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Illuminati
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felt compelled to post this article here. there is a lot of questions about training for strength lately. a lot of talk about core lifts (squat, deadlift, and bench.) this was written by Louie Simmons, the man behind WSB methodology. this should answer a lot of questions....
Foundational Training
As told to Powerlifting USA
by Louie Simmons
When I was a little boy, I remember building a club house. I worked very hard on the foundation and was ready to start the frame when my dog started barking and poking me with his nose to get my attention. I realized he was trying to tell me I had built the foundation on my neighbor’s property (he was a smart dog). Sure enough, my neighbor was looking out, her window laughing at me. Needless to say, I hated that girl, but she and my dog were right all that foundation work was wasted.
Years later, after talking to hundreds of lifters, I have discovered that many of them build their foundation in the wrong place as well, but here I am talking about lifting.
THE BENCH
These lifters read too many bodybuilding magazines and build their foundation for a big bench by doing countless chest exercises and biceps work. Just like me, they built their foundation in the wrong area.
By doing so much chest work, the body will automatically let the arms turn out prematurely in the bench press, thus placing all the stress on the pecs and taking the lats, which act as stabilizers, out of the bench press. This will cause soft tissue damage to the pec tie-in. Sound familiar? I have heard so-called experts say that the lats don’t aid in the bench press. It is apparent that these so called, well-read experts are not expert at bench pressing. One only has to look to see that the great bench presets all possess well developed lats. At Westside we instruct all lifters to lower the bar with the lats. The lats work as stabilizers to keep the bar in line. Lowering the bar with the lats primarily and the arms secondarily allows for an explosive start by contracting the triceps in the concentric phase. If a lifter lowers the bar with the arms alone, first the bar shakes, the elbows fly out to the sides, causing peck injuries, and perhaps worst of all the shoulders are rotated severely, causing rotator injuries, which are hard to get rid of. You may have been taught to press the bar over your face. This is incorrect. The bar should be pressed in a straight line. Why? First, it is the shortest distance between two points. Second, there is no shoulder rotation, which is much safer for the rotators and the pecs. How is this technique possible? You must build the right foundation. This requires an enormous amount of work for the triceps first, then delts, and finally lats. I have said before that there are many shoulder and pec injuries, but how many triceps injuries (from benching) have you heard of? There are very few because the triceps are never stressed as much as they could be. First, pick 3-5 triceps exercises: dumbbell extensions, straight bar attentions to the forehead, chin, and throat, and maybe J.M. presses. The bar extensions can be done with chains or Flex Bands. Basically, use one exercise until the triceps are exhausted. Then finish with some push-downs to hit the parts of the triceps missed by extensions. By rotating a different type of extension whenever it ceases to work, you can constantly make your triceps stronger year after year. After 3-6 weeks, you will have to switch to a different extension. Always try for bigger weights. Delts are trained the same. Front delt work with a bar, dumbbells, a cable, or a plate can be used. Again, push up the weight as well as the number of reps. You can do side delt raises with dumbbells standing or with a cable device and rear delt work while standing with a lat machine: merely pull a lat bar to the face or chest or to the top of the head. Dumbbell power cleans and inverted flys work great. Remember to switch to a different delt exercise for a particular delt angle, either front, side or rear, and switch again when it stops working.
This is the correct base, or foundation work that is needed for a huge bench. One final note: when your triceps become very strong, you should try to stretch the bar apart when pressing a weight. That’s what happens when a reverse grip is used. By doing this, the triceps are really put into action.
THE SQUAT/DEADLIFT
Almost every time a squat article is written, it concludes with assistance work for the legs such as leg press, leg extensions, and leg curls. With the exception of non-machine leg curls, the foundation work is all wrong. When you miss a squat, it is due to the lower back giving out. This was brought to my attention by Bill Starr in an article in MILO.
If you overdevelop the quads, you are very likely to go forward when squatting. This can cause two problems: (1) knee pain from over stretching the patella tendon: (2) difficulty breaking parallel. If you go forward, hypothetically your knees would touch the floor and your hip joint would still be above parallel.
