Power lifting champion Floyd Kucharski discusses how he raises the bar

When retired schoolteacher Floyd Kucharski moved to the tiny northern Michigan town of Kingsford eight years ago, the Detroit native felt adrift in his new life. But then, as Kucharski likes to say, fate -- "with a capital F" -- intervened.

The first person Kucharski met in Kingsford was Bruce Bianco, a local strongman legend who set the U.S. bench-press record at age 70. Next, he hit it off with Jeff Rebera, a world record-holding powerlifter who happened to work out at Kucharski's new gym. With friends like that, the schoolteacher from Detroit was soon on his way to becoming the newest strongman of Kingsford. "Jeff said to me, 'You ought to compete,' " recalls Kucharski, now 67.

So, in 2004, the 5-foot-6, 220-pounder entered -- and won -- his first power lifting competition, bringing home the gold in his age group for bench press at The Amateur American Powerlifting Federation (AAPF) Nationals. Later that year, Kucharski won gold for bench press at the American World Powerlifting Congress (AWPC) World Powerlifting Championships.

Each year since, Kucharski has repeated his gold wins at both competitions. Last year, he benched his official best -- 286 pounds -- setting a world record in his age and weight class at the AAPF Nationals in Baton Rouge, La. "I was hardwired from birth to lift things," explains Kucharski, who says he's been a gym rat since the late 1960s.

This summer, Kucharski is training for the 2007 AWPC World Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships in Rosemont, Ill., to be held Aug. 3 to Aug. 5. Here's how he's getting ready with a combination of lifting and cardio:

Sunday
This is heavy-lifting day. Kucharski starts with bench presses, lifting just the bar alone to warm up and gradually increasing the weight with each set until he reaches about 250 pounds. He performs up to nine sets of bench presses, eight repetitions of each set, focusing on form. Next, Kucharski practices close grips, positioning his hands closer together on the bar to work his triceps. He starts low, peaking at 175 pounds after five sets of eight repetitions. Then it's nine more sets of eight repetitions each of triceps pushdowns on the cable machine, working up to 130 pounds by the end of the fourth set. Next, he does six sets (six repetitions of each) of seated concentration curls with 35-pound dumbbells. Then, Kucharski does 30 crunches on an angled abdominal board, and finishes up with 20 minutes on the Stairmaster.

Monday
Kucharski starts with leg presses. To guard against injury, he starts out with no weight and gradually increases the weight with each set, working up to 550 pounds. He does a total of seven sets -- doing eight repetitions of the first few sets -- and completing just four repetitions by the final set. Then, Kucharski moves on to calf raises -- seven sets, 10 repetitions of each, gradually increasing the weight to a peak of 100 pounds. Next, it's 30 reverse sit-ups executed at an angle to work the glutes, because, Kucharski says, "I need to keep everything tight." He caps off the workout with 20 minutes on the Stairmaster.

Tuesday
Kucharski practices light dumbbell deltoid raises, standing with hands resting at his thighs and lifting his arms above the shoulders for nine sets of eight repetitions using 15-pound to 30-pound weights. He moves onto a machine for nine sets (eight repetitions of each) of shoulder shrugs, working up to 150 pounds. To strengthen his back, he does six sets, eight repetitions each, of cable rows, starting with nearly noweight and working up to a maximum of 140 pounds.

Wednesday
He starts with nine sets of bench presses, keeping the weight lighter than on Sunday. He practices four sets, eight repetitions each, of cable cross-overs to work his pectoral muscles, and does nine sets of triceps pushdowns, using lighter weights than during his Sunday workouts. Then,it's one set of crunches and 20 minutes on the Stairmaster.

Thursday
Kucharski repeats Monday's leg presses and calf raises, but uses lighter weights. He does the same biceps concentration curls as Sunday, but does them faster, using lighter weights. He adds five sets of standing military
presses, and finishes with a quick set of 30 reverse sit-ups.

Friday
Kucharski arrives at the gym at 9 a.m. for a lighter, faster version of Tuesday's routine.

Saturday
A day off. It's time to rest up for Sunday.