Casey wasn't as strong as the hype claims. I really think he couldn't bench 350lbs. Those pictures of him holding 405lbs is a scam. Holding a weight for a picture isn't proof. No way could he hang with Dorian for a week's workout.
I like you and respect your opinion. You're easily one of the best posters here, and I mean that.
I am curious, however: why do you think his strength is that overhyped? A 350 bench -- hell, skinny little Matt "7th place in Thunder Bay!" Canning could do that naturally or barely enhanced. I know I did with 20-30mg Dbol, and I was a HIT guy that rarely did flat barbell press. I just decided to concentrate on benching once a week for three or four months, adding the Dianabol, Thai pinks, in around the halfway point. (In fairness, I grew to an ugly, bloated 240 at the time, but that wasn't my best press. I did better later weighing in the 220s solely on 350mg/wk Test E; however, again, that was after not doing the movement but for a few months at a stretch out of years avoiding it.)
Granted, Mentzer once told me that Casey was "prone to exaggerate," but he also noted that Casey was extremely strong. So did Ell Darden and even Arnold, in a minor throwaway comment manner ("Casey was one of my strongest training partners," read a caption under a pic of them together in Arnold's EOB).
Are there any particular lifts attributed to Casey that drew you to your conclusion? I know I read some rubbish about him "strict curling" 225 for 20. Total horseshit. There's also his supposed Mr. America pec routine bandied about online. It claimed he did two sets of 20 with -- there's that number again! --
350 on a flat bench, three sets of 20 with 225 inclines, and I forget the rest. I don't buy that either.
I do believe Darden's account of the workout he personally witnessed in mid '71. For Viator to have done full squats with 500 for 13 reps *after* Jones annihilated him on a set of leg extensions and leg presses, both to failure and with no rest in the whole triset, is truly remarkable.