As far as leg curls are concerned they are adequate but not nearly as effective as glute/ham raises. A leg curl will activate the lower insertion that that ties in behind the knee and then the knee and then the attachment that ties into the glute. Because squatting is a multi joint activity, the hamstring contracts and stretches while ascending and descending, respectively, at both the hip and knee. That is why the glute/ ham raise was developed. It is beneficial for both squatting and pulling. Kenny Patterson recently pulled a 650 deadlift, a 65-pound PR. It took only about 12 weeks of concentrated work on the gluts/ham raise. The Soviets used it for sprinting, and Fred Hatfield said it contributed to his 1000-pound squat. Matt Dimel used glute/ham raises, as well, for his 1010 squat.
So what is the correct foundational work for squatting? Hamstring work plays a large role, as stated above. We do as many different types of good mornings as possible. All work the hamstrings very hard with the exception of the seated variety. Of course, a good morning is a compound exercise that also works the spinal erectors and glutes, to a greater degree than squatting
Here are three of our favorite exercises for the hamstring. The Reverse Hyper machine is tremendous for the hamstrings. It outperforms the Romanian deadlift almost 2 to 1 on an EMG machine. Glute/ ham raises are great. Someone at Westside is always doing them. You have to be fairly strong to do one. Pull trough's are effective, where you use a low pulley machine with
a single crossover handle, face away from the machine, grasp the handle between the legs, and walk out a few feet; let the machine pull the handle between your legs and squat up and down. It will blow up your hamstrings. All three exercises work the glutes as well.
For the back: back raises, good mornings, reverse hyperextensions, and a variety of special squats (Safety Squat bar, Manta Ray, front squat) will greatly increase back strength. Many of these squats as well as good mornings can be done with chains, bands, or Weight Release devices. Using a Manta Ray, Safety Squat bar, or front squat harness changes the length between the lower back and the center of the bar, lengthening it, thus forcing the spinal erectors to be worked harder than ever.
Because most of the muscles that squat also dead lift, our max effort day for squatting and dead lifting is the same day. Thus, we always add lat work on this day. Lat work and shrugs are done next to last. For lat pull-downs, we switch bars and grips quite often, always hitting the lats from different angles. Rowing should be done as well. We do chest-supported rows most often, one-arm rows occasionally, and barbell rows sparingly. Barbell and dumbbell shrugs are done; these also assist the bench press.
We do a lot of dragging of sleds. This will build tremendous hip and glute strength. We drag 200 feet at a time, which constitutes a set. Do 6 sets with weight that does not cause you to lean forward too much. If possible, do them the day after squat and deadlift day; this is active rest, which works as restoration and also raises work capacity. Kneeling squats also build the hips very well.
When it comes to squatting and deadlifting, the abs play a tremendous role. Some at Westside work their abs every day. I don’t recommend crunches; they are mostly a waste. When you are squatting or deadlifting, your abs work while you are straightening your legs. That is why you should do lots of leg raises. Start with your legs bent and gradually work into straight-leg raises. Also do a lot of side bends; your obliques do most of the work because of how they attach to the hip and back. Static ab work is important too. Learn how to push out and hold the abs against the belt for the duration of a lift. For situps and leg raises, we often use chains and bands.
Zercher squats work the abs. Hold the bar in the crook of your arms with your hands against your chest. Squat while forcing out and expanding your abs.
If you are always worsted about your waistline, you are in the wrong sport. A strong waistline is big and powerful, like any other muscle group.
Remember, after a core exercise, such as a squat, bench, deadlift, or good morning, do 3 or 4 special exercises that pertain to that lift. By choosing correctly not only will you become stronger but your form will be far better.
Muscle groups such as the pecks, quads, biceps, and all other “showy”, muscles develop easily. It’s the hips, lower back, hamstrings, and glutes that no one seems to look at that do all the work. Pay most of the attention to the functional muscles and not the “showy” ones.
