Anton Chigurh
12-25-2005, 01:01 AM
This thread got a lot longer than an I intended, so I thought I'd put a quick blurb here at the top of what it discusses:
1) A system better than WSB for powerlifting.
2) A system that lets you train at 100% intensity within the core-lift ROMs yearround with no adverse effects to the CNS.
3) A semi-detailed template of how this system works.
4) Why the system works and what advantages it has over standard WSB rhetoric.
Ok, here's the deal. I know WSB is a household name, and I know speaking out against their methods is sacreligious in many circles and can even incite fist-fights. But believe it or not, there is a much better way to train for powerlifting than WSB.
Background: I started powerlifting in 1997 as a shitty, skinny kid. By the end of the year I had a 200-ish bench, a high 300 pull, and a 200-ish squat using my coaches archaic 3 x 5 template (3 sets of 5 one day for bench, 3 x 5 two days later for squat, 3 x 5 two days later for deadlift). For the next few years, I was pretty much peaked out and had begun to lose interest in lifting due to the lack of progress the systems I tried were yielding.
In 2001, I had a 290-ish bench, a low 400 pull, and a low-300 squat. Instead of quitting, I decided to get pissed at myself for sheer lack of progress and really research the physiology behind training. That's when I discovered that the CNS, more than anything else, is responsible for greater strength (seems like a ridiculously simple statement now that I type it out, but at the time I thought what most amateur lifters though: more muscle = more strength). This is how I found WSB.
I followed their template religiously, and by the end of 2002 I had a 335 bench (benching was always my weak point, so progress is slow), a 505 pull, and a 455 squat. I was impressed with the numbers, but still not satisfied. I wondered by the WSB guys put so much emphasis on assistance movements that were lighter than the core lifts, why they used non-powerlifting lifts on maximal effort (ME) day, and whether operating outside the core ROMs was the best way to build strength within the core ROMs without developing bad quirks.
That's when I found Jim Parrish through a friend at a state meet. He explained to me that Jim was experimenting with different band tension levels, to which I immediately said "WSB's been doing that for years." Then my friend further explained that while WSB used bands for things like speed work and stretching, Jim was using them every single day on ME day. He used the bands in a rotation of combinations so that every day ME day he could bench, squat, or pull at 100% intensity without overtaxing the CNS, by tricking the CNS into thinking a totally different exercise was being performed (this happens because the strength curve of each band combination is radically different, and the CNS will only regress when taxed at about 90% or higher within the same strength curve for a few consecutive workouts).
For an explanation on the bands, check out www.westside-barbell.com
Also, Jim and his guys at Body Factory in PA doubled the bands rather than just looping them, producing not only much greater tension, but constant tension, even at chest level, in the hole, or on the floor. To me, this made a tremendous amount of sense. Even when the bar was idly resting on their chests, it was being pulled downward at a rate faster than gravity.
Furthermore, they used the bands in a much more aggressive nature, some days using only band weight on the bar to maximize the effects of the tension. This gave the Body Factory guys a huge advantage, in that their squats on ME day may only weight 500-600 pounds in the hole, but could possibly weight close to 1,500 pounds at lockout. This makes a 1K squat with freeweight feel like a joke (so I'm told).
They dubbed the system "Joe Average Powerlifting," since Jim is a complete regular guy with skinny arms and leg and not a spec of athletic ability.
The JA guys went on to eliminate most of the WSB assistance work, with great success. For example, I used to do dips religiously, but as my dips went up, my bench stayed the same. What's the point of this superficial "assistance work?" There isn't any. Scrap it. The only assistance work done on the JA program is close grip bench work with a band rotation, within a ROM ranging from chest level to 4 or 5 board press (depending on arm length). This legs you overload the lockout, use band tension, and operate within the normal bench ROM all at once. A far cry better than doing dumbbell overhead press, which is about as radically different from the bench ROM as you can get, and requries far less weight.
When I could do wide-stance good mornings with over 500 pounds for reps and close-stance good mornings with over 600 pounds for reps, my squat and DL were about 455 and 525, respectively. What's the point of getting monsterously strong at GMs if you can't do them at a meet and they're not benefiting your core lifts? There isn't any. Scrap them.
