sumoman.co.cc

Bob Lipinski’s Bench Series

EditorialBob’s speciality is bench pressing and grip

strength. He’s benched over 600 lbs and closed the IronMind No. 3 gripper.He’s done a number of articles for

sumoman, so I've grouped them together.

Triceps (October 2002)When training for any kind of press, triceps

strength is very important. Strong triceps will make a better lockout and will also help maintain a more efficient groove for the lift. Pressing in a straight line is not only a shorter distance to lockout, but when the bar drifts over your face with your elbows out the stress on the shoulders is much greater, and shoulders tend to particularly be a problem area for heavy pressers even without extra stress.Some people take a minimalistic view

towards training, saying that only the exercise needed is the one you need to improve in - i.e. bench more to bench better, press more to press better, etc. While this approach will certainly provide gains, the triceps muscles cannot be trained to their potential by the compound lifts. Have your triceps ever felt worked as hard as possible by a set of overhead presses or bench presses? Mine haven't.If you want to improve your pressing power

by increasing your triceps strength, there are two main areas you should look at - you need to improve the strength of your triceps and the size of your triceps. While it is true that one tends to follow the other, breaking the training goals into separate components allows you to train for maximal strength without an overabundance of heavy work

that could potentially burn you out.First, let's look at triceps size. Despite the

current vogue of eschewing bodybuilding for "functional strength", the fact is that after a certain point, the only way to get a stronger muscle is to get a bigger muscle. The key to developing triceps size (or size anywhere) is a matter of total volume - weight×reps.Specifically, for pressing power you need

strength on the back of the arm. I could write a whole article on my favorite exercises, but to be short and sweet I'll say that any sort of over the head type extension, whether seated, lying, inclined or whatever would be your best bet. I prefer dumbbells, since I get enough barbell work from my other training.What kind of volume? I typically use 5×8-

12, usually once a week after other pressing work. I usually use a fixed weight for all my sets. The first week I use the exercise I select a weight that will be challenging, but that I can hit my intended rep target with. Over the next few weeks I strive to increase either my reps or weight in any or all of the sets. If you are not used to high volume training work up slowly, but my range would be a good one to shoot for. I rotate my exercises every 3-4 weeks to keep from burning out. Some of my favorite exercises for this work are:Tate PressesDB extensionsKip Triceps Extension: Using a bar set low

(around waist level or lower), do basically a freehand triceps extension using bodyweight as resistance. The lower the bar is set in the rack, or the more you scoot your feet back the harder the exercise is.For Tate presses I have worked up to

5×60×12, and for DB triceps extension I

1

EditorialTricepsWestside IWestside IIWestside IIILockoutFormSpeedEffort

112579101315

sumoman.co.cc

have worked up to 5×80×10.I have always done direct triceps work, and

I feel anyone regardless of their experience level would benefit from some degree of direct work.Now for strength. I separate my

"bodybuilding" workout from my strength workout by 3-4 days. For strength training I go heavy - 90%+. For my main heavy triceps work, I usually do 3 rep sets, usually starting out with 3-5 submaximal sets and gradually building up over 3-4 weeks to 1-2 near max 3 rep sets. Perhaps you can see why I separate my strength and size training - I couldn't get enough volume in at 90%+ to stimulate much hypertrophy without completely burning myself out.The key is heavy extension or partial

pressing type movements. I prefer board presses (bench presses with boards on your chest to limit the range of motion), JM presses all manner of narrow grip or partial presses. For pure triceps strength, I tend to prefer three 1.5" boards, a total thickness of 4.5 inches. I prefer to use a narrow grip, and occasionally switch things up by adding rubber band tension to the bar weight. I attach the boards to my chest with knee wraps, but anything elastic will work. I prefer if possible to have someone hold the boards on my chest for me. Board presses work better than rack presses because they seem to more accurately mimic the groove and feel of the bench press, and they are not as hard on the joints. Occasionally I will use rack presses as a substitute just for variety. The JM press is best described here.Around 3 sets of 1-3 reps each. Rotate

exercises every 2-4 weeks. A general rule is the more experienced you are and the heavier you go, rotate more frequently. Just to give some examples of what kind of weights I use, I have done 405 for an easy triple in the narrow grip 3 board press, and 345 for a triple in the JM press. I have also done 510 for a max single in the 3 board press with a regular grip. I almost always work outside of the power rack for my benching.Because I train for competitive powerlifting,

triceps emphasis is especially important because of bench shirts, which help the first part of the lift tremendously, with little or no help in the lockout. Before I do my heavy

triceps work I do my heavy bench press work, which is usually some sort of triceps-emphasized bench exercise about 75% of the time. Lifters who do not use bench shirts would still do well to follow the triceps routine I have outlined, but they would also benefit from heavy full range work.I hope this gives you a little insight on how

I train my triceps for increased pressing power. Good luck!