If you want to build a tremendous future, you have to build a solid foundation.
Foundational Training
As told to Powerlifting USA
by Louie Simmons
When I was a little boy, I remember building a club house. I worked very hard on the foundation and was ready to start the frame when my dog started barking and poking me with his nose to get my attention. I realized he was trying to tell me I had built the foundation on my neighbor’s property (he was a smart dog). Sure enough, my neighbor was looking out, her window laughing at me. Needless to say, I hated that girl, but she and my dog were right all that foundation work was wasted.
Years later, after talking to hundreds of lifters, I have discovered that many of them build their foundation in the wrong place as well, but here I am talking about lifting.
THE BENCH
These lifters read too many bodybuilding magazines and build their foundation for a big bench by doing countless chest exercises and biceps work. Just like me, they built their foundation in the wrong area.
By doing so much chest work, the body will automatically let the arms turn out prematurely in the bench press, thus placing all the stress on the pecs and taking the lats, which act as stabilizers, out of the bench press. This will cause soft tissue damage to the pec tie-in. Sound familiar? I have heard so-called experts say that the lats don’t aid in the bench press. It is apparent that these so called, well-read experts are not expert at bench pressing. One only has to look to see that the great bench presets all possess well developed lats. At Westside we instruct all lifters to lower the bar with the lats. The lats work as stabilizers to keep the bar in line. Lowering the bar with the lats primarily and the arms secondarily allows for an explosive start by contracting the triceps in the concentric phase. If a lifter lowers the bar with the arms alone, first the bar shakes, the elbows fly out to the sides, causing peck injuries, and perhaps worst of all the shoulders are rotated severely, causing rotator injuries, which are hard to get rid of. You may have been taught to press the bar over your face. This is incorrect. The bar should be pressed in a straight line. Why? First, it is the shortest distance between two points. Second, there is no shoulder rotation, which is much safer for the rotators and the pecs. How is this technique possible? You must build the right foundation. This requires an enormous amount of work for the triceps first, then delts, and finally lats. I have said before that there are many shoulder and pec injuries, but how many triceps injuries (from benching) have you heard of? There are very few because the triceps are never stressed as much as they could be. First, pick 3-5 triceps exercises: dumbbell extensions, straight bar attentions to the forehead, chin, and throat, and maybe J.M. presses. The bar extensions can be done with chains or Flex Bands. Basically, use one exercise until the triceps are exhausted. Then finish with some push-downs to hit the parts of the triceps missed by extensions. By rotating a different type of extension whenever it ceases to work, you can constantly make your triceps stronger year after year. After 3-6 weeks, you will have to switch to a different extension. Always try for bigger weights. Delts are trained the same. Front delt work with a bar, dumbbells, a cable, or a plate can be used. Again, push up the weight as well as the number of reps. You can do side delt raises with dumbbells standing or with a cable device and rear delt work while standing with a lat machine: merely pull a lat bar to the face or chest or to the top of the head. Dumbbell power cleans and inverted flys work great. Remember to switch to a different delt exercise for a particular delt angle, either front, side or rear, and switch again when it stops working.
This is the correct base, or foundation work that is needed for a huge bench. One final note: when your triceps become very strong, you should try to stretch the bar apart when pressing a weight. That’s what happens when a reverse grip is used. By doing this, the triceps are really put into action.
THE SQUAT/DEADLIFT
Almost every time a squat article is written, it concludes with assistance work for the legs such as leg press, leg extensions, and leg curls. With the exception of non-machine leg curls, the foundation work is all wrong. When you miss a squat, it is due to the lower back giving out. This was brought to my attention by Bill Starr in an article in MILO.
If you overdevelop the quads, you are very likely to go forward when squatting. This can cause two problems: (1) knee pain from over stretching the patella tendon: (2) difficulty breaking parallel. If you go forward, hypothetically your knees would touch the floor and your hip joint would still be above parallel.
