Post by Dennis on Aug 22, 2004 18:21:12 GMT -5
Joe Average
Part 3
There are 3 pieces to the powerlifting puzzle. 1. The program. 2. The lifter. 3. The gear.
The program: Powerlifters have developed a reputation among the general public that we are a bunch of people in the gym throwing weight around in a cloud of chalk and powder. I have learned that the sport of powerlifting is an exact science. Those of you that requested and received a copy of my program can see that the program itself is very exact and specific. The right amount of training, specific exercises, exact amount of weight and reps, and enough rest all play an important part in being a successful powerlifter. Any lifter can be successful when implementing my program, but every lifter is different. Therefore I can't be too specific when discussing my program in this article because not everyone is at the same level. For example, a beginner or someone of different height and body weight cannot use the band and bar weight combinations that I use. Each band size made by Jump Stretch has been assigned a specific weight equivalent both at the top and bottom of each exercise. How this was done, I have no idea! For example, a lifter who is 6 foot 4 inches when doing the squat will stretch the bands further than a lifter who is 5 foot 10 inches. The further the bands are stretched the more resistance the lifter receives. How can a specific weight be assigned to the bands when such a wide variety of lifter's use them? Also, everyone attaches the bands differently. Depending on how and what you use to wrap the bands will depend on the resistance each lifter will get. So how do you know what bands are right for you? At the Body Factory when a lifter's bar weight approaches the 50% mark on both the max effort squat and bench exercises it is time to increase your band resistance. The 50% mark is determined by your best single rep in full gear of the exercise that you are performing. The bar weight for our speed work is between 20% - 30% of our max. The biggest mistake lifters are making when implementing Westside's methods, whether it's my way or Louie and Dave's way, is that they get hung up on having too much bar weight. Too much bar weight is will cause you to regress. This is especially true on the speed workouts.
When writing about my program, I will address specific aspects of the program that will benefit everyone, but each individual that has questions pertaining to his/her workouts will have to be answered via the e-mail.
When using the safety squat bar we hold onto the squat rack when performing the squat exercise. Louie has advised against this for two reasons. First, you can hurt your shoulders when doing this. Second, lifters tend to pull themselves up with their hands. When using the safety bar my goal is to squat as much weight as possible. Holding onto the squat rack allows me to accomplish this goal. What I teach is to stand close to the rack so that your arms are not extended and hold your hands at waist level. This way you cannot hurt your shoulders and your hands are low enough that they cannot help to pull yourself up.
You may have noticed that on all max effort squat days we do not use boxes. On max effort days we try to come as close as possible to training as if we were at a meet. I have yet to squat on a box at a meet, therefore I do not sit on a box on max effort days. On training cycles 4,5 &6 we do not box squat on the speed workouts. When using the safety squat bar, the bar sits high up on the neck. As you sit on the box, no matter how carefully, the force of the weight as you come down on the box generates energy. This energy is transferred from the weight on your neck down through your body and into the box. Because the safety squat bar sits high on your neck, the energy is transferred in line with the spine. This is good. When doing box squats with a regular bar, the bar sits lower and everyone leans forward. As you come down onto the box, the energy that is being generated is going from the bar, through your spine, not inline with the spine, and into the box. I am not a rocket scientist or a medical doctor, but common sense tells me that this cannot be healthy for the spine over a long period of time.
Why six training cycles? Louie and Dave are always teaching short cycles. They recommend doing specific exercises for 1-3 weeks and then switching. We use the safety bar for three cycles and then switch to the regular bar for three cycles. I do two triceps workouts during each cycle. Therefore every two cycles I switch the band combinations. Six cycles allow me to do three mini-cycles with different band combinations. Over time, I have found that six 10 day cycles has proven to be very successful.
The second piece to the puzzle is the lifter. It is up to you in order for my program to be successful. Each time you workout, are you training to failure? On day 1 cycle 1, you are required to do at least 10 reps to failure. Once you reach ten reps, do you stop? Or do you continue to do reps until you are about to pass out? Training to failure when required to do so is the most important aspect of this program. These workouts are short and sweet, but for that short period of time you have to give it your all or you will not succeed.
The third piece to the puzzle is the gear. Some of you have e-mailed telling me how lucky we are to have Ron. Good news, Ron retired on Oct. 25 and is open for business. It is important that your gear be altered perfectly. I have been to many meets and it is my opinion that most lifters are getting 30 - 50 percent out of their gear. Most of you are wearing your gear too loose. No matter who you are or what program you are on, if your gear is not right you will only go so far. Yes, there are lifters out there who are putting up some great numbers with loose gear. But if they wear tighter gear their numbers would be even higher. If you think you need your gear altered, send me an e-mail and I will give you Ron's prices. They are much lower than Inzer or Titan. If you only need minor adjustments, open up the Yellow Pages and find someone that sews bridal gowns and prom dresses. Here is a good example of a bench shirt fitting perfectly. Blaine Rundle, my training partner, is about 5'11" and weighs about 230 and is 25 years old. On a good day he can bench 315 with a good bounce off the chest for two reps. He has benched 460 twice in meets with his open back denim. He is getting about 140 pounds out of his shirt. That's about average for lifters at the Body Factory.
Every month or so, I open up PLUSA and there is some new author that has lifted a phenomenal amount of weight and is now writing about how he did it. I have yet to read one of these articles where the subject of steroids is addressed. This may surprise you but steroids are used in all sports, including powerlifting. When I read these articles I always wonder if steroids played any part in that lifter's success. I meant what I said in my first article. You can be successful on my program drug free. I am drug free and will offer up urine or blood anytime if anyone has any doubts. Every Body Factory lifter will say the same thing. I am proud to write for Dave Tate, I am proud that my program is based on Westside's training methods and I am proud to be a member of the IPA. One of my goals as an author is to quiet the critics!