Westside Bench Press Training for Drug Free lifters Part I

(February 2003)By now, most people have heard of the

Westside Barbell training system. Westside Barbell Club is run and coached by Louie Simmons in Columbus, Ohio and has a reputation of turning out elite lifters using relatively unique training methods. In short, Westside training involves a speed day, where the lifter moves submaximal weights as fast as possible, and a max effort day, where a variation of the core lifts (bench press, squat, and deadlift) are taken to a 1 or 3 rep max, switching the exercises every 1-3 weeks.Many people have had trouble adapting

Westside training methods due to a variety of reasons. The Westside lifters use supportive powerlifting equipment, and tailor their training around the muscle strengths needed to do well in equipped lifting. Also, many members of the Westside Barbell Club admit to anabolic steroid use, which increases the workload they can handle. Despite these differences however, the methods used by Westside Barbell Club are utilized successfully by lifters of all types, including those who do not use supportive equipment, and also drug free lifters. In this article, I'll go through my experimentation with Westside methods for bench press training, and what I have learned along the way. When I first started Westside barbell

training, I had been already lifting for about 10 years in a pretty normal fashion for the most part. I had just broken a plateau on my bench press. Eager to try something different, I thought I would dabble in the Westside methods. I did the dynamic workout, which is 8 sets of 3 using 50-60% of your bench press maximum. On the max effort day, I

2

sumoman.co.cc

would do 2 sets of narrow grip bench presses, increasing the weight over a period time as in a traditional powerlifting peaking schedule. I was not sold on switching between different exercises and maxing out all the time. Here is a typical bench workout week for me back then, copied straight from my training logs:

Day 1

• Speed Bench: 7×230×3

• Singles: 275×1, 315×1, 315×1

• Wide Grip Bench: 275×6, 295×6, 305×6

• DB Shoulder Presses: 100×6,3

Day 2

• Narrow Bench: 285×10, 305×6

• Overhead Triceps Press: 170×8 / supersetted with Dips: 11 reps

• DB Curls: 60 pounds×8,6With training similar to this, my bench

skyrocketed. Within a few months I made a 35 pound PR, and within another few month I went up another 15 pounds. I was ecstatic, as my bench had only went up around 10 pounds the whole previous year. Although Westside training methods were

not the sole reason behind my improvements (I also gained 15 pounds bodyweight), I could tell the speed work was making my benches almost rocket off my chest. When I took a max, the lifts had an explosive quality to them, instead of slowly grinding to completion. Also, the use of narrow grip bench presses focused on my tris, which were at the time a relative weak point.I was intrigued by Westside methods, but I

wasn't hooked yet. I spend time trying out a variety of programs, and also experimenting with incorporating more Westside elements into my training. During this time I made mistakes with my Westside experimentation. I learned two important things:1. Do not go heavy in the bench press on

speed day. Occasionally I would do slightly heavier singles (see my log above). However, if I started taking those singles too heavy with the excuse that I needed the heavier work to practice heavy benching, I got burned out and my strength went down. Also, I would take the speed work too heavy, which hurt my strength. To put it

briefly, keep the speed work at 60% of a raw max (or 50% of equipped), and don't take your singles, if you choose to do them, over 80%.

2. You need to use the correct exercises. The first time I tried using 1 rep max movements every workout like the Westside crew, my actual bench press went down. This is because I chose the wrong movements. The narrow grip bench worked so well for me because it strengthened my weak triceps. Perhaps the toughest part of the program, and one of its greatest strengths, is picking the correct exercises to correct your specific weaknesses.

