What 9 weeks of westside did for me

My squat increased from 264(estimate might have been even less before) to 342.

My deadlift went from 330 to 363(I have alot of form issues I need to deal with)

My bench went from hardly making 231 to 242.


It has also done wonders for my trapz and suprisingly to my chest to. My arms have become harder but not bigger(because I am on a diet and losing weight) my triceps have improved ALOT, my entire back has become thicker and more solid.
Im defenently going to continue with westside, I start it again in 1 week and I cant wait. The intensity of the westside routine also makes my ordinary workouts go faster. Usualy a arm workout used to take me 45 minutes now I am done with it in 25 minutes :)

To anyone that hasnt tried it yet, WTF are you waiting for :lol:

hey johan, can you post your routine and comment on it? I'm interested in the different sets and reps.

Sure here it is the whole thing. I followed it with some slight modifications(my gym doesnt have a reverse hyper bench, so I had to do similar exercises).

9 Week Basic Training Program
Dave Tate


This is an old program I wrote some time ago for many of my clients who were just getting into this type of training. This program does not use chains or bands because we did not use them at the time. I still use it as an introduction training program.

Week 1

Day 1 (max effort squat day)
Good Mornings: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max.
Glute Ham Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps. Stress the eccentric, try to get a four count on they way down.
Reverse Hypers: 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
Straight Leg Raises: 5 sets of 15 reps

Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Board Press: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max.
Lying Barbell tricep extensions: 6 sets of 10 reps
Push Downs: 3 sets of 10
One Arm Press: 3 sets of 15

Day 3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 50% of 1RM (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Reverse Hypers: 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
One Leg Squats: 4 sets of 10 with each leg
Dumbbell Rows: 4 sets of 6 reps
Barbell Shrugs: 3 sets of 15 reps

Day 4 (dynamic effort bench day)
Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps with 60% of 1RM; use three different grips; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extensions: 4 sets of 8 reps
Dumbbell Side Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps
Bent Over Dumbbell Side Raises: 3 sets of 10 rep

Week 2

Day 1 (max effort squat day)
Good Mornings: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Glute Ham Raises: 3 sets of 8 reps. Stress the eccentric, try to get a four count on they way down.
Reverse Hypers : 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
Straight Leg Raises: 3 sets of 20 reps

Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Board Press: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Lying Barbell Tricep Extensions: 6 sets of 10 reps
Push Downs: 3 sets of 10
One Arm Press: 3 sets of 15

Day 3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 54 % of 1RM; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Reverse Hypers: 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
One Leg Squats: 4 sets of 10 with each leg
Dumbbell Rows: 4 sets of 6 reps
Barbell Shrugs: 3 sets of 15 reps

Day 4 (dynamic effort bench day)
Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps with 60% of 1RM; use three different grips ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extensions: 4 sets of 8 reps
Dumbbell Side Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps
Bent Over Dumbbell Side Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps


Week 3

Day 1 (max effort squat day)
Good Mornings: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Glute Ham Raises: 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
Reverse Hypers : 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps
Straight Leg Raises: 3 sets of 20 reps

Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Board Press: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Lying Barbell Tricep Extensions: 6 sets of 10 reps
Push Downs: 3 sets of 10
One Arm Press: 3 sets of 15

Day 3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 56 % of 1RM ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Reverse Hypers: 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
One Leg Squats: 4 sets of 10 with each leg
Dumbbell Rows: 4 sets of 6 reps
Barbell Shrugs: 3 sets of 15 reps

Day 4 (dynamic effort bench day)
Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps with 60% of 1RM; use three different grips ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extensions: 4 sets of 8 reps
Dumbbell Side Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps
Bent Over Dumbbell Side Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps


Week 4

Day 1 (max effort squat day)
Low Box Squat: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Glute Ham Raise: 5 sets of 5 reps
Partial Deadlifts: 3 sets of 20 reps
Reverse Hypers: 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps

Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Floor Press: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
JM Press: work up to 2 sets of 3 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press: 2 sets of 10
Seated dumbbell Cleans: 4 sets of 8
Straight Leg Raises: 5 sets of 15

Day3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 60 % of 1RM ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
* after your sets of box squats work up to a heavy double. This is not a maximum attempt so do not miss the attempts.
Reverse Hypers: 5 sets of 8 reps
Chest supported Rows: 4 sets of 8 reps
Glute Ham Raise: 3 sets of 6 reps
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 reps