Part 3
There are 3 pieces to the powerlifting puzzle. 1. The program. 2. The lifter. 3. The gear.
The program: Powerlifters have developed a reputation among the general public that we are a bunch of people in the gym throwing weight around in a cloud of chalk and powder. I have learned that the sport of powerlifting is an exact science. Those of you that requested and received a copy of my program can see that the program itself is very exact and specific. The right amount of training, specific exercises, exact amount of weight and reps, and enough rest all play an important part in being a successful powerlifter. Any lifter can be successful when implementing my program, but every lifter is different. Therefore I can't be too specific when discussing my program in this article because not everyone is at the same level. For example, a beginner or someone of different height and body weight cannot use the band and bar weight combinations that I use. Each band size made by Jump Stretch has been assigned a specific weight equivalent both at the top and bottom of each exercise. How this was done, I have no idea! For example, a lifter who is 6 foot 4 inches when doing the squat will stretch the bands further than a lifter who is 5 foot 10 inches. The further the bands are stretched the more resistance the lifter receives. How can a specific weight be assigned to the bands when such a wide variety of lifter's use them? Also, everyone attaches the bands differently. Depending on how and what you use to wrap the bands will depend on the resistance each lifter will get. So how do you know what bands are right for you? At the Body Factory when a lifter's bar weight approaches the 50% mark on both the max effort squat and bench exercises it is time to increase your band resistance. The 50% mark is determined by your best single rep in full gear of the exercise that you are performing. The bar weight for our speed work is between 20% - 30% of our max. The biggest mistake lifters are making when implementing Westside's methods, whether it's my way or Louie and Dave's way, is that they get hung up on having too much bar weight. Too much bar weight is will cause you to regress. This is especially true on the speed workouts.
When writing about my program, I will address specific aspects of the program that will benefit everyone, but each individual that has questions pertaining to his/her workouts will have to be answered via the e-mail.
When using the safety squat bar we hold onto the squat rack when performing the squat exercise. Louie has advised against this for two reasons. First, you can hurt your shoulders when doing this. Second, lifters tend to pull themselves up with their hands. When using the safety bar my goal is to squat as much weight as possible. Holding onto the squat rack allows me to accomplish this goal. What I teach is to stand close to the rack so that your arms are not extended and hold your hands at waist level. This way you cannot hurt your shoulders and your hands are low enough that they cannot help to pull yourself up.
You may have noticed that on all max effort squat days we do not use boxes. On max effort days we try to come as close as possible to training as if we were at a meet. I have yet to squat on a box at a meet, therefore I do not sit on a box on max effort days. On training cycles 4,5 &6 we do not box squat on the speed workouts. When using the safety squat bar, the bar sits high up on the neck. As you sit on the box, no matter how carefully, the force of the weight as you come down on the box generates energy. This energy is transferred from the weight on your neck down through your body and into the box. Because the safety squat bar sits high on your neck, the energy is transferred in line with the spine. This is good. When doing box squats with a regular bar, the bar sits lower and everyone leans forward. As you come down onto the box, the energy that is being generated is going from the bar, through your spine, not inline with the spine, and into the box. I am not a rocket scientist or a medical doctor, but common sense tells me that this cannot be healthy for the spine over a long period of time.
Why six training cycles? Louie and Dave are always teaching short cycles. They recommend doing specific exercises for 1-3 weeks and then switching. We use the safety bar for three cycles and then switch to the regular bar for three cycles. I do two triceps workouts during each cycle. Therefore every two cycles I switch the band combinations. Six cycles allow me to do three mini-cycles with different band combinations. Over time, I have found that six 10 day cycles has proven to be very successful.
The second piece to the puzzle is the lifter. It is up to you in order for my program to be successful. Each time you workout, are you training to failure? On day 1 cycle 1, you are required to do at least 10 reps to failure. Once you reach ten reps, do you stop? Or do you continue to do reps until you are about to pass out? Training to failure when required to do so is the most important aspect of this program. These workouts are short and sweet, but for that short period of time you have to give it your all or you will not succeed.
The third piece to the puzzle is the gear. Some of you have e-mailed telling me how lucky we are to have Ron. Good news, Ron retired on Oct. 25 and is open for business. It is important that your gear be altered perfectly. I have been to many meets and it is my opinion that most lifters are getting 30 - 50 percent out of their gear. Most of you are wearing your gear too loose. No matter who you are or what program you are on, if your gear is not right you will only go so far. Yes, there are lifters out there who are putting up some great numbers with loose gear. But if they wear tighter gear their numbers would be even higher. If you think you need your gear altered, send me an e-mail and I will give you Ron's prices. They are much lower than Inzer or Titan. If you only need minor adjustments, open up the Yellow Pages and find someone that sews bridal gowns and prom dresses. Here is a good example of a bench shirt fitting perfectly. Blaine Rundle, my training partner, is about 5'11" and weighs about 230 and is 25 years old. On a good day he can bench 315 with a good bounce off the chest for two reps. He has benched 460 twice in meets with his open back denim. He is getting about 140 pounds out of his shirt. That's about average for lifters at the Body Factory.
Every month or so, I open up PLUSA and there is some new author that has lifted a phenomenal amount of weight and is now writing about how he did it. I have yet to read one of these articles where the subject of steroids is addressed. This may surprise you but steroids are used in all sports, including powerlifting. When I read these articles I always wonder if steroids played any part in that lifter's success. I meant what I said in my first article. You can be successful on my program drug free. I am drug free and will offer up urine or blood anytime if anyone has any doubts. Every Body Factory lifter will say the same thing. I am proud to write for Dave Tate, I am proud that my program is based on Westside's training methods and I am proud to be a member of the IPA. One of my goals as an author is to quiet the critics!