My bench press went up, but relatively slowly - 15 pounds over 2 years. I also started competing, registering 375 in my first competition, and getting 400 in my second. After a few months of cutting weight, I decided to take the plunge and get a bench shirt. My first shirt was a starter shirt, adding maybe 10 pounds to my lift at the most. Eventually, I got the most effective shirt I could legally compete in, and made a 40 pound gym PR.I decided at this point that I would give the

full Westside bench routine a try. After 2 months of concentrating on my weaknesses, I added another 30 pounds to my best gym bench. I made a 475 in competition, a big 70 pound PR. Perhaps the main difference is that I still included heavy overhead work, something Westside lifters typically do not do. What I did right this time however, was use the right max effort movements for my weak points, which in a bench shirt is the lockout. I also kept the speed day light, and resisted the temptation to lift too heavy. At this point, a typical bench press week looked like this:

Day 1

• Max Effort: Partial bench movements such as board presses up to a 1 rep max

• Heavy triceps work: 3-5×3-5

• Lat work

Day 2

• Speed Benching: 6×3, with rubber bands attached to the bar, occasionally 1-2 heavier singles

• Shoulder Presses: 2 sets

3

sumoman.co.cc

• Light Triceps work: 8-12×5

• Lat workAs you can see, I increased the volume of

triceps work. I also added rubber band tension to my speed benches, as advocated by Westside. This teaches you to push harder, since the tension on the rubber bands increases as you lift the bar. This also stresses the triceps, which again was important for a lifter using a bench shirt. I also learned another important lesson through mistakes:3. In a Westside template, you regulate the

volume you use with your assistance work. There is no need to cycle the max effort work or speed work in the traditional sense, i.e. decrease volume/increase weight over time. This is one of the advantages of Westside training compared to traditional periodization - you are pushing maximum (though not necessarily PR level) weight year round, so you stay closer to top strength levels.

In the last year, the main focus of my training has been steadily increasing the volume of work that I can do. Louie Simmons writes about extra workouts, but many people write them off as excesses of drug enhanced lifters. Done correctly however, increasing your volume will increase the amount of work you can handle without overtraining. I hesitate to write about this, as I don't think it is wise for beginning lifters to jump into an extreme workload without a solid base. When reading this information, consider that I have been training steadily for nearly 12 years.Within the last year, experimenting with

increasing the amount of work I do as well as spreading out what I do over more days, I have added another 25 pounds to my best competition bench. Although I do not take maxes without my bench shirt very often, my narrow grip bench is now 40 pounds more than I did with a regular grip (without a bench shirt) in my first competition. As of now, my weekly bench press training usually looks something like this:

Day 1

• Shoulder work (heavy presses far from competition, more isolation closer)

• Lat work

• Light triceps work

Day 3

• Max effort

• Heavy triceps work

Day 4

• Light/moderate DB bench work

• Lat work

• Light triceps work

Day 6

• Speed bench

• Lat work

• High volume triceps workThe key to increasing your training volume

is keeping your light work just that - light and relatively non-tasking. My light triceps work is pushdowns, usually 90-100 total reps, taking breaks as needed, though I can usually get 30 or more at a time relatively easily. My dumbbell benching is similarly light, at the heaviest 3 sets of ten, and often I go to sets of 20 when I feel beat up. These workouts are to help build muscle mass and promote recovery in lagging muscle groups, not to beat yourself up.Throughout my experiences with Westside

Barbell training, I have made great progress, but I have also made many mistakes. When reading the articles by Louie Simmons, I often thought to myself "This is so crazy, it doesn't make sense, how about I try it this way..." only to fail miserably.I don't intend this to be the final word on

Westside Barbell Club training, as I am hardly an expert. I hope some of you can learn from the mistakes I have made in my attempts to implement Westside training. To sum it up, the biggest mistakes I have made, and noticed other beginners to Westside training make are:1. Keep the speed bench light, and keep it

fast. Do not attempt heavy singles on this day to practice for maximum weights.

2. Make sure you pick the correct exercises for what you are trying to accomplish. Often this is a process of trial and error. Keep records, and try to see how improvements on different exercises correlate to your max bench.

4

sumoman.co.cc

3. Do not attempt to "periodize" your training by using different rep or set schemes on max effort and speed day. You will lose many of the benefits of this style of training.

