My "Attempt at Westside" Log

We rig a bridle up with some thick ass line and do about 40 yard pulls with a slight incline then push it back running. I'm definetly jealous if your garage set up man. That's my goal one day. Have you seen Brandon Lilly's garage setup?
 
Yeah, he's got it all. I wish I had the dumbbells he had. I have one 20, two 45s, and two 130s. And adjustables. Those are better than nothing, but putting that **** together is annoying.
 
2/14 DE Squats <3

The only better way to spend Valentine's day would have been PRing in squats!

Speed Free Squat
275x3x8

Pause Squat
315x5x3

After watching the video, it occurs to me that I only paused on some of them. This is why powerlifters don't work alone. In my defense, every one felt like an eternity considering it was speed day and I had 315 on my back.

Cable Crunch/Bodysaw
90x20x3/15x3

Short and sweet. Therapy today was a lot of core stability and about a thousand swiss ball bridges with a 5sec hold. I got my assistance already. Back feels good. Speed squats were a new experience. I did a set at 185 and almost won $10,000 on AFV. Pause squats sucked. All raw squatters could use a better holeshot, and I'm no exception. I've paused ATG before, it's WAYY different from pausing at parallel. This isn't the last time you'll see pause squats in this log.

Shirting up tomorrow!
 
I'm gonna edit that post and video title to reflect reality. OCCASIONALLY paused squats. You should see me golf in this tee. I was recognized by a friend from 500yds away. Nobody wears an XL tie dye.
 
2/15 ME Bench
275x2 then added shirt
275x2
315x2
335x2
315x2

Tate Press
55x9
60x7
65x5

Meadows Row
100x8x3

Klokov Press
95x5x3

Wish I could've videotaped the benching. First time with the cut shirt was a whole different ballgame. Still working on jacking it into place. I had decent speed off of the chest and hit a wall right around 2 or 3 boards up. Managed to hit every rep with no problem until the second rep of 335 and the second rep at 315. The volume at that weight was very taxing. I was out of it for the rest of the workout.
 
Today's bruises betray the other day's workout. My bruises are more toward my elbow than my shoulder on my triceps. I had more spring off of the chest, but less help at lockout. There's a definite learning curve to this thing, especially trying to do it on my own. I'm still working on getting back to where I was before I started rehabbing, but I'm looking forward to today's body day.
 
Sean1332 said:
How difficult is the koklov press?
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Quite difficult! I recommend wrist wraps and starting with an empty bar. Make sure to push OUT on the collars the whole time, it activates the shoulders so that they're not compromised. Five reps at 95lbs was a good effort for me. Really tough on the upper back. 65lbs for 12 would be a rough set. After doing this exercise, I'd have to rank Dmitry Klokov doing his press with 110kg as one of the more impressive lifts I've seen.

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2/18 Cube Body Day

Press
135x10
155x5
135x8
Still not where I expected it to be. This needs to improve.

BB Curl
95x12,10,8

Snatch Grip Deadlift
225x8x3
Last set was best.

JM Press/CG Bench
135x20
185x8
205x6/2
205x0/6

Facepull/Rear Delt Fly
90x12x3/20x12x3

YTW
10x5 each
Empty Handx5 eachx2

DB Side Bends/Cable Crunch
130x10x2/90x20x2

Very mediocre session. I guess that's what happens when you work on your weak points. Deadlifts tomorrow.
 
It was ok, I guess. I'm tightening up my form on presses, so the numbers aren't where I like them. I have video of the JMs, I think I cut them off a little higher than I should have. We'll see where I stand in a couple weeks. We're throwing together a meet in the shed to set my brother's numbers for either 5/3/1 or the Cube. It'll be in three weeks, since he advanced in the state wrestling tournament and I'm going to the Arnold.
 
Read through your log the other day when I heard you were doing the Cube Method. Solid workouts man...I'll be following from here on.
 
bolt10 said:
Read through your log the other day when I heard you were doing the Cube Method. Solid workouts man...I'll be following from here on.
Click to expand...

Thanks man! Glad to have you. Feel free to make yourself at home. Ask questions, make critiques, post comments. Any and all feedback is welcome.
 
2/19 Heavy Ass Squats!

(If you couldn't tell, today went well.)

