Thanks dude, just about to go to bed and now I am starving !! 
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Fatty
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I’ve been out of school for a long time, so I actually have to retake some prerequisites that I normally would have had credit for, unfortunately. Taking anatomy and physiology, quantitative reasoning, and developmental psychology. A&P is fairly difficult and a lot of work, the math (quantitative reasoning) is easy and not much work, and psych is easy with a lot of work. But with like 2-ish hours of studying most days I can get my homework/quizzes/essays done. Next year will be the actual nursing program and that’ll be one more course per semester but probably a comparable workload. 4 semesters til I’m a registered nurse, then would have to do 4 more to get a bachelors of nursing.
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Now that I’m 2 weeks into my classes I can kind of see what sort of free time I have, and it looks like I can definitely squeeze in 3 days per week at the gym, instead of the 2 I had before, and I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews of westside for skinny bastards, so I ran day 1 of that today. Everything felt heavy - I’m definitely not someone who benefits from a week of not lifting actual weights. Never understood how some people can do an entire week of not lifting before a powerlifting meet - I’d have to at least do the movements in the days beforehand otherwise I’d die maxing out, haha.
WS4SB ME Upper
I’m going to push for the press - it wasn’t listed in the exercises, all of them were bench variants or dips working up to a 3-5RM, and there’s no way I’m working up to a 3RM in weighted dips, and I just don’t give a shit about bench at the moment, I contribute like 99% of my size to OHP and I think it definitely fits the nature of the program.
155x5 felt smooth, can up the weight next time. Even if I get the reps I won’t always up the weight, I want them to feel like this did before I just slap more weight on.
Incline DB Bench, slow negatives
75s 3x10, 1x8 - will do same weight next time with a regular tempo - I definitely could have done 4x10 or 5x10 without much of a problem if I wasn’t doing slow negatives (probably 4 seconds), but I didn’t want to go wild on day one, chest was pumped great though.
Cable Rows
12 on the stack 4x10
Rear delt cable flys (one arm)
3 on the stack 3x12 each arm
Captain’s Chair Leg Raises with a 5# DB between my feet
4x15
Felt very good today. Will hit conditioning tomorrow and then leg day.
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DeFranco is notoriously opposed to overhead pressing, but there’s definitely precedent in doing this. Josh Thigpen’s “Cube Method for Strongman” is based around ME pressing. Strongly support this decision. Just need to be able to figure out a few different presses to rotate through.
Excited to see how the program pans out for you.
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Haha, I just remembered reading his shoulder shocker article after you said that - whoops. Oh well, if I can agree to disagree on the cons of the press, I’d say that for athletic and general strength purposes, the press is superior to any of the exercises he laid out. Sorry Joe 
Figured a regular BB OHP, a seated BB OHP, and a seated smith OHP would be a good 3 variations to rotate through every 2-3 weeks - they would allow me to keep pushing weights but get mechanically more advantageous as fatigue builds so my theory is that I could keep intensity fairly high without burning out. Got any replacement suggestions or reasons why that doesn’t sound good? I’m bracing for impact with the smith OHP but I’m quite a big fan of the smith machine for people who aren’t beginners. Open to suggestions, though. Wish my gym had an axle.
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So with ME being about maximal strain, I actually think the smith machine is the smarter move. The issue you can run into when it comes to pressing as a max effort movement is you get out of the groove and lose the ability to focus on exerting maximal strain. The smith machine ignores that, and instead allows you to focus purely on pressing and straining. It’s similar to how I’m liking the trap bar more than the barbell for pulling these days.
Don’t discount partials: they’re a big part of Westside, and still work with pressing. You could do some back supported seated partial pressing in the rack. You can focus on locking out OR have it float JUST above the point you’d normally start. Those small partials seem like cheating at first, but can actually be MORE difficult than a full ROM pull because you can’t rely on momentum from the start to blast you through that point of the ROM like you normally can: you find out you’re actually weak at that spot.
Bands can always be introduced for variety as well. You can also just play with grip spacing as a means of changing the stimulus while keeping the implement the same.