Good luck! Next month I will outline my recommendations for a Westside-style bench routine in part II.

Westside Bench Press Training for Drug Free lifters Part II

(March 2003)Last month I wrote an article that detailed

my experiences with Westside Barbell training and the mistakes I made along the way. In this article I will outline my suggestions for implementing a Westside Barbell Bench Press routine for drug free lifters and lifters who use minimal or no supportive gear in their lifting.Although there are many other sources of

information for lifters who choose to use Westside barbell methods, most of these are written with the perspective of the steroid using lifter, or lifters who use large amounts of supportive gear, such as bench shirts that may take 700 pounds or more to touch the chest of the lifter. To take this into account training strategies must be somewhat different than what is commonly seen in Westside Barbell style routines.To begin with, I will outline the basic

Westside Template. This calls for two days of training the bench press, with 3 days in between:

Day 1

• Max effort

• Main assistance work

• Accessory work (2-3 exercises)

Day 2

• Dynamic effort

• Main assistance work

• Accessory work (2-3 exercises)

Max effort workThis is your heavy day. Work up to an

exercise that is like the bench press and works your weak points. Warm-up and then work in jumps to a one rep or three rep max. Always shoot for a PR, even though you may not always make one. After 1-3 weeks of

using the same exercise, switch up to another exercise. This is one of the main benefits of the Westside routine - by maxing out with heavy weights you stay strong all year round, unlike many standard periodization schemes where you work at low percentages for much of the time. You avoid burnout by changing the exercises frequently.As you get more advanced, the less time

you can stick with an exercise. I would recommend someone new to the program to stick with each max effort work for 3 weeks. After you get a couple cycles in, notice how many weeks in a row you can hit PRs in a given exercise. If you can only improve for 2 weeks in a row on a consistent basis, then go down to changing exercises every 2 weeks.Occasionally it is also good to break things

up with rep work. Every 6-8 weeks I like to get in a session or two with more reps, either higher rep work, or multiple sets of triples. Some exercises also seem to work better with reps than single lifts.Now for the hard part - choosing your

exercises. Unfortunately, this can only be done through trial and error. By keeping accurate records, you can find which exercises correlate best to improvements in your bench press. While this takes time, eventually it will give you a better feeling for exactly which muscle groups are holding back your bench press. Here is a list of movements I have found helpful, listed by which part of your bench press is weak:

The start of the lift

• DB bench for 5-20 reps

• Ultra wide bench press for 5-8 reps

• Narrow grip bench press

• Floor press (bench pressing on the floor), normal or narrow grip

The middle of the lift

• 2-3 board press (bench press with boards limiting the range of motion), normal or narrow grip

• Incline bench, normal or narrow grip

• Floor press, normal or narrow grip

The lockout

• 3-4 board press, normal or narrow grip

• Rack lockouts, normal or narrow gripThis is just a small sample of possible lifts.

5

sumoman.co.cc

For those of you who lift without a bench shirt, exercises from the first and second group should make up a vast majority of your work. For those using single ply bench shirts, you would choose more from the second and third groupings of exercises. As you may or may not know, a bench shirt provides a large boost off of the lifter's chest. Thus, extra lockout work will enable a lifter to get more out of the shirt.

Dynamic EffortThis is "speed day". The whole point is to

move the bar as fast as possible. 8 sets of 3 with 60% of your 1 rep max (50% if you use a bench press shirt). The key here again is speed, not weight. To make sure you are getting an accurate percentage (and to stay in practice!) take a max bench press on max effort day every 8-10 weeks. Do not pause these sets, but do not bounce them. Lower the weight quickly and press it up as fast as possible. If you are very motivated you can time your sets. I have found that, excluding unracking and re-racking the bar, the set should take around 2.5 seconds at the proper speed.Some of you may doubt the usefulness of

this work, but trust me, after a month or so of speed work you will notice how much faster and harder you can drive the heavy weights. The faster you move the weight the more momentum you have to help you through your sticking point, wherever it may be. Some of you may have heard of people

attaching chains or large rubber bands to the bar. This serves 2 purposes: First it compensates for the acceleration, so you are not jarring your elbows at the top of the lift. Also, it teaches your nervous system to push harder as the bar accelerates, making lockouts easier. As you might be able to guess, this is especially useful for lifters who use bench shirts.

