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By: Louie Simmons
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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By: Cory Gregory
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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By: Cory Gregory
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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By: Louie Simmons
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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By: Louie Simmons
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.
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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By: Louie Simmons
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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By: Louie Simmons
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.
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By: Louie Simmons
Success in powerlifting requires a process known as Periodization. This simply is a yearly plan divided into several phases. The final phase is, of course, the competitive phase. Many coaches fail to plan the training of their lifters correctly, resulting in premature peaking and a less than top performance at contest time.
The next time you're at a major contest, listen to all the gym lifts that were done just prior to the contest that somehow are reduced 50-100 pounds at the contest.
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By: Louie Simmons
Because the human body is stronger at some positions than at others, we are limited as to the amount of weight we can use in a certain movement. For instance, you may be able to do a quarter squat with 600 lbs, but you may be able to only full squat 400 pounds. We all know through practical experience that while doing a simple curl, at the start of the movement, is very hard, whereas at the finish it is somewhat easier because of changing leverage.
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By: Louie Simmons
When squatting or deadlifting, a successful lift is dependent on keeping your back in good position. This takes a strong back as well as strong abs.
At Westside, we do max effort work for squatting and deadlifting on the same day, Monday. The same muscles work in these two lifts. It saves energy to lump together the special exercises that contribute to both lifts.
Let's first talk about the spinal erectors and how to develop them. Good mornings are done 40% of the time. This means 4 out of 10 Mondays. Any variation can be done. Work up to a 3 rep max.
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