Bailey pulls power play

The Jacksonville Beach weightlifter makes it into the record books.

After leaving the Navy, Charles Bailey started as a bodybuilder, then switched to power lifting in 2002 after a simple suggestion.

"My friend I body-built with thought it'd be a good idea to hop into a weightlifting competition for fun," said Bailey, of Jacksonville Beach. "I squatted 682 pounds the first time I ever tried it. Plus, in weightlifting, I don't have to worry about dieting as much anymore "

Since then, Bailey, 44, has become one of the nation's most accomplished lifters and a world-record holder, routinely squatting, benching and dead-lifting - combined - the weight of a small to midsized car.

Bailey, a personal trainer at the SportsPlex Gym in Neptune Beach, entered the record books last month in the American Power Lifting Senior Nationals at Daytona Beach with a squat of 1,080 pounds. A week later, he topped that 275-pound weight class record with a 1,102-pound squat.

How did he get so strong so fast?

Bailey, who was born in Antigua and raised with eight other children, primarily by his grandparents, credits a combination of discipline and hard work.

"My grandmother, at age 7, lost her ability to use her legs from the knees down, yet still raised nine kids,'' Bailey said. "And my mother went back to school after all of us, and now has a profitable import/export business in the Caribbean. With that kind of background, there's not an I-can't mentality in me."

His workout regimen, while not the most complex, is demanding. He works out twice a week, grinding out 31/2 to 4 hours of lifting per session.

"I do bench [presses] and dead-lift on Wednesdays and squat and dead-lift on Saturdays,'' Bailey said. "I do a week's worth of work in two days to get it done. That way, I have the rest of the week to recover, grow and get strong. It actually takes the pressure off. I rest up the other five days and come in feeling fresh the next time I work out."

Bailey's favorite and most successful event is the squat, in which the lifter stands under a racked barbell, grabs the bar from behind, lifts it onto the top of his back, walks away from the rack, then squats until the top of the thigh is lower than the top of the knee.

At the Senior Nationals, Bailey's three-lift total (bench press, squat, dead-lift) was 2,551 pounds, which secured him the title in the 275-pound weight class. His total included a 705-pound beach press and a 782-pound dead-lift.

The American Powerlifting Federation is a non-drug testing league, leading to questions about steroid use for all competitors.

Bailey, who said he does not use steroids, said he recently passed a test after a friend doubted he could improve so quickly without steroids.

But, Bailey acknowledged, "It's always going to be an issue in this sport.''

When he's not lifting weights, Bailey attempts to lift the spirits of others in his job as a personal trainer.

"I enjoy helping other people reach their goals," Bailey said. "I work out high school kids who are trying to get stronger for their sport, and even female body-lifters. If you set realistic goals for yourself, there's always a way to reach them.''

Bailey said he also spends a lot of time with his girlfriend, Alison Franciscus, and his son, 15-year-old Ashton, who is not really into weightlifting.

"Which is good," Bailey said. "I'm too much of a perfectionist. If he did it, I'd expect too much out of him. I definitely couldn't be his trainer.''

Bailey's next competition will be the American Powerlifting Association Southern States on Aug. 25 in Zephyrhills, if his body is up to it.

"That's an officially sanctioned meet in August where they do the whole testing thing, and I kind of want to do it to just shut some people up," Bailey said. "But I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it. If not then, then definitely [an event] in October.''

tyrone.gayle@jacksonville.com,

(904) 359-4105