Mobility Work
Empty Bar Overhead Squats
Wide Stance Front Squats up to 135 (these are better suited to deadlift day, I squat shoulder width)

Squats
405x2x4 then wrapped knees
405x5 PR

Either I'm a knee wrap wizard or Valeo Red Line knee wraps are extremely underrated. I X'ed the wrap with a good pre-stretch and the rebound totally masked my hip weakness. It was also good for a huge PR from Lamonster at 385 for 5 (he's on the "1" week of Peridization Bible) The first four sets were slow. Not grinding, but slow. The first four reps of set 5 were explosive, and I pushed through with a minor hitch on rep 5. Time to work on those hips.

Pause Squat (legitimate 3 second count from Lamonster)
225x5x2

Front Squat
225x5 and I had to leave the rack for mental health purposes.

45 degree Back Extension
BW+100x6,6,8

RFE Bulgarian
35sx6x3

Step Ups
35sx6x3

And done. This was 45 minutes of hell, and one of the most satisfying training sessions I've had. After wallowing for awhile, I stopped at a new supplement store to pick up some preworkout, and it totally livened me up. Also, it happened to be Lamonster's heavy squat day and we were able to hook up. It was the perfect storm. At first, we were getting looks for using wrist wraps and rolling up knee wraps while doing warmup sets. By the end, the fellow gym patrons didn't know whether to cry or wind their watch. This occurred at a local YMCA where there are more guys that can bench 405x5 than squat 405x5 to depth (I'm sure there are one or two that can, I just haven't seen them). The actual pause squats were brutal, even though they were light. After the volume at 405 (10 more reps than ever before in one session), the rest of the time was spent using lighter weights for low reps. Awesome ****ing session.

Anybody want to offer some exercises that worked for them in improving their hip strength for getting out of the hole?
 
Solid session. You are Recovering fast!

I'm sure you will get more responses but I think the pauses will help you out of the hole. I was watching a video of a guy on t-nation or eliteFTS doing the pauses. I think you are on the right track there.

Sent from my iPhone using Am.com
 
rob112 said:
Solid session. You are Recovering fast!

I'm sure you will get more responses but I think the pauses will help you out of the hole. I was watching a video of a guy on t-nation or eliteFTS doing the pauses. I think you are on the right track there.

Sent from my iPhone using Am.com
Click to expand...

I got the pausing idea from the large gentlemen over at Juggernaut. Chad Smith and Brandon Lilly are big on pausing their squats. Greg Panora (one of Westside's world record holding athletes) is Cubing and following Lilly's methods pretty closely as well. I really like the Juggernaut logs.
 
I was going to add pause squats in on Friday's Squat workout based off a lot on reading from those people already mentioned. Seems like I am in good company with the addition..
 
bolt10 said:
I was going to add pause squats in on Friday's Squat workout based off a lot on reading from those people already mentioned. Seems like I am in good company with the addition..
Click to expand...

Do it up. I did 3 sec at 405 and intend to keep track of paused rep PRs with it. Lilly does up to a 10 second pause with 500+lbs
 
Its been forever since I paused some squats...I can already feel the DOMS and I'm not even doing them until Friday. :sad:
 
The use of pause squats to isometrically strengthen the hips is awf-some. Awful and awesome. Lilly talks about guys "hula hooping" and he also talks about finding your strongest point. This gets rid of the hula hooping and helps you to discover where you're at your strongest. I was wondering how to program the pause squats, so I just messaged the Juggernaut himself on facebook. We'll see if that gets me anywhere.
 
Just heard from the boss. Be on the lookout for a Juggernaut pause squat article.
Who's excited? I'm excited.
Who's dreading it? We all are.
 
I can attest to the the awfulness/ awesomeness. Yesterday felt great this morning struggled getting into/out of my truck. My hips are sore as ever. Ill be looking for the article as I am as interested as everyone else is on here. It would nice to apply that technique to some of my clients as well as my own training! Keep up the good work boss!
 
