Westside Weekly: Arnold Classic, Training at 90%, and Strength Secrets from Louie Simmons
It’s Arnold Classic Week 2025, and Westside Barbell has been busy as athletes and members of our community stop in to train and talk shop. We never charge visitors to train here—it’s an honor to share Louie’s legacy, the gym’s achievements, and the work our athletes are putting in today.
This week, we welcomed Peter Brehmer from Ireland, returning to Westside for the first time in four years. Peter has been a huge asset, offering deadlift execution tips to our athletes. As he put it, “It’s great to see the evolution of Westside Barbell and that even though the athletes have changed, the culture is still as powerful as ever.”
(Here is a podcast with Louie and Pete from about 5 years ago)
We also had Marcus and Hayley Perry stop by to train at our Athlete Facility, reinforcing what Westside has always been—a place where strength, knowledge, and culture never fade.
Athlete Updates & Highlights
Justice Stanford
Justice Stanford is stepping onto the mats this weekend for a Jiu-Jitsu tournament, which will be streamed live on FloGrappling. Since this event is primarily for staying active and maintaining competition sharpness, her training has remained unchanged, allowing her to continue progressing without disrupting her overall program. Justice is always focused, and we’re looking forward to seeing her showcase her skills on the mat.
Notable Gym Lifts Dante Leon: 345 lb Good Morning
Dante Leon continues to prove why absolute strength and posterior chain development are critical for Jiu-jitsu. This week, he hit a 345-lb Good Morning, a key movement in building lower back strength and bracing—all essential for his performance on the mats.
New Content Showcase
New YouTube Video
Always Ready: The Brutal Truth About How Westside Barbell Athletes Train at 90% Year-Round
How do professional athletes stay strong, fast, and ready to compete all year round? At Westside Barbell, our athletes don’t have the luxury of long prep periods. They train at 90% of their best every day, so when the call comes—whether it’s for a title fight, a last-minute jiu-jitsu super fight, or an event—they’re ready.
In this episode, Tom Barry and Burley Hawk break down:
- What training at 90% really means, and why Louie Simmons built Westside athletes this way
- Why traditional peaking cycles don’t work for fighters, grapplers, and elite competitors
- How max effort, dynamic effort, and volume work together to keep strength at its peak
- The real reason most athletes can’t handle this system—and why it’s a game-changer for those who can.
At Westside, MMA fighters, Jiu-Jitsu competitors, and our athletes don’t get 8-12 weeks to prepare. They have to be ready at all times—no excuses. Learn how we train, recover, and dominate using the principles taught by Louie Simmons and real-world-tested programming.
Blog Posts:
Burley’s Advice: The Westside Barbell Speed Bench Training Guide - Read Here
"Over the years, the Conjugate Method has built some of the strongest geared and raw benches in powerlifting. At Westside, we have had members press 700, 800, 900, and 1000 lbs in gear and many 500—and 600lb+ raw bench presses. These results were achieved through the intelligent use of the maximal, dynamic, and repeated effort methods..."
Louie Simmon's Corner (Legacy Spotlight)
Transfer of Exercises
Louie Simmons breaks down Dr. Anatoly Bondarchuk’s concept of exercise transfer, explaining why strength must be built in the right exercises for true performance gains. At Westside, Louie prioritized special exercises over competition lifts, using movements like reverse hypers, J.M. presses, and sled drags to drive squat, bench, and deadlift PRs.
Beyond powerlifting, he exposes common mistakes in sprint training, such as eliminating strength work, leading to injuries and slower times. He highlights how explosive weight training, sled work, and plyometrics transfer directly to speed, as proven by his work with Olympic sprinters.
This article challenges traditional training methods and reinforces the Westside philosophy—the right exercises lead to stronger lifts, faster sprints, and fewer injuries.
Essential reading for any serious athlete or coach.
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