First WS4SB Workout

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

ive never posted a “this was my workout” post so i figured i would and see if anything looks drastically out of whack to anyone, sort of a way of pointing out weak points. thanks

this is WS4SB by the way, which i will be following pretty closely at least for a few weeks as im new to this type…

A. -Dips
1 bodyweight(202lbs)x 8 reps
2 body+ 35lbs x 8 reps
3 body+ 60lbs x 8 reps
4 body+ 70lbs x 5 reps
5 body+ 80lbs x 5 reps
6 body+ 90lbs x 5 reps
7 body+ 100lb x 5 reps
8 body+ 115lbs- bottomed out= 0

B. -Flat DB bench
1 90lb bells x 10 reps
2 95lb bells x 7 reps
3 95lb bells x 5 reps, failed on 6th
no forth set

C. -Seated Cable Row w/ lat bar shoulder width palms down grip
1 120(lbs?) x 15 reps
2 140 x 12 reps
3 140 x 12 reps
4 140 x 12 reps

D. -Bent Over DB Rear Delt Fly
1 15lb bells x 15 reps
2 20lb bells x 12 reps
3 20lb bells x 12 reps

E. Ab machine (i know there are many, many different ab machines out there, this one is made by life fitness and offers various seat adjustments. i fix it so that my starting position is extended as far back as the machine will allow for the largest ROM)
1 125(lbs) x 15 reps
2 same
3 same
no forth set

so…i would say that all of my bodyparts are my weaknesses, but thats just because im not where i want to be. looking at my rear delts, as well as the lb dumbells that i use with them, i would say they are definitely a weakness. i would say the past few months i have been much more focussed on chest and back than anything, also i havent dont a “shoulder” workout for 4-5 months. i think my back overall especially upper is a weakness too, and would directly contribute to the delt weakness.

as far as my dip and DB numbers, i have no idea whether or not they indicate weakness. i will say however that when i got to the flat DB presses fatigue hit me after my first set more than my lack of strength. i have been doing low volume workouts exclusively for 2-3 months, and before that i trained “BB Style” but as ive learned, i didnt push myself as hard as i always thought i did, so those things combined have taken some of the endurance that i had previously had. although, if there is one thing i know about my body, i know it does not take me long to adapt to new set/rep schemes, so i would expect my endurance/numbers to go up next workout.

anyway, i think this should be fun/interesting to see what, if anything, anyone will say about imbalances/weaknesses based on this workout. i am pretty confident that people will at least agree with the weaknesses that i have pointed out already. also, i will post my max effort lower body day either wed night or thurs. and btw, if anyone can give me some info on the upper body rep day, it was a little confusing if i do recall–i did read it in the early AM, but everything’s appreciated.

thanks,
-matt

2

also, it might be helpful for you all to know that i rested no longer than 90 seconds between some sets, others 60 seconds. and i do not have a workout parter per se. i take my 13 year old brother with me to the gym. he can spot me reasonably well on barbell bench both flat and incline, but the only dumbell work ive had him help with was seated overheads while using the 90lb bells, and that was moreso because i needed help getting them up to my shoulders…possibly another weakness…

3

alright im going to bump my own shit

4

Maybe this programme is not suited to you. By the looks of it, your triceps are pretty strong and they may be taking the glory away from your chest. Swap the press and dips around and see what happens. Whatever happens doing an exercise like Dips before presses will fatigue you.

Is this just one workout, are there others you are doing, I don’t know anything about this Skinny bastards workout. Far be it from me to comment on some established regime, but why so many sets for chest ? particularly of the same exercise.

5

alright, it seems as though ill be using this thread more as a motivational thing and to track my own progress…

today’s workout displayed some weaknesses, to say the least.

