The protein drink of Golden Era bodybuilders. By John Bubb, former NABBA Pro Bodybuilder

The protein drink of Golden Era bodybuilders

By John Bubb, former NABBA Pro Bodybuilder

Introduction by Vic Goyaram

The big and confusing world of modern-day powders

I am sure many of you have been confused by the multitude of protein supplements available on the market today, each claiming to be more scientifically advanced than the other. Furthermore, by the use of excessive scientific jargon in labels in an attempt to impress (or confuse), supplement companies nowadays assume that all consumers have a Bachelor's degree in physiology. You hear about or read the terms everyday, "ultra-filtered whey hydrolysates", "bio-engineered peptides" and stuff like that. The result is that consumers often believe that they are at a disadvantage if they don't ingest these "cutting-edge" supplements. Many youngsters even before they begin training are already thinking about the stuff he would like to drink. This is not to say that modern protein supplements don't have any value as a lot of progress has been made in protein technology but sometimes we must go back to the roots and realise that what the body needs is protein!

How many of you ever wondered how the old-school bodybuilders got their protein in an era when even chalk-like protein powders, free-form amino acids, and other fancy supplements were not available? Physiques were still impressive. To get an answer to this question we picked the brain of our guru himself, Mr. John Bubb. John had a recipe with a rather strange name: "gunge", as you will soon find out why.

"Gunge": Gunge as it is known in the British Isles, or slime as it is known in America and other parts of the world, is a thick, gooey, runny substance similar in consistency to paint

INTRODUCING

"GUNGE": The Bubb old-school Protein Recipe

John Bubb at the Mr. Universe with Zane, Park and Pearl

My take on modern-day protein supplements

Firstly, I think a lot of the modern protein supplements are very overrated. I'm not saying that they are not good and some of the scientific claims are probably correct, but the difference in results between them and good old fashioned protein shakes is so small that it's not worth the extra money. In other words, A LOT OF WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD IS BETTER THAN A LITTLE OF WHAT YOU CANNOT AFFORD. If that makes sense

The "Gunge" Protein recipe

Ingredients for Gunge

1. Pour a pint of milk into a two pint container (1 pint: 473ml)

2. Add 4 or 5 heaped dessert spoons of skimmed milk powder, 3 heaped desert-spoonfuls of Soya flour, 2 teaspoons of honey. 

3. Whisk using a blender or some sort of electric whisk until there are no lumps. If you try just shaking or whisking with a fork you will end up with a very lumpy mixture which is difficult to drink.

4. Raw egg whites

Personally I haven't been able to eat eggs since I was a child. It's nothing to do with the taste. I once cracked open a boiled egg that was fertile and was totally revolted. Ever since then I feel revolted at the very thought of eating such a thing. Having said that, I did occasionally ADD TWO OR THREE RAW EGGS TO MY GUNGE. But I was always aware that they were in there and it did take away the enjoyment, even though I couldn't taste them. I would recommend that you DO ADD RAW EGGS to your shakes if you don't share my objection. In fact, for the bodybuilder, eggs are one of the best sources of easily assimilable protein available. The Amino structure of eggs is the nearest to human tissue make-up of any other food. SO EAT LOTS. But beware. Don't eat too many WHOLE eggs. Up to six or eight is probably O.K., but after that separate the yolks from the whites and only eat the whites. And you can eat as many of those as you can "Get Down You."

Back to the GUNGE. It's a good idea to vary the proportion of the ingredients slightly until you find a taste that you enjoy. Or, if you don't enjoy it as set out above, try adding some sort of flavouring. One gym I used to work at offered a whole range of flavours using COMMERCIAL MILK SHAKE FLAVOURINGS, which are easily obtainable

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU MUST ENJOY YOUR SHAKES - WHETHER YOU ARE USING A HOME MADE RECIPE OR ONE OF THE VERY EXPENSIVE ONES. IF YOU DON'T ENJOY THEM YOU WILL SOON GET FED UP WITH DRINKING THEM AND THAT SHOULD NOT BE AN OPTION. IF YOU GET THE FLAVOUR RIGHT, AND YOU START TO GROW, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE. This is how it should be and consistency is the bodybuilding recipe for success. They say there is NO SECRET. I WOULD SAY THAT IF THERE IS JUST ONE SECRET IT IS CONSISTENCY. Muscles are only as big and strong as they are called upon to be. STOP CALLING AND THEY WILL STOP GROWING!!!!!

The contribution of "gunge" to my overall protein intake

"Bacon for breakfast, lots of it, and on its own"
I'm not really sure about my protein intake proportions, but I would say that the gunge was probably more than half my daily intake. A lot of the things that I used to eat in those days I wouldn't eat now. In some ways I think I grew and stayed healthy IN SPITE of what I ate rather than BECAUSE of what I ate. For instance, most mornings I ate bacon for breakfast - and lots of it. And on it's own. If melon was in season I would start off with half a melon, then the bacon and then start sipping my first pint of GUNGE. I lived above the gym and used to take my gunge to work with me and sip it over the next hour or so. I should emphasise that this was when I was running the ladies and mens keep fit gym and not when I was training. I used to do my training before breakfast after a small plate of cornflakes.

"No bread in the diet"

"Another point of interest is that for most of the time throughout my bodybuilding years I never ate bread of any sort. As you say, I used to eat quite a bit of liver and I was also very partial to roast ox hearts. Otherwise my main meals were fairly conventional. Roast beef, roast lamb, roast pork, lamb or pork chops and quite a lot of chicken of course. 

Gunge version 2.0 with Amino acids and other added ingredients

At one point I got involved with an amateur bio-chemist who was really into what we should and should not eat. He added extra amino acids to the gunge to improve the balance. Although already quite good, he felt it could be perfected. He also got a yoghurt culture and started mass producing huge containers of High Protein yoghurt  which I consumed on a daily basis . He also came up with PROTEIN CAKES. These were made with the same ingredients as the gunge, but with added wheat germ. Actually they were quite delicious. 

Gunge on the go!
Going back to the GUNGE. It's a good idea to whisk up a bulk lot in the mornings and put it in the fridge. Say two lots of my original recipe, which should give you between three and four pints. Whenever you are in the vicinity  of the fridge, pour yourself a glass. Or, if you are out and about all day (I realise some people go to work!) take it with you in a thermos. Try not to eat only three meals a day with long periods of hunger in between. GRAZE all day, even if it's only sipping GUNGE. Try to never let your body get really hungry or it will start living off your muscles. Another good thing to remember is that if you eat a lot of protein you won't have room for (or the desire for) snacks and junk food.
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About the Author

John Bubb is a former NABBA professional bodybuilder with more than half a century of experience in the iron game.  John has six top four finishes at the NABBA Pro Mr. Universe from 1967 to 1971, including a runner-up placing to Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1968. 

John has trained several bodybuilders from many countries and has remained very active in the bodybuilding arena decades after hanging his posing trunks. He is one of our most prized contributors at Bodybuilding Mauritius and we feel very honoured to have someone of the calibre of John dispensing advice to all of us with such enthusiasm. 

We at Bodybuilding Mauritius are very keen about old-school bodybuilding as we believe that in order for bodybuilding to have a future it must look back at its past. We couldn't ask for a better guru of Golden era bodybuilding than "Iron Grandpa Bubb". You are welcome to check other articles by John Bubb on this website.

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