John Grimek

{{Short description|American weightlifter (1910–1998)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{Infobox bodybuilder

| image = John Grimek - Strength and Health Sep 1945.jpg

| caption = Grimek featured on the cover of Strength and Health magazine, 1945

| nickname = "The Monarch of Muscledom"
"The Glow"

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1910|06|17}}

| birth_place = Perth Amboy, New Jersey, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1998|11|20|1910|6|17}}{{cite journal|last=Weider|first=Joe|title=John Grimek: 1910–1998|journal=Iron Game History|date=December 1998|volume=5|issue=3|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/IGH/IGH0503/IGH0503a.pdf|access-date=February 21, 2012}}

| death_place = York, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=8.5}}

| weight = {{convert|195|lbs|kg|abbr=on}}

| firstproshow = Olympic Games

| firstproshowyear = 1936, Berlin

| successor = Steve Reeves

}}

John Carroll Grimek (June 17, 1910According to the Social Security Death Index, he was born on June 18, 1911. – November 20, 1998) was an American bodybuilder and weightlifter active in the 1930s and 1940s. Grimek was Mr. America in 1940 and 1941, and Mr. Universe in 1948. In 1949, he won his last contest, the AAU Mr. USA. Grimek retired from bodybuilding undefeated.{{cite web|title=John Grimek|url=http://www.legendaryfitness.com/john_grimek.htm|website=Legendary Fitness|access-date=June 5, 2015}} Throughout his career he carried the nicknames "the Monarch of Muscledom" and "the Glow."{{cite web|last1=Whelan |first1=Bob |title=John Grimek Was The Man|url=http://www.naturalstrength.com/history/detail.asp?ArticleID=260 |website=Natural Strength |access-date=June 8, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808135545/http://www.naturalstrength.com/history/detail.asp?ArticleID=260 |archive-date=August 8, 2007 }}{{cite journal|last=Rosa|first=Ken|journal=Iron Game History |title=My Thoughts and Reflections on John C. Grimek|date=April 1999|volume=5|issue=4|page=33|url=https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll10/id/9309/rec/1|access-date=December 30, 2023}}

Life

Grimek was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey,{{cite news |title=John C. Grimek. Bodybuilder who was Mr. America twice |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/95003860/?terms=%22John%2BGrimek%22 |access-date=July 2, 2020 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=November 29, 1998|page=E5|via=Newspapers.com}} the son of Slovak immigrants George and Maria Grimek, peasants from the village Ústie nad Oravou in northern Slovakia.{{cite journal |url=http://www.karabinos.sk/dieta-chudnutie-obezita-informacne-clanky/2004-08-02-preco-john-grimek-nenavstivil-slovensko |title=Prečo John Grimek nenavštívil Slovensko |trans-title=Why John Grimek did not visit Slovakia |language=sk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608154429/http://www.karabinos.sk/dieta-chudnutie-obezita-informacne-clanky/2004-08-02-preco-john-grimek-nenavstivil-slovensko |archive-date=June 8, 2012 |journal=Muscle & Fitness |date=August 2004 |via=karabinos.sk |first=Július |last=Karabinoš |quote='Môj otec a matka prišli do Ameriky z malého mesta neďaleko Prahy' ... môže byť aj Ústie nad Oravou ... a my sme vypátrali, že jeho predkovia skutočne pochádzajú z tejto obce ['My father and mother came to America from a small town near Prague'... can also be Ústie nad Oravou... and we found out that his ancestors really came from this village] }}

Grimek moved to York, Pennsylvania in 1935 to join Bob Hoffman, the founder of York Barbell.{{cite news |title=John C. Grimek |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/326807062/?terms=%22John%2BGrimek%22 |access-date=July 2, 2020 |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=November 29, 1998|page=11|via=Newspapers.com}} Besides his bodybuilding exploits, Grimek also represented the United States in weightlifting at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, where he took 9th place in the men's heavyweight category.{{cite web |url=https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/berlin-1936/results/weightlifting/825kg-heavyweight-men |title=Berlin 1936 Weightlifting 82.5kg Heavyweight Men Results |work=Olympics.com |publisher=International Olympic Committee |access-date=2022-05-29 }}

Grimek was Mr. America in 1940 and 1941, and Mr. Universe in 1948. In 1949, he won his last contest, the AAU Mr. USA, against a field that included Steve Reeves, Clarence Ross, George Eiferman, and Armand Tanny. Grimek retired from bodybuilding undefeated.

Grimek featured in many bodybuilding articles and magazines. He was also the editor of Muscular Development. Despite his retirement, he continued serious training for many years, and was still able to perform squats with over 400 pounds for repetitions in his late 60s.{{cite web|title=John Grimek: The Monarch Of Muscledom|url=http://www.gym-talk.com/john-grimek/|website=Gym Talk|access-date=5 June 2015}} Grimek died on November 20, 1998, in York, Pennsylvania, at the age of 88.

Training method

In the 1950s and 1960s, full body workouts, as opposed to split workouts, were the normal way to train, and bodybuilders such as Grimek and Steve Reeves (Mr. America of 1947, Mr. World of 1948, and Mr. Universe of 1950), normally trained the whole body during their workouts.{{cite web |url=https://www.oldschoollabs.com/full-body-workouts/#:~:text=Legends%20such%20as%20John%20Grimek,physiques%20with%20full%20body%20workouts |title=Full Body Workouts |website=Old School Labs |date=November 14, 2016 |access-date=June 15, 2024}}

Grimek trained three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). His routine made use of the common 3×10 training protocol, of which Grimek was one of the first ever proponents. Grimek advised that lifters take between 45 seconds and 1 minute rest between sets and between 2 and 3 minutes rest between exercises. For good form, all reps were to be slow and controlled.{{cite web |url=https://www.theproteinworks.com/thelockerroom/the-john-grimek-full-body-workout/ |title=The John Grimek Full Body Workout |date=September 8, 2017 |website=Protein Works |access-date=June 15, 2024}}

Posthumous tributes

Grimek was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 1999.{{cite web|title=IFBB Hall of Fame Inductees for 1999 |url=http://www.ifbb.com/halloffame/1999/grimek.htm |website=IFBB |publisher=Interactive Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness |access-date=June 8, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204095839/http://www.ifbb.com/halloffame/1999/grimek.htm |archive-date=February 4, 2012 }}

He is depicted as part of a mural located at 37 West Philadelphia Street in York, Pennsylvania, which was finished in 2000.McClure, James, ed. (2002). "Murals of York". York Daily Record. York, Pennsylvania.

References

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