A. Box Squats
1 bar x 8 reps
2 135 x 8 reps
3 185 x 5 reps
4 225 x 5 reps
5 275 x 3 reps
6 315 x attempt! bottomed out!

B. Barbell step-ups
1 45 x 15 reps
2 55 x 15 reps
3 65 x 15 reps
4 75 x 15 reps

C. Leg Curls–life fitness, seated
1 145 x 10
2 160 x 10
3 175 x 10
4 175 x 6

D. Pinch Grip
1-2 10lb plates/hand x 36 slow mississippi’s
2-2 10lb… x 52 sec
3-2 10lb… x 40 sec

weaknesses…legs! i was surprised to bottom out with the 315 attempt on the box squats, as i have squatted 345 before, and im probably wrong but i was expecting to handle more weight on the box squat than regular back squats.

also, i liked the step ups, never done them before, but i feel i should be using more weight, leg curls, the 3rd set with 175 felt really good, but it really took it out of me and the 6th rep of the 4th set was even a little on the shitty/cheat side. pinch grip i really just didnt like, and as far as the mississippi counting, like a dumbass i was nowhere near a clock with a second hand when i did it.

at the sake of measuring progression i will do the pinch grip again next week and the week after, but i am eager to switch to the heavy dumbell holds after that. i actually went with the pinch grip because its not something i would normally do, so maybe i just pointed out a mental weakness in admitting that i didnt like it…oh well, i want to progress, maybe this is what it takes.

thanks to anyone that chips in here in any way.

victor lustig-- thanks for response, and yea this is WS4SB, consisting of max effort upper body day, max lower, and an upper body rep day, which will be posted friday. i will post my workouts M/W/F until ive finished 3 weeks of this.

i will stick with the exercises, but i promise the weights will go up. also, i went with the weighted dips instead of some kind of barbell bench because dips are never something that ive focussed on or had as part of a regular routine.

also, if anyone is reading this (Ha!) that has done/and/or understands the upper body rep day for WS4SB i would love for someone to explain what i would do as far as doing 3 max rep sets for benching. i understand that i pick a weight and do 3 sets with as many reps as i can get with the weight, but i must have missed how to determine that weight. i think i saw 25% of 1RM somewhere…is this correct?

thanks to anyone/everyone
-matt

6

the friday workout, max rep upper body day…and yes, i was not sure how to pick the weight to use on the first exercise, as i was supposed to use a weight and perform 3 sets and get as many reps with it as i could, with 60 seconds rest in between…which is vague…anyway…

A. Max Rep Barbell Bench 3 sets, max reps, 60 sec rest in between
1 warmup -bar only x 20 reps
2 135lbs x 25 reps
3 135lbs x 16 reps!
4 135lbs x 10 reps!

B. Skull Crushers 3-4 sets, 5-10 reps
1 95lbs x 8 reps
2 95lbs x 8 reps
3 95lbs x 5 reps
4 no 4th set

C. Lat pulldowns 4 sets, 8-12 reps
1 120 x 12 reps
2 120 x 12 reps
3 120 x 10 reps
4 120 x 9 reps

D. DB Lateral Raises 3 sets, 10-15 reps
1 20lb bells x 15 reps
2 20lb bells x 13 reps
3 20lb bells x 12 reps

E. Standing alt DB curls 3 sets, 8-10re
1 40lb bells x 10 reps
2 40lb bells x 8 reps
3 40lb bells x 8 reps

F. Ab Circuit—not sure on this
1 Straight leg raise x 15 reps
2 crunch x 20 reps
3 life fitness machi x 20 reps

so thats the workout. i had at most 60 seconds rest between any set, some were closer to 40 seconds. this workout, as easy as it may look, was actually pretty hard. my triceps were just about dead by the 3rd set of skulls. my right bicep had a nice little pain right in the belly of the muscle towards the end of the second set. definitely not an injury, doesnt hurt at all right now, nor did it hurt after the sets, im sure it was from not training biceps directly for a while.

im not sure i did the ab circuit right, but i will stick with that and just work on adding more reps or perhaps running through the circuit more than once. by the end of this workout however i definitely felt a little pukish but i got some sugar in me quick and it felt good

7

I am not totally familiar with the WS4SB training but one thing I did notice is that you were doing machine leg curls. Is this prescribed in the workout? I have always felt that straight leg deads hit the hamstrings very well.