So, on to the template. I recommend a 2-week rotation for JA lfiters, even if you're currently on a 1-week WSB rotation (which is too much for "unassisted" lifters, in my opinion and experience).
Week 1:
Monday: dynamic effort (DE) squat day: freeweight squats x 10+ to failure, speedwork for squats, 8 sets of 2, no box, doubled bands for a total of about 65% of your max at lockout. Then walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: DE bench day: freeweight bench x 10+ to failure, speedwork for bench, 8 sets of 3 with doubled bands, 60% max at lockout, then walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: Tricep work: (band combination 1, 70% bar weight, 30% bands) close grip bench x 3-5 to failure, 2 board press (BP) x 3-5 to failure, 3BP x 3-5 to failure, 4BP x 3-5 to failure. Medium grip rack lockouts (MGLO) x 3-5 to failure. Pull-up rotation 1 (bodyweight or whatever lets you do 10+ reps) x 1 set to failure.
Weekend: rest
Week 2:
Monday: ME Squat/DL day: DL (band combination 1, 50% band weight, 50% bar weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Squat (band combination 1, 50% band weight, 50% bar weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: ME Bench day: (band combination 1, 50% bar weight, 50% band weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: same as last friday, but with band combination 2 (70% band weight, 30% bar weight), and add weight to pullups to make your failure set 6-8 reps.
Week 3:
Monday: DE squat day: freeweight squats x 8-10 to failure, speedwork for squats, 8 sets of 2, no box, doubled bands for a total of about 65% of your max at lockout. Then walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: DE bench day: freeweight bench x 8-10 to failure, speedwork for bench, 8 sets of 3 with doubled bands, 60% max at lockout, then walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: Tricep work: (band combination 3, 100% band weight) same as other tricep days, add weight to pull-ups to get your reps around 5.
Weekend: rest
Week 4:
Monday: ME Squat/DL day: DL (band combination 2, 30% band weight, 70% bar weight, DL is the only lift where the bands were in reverse, lowering the tension as the meet approaches) x 1-2 reps to failure. Squat (band combination 2, 70% band weight, 30% bar weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: ME Bench day: (band combination 2, 70% band weight, 30% bar weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: Back to band combination 1, same rep goals, add 5-10 pound to each set from last workout with combination 1. Same pull-up weight as week 1 to failure.
Weekend: rest
Week 5:
Monday: DE squat day: freeweight squats x 6-8 to failure, speedwork for squats, 8 sets of 2, no box, doubled bands for a total of about 65% of your max at lockout. Then walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: DE bench day: freeweight bench x 6-8 to failure, speedwork for bench, 8 sets of 3 with doubled bands, 60% max at lockout, then walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: Tricep work: Band combination 2, same rep goals, add 5-10 pounds to your last band combo 2 numbers, pull-ups in the 6-8 rep range.
Weekend: rest
Week 6:
Monday: ME Squat/DL day: DL (band combination 3, 15% band weight, 85% bar weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Squat (band combination 3, 100% band weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: ME Bench day: (band combination 3, 100% band weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: Back to band combination 3, same rep goals, add 5-10 pound to each set from last workout with combination 3. pull-ups 5 reps to failure with whatever weight you're using on this day.
Weekend: rest
Here, you've used each ME band combination once. Now you start the template over on your ME days ONLY. Everything else progresses in the same pattern. Your DE bench and squat days will continue adding a little weight while your reps decrease down to a 1RM peak over the 12-week cycle. For your ME stuff, you should be able to go back to band combinations 1, 2, and 3 and add 10-20, sometimes 50 pounds depending on how your body has reacted to the bands.
Hope this makes sense. It works beautifully, but you have to be very careful about following the template and keeping a log (if you don't keep a log, this program will not work for you, period).
This took me to a 377.5 bench, 655 squat, 600 deadlift in a little over a year, a gain of almost 350 pounds on my total. Hope it helps.
