Sean F. Kelly - Westside for Beginners

Westside
for
Beginners
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WESTSIDE STRENGTH TRAINING SYSTEM
ORIGINAL PROGRAM BY LOUIS SIMMONS, WESTSIDE BARBELL
Sean F. Kelly, CSCS
Copyright © 2011
Please read - Very important!
Prerequisites for undertaking this program include the ability to correctly and completely execute all of the major
full body, free weight lifts: the squat, bench press, dead-lift, standing press and basic assistance exercises
through their full ranges of motion. A further requirement is the successful completion of a weight training
program involving all of these lifts with an adequate volume of work and successful increases in strength. A
basic understanding of lifting equipment such as racks, belts and chalk is also required. This program should
not be undertaken without the permission of a physician or by anyone with any injuries or health issues that
may result in adverse affects.
Disclaimer
Warning: Consult your physician before using this or any exercise program. Any user of this exercise program
assumes the risk of injury resulting from performing the exercises or utilizing the suggested equipment. Extreme
care must be taken in selecting and using properly maintained exercise equipment. The instruction and advice
presented are in no way a substitute for medical counseling. The creators, producers and distributors of this
program disclaim any liability in connection with the exercises and advice herein. Nor do they accept any
responsibility for any injury, loss, or damage occasioned to any person acting or refraining to act as a result of
any information or suggestion contained herein. The materials contained herein are provided for general
information purposes only. This information is not intended for use as a substitute for consultation or advice
given by a qualified medical practitioner or health practitioner. You should consult a physician before beginning
any program of weight lifting, exercise or diet.
Copyright © 2011
Introduction
The Westside system – an explanation
Primary methods used
What is % training?
What are box squats?
The 3 week “Wave”
Accommodating resistance
Chains
Bands
The Program
The incredible “New Exercise” Creation Matrix
Warming up before lifting
The dynamic warm-up
Changing assistance exercises
Time length of workouts
Short, Special workouts
Restoration
General Physical Preparation (GPP)
Flexibility
What about muscle size?
Why do all this? Why not just lift more and get bigger and stronger?
How does Westside get such amazing results?
Why Westside? Aren’t there other elite programs?
Differences between this program and the original Westside
Measuring your progress
Where are you lifting?
What about diet?
Final Word
Summary of the primary methods and principles employed by Westside
Miscellaneous exercises
Sample Workouts
About the author
Resources
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Q U E S T I O N :
Okay, so what the hell is “Westside” and why is there a weight training program named after it?
A N S W E R :
Westside Barbell Club is a gym located in Columbus, Ohio. It’s not just any gym though. Westside
is arguably the most successful and famous strength training gym in the free world. The elite
members of this private gym are likely the strongest collection of people on the planet. They have
the power-lifting world records to prove it. Many members can squat over 1,000 pounds, and bench
press over 800. Hell, they have 132 pound ladies who bench press over 400 pounds and squat over
500. The methods these folks use to get so strong are known are known collectively as “Westside”.
The gym is owned and operated by a guy named Louis Simmons.
Q U E S T I O N :
Who is Lou Simmons?
A N S W E R :
Lou Simmons is an elite power-lifter himself (even into his 6th decade) and a hell of a nice guy. He’s
also a strength consultant to countless NFL, college and pro teams, and champion athletes from
almost every sport under the sun. For decades now, Louis has compiled the best scientific
information available from around the globe for creating the strongest, most powerful athletes
possible. He collected these mostly unknown methods and ideas from the best Russian, Bulgarian,
and Eastern bloc strength coaches and scientists. He also attained this information from other
doctors and scientists who themselves gathered and translated this knowledge from around the
world. He then summarized all this stuff and put it into practice. Thus, the Westside program was
born. He applies these ideas to the athletes at his gym and anyone else who takes the time and
effort to understand them. Applying these methods himself, Lou broke all of his own strength records
in his 50’s!