8

thanks for the reply! if you are interested in reading about the program i believe this is the link…

http://www.T-Nation.com/portal_includes/articles/2004/311west2.html

copy and paste that and it should work, if not search for “Westside for skinny bastards”. but yes, in short, leg curls are one of the listed exercises to choose from in that part of the workout. thanks

9

After reading the link I think I understand the program a little more.

Interesting choice choosing dips as your primary lift on max effort upper body day. Are you trying to bring up your tris?

If you feel that your legs are weak point then out of the given exercies I would suggest glute ham raises. I know some gyms don’t have a place to do them though. I have done them off of the back of lat pulldown machine by hooking my heels under the knee pads.

Take care.

10

yea i dont have a place to do the glute ham raise. im not so sure that the lat machine would work, but i will give it a try sometime. and i chose the dips as my upper body max movement because as i think i mentioned before, i have given a lot of attention to chest and back as of recently, and to narrow that statement down a little, basically all ive done for chest recently are flat and incline barbell presses.

i have always heard about how dips will put mass on your tris, chest, and delts all at once, but ive never done them consistently or very heavy at all. i figured id give them a go for the first 3 weeks, get what i could out of them, and at the very least get my tris stronger, and then take those stronger tris into the next three weeks of WS4SB.

I then plan on using flat bench as my max effort lift, to see if i cant set some PRs with my stronger tris helping out. well see what happens. thanks for the replies+ interest

11

I just started west side for skinny bastards as well. For my first 3 weeks, I’m doing flat bench and then the following 3 weeks will be weighted dips. Weighted dips for ME does sound pretty cool!

Also, I agree with you about being confused with repetition day. I just try to pick a weight I can do 20 times. Not sure if this is correct or not, but its pretty hard either way.

12

so heres the same workout as last monday, but with my numbers for this week along the side “—>”

A. -Dips
1 bodyweight(202lbs)x 8 reps —>8
2 body+ 35lbs x 8 reps —>8
3 body+ 60lbs x 8 reps —>8
4 body+ 70lbs x 5 reps —>5
5 body+ 80lbs x 5 reps —>5
6 body+ 90lbs x 5 reps —>5
7 body+ 100lb x 5 reps —> 105lb x 4
8 body+ 115lbs x 0 —> 105 x 4

B. -Flat DB bench
1 90lb bells x 10 reps —>10
2 95lb bells x 7 reps —>7
3 95lb bells x 5 reps —>6
no forth set —> again no 4th

C. -Seated Cable Row w/ lat bar shoulder width palms down grip
1 120(lbs?) x 15 reps —>15
2 140 x 12 reps —> 140 x 15
3 140 x 12 reps —> 140 x 15
4 140 x 12 reps —> 140 failed @ 13

D. -Bent Over DB Rear Delt Fly
1 15lb bells x 15 reps —>15
2 20lb bells x 12 reps —>15
3 20lb bells x 12 reps —>15

E. Ab machine
1 125(lbs) x 15 reps —>same reps/sets
2 same
3 same
no forth set

****so, with the dips, the sets near the end seemed harder than they were last week. on the 7th set i intended on getting 5 reps but after the 4th rep being so hard i knew the 5th wasnt happening and the set itself didnt feel that great.

instead of moving on to the DB presses i took a 90 sec break and went back and did another set of 4, which i was happy with. with the DB presses, i was hoping to get more reps than i did, but at least i got to 6 reps on the last set, so while it was a minor improvement, i guess it was still an improvement.

the cable row i got a good number of reps more than i got last week, and it definitely took some effort. when i got to the bent over DB fly i could really feel the cable rows on my first set, however, when i picked up the 20’s i thought about how small and weak my rear delts were and that gave me something extra to crank out some more reps. ab work was the same.

all in all, it was a good workout, although at this point i am not sure if progression is from getting stronger from one week to the next, or if i simply still havent realized how far i can push myself.

tonight though, walking out of the gym, i felt like id just been run over (not that ive been run over before, but you get the idea). thanks all

13

[quote]dez6485 wrote:

weaknesses…legs! i was surprised to bottom out with the 315 attempt on the box squats, as i have squatted 345 before, and im probably wrong but i was expecting to handle more weight on the box squat than regular back squats.
[/quote]

