THE VIRTUAL FORCE SWING
At Westside Barbell we use the dynamic method throughout the year. Its purpose is not to build maximal strength but to improve the rate of force development and...
The Westside Barbell Blog
A resource for serious lifters and athletes seeking proven strength training methods. The Westside Barbell blog breaks down programming, exercise selection, recovery, and performance strategies built on decades of elite coaching experience of founder Louie Simmons and his dedicated team.
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585 articles · page 39 of 49DEADLIFT TRAINING PART II
There are approximately 65 700lb benchers and 35 1000lb squatters. But when one looks at the deadlift, there are only 8 900+ deadlifters. The incredibly strong Eddie Coan...
PREPARE TO BENCH
The lifters at Westside are constantly going to meets. Many of the meets are small and mostly in Ohio. We like to represent Ohio. Top lifters should lift...
ACCOMMODATION
Everyone should know what accommodation is. Accommodation causes your performance to stagnate or decrease. Zatsiorsky stated that the response of a biological object to a given constant stimulus...
THEN AND NOW
My powerlifting memories start in 1966, just one month before my induction into the Army. I feel like Captain Ahab with his obsession with Moby Dick. I am...
PART TWO OF MY JOURNEY
Larry’s string of Worlds stops at 9 after jumping 2 1/5 k’s on his second attempt, negating a third. Dan Wohleber pulls the first 900 pound deadlift. Dave...
PERIODIZATION: PENDULUM WAVE
Periodization simply means organizing training plans of one year or more into shorter manageable plans, i.e., weekly or monthly. At Westside, a weekly plan is used on max...
REACTIVE METHOD
In the late 1960s isometrics were used not only by the Soviets but also here in the United States by the York Barbell team. They were very effective...
DEADLIFTING TRAINING PART III
The back has much potential, which is seldom reached. For such a simple lift, the deadlift can be complicated to train. If one only deadlifts, progress will stall...
BOX SQUATTING BENEFITS
I am often asked, why do box squats? We do them to produce world-record squats. The late, great Matt Dimel made 1010 in 1985 at SHW. Chuck Vogelpohl...
ISOMETRICS
Isometrics have been around since the 1950s. It was an effective method to develop strength at a particular angle and affordable to most because of the limited amount...
BENCH PRESS WORKOUT
I am frequently asked to write personal workouts for a fee. However, I don’t have the time to do this. Westside makes training tapes on all matters of...