This article originally appeared on the GoHeavy.com webpage. It is reprinted here at the request of several lifters.
WESTSIDE BARBELL WORKOUT OVERVIEW
This program is broken into four main workouts and several auxiliary workouts. The four main workouts are broken down into two dedicated to the bench press and two dedicated to the squat and deadlift. Each of these two groups is broken down into one day for speed and explosive work and one for maximum effort three days after the speed / explosive day. Both the Dynamic and the Contrast methods are needed every week in order to get strong. You can not make maximum gains with one and not the other.
Dynamic Method: To maintain form the squat and bench press are performed on the speed / explosive days. On these speed / explosive or volume days (called volume days because a lot of total volume is done, total volume = weight x reps x sets) you should use compensatory acceleration when performing your box squats or bench presses on this day. Compensatory acceleration simply means that the bar should increase in speed through the up phase of each rep and the bar should be at its fastest at the very top of the lift, just before lockout. Light weights are used on this day (50% to 60% of maximum effort) to maintain good bar speed (each set should be completed in the same time it takes to complete one maximum effort competition lift). Also multiple sets with short rest periods (under 1 min.) are used, all of this is known as the dynamic method. The squats are performed on a box with a height 1" to 2" below parallel and are done for 10 to 12 sets (8 to 10 sets if bands and / or chains are used) of 2 reps. The bench is done for 8 to 10 sets of 3 reps, with no pause on the chest. Both of these workouts are discussed in detail on Friday Morning for squats and Sunday Morning for bench. Note these workouts, where you are actually performing the competition lifts, are placed on the weekend because this is where meets are done.
Contrast Method: Usually bands and / or chains and / or weight releasers are added to the bar on the speed / explosive days to offer varying resistance (this is known as the contrast method because of the change in resistance throughout the range of motion of each repetition). The advantage of bands and chains are they add resistance at the top of the lift where it normally gets easier due to mechanical and leverage advantages forcing you to push hard through the entire range of motion. This can really build explosive strength. When using chains you should have two lighter chains, one for each end of the bar, that hang from the bar and hold all the other heavier chains. These heavier chains should be about 5' in length. The heavy chains will hang doubled over from the lighter chain, which means they will hang down about 2.5' from the lighter chain. For the squat adjust the two lighter chains so that only about three links of the heavy chains will be on the floor at the top of the lift (i.e. most of the heavy chain will be on the ground at the bottom of the lift and only the light chains will not be on the ground). For the bench press adjust the two light chains so that about half of the heavy chain is on the ground at the top of the lift, this will prevent the swinging effect the chains can provide when completely off the ground and again most of the heavy chain will be on the ground at the bottom of the lift. The only purpose of the light chains is to adjust the height of the heavy chains. If you have access to a monolift (a special squat rack where you do not have to step back to take the weight out) use it for your Friday Morning squat workout because it will save a lot of energy especially when using chains because they will swing when completely off the ground while you are walking in and out with the weight. As you lift the bar, you start to pick the chain off the floor and the weight gets heavier and heavier where the lift normally gets easier, forcing you to work hard through the entire range of motion. Some machines try to duplicate this but chains allow you to do this with free weights. Chains can be used or added to many different exercises. Bands are used like chains. They look like large heavy-duty rubber bands and come in different strengths (made by Up-Stretch Inc.). They are place around the bar and the bottom of the squat rack (you can place a bench in your squat rack for benches). They offer varied resistance like the chains but have a totally different feel and make the bar less stable. Weight releasers (as seen in PLUSA) are placed on the bar and adjusted to fall off at the bottom of the first rep. They allow you to lower more weight for the first rep of each set; this is a good for muscle growth. None of these things (chains, bands, or weight releasers) are limited to use on the dynamic days. They can be used for many of the exercises on the maximum effort days as well as some of the assistance exercises to offer more variations.
