Casey Viator - His Workout Routine

During the very early part of 1970, a muscle-building time bomb exploded in
the form of "Nautilus" and its inventor, Arthur Jones.

The writings and advertisements for Jones and his mysterious machines
emerged via the pages of top bodybuilding magazine "Iron Man."

The articles, and even the ads, became so popular that countless readers wrote
to Editor Peary Rader, claiming that they much preferred to digest the "Nautilus
Ads", before they read anything else!

This fact was even more strengthened when the June / July 1973 issue of "Iron
Man consisted of an amazingly thick 112 pages, and had Nautilus ads featured
from page 41 to 72! Yes, 32 pages of continuous, nonstop ads for those famous
exercise machines, which surely must be some kind of record in this unique
muscle business.

Many kinds of people were seen endorsing the equipment from doctors,
football players, and coaches to universalities, schools, hospitals, and of course,
top bodybuilders.

Famous stars such as the great Arnold, Sergio Oliva, Boyer Coe, Franco
Columbu, and many others were all invited by Jones to visit the Nautilus plant
situated in Deland, Florida.

Many endorsements were published as a result of these and other visits, but the
biggest endorsement was yet to come.

The endorsement came in the form of some amazing photos of a very young
bodybuilder who had just won the 1970 AAU Junior Mr. America at the
incredible age of only 18 years old!

The pictures were of a virtually unknown boy hailing from the Boyer Coe
territory known as Lafayette, Louisiana, and the boy's name was Casey Viator!

The first tempting article and photos on Casey appeared in the September 1970
issue of "Iron Man" just after his Junior Mr. America win and clean sweep of
every single bodypart with the exception of abdominals!
The article mentioned that Casey had been training seven days a week, doing
thirty sets per bodypart! But it also stated the following, "At the preset time he
is back on an every other day workout schedule with a special program and
greatly reduced working time, and results are coming amazingly fast, however,
at present we are not permitted to tell you how he is working!"

At this time no ne really knew why there was so much secrecy attached to his
workout routine. It was only as the months went by that the name of Arthur
Jones, Nautilus, and Casey Viator became synonymous! All kinds of claims
and rumors circulated the worldwide bodybuilding grapevine.

Rumors of superhuman bodily feats such as full squats with 505 pounds for 14
reps, and other amazing accomplishments. Hones himself even wrote that the
great Sergio Oliva, on of the greatest physique stars of all time, could not keep
up with Casey during one of these secret workouts.

So just how was the training then? How did he build those amazing arms that
looked as though they were bigger than his head? The best training article that
appeared on Casey during that period was published in the Oct. 1971 edition of
"Iron Man" and was written by Achilles Kallos.

The article listed Casey's measurements as Height 5'8", Weight 217 pounds,
Arms 19 3/8" (cold) Chest 50", Waist 31 1/2", Thighs 28", and Calf 18"!

The article also mentioned the fact that Casey trained the whole body in one
workout, three times per week, and that each workout lasted between tow and
two-and-a- half hours.

The writer then listed the amazing workout as followed by Casey during that
period.

Exercise Sets Reps Pounds

LEGS
Leg Press 1 20 750
Leg Extension 1 14-20 250
Squats 1 14-20 505
Leg Curls 1 14-20 150
LATS
Nautilus Pullover Machine 3 20
Special Circular Pulldown 3 20
Chinning 3 20
DELTOIDS
Standing Lateral Raise 3 20 60
Press Behind Neck 3 20 215
Nautilus Special Side-Raise 3 20
TRAPS
Shoulder Shrugs 3 20 280
CHEST
Bench Press 2 20 350
Incline Barbell Press 3 20 225
Parallel Bar Dips 3 20 100
Cable Crossovers 3 20 40
ARMS
Barbell Curl 1 20 200
Nautilus Bicep & Tricep 1 20 120
Nautilus Pushdown 1 20 110
Compound Tricep Movement 1 20
CALFS
Seated Barbell Wrist Curl 2 20
LOWER BACK
Dead Lifts 1 30 400

The most amazing thing about his leg routine was the fact that Casey did each
exercise nonstop, going from one exercise to another without rest.

Even now, almost nine years (now 34 years) after it was written, this workout is
simply nothing short of incredible when you realize the weights that Casey was
handling and for 20 reps, too!

Having already won the 1971 AAU Senior Mr. America shortly before that
article went to print, Casey's appearance at the NABBA Mr. Universe in
London was eagerly anticipated, but unfortunately it never materialized. And
for some unknown reason, Casey Viator did a disappearing act from the face of
the bodybuilding world and its publications! It was even written that Arthur
Hones had advised Casey to "get out of bodybuilding."

Casey's departure was not for long however, and his name was to be inserted
into the record books. This is how it happened. During the month of May 1973,
Casey Viator made the history books by making the largest muscular gains in
bodyweight recorded on a human being.

Casey, under the guidance of Arthur Jones, undertook a scientific exercise

experiment at the Colorado State University. The experiment was conducted
under the supervision of Doctor Elliot. Plese, director of exercise at the
Physiology Lab of the university.
The experiment lasted form May 1st to May 29th. Casey trained only three
days per week, and each workout lasted only 30 minutes. ONly Nautilus
Machines were used, and after only 28 days or 12 workouts Casey recorded the
following unbelievable results!