As Louis Simmons and Westside produced more and more champion athletes his ideas became
more revered in the world of elite athletics. So much so, that he is not only in demand around the
world to divulge the Westside principles, but coaches and athletes the world over come to Westside
to learn these successful methods. More and more of the worlds best professional and amateur
athletes are benefitting from this elite information on how to become stronger and faster.
What about the rest of us though? What about regular people who aspire to become the best that
they can possibly be or those who just want to get into better shape?
I know, I know…. many of us may not be 19 year old aspiring athletes trying to make the Olympics.
The vast majority of us reluctantly slog over to our neighborhood “big-box” gym to endure 1 or 2
hours of treadmills, stair machines, aerobics classes and isolating gym machine exercises. We
submit to the personal trainers and popular methods of our modern fitness industry. We pay a lot
of money in the desperate hope that we can improve our physical conditions.
Unfortunately, statistics and the mirror prove that these methods are failing us miserably. Just take
a stroll through your neighborhood grocery store; most of us are overweight or far worse. The diet
and fitness industry is getting a ton of our money though – close to $60 billion a year.
Talking about elite athletic strength principles and regular folks in the same breath may sound like a
complete contradiction. This apparent mismatch may seem at first a preposterous idea:
I Wouldn’t we get injured?
I Should non-athletic or older people even attempt this stuff?
I Why the hell would we even want to try this stuff if we’re not pro-athletes?
Copyright © 2011
– 4 –
The answers may surprise you. These ideas are extremely scalable – almost anyone can do them. Would you
start with the same volumes? Nope. Would you need to use the huge amounts of weight that many elite athletes
use? Nope - not even close! Make no mistake though, the average person, regardless of their age or gender
can easily use these highly effective methods to succeed like never before.
So, this program asks and then answers the question:
“What if you applied the most elite athletic strength and conditioning principles
to the average individual, regardless of age or gender?”
I first discovered the Westside methods years ago. After using them myself I then began to study the great
body of scientific research Westside was based on. I soon realized that amazing congruencies exist between
what regular people like me are after and what these elite methods provide. In my experience, here is a list of
what we want:
I We want fat loss! We want to lose this damn fat, now!
I We want good looking “toned” muscles
I We want to be stronger
I We want shorter workouts and less time in the gym
I We want less workouts per week
I We want our time at the gym to be less boring, less painful and more exhilarating
I We want results! We want the benefits of working out to highly outweigh the costs
(that way - we might actually keep doing this stuff)
I can say with complete confidence that the methods in this program deliver everything on this list. More
specifically, they provide the following:
 Minimum time in the gym (3-4 hours per week will be just fine)
 Maximum fat loss given the highest possible rise in resting metabolic rate
 Most rapid gains in new functional muscle possible
 Dramatic increases in bone, tendon and ligament strength
 Fastest and most noticeable improvements in physical appearance
 Strongest anti-aging effects (due especially to the maximal hormonal responses)
 Short, exhilarating workouts that are continually changing
 The integral involvement of the brain (improvement in concentration) in the workout
 The maximum amount of benefits for the least amount of time in the gym
 Due to the uncommon but highly effective methods (reserved for top athletes) the results allow for often never
before experienced levels of strength, function and appearance, regardless of age or gender
One of the first things you will need to do when undertaking this type of advanced program is to forget a lot of
the less effective information you may have learned at your local big gym – stuff like:
• Do only slow, controlled movements
• Isolate your muscles one at a time in the nice, comfortable, cool looking machines
• Just concentrate on “pumping up” the muscles, don’t worry about how much weight you lift
• No pain – no gain
In this program we will address exactly why this information is inferior and can actually prevent you from reaching
your goals. Please remember:
The strongest, fastest, physical “bad-asses” on the planet – both male and female are not the
bodybuilders and models you see in the popular fitness magazines!
They are in fact top athletes - fighters, football players, weight lifters, strength and Olympic athletes. Don’t
worry. They too have great looking muscles.
Copyright © 2011
– 5 –
– 6 –
Many of us read the popular fitness magazines for both men and ladies. They always have a “buff” model on
the cover. The articles are mostly predictable: “top 10 ways to get a washboard stomach” or “12 ways to get
bigger arms, guaranteed!”. Unfortunately for us, this stuff is mostly old, regurgitated body building information.