Conjugate Method: Three days (72 hours) after the speed explosive day the maximum effort day is performed. On the maximum effort day a main assistance exercise is performed very heavy usually for a 2 weeks in a row (known as a mini-cycle) and is then rotated to a different exercise for a new mini-cycle so that the body is always being stressed in different ways (this is known as the conjugate method). The three main lifts are usually only done heavy at a contest but many different similar exercises are done very heavy that will increase your performance at contest time. If you do exercises that increase your glut, hamstring, lower back and abdominal strength without doing heavy squats your squats will go up. All exercise, including all assistance work, can and should be rotated occasionally to prevent the body from adapting. The exceptions are reverse hyperextensions, which are too important to ever leave out, and box squats on Friday and bench presses on Sunday which are always done but can be varied (i.e. different grips, different stances, different height boxes, different type of boxes, with or without chains and / or bands and / or weight releasers, and the use of different amounts of chain and / or band and / or weight releaser combinations). Another useful item that can add some variety is a stability ball. The ball used is like a large beach ball but much more durable and can be used with many of the exercises. By sitting or lying on the ball you make the exercise you are doing less stable and thus work on the stabilizing aspect of the muscles. They are used a lot with dumbbell presses. If you have ever had trouble keeping a weight under control, the use of a ball will help. The key thing for these days is to experiment and find the exercises that work best for you. Different exercises will work best for different people and the same exercises that work today will not always work in the future. As your body adapts, so must your training.
Assistance Work: The four main workouts (Friday Morning, Sunday Morning, Monday Morning, and Wednesday Morning) should always include the first exercise listed (i.e. box squats on Friday Morning, bench on Sunday Morning, primary squat / deadlift assistance on Monday Morning, and primary bench assistance on Wednesday Morning). In addition, each of the four main workouts should include a total of about 4 to 6 exercises including the main exercise for that day. You do not and should not do all the assistance exercises listed for a given workout, work your individual weak areas, the exercises you are weakest at, the most often because you are only as strong as your weakest link. For the bench press the triceps are very important and do 70% of the work for bench pressing, so work them hard. For the squat and deadlift glut, hamstring, lower back, and abdominal strength are the key muscle groups so work them hard as well so you should always include reverse hyperextensions every squat workout (Friday Morning) and squat assistance workout (Monday Morning) because they really work the lower back, gluts, and hamstrings. You do not have to follow the order the assistance exercises are listed in, instead you should work your weak areas first after the main exercise for that day saving the exercises that work your stronger muscle groups for latter in the workout however, the order listed will more or less be the best order to use for most people. Rotate or change to different assistance exercises when you feel a particular exercise is no longer working for you. By rotating in different exercises, you should be doing over 20 different exercises in an eight-week period. When picking the number of reps and sets to do for a given exercise pick what works best for you on that exercise. The number of sets and reps listed for some of the exercises are only there as a guide but you can do as many or as few sets and reps as you feel work best for you. For some it may take 8 sets to work the upper back, where as another may be burnt-out after 3 sets. Try to increase the weight and / or the number of sets and / or reps you use throughout the training year but do not be concerned about counting your reps, rather it is best to go by feel or to failure depending on what you feel you need at that time. Trying to get a predetermined number of reps may not push you hard enough or may push you too far. When performing the exercises use grips and stances that makes the assistance work hard. The assistance work is suppose to be hard where as the actual lifts (i.e. squat, bench, & deadlift) are supposed to be easy due to the use of proper form. In addition, every time you come into the gym, for each and every assistance exercise you should try to break a record. If you can not go up in weight try to do one more rep or one more set than you did last time. Every time you perform an exercise you should be doing more weight, more reps, and / or more sets than you have before. If you can not or you become mentally or physically burnt out with a particular exercise then rotate or switch to a different exercise that will work similar muscle groups in a different manner. Variety is the key to this program. If you know of other exercises or variations of the exercises listed feel free to rotate them in.
Auxiliary Workouts: Do not start with all the workouts in this program rather start with the four main workouts (Friday Morning, Sunday Morning, Monday Morning, and Wednesday Morning) and slowly and steadily increase your workload throughout the training year. This is done by any or all of the following: increase the weight, increase the sets, increase the reps, increase the number of exercises per workout, increase the number of workouts, and / or decrease the rest time between sets and exercises. If you are going to add any of the extra workouts do so slowly and gradually and only if you feel you need more work in a particular area. The auxiliary workouts are treated as active rest days. These workouts use lighter weights (usually about 60% of the weight of the weight used the day before) and are done for fewer sets with less intensity. The main workouts do not have to be performed in the morning but if you were doing more then one workout on a given day the main workout would be done before any auxiliary workout.