You can read more on this system at www.joeaveragepowerlifting.com
1) A system better than WSB for powerlifting.
2) A system that lets you train at 100% intensity within the core-lift ROMs yearround with no adverse effects to the CNS.
3) A semi-detailed template of how this system works.
4) Why the system works and what advantages it has over standard WSB rhetoric.
Ok, here's the deal. I know WSB is a household name, and I know speaking out against their methods is sacreligious in many circles and can even incite fist-fights. But believe it or not, there is a much better way to train for powerlifting than WSB.
Background: I started powerlifting in 1997 as a shitty, skinny kid. By the end of the year I had a 200-ish bench, a high 300 pull, and a 200-ish squat using my coaches archaic 3 x 5 template (3 sets of 5 one day for bench, 3 x 5 two days later for squat, 3 x 5 two days later for deadlift). For the next few years, I was pretty much peaked out and had begun to lose interest in lifting due to the lack of progress the systems I tried were yielding.
In 2001, I had a 290-ish bench, a low 400 pull, and a low-300 squat. Instead of quitting, I decided to get pissed at myself for sheer lack of progress and really research the physiology behind training. That's when I discovered that the CNS, more than anything else, is responsible for greater strength (seems like a ridiculously simple statement now that I type it out, but at the time I thought what most amateur lifters though: more muscle = more strength). This is how I found WSB.
I followed their template religiously, and by the end of 2002 I had a 335 bench (benching was always my weak point, so progress is slow), a 505 pull, and a 455 squat. I was impressed with the numbers, but still not satisfied. I wondered by the WSB guys put so much emphasis on assistance movements that were lighter than the core lifts, why they used non-powerlifting lifts on maximal effort (ME) day, and whether operating outside the core ROMs was the best way to build strength within the core ROMs without developing bad quirks.
That's when I found Jim Parrish through a friend at a state meet. He explained to me that Jim was experimenting with different band tension levels, to which I immediately said "WSB's been doing that for years." Then my friend further explained that while WSB used bands for things like speed work and stretching, Jim was using them every single day on ME day. He used the bands in a rotation of combinations so that every day ME day he could bench, squat, or pull at 100% intensity without overtaxing the CNS, by tricking the CNS into thinking a totally different exercise was being performed (this happens because the strength curve of each band combination is radically different, and the CNS will only regress when taxed at about 90% or higher within the same strength curve for a few consecutive workouts).
For an explanation on the bands, check out www.westside-barbell.com
Also, Jim and his guys at Body Factory in PA doubled the bands rather than just looping them, producing not only much greater tension, but constant tension, even at chest level, in the hole, or on the floor. To me, this made a tremendous amount of sense. Even when the bar was idly resting on their chests, it was being pulled downward at a rate faster than gravity.
Furthermore, they used the bands in a much more aggressive nature, some days using only band weight on the bar to maximize the effects of the tension. This gave the Body Factory guys a huge advantage, in that their squats on ME day may only weight 500-600 pounds in the hole, but could possibly weight close to 1,500 pounds at lockout. This makes a 1K squat with freeweight feel like a joke (so I'm told).
They dubbed the system "Joe Average Powerlifting," since Jim is a complete regular guy with skinny arms and leg and not a spec of athletic ability.
The JA guys went on to eliminate most of the WSB assistance work, with great success. For example, I used to do dips religiously, but as my dips went up, my bench stayed the same. What's the point of this superficial "assistance work?" There isn't any. Scrap it. The only assistance work done on the JA program is close grip bench work with a band rotation, within a ROM ranging from chest level to 4 or 5 board press (depending on arm length). This legs you overload the lockout, use band tension, and operate within the normal bench ROM all at once. A far cry better than doing dumbbell overhead press, which is about as radically different from the bench ROM as you can get, and requries far less weight.
When I could do wide-stance good mornings with over 500 pounds for reps and close-stance good mornings with over 600 pounds for reps, my squat and DL were about 455 and 525, respectively. What's the point of getting monsterously strong at GMs if you can't do them at a meet and they're not benefiting your core lifts? There isn't any. Scrap them.
