Chad Aichs is one of the strongest lifters in the world. No wait, Chad is one of the strongest lifters in the history of the world. His passion is to break the all-time total, and he wants to reach 2900 and possibly even a 3000-lb total. Over the years, Chad and I have become close friends. He and I have a lot in common, but we also disagree on a lot. In this article, I will try to tackle why he thinks training six times a year is too taxing for him. Chad is 50 percent crazy and 100 percent insane. He had little preparation for the 2007 Pro Am, and he still took a stab at a world record squat of 1221 lbs. Think about that…if my math is correct, that’s like way over two tons!
Chad Aichs is 6’1 385 lbs and one of the biggest, baddest powerlifters you’ll ever see. Despite the fact that he looks like someone pooped in his Muscle Milk, he is one of the kindest, most helpful lifters you will ever meet. Although Chad’s accomplishments are outstanding, he gets the most fulfillment out of putting others before himself. Chad is always willing to help people. He loves watching others succeed. About a year ago, I asked Chad if he would be part of our “Never Enough” DVD series. Without hesitation, the big man said yes! Chad is interviewed about the importance of technique in both the “Squat and Deadlift” DVD and the new “Bench” DVD.
JA: Chad, I know you love trying to find training that is optimal. I also know that you hate when people follow the lead of other’s without questioning the knowledge. I understand that you think most of us suffer from overtraining, but what about over-tanning? Do you think the bronze buns under the various layers of Under Armor gear on CEO, Dave Tate, are a result of over-tanning?
CA: I can’t really say that I’m an expert on over-tanning, but I do have a couple of interesting insights on the subject. Let me first start by talking about Dave Tate. Those of us who know Dave know that he has been on a very bad and self-destructive downward spiral over the last few years. This all started with cleaning up his DIET. He then moved to cutting body fat while working out like a bodybuilder (yeah, a BODYBUILDER). Next, he started shaving his body, sporting lots of Under Armor, and the final coup de grace, TANNING.
This truly upsets me, and I often try to figure out how things could have gone so wrong for him. I wonder what I could do to help him get back to normal because I’m sure many of his friends do. However, most of the time the person has to hit rock bottom before they’re able to start the climb back up. On the positive side, Dave is very close to the bottom and could not possibly sink much lower. It is also good to see in Dave’s writings that the old Dave is still in there somewhere. If we remain patient, the good, old Dave who we all know and love will be back soon. All we can do is say a prayer to the gods of strength that Dave finds his way back to the righteous path of the dark side.
Now, back to the question at hand…yes, it is possible to over-tan. In fact, if you’re tanning at all, you are over-tanning. Tanning should never be done for any reason. Well, it’s ok if you’re a chick and you put a little Chad Aichs symbol on your glutes maximus so everything gets tan but the symbol. As for Dave’s actual bronze buns, I don’t want to know anything about them, and I feel very sorry for the poor sap who had to shave them. I can only assume that it was Mr. Wendler.
JA: If we hear Dave talking about squatting at or below parallel then we all know that it’s time for an intervention. Chad, what are your goals for 2008?
CA: My goals for 2008 are to break the squat world record, bench over 900 in a full power meet, and break the all-time total record. I also want to make great improvements in my Highland games.
JA: Big Chad, how do you tell the difference between being overtrained and being under-trained? I’d guess and say that when you first started and you were lighter, you probably did not have all of these overtraining issues, right?
CA: I did workout much more often when I was lighter and younger, but I would honestly say that I have never been under-trained. Either I wasn’t training at all or I was overtraining. Whenever I train, I go to the max and push as hard as I can. I often try to look back at my old training cycles and see what changes I could have made in order to have progressed more. This helps me make better choices for my new training cycles and allows me to help others avoid the mistakes I made.
One of the only things I would have changed is to workout less often or to take more time off. I do think that in a lifter’s earlier years it is good to overtrain. At that time, they will probably continue to gain strength while overtraining. As we progress and get stronger, we can tax our bodies much easier. In order to keep gaining strength, it is important to let the body rest. This rest also helps reduce injuries. I know many guys who are overtraining and making gains. To me, it’s not just about making gains. It’s about making gains at the fastest rate possible. We only have so long to push our bodies this hard. Eventually, it will start to break down.
