Chuck Sipes was an old school bodybuilder who inspired millions to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
The Iron Knight, as Sipes was known, won the Mr. America, Mr. World and Mr. Universe titles throughout his bodybuilding career.
Growing up was told he was too small to play football. Determined to prove his doubters wrong, he started training like an animal. His drive paid off and he built himself into an absolute force to be reckoned with.
Chuck Sipes personified grit. He was a scrappy kid who followed his passion regardless of what people thought of him. He’d arrive to school early to workout with the gymnastics equipment, and during lunch he ran to the store to buy milk and bread for extra calories.
He even built his own home gym in his parents garage. Calling it a gym was a stretch. It was a bench made of wood, a few dumbbells and some mismatched weights plates. Sipes took rusty old train car wheels from the junk yard as he got stronger and required more weight to train with.
It just goes to show you that if there’s a will there’s a way.
As Chuck gained experience (and size) his training routine became more refined. The core of his routine was heavy, powerlifting style training.
Training Philosophy
Chuck Sipes believed getting STRONG. Strength comes first and everything else falls into place.
Heavy lifting builds thick, dense powerful muscle. It gives you muscle fullness for a complete, well-rounded build.
As a result of his training, Chuck Sipes possessed World Class strength. He could bench press 570 pounds! The world record at that time was 617 pounds by a guy 100 pounds heavier than Sipes.
Heavy lifting always was a big part of Sipes training. But there was also a time and place for high volume with lighter weight. (I mean still heavy weight but lighter than his heaviest training poundage) Lots and lots of sets and reps with a ton of weight. (Still needed to lift heavy enough to maintain size during a cut.)
He rested very little between sets when training with higher volume. This was usually the case when a contest was approaching and he wanted to carve the finer details into his physique.
Chuck Sipes Training Split
This is Phase 1 of his training routine that he would do in preparation for competition. He trained 4 times per week and rotated between 2 workouts. His first workout was legs and back. And his second was chest, arms and abdominals.
Legs and Back Workout
Squat 4 sets of 6 reps (2 breaths between reps)
Deadlift 4 sets of 4 reps (2 breaths between reps)
Shrugs 4 sets of 6 reps
Lat Row 4 sets of 6 reps
Chuck took 2 DEEP breaths between sets. Deep breaths fill you with oxygen which gives you power. It also expands your ribcage and helps you brace. It also meant he was concentrating on each rep. Almost treating these sets as heavy singles. This is how you maximize your power and make the most of each rep for best results.
Chest, Arms and Abs Workout
Bench Press 6 sets total. 2 sets each of 6, 4 and 2 reps.
Press Behind Neck 4 sets of 6 reps (Pause at the top of each rep)
Cheating Curl 4 sets of 6 reps
Abdominal Work 2 sets of 20 reps (slow, deliberate movements with added weight.)
Chuck Sipes ‘Strength Diet’
As its name suggests, this diet is used for getting strong and bulking up.
It consists of all natural, whole foods. It’s high protein, moderate carbs and moderate fats. Sipes diet was influenced by Vince GiRonda and Rheo Blair. No surprise since these two were the dominate authority in bodybuilding nutrition at the time.
Breakfast: Fresh fruit juice, whole wheat bread and honey and a protein drink. Supplements taken with breakfast.
Lunch: Meat and cheese sandwiches, green salad, 2 glasses of milk, with a bowl of hearty soup or cottage cheese. Jello or pudding for something sweet.
Dinner: Meat dish baked or broiled, green salad, vegetables, 2 glasses of milk. Ice cream or fruit for dessert.
Sipes had his protein drank, fresh fruit and/or nuts between each meal and before bed. His supplements included Vitamin C, essential minerals, wheat germ oil, and handfuls of liver tablets.
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