As far as leg curls are concerned they are adequate but not nearly as effective as glute/ham raises. A leg curl will activate the lower insertion that that ties in behind the knee and then the knee and then the attachment that ties into the glute. Because squatting is a multi joint activity, the hamstring contracts and stretches while ascending and descending, respectively, at both the hip and knee. That is why the glute/ ham raise was developed. It is beneficial for both squatting and pulling. Kenny Patterson recently pulled a 650 deadlift, a 65-pound PR. It took only about 12 weeks of concentrated work on the gluts/ham raise. The Soviets used it for sprinting, and Fred Hatfield said it contributed to his 1000-pound squat. Matt Dimel used glute/ham raises, as well, for his 1010 squat.
So what is the correct foundational work for squatting? Hamstring work plays a large role, as stated above. We do as many different types of good mornings as possible. All work the hamstrings very hard with the exception of the seated variety. Of course, a good morning is a compound exercise that also works the spinal erectors and glutes, to a greater degree than squatting
Here are three of our favorite exercises for the hamstring. The Reverse Hyper machine is tremendous for the hamstrings. It outperforms the Romanian deadlift almost 2 to 1 on an EMG machine. Glute/ ham raises are great. Someone at Westside is always doing them. You have to be fairly strong to do one. Pull trough's are effective, where you use a low pulley machine with
a single crossover handle, face away from the machine, grasp the handle between the legs, and walk out a few feet; let the machine pull the handle between your legs and squat up and down. It will blow up your hamstrings. All three exercises work the glutes as well.
For the back: back raises, good mornings, reverse hyperextensions, and a variety of special squats (Safety Squat bar, Manta Ray, front squat) will greatly increase back strength. Many of these squats as well as good mornings can be done with chains, bands, or Weight Release devices. Using a Manta Ray, Safety Squat bar, or front squat harness changes the length between the lower back and the center of the bar, lengthening it, thus forcing the spinal erectors to be worked harder than ever.
Because most of the muscles that squat also dead lift, our max effort day for squatting and dead lifting is the same day. Thus, we always add lat work on this day. Lat work and shrugs are done next to last. For lat pull-downs, we switch bars and grips quite often, always hitting the lats from different angles. Rowing should be done as well. We do chest-supported rows most often, one-arm rows occasionally, and barbell rows sparingly. Barbell and dumbbell shrugs are done; these also assist the bench press.
We do a lot of dragging of sleds. This will build tremendous hip and glute strength. We drag 200 feet at a time, which constitutes a set. Do 6 sets with weight that does not cause you to lean forward too much. If possible, do them the day after squat and deadlift day; this is active rest, which works as restoration and also raises work capacity. Kneeling squats also build the hips very well.
When it comes to squatting and deadlifting, the abs play a tremendous role. Some at Westside work their abs every day. I don’t recommend crunches; they are mostly a waste. When you are squatting or deadlifting, your abs work while you are straightening your legs. That is why you should do lots of leg raises. Start with your legs bent and gradually work into straight-leg raises. Also do a lot of side bends; your obliques do most of the work because of how they attach to the hip and back. Static ab work is important too. Learn how to push out and hold the abs against the belt for the duration of a lift. For situps and leg raises, we often use chains and bands.
Zercher squats work the abs. Hold the bar in the crook of your arms with your hands against your chest. Squat while forcing out and expanding your abs.
If you are always worsted about your waistline, you are in the wrong sport. A strong waistline is big and powerful, like any other muscle group.
Remember, after a core exercise, such as a squat, bench, deadlift, or good morning, do 3 or 4 special exercises that pertain to that lift. By choosing correctly not only will you become stronger but your form will be far better.
Muscle groups such as the pecks, quads, biceps, and all other “showy”, muscles develop easily. It’s the hips, lower back, hamstrings, and glutes that no one seems to look at that do all the work. Pay most of the attention to the functional muscles and not the “showy” ones.
If you want to build a tremendous future, you have to build a solid foundation.
