MostMuscle.com- Charles Staley Tips

10 Staley Tips

Charles Staley is a top-notch Strength & Speed Coach who has worked with hundreds of professional & Olympic athletes. He is most famous for training Ben Johnson for the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games where Johnson broke the world record for the Men's 100 meter dash (and got busted for steroid use). He has since published over 200 articles in numerous sport and fitness magazines, including Muscle Media, Martial Arts Illustrated, Muscle & Fitness, and Martial Arts Training. Charles specializes in combat sports, track & field, powerlifting, and Olympic weightlifting.

I was lucky enough to have the chance to sit in on a conference call with Charles Staley while his audience (including myself) were allowed to pick his brain on a wide range of topics ranging from coaching techniques to speed development. Here is a summary of Staley's statements along with my own explanations & opinions:

1. "Martial Artists should incorporate Olympic lifts into there workouts".

This is a proven technique for developing power. Many martial artists avoid weightlifting all together in fear of becoming bulky, slow, and inflexible. Rests assure guys and gals, Olympic lifts can only make you stronger, faster and more powerful. They will not slow you down.

2. "The best Strength Coaches are those with an open mind".

I could not agree more. In this field, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Many coaches can get caught up in tunnel vision, thinking that their own methods or the methods they were taught by a mentor are the only ways to improve performance. A great coach must have an open mind to new techniques and be willing to try different options in order to help their athletes. If you have a coach that is narrow minded, he/she is short changing you as an athlete. Almost anything from swissballs and kettlebells, to bands and chains can be used to enhance athletic performance.

3. "Coaching famous people does not make you a good coach".

Charles explained that most famous clients were already famous before they sign-up for his services. While they may have be great before it was his mission to make them even better.

4. "You will never become a great athlete unless you absolutely love to train".

I see this everyday, athletes or students that enjoy the training experience, continually seek new challenges, and view training as a positive and necessary event, make the most progress and perform the best come game day. Remember this.

5. "Don't start in the middle".

I found this one very interesting. Charles explain when you are trying something new such as a new diet or training routine, don't start in the middle ground, start at one of the extremes (high or low). He used the example of a diet with moderate fat intake. If you are not getting the desired results (body composition or performance), which way would you adjust the diet, higher or lower fat? If you started with a low fat diet and it did not result in a positive outcome, you know the only option is to increase your fat intake. The same idea can be used for training. If high volume training does not work, you know to lower the volume. If low volume does not work, an increase in volume is in order. But if you start in the mid-volume range and it does not yield the results, where do you go from there?

6. "Personal Trainer push their clients to do more, Strength & Conditioning Coaches usually have to push their clients to do less".

I have found that this is true also. The general public needs to be motivated to be more active while my athletes are already highly motivated and perhaps overzealous about their workouts and diet and in many cases their training needs to be tapered down.

7. "24 hours before competition, use a short, low volume, high intensity workout to amp up the central nervous system".

I really would have to try this before I could comment on it. I have my athletes rest as much as possible, but this could be an interesting alternative.

8. "It is possible to gain too much muscle mass as an athlete, but it is not likely. Strength to weight ratio is much more important when it comes to athletic performance. For example, if an athlete can do a high number of pull-ups, his/her strength-to-weight ratio is good and the chances are they would be also fast and powerful".

This is a valid point when it comes to athletes and muscle mass. Most athletes, even the genetically blessed, will not attain large enough muscle mass to hamper their ability to perform on the field or court. It is important is that adequate strength gains come along with the added muscle size and serve more as a functional component rather than aesthetics.

9. "Most high school athletes are weak".

I am forced to agree 100% with is statement. You may say that they are still not fully developed, but unfortunately the lack of strength at the high school level is mainly due to the lack of high quality strength programming. In many cases, strength & conditioning is an afterthought in high school athletic programs. This leaves the kids to find their own way through the maze of the weightroom and usually ends up in set after set of bench presses and curls. The blind leading the blind.

10. "The most important exercises in any program are: Deadlift, Squat, Clean & Jerk and Pull-ups".

This reiterates the point I made in a previous article (The BIG 4). Heavy, multi-joint, compound exercises give you the best bang for your buck. Charles has a 70/30 rule that pertains to this. He states that 70% of your progress stems from 30% of your work. Make these exercises the core of your training program and don't waste too much time with supplementary movements.