Time: The four main workouts should take 70 minutes or less and the other auxiliary workouts should take 15 minutes or less. The main workouts would be broken down as followed: about 15 min of warming up, 15 min of the main lift and 20 to 40 min of other assistance. Keep your rest periods short, often 15 seconds rest between sets and never more than 2 or 3 minutes. Stretching for a few minutes after each workout and on your off days is also important.
The Meet: There is no off season with this training. The same routine is used the week of the contest as well as twelve weeks out from your next meet. If a meet was on Saturday you would do all the normal workouts right up to Wednesday but you may back off slightly on the main exercise (perhaps doing a rep max exercise rather than a max single) and never leave out or skip any of the assistance that you would normally do (In fact you might want to pick up the intensity, i.e. more sets, exercises, weight, etc.). After the meet, you would be back in the gym on Sunday going at it with full force. With time and experience you will learn which mini-cycles and assistance exercises work best for you right before a meet. Also most of the members of Westside Barbell try to do a meet about every eight weeks. When you go to a meet, you should know all of your attempts before hand. If your training has been going well then perhaps make your second attempt about a 5 lb. meet personal record with your first attempt being something you can confidently get even on a bad day and your third attempt should be something a little over your second attempt. Once you pick your attempts stick to them, only change them if after your first attempt you do not feel as strong as you thought you would, it is easy to get talked into trying more but it is better to get a third attempt with room to spare and come back and get more at your next meet then take a weight well beyond your abilities and not know what you were capable of. Also be sure to take at least one handler to the meet with you who has trained with you and knows how you lift and what you need to be reminded of as far as your form and how to get and keep you focused on your lifts.
FRIDAY MORNING
(Explosive/Volume Squat Workout)
Warm-up: you can do one or both of the following:
Box squats on a 1" to 2" below parallel box. In addition, a hassock (soft box) can be used instead for a 3 to 4 week cycle. Use 50% to 60% of your best meet squat. Do 10 to 12 sets of 2 reps (or 8 to 10 sets if using bands or chains) with only 45 seconds rests between sets. You can add weight (and / or chains) for the last couple of sets if you can do so without loosing bar speed. The bar speed must be great, each set should take the same amount of time as it takes you to complete a maximum effort competition squat (i.e. each rep should be about twice as fast as your competition squat). Increase the weight 2.5% of your best squat per week. Go up in training weight for about 3 to 4 weeks, (example: 52.5% for 1st week, 55% for 2nd week, and 57.5% for 3rd week). After the third or fourth week drop back down to you initial training weight and repeat the cycle but this time you may want to change things up by using a different combination bands, chains, weight releasers and or different types of boxes. You may use loose suit bottoms but keep the straps down and no knee wraps (the straps and knee wraps are used only at a contest). The best shoes to use are those with a flat sole (i.e. no heel) such as wrestling shoes or Converse Chuck Taylors because a heel will tip you forward and put undo stress on the quads. Use a wider than normal stance with feet pointed mostly forward, (this will put more stress on the hips making it harder to get down but give more power for the ascent) and push the knees out to sides, not forward. The initial movement should be the gluts pushed rearward, not the knees bending. Sit back on box (the shins should actually be past vertical, i.e. the feet should be more forward than the knees) under control (don't fall or drop on the box) and completely relax hips but keep the back tight. Then explode quickly off the box pushing the knees out to the sides. Push each rep up as hard and as fast as possible keeping good form (the bar should increase in speed through out each rep and be at it's fastest at the top). Push each rep up as fast and as hard as possible. The week before the meet use your lowest training weight but the week before that should be your highest training weight. It is very important to occasionally take a weight above 60% after you finish all your sets but not going over 90% of your best regular squat. This is not necessarily done every week but should average out to about 