Westside Principles?

Training Powerlifting
21

and if we compete single ply for the sq/dl and no shirts allowed?

My routine looks like:
Monday:
snatch
squat
calves

Tuesday:
flat bench to a max
military press
incline db press
db rows
chins

Thursday:
alternate deads/box squats each week
cleans
Good Mornings

Friday:
DE/RE bench variation
jerk press
db rows
chins
My low back caves when I squat to a max, My legs could push much more then I can handle on my back. Should I rememdy this with more conventional pulling (normally sumo), and gms (a recent addition). My right shoulder sometimes gives me problems benching, but not overhead pressing. What is your opinions on my routine. I rain raw until closing into the season my raw lifts are at:

bench:215
squat:255(going up, did only boxsquats for months, doing normally again)
deadlift: 355

22

o.k…so whats the deal with box squats ??

you guys like 'em or not ? Zep , you quit them for any particular reason ?

I did them for the first time last week ; didnt care for them at all .

I’m not sure if I should be starting these 12 weeks out from a meet…anyone agree with that statement ?

23

[quote]marlboroman wrote:
o.k…so whats the deal with box squats ??

you guys like 'em or not ? Zep , you quit them for any particular reason ?

I did them for the first time last week ; didnt care for them at all .

I’m not sure if I should be starting these 12 weeks out from a meet…anyone agree with that statement ?[/quote]

I do them biweekly now. I tried doing a normal raw squat. My groin muscles where completely detrained. And my lower back couldn’t support the same weight my legs could (which is odd). I need to get stronger in the actual competition lift now. I don’t know about the timing. I loved doing them, and got pretty good with them. If they had more carryover to my admitedly terrible squat I’d stil be doing just them. But that ended up not being the case.

24

my only advice…

prepare to get really strong.

25

sounds good thanks for all the advice guys, i think im going to stick to mostly full range bench on max effort days and then maybe a few sets of something like lockouts or floorpress would that be ok?

26

[quote]zephead4747 wrote:
and if we compete single ply for the sq/dl and no shirts allowed?

My routine looks like:
Monday:
snatch
squat
calves

Tuesday:
flat bench to a max
military press
incline db press
db rows
chins

Thursday:
alternate deads/box squats each week
cleans
Good Mornings

Friday:
DE/RE bench variation
jerk press
db rows
chins
My low back caves when I squat to a max, My legs could push much more then I can handle on my back. Should I rememdy this with more conventional pulling (normally sumo), and gms (a recent addition). My right shoulder sometimes gives me problems benching, but not overhead pressing. What is your opinions on my routine. I rain raw until closing into the season my raw lifts are at:

bench:215
squat:255(going up, did only boxsquats for months, doing normally again)
deadlift: 355[/quote]

Zep:

Do you ever use the safety squat bar? It’s an awesome tool and will help with losing your arch with heavy weight.

W/r/t your shoulder issues, I have always had the same problem. Not to diagnose over the internet, but it’s almost certainly your A/C joint. Keep the overhead work in, never do another speed bench session in your life, stay away from dips, and play with your grip width and bar position on your squats (actually a bigger culprit than benching). Another benefit of the safety squat bar is that it doesn’t stress your shoulders.

27

[quote]Ramo wrote:
zephead4747 wrote:
and if we compete single ply for the sq/dl and no shirts allowed?

My routine looks like:
Monday:
snatch
squat
calves

Tuesday:
flat bench to a max
military press
incline db press
db rows
chins

Thursday:
alternate deads/box squats each week
cleans
Good Mornings

Friday:
DE/RE bench variation
jerk press
db rows
chins
My low back caves when I squat to a max, My legs could push much more then I can handle on my back. Should I rememdy this with more conventional pulling (normally sumo), and gms (a recent addition). My right shoulder sometimes gives me problems benching, but not overhead pressing. What is your opinions on my routine. I rain raw until closing into the season my raw lifts are at:

bench:215
squat:255(going up, did only boxsquats for months, doing normally again)
deadlift: 355

Zep:

Do you ever use the safety squat bar? It’s an awesome tool and will help with losing your arch with heavy weight.

W/r/t your shoulder issues, I have always had the same problem. Not to diagnose over the internet, but it’s almost certainly your A/C joint. Keep the overhead work in, never do another speed bench session in your life, stay away from dips, and play with your grip width and bar position on your squats (actually a bigger culprit than benching). Another benefit of the safety squat bar is that it doesn’t stress your shoulders.[/quote]

We don’t have a safety squat bar in my weightroom :(. I do speed benches in two week periods, alternating with RE work. I usually used a pretty close grip, which doesn’t bug my shoulder at all. Should I drop them completely? My sticking point in bench press is in the middle of the lift. In an article I readit said floor presses were a good lif for this. Would one or two boards to an acceptable substitute? I’d really have taking up one of the 6 racks. (not enough floor space elsewhere).

For people needing to sq/dl/clean. Should I just alternate these with RE work on my second bench day each week? I’m really curious about single ply lifting tactics. most lifting articles are written for either raw, or multiply lifters.

28

[quote]zephead4747 wrote:

We don’t have a safety squat bar in my weightroom :(. I do speed benches in two week periods, alternating with RE work. I usually used a pretty close grip, which doesn’t bug my shoulder at all. Should I drop them completely? My sticking point in bench press is in the middle of the lift. In an article I readit said floor presses were a good lif for this. Would one or two boards to an acceptable substitute? I’d really have taking up one of the 6 racks. (not enough floor space elsewhere).

For people needing to sq/dl/clean. Should I just alternate these with RE work on my second bench day each week? I’m really curious about single ply lifting tactics. most lifting articles are written for either raw, or multiply lifters.[/quote]

  1. Speed benches - yes, I would drop them, but if you feel attached I would only do them with accommodating resistance, most of the time bands. You don’t want to have to decelerate the load yourself.

  2. Floor, board, pin presses, etc. - i don’t know, this is really the kind of thing you have to figure out through trial and error. Some people heavily favor one over the other, some do them both, and some don’t do much restricted ROM work. Depends on a lot of things.

  3. Most USAPL lifters follow either basic western periodization or high frequency/high volume approaches like Korte and Sheiko. Just a personal observation, the guys who rave about Sheiko and Korte are usually in the lighter classes, while the bigger lifters do more accessory work and don’t train the lifts as often, usually once or twice a week.

  4. Why do you need to do cleans? You can do what Brad Gillingham does and do a couple sets of cleans to warm up on squat and deadlift days. I think he works up to a couple moderate sets, then front squats, then deadlifts, for instance.

It’s great that you’re thinking and being proactive about your training at such a young age. I’d just pick a general approach and follow it up til a meet, see how it works out, and make adjustments for your next cycle. Which I’m sure is what you’re doing.

29

Also, Zep, I think you would really benefit from getting Brad’s squat/deadlift DVD. About the best 30 bucks you can spend to make yourself a better lifter.

30

I want to compete in oly lifting one day also. The floor/boards would be in replacement of DE/RE work for the one session a week for 2 weeks before doing a 2 week cycle of RE or DE work on said day. As a raw bencher, I think full ROM bench presses will be a mainstay in my routine.