• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Protein Powder
      • Best Whey Protein
      • Best Creatine
      • AG1 Review
    • Equipment
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Athlete Journal: Charles Staley, Entry 68 – Training Objectives

Good solid week this week, with good results in the low bar squat, deadlift, and tactical pull ups. Today I'll discuss how I determine my objectives each week.

Written by Charles Staley Last updated on November 29, 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.

Good solid week this week, with good results in the low bar squat and deadlift. The tactical pull ups are coming along nicely as well. As you’ll notice if you follow from week to week, generally I have two very simple objectives during any given week:

  1. A continual reassessment of how well I’m addressing my current needs and weaknesses (relative to my goals), and assuming I’m happy with the answer to that, I move on to my next goal.
  2. Slightly improve upon what I did the previous week in some way. Either lift more weight, do more total reps with the same weight, both, or, in come cases (such as squats this week), improve the quality of the work I’m doing.

How do I choose which track to take? Simple – I choose whatever type of progression I feel I have the best chance of pulling off at the moment. Generally I’ll always assess my chances of lifting more weight for the same total reps I accomplished last week. If I think I can pull that off, I’ll do it. If not, I’ll choose between more total reps with the same load I lifted the previous week and improving the quality of my work in some way.

If you watch my squat video from this week, although I was happy with the weight I lifted, I wasn’t happy with my left knee, which has a mind of its own lately. After pondering that for a few days, and also due to feeling a bit beat up from Tuesday’s session, I opted to squat with a moderate load on Friday, while facing the mirror and monitoring my knee. I also paused at the bottom for a few seconds on my top sets to increase difficulty and as a way of improving confidence and control in the bottom.

Keep training hard, everyone.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013, 6:20 PM

Volume: 7460lbs

Bodyweight: 198lbs

SQUAT

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 135 lbs × 3

Set 3: 185 lbs × 2

Set 4: 225 lbs × 1

Set 5: 275 lbs × 1

Set 6: 315 lbs × 1

Set 7: 365 lbs × 1 (Video Below)

365 @ 198.0

BACK EXTENSIONS

Set 1: 95 lbs × 10

Set 2: 130 lbs × 10

KETTLEBELL SNATCH

Set 1: 53 lbs × 5

Set 2: 53 lbs × 5

Set 3: 53 lbs × 5

Set 4: 53 lbs × 5

Set 5: 53 lbs × 5

Set 6: 53 lbs × 5

STANDING CALF RAISE (MACHINE)

Set 1: 90 lbs × 8

Set 2: 90 lbs × 8

Wednesday, November 20, 2013, 6:20 PM

Volume: 11,750 lbs

Bodyweight: 197.6 lbs

BENCH PRESS (DUMBBELL)

Set 1: 100 lbs × 10

Set 2: 130 lbs × 10

Set 3: 177 lbs × 10

Set 4: 190 lbs × 6

TACTICAL PULL UP

Set 1: 197.6 lbs × 1

Set 2: 197.6 lbs × 2

Set 3: 197.6 lbs × 3

Set 4: 197.6 lbs × 4

Set 5: 197.6 lbs × 5

Set 6: 197.6 lbs × 1

Set 7: 197.6 lbs × 2

Set 8: 197.6 lbs × 3

Set 9: 197.6 lbs × 4

BICEP CURL (DUMBBELL)

Set 1: 70 lbs × 8

Set 2: 70 lbs × 8

Set 3: 70 lbs × 8

Friday, November 22, 2013, 6:20 PM

Volume: 12,610 lbs

Bodyweight: 199.6 lbs

HIGH BAR SQUAT

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 45 lbs × 5

Set 3: 95 lbs × 5

Set 4: 135 lbs × 5

Set 5: 185 lbs × 5

Set 6: 225 lbs × 3

Set 7: 225 lbs × 3

Set 8: 225 lbs × 3

Notes: Today I was facing the mirror and focusing on controlling my left knee using moderate weight.

DEADLIFT

Set 1: 135 lbs × 3

Set 2: 225 lbs × 3

Set 3: 315 lbs × 1

Set 4: 455 lbs × 1 (Video Below)

Notes: Finally got a reasonably good deadlift in, although I still wish it hadn’t felt that heavy.

455

LEG EXTENSION

Set 1: 135 lbs × 10

Set 2: 135 lbs × 10

Set 3: 135 lbs × 10

STANDING CALF RAISE (MACHINE)

Set 1: 90 lbs × 8

Set 2: 90 lbs × 8

Set 3: 90 lbs × 8

Sunday, November 24, 2013, 6:20 PM

Volume: 8,140 lbs

Bodyweight: 201.2 lbs

BENCH PRESS

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 205 lbs × 2

Set 6: 225 lbs × 2

Set 7: 230 lbs × 2

Set 8: 190 lbs × 6

Set 9: 165 lbs × 10

BICEP CURL (DUMBBELL)

Set 1: 70 lbs × 10

Set 2: 70 lbs × 10

Set 3: 70 lbs × 10

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!

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

headlineforlee
5 Mistakes Every New Strength Athlete Makes
screenshot2015-01-12at112906am
Are You Testing Strength or Building It? (Athlete Journal 16)
screenshot2014-12-05at33027pm
Training During the Holidays (Athlete Journal 12)
athlete journal, ryan seaver, powerlifting
Keeping It Simple, Smolov-Style (Athlete Journal 11)

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

20 Best Home Gym Equipment Essentials for Cardio, Strength Training, and More

Hunter Labrada Looks Shredded Before Taking on 2023 Texas Pro and 2023 Tampa Pro

Lat Pulldown vs. Pull-Up: The Battle for a Bigger Back

2023 Strongest Man in Iceland Results — Kristján Jón Haraldsson Repeats

Latest Reviews

Breaking Muscle Best Protein Powder

17 Best Protein Powders for Weight Loss, Muscle Gain, and More

Athletic Greens AG1

Athletic Greens AG1 Review: Is This Greens Powder Worth It?

Best Adjustable Dumbbells

9 Best Adjustable Dumbbells for Home Gyms of 2023

Best Creatine

11 Best Creatine Supplements For Building Muscle, Cutting, and More

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About