Born on December 25, 1943, Harold Poole was an athletically gifted bodybuilder from the golden era.

The Louisville, Kentucky-born bodybuilder’s athleticism and strength were apparent with his success as a quarterback at Shortridge highschool.

According to Horsepower Pro, “As a teenager, Poole competed in local and national tournaments. At 21 years old, he won the AAU Mr. America title, becoming one of the youngest athletes to win the competition, which at the time was one of the most prestigious”.

The post added, “Shortly afterward, the bodybuilder moved to the IFBB, where he faced the biggest names of the so-called Golden Era”.

His first appearance on the bodybuilding stage came in 1960 after winning the title of the Junior Mr. Indianapolis. After that, he participated in the AAU Mr. America event.

He became the runner-up at the AAU event in 1963 and secured his IFBB Mr. Universe championship.

In 1964, Harold Poole stitched his name in history as the first African American bodybuilder to become Mr. America.

Horsepower Pro writes, “Poole competed in the first Olympia contest in 1965 and finished second only to Larry Scott, the first Mr. Olympia in history. He maintained the runner-up position consecutively until 1967, when Sergio Oliva began his reign”.

Now, let's see what the foundation of his iconic physique was.

Harold Poole’s foundation building

According to Jail House Strong, at the beginning of his bodybuilding journey, Harold Poole built the foundation of his strength.

During that time, he exercised 3 times per week, which included:

• Monday: legs
• Wednesday: upper body
• Friday: legs again.

However, on the following week, he changed the sequence and followed a routine that included:

• Monday: upper body
• Wednesday: legs
• Friday: upper body again.

Apart from that, squats were his favorite exercise, and he says, “I used to do many squats because at that time most of the bodybuilders had no legs.  And that is because they did not like squats.  It’s hard work”.

In terms of nutrition, Harold Poole followed a traditional approach.

He said, “You would eat meat, potatoes, and you would eat your eggs and drink your milk – anything that would help you put on weight.  It was all about trying to get huge”.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Joyita Das