Crazy day at Westside

[westsideelite]

Just to give you an idea of what Westside Barbell is like. We get there at 8 AM and Louie suggests we max out against a blue, green, purple band (440 pounds of tension). Mind you this is our dynamic squat day and we just maxed on zercher deadlifts on Monday. But Louie thinks it is a good idea, so we go ahead. Everybody is arguing about box heights and calling each other pussies and what not. Louie is loving every minute of it and is making fun of everyones lifts and telling them they are weak, and in 1979 they did this every week and so on and so forth. Now we have this new Russian guy named Vladislav Alhasov training with us. He is a beast. 6'3, 350 pounds with a 1210 squat. However, he has never really used bands. He gets buried with 585, buried with 675 and then calls for 775. We're kinda looking at each other like "what the hell?" He then blasts it up. I look at him and say "why did you miss the last 2 lifts?" He says "they were to light" and walks away. Westside is a crazy place. Oh, I did 715, it felt pretty good.

[spywizard]

Wow.. good job.. sounds like fun...

[Doc.Sust]

Just to give you an idea of what Westside Barbell is like. We get there at 8 AM and Louie suggests we max out against a blue, green, purple band (440 pounds of tension). Mind you this is our dynamic squat day and we just maxed on zercher deadlifts on Monday. But Louie thinks it is a good idea, so we go ahead. Everybody is arguing about box heights and calling each other pussies and what not. Louie is loving every minute of it and is making fun of everyones lifts and telling them they are weak, and in 1979 they did this every week and so on and so forth. Now we have this new Russian guy named Vladislav Alhasov training with us. He is a beast. 6'3, 350 pounds with a 1210 squat. However, he has never really used bands. He gets buried with 585, buried with 675 and then calls for 775. We're kinda looking at each other like "what the hell?" He then blasts it up. I look at him and say "why did you miss the last 2 lifts?" He says "they were to light" and walks away. Westside is a crazy place. Oh, I did 715, it felt pretty good.

do you think Alhasov will have a 1300lb squat in him at the cicni pro meet? also greg, what numbers are you shooting for?

[westsideelite]

I think he definetly could go 1300. He is a monster. We are working on his form and that should help quite a bit as it is lacking (at least by Westside standards). I dont like to make predictions but 2600+ is very doable for me.

[Doc.Sust]

at 242, that is a monster total! best of luck!

another question for you, when you see new people squat at westside, what are the most common mistakes you see with the technique of the lift?

[westsideelite]

Not arching their back, not pushing their knees out, not sitting back far enough, rounding their shoulders over, not pushing their stomachs out. Most people have weak hamstrings and stomachs.

[skr0w]

Where is Westside barbell located? I heard a lot about this gym.

[Venomous Nemisis]

Are partial deads effective at bringing up full deads?
My gym sucks, I've never seen anyone do deads there , so how /where can I learn how to improve my form?

[juiceball44]

I was feeling good about my max lifts until i read this thread, very impressive keep up the hard work

[westsideelite]

Westside is located in Columbus Ohio. Partial deads are great to improve overall back and hamstring strength. However, they are not an indicator of how much u can deadlift. Pull from all different heights, not just one. Dont do them every week! As for my max lifts, dont feel bad, I suck at every other aspect of life.

[RJstrong]

what's up brother... it was a pleasure lifting with you in Vegas. it's a shame we wont see you guys this year in Daytona... anyway good luck with everything and kill it in Cinci!!!!

[artica]

wow, great opener for the thread. Westside would be like a dream vacation for me, I would honestly take time off from work and live in my car to train there for a week just for the experience.

Nice hearing this.

I'll be in cincy also competing Sunday, I hope time is available to meet you and the rest. Good luck with training leading up to the meet.

[westsideelite]

Artica-That is basically what I did except I never left. I came out for 4 days courtesy of Louie. I went home for about 3 weeks, quit my job, broke up with my girl, found a cheap apartment and drove out here. That was almost a year ago. Best thing I ever did.

[artica]

greg,

that's awesome, look at ya now bud....

Well worth it huh?

[Squatman51]

i have tried westside routines but didnt progress much....i have made much better gains with periodzation.....is how some people are or maybe i wasnt using the techniques right because i didnt get into all the bands and chains because im still young and tryin to milk the bar for whats i can now

[Doc.Sust]

i have tried westside routines but didnt progress much....i have made much better gains with periodzation.....is how some people are or maybe i wasnt using the techniques right because i didnt get into all the bands and chains because im still young and tryin to milk the bar for whats i can now

are you a raw lifter or an equiped lifter?

