I never fully understood the true power of bracing until a memorable night at Louie's house. A group of us were watching fights—no volume because Louie believed if commentary didn’t add value, it wasn’t worth listening to. Beside his chair was a stack of books; right on top sat The Iron Shirt. Picking it up out of curiosity, I discovered techniques that were exactly what Louie had been practicing for years—methods that forever changed my perspective on bracing and strength training.

This week, we're covering

• Training Tip- Bracing: Discover how improper bracing can sabotage your lifts and how mastering this will improve strength and safety. 
• BJJ Strength & Conditioning: I've laid out specific strength insights tailored for grapplers.
• The Conventional Deadlift: Burley Hawk cuts through the noise, focusing on technique essentials for building a powerhouse lower body. From avoiding common mistakes that sap your strength to embedding the deadlift correctly into your program, this piece is a must-read.

Stay strong, Tom

Training Tip - Bracing

It might surprise you how much improper bracing impacts your lifting. Poor bracing not only hinders your progress and prevents PRs but increases your risk of injury compared to athletes who've mastered this skill.

I still remember a night at Louie’s house watching fights—muted, of course. Louie had a habit of turning off the sound if he felt the commentary didn’t add value. Next to his chair sat a stack of books, with one titled The Iron Shirt on top. Curious, I picked it up and started skimming. Quickly, I realized some of the techniques described in the book mirrored exactly what Louie practiced.

What Is Bracing?

Bracing is the act of engaging your entire core—including your abdominal muscles, lower back, and diaphragm—to create internal pressure. This stabilizes your spine, enabling you to safely lift heavier loads with more power and control.

What to Focus On (Actionable Tip)

Before lifting, take a deep breath into your belly—not your chest. Hold that breath as if preparing to take a hit, expanding and tightening your core 360 degrees around your waist.

Tip: Practice bracing by lying on your back, placing your hands, or a heavy medicine ball, on your abdomen, and breathing deeply into your stomach. You should feel your belly expand outward in all directions, not just forward. Practice this until it becomes second nature.

Why Belts Help (When Used Correctly)

Belts don't do the bracing for you; they provide tactile feedback. When your belt isn't overly tight, it gives your stomach something to actively push against, reinforcing your ability to brace correctly. Think of your belt as a training tool rather than an accessory—brace into the belt, not just against it.

BJJ Strength and Conditioning: Building Power, Endurance, and Resilience

In this article, I lay out a roadmap that addresses the exact demands grapplers face on the mats. It explains how to systematically build not just raw power in the hips and back but also the kind of grip strength that can make or break a match. It emphasizes the importance of strategic scheduling—heavy days for raw strength, targeted “speed” or dynamic days for explosive efforts, and active recovery sessions that keep you rolling at a high level.

By integrating Westside methods of Max Effort, Dynamic Effort, and manipulating volume, this approach shows that lifting weights alone is not enough; training must be timed and structured so that the gas tank doesn’t fizzle by the second round of sparring. 

Overall, it’s a framework that respects the technical side of Jiu-Jitsu while recognizing that skill alone may not cut it when an opponent’s grip and strength overwhelm you. By focusing on the posterior chain, core stability, and grip-intensive movements, this blueprint helps grapplers dominate—not just for one roll but day in and day out.

Read More Here

The Conventional Deadlift

By Burly Hawk

The conventional deadlift, as Burley Hawk discusses, is all about building a powerful lower body from the ground up—hamstrings, glutes, back, and trunk bracing included. I’ve always been taught that the conventional deadlift nails it if you want brute-force gains with a serious carryover. 

Maintaining a neutral spine, carefully setting your feet under the bar, and pulling with a steady drive off the floor are absolute musts. What I love most is that the movement never lies: it either goes up, or it doesn't. Where it stalls tells you exactly where to focus next. 

At Westside, we rotate variations (deficit deadlifts, rack pulls, and speed work with bands or chains) and weave them into our overall program, keeping the posterior chain robust and ensuring no one gets away with halfhearted technique. As always, this is a great and highly educational piece by Westsides Burly Hawk.

Read in full here.

Louie Simmon's Corner (Legacy Spotlight)

Louie Simmons viewed box squats as a foundational pillar of Westside Barbell. The conjugate method he popularized and pioneered uniquely combines max-effort training to build absolute strength and dynamic-effort work designed for speed and explosive power. By working within specific percentages (50–60% of a one-rep max) for multiple sets of doubles, Louie established box squats as a critical staple for dynamic-effort training.

Central to Louie’s philosophy was the consistent focus on the posterior chain—your hamstrings, glutes, hips, and lower back. The distinctive "sit back" method of box squats effectively targets these muscles, enabling lifters to achieve bigger squats and deadlifts. Louie, having experienced a torn patellar tendon himself and working with countless injured athletes, emphasized that controlling the shin angle and reducing knee stress through box squatting significantly contribute to joint longevity.

Box squats aren't just for powerlifters. Athletes across various sports—from throwers and football players to fighters—can leverage this movement to develop explosive strength. Inspired by lifting legends such as Bill West and George Frenn, Louie elevated box squats beyond just another exercise variation.

He recognized it as an essential tool for building explosive reversal strength from a static start, reinforcing proper squat depth, and pinpointing and addressing weaknesses. This deliberate approach doesn't just deliver heavier lifts—it produces more powerful and dynamic athletic performance, regardless of your sport or discipline.

Read this article in full here.