up are absoulety worthless. |
| Liver tablets | Liver tablets literally melt fat off you and of course it keeps your blood sugar level high. Vince get his liver tablets from Argentina because it’s against the law to shoot hormones into animals down there.
Between meals (every three hours) 6 liver Tablets. Vince: “As I have said before, a muscle continually exercises until it is depleted of sugar (fuel) tends to store more when it refuels at the next meal. This is why I recommend aminos and liver tabs every three hours.“ |
| Steroids | Vince: “Steroids are a ‘cop out’! These are for people who don’t know how to workout and are too lazy to find out.” |
| Minerals | They are necessary to precurse hormones and you should start taking liver tablets every three hours. Ten of them. |
| Carbohydrate | Vince: “I believe that every three to five days you need to get a “carbohydrate loading meal” into your body. I’m the one that started the carbohydrate loading principle that’s being used by the athletes today although I never got much credit for it! Contrary to popular belief I don’t think that carbohydrate will make you fat if you know how to use it properly. I feel that carbohydrates are necessary every third or fifth day in order to get the glycogen back in your liver.”
“Carbohydrate withdrawal, or converting your energy needs over to fats, protein and calcium will prove to be the most difficult part of establishing a new dietary regimen. This is followed by shrinking the stomach and not relying on false and injurious blood sugar level pickups, such as coffee, tea, carbonated sweet drinks, candy bars, cookies, cakes, pies and donuts; also milk and protein drinks with fruit. Carbohydrates and sugars build fat, never muscle tissue. Muscle is built and repaired on protein energy deived from fats. Fats also step up metabolism rate and aid in protein assimilation.” |
| Fish and water diet | Give you real medical problems within 3 days. You lose weight on it alright but it’s definitely not a healthy way to go. |
| Veal and lamb | They are very high in ‘Pituitory hormones’ because they’re young growing animals and they don’t shoot them with steroids |
| Adrenals | Are great blood builders. But you should be careful with adrenals because they’re very potent. I think you should go off them two days of the week. |
| Chicken | Vince gets sick if he eats chicken because there are so many pesticides and steroids injected into chickens down in California. |
| Kelp | Fat burners of course mean KELP, the old standby. They stimulate your thyroid. You can stimulate your thyroid with 30 kelp tablets a day! Remember though kelp only helps, and it won’t do much for you if you continue eating too much carbohydrate. |
| Zinc | We have to take hormone precursing supplements and the number one hormone precursor is Zinc! That’s the master catalyst. |
| Paba | Next comes PABA which should be taken in conjunction with Zinc. |
| Bull Testicles | I also recommend tissue or BULL TESTICLES! It’s one of the oldest known rejuvenators there is. |
| Dessicated Liver | Dessicated Liver; liver has 80% absorbable protein, keeps protein in the blood for peak energy performance and muscle building action and it is one of the best detoxifiers and blood builders. |
| Digestive Enzymes | Are useful while on Vince’s bulk course to facilitate the breakdowns of protein and helping the digestion of fats and carbs for energy production. |
| B-Complex Nucleic Acid B-C | Used in some cases for those having trouble utilizing iron. Is high in B-12 for growth and contains Niacinamide and Biotin also.
Creates the ability to reproduce high amounts of red cells for muscle growth and defintion without strength loss. |
| Vio-Gamic B-15 Pangamate Acid-Calcium | Aids the oxygenation of red blood cells for excellent energy |
| Chelated Minerals | Great to spark intermuscular growth |
| Orchic (glandular substance) | 150 mg. of tissue from bull’s testes. Organic male hormone that fosters youth, revitalization and strength. Natural steroids due to pure testosterone. |
| Nucleo Glan | A multiple glandular with RNA. An incredible organic meat source, rich in proteins and natural amino acids. Increases stamina and strength. |
| Germ Oil | They are good although they’re not as refined as wheat germ oil. |
(3) Detoxifying diet for movie stars
He has a detoxifying diet he puts everybody on for the first three to five days. It consits of a 15 vegetable and raw green salad with vinegar and oil-herb dressing.
