Pat Casey considered the grandfather of Powerlifting; not only was he a behemoth of a man, but Pat Casey was the forefather of the bench press. Pat Casey became the first man in the world to do 600lb. in the bench press. In this article you will learn how to train like Pat Casey!
Pat’s favorite exercises:
Bench Press
Bench Press lockouts 4 and 7 inches from chest
Dumbell Incline or Barbell Incline (stopped DB incline after 285 bodyweight.
Lying Tricep Extension
Dips
Seated Military Press
Press Behind Neck – Seated
Chins
All forms of rowing
Routine
Monday:
Bench Press Lockouts: . Singles from 4 inches off chest. 3 singles from 7 inches off chest. After lockouts, 2 sets of regular benches with 405 x 3.
Dumbell Incline: 3 sets of 5 reps warmup. 120 x 10, 200 x 3 sets of 5 reps. Best: 220 x 6 @ 285 bodyweight.
Lying Triceps Extension: 5-6 sets of 3-5 reps.
Chins: 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps.
Curls: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 100 pounds.
Tuesday
Squats: 135 x 5, 22 x 3, 315 x 2, 405 x 2, 585 x 2, 650 x 5 singles, 515 x 10.
Leg Extension: 3 x 20 reps.
Leg Curls: 2 x 12 reps.
Deadlifts from below knee: (working on sticking point) 315 x 5, 405 x2, 515 x 1, 565 x 6 singles.
Wednesday and Thursday
Rest. He worked an 8 hour job during the day.
Friday
Bench Press: 135 x 20, 225 x 10, 315 x 5, 405 x 5, 515 x 1, 560/570 x 5 singles, 405 x 10, 315 x 20.
Seated Military Press: He had to turn his head to the side to get the barbell past his face. 135 x 10, 225 x 5, 315 x 3, 400 x 1, 315 x 5, 225 x 8.
Dips: Bodyweight x 3 sets of 5 reps, then 10 sets of 205 x 5 reps.
Saturday:
Lockout Squats: above parallel, squat down and stop on pins. Dead stop. No bounce at the bottom. 135 x 10, 225 x 5, 315 x 3, 405 x 2, 515 x 1. 585 x 1, 650 x 1, 750 x 5 singles, finish with full squat – 405 x 5 with a pause at the bottom. These lockouts were mainly for the feel of handling heavy weight.
Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 20 reps.
Leg Curls: 2 sets of 12 reps.
He would also throw in some bodybuilding movements and neck work.
Note: He has long legs, long arms, and a short torso. This is the opposite of people like Paul Anderson or Doug Hepburn who were built for strength. Pat overcame this handicap through his methods of training and positive attitude.
He would do chest exercises with 220 lb. dumbells in each hand. There was a corner of the gym where Pat stored his weights for special lifts. The 220 lb. dumbells were there along with a 330 lb. dumbell he used for dips. Nobody touched Pat’s weights and nobody other than Pat wanted to touch his weights.
One exercise that Pat liked to do was Seated Dumbell Presses on a special bench that was built to sit directly on the floor and had a back support. He would clean one of the 185 lb. dumbells to his shoulder and I would usually hand him the other.
Bill Pearl and Pat Casey
Editor’s note: Mr. Casey was coached by bodybuilding legend Bill Pearl. On my blog I have got Bill’s training philosophy. It’s worth to read Bill’s training thoughts. Use the below tag-system and click “Bill Pearl” you would find some posts about him.
source: Pat Casey’s book
Edior’s note: Use the below tag-system and click the button “benchpress” or “Bill Pearl” for more informations and articles developed by champions! – Mr. Berg