2 reps per week; this includes a max single off the box about every 4 weeks (count a meet as maxing out). You may want to use your weakest stance when doing a max single, which for most is extra wide but maybe very narrow. You can use a slightly cambered or buffalo bar if a regular bar is too difficult to get under (especially true for larger lifters). Also if you have access to them it is recommended to place chains and /or bands on the bar. If chains are used they should be about 5 feet long and weigh about 20 lb., if you can not find chains this large you can double-up smaller chains. Hang a small chain from both ends of the bar to adjust the height and hang the heavier chains from it. Adjust the height so about half of the chains rest on the floor while sitting on the box and all but about three links of chain are off the floor at the top of the lift. This means you are lifting more weight at the top of the lift making it harder at the top where the lift normally gets easier. You can add as many chains to the bar as you like as long as the bar speed does not slow too much. As a reference you can start with chains weighting about 15% of your max meet squat; the important thing is to maintain bar speed. The use of chains is highly recommended because they will really build explosiveness. When using chains a general reference would be to have the total weight at the bottom (the bar weight plus half the chain weight) only about 2.5% more then the weight used without chains (i.e. the total weight at the bottom would be 52.5% to 62.5%). In addition, heavy-duty stretch bands can be placed on the bar wrapped around the bottom of your squat rack (adding up to 160 of resistance at the top of the lift). These can be used alone or with chains. If maxing out after using chains or bands leave the chains and/or bands on the bar.
Main Assistance: These are the main muscle groups to work. Do a total of 3 to 4 exercises from this area. Work your weak areas. The reps and sets will vary depending on what works best for you. Always push yourself and always do more reps, sets, and or weight if you can. (You also can pick one of the main assistance exercises from the Monday Morning workout but do it for a few reps.)
Glutes / Hamstrings: (Heavy weight can be used for absolute strength or lighter weights can be used to build explosiveness.)
Lower back:
Abdominal Work: do one or more of the following. Note exercises "A" & "B" works either front or oblique depending how they are done, AC@ through AG@ are for the front abdominal and AJ@, AK@, & AL@ are for the oblique muscles, and AI@ works all areas. Be sure to always work both. (Usually 90% of all abdominal work is exercises AA@ or AB@ because these are done standing which is how your abs are used in a meet.). Be sure to go heavy on Friday and Monday. Ab work can be done every day.
Additional Assistance: (If you feel you are weak in one of the following areas, you can do any of the following exercises. These areas do not usually receive much attention unless you have a particular weakness.)
Grip: You can do exercises for your grip if it is weak however these do not have to be done in the gym and can be used everyday. You can use special grip devices, or simply opening and closing your hand tightly and fast for about a thousand reps will work your grip. In addition, thrusting your hands into wet sand and griping and moving your fingers in all directions is effective.
Quads: You can do one of the following if you feel your quads are weak but must people are overly developed in this area and under developed in other areas.
Neck: If you feel your neck is weak you can do work your neck using a neck machine, neck harness, or lying on a bench holding plates on the head or have a partner offer resistance.
Calves: If you feel your calves are weak, you can do any type of calf raises.
FRIDAY EVENING
(Optional Secondary Squat Workout)
(Additional squat / deadlift work)
You can do any of the exercises from Friday Morning including reverse-hyperextensions, abdominal work, and dragging (if you are doing a second Friday workout save your dragging until now, don't drag in the Friday Morning workout). Only do one or two things and not the same things you did in the Morning. Listed below is the Bill Star deadlift routine. You may want to try it or work in some aspects from it into your routine.
Bill Star routine (start with the listed number of sets but increase them with time except for the good mornings, do not do more than 4 sets of goodmornings for this program):
SATURDAY
(Optional 60% Explosive/Volume Squat Assistance)
Do any or all of the following but only use about 60% of the weight and about 60% of the number of sets as on Friday.
