Changes at Westside

[Oli]

By Dave Tate at EFTS.com

Dave Tate- I hear alot about the old style of westside training. Can you explain what differences are opposed to today's style of westside?

There is only a small group of people who can tell you what is being done at Westside today and this only includes those who train at Westside. You might try to ask Mike Brown on this Q and A. He keeps a training log here as well. Mike trains at Westside.

I can tell you the changes I saw during my 12-13 years there but it would take a whole article to do.

In short...

1. bands have been added
2. chains have been added
3. weight releasers were added
4. board presses were added
5. floor presses were added
6. DE cycles went from 5 weeks to 3
7. ME work cycled from 3 weeks to 1
8. An assload of new special exercises
9. The Reverse Hyper and GHR became huge (from 1 day per week to 5-6 in some cases)
10. GPP was added
11. Trap bars, dips and over head work was canned
12. kettelebells were added
13. stability balls were added
14. mantarays came and went
15. Cambered Bars were added
16. DE work with Safety bars added
17. Lactic acid tolerance training was added
18. the lightened method added
19. We moved gyms three times
20. the belt squat became a machine instead of a huge box with a hole in it.
21. The sled mill was added
22. powerlifting gear got better.
23. I remember the GREAT day when the monolift was added - no more taking the weight out of the racks at Louie height.
24. Circa Maximal Phases were added
25. recovery became more important
26. Restoration sessions were added
27. extra workouts were added for weak points
28 we became better at figuring out how to over come sticking points
29. The 45 degree back raise was added
30. the beck attack added
31. members came and members went
32. suspended ME work was added (concentric only)
33. teaching became a big part of the process - at one time we have 4 guys writing articles and three doing seminars.
34. single leg work came and went
35. standing ab work became vital
36. Louie came out of retirement
37. the record board began to change every meet
38. the club "top" list got very freaky and keeps growing today
39. we tore through 4-5 stereos
40. Fat bars were added
41. percents got lower
42. grip work became more important
43. timed work was added for recovery

These are just 43 I ripped off the top of my head. Given some more time I am sure I could name 100. The point it to notice that it is always evolving and trying new things. Some stuff worked and some stuff did not,. The old stuff was working for us the same way it would work for you today but things only work for so long and you have to find new things to advance. In many cases the old things are what advanced us to the new ones. They are what prepared us for the new stuff.

I suggest understanding the methods first and then looking for the differences, You will see the main methods are the same - the means are what changed.

 

[Oli]

