From the horse’s mouth -introductory template all laid out here, follow exactly for the first run…
Also check out Alphas log, even though has some tweaks geared towards strongman he’s setting tons of PRs with the way he’s set it up
That is 5-3-1, a different program from the westside system.
Ha, sorry copy-paste typo. This more like it…
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Ahh! That’s more like it, brother!! Awesome, can’t wait to read it.
Does he do much or at advise much box squatting before a meet?
@Fletch1986 he didn’t have me box squat at all. Not sure about his own training off the top of my head, but he does keep a log over at EFS if you want to find out.
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I found my answer!
I thought the article by him was interesting and thought others might want to peruse it. Especially OP who might be considering hiring him to be his coach so he can get a feel for what he knows and how he applies that.
I’m bookmarking this one.
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Yeah I read that article and you probably saw my comment asking him to write one for the bench and deadlift also, lol. Brandon is very knowlegable and cares a great deal about the sport.
Thanks for the link!
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!!! You just made my day man. I read the article on squats and saw the comment suggesting he do the same for bench! I’ve been waiting for it. I’m so excited.
Lol, yeah that was me. These are great tools to have if you’re going to follow conjugate training.
I do have a question though. I was thinking about it last night. When I identify a weakness, am I targeting that every max effort day? Or am I throwing it in with the right supplemental work?
For example, I’ve been doing a rotation, pulled from Jim Wendler’s “The Max Effort Method”…the rotation is incline bench, floor press, 2-board press, and close-grip bench.
If I have identified a weakness, do I hit only the lifts that target that weakness for several weeks?
I’m worried that while I may be focused on something like close grip bench variations to fix flaring elbows, that I’ll get weaker in the areas I’m not addressing. So do I create an inclusive rotation with appropriate supplemental work, or do I 100% target the weakness and do close grip variations from week to week?
The purpose of ME work is to learn to strain. The purpose of supplemental/assistance work is to bring up weaknesses
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You don’t ONLY hit the lifts that target the weakness, you just devote more time, energy, and volume to those. Don’t stop training other areas completely.
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For example, if your triceps are holding back your bench you will probably want to hammer things like skull crushers, JM presses, DB rollbacks, pressdowns etc after your ME or DE work. Maybe like 2-3 special exercises for your triceps as opposed to 1-2 for lats and rear delts. Vice versa if its your lats holding you back, obviously.
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https://www.elitefts.com/education/matt-smiths-pr-westside-program/
Here’s another great article on setting up conjugate training, have a read. Also, go back into the archive of training logs and check out Mike Ruggiera’s to get a good idea of the common Westside template that floats around the internet.
Smith and Ruggiera were both SHW’s that competed in multi-ply gear but the principles remain the same for raw guys, the exercise selection just changes slightly.
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