Venomous animals.

 Tribute to the greatest powerlifting coach ever.

It has been a few days since the passing of in my opinion the greatest powerlifting coach ever Louie Simmons. I had to think of what I am going to write before doing so. The content of my article has to be informative also and should resemble what Louie stood for namely exercise, training the body and getting stronger and more capable in the sport you want to specialize in. 

The great Louie Simmons from Westside barbell in Columbus Ohio ( Picture from t - nation.com).

Louie was born in 1947. He started his journey as a powerlifter in California but eventually moved over to Columbus Ohio. In 1987 he started the Westside barbell in Columbus Ohio. Where once it was in California it is now in Ohio. The original brainchild concept was from California but it grew into what it is today in Columbus Ohio. Westside barbell is known for it's unique training methods that not only delivered great powerlifters but also great track and field athletes as well. Although powerlifting is what it was mainly known for.

I first became aware of Westside barbell through reading internet articles that Louie wrote. Mostly on how to increase your bench press. The lifter who according to me got me interested in knowing more about Westside barbell was George Halbert. George Halbert was an amazing bench presser. 733lb ( 333kg) bench press at a bodyweight of 220lbs ( 100kg). George could also do a raw bench ( Without the use of a bench shirt) of 625lbs ( 285kg) at a bodyweight of 242lbs ( 110kg). George Halbert were among only many other great powerlifters to train at Westside barbell. Great names like Chuck Vogelpohl, Kenny Patterson, Mike Wolf, Matt Wenning, Laura Phelps were among them. 

Now since Westside was so well known for delivering great and heavy squats, bench presses and deadlifts as well as totals in bodyweight categories, Westside surely must have had some interesting training methods and ideas. I will share some of them with the reader of this article now. First lets look at the Westside method and template and the history behind it. Louie started reading books written by Russian authors. From there he developed his system of training. The Russian conjugate method is what is spoken of often when referring to Westside training. Now Westside barbell has a training split or template that looks as follows - Monday: Maximal effort lower body, Wednesday: Maximal effort upper body, Friday: Dynamic effort lower body, Sunday: Dynamic effort upper body.

As can be seen in the template, the upper and lower body is trained twice a week with 72 hours of rest between the two sessions. That gives the body enough time to recuperate sufficiently yet train the lift frequently enough. Westside barbell incorporates 3 methods of strength training - Maximal effort, Dynamic effort and repeated effort. Maximal effort is known as heavy day. On that day a specific lift will be done and the lifter will work up to a heavy 1 rep max. Meaning that it will be so heavy that the lifter will just about be able to get one repetition done. A spotter will be handy for that lift because it will be very difficult to perform. Then 72 hours later the lighter day will be incorporated by the lifter. The light day or speed day as Louie referred to it will be done with 50 - 60% of the lifters 1 Rep Max on that specific lift. So say for instance that Monday the lifter lifted 700lbs in the squat for one rep then on Dynamic effort day 72 hours later he will use 350 - 420lbs in the squat.

The same goes for the upper body lift done on Wednesday. On Sunday the lifter will attempt only half of the amount of weight done on Wednesday and do sets of 3 reps. The emphasis is placed on how fast and explosive the lifter can move the bar up and down. The idea is to train the body to become use to applying max acceleration and muscle recruitment. The heavy day focusses more on tendon strength while the light day or speed dat focusses on muscle recruitment. Teaching the muscles to fire explosively. Rubber bands and chains are often added to the barbell to prevent upwards momentum and to help the bar to gradually gain weight as the rubber band tightens or the chain links are lifted of the floor. Closer to lockout it weighs more than in the bottom of the lift. On Friday Dynamic effort day for squat or lower body the box squat is always performed. 8 - 12 sets are done for only 2 reps.

While on Sunday on dynamic effort bench regular bench press with different grip widths are done. Now on DE ( Dynamic effort) bench day 8 - 10 sets are done for 3 repetitions. After completing the main lift whether on DE day of ME day or on lower or upper body day, relevant exercises are used to strengthen that specific lift. In the case of bench press the triceps, lats, rear deltoids, brachialis/brachioradialis muscles are trained. These muscle groups are trained to help the lifter to optimize his/her lift. In the case of the squat/deadlift muscles like the hamstrings, abs and lower back is trained afterwards. These special exercises are done like bodybuilders do them with moderate to high reps 6 sets of 10 reps, 4 sets of 10 reps, 3 sets of 12 reps etc. Not the low reps of only 1 - 3 reps. The repeated effort method is used for these extra exercises. 

