John Balik, Total Muscularity: SuperStar Nutrition (Santa Monica, 1979) - Physical Culture Study

John Balik, Total Muscularity: SuperStar Nutrition (Santa Monica, 1979) – Physical Culture Study 4/21/19, 9(23 AM
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PHYSICAL
CULTURE
STUDY
The Study of all Things
Fitness
NU TR I T IO N , R ES OURC ES By CONO R H EF FE R N AN / A P R IL 1 0, 2 0 1 9 @ 2 : 37 PM
JOHN BALIK, TOTAL MUSCULARITY:

SUPERSTAR NUTRITION (SANTA
MONICA, 1979)
https://physicalculturestudy.com/2019/04/10/john-balik-total-muscularity-superstar-nutrition-santa-monica-1979-2/ Page 1 of 11
Describing himself as Arnold’s Seminar Nutritionist, Balik opened his short pamphlet on
gaining muscle with the often forgotten law that ‘nothing beats persistence.’ Produced
alongside a pamphlet on gaining muscle, which we’ll be discussing in a future post,
Balik’s Total Muscularity represents a great insight into the training philosophy of 1970s
Muscle Beach bodybuilding. Sparing myself the task of typing out his pamphlet word for
word, which I suspect would infringe on some form of copyright law, I decided that a
brief synopsis of the book would suHce. At the very least it would pander to our ever
decreasing attention spans.
So in today’s post we’re going to look at Balik’s theories on individual body types, the type
of diet he recommended and also what we can learn from it nearly forty years after its
publication.
1. Know Thyself
Though ‘type training’ as George Walsh termed it in the early twentieth-century has
begun to fall out of vogue in the current training climate, it is important to note that Balik
proved a Lrm believer in individual responses to training and diet systems. This he
believed was especially important in the case of weight loss which for bodybuilders
meant reducing body fat while maintaining lean muscle tissue. Thus, Balik asks readers
to reMect on whether they possess an Endomorph, Mesomorph or Ectomorph physique.
For those new to this concept it can generally be summed up as follows
Endomorph
Endomorph: Naturally large with a tendency to store body fat. Can gain muscle
relatively easy but has a diHcult time becoming lean/losing weight.

Mesomorph
Mesomorph: Characterised as athletic, naturally lean and capable of gaining muscle.
May possess a high metabolism and in some cases can be eating junk food while
maintaining a year-round six pack (okay that last part is bitterness on my part!).
Ectomorph
Ectomorph: Naturally slim and may be relatively lean. Has no diHcultly maintaining
slight physique but often experiences trouble gaining muscle mass.
Importantly Balik did not view these bodytypes as permanent states that neatly divided
all of humanity into three neat boxes, as is so often the case online. No, Balik presented
these body types as rough descriptions of individuals, noting that there individuals are
often a mixture of these body types or possess their attributes in varying degrees. The
most crucial element was knowing what your body responded best to, a point made on
page 3:
WHILE DAVE DRAPER IS NOT AN EXTREME ENDOMORPH, IT DID TAKE HIM

OVER TWO YEARS OF FOLLOWING A MUSCULARITY TYPE NUTRITION
PROGRAM TO BREAK THE BONDS OF HIS “BABY FAT” TYPE AND EMERGE AS
THE MR. UNIVERSE THAT HE IS. THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO RECOGNISE
YOUR TYPE AND WORK WITH IT. IF DAVE DRAPER WOULD NOT HAVE HAD THE
INTELLIGENCE TO RECOGNISE HIS PROBLEM, MUSCULARITY, AND CONTINUED
TO TRAIN JUST FOR SIZE, HE WOULD NOT HAVE REACHED HIS MR. UNIVERSE
GOAL.
IF THIS TYPE IS TO SUCCESSFULLY REACH HIS BODYBUILDING GOALS HE