So, on to the template. I recommend a 2-week rotation for JA lfiters, even if you're currently on a 1-week WSB rotation (which is too much for "unassisted" lifters, in my opinion and experience).
Week 1:
Monday: dynamic effort (DE) squat day: freeweight squats x 10+ to failure, speedwork for squats, 8 sets of 2, no box, doubled bands for a total of about 65% of your max at lockout. Then walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: DE bench day: freeweight bench x 10+ to failure, speedwork for bench, 8 sets of 3 with doubled bands, 60% max at lockout, then walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: Tricep work: (band combination 1, 70% bar weight, 30% bands) close grip bench x 3-5 to failure, 2 board press (BP) x 3-5 to failure, 3BP x 3-5 to failure, 4BP x 3-5 to failure. Medium grip rack lockouts (MGLO) x 3-5 to failure. Pull-up rotation 1 (bodyweight or whatever lets you do 10+ reps) x 1 set to failure.
Weekend: rest
Week 2:
Monday: ME Squat/DL day: DL (band combination 1, 50% band weight, 50% bar weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Squat (band combination 1, 50% band weight, 50% bar weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: ME Bench day: (band combination 1, 50% bar weight, 50% band weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: same as last friday, but with band combination 2 (70% band weight, 30% bar weight), and add weight to pullups to make your failure set 6-8 reps.
Week 3:
Monday: DE squat day: freeweight squats x 8-10 to failure, speedwork for squats, 8 sets of 2, no box, doubled bands for a total of about 65% of your max at lockout. Then walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: DE bench day: freeweight bench x 8-10 to failure, speedwork for bench, 8 sets of 3 with doubled bands, 60% max at lockout, then walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: Tricep work: (band combination 3, 100% band weight) same as other tricep days, add weight to pull-ups to get your reps around 5.
Weekend: rest
Week 4:
Monday: ME Squat/DL day: DL (band combination 2, 30% band weight, 70% bar weight, DL is the only lift where the bands were in reverse, lowering the tension as the meet approaches) x 1-2 reps to failure. Squat (band combination 2, 70% band weight, 30% bar weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: ME Bench day: (band combination 2, 70% band weight, 30% bar weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: Back to band combination 1, same rep goals, add 5-10 pound to each set from last workout with combination 1. Same pull-up weight as week 1 to failure.
Weekend: rest
Week 5:
Monday: DE squat day: freeweight squats x 6-8 to failure, speedwork for squats, 8 sets of 2, no box, doubled bands for a total of about 65% of your max at lockout. Then walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: DE bench day: freeweight bench x 6-8 to failure, speedwork for bench, 8 sets of 3 with doubled bands, 60% max at lockout, then walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: Tricep work: Band combination 2, same rep goals, add 5-10 pounds to your last band combo 2 numbers, pull-ups in the 6-8 rep range.
Weekend: rest
Week 6:
Monday: ME Squat/DL day: DL (band combination 3, 15% band weight, 85% bar weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Squat (band combination 3, 100% band weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: ME Bench day: (band combination 3, 100% band weight) x 1-2 reps to failure. Walk out of the gym.
Thursday: rest
Friday: Back to band combination 3, same rep goals, add 5-10 pound to each set from last workout with combination 3. pull-ups 5 reps to failure with whatever weight you're using on this day.
Weekend: rest
Here, you've used each ME band combination once. Now you start the template over on your ME days ONLY. Everything else progresses in the same pattern. Your DE bench and squat days will continue adding a little weight while your reps decrease down to a 1RM peak over the 12-week cycle. For your ME stuff, you should be able to go back to band combinations 1, 2, and 3 and add 10-20, sometimes 50 pounds depending on how your body has reacted to the bands.
Hope this makes sense. It works beautifully, but you have to be very careful about following the template and keeping a log (if you don't keep a log, this program will not work for you, period).
This took me to a 377.5 bench, 655 squat, 600 deadlift in a little over a year, a gain of almost 350 pounds on my total. Hope it helps.
You can read more on this system at www.joeaveragepowerlifting.com