I weighed 250 when i did that 335. However i was only 17. I was a very fat 250 though.
Ive never done a circa max phase. My squat has kept going up so i didnt mess with anything.
westside/ol program
dynamic upperbody day-
jerks 60-70%10-12x2
tricepts, 3-5 sets 4-6 reps, usually overhead stuff
delts, your choice, keep it light, just go for a pump
max low body day-
exactly same as westside powerlifting program
max upperbody day-
rotate push-press, incline bench press, HEAVY STEEP incline dumbell presses, max single on first two, max 5 on the dumbells
overhead tricept stuff, shoulder prehab.
dynamic low body day-
snatch 6x1x60-70%
clean 6x1x60-70%
high pull variation of your choice, 3-4sets 3-5 reps.
hams, low back and abds.
I have a question regarding some of the supplemental work for ME squat/deadlift day. GHR and reverse-hypers are listed as very important, and my question is WHY. I am trying to convince the staff at our school to invest in a reverse-hyper machine, but the football coach who is in charge of the weight room is saying that good mornings do the exact same thing as a reverse-hyper. I read in one of Poliquins articles that the reverse-hyper works the posterior chain in a specific manner that closely replicates the way the body reacts on the field, but when I do them, I mainly just feel it in my lower back, and not the glutes or hams. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Landon, have you tried the circa max phase before or know anyone who did and the results they got from it? I am confident i can handle it, i squatted 725 two weeks ago at the worlds so i think i am finally advanced enough to handle it.
OGuard-
Many of the elite-level lifters here use a circa-max phase leading into a meet. Paul Childress and Joe Dougherty will be beginning one next week, I believe. It’s working for them, and it’s worked for others, so give it a shot and see how you do with it. One piece of advice though: take this upcoming week as a “down week” so that your body is ready for the beating it will take in the circa max phase. Plan your cycle accordingly, and it should give you enough time to ease right into the Nationals ready to break some PRs. By the way, we should meet up just to shoot the shit a bit this upcoming meet.
QTip-
I would use the beginner template as it is, except I would heed bigmartin’s suggestions (I think it was him) to mix up the number of boards on the board press weeks.
I personally just said the hell with the beginner template and did my own thing for about a month when I began Westside (before meeting up with my current training partners), and it worked fine for me. I switched the ME exercises every session, did singles, and picked my own supplemental and accessory lifts.
I guess it all depends on how confident you are with your previous strength-training history and understanding of the Westside system.
Paul-
If you only feel the reverse hypers in your lower back, you are probably not performing them properly. I used to be guilty of this as well. Do some research on T-Mag and Elitefts to answer your questions and brush up on the proper form.
Steve- That’s what I’ve been thinking, but I keep having to invent new and interesting ways to get them done! Right now, I have ankle straps attached to a chain with a quick release that I wrap around a weight. Then I just look for a nearby ledge. I’m still looking for some information on the athletic benefits of the exercise to convince my school to buy one.
Oguard- I have seen your squat numbers and I think you could definately do a circa max phase but I think you stil should wait a year or so…In my opinion and I bet the guys at elite fitness would tell you the same would be best to do a certain number of strength-speed phases mixed in with rcovery condtioning weeks with the safety squat bar…it would depend on how many week out you are from your meet…This would let you recover, devolpe strength speed, and get your body ready to handle the band tesion required for a circa max phase, and to take some stress of the shoulders…
A example would look like this
week 1
50% with a green band + 2 purple bands 8x2
week 2
45% with a blue band and 2 purples
6x2
week 3
40% With a blue and a green band
5x2
week 4
20x2 with safety squat bar at 55%
week 5
45% with blue and green
8x2
week 6
42% with blue green and purple
6x2
week 7
40% with 2 blue bands
5x2
week 8
Deload 10 x2 50% wth saft squat bar
I think this would be you best bet
good luck Big Martin
Thanks for the replies guys, and Steve i would definately enjoy a good bullshit session with you at the Nationals. So far this is how i have planned everything.
Week 1 315 plus blue bands
Week 2 335 plus blue bands
Week 3 355 plus blued bands
Week 4 315 plus blue band choked
Week 5 335 plus choked blue band
Week 6 355 plus choked blue band
Enter Circa Max
Week 7 365 plus choked blue band and purple band
Week 8 385 plus same band combo
Week 9 405 same bands
Week 10 425 same bands
Weeks 11-12 deloading
Week 11 365 plus choked blue blue band
Week 12 315 plus regular blue band
I think i may only do 5 or 6 sets during the circa max phase, but you guys should critique this and tell me what you all think.
By the way, i like Big Martin’s template a whole lot, but the reason i am going with more bar weight but less band tension than he recommends is because of my shitty workout situation, i have to squat in a power rack and would not feel comfortable walking out and setting up with that amount of tension. If i had a monolift, that would be what i would follow
Oguard on weeks 1-3 are you using 2 blue bands??? I ask because you say blue bands it may be a typo or my confusion…Big Martin
goddam westside bastards,
all this talk of box squats and GMs got be trying them. I ahve been doing seated GMs for a few weeks to ease back into it (back injuries suck) and did my first heavy normal GM today, and got 303lb for three. HEaviest I had done before (many years back) was only 220 so its a nice gain. More practice will be good. Then I started trialing some boxsquats and learnt two things. 1) I need better shoes. 2) they werent as hard as I thought they would be. I hit 286x3 so its a good start.
But I can hardly walk, bastards
When testing maxes on week 9 do you do your regular training and just use the squat and regualr bench press on ME day?Also does anyone know of a Canadian distributer for the same chains and bands on the elite fitness site? Duty tax is a real killer.
Big Martin, weeks 1-3 i am using just one set of blue bands in their normal position rather than choked.
well yesterday i had some time constraints and all the “power areas” were being used so rather than skip i attempted ME Leg Presses (working to a heavy 3) w/ feet high on the platform to hit the glutes more.
my glutes are smoked.
i guess my question is do the “occasional” ME Leg Presses have any carry over or should they only be used in rare circumstances?
Molsonman, i dont know where you can get chains and bands. Sometimes bands are on ebay. That might be cheaper that way. You just max out on that week. Take the rest of the week off. If its a true max you will probably need it.
c13riberdy-
Probably not the best choice for an ME movement. If you were going to use the leg press at all, I would recommend you save it for accessory work; use it VERY sparingly.
I agree with Steve, leg presses suck for powerlifters, the ROM is limited, the lower back is put in a bad position, and most people have disproportionately strong quads in comparison to the hamstrings, glutes, hips etc, bring those up along with your lower back and that is what will bring up the squat. By the way anyone see my circa max program and have any comments or suggestions?
the highest blood pressure ever recorded was recorded on a guy doing leg presses.
I have this big problem of staying in the groove with heavy weight in any bench (close grip or normal). It feels tough as hell to keep the bar in a straight line as i bring it out of the rack. My elbows move forward to wards my feet so my wrists and elbows are no longer in a straight line perpendicular to my chest. My guess is my rotators/lats/forearms need to pick up and now that I think about this I should spend more time setting the bar before starting my descent. Also doing a medium grip bench for a single felt really weird after doing close grips for my ME excercise for three weeks. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
sdp-
Sounds like you need to work on your lat strength to me.