And for the curious, here are 44 to 100

44. Max effort waves that built on each other were added.
45. We were tough on which max effort movements tested strength and which ones built strength.
46. Weak point analysis was based on technical performance more so than structure.
47. Heavy ankle weights were added for GPP work.
48. Weight vests were added for GPP work and sled dragging.
49. Wheelbarrow work was added for GPP work.
50. Speed training rest periods were slightly increased as band tension got heavier.
51. Band tension was taken to extremes and then lowered somewhat to fit each lifter.
52. Lat work for many of us dropped in daily volume but was now done four days per week. For me, I had two row days and two pull-down days.
53. Speed pulls were added after speed squats.
54. Speed squat cycles changed and advanced with each meet based on the results that the last group had.
55. Technique remained the most important variable.
56. The new guys never made the same mistakes that we did, but they made their own. This is the progression of success.
57. The roller hyper was added to the mix. This gave us a different way to do hypers and added variety and sessions per week.
58. The plyo swing was added, offering a way to build greater explosive strength.
59. Decline max effort work came and went, and then came back again.
60. Belts squats were used more for spinal deloading.
61. The tendo unit was added. However, it told us what we already knew so it was only used sparely for testing. Having the device on made many lifters too concerned with what the machine read and distracted them from actually doing the lift. I was one of them.
62. We were taught that we were only as strong as our weakest guy, and it was our job to make him better. The exact words used were more like “stop bitching about how weak he is and make him stronger. He’s weak because you suck as a training partner.”
63. Strapped up good mornings were a disaster.
64. Although weight releasers were used sparely, they gave very good results when used correctly.
65. As the gym became more popular, the door was always open for coaches and lifters. The entire time I was there, I met close to 100 coaches and only saw three of them train or even try a movement. I met with even more lifters and never saw any of them train.
66. Louie pissed me off well over twice a week, and if I did my job, I pissed him off more times per week than that.
67. Louie would tell you the same damn thing 101 times and would finally stop when I did it on the 101th time. This was really what I needed to do in the first place, but I was too ego-driven to do what I sucked at. Some coaches think they have a hard job. Try walking into Westside and teaching those guys what to do! There’s only one way it will get done and that’s by earning their respect “under the bar.”
68. After 10 years, I finally got through one session without hearing AC/DC.
69. Ultra high reps were added for recovery—reverse band presses for 100 reps.
70. Timed good mornings (five minutes) were added for a short time. THESE REALLY SUCKED.
71. Timed dumbbell presses lasted longer.
72. Just because they’re in the videos doesn’t mean we did rolling dumbbell triceps extensions for eight sets of eight (20 seconds rest) twice a week every week of the year.
73. Doing 100 rep band push-downs with the light (purple) bands for extra workouts twice a week makes a huge difference for many lifters.
74. Floor presses with chains were added.
75. The chain bench press was added (work up to 50% and add one chain per set until you max out).
76. The front squat harness broke and was never replaced. Squats and pulls still went up, and our balls were saved.
77. We discovered that you have a better chance of getting injured with triples and fives then with singles.
78. Dynamic squat (speed squat) training evolved to include other bars outside of the straight bar. These included cambered squat bars and safety squat bars.
79. As with number 78, dynamic bench work also evolved to include cycles of speed work on the floor, off low pins, and off boards.
80. Bungee cords didn’t work as well as bands.
81. The gear got better (bench shirts and squat suits) so training had to change. The strength work didn’t change though because the program was designed around getting stronger in and out of gear. However, the new gear added a new skill aspect to the sport. We added in some sessions just to get used to wearing the gear, but this didn’t happen more than 4–5 times for each meet (at the most). This may have changed since I left the gym, but I doubt it.
82. More warm-up sets were added for each lift. You didn’t work up until you were ready.
83. More control on ME work was added. By this, I mean that smarter decisions were made. In the past, we just said screw it and loaded the bar whether or not it was a good day or a bad day. This is one thing that I feel has helped the newer guys stay healthier than we were in the past.
84. Toward the last few years, if we felt beat up, we rested and just did supplemental work. This goes along with number 83.
85. Most speed pulls advanced into speed pulls with one or two double mini bands.
86. In the beginning, all ME work for the lower body was done raw, and we used to bust the balls of anyone who tried to use gear—even a belt. In time, the belt and briefs were used, and we were healthier for it.
87. Most people who think that they can last there never will, and those who think they don’t belong will become one of the best. This will never change.
88. All of us used to do the same max effort work regardless of what we wanted to do. When the gym moved, we did those things that we needed to do and not so much what everyone else was doing.
89. Supplemental work became extremely important as time went on as we all began to see what Louie had been telling us for years. As I like to say in seminars, “You can either train a lift or build a lift. The choice is yours.” Supplemental work builds lifts.
90. Hamstring work is HUGE, but we never did RDL’s or stiff legs deadlifts. Hams were built using glute ham raises, pull-thrus, band leg curls, squats, and pulls.
91. Supplemental work was waved based on individual needs. At first, we just did what we did. In time, we stayed with one movement until it stalled and then moved on. In many cases, we knew what we needed to do, but we weren’t conditioned to do that movement yet. We would have to use “other” movements to build up to the movement we really needed to do to build the lift. For example, if I needed to do hanging leg raises so that my toes touched the bar than I had a problem if I couldn’t do one. I would have to start with other stuff such as pillars, knee up leg raises, and eccentric full leg raises, and work up to full hanging leg raises. We used and created many supplemental progressions like this. This same concept was also used with many of the max effort movements but differently. In this case, we would take what we were doing and what was working and find ways to progressively make it more taxing and harder.
92. From day one, every movement had a reason or it wasn’t done.
93. As benches got bigger, upper back work got more important. In many cases, it was done four times per week (dumbbell cleans, face pulls, and seated high rows).
94. What I call “coaches” were made at a faster rate. When I first got to Westside, it took time to learn what was going on (how the training worked and what technical flaws to look for). Louie would point things out to us over and over again until we began to think and notice new things on our own. We had a group of guys that trained together for a very long time, took it all in, and looked very hard to help each other get better. Many weak points were addressed and overcome. When new people were brought in, we quickly showed them what to look for in us so they could help us get better. In other words, as Louie has always said, “We knew what Westside could do for them, but what would they do for Westside?”
95. The learning curve got shorter as we became better teachers. Now when I speak to Louie, I see that this curve is getting even shorter and faster. What used to take a few years to do in both teaching and under the bar is now being done within months.
96. When I first got there, most (but not all) exercises were standard. They became more specialized as needs changed.
97. I’m very fortunate to have come to Westside when I did. Louie had already suffered through so many injuries and mistakes. By the time I got there, he had a hell of a lot figured out and had had two decades of champions to back it up. I came in at a time where experimentation and learning were at an all-time high (at least this is what I think—Louie was doing it for years before I got there). He was getting the guys who were willing to try more new stuff to get better. At the time, Louie wasn’t training very hard, and I would venture to say that he was retired. Then one day something was said to him—“Old man, you will never have 800 pounds on your back again.” That day was a huge turning point for Louie’s training as well as for the gym. In time, Louie starting kicking all our asses in the gym (this is seen in many of the videos) and made a huge comeback. This gave him instant respect with us. Before we had listened to what he said or did what he told us to do, but now we actually SAW what he had been telling us.
98. It’s a whole other ball game when you actually SEE what Louie says work and all of a sudden you believe it will also work for you.
99. With each move, the bathroom got better. (I’m stretching now to get to 100).
100. The last place had a garage door making it easier to get more equipment in.