Main Assistance workThis is basic strength work for important

muscle groups. While max effort exercises are often aimed at sections of the bench press ROM, the point of the assistance work is to bring up strength in important pressing muscle groups. Here you need to worry about triceps, shoulders and chest. Bench shirt users would worry most about the triceps work, while lifters who don't use a bench

shirt might focus more on chest/shoulder pressing exercises, depending on the form they use. I tend to switch these exercises every 2-4

weeks, depending on how I feel or how much progress I am making. Here are some examples:

Chest/Shoulders

• DB bench

• Wide grip bench for reps

Shoulders

• Overhead presses of all sorts

Triceps

• Skull crushers

• JM presses

• Narrow grip 3-4 board pressesAs you may have noticed, many exercises

that are used for max effort can be used for assistance. For assistance work I prefer to use 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps, perhaps 6-8 reps for the chest work. Remember; the focus of these exercises is to build strength in the important pressing muscles. Concentrate your focus on your weakest muscle groups. If you have read any Westside barbell material, they tend to steer away from shoulder pressing and DB benching. I believe however that shirtless lifters may need more work in these areas.

Accessory workThe whole point of this is to build muscle. It

is pretty much bodybuilding work. We've handled the heavy weights already, we've done our speed work - now the last part of moving big weights is getting big muscles. Remember; all things being equal bigger muscles are stronger muscles. This is where lat work comes in, as big lats can act as a launching pad to help the start of a bench press. Also included here is work for smaller muscles that may be lacking, such as rotator cuff work, forearm work and a small (yes, only a little bit!!!) of biceps work. Since we are thinking bodybuilding here, we want a little bit of volume. Think 3-5 sets of 8-12. I tend to switch up my exercises every 4-5 weeks. Here are some example exercises:

Chest

• DB press, flat or incline

Shoulders

6

sumoman.co.cc

• Laterals, front, side or bent over

Triceps

• Dumbbell extensions

• Pushdowns

Lats

• Chins

• Pulldowns

• Rows

Miscellaneous

• Grip work

• Rotator cuff work

• Hammer curlsNow, lets put this all together for a sample

week of training:

Day 1

• 2 board bench press to 1 rep max

• JM presses, 3 sets of 5

• Rows, 3 sets of 8-12

• DB bench, 3 sets of 8-12

Day 2

• Speed bench, 8 sets of 3

• Overhead press, 3 sets of 5

• Chin ups, 3 sets of 8-12

• Lying DB extensions, 3 sets of 8-12This would be a sample week of training.

Regarding the selection of exercises I would recommend lat work each day, and also heavy triceps work on one day, and accessory triceps work on another day. For the rest, hopefully with the help of my advice and through plenty of experience you can find what works best for you.

I hope this helps you implement a Westside Barbell style routine. Some of you may have noticed that my guidelines do not always follow exactly what the Westside lifters do. Through my experience I think that the lifters who do not use heavy duty bench press shirts may need to concentrate on other muscle groups. Good luck with your lifting!

Westside Bench Press Training for Drug Free lifters Part III

(April 2003)In parts one and two, I went through the

basics of how I would set up a Westside template. In this part, I will go through some of the details that will help show how to implement a Westside style routine into a yearly plan. Most of the following tips come from the writings of Louie Simmons and Dave Tate of Westside barbell club, distilled through my own training experiences. The first issue I would like to discuss is

adjusting your training volume and planning for meets. As I related in previous articles, resist the temptation to turn max effort or dynamic effort days into some sort of Western periodization style ramp up to a meet. Remember, some of the distinct advantages of Westside training come from the use of maximal weights and the development of speed year round. Compromising these elements will undermine your training. Instead, regulate volume and intensity through your assistance work. During times of planned recuperation and rest, lay off the weight and volume in your assistance work and cut down on the accessory work. When building up to a peak, gradually increase the amount and intensity of assistance work. When this happens, typically you will notice your max effort weights start to climb along with your assistance poundages. Before a meet, taper off your assistance work as needed. While this seems straightforward, I think it requires emphasis because there is a tendency among people new to Westside methods (and without good coaching) to try and periodize max effort day or speed day. This is a mistake.Another important thing to remember when

planning training cycles is to use your best exercises as a meet approaches. Use the exercises that work your weak points the hardest, or have the strongest correlation with your max bench. You want to hit your peak in your best max effort exercises and assistance moves when you want to be at your strongest. It will not help you as much to get better at your most beneficial max effort and assistance 8-10 weeks out, at that point it might not be wise to try them again before the meet.Remember, you may not be breaking PRs

year round on max effort day. Especially for drug free lifters, you cannot be your best on every day of the week, or every month of the

