Doug Hepburn was one of the strongest people around before the anabolic steroid wave hit the strength training world.
He was born in 1926 and held records in various presses (including a 500lb bench press). He also had an extremely simple approach to training and was a strong believer in recovery principles to get results.
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Training frequency will fluctuate depending on what’s going on in your life. When stress is low-to-moderate, frequency can go up (up to 6 times per week according to Doug). When stress is higher, frequency needs to be reduced to 2-3 times per week.
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Relax the mind through “mental training.” This highlighted Doug’s focus on a relaxation program to help the recovery process and improve strength. Doug knew that we get stronger after we train, not during.our body doesn’t grow and get stronger while you train, these occur after you train. Having a post-workout shake is only the start of the recovery process.
Doug trained simply, with the big compound movements that were effective for strength development. He recovered well and was patient. He also got exceptionally strong.
In today’s environment, it’s easy to get extremely caught up in complexity and the new shiny approach.
However, whether it’s in our physical practice or otherwise, all we really need to remember is to do the basics well and keep showing up to do the work.
