Who is Frank Zane?
Find a bodybuilder with better proportions than Frank Zane, we dare you. All-time great and three-time Mr. Olympia. One of the best lightweight bodies in the sport belongs to Frank Zane.
Frank Zane began his tough training regimen at the age of 14, using only dumbbells and an ambition to build one of the finest bodies in history.
The Chemist found time to develop that lean figure that his rivals both feared and envied despite working as a full-time Math instructor.
He rose to fame in the fitness sector in the following ways:
“To muscles, in particular, numbers are an abstraction. Your body just perceives how heavy something is; it is not aware of the actual weight. Making lesser weights feel hefty is the key.
Body Measurements of Frank Zane
| Full Name: | Frank Zane |
| HEIGHT: | 5’9″ (175cm) |
| WEIGHT: | 185 – 195lbs (83.9 – 88.5kg) |
| NATIONALITY: | American |
| PROFESSION: | Bodybuilder, Founder of WABBA, Head of IFBB France and Europe, Actor, Author |
| ERA: | 1960, 1970, 1980 |
“Many guys have better genes, but you may outperform them if you work hard and consistently.”
Accomplishments
Competitions
- Mr. Pennsylvania in 1961 (17th place)
- Mr. Keystone in 1962 (Winner)
- Mr. Keystone, 1963 (2nd)
- Mr. Sunshine State for 1965 (Winner)
- IFBB Mr. Universe in 1965 (1st, Medium Height category)
- IFBB Mr. America in 1966 (1st, Medium)
- IFBB Mr. America in 1967 (1st, Medium)
- IFBB Mr. Universe in 1967 (3rd, Tall)
- IFBB Mr. America in 1968 (Winner)
- IFBB Mr. Universe in 1968 (Winner)
- NABBA Mr. Universe in 1970 (Winner)
- NABBA Pro Mr. Universe in 1971 (1st, Short)
- NABBA Pro Mr. Universe in 1972 (Winner)
- 1972 Mr. Olympia IFBB (Under 200 lbs, 4th)
- IFBB Mr. Olympia from 1974 (Under 200 lbs, 2nd)
- IFBB Mr. Olympia from 1975 (Under 200 lbs, 4th)
- IFBB Mr. Olympia from 1976 (Under 200 lbs, 2nd)
- IFBB Mr. Olympia from 1977 (Under 200 lbs & Overall Winner)
- 1978 Mr. Olympia IFBB (Under 200 lbs & Overall Winner)
- 1979 Mr. Olympia IFBB (Under 200 lbs & Overall Winner)
- IFBB Mr. Olympia from 1980 (3rd, after suffering a near-fatal injury at his home, requiring lengthy hospitalization)
- IFBB Mr. Olympia from 1982 (2nd)
- IFBB Mr. Olympia from 1983 (4th, after suffering another accident on his bicycle, requiring extensive shoulder surgery shortly after the contest)
The secret to astounding long-term success is making small daily improvements.
Biography
Young Years
Frank Zane had a difficult upbringing. Frank, who was born in 1943 in the working-class coal mining community of Kingston, Pennsylvania, had several altercations before he turned thirteen.
Regardless of the outcome, it toughened him and gave the future champion the courage to speak up for what he believed in—a mindset that would take hold when he was in his teens.
Learning About Bodybuilding
When Frank, then 14, discovered a bodybuilding magazine left out at school, his eyes were opened. He was motivated and soon started working out after purchasing a 30 kg pair of dumbbells for himself.
But not everyone liked the future bodybuilder’s newfound passion for personal growth, especially his father.
Frank’s father thought he should spend more time doing things around the house that would be more useful rather than waste it training. Although Zane recalled hearing the advice to “Build yourself up by cutting the grass,” he ignored it.
After three years of arduous training, Frank went from weighing 130 pounds at age 14 to 160 pounds at age 17, gaining a whopping 30 pounds of lean muscle.
Frank’s Love For The Game
Frank’s passion for bodybuilding was finally supported by Zane’s parents after they realized the extent he would go to for achievement.
A good illustration of this was when Frank instructed Boy Scouts in archery while serving as an on-site teacher. He used whatever weights were available on campgrounds to train for bodybuilding, but there were none for at-home workouts.