 

[Norse]

Good post, I fvkn love westside training.

 

[PTC]

To be honest, the Original Westside made outstanding progress. Louie learned a lot from Frenn and Peanuts.

I should post up the original Westside training, when it was actually on the West coast.

The lifts that regular joes were able to achieve in a garage were amazing. Frenn went on to astound the lifting world with his lifts.

Full credit to Louie though, he has always given the original boys credit, he learned heaps from them, combined it with Russian protocols and came up with a successful program.

There are many, many successful programs from all over the world now, but with so many Feds, its hard to keep track of who's lifting what.

Hussey is another with runs on the board, but very few mention him, we all know about the Russians, but what about the Finns?

Ed Coan used what nearly looks like a BB program lol, he did lots of leg presses and stuff, I think he did okay.

The key to the current Westside is the atmosphere. If it was the program, then every lifter around the World would be using just the one style, which we know theyre not.

 

[Rugby88]

To be honest, the Original Westside made outstanding progress. Louie learned a lot from Frenn and Peanuts.

I should post up the original Westside training, when it was actually on the West coast.

The lifts that regular joes were able to achieve in a garage were amazing. Frenn went on to astound the lifting world with his lifts.

Full credit to Louie though, he has always given the original boys credit, he learned heaps from them, combined it with Russian protocols and came up with a successful program.

There are many, many successful programs from all over the world now, but with so many Feds, its hard to keep track of who's lifting what.

Hussey is another with runs on the board, but very few mention him, we all know about the Russians, but what about the Finns?

Ed Coan used what nearly looks like a BB program lol, he did lots of leg presses and stuff, I think he did okay.

The key to the current Westside is the atmosphere. If it was the program, then every lifter around the World would be using just the one style, which we know theyre not.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you say atmosphere - I was talking about this with Matty the other day - (we were talking about westside and elitefts) - that just being there would prob put 10kgs on each of your lifts....at Westside its very much ok you did 1000lbs i'll do 1010lbs...the next week the 1000lber will do 1020lb because 1. he wants to beat hes pb and 2. he wants to beat the dude that did 1010lbs lol.....having an atmosphere like that all the time will get u stronger...quicker.

Theres alot of things I agree with, with the Westside template/program and a few things I dont - but if I was asked to train there I would in a heart beat!

Thanks for posting mate.

 

[Christian]

11. Trap bars, dips and over head work was canned

 

[Rugby88]

11. Trap bars, dips and over head work was canned

Its not going to have a very good carry over for what they are doing - you have to remember that westside is purely equipment lifting - they bag raw lifting lol

 

[Oli]

Its not going to have a very good carry over for what they are doing - you have to remember that westside is purely equipment lifting - they bag raw lifting lol

I was talking about this with a mate. I also think some exercises that are great for a natural who lifts x3 a week (dips, chins, RDLs, stiff legs, front squats) aren't going to work for a 140kg behemoth.

 

[Rugby88]

Being natural has nothing to do with it neither does size...overhead pressing is great for someone just starting or someone whos been training for yrs....but at the end of the day they need to be doing things that will have the greatest carry over to equip lifting.

 

[PTC]

Original Westside

No chains
No bands
No dumbbells
No squat suits
No bench shirts

Lots of overhead pressing
Lots of belly toss benching
Lots of high box/low box squats

3-4 hour sessions
Only 2 days a week lifting

Much more to write about, I may start a thread on it

 

[HIThopper]

Start the thread please ptc, interesting stuff