So lets for instance look at a ME upper body workout ( Wednesday) one would typically do an exercise like board press. Then work up to an 1RM as follows - 135lbs for 5 reps, 180lbs for 3 reps, 220lbs for 3 reps, 242lbs for 1rep, 264lbs for 1 rep and then last 286lbs for a 1RM. After that one would do the special exercises, and those are usually muscle groups like the triceps, rolling dumbbell extensions for 6 sets of 10 reps, dumbbell rows ( For lats) 4 sets of 10 reps, reverse pec deck ( For rear deltoids) 3 sets of 12 reps and end the workout with hammer curls 4 sets of 10 reps. See how the extra exercises are done like bodybuilders do their exercises? Rep and set wise. Now let's get back to the Russian conjugate method. What is that you might ask? On your heavy day, either upper body or lower body you will choose an exercise that mimics the squat, bench press and deadlift. For instance front squat or Zercher squat or good morning instead of regular power squat. An exercise will be chosen and it will be done for the next 2 - 3 Mondays in a row. It will then be switched for another exercise on ME day. This method called the Russian conjugate method is done on ME day on both upper body and lower body day.

Every 2 - 3 weeks the exercises are rotated to keep progress going and to prevent over training and central nervous system overtraining. That is what the Russian conjugate system is about. On bench press it will be exercises like floor press with chains, board press, incline bench, wide grip bench etc. That can be rotated every 2 - 3 weeks. As can be seen by the structure as well as the combination of exercises, Westside barbell lifters do not do split training programs like bodybuilders do. In other words bodybuilders train body parts like chest, back, biceps, triceps. They group those muscle groups together and do them on a specific day of the week. Powerlifters train lifts not body parts. So doing the lift first and foremost and then doing relevant assistance exercises are how they train. Now lets take a look at all the interesting exercises that are popular for Westside barbell lifters. 

Tate press

This exercise is named after the well known powerlifter and owner of Elite FTS Dave Tate but Louie told me that they should be called Williams presses after the late great Jim Williams ( Picture from weighttraining.guide)

The next exercise on the list is also a tricep exercise done after the bench press. Also one of the sought after exercises for Westside barbell lifters to strengthen the triceps. The rolling dumbbell extension. As can be seen in the picture one lowers the dumbbells end down to the deltoid or shoulder until it touches the shoulder, then roll it back backwards and then return the motion in the opposite direction by rolling it back and extending the arms. 

Dumbbell rolling extension

                                                      Picture taken from bodybuilding.com

The next exercise is also a very popular exercise done for the triceps. It was made popular by the powerlifter and bench specialist JM Blakely who also trained at Westside barbell. The idea is to use a moderately narrow grip, about shoulder width on the bar. Then lower the bar towards the upper chest. In so doing the forearms tilt backwards and in so doing it puts emphasis on the tricep muscle. It is like a cross between skull crushers and close grip benches. The elbows should be tucked against the body while performing the exercise. It can be done lying on the floor or lying on a bench. On the floor it is known as Paul Dicks presses.

                                           The JM press done on the floor as seen in the picture above. It is also

                              done on the bench press bench. The forearm tilt emphasizes triceps. ( Picture from t - nation.com)

Now lets have a look at the next tricep exercise that Westside loves namely the incline close grip press. As the name implies, it is done on an incline bench and a narrow grip is used to emphasize triceps. 

Incline close grip bench press.

Picture from muscleandstrength.com

Again I just want to repeat that these exercises are for the triceps and are done after the bench press. Sets on these exercises differ from 4 - 6 sets of 10 reps. As a general rule of thumb 4 sets of 10 are done when using barbells and 6 sets of 10 are done when using dumbbells. One or two exercises can be done for the triceps but after doing 6 sets of tricep extensions it is usually sufficient enough to leave it there. Westside does a lot of triceps. More so to a great extend than pectoral muscles. Now lets have a look at the dumbbell floor press. Usually done with palms facing towards each other and elbows tucked. 

 

Dumbbell floor press.

