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Westside vs the World and some training
Thanks to the generosity of Michael Fahey and the Hoff, we were privileged to be able to have a pre-screening at our gym this past Saturday of Westside vs the World. Having competed during the absolute height of gear lifting and learning from these guys and going on to battle with them for years, it was cool to watch the story. Most of us from this era heard all the stories and witnessed our share of these events but to see it unfold and hear parts you did not know or had forgotten was great fun to relive. The wife, who was there for all of it, was constantly tapping me as she relived them as well. But it is also a story of all the sacrifices we did for what we wanted to do – what we loved. It was also the story of Louie. The guy who in his own desire to win, break records and just compete daily created a system of training employed by thousands and thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of people worldwide across many walks of life and athletic backgrounds. Louie Simmons has and continues to impact so many people around the world.
After the movie, I was talking with a couple of guys and said: “without Louie’s system we would not be here right now”. They looked at me puzzled and I said that we learned how to powerlift competitively from reading Louie’s Powerlifting USA articles on the Westside system, videos, from Don calling him and him just talking with anyone about training. Obviously, we did the work, but his outlines and system left huge imprints on our training and growth and our lives. I tell people all the time, after you have powerlifted and competed at that level constantly trying to get better just for yourself and devoted yourself on that level, everything else you do in life is not hard. Anything you want becomes just a matter of time and effort.
Westside vs the World is a great story of how one person can affect so many people and so many other things positively whether he intended to or not.
Training Log
March 30, 2018
Reverse hypers 4 pre, 2 post
Deficit pulls off 4 inch box worked up to lame 5,7,5 no belt
3 laps with 300 lb. yoke trading off with 2 other dudes
April 2, 2018
Heavy Activations with heavy BT work with 160 lbs.
Back work MAG grip 10×10
Straight arm pulldowns with lightning rod 10×10
Machine press 10×10
Lightning rod pushdowns 10×10
1 lap no weight prowler
1/3 mile with 44 lb. static KB hold walking
April 3, 2018
Light Activations
Jacob’s Ladder 10 mins
10 min brisk walk later
April 5, 2018
10 mins Jacobs ladder
Ab work 8×8
April 6, 2018
5 laps upper body sled
April 7, 2018
Activations with some plank work/Oblique dumbbells
Reverse hypers 4×15
Deadlifts no belt 5,7,5
Crossfit guy next door showed me a move variation I don’t think I have done with bands. Band hooks in crook of elbow then around the back and hook on the foot the same side the band is hooked-right/right,left/left. Anyhow, did a couple of high step with him and felt my hamstrings get some good work. So, I added these in Saturday and Spudded them a bit on the stair. Climb by twos up and down regular with full hip extension on each. Sweet burn deep in my hams and buttocks.
One lap of wheelbarrow in a light rain.
April 9, 2018
15 mins stepmill post training
Light activations
Seated row MAG grip with machine pulls downs. 6 sets per, with static holds at end of last two sets
Bench: Haven’t really done anything on this for quite a while as my shoulders and biceps continue to act like they are going to fall off. Worked up to a little over 250 for some sets. With me it is always the descent, the push is fine.
Decline neck press light 4×20
Poliquin Flyes 4×8
April 12, 2018
Swings about 350 of them.
To warm up some 16kg for about 120 reps
I used to put clients on what I call death row which is where I line up KBs in incremental weights and have them do one arm rows usually 8 reps. I start with w/ a higher rep range on the lighter ones and drop the reps as the KB weight increases. Start on left hand then switch to other hand while jumping kb weight. Go up and back down for a round. This twist was with swings with 5 reps a kb for 8 jumps so 80 swings total per round. Did three rounds of this.
April 13, 2018
Activations and plank work
Used Weck’s RMT clubs for shoulder to shoulder swings. Plan was to work up to his 20 seconds as hard as you can set with modification of 40 second practice set for 6 rounds then hardest set. Shoulders felt good before I moved on to the pressing movements
Used two Sand Dunes to do decline pushups. 6×10
Hammer decline press machine. Sets of 30 to 50 with plate, plate and half, two plates etc. worked up to three and half plate for 8 x2 sets then back down. Lot of reps
April 14, 2018
Reverse Hypers 4×12 prior, 2×12 post
Rack Pulls right below knees work up to 585 x 3 x 2 sets
I hooked up bands again but on both legs this time. This was a little more difficult to get into to hook the bands on both arms then around the body and hook on foot. Example right arm, around back of body between rib and hip (QL area), then hook on right foot. Same with left side. Once I got in, it felt like standing up on a belt squat machine with my hips and glutes locked at the top. I found a rail to hold to and did some squats (Hatfields if you like). It was immediately hard on my legs and I knew it was going to suck. The bands provide little rest through the lift with constant static pressure. Since it was such a pain in the ass to get into, the plan was 10 reps, stand and catch my breath, 10 more reps, stand and hold and 10 more reps. This plan sucked horribly. After the first set my legs began to vibrate and stay contracted. I thought well maybe just one more round instead of three total. Well you know how that goes, not allowed in weightlifting. After three rounds my legs felt like I did a 1000 lunges (I do know exactly how that feels).
To finish it off as I did no abs or activations I decided to do Dale-on-the-Obliques walks. Take a bandbell with one swing set strap hooked on one end with a 25lb on the end of the strap. Hold it over head and walk for as long as you can and then switch. I went around the building (1/5 mile). Terrible choice but finished it up
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