Frank would travel 20 miles carrying 55 pounds of weight to make sure he could train on the weekends and never miss a workout.
He kept working out throughout his education and became much more serious once he started working as a math teacher in Florida.
Rivalry In Florida
Frank had already started to rule the local bodybuilding scenes by 1966. The only option to advance was to move to California, which is why he intended to do so. He didn’t believe it would be a sensible decision, though, as he had established a life for himself in Florida.
Later that year, Zane met Christine, the woman he would marry. Chris started following Frank’s lead and began competing when he persuaded her to adopt the bodybuilding lifestyle.
It was evident that Zane had a bright future. After two years of intensive preparation, Zane won the 1968 Mr. America competition in New York City. A week later, in Florida, he defeated Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Mr. Universe competition.
California Relocation
Frank and Chris had both grown quite passionate about the sport, and they ultimately agreed that they should both move to California to explore where their enthusiasm would take them.
And Things Continued To Improve.
Frank continued to hold down a full-time teaching position while juggling a thriving bodybuilding career, swiftly earning recognition for having one of the greatest physiques of all time.
Up until 1977, when he won the prestigious Mr. Olympia competition for three years in a row, there was no better award. He either won or placed very highly in every competition he participated in.
“Continuity is the key to building muscle.”
The 1980 Freak Accident
Frank, who had previously won the Olympia three times in a row, was eight weeks away from making his fourth participation when he sustained a potentially fatal injury.
Zane suffered major blood loss after slipping on the edge of the pool in an accident. He was in a life-threatening situation when he got to the hospital and needed many days of care.
Zane provided the following account of what transpired:
I sat in this flimsy chair by the pool and, as I did so, slipped on the damp Astroturf by the side before falling into the lip of the pool, which struck me square in the middle of the legs and crushed my bulbous urethra.
My penis was pouring blood. I was in the hospital for four days with a catheter attachment after being rushed there; it was awful.
Zane required frequent hospital visits after the accident because the wound kept getting bigger. He needed two weeks to bring things under control, and as a result, he lost a total of 15 pounds of muscular mass.
Arnold’s Words Of Wisdom
When Zane asked Arnold Schwarzenegger whether he should still compete in the Olympia despite the injury, his friend reassured him that he should, despite the short amount of recovery time.
Zane recalls the exchange as follows:
Since he stopped competing, Arnold was the go-to man before competitions. Everybody turned to him for guidance. He would point out every flaw as they performed their routine of posing.
Yes, the rumor at Gold’s is that you took so many steroids that your dick began to bleed, he replied when I called him. I inquired of him what he advised that I do. You should travel to Australia to defend your title, he advised me.
Unfortunately, Arnold would go on to win the same competition when the Austrian Oak chose to enter a surprise competitor. Third behind Chris Dickerson was Zane.
Due to his accident just weeks before the tournament, Zane was aware that he had little chance of winning, but the following year he boycotted the event since he felt that Arnold wasn’t in the best shape and didn’t deserve to win.
The Oak adopted non-ordered positions, played mainly to his advantage, and refrained from emphasizing his flaws.
A Further Mishap And Retirement
The icing on the cake was Zane’s shoulder damage from a bicycle accident in 1983, which was another devastating injury.
Zane refused to withdraw from Olympia and instead trained through the discomfort up to the competition. Zane finished fourth, and major shoulder surgery was required to cure the damage.
Zane’s final competition would be the 1983 Olympia as he and his wife focused more on their new business, Zane Haven, a bodybuilding education facility.
Since then, Zane Haven has grown his company and even produced an exercise machine of his creation called the Leg Blaster. He is presently a San Diego resident.
Live your life according to the hour, not the day. What do you plan to accomplish in the next hour?
Training
Throughout his career, Frank Zane adopted several different training philosophies. Because of his adaptability and willingness to attempt new things, he was able to be so successful.
Zane used a light lifting technique when he first began his training. He focused on doing plenty of repetitions to achieve the best tone and sculpture, but while this made him exceptionally slim, it wasn’t the best for winning competitions.
