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By: Louie Simmons
We have 17 men who squat over 1000 pounds. The top five average 1,143 pounds. Our top five totals equal 2,690 pounds. How can one gym develop such a strong group? The answer is hard work, coupled with science, experience, and dedication.
But what is the system that produced this top five average in the squat? It’s a two-day system. One day is max effort day, which is done on Monday. Three days later, on Friday, we devote to special strength, explosive speed, or strength speed. Let’s look at speed day on Friday.
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By: Louie Simmons
It was late 1969, and the Culver City, CA, Westside boys were writing an article called Conditioned Legs Break Record Squat. Well it's as true today as it was back then. Here at the Columbus Westside Barbell, we have held world records at 181, 220, 242, 275, 308, and SHW in the squat or total. Westside has a variety of leg exercises that we choose from. Everyone knows we box squat all the time, but what do we do to supplement leg strength or to complement our hip strength? First, belt squats.
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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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Sometimes I forget how easy life seems. I stay pretty lean throughout the year, so when I order one of the gargantuan entrees at The Cheesecake Factory, clean the plate and move on to the apple crisp with the 3 lbs. of whipped cream, I feel the eyes on me. I, however, have a diet where splurging is necessary.
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By: Louie Simmons
When I started competing in power lifting in 2003, I was a svelte — even scrawny — but lean 217 lbs. People thought I was lifting in the 198s because I always looked lighter than I actually weighed. As the years passed, so did the weight classes. By 2005, after fewer than two years of competing, I started to hit what was, for me, some good numbers. My bodyweight climbed to a stouter (and more suiting for my height at 5 feet, 10 inches) bodyweight of about 235 to 237 lbs. My squat went from 705 lbs. to a respectable 925 lbs., bench to 556 lbs.
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All too often, powerlifters trying to make weight sacrifice their strength by dieting away hard-earned muscle along with body fat.
It’s no wonder, considering all the fad diets and cardio programs that somehow make their way into the weight loss programs of elite athletes who depend on strength and power.
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By: Jay Bednar
Every bodybuilder/strength athlete has been told that during reduced calorie periods such as the precontest phase, they should take Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) multiple times a day to sustain muscle growth and prevent catabolism of muscle. The three BCAA—L-Leucine, L-Valine, and L-Isoleucine—have been heavily researched as a preventative, even therapeutic, measure to combat muscle-wasting diseases.
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Note: the list of substances prohibited by WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency can be viewed at www.wada-ama.org)
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