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Fitness

Athlete Journal: Charles Staley, Entry 62 – 2013 World Championships

Here's a report of this year's Raw! Federation World Powerlifting Championships, as well as my goals for the future in light of my performance at the meet.

Written by Charles Staley Last updated on October 18, 2013

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. Every Friday you can read what Charles has done this week in his workout sessions.

Hi all, sorry I’ve been a stranger. I’m just now getting caught up after competing at the 100% Raw! Federation’s World Powerlifting Championships on October 6th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The meet went very well. Here’s a short report, along with a quick rundown on my goals for the near future:

First, for the first time ever, I competed as a 198lb lifter, after working all year with nutrition coach Eric Helms of Team 3D Muscle Journey. Eric is absolutely brilliant. I painlessly lost about seventeen pounds of (I’ll put it charitably here) “non-functional” bodyweight, with pretty much no strength loss along the way.

My all-time best lifts as a 220lb lifter were a 401lb squat, a 259lb bench, and a 501lb pull. My goal for this meet was to equal those numbers in the 198lb class, which I almost did. Although I benched 259lb and pulled 501lb, I only managed a 385lb squat, which you can see here:

My 385 squat from 2013 World Championships

If you look at the video, it seems like I might have managed five to ten more pounds, but at last year’s Worlds I had a bad experience where I was having trouble with my squats, which pretty much demoralized me for the rest of the competition. This year, I vowed to dial in my squats, open conservatively, and make all (or at least most) of my lifts. My reasoning was that if I could come out of the squat event having made all three lifts, I’d be in a positive frame of mind for the rest of the meet.

My strategy ultimately paid off. While I didn’t equal my best squat as a 220lb lifter, I did total 98.7% of my best total in the 220lb class, and the total is what really matters after all.

One strategy that paid off particularly well for me is opening with easy lifts. If you watch all my first attempts below, it’s clear that I could have at least tripled all my openers, and in the case of the deadlift, I probably could have gotten ten reps with it if necessary. Here’s a video of that pull:

My 409 deadlift from 2013 World Championships

I also tried to take my first and second attempts with the smallest amount of emotional arousal. This approach allowed me to enter the deadlift event with a lot of energy in reserve, and I ended up lifting nine for nine in my second World Championships.

I’m back in regular training now, using a 5-3-1 approach as a base program. At some point down the road, I’ll shift to something akin to Brandon Lilly’s Cube system. I’m looking at doing a local push/pull event in December, and from there I’ll set my sights on the 100% Raw! American Challenge on June 29th, where my goal is to set a 1200lb total in the 198lb class.

I’ll be back with my regular athlete journal next week, but until then, here are the other videos from Worlds:

315 squat:

My 315 squat from 2013 World Championships

359 squat:

My 359 squat from 2013 World Championships

242 bench:

My 242 bench from 2013 World Championships

253 bench:

My 253 bench from 2013 World Championships

259 bench:

My 259 bench from 2013 World Championships

450 pull:

My 450 deadlift from 2013 World Championships

501 pull:

My 501 deadlift from 2013 World Championships

About Charles Staley

Charles Staley's primary interest is providing inspiration and education for older guys looking to reclaim their physicality and vitality. At age 56, Charles is leaner than ever, injury-free, and in lifetime best-shape - a few of his recent bests include a 400-pound squat, a 510-pound deadlift, and a set of 17 chin ups.

Charles Staley's primary interest is providing inspiration and education for older guys looking to reclaim their physicality and vitality. At age 56, Charles is leaner than ever, injury-free, and in lifetime best-shape - a few of his recent bests include a 400-pound squat, a 510-pound deadlift, and a set of 17 chin ups.

Well known in the U.S. and across the world, Charles is recognized as a innovative coach and a thought leader in the field of human performance. His experience, reputation, and self-effacing persona have lead to appearances on NBC’s The TODAY Show and The CBS Early Show, along with numerous radio and podcast appearances. He has penned more than a thousand articles for major publications and online websites in the industry.

Often referred to as a visionary, an iconoclast and a rule-breaker, his methods are leading-edge and ahead of their time, capable of quickly producing serious results.

Charles is not only a thinker, but also a doer: currently, he competes at the national and world level in weightlifting and powerlifting on the master’s circuit and holds three World Championship titles in the sport of raw powerlifting. Find Charles online at Target Focus Fitness, or follow him on his popular Facebook page.

Charles has had a successful online coaching service in place for several years. This is a way people to train under his direct supervision even if they aren’t local to him. If you’re ready to invest in yourself, Charles would love to be on your team!

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