JA: What is your current workout like? Give me the run down on what a week looks like for you. Oh, wait. I forgot that you don’t workout so show me what two weeks looks like.
CA: Yes, I do really miss working out, but it’s a sacrifice that I’m willing to make in order to get stronger. Let me start by saying that I do not recommend this workout for anyone. I am really, really f*&%@# up, and I don’t think that this would work for anyone else. The good thing about this is that it makes me the perfect person to talk about overtraining. Everything has to be so exaggerated for me because of my sleep problems and so forth. This allows me to figure out what works best and then adjust it for the regular person. If I have to suffer though all this crap, I at least want someone to benefit from it.
Week one
Monday: Max effort squat workout
Tuesday: Recovery or throwing
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Light accessory workout and grip work
Friday: Recovery or throwing
Saturday and Sunday off
Week two
Monday: Max effort bench workout
Tuesday: Recovery or throwing
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Light accessory workout and grip work
Friday: Recovery or throwing
Saturday and Sunday off
Week three
Monday: Speed squat workout
Tuesday: Recovery or throwing
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Light accessory workout and grip work
Friday: Recovery or throwing
Saturday and Sunday off
Week four
Monday: Speed bench workout
Tuesday: Recovery or throwing
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Light accessory workout and grip work
Friday: Recovery or throwing
Saturday and Sunday off
This is a general outline of my program right now. For a more detailed workout, check out my training log at EliteFTS.com.
Please remember that this program is a progression over the last eight years or so. It did not look like this when I started, and I do not recommend this program for anyone, much less a beginner. What I want people to see is that as I have gotten stronger I’ve had to back off my workouts in order to keep pushing the max weights in training. I really think most lifters out there are overtraining, and they can make much better gains by backing off, but of course not to the extent that I have. I put all my information out to the public in the hopes that they will see what I have accomplished with all the problems that I have. Then they might start to read about how I got where I am and hopefully it will make them think about their training. Maybe it will even inspire some ideas and changes to make them stronger. It would make me very proud if I could help inspire tomorrow’s champions.
JA: When you say tomorrow’s champion, you must be talking about me…right?
CA: Hmm…aren’t you like really old already? Yeah, I think you will be a champion as soon as you start listening to me and back off a bit.
JA: I’ll rest when I’m dead buddy! After seeing your workout plan, it basically looks like you have one hard (90 percent or more) workout per week. Has this way of training worked for anyone other then yourself?
CA: This is still a newer version of my routine, and we will see the results at my next meet. So far, I like it. I feel better than I have in a while, and I feel really strong. Has it worked for others before? Whether or not it worked for anyone else is irrelevant because I’m different than anyone else. Whether it has even been tried before is irrelevant. Just because it hasn’t been tried doesn’t mean it won’t work. I’ve heard that some of the old school guys like Anthony Clark and O.D. Wilson didn’t actually work out that much. However, I’ve never verified that to be true. Maybe every now and then we need to step away from our traditional thinking pattern of how to train strength and come at it from a different angle.
JA: Tell me about your early powerlifting days. What did you total in your first meet? What federation was it, and how much did you weigh?
CA: I did my first bench meet in 1997 with little to no warning. It was a USAPL bench meet, and I did a raw (I didn’t even know what a bench shirt was) 405 lbs at 275 to take second place. My next meet was my first three-lift meet in 1999. This was also a USAPL meet. I don’t remember the exact number, but it totaled 1700. I did get to train for this meet but not very much. My technique and use of the gear was hideous. I think the numbers were 650, 425, and 625 or something similar. I do remember splitting out my squat suit on my first attempt, which threw me off, and I missed the lift. Everyone freaked out and offered me the use of their suits, but I didn’t know my own suit well enough let alone someone else’s suit. I got loose on my second attempt. Then I just got pissed and did it on the third attempt with just my belt and knee wraps. I did this in the 308 class, but I was only something like 290. This was just before Dave Tate told me I needed to put on some size. Thanks Dave, now I’m just a big fat ass.
I did a few more USAPL meets but decided that their rules were just insane. Then I switched to AAPF and APF. My first three or four three-lift meets all increased by 100 on my totals. I know I went 1700, then 1800, and then 1900. The gains were a little less after that, but they were still pretty good. From 1700 in 1999 to 2733 in 2007. I’ve also either hit a PR or bombed in every meet that I’ve ever done. I still hope to add a lot more weight to my total in 2008. For more information on how I got started or to read about the early years, visit my website at www.chadaichs.com.