SUNDAY MORNING
(Explosive/Volume Bench Workout)
Warm-up: see Friday Morning
Bench: Use 60% of your best gym bench, (i.e. without a bench shirt) or about 55% of your contest best, (i.e. with a bench shirt) for 8 to 10 sets of 3 reps. You can add weight (and / or chains) for the last couple of sets if you can do so without loosing bar speed. A bench shirt is never worn except at a competition. The week before a meet only do 6 sets of 3 reps. Take only 60 seconds rest between sets. When performing your sets you should take in a large breath of air filling your stomach then breathing in with your chest and hold it during all three reps of each set, this will keep you tight. Be sure your lats are under the bar. You want to pull your shoulder blades together and rest up on them this will give the bar less room to have to travel. Your can use either a thumb grip (thumbs around the bar) or a false grip (thumbs not around the bar). The thumb grip works best for those with proportionally stronger pecks and deltoids and a false grip for those with stronger triceps and lats. You can even use a reverse grip, which really puts the stress on the triceps and allows the lats to be used to a much greater degree. With either grip, the thumbs should be turned down so that the bar is resting on the outside edge of the hand. Always take the bar out yourself on your sets of three (unless using a reverse grip), this will help teach proper form because your lats have to be under the bar. The bar should be held in the hand so that it is directly over the center of the forearm. Push the bar in a straight line (the shortest distance between two points) never over the face. Keep the elbows turned in and set yourself on your shoulder blades. Your chin should be driven into the chest and the head driven into the bench. The bar should be kept over the elbows with the forearms perpendicular to the floor. Do not pause your reps as this builds mostly static strength, the stretch reflex lasts up to 2 seconds which is much longer than a legal pause. Lower the bar quickly but under control. Think of pushing yourself away from the bar. Push each rep up as hard and as fast as possible keeping good form (the bar should increase in speed throughout each rep and be at it's fastest at the top). Use up to three different grips throughout the sets, usually working from a wide grip (pinky on the ring on the bar) to a close grip (index finger just on the smooth part of the bar) this will overload the triceps however, work your weakest grip most often. You can use any combination of the three grips; close, wide, and illegal (an illegal grip is when the index fingers are an inch or two outside the rings on the bar) plus a mid width grip between your close and wide grips. It is important to occasionally take a weight above the 60% (usually 70% to 80%) after you finish all your sets usually using your weakest grip (usually a close grip) but not going over 90% of your best regular bench. This is not necessarily done every week but should average out to about 3 reps per week (Some of these can be doubles or triples) and would include maxing out with your weakest grip (usually a close grip) every 3 to 4 weeks. (A meet counts as maxing out). Also you can place chains on the bar so that most of the chains rest on the floor at the bottom of the bench and about half of the chains are off the floor at the top of the lift. This means you are lifting more weight at the top of the lift making it harder at the top where the lift normally gets easier. The use of chains is highly recommended because they will really build explosiveness. The total amount of chains used should be about 10% to 20% of your max bench. When using chains only do 8 sets of 3 reps and when max out afterwards do not remove the chains.
Main Assistance: These are the main muscle groups to work. Do a total of 3 to 4 exercises from this area. Work your weak areas. The reps and sets will vary depending on what works best for you. Always push yourself and always do more reps, sets, and or weight if you can.
Triceps: Do two or three of the following. (Many of these exercises can be done sitting or lying on a ball) When doing triceps work keep the elbows in closer than the fists. Do a total of about 50 to 65 reps (broken down into about 5 to 8 sets):
Deltoids: Do one or two of the following (Most of these exercises can also be done sitting on a ball):
Lats / upper back: You can do one or more of the following working your weak areas. You must use a variety of grips (a fist grip refers to a bar that lets the bar be griped so that the palms are facing each other) and exercises in your training to effectively work the lats:
Additional Assistance: (If you feel you are weak in one of the following areas, you can do any of the following exercises. These areas do not usually receive much attention unless you have a particular weakness.)
Biceps: Any type of curl can be done but hammer curls may have the most benefits because they also work the front deltoid. They can be done to the same or opposite shoulder, standing or seated.
SUNDAY EVENING
(Optional 36% Explosive/Volume Squat Assistance)
Same as Saturday except do about 60% of the weight and sets you did on Saturday, i.e. about 36% of the amount of weight and number of sets done on Friday. If dragging use about 60% of the weight used on Saturday (i.e. 36% of the weight used on Friday) for 4 sets of 200'.