MUST TOTALLY REVAMP HIS ATTITUDE ABOUT FOOD…
As a former fat boy the last comment cut a little deep. In any case endomorphs were
encouraged to follow a three stage ketogenic diet. Stage one represented a simple but
nevertheless simple menu
Breakfast
Eggs – as many as you like poached preferably but soft boiled or fried is
acceptable, or meat, Lsh or fowl broiled 1/2 lb.
Coffee, tea or water
Lunch
One-half pound of meat, Lsh or fowl. No sausage or processed meats (too much
carbohydrate Lller and sodium based chemicals – water retention etc.)
Salad – lettuce, celery, radishes, and cucumbers one cup total with a dressing of oil
and vinegar
Coffee, Tea or water
Dinner
Same as lunch
Depending on individual reactions to the diet, Balik next recommended calcium and
magnesium supplements to deal with cramps and nervous energies. Similarly he
suggested using sodium and potassium if individuals struggled to get through their
workouts.
Stage two encouraged individuals to add just Lve grams of carbohydrates to the diet in
the form of leafy greens such as cucumber, spinach, parsley, avocado etc. Stage three
allowed another Lve to eight grams carbohydrates from the same sources while the Lnal
stage allowed another addition of carbohydrates to bring the total daily Lgure to 25-30
grams a day.
Stage four also had the beneLt of one protein drink a day consisting of three raw eggs
and one level tablespoon of lecithin granules taken en lieu of a meal. For those wishing to
remain on the programme in the long term, Stage Lve allowed 30 to 40 grams of
carbohydrate a day although Balik noted that few used this strategy.
Mesomorphic Program
For Mesomorphs, Balik recommended a largely similar eating plan with the modiLcation
that mesomorphs could generally handle between 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates a
day.
Interestingly, in a piece of advice I hadn’t seen before, he encouraged mesomorphs to

hold their muscular bodyweight for a period of at least four weeks before contest time.
Ectomorphic Program
This one was the hardest read for me. Balik told those with a naturally athletic body to
simply cut back on their food quantities as this was often times all that was needed.
Some people have all the luck.
Evaluating Total Muscularity
For current readers, Balik’s program may appear toned back in an age were counting
calories and measuring foods to the closest milligram is the norm. But for ease and
effectiveness, Balik’s diet appears to represent that used by the majority of bodybuilders
during the Golden Age.
During my last contest prep I used a system largely similar to Balik’s to great effect, only
switching to calorie counting in the Lnal weeks as I sought a level of leanness unsuited
to Balik’s time. If you’re a former fat boy like me and seeking to lose weight, Balik’s
approach was relatively stress free and saved me developing a food neurosis until the
closing weeks of my pre-contest diet.
Now for those of you seeking to gain weight stay tuned, as in future weeks we’ll be
reviewing Balik’s sister work You Can’t Flex Fat. Aside from having my favourite title of all
time, the work breaks down the foundations of building biceps and not your belly.
As always… Happy lifting!
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Conor He!ernan ALL PO S TS
Conor is currently researching Ireland's physical culture movement as a PhD student at

University College Dublin. When not in the library or the gym, he likes to try his hand at
writing....with mixed results.
# Physical Culture Study
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John Balik, Total Muscularity: SuperStar Nutrition (Santa Monica, 1979) – Physical Culture Study 4/21/19, 9(23 AM

JOHN BALIK, TOTAL MUSCULARITY:

decreasing attention spans.

For those new to this concept it can generally be summed up as follows

relatively easy but has a diHcult time becoming lean/losing weight.

WHILE DAVE DRAPER IS NOT AN EXTREME ENDOMORPH, IT DID TAKE HIM

IF THIS TYPE IS TO SUCCESSFULLY REACH HIS BODYBUILDING GOALS HE

Interestingly, in a piece of advice I hadn’t seen before, he encouraged mesomorphs to

Some people have all the luck.

Evaluating Total Muscularity

As always… Happy lifting!

REPORT THIS AD REPORT THIS AD

# BO DY BUILDING # BO DY BUILDING DIE TS # CO NTE ST # CUT TING #DIET # E XE R CI SE #JOHN

BALIK # NUTR ITION # O L D BO DY BUI L D I N G D I E TS # O L D SCH O O L # P R E - C O NT E ST D I E T # TOTAL

M USCUL ARIT Y # WE IGHT LO SS

14 bloggers like this.

Conor He!ernan ALL PO S TS

Conor is currently researching Ireland's physical culture movement as a PhD student at

# Physical Culture Study

Guest Post: A Short History Guest Post: The History of

Muscularity: SuperStar IN "NUTRITION"

Nutrition (Santa Monica,

i There are no comments A D D Y O UR S

Enter your comment here...

Bodybuilders Who Passed Away Too Young

Frank Zane's Growth Program

Forgotten Exercises: The Hindu Squat

The Ideal Workout by Arthur Jones

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