an amazingly compact & massive man
Published: Tue, 05/22/12
During the golden era of bodybuilding who could forget such
legendary names such as Dave Draper, Don Richard Howorth,
Sergio Oliva, Harold Poole, Larry Scott, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
....and last but not least in the IFBB parade of champions was
a man who you may not have heard of by the name of Chuck Sipes.
The late Chuck was a huge, thickly muscled man, not too tall but
amazingly compact and massive.
He had ruggedness written over his physiognomy and a broad grin
for everyone. He had a cheerful attitude everywhere he went,
however when he began a workout, his concentration was so laser
focused that it was obvious to those around him that he did not
want to be interrupted. This frame of mind netted him contest-winning
results at the IFBB pro level.
Chuck wasn't just a muscle model he had strength & size!
At around 5'10 he weighed 220 lbs and could bench 570 lbs! (no gear)
That is insane! His arms were 19.5 inches and he had a 50 inch chest.
Did I mention he could do full squats with 600lbs and do curls with 250 lbs?
Impressed yet?
If so get ready to step back into the 60s and look into the mind of one
of pro bodybuilding's best. Over the next week I"m going to be sharing
training & nutrition strategies that Chuck used to win an IFBB show and
build the body you see before you.
To kick things off I'm going to share 3 things I learned from studying
Chuck Sipes in regards to building strength & size in no particular order.
1. Put maximum effort into each set, never holding back for another set
or exercise.
2. Workouts should be enjoyable, a relief from daily tension. A way of
life, not prison.
3. Do rugged workouts and for inducing strength keep the reps down to
8 or less which will allow the use of massive poundages resulting in the
maximal development of tendon and ligament strength. Chuck said that
tendon and ligament strength is more important than just plain body weight
for strength and power.
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As you can probably tell Chuck Sipes was a man I admired when it
As you can probably tell Chuck Sipes was a man I admired when it
came to training. With this old school muscle he was a true powerbuilder
because he was big, cut and strong as an ox and that's what I always strive
for with my training.
Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow with more from the late great
Chuck Sipes!
Keep training hard,
Mike Westerdal
CriticalBench.com