MONDAY MORNING
(Maximum Effort Squat/Deadlift Workout)
Warm-up: see Friday Morning
Primary squat / deadlift assistance: Pick one of the following exercises and do for a 2-week mini-cycle. Change to a different exercise for a new mini-cycle on the list after 2 weeks or are physically or mentally burnt out with that exercise whichever comes first. Just about every one of these exercises should be done for a max single, the exception is goodmornings which may need to be done for 3 or more reps because a max single may be too stressful especially for those new to this exercise. "A", "B", "C", "D", "E", & "F" are squat exercises. "G" & "H" are goodmorning exercises. "I", "J", "K", "L", & "M" are deadlift exercises. "N" & "O" are either squat or deadlift exercises depending on which you do. Do not do two squat or two goodmorning or two deadlift mini-cycles back to back. Most people should do more squat and goodmorning mini-cycles then deadlift mini-cycles (unless you are built to deadlift, i.e. short back and long arms and legs). "P", "Q", & "R" can be worked in whenever you like. Also, try to balance the number of arched back goodmorning exercises with the number of rounded back exercises. For any of the goodmorning or squat exercises you can use a slightly cambered or buffalo bar if a regular bar is too difficult to get under (especially true for larger lifters). You should longer rests between sets but too long (under 3 minutes). (A note on form for the deadlift, a stance with the feet pointed straight will help the top part of the deadlift as it allows the gluts to be used to a greater degree and a stance with the feet pointed out to the sides will help the start) Many of these exercises can also be done with chains and / or bands and / or weight releasers. Notice there are many variations for some of the exercises and each variation should be treated as a different exercise:
Assistance: (See Friday Morning's workout but also include lats / upper back from Sunday Morning's workout. Also, any of the above exercises can be done either for another max single exercise or for reps.)
If your lower back is injured you can do this workout instead of the one above (this would only be done for one week):
MONDAY EVENING
(Optional 60% Explosive/Volume Bench Assistance & Secondary
Squat Workout)
TUESDAY
(Optional 60% Explosive/Volume Squat Assistance)
(Same as Saturday.)
WEDNESDAY
MORNING
(Maximum Effort Bench Workout)
Warm-up: see Friday Morning
Primary Bench Assistance: Pick one of the following exercises and do for a 2-week mini cycle. Change to a different exercise on the list after 2 weeks or you are physically or mentally burnt out whichever comes first. As a general rule for bar exercises work up to a max single and for dumbbell exercises work up to a top set of as many reps as possible, a rep max (usually using a weight you can do for from anywhere from 8 to 25 reps using the same weight each week unless you can do more then the range of reps you want to stay within, then go up in weight) you can also do most of the bar exercises this way as well for a variation, however, you may want your top set to be heavier for less reps than with the dumbbells. You can also try to hit a weight record on a particular exercise for a predetermined number of reps (6, 8, 10, or any other predetermined amount). Generally do a rep max mini-cycle every fifth or sixth week. For most of the bar exercises you can use a close grip (index finger just on the smooth part of the bar), a wide grip (pinky just on the ring on the bar), or an illegal grip (hands outside the rings on the bar). Use your weakest grip most often. For most, this is a close grip. You should take no more then a couple of minutes rest between sets. Many of these exercises can also be done sitting or lying on a ball and / or with or without chains and / or bands and / or weight releasers. Notice that there are many variations for some of the exercises and each variation should be treated as a different exercise:
Assistance: (see Sunday Morning's workout. Also, any of the above exercises can be done either for another max single exercise or for reps.)
WEDNESDAY
EVENING
(Optional 36% Explosive/Volume Squat Assistance)
(Same as Sunday evening.)
THURSDAY
(Optional 60% Explosive/Volume Bench Assistance)
You can do this workout for two weeks then take two weeks off then repeat or keep it as a regular part of your training if you feel your bench works needs more volume and it still allows you to recover for your main workouts. Pick one of the following two. You can do the same exercise on Monday Evening: