Introduction
Ed
Corney is the greatest poser that bodybuilding has ever known, as well
as a spokesman and ambassador for the sport. As Mr. Universe, he is
perhaps most famous for his role in pumping iron, in which he trained
one on one with Arnold as they prepared and battled for one of the greatest
Olympia competitions. Ever since the San Francisco IFBB pro in 2004, the
ABC bodybuilding staff has had several opportunities to get to know Ed
on a personal level. Ed was generous enough to allow us to interview
him. What is unique, however, is that each of these questions asked in
the interview was given by members of the ABC bodybuilding forums. You
can sign up free for the forums by Clicking
Here.
Jacob
Wilson:
Why did you start bodybuilding? And who or what motivated you to start
bodybuilding?
Ed Corney:
I first
started bodybuilding when I saw Steve Reeves walking down the beach in LA
and I could not believe how huge he was—it was unbelievable! That
motivated to start bodybuilding.
Jacob
Wilson:
How much has changed in the era of bodybuilding since the 1970's?
Ed Corney:
Just about
everything—the gyms, the people, the attitudes, the equipment. But to
myself, it has never changed.
Jacob Wilson:
Has it changed
for the better or for the worse?
Ed Corney:
It was good then,
and it’s good now. It’s up to the individual to make it a good thing or
not for them.
Jacob
Wilson:
What is your opinion on the current state of professional bodybuilding?
Ed Corney:
It’s awesome.
It’s freaky. It's unbelievable. Coming in at three hundred pounds and
ripped. I noticed the judges are setting new guidelines, hopefully this
is for the best.
Jacob
Wilson:
What do you think of the low prize money for bodybuilders, being that
outside of the top 10 in the world, many bodybuilders struggle to make a
living?
Ed Corney:
That’s
life—some make it some don’t. Bodybuilding wise, you need to be in the
top five to make good money.
Jacob
Wilson:
After all the competition dieting what food if any in particular did you
miss the most and go for first once the competition was over?
Ed Corney:
Nothing in
particular. The hardest part was the overall discipline to do it.
Jacob
Wilson:
What was your diet like during the few weeks before a competition? I.E.
how many calories, did you carb deplete, what was your protein and fat
intake like etc.
Ed Corney:
It was always a
balance between eating and training. To train hard and heavy, you have
to eat hard and heavy.
My carbs were high early in the morning, and my protein low; later at
night my carbs were low, and my protein was high. I ate 2.2 grams of
protein per pound of body weight.
Jacob
Wilson:
What types of proteins did you eat in your bodybuilding days?
Ed Corney:
Chicken, fish,
liver…whatever.
Jacob
Wilson:
What supplementation did you use during your bodybuilding career?
Ed Corney:
(Laughing) In
those days, you had one bottle for everything. A bottle for vitamin E, a bottle for vitamin B, and so on and so forth. So
I ended up with about 15 bottles to encompass all my nutritional needs.
Now adays, they have packages that cover everything.
Editors Note:
For example, Champion Nutrition’s Meal Replacements contain various
vitamins and minerals.
Jacob
Wilson:
Were there ever days you came home from a workout and just asked
yourself, "What in the world am I doing this for?" If so, how did you
deal with that?
Ed Corney:
Very simple—I
would write it down. Why do I eat? Why do I need sleep? Why do I need
protein? These are questions only you can answer. Why do I train so
hard? How do you feel before and after a workout? Then you can analyze
it and see if something is wrong, or it is not wrong at all. Then you
can analyze your lifestyle. The only way to find out what is going to
work for you is to write it down.
Jacob
Wilson:
What kind of advice would you give to someone who wants to make the
transition from bodybuilding for fitness to bodybuilding for
competition?
Ed Corney:
I would say be
a spectator at all these bodybuilding shows and see the difference
between the two. So you can see the difference between what training for
fitness and bodybuilding is. Then, make a decision on what you’re
willing to do. For me it went from a hobby, to an obsession, to a
lifestyle, and now to my passion.
Jacob
Wilson:
Nice!
Jacob
Wilson:
When you look back at your career, is there something you would change?
If so, what would that be and why?
Ed Corney:
Nope.
Jacob
Wilson:
Ok (laughing)
Ed Corney:
(laughing) I still train, and I still eat, and I still improve. Even at
my age I am looking to improve myself.
Jacob
Wilson:
That’s what it’s all about.
Jacob
Wilson:
Back when you were competing did you ever think that the sport of
bodybuilding would have developed into the sport/industry it is today?
Ed Corney:
I never gave
it a second thought.
Back in my day,
gyms weren’t co-ed—you had three days for the men and three days for the
women. If you wanted to train seven days a week, you had to find some
kind of set-up in a garage. Gyms used to be 2,200 square feet, now they
are 50,000 square feet! Magazines used to be small like the iron man, but
now you have tons of information—everything is available now. Go on the
internet, you can see what the possibilities are now. It's insane.
Jacob
Wilson: In
your opinion what would you consider to be the biggest misconception the
general public has towards bodybuilding?
Ed Corney:
Nothing but
muscle between the ears (laughing).
Jacob
Wilson:
(The President shakes his head and thinks to himself “my brain is huge!”
haha, joking).