He found that the quickest way to get weight off people such as these movie stars is to put them on this protein free diet for a few days. Plus it acts as an intestinal broom getting rid of muscles in the intestinal tract.
The intestines are lined with mucus due to injudicious eating over the greater part of your life. This diet is the best way to clean out.
The same goes when you’re in a rut. Most people think you should work harder when in fact you should CLEAN OUT! So your body can start reabsorbing nutrients again.
Jim Morris came to him two weeks before the Mr. America contest in a state of shock. He just couldn’t get cut! Vince Gironda knew Jim Morris was a big supplements user so he had him to cut his supplements out. He told him to cut his workouts down to one third because overworking just produces overtones.
Two weeks later he came back, shook Vince’s hand and handed him a picture of himself as the new Mr. America!
Moderation
A believer of moderation in all things, Vince is annoyed at hose bodybuilder who force themselves to eat and drink to extreme in their desire to pack on body weight fast.Such a program will end up in a disaster if continued indiscriminately. A more sensible diet will bring sure and safe gains.
(4) Diet plan for muscle growth
The following diet as recommended by Vince Gironda and used on some of his people in his gym, is not be used as a permanent type diet, but only for a short period of time for special purposes of stimulating added muscle growth.
| Breakfast |
| 12 oz. Half and Half (Half whole milk, half heavy cream) |
| 2 eggs |
| 1 Tablespoon Milk & Egg Protein |
| 1 oz. Amino Acids (mixed in blender) |
| Supplements to be used with his drinks |
| 3-4 Hydrochloric Acid Tablet |
| 3-4 Enzyme Tablets |
| 1 R.N.A. Tablet |
| 1 Organic Iron Tablet |
| 3 Tri-Germ Oil Capsules |
Note: Between meals (every three hours) 6 liver Tablets.
Vince: “A muscle continually exercises until it is depleted of sugar (fuel) tends to store more when it refuels at the next meal. This is why I recommend aminos and liver tabs every three hours.”
| Lunch |
| Hamburger patty and Cottage Cheese |
| Supplements: |
| Same as Breakfast except for Iron and R.N.A. |
| 3 o’clock snack |
| Natural (Not processed cheese) |
| oz. Amino Acids |
| Dinner |
| Steak or Hamburger (up to 1lb.) |
| Cottage Cheese |
| Spplements: Same as other two meals except iron |
| Before retiring |
| Protein drink |
Try this special growth diet and you will make gains you wouldn’t have believed possible. The champions that have trained (Arnold, Scott, Routledge) at Vince’s Gym sure like it.
(5) Mr. Universe Diet Plan: High Fat (Steak and Egg diet)
Vince Gironda lived on a fat diet when he was training for the Mr. Universe contest and he didn’t publicise it because he didn’t think it would be accepted at that time. Later he had the courage to bring it out and of course that diet was the EGG DIET.
Incidentally a man called Stephenson lived with the Eskimos for 18 years in the Artic and when he tested at hospital he had a perfect cholesterol count. Vince maintained that guys who are training at the gym and taking anywhere between one and three dozen eggs a day have lower cholesterol count. Because fats are lipotrophics.
Vince: “Fats dissolve fats! They break down fat. Nutrition is the answer. Use my cholesterol high hormone precursing activity of eggs and you will grow as fast as you ever would on steroids, and it’s lasting. These steroid boys lose their bodies when they get off the stuff”:
| Breakfast | Supplements and 6 fertile eggs in 3 ounces of 1/2 and 1/2 cream. Beaten with a fork (Do not use blender). You can use up to 3 dozen eggs a day |
| Lunch | Same as breakfast, with supplements |
| Dinner | 1lb Steak and Supplements. Every 3 hours take 3 Amino Acid tablets and 3 Argentine Beef Liver Tablets (Defatted) |
Note: Do not eat tuna, yogurt, peanuts or protein powders mixed with milk.
