American Larry Scott is often called the king of bodybuilders and the legend of bodybuilding. He became the winner of the first Mr. Olympia tournament, and also invented a unique hand pumping technique using the so-called Scott Bench, which can be found in many gyms around the world.
Biography: early years
Larry Scott (Larry Scott) was born on October 12, 1938 in Blackfoot, in the US state of Idaho. His ancestors were from Scotland. Larry's parents had their own farm. In addition to him, five more children grew up in the family. Soon they moved to the city of Pocatello, where Larry graduated from high school.
Scott was very thin since childhood. He markedly lagged behind his peers in physical development. On this basis, Larry was very complex, and his peers did not miss the opportunity to mock him.
As a teenager, he decided to go in for sports. So, Larry was fond of trampolining. This subsequently helped him in the training process when he came to bodybuilding.
Scott began to pull the “iron” at the age of 16. He came to this hobby by chance. Once he caught the eye of an old bodybuilding magazine, on the cover of which was the famous athlete George Payne. Larry was very impressed with his muscles, especially the triceps. Under the athlete’s photo was an inscription stating that you too can achieve such results in just a month. Larry got into the idea of becoming as inflated as Payne. He read the magazine in one breath and immediately started training.
He performed the exercises, clearly following the recommendations from the magazine. Since he did not have simulators, he began to practice with the wheel from the trolley. Three months later, the circumference of his hands was already 30 cm. Scott liked the result, so he began to study even more actively than before. He read out every issue of the bodybuilding magazine.
Soon he took second place in the school competition "Graduate with the best physique." It changed his life. In an interview, he recalled that he first believed in himself. Since then, he tried not to miss a single workout.
In those days, the attitude to bodybuilding in society was different than now. Athletes build muscle in a "natural" way. Steroids at that time were just beginning to appear, and not all athletes decided to take them. Larry refused the "chemistry".
After leaving school, Scott continued his studies at the College of Aeronautics, which was located in California. In it, he studied electronics. His choice was thoughtful. At that time, the best bodybuilders lived in California. Bert Goodrich Health Center was located next to the college. Within its walls, Scott continued the training process. Only now he was not amateur, but professional in nature.
Career
Soon, Larry began to dream of training under the guidance of Vince Gironde himself. He was quite a bodybuilder for his time and a supporter of a diet high in fat and protein. Gironde was also famous for its heavy character. Despite this, Larry agreed to train in his gym. Not only bodybuilders were engaged there, but also Hollywood stars. So, Clint Eastwood liked to go to the Gironde hall.
Larry studied with Vince for ten years. However, they never became friends. This did not stop Gironde from calling Larria his best student. The coach was stingy with courtesy, but possessed valuable knowledge, which he willingly shared with his wards. Thanks to Vince, Larry realized the importance of protein intake in the body for the harmonious building of muscle mass. He also taught him to pose effectively.
Scott did a tremendous amount of work on his body and began to compete. So, in 1959 he won the Mr. Idaho bodybuilding tournament. A year later, Larry became the third in the tournament, "Mr. Los Angeles." His next step was to participate in a more prestigious tournament, Mr. California. Scott did not dream of victory, he hoped at least in fifth place. However, the judges unanimously considered him the winner.
In 1962, Larry became "Mr. America." And a year later, he won the middle class at the "Mr. Universe" tournament according to the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB). In 1964, Scott became the absolute winner of this tournament. At that time it was the highest trophy in bodybuilding.
By 1965, Scott had become an athlete with excellent muscle development. His weight was a little over 90 kg, and the volume of his hands was more than the legs of an ordinary untrained person. His hands are still considered one of the best in bodybuilding history.
Having received the title of “Mr. Universe”, Larry suspended workouts due to lack of motivation. After all, the main award was won, so there was no point in training hard. Then Joe Wader, the founder of IFBB, came up with a new tournament and called it "Mr. Olympia." Subsequently, it became the most significant international bodybuilding competition. This tournament was designed to help the winners of “Mr. Universe” find motivation for further training.
In 1965, Larry became "Mr. Olympia." In the history of bodybuilding, he forever remained the first winner of this tournament. The next year he was again the first.
The secret of his success in bodybuilding, Scott calls determination and perseverance. He tried and abandoned many methods of working out the muscles of the hands, until he developed his own, later called the "Scott Bench". The athlete himself called the music stand his own invention.
