EDITOR’S NOTE: Ever wonder how a world-class coach actually trains? Wonder what it’s like to train as a “mature athlete?” Welcome to the athlete journal of Charles Staley. A big believer in practicing what he preaches, Charles trains and competes just like his clients. Now, every Friday read what Charles has done this week in his workout sessions, and how he feels about it.
As I mentioned in my last entry, I’m now switching to a cycle where I’ll be doing some type of squat, bench, and pull 3 days a week, with “odds ‘n ends” on day 4. The key to this strategy is to keep volume at a minimum, and also to aggressively attempt to better my 1, 3, and 5RM PRs on the main lifts whenever possible.
I’m also initiating a new (for me) exercise – band resisted deadlifts. The bands I’m using provide about 225 pounds worth of resistance at the top. You can see how this is set up in one of the videos below.
Lastly, I’m mainly sticking with high bar squats for the foreseeable future due to shoulder issues on low bar squats.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013, 10:00 AM
Bodyweight: 198 lbs
HIGH BAR SQUAT
Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
Set 3: 135 lbs × 3
Set 4: 185 lbs × 1
Set 5: 225 lbs × 1
Set 6: 275 lbs × 1
Set 7: 315 lbs × 1
Set 8: 335 lbs × 0
Set 9: 275 lbs × 5
BENCH PRESS (DUMBBELL)
Set 1: 120 lbs × 10
Set 2: 160 lbs × 5
Set 3: 209 lbs × 6 (Video Below)
KETTLEBELL STIFF-LEG DEADLIFT
Set 1: 202 lbs × 10
Set 2: 202 lbs × 10 (Video Below)
KROC ROWS
Set 1: 105 lbs × 10
Set 2: 105 lbs × 10
Set 1: 70 lbs × 10
Set 2: 70 lbs × 10
Set 3: 70 lbs × 10
Friday, June 14, 2013, 10:00 AM
Bodyweight: 199 lbs
HIGH BAR SQUAT
Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
Set 3: 135 lbs × 3
Set 4: 185 lbs × 1
Set 5: 225 lbs × 1
Set 6: 275 lbs × 1
Set 7: 295 lbs × 3 (Video Below)
BENCH PRESS
Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
Set 2: 185 lbs × 1
Set 3: 205 lbs × 1
Set 4: 225 lbs × 1
Set 5: 245 lbs × 1
BAND-RESISTED SPEED PULLS
Set 1: 135 lbs × 3
Set 2: 225 lbs × 3
Set 3: 275 lbs × 3
Set 4: 275 lbs × 3
Set 5: 275 lbs × 3 (Video Below)
TRICEP EXTENSION
Set 1: 70 lbs × 10
Sunday, June 16, 2013, 10:00 AM
Bodyweight: 199.6 lbs
BENCH PRESS (DUMBBELL)
Set 1: 120 lbs × 10
Set 2: 160 lbs × 10
Set 3: 209 lbs × 7
KROC ROWS
Set 1: 95 lbs × 10
Set 2: 95 lbs × 10
BACK EXTENSIONS
Set 1: 95 lbs × 10
Set 2: 95 lbs × 10
BICEP CURL (DUMBBELL)
Set 1: 40 lbs × 10
Set 2: 40 lbs × 10
Set 1: 199.6 lbs × 6
Set 2: 199.6 lbs × 6
Set 3: 199.6 lbs × 6
Set 4: 199.6 lbs × 6
Monday, June 17, 2013, 10:00 AM
Bodyweight: 199.2 lbs
HIGH BAR SQUAT
Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
Set 4: 185 lbs × 1
Set 5: 225 lbs × 1
Set 6: 275 lbs × 1
Set 7: 315 lbs × 1
Set 8: 330 lbs × 1 (Video Below)
Set 9: 315 lbs × 2
BAND-RESISTED PULLS
Set 1: 135 lbs × 3
Set 2: 225 lbs × 3
Set 3: 275 lbs × 3
Set 4: 275 lbs × 3
Set 5: 275 lbs × 3
BENCH PRESS
Set 1: 135 lbs × 5
Set 2: 185 lbs × 5
Set 3: 205 lbs × 5
Set 4: 215 lbs × 5
Set 5: 225 lbs × 3
Set 1: 90 lbs × 6
Set 2: 90 lbs × 6
Set 1: 80 lbs × 10
Set 2: 80 lbs × 10