Vince Gironda believed that you should enjoy your evening meal at night. Most of the people who write books on nutrition treat people like they were computers. They are logical but they forget many of the needs of man. Remember man has been eating at the end of the day as reward of millions of years.
This is a High Fat Diet and you do not need carbohydrates. No other meal combination produces the feeling of strength and energy.
The process of chopping up the meat destroys enzymes, due to oxidation and other nutrients known and unknown. Beef and eggs sustain blood sugar levels for 6 hours making lunch unecessary.
Three quarters lb of steak and 3 – 4 eggs supply 103 grams of 1st class protein fast, and is easy to digest.Vince achieved the best shape of his career on this diet. He used this diet for nine months, taking no supplements and with no adverse effects.
After nine months of Defintion Contest Training he found that he was growing.
“Do not mix Protein and Carbohydrates”
Protein and carbohydrate are not compatible. They both digest in a different medium (acid and alkaline), so neither one digests completely and as a result whichever food is in predominance on the stomach is the one that takes precedence, and if it’s protein, the carbohydrate ferments and produces toxic material and gas as the carbohydrate digests and the meat putrifies and causes a similiar disturbance.
This is the reason Vince Gironda advised a spaghetti dinner (with tomato sauce only) every 72 hours on his maximum Definition Diet.
According to Vince Gironda 200-300 grams of protein is excessive. This much protein will achieve negative nitrogren balance and positive nitrogen balance is the secret of the anabloic state (growing state).This much protein will lead to uric acid retention, rheumatic aches and pains, kidney problem and liver malfunction.
Vince Gironda: “I feel protein is an individual thing, depending on your age and amount of work performed. Hard working bodybuilders certainly can handle more units of protein than a sedentary office worker. 45 grams of protein should do fine for a nonphysical type of individual, but this number is flexible depending on body type, sex, personality type, age and height.”
(6) Diet Plan For Six-pack
The perfect AB exercise is Crunch exercise!
Vince Gironda: “All the situps in the world aren’t going to reduce stomach if you are going to keep eating Junk Food! You have got speed up your metabolic rate. You can only lose weight metabolically. You can use things like kelp that stimulate the thyroid and vitamin C that draws water out of the tissues.If you want abs you work them like any other muscle in the body and you can get them in six weeks.
(7) Pump
Vince Gironda: “When I was training Don Howorth (1967 Mr. America) we added ‘B’ Vitamins to his liver tablets and he reported a better pump during his workouts. Then we added iron to his liver tablets and he got even better pumps.”
Vince is against too much Vitamin ‘B’. He has kinda eliminated it from his reducing diets because he finds it holds water in the tissues so you should be careful if you’re trying to cut up.
When Vince says, “45 grams of protein should do fine for a nonphysical type of individual, but this number is flexible depending on body type, sex, personality type, age and height.” Does he mean 45 grams per meal or 45 grams for the entire day?
I have seen articles where he discusses too much protein per meal, capping it off at around 35-40 gms. although his steak/eggs meals can 2-3 X as high as that (depending on quantity of food).
Hello, 45 grams per day for non lifters. It’s from an article entitled Steak and Eggs Diet. The magazine “Vegetarian World” told that Vince Gironda would recommend low protein (45 grams) for everyone.
Vince: “I have been misunderstood. I maintain that bodybuilders eating 200-300 grams of protein is excessive. This much protein will lead to uric acid retention, rheumatic arches (…)
Protein is an individual thing, depending on your age and amount of work performed. Hard working bodybuilders certainly can handle more units of protein than a sedentary office worker.
45 grams of protein should do fine for a non-physical type of individual”
more about vince gironda
https://neckberg.com/history-of-the-hollywood-low-carb-diet/
Way ahead of his time. A genius!.
Why does it have to be pasta with tomato sauce ?