I just read a bit of the N4S article…i think i can incorporate the two and if needed ill change it to that one…i might just do the aerobic work he prescribes with my current program i did this week or do you think that isnt a good idea???
cheers
I really don’t think that you would have trouble adding running to the WS4SB original. In the N4S plan, Defranco suggests that you build up to running anyway, so you may want to keep up the original for awhile.
I just finished my first week of the N4S plan, but it was half-assed. I did not have time to run, nor did I get to do the strongman training on Friday. I don’t have a tire yet anyway, but I like Farmer’s Walks. I ended up basically doing the original plan with the RE day on Thursday instead.
Within the next month I should have all the equipment and time to do this program right. I will let you guys know how it goes next week. Later.
Yeah, i think ill stick with the original for now, can alwyas move on later…
This week I will be starting my program proper, with all the advice given by you guys added in (eg: more sets at max weight etc etc)…will let you guys know how it goes…cant wait 
I just found about Westside about a week ago and I was only able to try it once for bench. I was doing this workout…
45x15
95x12
115x12
135x10
145x8
155x6
160x3
165x2
max
well since it was my first time and i was expirememnting, it went terrible. I was out for the day on bench after my 145x8 set. Obviously I started too hard and I went wrong. My max is I thikn 175 or 180. Could someone be kind enough to set up a Westside rep-set scheme that would follow my max the closest. Then i would try it out tommrow. Thanks a lot. Any suggesstions would be great.
[quote]JimmyOZ wrote:
today i did my first trial day of the program…my flat bench sets went for 9 sets going bar x 10, 95, 115 135 155 175 185 195 200 all for 5. THe last rep was pretty taxing…should i have shot for 205 for 3 or not??? [/quote]
I know this is a little late but I think your doing to many sets near your max. The sets working up to your max set are just to prepare you for the max set.
I would of done something like:
barx10
95x10
115x8
135x5
155x5
170x5
185x5
200x5
if anything I think a 5lb jump is too small and too taxing to get a good 5RM.
Also as far as changing exercises 3 weeks is fine, but if on the 3rd week you don’t feel worn out and that if you kept that exercise for a 4th week you could still get a PR go for it!
On what JNeves wrote:
cheers JN…tomorrow is my bench day, so i will try something like that. I would like to do a few sets after i hit my max, eg: try for a PR of 205 x 5 then either go back to 200 or try for 210…see how i feel, i think someone earlier said to drop down and then go back up to get more sets in at my max…but i see what you mean when leading up to my max…that was the first time i had tried something like that so im still pretty new…cheers mate and anymore help would be appreciated!! lets hope i can get a bit higher…i bloody should
Ok, today i did my ME upper body day, week 1. Last week i got 200 x 5. This was my bench set
- bar x 10
- 115 x 8
- 145 x 5
- 175 x 5
- 200 x 5
- 205 x 5
- 210 x 4
- 200 x 3
- 195 x 3
Im thinking now i probably should have gone to 215 and tried for 3 or 4 atleast…i think i will do that instead of going back down too early…???
cheers for any feedback lads…
also, as someone said before, its better to do a few more sets near the max to work the area more too…i felt pretty good after!
For FuzzzET: I think you did way too many reps on your lighter sets. If you are doing Westside traditionally, for a 1 rep max, try this
45x15
95x10
115x5
135x3
145x3
155x3
165x1
175x1
With regular Westside, you do 3 reps until it feels heavy, then you drop down to 1 until you max out or miss.
JimmyOZ: Looks good to me, but I have a question. Why are you dropping down in weight after your max? Are you trying to do more volume? If that is the case, maybe drop the weight to 115 or so and rep out. I have done this in the past, and it hasn’t screwed up my rep day, but I only use 95 on Friday.
Of course, since you felt good, stick with it. I am only offering suggestions, I ain’t saying my way is better.
As to your left arm being weaker, stick with the dumbbels for awhile. It will get stronger. I stumbled upon an interesting way to warm-up on my RE day. My friend loaded my bar up crooked, there was 5 less lbs on my left side. I just rotated the weights around so that the right was 5 less, and tried to keep the bar level. I really felt my left arm taking over, and it was truly hard to keep the bar level. On the following sets, I felt like I had perfect control, and my left arm was contributing more. I remember reading about this in an article here, but I can’t recall which one.
Anyhow, keep lifting, looks like you are on the right path. Later.
[quote]TopHeavy wrote:
JimmyOZ: Looks good to me, but I have a question. Why are you dropping down in weight after your max? Are you trying to do more volume? If that is the case, maybe drop the weight to 115 or so and rep out. I have done this in the past, and it hasn’t screwed up my rep day, but I only use 95 on Friday.
Of course, since you felt good, stick with it. I am only offering suggestions, I ain’t saying my way is better.
As to your left arm being weaker, stick with the dumbbels for awhile. It will get stronger. I stumbled upon an interesting way to warm-up on my RE day. My friend loaded my bar up crooked, there was 5 less lbs on my left side. I just rotated the weights around so that the right was 5 less, and tried to keep the bar level. I really felt my left arm taking over, and it was truly hard to keep the bar level. On the following sets, I felt like I had perfect control, and my left arm was contributing more. I remember reading about this in an article here, but I can’t recall which one.
Anyhow, keep lifting, looks like you are on the right path. Later.
[/quote]
cheers for the help mate…
Yeah, it was for more volume, but i should have tried 210 for 3…i will sort that out next week…i realised when i got home that i should have stayed at that weight then dropped down, i will try going lighter (115) afterwards so not to get too fatigued using heavier weight.