Day 4 (dynamic effort bench day)
Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps with 60% of 1RM; use three different grips ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Close Grip Bench Press: work up to 2 sets of 3
One Arm Dumbbell Extensions: 3 sets of 10
Front Plate Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps


Week 5

Day 1 (max effort squat day)
Low Box Squat: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Glute Ham Raise: 5 sets of 5 reps
Partial Deadlifts: 3 sets of 20 reps
Reverse Hypers: 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps

Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Floor Press: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
JM Press: work up to 2 sets of 3 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press: 2 sets of 10
Seated Dumbbell Cleans: 4 sets of 8
Straight Leg Raises: 5 sets of 15

Day 3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 50% of 1RM ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Reverse Hypers: 5 sets of 8 reps
Chest supported Rows: 4 sets of 8 reps
Glute Ham Raise: 3 sets of 6 reps
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 reps

Day 4 (dynamic effort bench day)
Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps with 60% of 1RM; use three different grips ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
* after your sets of box squats work up to a heavy single. This is not a maximum attempt so do not miss the attempts.
Close Grip Bench Press: work up to 2 sets of 3
One Arm Dumbbell Extensions: 3 sets of 10
Front Plate Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps



Week 6


Day 1 (max effort squat day)
Low Box Squat: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Glute Ham Raise: 5 sets of 5 reps
Partial Deadlifts: 3 sets of 20 reps
Reverse Hypers: 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps

Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Floor Press: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
JM Press: work up to 2 sets of 3 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press: 2 sets of 10
Seated dumbbell Cleans: 4 sets of 8
Straight Leg Raises: 5 sets of 15

Day 3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 52 % of 1RM ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Reverse Hypers: 5 sets of 8 reps
Chest supported Rows: 4 sets of 8 reps
Glute Ham Raise: 3 sets of 6 reps
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 reps

Day 4 (dynamic effort bench day)
Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps with 60% of 1RM; use three different grips ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Close Grip Bench Press: work up to 2 sets of 3
One Arm Dumbbell Extensions: 3 sets of 10
Front Plate Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps


Week 7

Day 1 (max effort squat day)
Good Morning Squats: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Glute Ham Raise: 5 sets of 5 reps
Lunges: 4 sets of 10 reps (each leg)
Reverse Hypers: 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps

Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Ball Press: 3 sets of 20 reps (avg. rest period = 5 min)
Seated dumbbell Shoulder Press: 5 sets 10 reps
Incline Barbell Tricep Extensions: 5 sets 6 reps
face Pulls: 5 sets 15 reps

Day 3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 54 % of 1RM ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
* after your sets of box squats work up to a heavy double. This is not a maximum attempt so do not miss the attempts.
Reverse Hypers: 4 sets 8 reps
Pull Downs: 3 sets 8 reps
Glute Ham Raise: 4 sets 15 reps

Day 4 (dynamic effort bench day)
Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps with 60% of 1RM; use three different grips ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
* after your sets of box squats work up to a heavy single. This is not a maximum attempt so do not miss the attempts.
Dumbbell Tricep Extensions: 4 sets of 6 reps
Reverse Grip Push Downs: 3 sets of 15 reps
Front - Side - Rear Delt Combo Raise: 2 sets of 60 reps (20 each raise)
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets 10 reps






Week 8


Day 1 (max effort squat day)
Good Morning Squats: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Glute Ham Raise: 5 sets of 5 reps
Lunges: 4 sets of 10 reps (each leg)
Reverse Hypers: 3 sets of 8 reps using the small strap
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 to 15 reps


Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Ball Press: 3 sets of 20 reps (avg. rest period = 5 min)
Seated dumbbell Shoulder Press: 5 sets 10 reps
Incline Barbell Tricep Extensions: 5 sets 6 reps
face Pulls: 5 sets 15 reps

Day 3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 62 % of 1RM ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Reverse Hypers: 4 sets 8 reps
Pull Downs: 3 sets 8 reps
Glute Ham Raise: 4 sets 15 reps


Day 4 (dynamic effort bench day)
Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps with 60% of 1RM; use three different grips ; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Dumbbell Tricep Extensions: 4 sets of 6 reps
Reverse Grip Push Downs: 3 sets of 15 reps
Front - Side - Rear Delt Combo Raise: 2 sets of 60 reps (20 each raise)
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets 10 reps



Week 9

Day 1 (max day) near end of week
Box Squat: work up to a 1 rep max
Bench Press: work up to a 1 rep max

* These maxes will be used as the 1RM for the next eight week cycle

i dont know what I should comment on :unsure:
But I replaced revers hypers with pull thrus or ordinary weighted hypers

do you do one set of 1 on the max effort exercises? like week1 squat?

also could one replace box squats with regular squats and floor presses with regular the regular bench press?
do you know what a pull-through is?

thanks

Quote:

---

do you do one set of 1 on the max effort exercises? like week1 squat?

