Showing off on the calf-raise machine

Last night after the Stuttgart Peace Concert, a famous German bodybuilder came up to talk to me. His name is Jusup Wilkosz. Many times I had seen videos of him competing with Frank Zane and others, but I had never met him. He was Mr. Universe in 1980. He also got third place in the Mr. Olympia contest behind Lee Haney and somebody else.

This morning I went to visit his gym. I have never seen a gymnasium as beautiful or as well-kept. Other gymnasiums are usually so dirty, but his was very clean — like a temple.

He had every kind of modern apparatus, including a calf-raise machine. The maximum weight it takes is 860 pounds, but they usually use between 400 and 600 pounds. They never try even 700 pounds.

I wanted to show off. So without warming up, I said, “Let me do 400 pounds.” Then I did 600 pounds and finally I did 860 pounds.

Wilkosz couldn’t believe that I did it. He knew that I had done a 2,000-pound calf raise, but when he saw me do the maximum of 860 pounds on his machine, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

Nowadays, with my left leg I can do 1,200 pounds and with my right leg I can do 800 or 1,000 pounds. In spite of that I can’t walk properly. When I told him that, he advised me not to eat meat. He eats meat once a week, but he was advising me not to eat meat at all.

— 26 May 1987