Also, would it be ok to stop at my max effort if i think ive done enough volume??
i will try that for the weak arm thing…thanks
later
Jimmy, stopping if you think you have enough volume is OK. However, if that means you stop at doing a set of 5, why not up the weight and try one set of 3? The next time, you might be able to cut out one of your work up sets to allow you to do more volume at the higher weight.
Keep in mind that this program is about doing more weight each and every week. If that means you do a set of 1-2, fine. Just strive to push past your best effort from the week before. Sometimes, that is 5 more pounds or just one more rep.
cheers Ari
my DL routine for today went like this…
1 bar x 10
2 95 x 8
3 135 x 5
4 185 x 5
5 225 x 5 (last weeks best was 220)
6 245 x 5
7 255 x 1 (really, i couldnt get more out and started to feel pain so i stopped…)
im happy with getting 25 pounds over my best from last week but i would have liked to have done 1 more set min. for more volume in the workout, but felt some pain so i stopped. Next week i will try and hit 250-5 x 3-5 by the 8th set or so…thoughts???
Nice, I haven’t added 25 lbs a week in months. Trying for 255 would probably be better for next week.
Also, don’t worry about planning more volume with the ME movement. Sometimes it is better to save a little for your other movements. If you are fried after your main movement, I think you are trying a bit too hard.
DeFranco suggests a 3-5RM for three reasons:
First, to increase coordination. Second, to increase time under tension. Third, to minimize CNS fatigue (I think).
Trying for a 1 or 2RM isn’t a bad idea, but I wouldn’t do it every workout; traditional Westside would be better for that. Regular Westside is much more demanding, IMHO.
I think one of the reasons WS4SB works so well is because there is more of a focus on the muscles, rather than the CNS.
Basically, if you already beat your old record but it was ball-busting hard, stop. Try to beat it again next week. If you decide to go to a 1 or 2RM, switch your ME movement every week.
Keep setting and breaking PR’s. Later.
Cheers mate. WIth that 255 lift, i tried to get more than 1 rep out but just couldnt, i didnt intend it to be a 1RM attempt. I will aim for 255 next week and work up to it as i see fit. I wish i had a video camera to film it so i can get some advice on form. At my gym, i havent seen anyone DL heavy (well, more than 100) since ive been there 3-4 months.
I was a little sore for my supp exercises as for my good mornings i had to use a smaller weight as my lower back was a little sore…its all good now and was the night of working out so its not that bad.
today im having a nice rest for the most part…i have footy (aussie rules) training but i will probably do some cardio at the gym (it fkn hot here in NYC).
later
Jimmy,
I think topheavy made some good points. You probably would have been better off going 2-3 reps at 250 than pushing 255. Oh well, you learned something.
BTW, its hot here in AZ and we just started practicing. If we can get the temps below 100 it should make evening practices a bit nicer.
ok mate, i might be better off going 5 pounds at a time, so 250 i will strive for next week…
Today its just bullshit, the weather is just terrible. I have sweated off so much. i leave for training soon and its gonna be hot as…no need for extra running…
just a side note, i have found that i have lost weight (fat) very quickly in this heat while doing my workouts along with 5 - 10 mins of interval running. What would take me a few months in Oz, has taken me a few weeks in the USA for the same fat loss. IM not complaining tho and i make sure i am drinking lots of water and not feeling weak.
[quote]JimmyOZ wrote:
cheers for the help mate…
Yeah, it was for more volume, but i should have tried 210 for 3…i will sort that out next week…i realised when i got home that i should have stayed at that weight then dropped down, i will try going lighter (115) afterwards so not to get too fatigued using heavier weight.
Also, would it be ok to stop at my max effort if i think ive done enough volume??
i will try that for the weak arm thing…thanks
later[/quote]
Honestly I would leave the Max effort stuff alone, work up to a max in whatever rep range you chose and once you hit the max weight for that exercise move on. You can easily add volume with the dumbell work immediatly after the ME movement and on the Repetition day.
Guys
As i work out in a commercial gym, i have only access to a normal bench to performed my box squat which allow me to squat slight above parallel.
Is it ok to use this for both my ME & DE squat days.
Would it cost any deficiencies in my squatting abilities due to the depth of bench i.e always training at the same height.
If i want to train box squat below parallel what do you guys recommend?
Thks in advance
[quote]Axe wrote:
Guys
As i work out in a commercial gym, i have only access to a normal bench to performed my box squat which allow me to squat slight above parallel.
Is it ok to use this for both my ME & DE squat days.
Would it cost any deficiencies in my squatting abilities due to the depth of bench i.e always training at the same height.
If i want to train box squat below parallel what do you guys recommend?
Thks in advance[/quote]
mate, bring your own box?? is that possible…at my gym, there is a bench that is slightly below or at parrallel so i use that…but if i didnt, id get my own box…and with the squat on both days, i think WS recommends to not do the same one for each of those days…but others might advise you the other way and say its not bad, maybe its a case of how you feel, if your not too burnt out…
Axe:
Box squatting above parallel is better than nothing. It isn’t ideal, but if it is all you can do, go for it. Maybe it would be better to use a different movement for your ME day until you can get a different box, though.
I did box squats on a bench that was 2 or 3 inches above parallel; I am now real fast on regular squats, once past that spot. I am not any faster out of the hole, though, which is where I need the most help. Like I said before, it ain’t ideal, but it will do.
Not to hijack too much, but I finished my first full week of WS4SB 2! Strongman training is fun, that is for sure. I just need a tire now…
Later.