---

I first do several sets of 3 reps slowely increasing weight from set to set until I cant do 3 reps anymore. then I drop to 1 reps and work upp until I cant do a single rep anymore. I guess as a total I do maby 8-12 set on the max effort exercises.

Quote:

---

also could one replace box squats with regular squats and floor presses with regular the regular bench press?

---

Box squats is way more effective then squats so I dont realy se the point, if you dont have a box just pile a couple of plates in the floor and sit on them, I do that.
And the point with the max effort exercises is to work the weknesses in the bench so doing orinary bench presses instead of the floor press is pointless(and I might say that I find floor presses funnier then bench presses because its a odd exercise and I acctualy get a god pump in my chest from it). I think ermantroudt can explain this deeper.

Quote:

---

do you know what a pull-through is?

---

Sure I do otherwise i wouldnt be able to perform then :lol: , hum its kind of hard to explain it, I have to find a pic or a video that shows it.

here is a couple of pics on how to do it, I use the same low pully for it as a do rows on. Its very odd att first and hard to keep balance but after a couple of weeks you will love it. I find it better if I bend the knees a little bit more then the guy on the pic, puts more emphasis(sp?) on the hams(I realy get a good lactic acid buildupp from it).

hehe would help if I post the addy :lol:

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=4119&tid=51

thanks johan

No problem,
if you decide to try westside keep us uppdated on your progress.

Here's another website i came across that might help some of you venturing into westside

http://www.musclemonthly.com/print/0...werlifting.htm

-chris

Nice link.

BTW testprop I just noticed we have almost the same signature line :) great minds think alike eyh :lol:

Quote:

---

Originally posted by johan
BTW testprop I just noticed we have almost the same signature line :) great minds think alike eyh :lol:

---

hehe, yep! :)

I used westside for a period of 9 weeks, though I slightly modified it to work on my weaknesses. I ended up putting 60lbs onto my squat and 80lbs onto my dead.

I'm using it right now. This will be my 4th week and I can definelty feel a difference. Like Johan said, it's intense and some of the movements are akward at first, but you learn to adjust. I'm logging all of my workouts into an Excel file so that once I'm done, I'll be able to email it to anybody who wants to see an "actual log".

hey vegas, did you try the farmers walk to as I suggested??

This may sound like a really dumb question...but what are floor presses?

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Lift2Live
This may sound like a really dumb question...but what are floor presses?

---

bench presses done while on the floor

thats what i assumed but i wasnt sure

Yeah Johan I've started doing the f-walks and they sure feel like they're working. I started with 80's and am now walking around with 90's. I don't know if you are suppossed to use gloves or not but I don't.

This shit (Westside) is amazing. I'm getting stronger every week.

I never use gloves. and yeah westside sure is amazing. :tu1:

Damn Johan i gotto give this a try!! Talk to you on icq tomorrow bro.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by johan

My squat increased from 264(estimate might have been even less before) to 342.

My deadlift went from 330 to 363(I have alot of form issues I need to deal with)

My bench went from hardly making 231 to 242.


It has also done wonders for my trapz and suprisingly to my chest to. My arms have become harder but not bigger(because I am on a diet and losing weight) my triceps have improved ALOT, my entire back has become thicker and more solid.
Im defenently going to continue with westside, I start it again in 1 week and I cant wait. The intensity of the westside routine also makes my ordinary workouts go faster. Usualy a arm workout used to take me 45 minutes now I am done with it in 25 minutes :)

To anyone that hasnt tried it yet, WTF are you waiting for :lol:

---

my first thought is wtf but good gains :lift: and go further

**** this thread is old as **** and the weight was not in kilos :lol:

my current lifts are 410 for 6 reps in squat

400 for 3 in deadlift(gonna try to pull 420 today)

275 in bench bu im confident Il get 286 next time I try to max out in bench