[Doc.Sust]

i have tried westside routines but didnt progress much....i have made much better gains with periodzation.....is how some people are or maybe i wasnt using the techniques right because i didnt get into all the bands and chains because im still young and tryin to milk the bar for whats i can now

are you a raw lifter or an equiped lifter?

[Squatman51]

raw for the most part

[westsideelite]

Honestly, I think Westside will work for anyone. However, u gotta use bands. People way overthink things. Keep it simple, analyze your weak points, etc. My total has gone up 250 pounds in 8 months since moving out here and I was already a good lifter. Part of that comes from the atmosphere, part from the training.

[Midwest Viking]

I have never used bands or chains, only the simple methods of changing up grips, doing board press, floor press, and keeping the basics of incline, decline, and flat bench work.
Actually, to be completely honest, I have figured out how to train my body, and get whatever results I want, but, last year I decided to train with the world champ powerlifters, and to be honest, I learned alot, but did not gain alot.
The guy I was training with taught me how to use a shirt, and suits, how to work with boards, how to do all these powerlifting things. And come to think of it, I have used bands onc or twice, but never chains. But anyway... Although I learned alot about form, grip, technique, etc, I actually didn't get any stronger. I mean, I walked in with a certain amount of power, and when I learned to do this like use a wider grip, arch my back, use leg drive, etc, I automatically went up in weight, but never went up again after that.

But now that I am training on my own again, without shirts, or bands, or boards, or even belts, I notice that if I want to go for power, it comes naturally.
So I think that the Westside way of doing things would definately work for some, or even most people, but not all people.

Just my opinion based on personal experience

[RJstrong]

I have never used bands or chains, only the simple methods of changing up grips, doing board press, floor press, and keeping the basics of incline, decline, and flat bench work.
Actually, to be completely honest, I have figured out how to train my body, and get whatever results I want, but, last year I decided to train with the world champ powerlifters, and to be honest, I learned alot, but did not gain alot.
The guy I was training with taught me how to use a shirt, and suits, how to work with boards, how to do all these powerlifting things. And come to think of it, I have used bands onc or twice, but never chains. But anyway... Although I learned alot about form, grip, technique, etc, I actually didn't get any stronger. I mean, I walked in with a certain amount of power, and when I learned to do this like use a wider grip, arch my back, use leg drive, etc, I automatically went up in weight, but never went up again after that.

But now that I am training on my own again, without shirts, or bands, or boards, or even belts, I notice that if I want to go for power, it comes naturally.
So I think that the Westside way of doing things would definately work for some, or even most people, but not all people.

Just my opinion based on personal experience

how long did you train with "the world champ powerlifters???" it's obvious that everyone is different but to have power come naturally is very rare... and all you mentioned is bench training... if all you did was bench then to me that's your problem in a nutshell in regards to you acheiving minimal results!

[Midwest Viking]

oh I trained for full power. I did squat, deadlift, and bench.
And I trained with the champ for about 6 or 7 months

[RJstrong]

oh I trained for full power. I did squat, deadlift, and bench.
And I trained with the champ for about 6 or 7 months

I figured it was for a short period of time... see what happens after 6-7 years!

[Midwest Viking]

well, when I train by myself, after 6 or 7 months, I see a night and day difference. Like I said, I know how to train myself. But, since I spent 6 or 7 months with him, and although did learn alot, didn't really make any gains, I figured I had done it enough, and went back to training on my own. And wouldn't you know it, 3 months into training by myself, I am bigger and stronger than I have ever been before.

look at it like this.

Lets say someone who had the power to do anything offered you two choices. Lets say, they offered you to have an increased bench press of 200 lbs, an increased squat of 400 lbs, and an increased deadlift of 300 lbs.
But here are your options.
Either you can get those results but it will take you 10 years
Or
You can get those results, and it will take you 5 years.

Which one would you choose?

I know I would have seen results with the guy after 7 years with him, but, I will see way more results by myself in the same period of time.

[RJstrong]

well, when I train by myself, after 6 or 7 months, I see a night and day difference. Like I said, I know how to train myself. But, since I spent 6 or 7 months with him, and although did learn alot, didn't really make any gains, I figured I had done it enough, and went back to training on my own. And wouldn't you know it, 3 months into training by myself, I am bigger and stronger than I have ever been before.

look at it like this.

Lets say someone who had the power to do anything offered you two choices. Lets say, they offered you to have an increased bench press of 200 lbs, an increased squat of 400 lbs, and an increased deadlift of 300 lbs.
But here are your options.
Either you can get those results but it will take you 10 years
Or
You can get those results, and it will take you 5 years.

Which one would you choose?

I know I would have seen results with the guy after 7 years with him, but, I will see way more results by myself in the same period of time.

well good luck to you... knowing your own body is indeed the most important part of training.