Picture from skimble.com

So far we have looked at all the tricep exercises that are unique to Westside and are done there frequently. Other basic exercises like tricep pushdowns, overhead dumbbell extensions are also done but these exercises are unique to Westside and done often by the lifters there. These above exercises are usually done as assistance exercises and aid in strengthening the triceps. Now lets look at some other exercises that are done as main exercises. 

                                             

                                                                       Board press 

Picture by t - nation.com

The board press is done as a main exercise on Maximal effort day and is one of the many different exercises that are rotated on bench press day. As can be seen on the picture above, the lifter lies on his back on the bench like on a regular bench press, then a wooden board is placed on his chest and the bar is brought down to the wooden board on his chest. It is stopped and the pressed of explosively. This exercise is very popular at Westside but now a days done by just about every powerlifter who wants a bigger bench press. The range of motion is restricted by the wooden board and the eccentric concentric chain is broken.

The following exercise is also a popular lift done as a main lift and rotated at Westside barbell and that would be the floor press. One lies on your back on the floor instead of lying on your back on the bench and then press the barbell away from your chest as soon as the elbows touch the floor. The floor press can also be cycled with the conjugate method to avoid central nervous system overuse and exhaustion. Chains can be added on the sides of the bar to create an gradual increase s the lifter presses the bar of the floor towards lockout. 

Floor press

Picture from socalpowerlifting.net

Now we look at another main exercise done often at Westside barbell namely bench with rubber bands. Rubber bands can be used for squatting or bench pressing. On DE upper body day rubber bands are often used. 

Rubber band bench

Picture from stack.com

A similar phenomena is found with chains a s with rubber bands. When chains are draped over the ends of the bar and it hangs down onto the floor, the moment the lifter presses the bar away from his chest. The links of the chain are lifted one by one of the floor and in so doing the chain gradually ads more weight as the bar approaches lockout. As with the rubber band where the band pulls tighter and tighter as the bar goes further away to the full lockout position and in so doing increases the weight of the bar. The chain does the same when the links are lifted of the floor one by one. Also when the bar is lowered the links of the chain fall onto the floor and the bar weighs less when on the chest. Chains are also useful when applied to exercises such as floor presses and deadlifts where the full length of the band cannot be utilized and the band cannot be attached to the floor with either a heavy dumbbell or some hook intended for attaching the band.

Benching with chains.

 

Picture from bodybuilding.com

Now it is time to look at some of the lower body moves that can be done if one decides to train Westside style. The following exercise is seen as an very important contributor towards posterior chain development and for increasing the deadlift as well as the squat. It can be done as an assistance exercise or as an main exercise om ME day on Monday on lower body day. It is known as the good morning. The good morning is a very controversial exercise in that most people see it as a one way ticket to a major blower back injury. But according to the West side crew this exercise does wonders for the squat and deadlift. There are many different ways that it is done at Westside barbell for instance seated good mornings, sumo stance good mornings, bent knee good mornings, arched back good mornings etc. There is even a machine called the back attack at Westside barbell that mimics the good morning. 

The good morning exercise. 

Picture from crossfit.com

The good morning is seen as a very important exercise at Westside although some experts say that this exercise is best avoided. Alright as I explained further up in my article, the box squat is also a very sought after exercise at Westside barbell. It is always done on DE lower body day as a main exercise and sets of up to 12 are done for only 2 reps per set. The weight used is only 50% of the lifters 1RM but the lifter should focus on exploding from the bottom. Rubber bands and chains are often added in this exercise. Whether done as a main exercise on ME lower body day or done as a main exercise on DE lower body day. Louie Simmons advocated standing with a wide stance when doing this exercise and sitting backwards onto the box to involve the hip muscles also. Just like the board press one pauses on a certain height and then blast into the opposite direction. 

Box squat

Picture from bonvecstrength.com

Just to make sure I explained well enough to the reader. The objective of this exercise is to squat onto some type of platform behind you. Your butt touches it and then you explode up. As can be seen in the picture, the gentleman doing it uses a very wide stance and it is recommended that the lifter does so.

Now having strong legs is one thing but having a strong core is even more important. At Westside barbell the abs are trained very often and very enthusiastic. All kinds of ab exercises are done to strengthen the core muscles. Note I said core, not just rectus abdominus or six pack muscles. The obliques as well as the hip flexors are more important than the six pack muscles when doing a heavy squat or deadlift. Exercises like hanging leg raises, sit ups with the legs straight, side bends, standing cable crunches at the lat pulldown machine, decline situps etc are done at Westside to strengthen the ab/core muscles. But what about the lower back/gluteus region? For that Louie Simmons invented the reverse hyper back in 1973. After suffering his second lower back injury he had to find a way to restore his injured back and the reverse hyper was his method. 