If you’re up to some DIY, you can make an axle by getting a 7.5’ length of 2" OD plumbing pipe and wrapping 16" away from the ends with gorilla tape to make collars. Could do the ME work at home and the rest of the work at the gym.
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Totally agreed on the smith machine. It’s for the same reason that I’m not a big fan of beginners using it before they have some semblance of understanding with regard to how to perform the lift, but for people with a bit more experience it’s unparalleled for being able to smash yourself without worrying about misgrooving one rep and fucking up your whole set.
I’m always down for some DIY - may do that in the next few weeks. I very much like the partial idea too. The seated OHP rack has adjustable pins in it, my sticking point is pretty much right at the top of my head, so I’d probably put the pins right at eyebrow level. Will be a good change of pace, have rarely ever done them.
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I think Joes aversion to overhead pressing stems from his NJ roots. I don’t believe you’re allowed to reside in that state if Mondays don’t revolve around the bench.
Kidding aside, does your gym have a football bar? I’m not a big fan of it for ME bench stuff, but for ME overhead pressing I dig it a lot.
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Ever floor press with it? I am the same: it sucks for benching, but somehow it’s great for floor press.
I have, and totally agree. Great bar for floor pressing. Probably have to rotate that in for next week now haha.
I actually don’t mind doing rep work on bench with the football bar, but going for anything heavier than like a 5RM is where I start looking elsewhere.
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It does, we just got it in this year. That’s a great idea, also probably great for shoulder health. Come to think of it, I don’t think there’s any exercises where I don’t like a neutral grip variation.
Neutral grip pull-ups, hammer curls, trap bar Deads, cable or t bar rows, etc.
Guess I may be adding football bar OHP to the list as well.
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You’re welcome! I’m glad things are going well.
Congrats on getting back to school! My youngest brother is also 31 and in nursing school. He started last fall semester and will graduate next May.
Exactly right. You balance family, work, and training well, which I believe is a good example for everyone here.
There’s absolutely no comparison, especially when hiking with family/friends and finishing with burgers/beer.
Amusingly, I’m thinking of running that starting in October, but with the tweak of moving legs to Friday and light upper body day to Wednesday (Sunday heavy UB, Monday stepmill, Tuesday rest, Wednesday light UB, Thursday fast cardio, Friday legs, Saturday rest.)
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You could use a trap bar, too, and you won’t have to worry about smashing your head.
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Gonna log rough daily food stuff too, keep myself accountable, now that the goal is lean. My wife may not enjoy the later stages, as whenever I’ve had a visible six pack she’s been vocal about not liking super lean, but if she put up with the beef and egg farts every morning she should be able to deal.
Had some whey and PB fit before the gym, a larger whey PB fit and banana shake after the gym, 6 whole eggs and turkey a couple hours later, and a lot of salmon sushi where I took out a good chunk of the rice. I’m in the middle of smoking a pork butt too with a good dry rub on it, and will have some of that sans bun a bit later on with some greens.
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Lol, I decided half way through to delete it and accidentally hit post. Didn’t want to come off as saying you were skinny and not muscly
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It didn’t come across that way. If my wife wanted me lean all the time I wouldn’t be very happy about it. Gives me a nice buffer for failure. I’m just betting on the fact that not many women leave a guy because he’s got a ripped six pack and cut up arms.
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Also, compared to big guys, I AM skinny and not muscly. I’ve seen actual big dudes at my height and I could hide behind them without being seen. I just look like I lift to people who don’t and maybe some people that do, but I don’t look like I lift a ton of weight to anyone, that’s for sure. Some day I’d like to, though.
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I like to eat and I like to drink. Those don’t mix well with six packs. I also get told I look skinny when I’m lean (it’s the face). Luckily, carrying more fat also adds size to my shoulders and I get closer to looking big in regular clothes. I figured I might as well roll with it.
I’m not opposed to the occasional 5-10 lb cut but I’m not going back to 210 lbs any time soon.
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Depends what type of six pack
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