He wanted size, and Joe Weider advised him that the only way to get it was by doing heavy sets with little volume. Zane won three Mr. Olympia events in a row as a result of implementing this new strategy.
As a self-taught lifter, Zane wasn’t initially a fan of the bodybuilders’ practice of rotating particular muscle groups each day.
His decision to divide his entire workout into just two sessions—upper body and lower body—managed to make things even simpler.
According to rumors, Zane’s upper-body workouts could run up to three and a half hours each.
Zane decided to alter his program to be more in line with the other bodybuilders only after relocating to California. This required a more targeted approach and daily exercise of opposing muscles.
Zane characterized a typical week as follows:
- Chest and Back – Mondays & Thursdays
- Legs – Tuesdays & Fridays
- Arms and Delts – Wednesdays & Saturdays
- Rest – Sundays
He would execute 10–12 sets on smaller muscle groups and 15–20 sets on larger muscle groups, progressively adding weight as the sets went on.
Later on in his career, this was adjusted to a 3-day split with a rest day on the fourth day.
This exercise worked supporting muscles rather than antagonistic ones, which was the exact reverse of his previous routine:
- Back, Biceps and Forearms – Day 1
- Legs – Day 2
- Chest, Shoulders, Triceps – Day 3
- Rest – Day 4
Zane was a big abb guy as well. Every training day, he would put his all into his abdominal exercises. 400 to 1000 reps a day are recommended to keep them looking and feeling ripped.
Zane would frequently finish his workout because it was so difficult and then go back to the gym hours later only to work on his abs.
When Zane always paid attention to his body and accepted the change, he was able to carry a lifetime of accomplishments with him.
Both being weak and being strong are decisions.
Nutrition
Zane earned the moniker “the Chemist” for a good reason. He enjoyed learning about supplements and trying out different combinations to find the one that would help him win.
The pre-workout meal was one of its nutritional priorities for Frank. It’s interesting to note that Zane, unlike the majority of bodybuilders, didn’t mind eating after a workout because his focus was on before.
After working out, he occasionally delayed eating for several hours because it was more convenient for him than for his body.
Frank consumed a relatively low number of calories. Zane would never eat more than 3000 calories per day given the amount of energy and size he would need to participate in (and win) Mr. Olympia.
He avoided overemphasizing carbohydrates in favor of protein and always made sure that healthy fats constituted at least 25% of his diet.
“Dream bigger than most may consider practical. Go beyond what others believe is possible.
Influences And Idols
Who or what inspired Frank Zane? Survival. The true motivator was his willpower, even if a bodybuilding magazine offered him a notion of what he wanted to look like.
Zane recalled that his environment was the true impetus behind his decision to begin bodybuilding in an interview with FLEX magazine. It wasn’t easy growing up in a rough town, but staying out of trouble by starting to lift weights at the age of 14 was a solid start.
Zane didn’t have many idols, yet he was revered by a lot of people. Zane will always be remembered as having one of the greatest physiques of all time and continues to inspire many of the young athletes training today with his “Bodybuilding Golden Age” physique and possibly one of the best proportions on the globe when he was at his peak.
“Train with common sense. It won’t take place overnight. Do not attempt to lose weight in a single day, week, or even month.
Give it some time. Perform well. Take pictures. Learn how you currently appear and imagine how you want to appear.
Don’t fall for any quick money schemes of any kind. Don’t gain weight. Avoid growing quickly. If you can do that, you’ll build a fantastic body that you’ll have for a very long time.
What Frank Zane Can Teach Us?
We can learn a lot from Zane, including the necessity of taking our time and playing to our strengths.
He acknowledged to himself that his genetics weren’t the finest for him to grow to the size of Serge Nubret or Arnold Schwarzenegger; he was simply not designed that way.
Instead, he took his time to figure out what his physique should look like and what worked best for his frame by continuing to work out and changing his approach.
Since he would never be large, he tried to concentrate more on proportion, which is a far more challenging endeavor.
Here, patience is the key. Before Zane won the Olympia for the first time, he trained for more than 15 years. He subsequently won it three years in a row.
Zane was willing to take his time and was never focused on short-term gains but rather on the long-term objective.
It was excellent and, more significantly, successful.