The reverse hyper machine.

Picture by physicalculturestudy.com

Now the reverse hyper has become such an important piece of equipment in the world of physical culture and big companies like Rogue also make them. Apparently the reverse hyper has great therapeutic properties as well as strengthening your hamstrings, glutes, rectus spinae. Louie Simmons swore by it. 

Now lets look at an very old school exercise invented way back in the 1930's by a lifter called Ed Zercher. The Zercher squat. The idea behind this exercise is to grasp the barbell in the crooks of your arms and to squat with the bar in the crooks of your arms. You hold onto the bar almost like a newly wed husband who carries his new bride in the crooks of his arms. Except you will be squatting the bar while holding it in the crooks of your arms. At Westside barbell they invented a harness type of device that a lifter can put around his/her shoulders with crooks intended to hold the bar in place. Front squats are also done with that same harness. It is called the Zercher harness and is one of Westsides tools of the trade. Although with a Zercher squat the bar bar can be carried in the crooks of the arms like old Ed did or the harness can be applied. It all depends on the availability of this piece of equipment.

Zercher squat.

Picture from advancedhumanperformance.com

The Zercher squat is done on ME lower body day as a main exercise. The lifter must see if he/she can get a 1RM on this exercise in the case of this exercise being chosen as an exercise to rotate with the Russian conjugate method on ME lower body day.

I shall now look at an exercise done on lower body day as a assistance exercise. Namely the belt squat. The belt squat is a squat performed with a belt around your waste. Attached to the belt is a cable with a weight hanging on the end of it. In doing this exercise one prevents strain on the spinal cord like with doing a regular squat. The weight pulls from the hips downwards. So all the strain goes into the legs. At Westside barbell they have a belt squat machine that is used regularly by their lifters and even other athletes like the MMA fighters. 

Belt squat exercise

Picture from manlof.org

There are plenty of other exercises that I have not discussed like the safety bar squat, the cambered bar bench, the cambered bar squat, the football bar bench but these exercises discussed here are pretty important to the Westside crew and forms the basis of their training. Many familiar exercises for the lats, rear deltoids, triceps, deltoids are also done but I only discuss the unique and effective Westside ones here. Last I would like to discuss an exercise that has gained a lot of notoriety the past 20 years or so and that would be the glute ham raise. Mostly the to go to exercise for the Westside crew when it came to training the hamstrings. The exercise was first done by a Russian weightlifter with the name Vassily Alexeev ( Hope the spelling is right, it seems to differ a lot in the Germanic language as translated from the Slavic). The reverse hyper was done by this Russian weightlifter in the early 70's and all he did was he took a pummel horse, put it near the Swedish bars and then hook his ankles underneath the Swedish bars while bracing with his knees on the pummel horse and then lifting his upper torso using his hamstrings. Some American lifter took the concept and further expanded on it by designing the glute ham raise bench as it is known today. 

The glute ham raise.

Picture from hevyapp.com

Westside barbell now a days have an assisted glute ham raise bench for people who struggle to do the glute ham by themselves. A bit like the assisted pullup machine. Westside barbell never possessed a leg press, hack squat, leg extension or leg curl machine. As the reader can see I always post where I got the pictures from so that in case the reader wants to go and read further about the topic, he/she can do so by going to these pages. Now that we have looked at what Louie Simmons managed and how Louie built his empire of knowledge we can take a look at the man himself.

Louie was the type of man who cared about exercise and how to spread knowledge about the topic of becoming stronger. Louie was a great inspiration to me and he shared a lot of knowledge with me through the years. I never got the chance to meet him in real life but I have had the chance to speak to him over the telephone a few times. He once phoned me all the way from Columbus Ohio. There will never be a powerlifting coach like him ever again and what the fate of Westside barbell is I couldn't say. But I carry around with me the knowledge that Louie shared with me and for what it is worth I can carry over to others what Louie gave me. His passion and dedication will not go unnoticed in the world of strength and he will be greatly missed. RIP Louie Simmons 1947 - 2022.