casey viator's workout routine

Casey Viator’s Training Routine

Have you ever heard about Casey Viator? At 19 years old, he became the youngest man to win the coveted Mr. America bodybuilding title. This was happening in 1971, which was decades ago. Back then, bodybuilders worked incredibly hard for their gains and had access to a limited number of products for muscle and repair. Casey was born in New Iberia and started training at the age of 15. He’s a great example of what’s possible with the right combination of training and genetics. In this article we’ll take a look at Casey Viator’s workout routine.

This young bodybuilder had an excellent genetic potential and worked hard for his physique. He has training under the guidance of Red Lerille, Art Jones, and Boyer Coe.  Arthur Jones is the trainer who invented the Nautilus machine, which allowed athletes to train in less time with spectacular results. He claimed that Casey was one of the strongest men he has ever trained.

According to Jones, Casey was doing barbell curls with up to 225 pounds, press behind neck with 280 pounds, full squats with 505 pounds, deadlifts with 400 pounds (up to 30 reps!) and bench press with 460 pounds. There are many photos showing him using even greater weights in later years. The load he used for 20 or more reps was incredible.

Casey Viator’s Workout Routine

Casey Viator was training three times a week. A typical workout lasted up to two and a half hours, targeting the whole body. Young Casey was using the Nautilus machine for training his lats and arms. He worked mainly with barbells and dumbbells for the rest of the body, with little or no rest between sets.

This approach allowed him to train all muscle groups in such a short time. Later in life, he became a personal trainer and published author. Casey won three pro contests in 1980, and has competed only sporadically after that.

Casey Viator’s three-day a-week workout routine consisted of four exercises per workout, without much rest. He was using heavy weights, performing up to 20 reps per set.

 

Arms (Nautilus machine)

Combination Triceps and Biceps exercise – 120 lbs. 1 x 20

Conventional Barbell Curl – 200 lbs. 1 x 20

Compound Triceps movement – 1 x 20

Triceps Extension – 110 lbs. 1 x 20

 

Chest

 

Cable Crossover – 40 lbs. 3 x 20

Dips – 100 lbs. 3 x 20

Incline Barbell Press – 225 lbs. 3 x 20

Barbell Bench Press – 350 lbs. 2 x 20

 

Shoulders (conventional and Nautilus) – one movement on the Nautilus, two movement with barbell and dumbbells

 

Nautilus Lateral Raise – 3 x 20

Barbell Press Behind Neck – 215 lbs. x 3 sets of 20 reps

Standing Laterals – 60 lbs. x 3 sets of 20 reps

Barbell Shrug – 280 lbs. 3 x 20

 

Lats (Nautilus machine)

 

Chins – 3 x 20

Circular Pulldown – 3 x 20

Pullover – 3 x 20 reps

 

Legs

 

Leg Curl – 150 x 14-20

Leg Extension – 250 lbs. x 14 to 20 reps

Leg Press 750 lbs. x 20 reps

Full Squat – 505 x 14-20

 

Deadlift

 

400 lbs. 1 set of 30 reps.

 

Forearms

 

Barbell Wrist Curl – 145 lbs. 2 x 20

 

Calves

One Legged Calf Raise – 85-pound dumbbell 4 x 50

Casey’s routine shows what hard work looks like. Not only he used heavy weights, but also employed high reps. Next time you’re getting ready to leave the gym, do one more set. You won’t get overtrained from doing a few extra reps.

 


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