The point here is to sell magazines, not to get you into the best shape of your life.
You have likely tried the workouts commonly suggested by the fitness industry. These programs typically mix
resistance training and cardio training in a non-stop routine with little rest. They are usually high in volume,
painful to get through, boring, and require immense will-power to repeat over and over again. The irony here is
that these routines are proven to be ineffective and inferior compared to the more advanced scientific methods
used by our best athletes. So, even with all of the hard work, pain, discipline, time and money we spend, we
end up with really lousy results that were not worth all the time and effort.
You may have never heard much of the information in this program before. If some of the exercises, equipment
or ideas are new please don’t worry, that’s to be expected. Most of us are not elite athletes or coaches. Most
of us aren’t reading Bulgarian strength training manuals, the NSCA Journal of Strength and Conditioning, or
pouring through the translated scientific work of Zatsiorsky, Verkhoshansky, Medvedyev, Prilepin or Siff.
Before we start into this program it is important to explain a few of the elemental principles and methods involved.
The next few headings will do just that. This way, the actual program will be far easier to understand and apply.
Copyright © 2011
The Westside system – an explanation
Probably the best place to start in explaining the Westside principles is Newton’s second law of motion:
Force = Mass X Acceleration
An increase in either mass or acceleration will increase force. Westside takes both to their reasonable extremes.
One training day per week is dedicated to moving as much weight as possible (the maximum effort day) and the
other weekly training day is dedicated to accelerating the weight lifted as much as possible (the speed day).
The upper and lower body will have both a maximum effort and speed day every week.
We want to work on speed because increasing your acceleration or the speed at which you can develop force,
will actually improve your absolute strength. Summarizing Newton’s first law:
Objects in motion tend to stay in motion
Just think of trying to push a huge car that is stalled on the road, once you get it moving it requires less energy
to keep it moving. You just need that really explosive effort at the beginning. The same holds true when pushing
or pulling any large weight.
So, what this program will do is build the maximum amount of speed along with maximum absolute strength. This
is precisely why so many athletes use these methods with such success.
Primary methods used
At the core of the Westside program are the 3 main methods proven to build absolute strength and power via
inducing maximal muscle tension:
1. Method of maximal efforts – lifting as much weight as possible for single, or very few repetitions
2. Dynamic method – lifting a sub-maximal amount of weight with as much speed as possible
3. Repetition method – lifting a sub-maximal amount of weight until fatigue causes failure
Other amazingly effective methods will be employed as integral parts of this program, but these are the primary
3 that will build our foundation of strength and power. We will apply these methods first and foremost to the
basic strength exercises. These free-weight lifts are good representations of biomechanically correct, multi-
joint human movements:
I Squat
I Bench press
I Dead-lift
These lifts, among many others we will use allow our muscles and joints to operate in the ways they are designed
to work. These exercises and their variations will make workouts as efficient as possible. Spending the least
amount of time in the gym for the greatest results is our priority here.
What is % training?
This is a method of keeping track of the loads you are lifting by classifying all weights as a percentage of the
most you can lift in a single all out effort, with correct form. So, if your best single lift in the bench press is 200
pounds, then 200 pounds would be your current 1 repetition maximum (1RM). That would be 100% of the
maximum you can possibly lift. Accordingly, 90% of your 1RM would be 180 pounds.
Percentage training will apply to every primary lift and is an integral part of applying the Westside program. If
you want to accurately estimate your 1RM in any lift, do as many repetitions as you can in correct form with a
weight just under, but reasonably close to what you think your maximum might be. Then consult a “1RM table”
to get an estimate of your 1RM. (See the resources section for links to 1RM estimate tables.)
Copyright © 2011
– 7 –
What are box squats?
