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I am often asked, how do we recover from two max effort workouts each week, on top of two high-volume speed days? The two max effort workouts are done at least 80% of the year. The remainder of the year, they are replaced by high-volume hypertrophy days aimed at increasing strength in lagging muscle groups. A speed bench workout can account for 12,000 pounds, not counting special exercises. A squat speed day can be 10,000-12,000 pounds plus special exercises. One reason we use a three-week pendulum wave is for speed benching. We use a rotational system of change.

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Before bench shirts, there was a saying, "the meet does not start until the bar touches the floor". At Westside, we have always had very good deadlifters: 18 at 800 pounds or more; the top five average 845 pounds. How does Westside train the deadlift and the squat without them interfering with each other? How can the deadlift be kept explosive? These are two questions that are asked over and over. Here are the answers to both.

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It was inevitable, but luckily, I always had a back-up plan.

Without fail, after a certain amount of time my training would stall on a new program I tried back when I was younger. My back-up plan was a good one, though: German Volume Training.

Like BMW and Mercedes, the Germans got this one right with GVT training, which is an all-out thrashing on your body. Basically, you perform 10 sets of 10 reps on core movements like squat, bench press, rows and military press.

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If you've stepped into a weight room, you more than likely have heard of the 21's method for biceps. If not, you may want to step out from that rock from where you've been living.

You know the 21's drill – grab an EZ-Curl bar, perform seven reps going halfway up, seven more halfway down, and then finish it with seven full reps. Well, I've got something even better for you to tackle.

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The log press is a staple event in most Strongman contests and is a critical event to master in order to obtain top results. It is a movement that must be trained consistently to reach peak performance. Some of the best bench pressers and Olympic lifters have been humbled the first time they attempted a log press. The movement requires precise technique, overhead strength and repetition to hit big numbers. In this article I will go through the basics to explain the log press, and offer some tips on how to improve results.

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Strengthening a raw bench is like building a house. You start with a solid foundation. As powerlifters, our body is our foundation, so we must develop a routine for the chest, shoulders, back and legs.

Build the chest

Developing the chest is the first step. A chest routine needs to promote growth and develop strength. It should contain basic barbell and dumbbell movements, use different hand positioning and vary the number of sets and repetitions. Recommended chest exercises include barbell/dumbbell inclines, close-grip bench, wide-grip bench and floor presses.

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I was proud to write the article ‘Three of a Kind”, which reported that Westside had three 600-pound benchers. Only a few years later we have eight 600-pound benchers, six of which bench 650 or more, with four others ready to join the club.

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I recall reading about a great Chinese fighter named Chen Fake (Fay-kee). When he was a child, he was very small and weak and lagged behind the other students. He asked the Master how he would ever be able to catch the better students when they were progressing at the same rate. The Master thought for a while and said, "While the others take their afternoon nap, you train.

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I write to all powerlifters, but I am always amazed to hear a drug-free lifter say that he can't train the Westside way. Although these lifters are going nowhere fast, they choose to use the progressive gradual overload method, going heavier and heavier each week. In most cases they stop making records and are stuck for years. Yet, they still choose not to use a more sophisticated method of training such as that used at Westside and presently used worldwide.

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Deadlift records have made little progress in recent years. I believe it is easy to add pounds to a squat or bench press due to more progressive equipment. The supportive gear, in Westside's opinion, pushes one to gain bodyweight to increase the squat and bench press, but anyone, including myself, can tell you, if you're too heavy, your pull is destroyed.