Ed Corney:
But then look at
Franco Columbu, he is a doctor. Mike Katz has his own world gym in
Connecticut. And Arnold made a few bucks out of it (laughing with Jake).
Jacob
Wilson:
You are considered one of the best posers in the history of
bodybuilding. Who do you believe are some of the best posers today?
Ed Corney:
There have
been a few that I have been impressed with, which means that I didn’t
fall asleep or did not get bored. Kevin Levrone was one of them.
In my time, Kris
Dickerson, Frank Zane….there types of posing routines did not appeal to
me. I did not feel any connection, but when I was up there, I would
connect with the audience. They would feel what I was feeling. The song
I that chose for the 94 Masters Olympia took me an entire year. It was
‘When a man loves a woman.’ I got in shape, put the routine together. I
was the only man to get a standing ovation at pre-judging and the
evening show. Not to blow my horn but, I got that good because I needed
to feel the audience, and the audience needed to feel me—the
appreciation went both ways. So today I am considered the master poser.
Look at today—if you have to do this (signals with hand putting your
hand to your ear) than you obviously were not working on your posing.
Jacob
Wilson:
How did your workouts change over the course of your career?
Ed Corney:
It really
hasn’t. You lift weights, you stimulate the muscles. Now I train
at 24 hour fitness. The younger generation, they are training with cell
phones and looking at the mirror. That’s b*** s***. And of course they
have to work with the light weights; they train with what is comfortable
with them and what they can do. They know what they can do and that is
what they do. I am always trying to figure out what I can’t do. And than
I get pissed off that I find out I can’t do something, and that’s my new
goal.
Jacob
Wilson: As
one of the best posers of all time, how much did you practice posing
daily?
Ed Corney:
Constantly. I
would not be able to sleep at night. I would got out in the garage and
pose at 2, 3 in the morning. I had mirrors set up so I could see myself
at every angle. I was insane. It's all about developing self confidence.
When you are in shape you feel confident when you strike a pose. In each
pose you lead perfectly into the next pose—it’s all about the
transition. Like a panther, very smooth, and sleek, but you know there
is power behind it.
Jacob
Wilson:
What are some tips you would give for posing?
Ed Corney:
Find out what
you want to do, find out how hard you want to train. Is the sport
important to you or not? These are things you have to find out. What’s
wrong with people is that they don’t know what they want. For example,
if you want to be Mr. America it is going to take a lot of hard-work and
then the next thing is to make adjustments. Start to read up and educate
yourself. Are you willing to go through this? If not, then why bother.
Jacob
Wilson: On
your body, what was your favorite body part and favorite pose when you
competed?
Ed Corney:
All of them.
Everything from top to bottom. I was strong on everything from abs to
arms, the lats to intercostals. From top to bottom, I have no
favorites. My favorite exercise is all of them because they all work. My
favorite pose is all of them. Get in shape and look phenomenal and you
will like all your poses, too.
Jacob
Wilson:
Are there any specific poses or body parts that you feel have been
either neglected or over-emphasized since your days of competing?
Ed Corney:
It's kind of a
tricky question. But most bodybuilders usually have weak points. They
might have good arms but bad calves. Got a good chest but bad back. This
is why you need to look at yourself overall and see what you need to
balance yourself.
Jacob
Wilson:
How did you enjoy making Pumping Iron? What were some of your favorite
scenes?
Ed Corney:
Then I was
training and living with Arnold…the greatest (smiles). I found out that
Arnold was just like me—very simple and very focused; determined. He
wanted to get better, I wanted to get better.
My favorite scene
was the squatting scene obviously. Arnold, he is something else. I am
working and he says “time to get serious now, promise me two more.”
Jacob
Wilson:
What other passions do you have besides bodybuilding?
Ed Corney:
I have
completely confined myself to bodybuilding. I have decided not to
detract from it by doing other sports and activities. For example, if
you go skiing, or snow boarding, sooner or later, you end up in
crutches. I have always thought ahead to the point that I won’t injure
myself because that will hamper my training. I used to be a night club
owner, and a bouncer. Trained in the day, cracked heads at night, won
the American and the Universe. The key is to find out what’s your focus,
what do you want, and then to determine what you are willing to do about
it.
Jacob
Wilson:
What do you do for training currently?
Ed Corney:
I train 7 days
a week. Only because with the medical problems I have had in the past, I
need my cardio, and I need my training. And I always been a hard and
strong trainer. Right now, at age 72, one arm rows with 115.
I do these kinds
of things, and people ask me, why do you do it, Ed? I say, because I
can. I keep my lifts up by training hard. I don’t take in no alcohol, no
caffeine. Because the doctor said you can’t have these. And that’s where
I am at.
Jacob
Wilson:
Thank you very much for the interview, Ed, we really appreciate it.
Ed Corney:
Remember the
Champion Vanilla Whey you gave me last time? That was great stuff!
Jacob
Wilson:
You liked that?!
Ed Corney:
It was super!
I loved it!
Jacob
Wilson:
Thank you Very much Ed.
Note:
A few minutes later, the ABC bodybuilding staff returned with a bucket
of Champion Nutrition Chocolate Protein, an ABC bodybuilding T-shirt,
and a shaker bottle for the master of posing.
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