Read Louie Simmons’ website. According to him, your box squat should be less than your back squat

14

A few things:
(a) Your ME exercise for upper should be some variety of pressing moveement. You can also use a pulling movement if your lats are a weakness. I would not be using dips as your ME upper exercise this early on.
(b) Your rep range for your ME days is too high. For the assistance exercises, you should be between 6-8, you did 15 for one of your exercises.
(c) If you are going for a 3RM, you should not be going 5RM and then switching to 3rm when you fatigue. Hereis how I would work up
5 x bar
5 x 50% of 3RM
3 x 60% of 3 RM
3 x 70% of 3 RM
3 x 80% of 3RM
3 x 90% of 3RM
3 x 100% of 3RM
New PR
(d) I would follow his template closely for the first 3-4 cycles and then you will discover where your weaknesses lie.
(e) It is perfectly normal to be box squatting less than your free squat. For now, just get the form down.

15

I found dips to be the least useful ME exercise. They are however a great assistance exercise or can be use on RE day very well. I just don’t think they are as good as bench variations for bringing up max pressing strength.

16

as for the reps that i am using, i am following the program as it was written right now, and actually i have found that the different rep ranges throughout the workout has been pretty nice, and hits my body just the way it needs to be hit/can handle being hit. as far as the dips being my ME exercise, as i said before, they have never been part of my rountine, so im experimenting with them to see what happens.

i wanted to lay off of barbell benches for a little bit because id given them so much attention i the last 2-3 months. in fact my max bench went from barely 275lbs to 335lbs in that period of time. if my gym had dumbells going over 100lbs i would have planned on using flat DB presses for my ME upper body exercise for three weeks after i used the dips for 3 weeks, to again use an exercise that i havent used for a while.

unfortunately, as you all can see by my numbers for the DB presses following the dips, dumbells only going up to 100lbs arent going to do me much good, i would set my new PR on the first workout with no problem. however, i am thinking about maybe doing incline DB presses for my ME for three weeks following the three weeks of dips…well see how it goes. thanks for replies

17

[quote]BackInAction wrote:
I just started west side for skinny bastards as well. For my first 3 weeks, I’m doing flat bench and then the following 3 weeks will be weighted dips. Weighted dips for ME does sound pretty cool!

Also, I agree with you about being confused with repetition day. I just try to pick a weight I can do 20 times. Not sure if this is correct or not, but its pretty hard either way.[/quote]

Its been awhile, but I believe Defranco recommended doing between 25-40 reps on the repetition day. I did the workout just a couple weeks after he posted it and used reps in that range. It works great for endurance. Of course, if you aren’t used to that, the drop off from the first set to the second is huge.

Keep at it and you will see the gains.

18

in refernce to your first post, the one with the dips, i would try to make some bigger jumps in weight, instead of going from 60 to 70 try going to 80/85, this should save on fatigue. it looks like you know what kind of weights you can handle, so you should be able to make some bigger jumps. just my 2cents

19

[quote]gags wrote:
in refernce to your first post, the one with the dips, i would try to make some bigger jumps in weight, instead of going from 60 to 70 try going to 80/85, this should save on fatigue. it looks like you know what kind of weights you can handle, so you should be able to make some bigger jumps. just my 2cents[/quote]

its funny, but i didnt know what kind of weights i could handle. as i said, dips were never part of my routine, so the first workout was really just seeing what would happen. also, i dont know about anyone else but doing dips with an added 100lbs to my bodyweight was pretty hard, im not sure if i would have been able to do much more than that even if i had made larger jumps, but i will try it with larger jumps at some point, just to see what happens. thanks all

20

DEZ- I am a big fan of WSSB, I followed the program for about a month before switching to WSSB 2 to prepare for my football season with great success. I will be going back to it in about a month so keep up with your posts I will be followoing it closely.

You guessed correctly on the upper body rep days, pick a weight you can do 25-30 times the first set then try to reach 30 reps on each set. As you noticed this will never occur and the reps will drop just as you experienced.

If legs are your weakness Defranco did post an extra leg day workout. I have it saved somewhere so I will post it once I find it.