JA: How much did you weigh in high school?
CA: Not as much as you think! I was around 210 my freshman year and about 275 my senior year. I was a pretty lean 235 my junior year, but I wanted to get bigger for my senior year of football so I put on 40 lbs or so that summer. It was probably a lot of fat though.
JA: How much does your head way?
CA: Probably about 25 percent of my total body weight. Around 92 lbs!!!!!!
JA: Who is the sexiest man over 350 on planet Earth?
CA: That’s the easiest question I’ve ever been asked! I’m the hands down winner, but I like to think more on the line of the universe then just Earth.
JA: What would it mean to you to break Donnie Thompson’s all-time total record?
CA: Well, Donnie is a good friend of mine, and I was really excited to hear that he just took the all-time total. I know how much he has sacrificed and how hard he has worked in order to obtain that. In fact, Donnie sent me a text right after he did it telling me his numbers and saying that now it was my turn. It is a good time for the SHWs right now with me, Donnie, and Andy. We are all good friends, and we all want each other to do his best. Don’t get me wrong. We all want to win too. We just want to beat the other ones at their best. It really is a lot of fun to compete with guys who you like so much and really respect. We could really push each other to some unbelievable numbers.
It’s hard to put into words what it would mean to break the all-time total, especially taking it from a guy who I respect so much. I’ve already gone way beyond what my original powerlifting goals were. However, about four or five years ago, I realized that I had the potential to take the all-time total so I made that my goal. I have so much work, time, pain, stress, money, sacrifice, and more wrapped up in this endeavor. I can see it in my head and feel it in my head, but I can’t explain the feeling. I’m sure I won’t really grasp it until it’s done in reality, but I can say it will be one of the greatest moments of my life, and I will never forget it.
JA: Do you think before you’re done, you’ll get to 3000 lbs? No, I’m not referring to your body weight. I mean a 3000-lb total.
CA: Three thousand pounds of body weight? Yeah, I could do that. Let me say that a 3000-lb total will fall for sure. There are definitely a few people who could do that. Right now, I’m focused on the all-time total. After I get that, I will have to reevaluate my goals. Going for the 3000-lb total is very tempting, but there are many other goals that I’m thinking about, too. I think the Highland games are a lot of fun, and it would be cool to go after a world championship. This would take a lot of work and a few years, but it is fun to do more athletic movements.
I would like to work on my business and see if I can’t figure out a way to make a living and still be involved in the sport that I love so much. I’m always thinking of ways to make the sport of powerlifting more popular and help get it to the point where lifters can make some money. I’m always thinking of ways that the sport can get better (I have a lot of time when I’m not sleeping). The problem is that it’s hard to find time to act on some of these ideas while I’m training so hard to compete. First things first though. Right now, getting that all-time total is on the top of the list and is my main focus.
JA: If you did hit that total, what would the breakdown look like for each lift?
CA: For starters, I don’t like the word “if.” It should be “when.” Because the total is my main goal, I’m always refiguring numbers and trying to leave myself with a backup plan. If one lift doesn’t go as planned, then I will have to make it up on another lift. Right now, I’m thinking something like a 1255 squat, an 855 bench, and an 805 deadlift or the corresponding kilo conversion (I hate kilos). This would put me somewhere just over 2900 lbs.
JA: Go ahead and give props to all of your peeps who help and support you. Also, is there anything else that you’d like to say in closing?
CA: First, I want to thank you, Jackass, for taking the time to do this interview with such interesting, intellectual, and entertaining questions. I want to thank Elite Fitness Systems for all of their support and help throughout my powerlifting career. I want to thank all of my other sponsors for their support: Cytosport and Muscle Milk, American Iron Gym, Metal Sport and Wear, Sportkilt, and Fatheadz. I thank all the members of Diablo Barbell and Supertraining for all of their help. Thanks to my family for everything. A really big thanks to my team, Disciples of Strength. There is no way I could have got to this level without them. A special thanks to the whole McLaughlin family for everything they have done to help me out. Thanks to all the people out there who cheer for me, say such nice thing on the forums, and support me. For more information, please check out my website at www.chadaichs.com or my training log on EliteFTS.com at .