Increase in Bodyweight 45.28 lbs. Loss of Body Fat 17.93 lbs. Muscular
Gain 63.21 lbs.

The before and after photos used to add further proof to the experiment were
even more amazing . But once again Casey disappeared, not to return for
another 5 years. During the early half of 1978, Oscar Heidenstam, president of
NABBA in London, England, received a very surprising but welcome entry
form from Casey, stating his intentions to enter that year's Amateur Mr.
Universe contest.

A long with the entry form, Casey sent some amazing outdoor black-and-white
photos showing himself in terrific muscular condition. He was as big a sever --
but literally cut to ribbons, and he was coming to win!

It was with great excitement that this writer made the trip to England to see for
himself how the great Casey would match up to NABBA's previous winners,
namely Messrs, Park, Pearl, Zane, Coe, Dickerson, Nubret, and of course
Arnold!

I first cast eyes on Casey backstage as he was pumping up prior to the judging.
To say I was impressed would be a gross understatement. He was wearing a
knee-length steel-gray dressing gown, but how I remembered that I'll never
know. Walter O'Malley, the top British physique star, was standing next to me,
and he just couldn't keep his thoughts to himself, "Look at those bloody calves,
will you? I've never seen anything like that in all my years i the game,"
exclaimed Walter in this thick buy friendly Irish accent. "Never mind the
calves, look at those forearms!" I answered.

I've seen Sergio Oliva pump on nonstop for what seemed like a whole hour.
I've witnessed Don Ross pump himself blue in the face from his isokinetic
contraction exercises, and I've watched Roy Duval pump his pecs till they
almost burst. But I've never ever seen anyone pump up like Casey Viator!

It's not just because he works so hard at it. It's because he does not feel any
pain! I watched him perform dips, towel curls, towel tricep extensions, Power
Crusher squeezes, plus other standard pre-contest pump-up moves. All the
time, he was chewing gum and he had a strange expression on his face, as
though he was willing his body to withstand as much pain as possible. In fact,
he loved every minute of it. In between exercises, he would strut around the
dressing room like a human powerhouse, and I thought to myself, "He'll blow
them all to bits."

When Casey's name was called out at the judging, he immediately bounced
onto the rostrum and blasted the audience with only a very few of his most
famous poses. The double biceps to the front, side chest, one-arm bicep, calf
and thigh shot, etc. No sooner had he appeared, then he disappeared!

As so often happens at the St. Pancras Assembly rooms, the walls and roof
almost fell in as the audience went wild with pleasure. I myself just couldn't
believe my own eyes at the sight of the front double biceps pose -- and then
disaster! During comparison pose downs with Dave Johns, Casey's presentation
and nervous manner on stage stood out like a sore thumb. Johns, who, boy the
way, was in the finest condition of his life, gave a fabulous cool, calm, and
super professional display that day. Further trouble was ahead for Casey as he
was forced to stand next to Dave in the relaxed but semi-tensed position as the
judges tallied up their scores. Being so out of practice from his lack of contest
participation during the previous five years, Casey made the fatal mistake of
relaxing his abdominals as he stood there in front of the judges. As a result, he
looked smooth next to Johns who never once faltered form the full abdominals
tensed position, and lost Casey lost the NABBA Mr. Universe!

There was an awful lot of bad feeling between Casey and NABBA afterwards,
and both he and Oscar Heidenstam made their views felt on the independent
pages of "Muscle Digest".

Casey was then faced with the worrying dilemma of where to turn to next.
After making some fabulous gains during his comeback, he didn't want to go
back into liquidation. "He wanted to prove that he was the greatest physique in
the world."

After the falling out with NABBA, he was faced with only two alternative
bodybuilding organizations, namely WABBA and of course the IFBB.

Casey chose the IFBB and made his debut at the November 1979 Canada Cup,
placing only fifth behind all the IFBB Professionals. As a result of his
participation at this contest, it is rumored that he was immediately sacked form
his Nautilus position.
Casey, more determined than ever, put all his eggs into one basket and moved
lock, stock, and barrel to sunny California, land of the champions.

After some very, very tight seconds behind Chris Dickerson, Casey finally
turned the tables and beat everyone at the Louisiana grand Prix and the
Pittsburgh Grand Prix!

The pictures of him were now simply quite amazing, his muscularity was
unbelievable, his vascularity was unbelievable, his cuts were unbelievable, and
even his abdominals were unbelievable. In fact, all of him was unbelievable!

I asked Mentzer how Casey had totally transformed his appearance and he
simply replied, "He's lost twenty pounds in bodyweight, that's why."

With the renowned Hoe Weider's famous guidance and wisdom behind him,
plus exposure via the bodybuilding magazine, "Muscle and Fitness", Casey
seemed ready for the kill.

Going in a hot favorite to the New York Grand Prix Final, Casey dropped down
to a shattering fifth position. It would appear that he had probably burned
himself out from all the various Grand Prix events that he submitted himself to.

But where does he go from here? Under IFBB rules he doesn't even qualify for
entry into this year's Mr. Olympia contest.

Remember, he hasn't won an IFBB Championship or Mr. Universe, and he

hasn't won a IFBB Grand Prix Final, and finally, he hasn't taken part in a
previous Mr. Olympia contest. Only time will tell.