Haha, you better have warned Ryan about me…I’m nipping at his heels…yeah, only like 400 more pounds to go…
Seriously, that’s cool. It makes total sense that the bigger the arch, the less emphasis on the delts. Think “decline press”. That, and a shorter range of motion in which you’re pressing the bar more towards your feet.
As Goldberg mentioned, we do use the cambered bar with two boards for max effort work from time to time. It is normally only like once every couple of months, however. As everyone else mentioned, be careful with it. It sure is a bastard.
Finally, I like the PVC pipe idea, except that if I’m not mistaken, Ryan is a “bench specialist” (correct me if I’m wrong). He does not have to squat or pull. If you do decide to bench with a humongous arch in competition you better have it mastered so that you don’t strain your back for pulling.
That being said, here’s what I like to do now to get an arch comfortably:
1)Hold the bar and slide up on the bench so that my head is way past the end of the bench.
2)Set my feet while in the above position.
3)Keep my feet in the same spot where I set them as I carefully slide myself into a normal position under the bar (bar approx. over my chin).
This seems to be way easier than any other way of getting into an arched position for me.
Although occasional work with the cambered bar is okay, I definitely wouldn’t do even NEAR the amount of work with the bar your gym owner seems to be suggesting.
Can’t really comment on New York Barbell as opposed to the equipment Dave sells, because I only buy from Dave at this point.
I love the safety squat bar, and feel it is one of the most useful tools for improving one’s deadlift and squat. Hell, who am I kidding, we even use it for tricep work sometimes!
Yeah, think “accessory work”. In my pre-Westside days I was cleaning 225-250 for sets of 6…obviously this is a lot different than 20lb dumbells for sets of 20.
Im with goldberg I buy all my equipment from Dave Tate, because he has treated me and my little brother with a ton of respect…He is as good and geniuine of a man you will find in all of sports…
Big Martin
Some of those bars might be adequate, but I would get it from Dave Tate. Every piece of equipment I purchased was top notch and holds up. My friends that haev gotten other glute hams, rverse hypers, and safety squat bars will tell you to get the original westside stuff, it really is better.
Irondoc, Big Martin, Goldberg, Steve, thanks for the response. Goldberg, you are absolutely right about the Westside guys giving freely. I had already been set on Elite’s Package deal of Combo Power Rack, GHR, and Rev Hyper Pro, with a Texas power bar and most likely a SSB, due to all of the Forum’s recommendations. After I get my bonus in November, of course.
i guess for the time being i will probly ditch the sprints. i assume i will gain speed since most of westside is cns training. something that i have not had a lot of lately. after i get to a respectable strength level i will resume such efforts.
question??? im 5’8’’ and wanted to know at 165 weight, aprox 10 bf percent, as to what would be considered near “westside strength?” any comments very appreciated. as of right now i would say my one rep max’s are around…
bench:225
deadL:315
squat:maybe 300 not sure(dont squat much because i love the DL)
what kind of gains could i expect from such a training methodology? monthly, bi-anual?
i bench flat back medium grip. deadL is med stance reg stlye (as described by ian king on this site i guess). squat is semi wide, dont know why it just feels right. all this is is natural wear and non non-straps. i love grip strength! i have always been more on the speed side of things but lifted with slower more controlled speeds as to not sacrafice form. as a result i feel i might have adopted to be a slower but stronger lifter. i miss the speed! will i need to adopt to different lifting techniques for WS??? if so please describe the differnece.
westside has got me pumped for some serious stength that i have been looking for!!! help needed and very appreciated, rob h
You can buy this $550+$165 shipping and handling pullup/dip rack for $75 at your local Wal-Mart. Even if you had to replace it every 5 years, it would be 45 years before the price equalled out.
It’s hard to really explain why the equipment is worth it, unless you actually use it. For example, most lips on j hooks are to deep. The hole spacing in the rack for the pins is to far apart. Try doing a lockout when the spacing is 4" rather then 1". Same goes for almost all the other stuff. Dave’s stuff is designed by the lifter fro the lifter.I’ve used other cheaper equipment and know the difference. You understand if your lifts move up enough yo where your squatting 600-700. The best stuff will make a difference.
I’m sorry, but I think the information from elite is worth a lot more than the amount you’d save buying a piece of shit setup at a walmart. People constantly comment on the quality products elite has to offer, and their ultimate goal to serve lifters with equipment by lifters.
Go ahead and buy your walmart equipment, but like irondoc said … “The best stuff will make a difference”
What irondoc said. His equipment is made by people who say what would i like to have in equipment. The subtleties dont make a difference to the average lifter and most lifters wouldnt even notice. But to more experienced lifters its like driving a lexus rather than a yugo.
Check my “12 Week Meet Prep for IPA Worlds” thread in the Dog Pound. In it, you will find the answers to all your sets and reps questions concerning my training.
Normally, it is 2-4 sets of 15-20 reps on an ME or DE bench day. I try to do them at least once every two weeks.
vizunaldth-
No one can answer a “how fast will I progress” question for you. It all depends on how hard and smart you can work. Guys in our gym have put 300lbs on their total in less than two years; then again, some new guys are lucky to put 50lbs on their total in that same period of time. Learn as much as you can, work hard, and be smart…the gains will amaze you.
to viz,
sorry dude, but they have 165lb women much stronger than you!
bout 10 years ago, when i went up to westside and trained with those guys for bout a week, i was 220, and best lifts were sq-640, bp-370, dl-600. during a max effort squat workout they put me in with laura dodd (145lb, sq 545) and denise simmons(105lbs, squat 320) for a belt-squat workout! talk about being intimidated!!! they had me working out with the girls!
I’ve read your logs on Dog pound and was just wondering, how much do you rest between sets? I mean with the accessory and supplemental work. Your GPP is no doubt much higher than mine ( having started Westside just five weeks ago ), but still; that’s a lot of work to be done in less than 60 minutes ( I assume you follow this “60-minute guideline” ).
And to all of you:
Do you change your accessory and supplemental movements every week? I know the Westside template is pretty open about this stuff, but I still would like to know what kind of cycles do you use with these movements.
Thanks to you all… These westside threads have been a real source of information for me. Waiting for part three in near future…
Here is what i do for my accessory and supplemental movements. I usually decide on my max effort lift the day of or on the way to the gym. Dynamic day is planned out well in advance. So for everything else i do whatever i want to do that day but always something different than the weeks before. Its not a hard and fast rule. If i want to do another set i do it. If i feel like ive done enough i stop. I dont want to kill myself because i know i have to lift again in a couple of days. i really have to be careful on dynamic day because i always want to work up on squats because its the only thing im really good at. I hardly every work up on dynamic bench day which means i will tomorrow. haha. In the beginning you will probably want to plan things out a little but you can be a little flexible. Sometimes emotion takes over though and you end up doing really stupid stuff. But thats ok.
As far as how fast you will progress. I have put about 200 lbs on my squat and 100 lbs on my deadlift and about 40-50 lbs on my bench in the past year. From March 29th to June 21st i put close to 150 lbs on my total. anything is possible. I honestly believe i can be at 1800 sometime next year.