2/20 Strong Like Bull Cardio

Light Prowler Push (Walk)
90#x100YDSx2

Upright Prowler Pull (heel-toe, pull through front foot)
90x100YDSx2

Farmer's Walk
130#/handx25YDSx2
130x12yds

Husefell Carries (100lb plate)
150yds (one trip)

This was cool stuff. Much better conditioning than a hamster wheel. Tough on the whole posterior chain. This actually made my back injury, which was hurting from yesterday, feel good. I should have used shorter rest periods, and my baby hands can't handle my big DBs. Other than that, this was fun. I plan on having conditioning only days once a week, with conditioning also being tacked on to the end of training sessions.
 
2/21 RE Bench

Bench
245x8x1

DB Chest Press (2 incline, 2 flat)
65x15x4

Press
95x15x3

JM Press
135x15x3

Pull-Up
BWx8x2

Pendlay Row
135x15x2

Hammer Curl
45x15x3

Ab Wheel/DB Side Bends
8x3/100x10x3

Felt a little weak and sluggish this session, too many days working out in a row. I still gave it hell. Good amount of volume, but I feel like I'm missing important movements too often. I don't want to become imbalanced. I can set up a "back day" or a "chest day" pretty well, but programming all of the different planes and movements is a new challenge. The next two days will be off as I watch the little brother wrestle, then deadlifts on Sunday.
 
2/25 DE Deadlift (w/ video)

Mobility Work

Deadlift from floor (alternating sumo and conventional)
275x3x8

Sumo Invalid Link Removed
Conventional Invalid Link Removed

Really liked the new conventional setup, and I think I got my sumo pull in order. Let me know what you think.

Snatch Grip
255x8x3

Strict Toe Elevated GM
185x8x3

BB Row
225x8x3

Short and sweet as I'm on my way to therapy. Good training session. I tightened up my GM form, trying to protect the back and hit my posterior chain. I know I can squat 275 with a heavy forward lean, but my backside needs the work. Weight is at 210, feeling good heading into my meet cycle.
 
I am still learning sumo but it looks like your arms were in more than parallel. Other than that I don't think I am at a place to advise.

Sorry I can't be more help brotha

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I used to have my hands on the knurling, but the thing about that is that my arms then drag along my thighs and the weight gets away from my body. It's the reason I could never sumo pull heavy. I'm all for shortening the ROM, but that's a tweak I had to make. Really, I'm just pumped nobody called me fat. Yet.
 
LOLZ. Right now I feel stronger with conventional. Only slightly. But, I have yet to pull heavy sumo with proper form, and I've been testing my strength with the conventional deadlift since I was 15. I'll have to get really honest with myself here in the next few weeks and watch the tape closely to see which I'll be using come the 7th.
 
2/26 DE Bench

Bench
245x2x6

2-Board
295x5
275x5

Paused Bench (1 inch from chest)
225x6x5

Press
185x6x3

DB Dead Stop Rows
130x6x2

Dips
BWx15x3

The 2-board presses were weaker than I expected, hence the paused press afterward. The overhead presses were done with a little knee bounce for overload, but no layback. I went with Prilepin's chart on the big supplemental moves.

Just once I'd like to have two good sessions in a row.
 
2/27 Tactical Squat Day

Today I tested my limits. Not so much the limits of my knee wrap rebound and brute will, but I tested the limits of my mobility and technique. I hope from the videos I attach (bear with me on those), your sets of eyes can revolutionize my squats, and make me a stronger dude.

I am going away for the weekend and I wanted to ensure I get my squatting in beforehand. I'll do assistance work when I can.

Overheads
Barx12x2

Wide Stance Squat
135x5x2
225x5 Invalid Link Removed
315x5 (or however many) Invalid Link Removed
365x3 Invalid Link Removed

Squat (My current technique)
365x3 Invalid Link Removed
And since it was RE day, I wrapped and belted, turned on some music, hit my head off of the bar (not srs) and hit 365x6 like I was supposed to.

Paused Squat (5s)
225x6x4

And that was my training for the day.
 
herderdude said:
2/25 DE Deadlift (w/ video)

Mobility Work

Deadlift from floor (alternating sumo and conventional)
275x3x8

Sumo Invalid Link Removed
Conventional Invalid Link Removed

Really liked the new conventional setup, and I think I got my sumo pull in order. Let me know what you think.

