Your first time doing west side? Gains?

[crew9]

i have been training with the westside methods since last spring(of 2002). 4 weeks after i started using the methods i lifted in a local high school lifting meet between football teams( i dont even really count this as a meet). my lifts there were...
squat 580 (it was high too, lol, judge was pulled from study hall, lol)
bench 335
deadlift 600
total 1515
and i weighed in at 380
all these lifts are with a belt only.

after this meet i started to bench with a group of lifter who trained at westside(for squat and deadlift, but bench at another gym becuase of travel) in august of that year i did a bench meet at the fair..

bench 500
weighed in at 400 lbs
wore a double denim shirt borrowed from a training partner

later that year in november i did the ipa nats...

squat 675
bench 505
deadlift 620
total 1800
i exceeded the limit of the scale at this meet, so i weighed more than 440 here. probably more like 455-465
this meet i wore the same bench shirt. double frantz squat briefs, and inzer(uggh) double champion squat suit, and knee wraps, and deadlifted in my breifs and a singlet.

after this meet i started to go down to westside on monday and fridays with the guys i bench with.

in april of this year i did another full meet...
squat 775
bench 510
deadlift 650
total 1935
again, i weighed more than the limit of the scale the meet director had, so more than 440.
this meet i wore the same breifs, but i wore a frantz double poly squat suit,knee wraps, the same bench shirt, and deadlifted in my squat suit this time.

a month ago i did a meet...
squat 865
bench 550
deadlift 685
total 2100
this time i weighed in at 430, i lost some weight since the last meet, and i felt alot better on the platform.
i wore the same exact equipment for squat and deadlift as the previous meet. for bench i wore a loose karins double denim.

so in a roughly a year and a have ive put on 50 lbs(fat and muscle, but mostly muscle, i wish i had pics to share of me back then) and added 585 lbs to my total. keep in mind though i do use powerlifting equipment so that will account for some of the gains between when i lifted raw, and started to use equipment. but if you look at what i equipment ive worn since i started using it, ive put 300 lbs on my total in less than a year, wearing essentially the same stuff, and while losing weight... and without steroids.

your goals are acheivable imho. but give yourself more than 9 weeks. this first 9 weeks is going to be the time when you learn how to use the program, how your respond to the training, and how much volume you can handle. essentially this first 9 weeks will be a big learning phase. once you learn the ins and outs and understand the basics of westside, your lifts will take off. trust me.

Those are some damn impressive numbers. One thing sticks out is how much you gained on squat and how little your deadlift change. Is your grip your weak point on deadlifts?

 

[Liftbig]

my grip is very strong, ive never had a problem with it. becuase im so big deadlifting is much harder for me. i have very large legs(38 inches or so).

think of it this way, when you deadlift it is best to have the bar as close to your body as possible. becuase my quads are so large this puts the bar farther away from me. itd be like the average person trying to do a deadlift with the bar a few inches away from their body. consequently my glutes half to be twice as strong to pull the same weight as someone with better leverages for the deadlit. i have noticed as i have lost weight my deadlift has gone up.

as for the squat i have great levereges for the squat. i also have noticed i dont have to do alot of work for my squat to go up, becuase of this, sometimes, i feel my squat gets bigger just by looking at a squat bar.

 

[ffknight84]

Do you want mass or strength? It might be easier to isolate and train one after the other.

Explosive strength, but any size gains are more than welcome

 

[cheesecake]

i feel my squat gets bigger just by looking at a squat bar.

That must be a terrible problem to have.
...chad...

 

[Liftbig]

its is, please pray for me.

 

[casualbb]

Explosive strength, but any size gains are more than welcome

Westside sounds like an appropriate routine then. You could definitely add 10 pounds in 9 weeks, but that's just going to be eating. Keep in mind that on the best mass routines people add 1 pound of muscle per week, so expect a large amount of that to be fat.

 

[ffknight84]

CBB- ye i know im bound to add some fat, thats why im being so stubborn about losing as much fat as possible before i start.

 

[Screwball]

My first training cycle using the Westdide techniques was a learning experience more than anything else. My goals were to learn the new movements I hadn't used before, learn how to use chains and bands effectively, condition my body to the Westside split and, most importantly, I wanted to define my weaknesses.

I made some decent gains but the real gains were realized when I put the Westside techniques to use over multiple training cycles. Westside is ever-changing because as you pin-point your weaknesses and attack them they become your strengths and new weak points are discovered. It's never stale and that is really important to keep interest and motivation high.

Good luck!