Box squatting is simply a version of the basic squat exercise. The difference is that a low, sturdy
box is placed just behind the lifter so that when they squat down into the low position, they sit back
onto the box and rest for a second before exploding up off the box to finish the movement. Trying
to configure a Westside training template without box squats is sort of like trying to teach someone
how to play baseball without using gloves. It can be done, but it’s not the same. The box squat is
such an integral part of this program that removing it completely and just replacing it with
alternatives in an attempt to mimic this exercise will not do the Westside program justice. So I’m
not going to try.
Rather, I will provide responsible instruction on how to quickly learn and benefit from this exercise.
Please refer to the resources section at the end of this document for some great links to instruction
on how to do this valuable lower body exercise. The issue here is not that box squats are an
advanced exercise. Rather, it is the importance of being taught this exercise in a responsible way.
It also means that only a responsible amount of weight should be used, especially at first. The
following simple progression is a good way to begin practicing box squats:
1. With no weight, or a just a wooden bar, sit back gently onto a box that is just below parallel,
then squat off the box
2. Squat back onto a box with foam/soft padding and rack pins in place for safety, beginning
with a very low bar weight (up to 30% of a 1RM)
3. As above, working up to the 40-50% range of a 1RM
4. As above, but you may remove the extra foam or soft padding
If you are not able to go down to below parallel, start at a box height that your flexibility will allow
by using ½ inch or 1 inch rubber pads to lower the box height gradually over time until your
flexibility will allow you to be just below parallel.
The 3 week “Wave”
Throughout this program we will refer to a “3 week” wave, whereby you will be doing 1 particular
exercise over a 3 week period. Over this period you will get stronger by increasing the load you are
lifting, increasing the repetitions, or both. With each of the 3 consecutive workouts you will be
improving both strength and speed. At the end of each 3 week period, you will complete a lighter
transitional week (week 4) and then start a new 3 week wave with a new exercise. Finally, after 3
such consecutive waves (approximately 12 weeks or 3 months) you will take 1-2 weeks of active
rest - doing some enjoyable exercise involving activities entirely different than maximal effort
resistance training. This period will likely include getting right out of the gym. This basic plan will
repeat throughout the program and will allow for continual gains. The 3 week wave and the
subsequent rest periods noted provide built in restoration such that your chances of overtraining
are slim to none.
Accommodating resistance
Have you ever noticed that when you bench press or squat, the hardest part is when the bar is in
the bottom of the lift? With the bench press, that’s when the bar touches your chest. This is
where many of us get stuck with heavy weight. At the top though, usually just past the mid-point
the weight becomes easier to lift. Near the top, generally the weight will feel the lightest. This is
why you see a lot of guys not lowering the bar all the way down to their chests when bench
pressing. It is also one of the reasons many people don’t go all the way down below parallel
when doing the squat.
Copyright © 2011
– 8 –
The simple reason for this difficulty is that in these lower positions, you are in the worst
mechanical position for lifting the weight. Your leverage is the weakest here. So for any lift, your
posture changes the difficulty throughout the range of motion. “Accommodating resistance”
simply means that you will make up for these differences and maximize muscular tension
throughout the entire range of motion. Thus, the force you create will now match your posture.
You will make the resistance greater at the top, and lower at the bottom. This is best
accomplished by using chains.
Chains
Each length of chains should be 5/8 inches in size and 5 feet long. One of those lengths will then
weigh approximately 20 pounds. Lighter chain, ¼ inch (or smaller size) will loop around each end
of the bar. The heavy chain will then loop into the lighter chain so it is hanging off of each end of
the bar. The chains must be set up so that when you are lifting the weight, in the bottom (lowest
position) of the lift all of the heavy chain is coiled on the ground and only the bar weight (and the
light chain) is being held. From that low position, as you lift the bar, more and more heavy chain
will then be raised off of the ground thus increasing the load you are lifting. At the top of the lift
when you are in the highest position, roughly ½ of the heavy chain should be off of the ground.
You don’t want the entire length of the heavy chain off the floor, because it will swing in the air.
Also, if you keep roughly ½ of the heavy chain on the floor when you are at the top of any lift you
can quickly and easily keep track of how much you are lifting at the t...