Snatch Grip
255x8x3

Strict Toe Elevated GM
185x8x3

BB Row
225x8x3

Short and sweet as I'm on my way to therapy. Good training session. I tightened up my GM form, trying to protect the back and hit my posterior chain. I know I can squat 275 with a heavy forward lean, but my backside needs the work. Weight is at 210, feeling good heading into my meet cycle.
Click to expand...

You need to widen both your stance and grip on your sumo. You're also pulling slightly back; if you watch your feet, you'll see the toe of your shoe shifting a lot.
 
Rodja said:
You need to widen both your stance and grip on your sumo. You're also pulling slightly back; if you watch your feet, you'll see the toe of your shoe shifting a lot.
Click to expand...

Thanks. With those and my wide squat sets, I was afraid to get my feet any wider because my knees can't get out that wide. Would it be alright to spread my feet before my mobility gets out there?
 
herderdude said:
Thanks. With those and my wide squat sets, I was afraid to get my feet any wider because my knees can't get out that wide. Would it be alright to spread my feet before my mobility gets out there?
Click to expand...

It's more of the grip width that concerns me as your are slightly more narrow than shoulder-width and it may lead to you hitting your thighs on the way up to the lockout.
 
Rodja said:
It's more of the grip width that concerns me as your are slightly more narrow than shoulder-width and it may lead to you hitting your thighs on the way up to the lockout.
Click to expand...

That's initially why I moved my hands in. At shoulder width, my arms were hitting my thighs. I'll need to go over that again. Did you happen to notice anything from my squatting? I figured if I'm looking for briefs, I had better start squatting the way I need to in gear.
 
herderdude said:
That's initially why I moved my hands in. At shoulder width, my arms were hitting my thighs. I'll need to go over that again. Did you happen to notice anything from my squatting? I figured if I'm looking for briefs, I had better start squatting the way I need to in gear.
Click to expand...

Multi-ply briefs will force your stance out on both squat and deadlift, so it's hard to exactly replicate the stance raw.
 
Rodja said:
Multi-ply briefs will force your stance out on both squat and deadlift, so it's hard to exactly replicate the stance raw.
Click to expand...

I see. I'm learning as fast as I can, but there's only so much actual training experience I can gain each day. Do you have a favorite sumo deadlifting tutorial video that I can look at?
 
Yeah, I met the Cube inventor. Yeah, he's wearing a Cube shirt. Yeah, the U on his shirt is a hammer and sickle. For reference's sake, I am currently 5'9" and 220 with a size 7 5/8 head. Brandon Lilly is a large bro.

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Well, I asked him where I could get a Cube shirt. He was hanging in the Animal Cage before his big beltless pull yesterday and I exploited the one weakness of all of these guys: their need for vast quantities of food. I told him I was enjoying the program and he was happy to hear that. Very accomodating guy. The amount of food I've seen eaten is ridiculous. I got a picture with Mark Bell mid-Subway. Evan Centopani was in the Cage eating for an hour straight.

I could've gotten a picture with Ed Coan, but he was like the first guy I saw, and I was not mentally prepared for it.



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3/5 500# Squat!

I'm going back to Westside for the upcoming meet, since the injury and trip to Columbus both messed up my schedule. I went Westside today and this is probably the last time I'll squat heavy until after the meet, especially considering how today went.

ME Squat
405x1 add knee wraps
460x0 random spotter caught me at the bottom. Finished the rep, but it was a no rep. Never attempting PRs with a random spotter again.
500x1 hopefully you agree. The random spotter talked me into it. Against my better judgement, I made the effort. And got it.

DB Side Bends,
100x15x3

Leg Raises
20x3

DB Split Squats
35x12x3

Leg Press
10 Platesx25x2

Cat-Back Rows (from Cube book)
115x8x3

I have to say, the combination of learning how to properly wrap my knees, taking Enhanced, and Cubing and Westside method all year has really done wonders. That hood rat ****-talked me into doing 500, and I had Lamonster spot me so it didn't get ****ed up, and I got a huge PR. Depth looked good, form was awfully ugly. I'll post it up here soon.
 
Yeah, it's Push/Pull. From here on out I'll probably squat sumo-ish to build a sumo pull. I weighed 218, so my body loved having some weight on it again. Got my bodyfat tested for the first time in eons, too. I'm at 17%, which I'll gladly take.
 
Here's the vid:

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