7

sumoman.co.cc

year. Planning downtime or periods of decreased volume are important for any drug free lifter, and that remains the same for this system of training. Stay consistent in the gym, and do not worry too much about bad days unless you see a consistent pattern of stagnation.The topic of volume also brings me to

another important area - work capacity. The more work you can do and recover from, the better your results will be. The old HIT paradigm that you need more recovery as you advance is way off. Sure, a hard, heavy set to failure can tax an advance lifter more than a beginner, but not all sets need be hard, heavy, or to failure. You increase work capacity by gradually increasing the amount of volume you can handle.As I have gone over a thousand times; don't

try to add extra volume by doing another max effort day, or more speed work. Do so through slight increases in assistance and accessory work, and also by increasing GPP, or general physical preparedness. GPP is the so called "extra workouts" of Westside training. These are light workouts which have a twofold purpose: Speed recovery by promoting blood flow to muscles, and to increase the amount of volume the muscles are capable of tolerating. The main guidelines for extra workouts is

that they need to brief and light - well under 60% of what you would use as a max effort. The key is to do these workouts for your weak muscle groups, and over a long period of time slowly increase the amount of work you do. For example, for my extra workouts, I do 100 reps sets of triceps pushdowns with rubber tubes, and 20-30 reps each of lateral and front raises, with no rest in between. I do my extra workouts 2 times a week for the most part, usually the day after ME DE day. For beginners I would recommend to take it

slow. The average lifter should get used to the regular Westside workout for a year or more before tinkering with extra workouts. Slowly add workouts or exercises, over the course of many months. I started out simply doing the tube pressdowns once a week; I got to the point where I am now over the course of a year and a half of training. When choosing your exercises for extra workouts, you can be creative; pounding sledge

hammers, throwing medicine balls, or calisthenics are just a few possible options. Just remember the principles involved, and that you are trying to aid in recovery, not tear yourself down even further.The next issue I would like to address is

form. For the bench press, many people advocate pushing the bar towards your face and rotating your elbows out as you lift. Louie Simmons advocated pushing the bar up and down in as straight a line as possible, with the elbows tucked in towards your body. I would have to agree with Mr. Simmons - there is less distance to travel, and there is much less strain on the pecs and shoulders. Also, this puts you in a mechanically more efficient position for lockout, something especially important for bench shirt users who get a big boost at the bottom of the lift.I have found that the best way to change

your form is through using standard Westside training. If you would like to change your form to the elbows in, straight bar path variety, I have 2 recommendations: First of all, strengthen your triceps. And when you think you are done, get them stronger. Not only do you want your triceps stronger, but you want them relatively stronger compared to your other muscle groups. The best way to do this is to concentrate your max effort, assistance and accessory movements on triceps work. Again, work up slowly to this concentrated triceps work if you are not used to it. The second recommendation is to stop benching. That is right, except for your speed work do no regular benching. This will fit just fine since the Westside program already calls for no heavy flat benching. This is important because the technique change is less a matter of teaching someone to keep their elbows in and push straight than it is strengthening the right muscle groups so that the appropriate bar path is found naturally. Once your triceps are your dominant pushing muscles, it only takes minimal concentration to stay on proper form. Regardless of whether you lift raw or with a shirt, I would recommend learning this style of benching as it will make for a stronger, safer lifting career in the long run.My final point is to remember to always

experiment. Now, I have told you throughout this series of articles to stick with the basic Westside template and do not deviate at all.

8

sumoman.co.cc

Yes, that is what I recommend for those learning the system. However, after a year or two of training with the Westside system you should experiment and try out new methods. This is how Louie Simmons constantly refines and changes his recommendations, and it will also help you out. I have also found out many interesting things that work better for me through trial and error, and interestingly enough I have seen that the same things have not panned out well for other people. After some experience with the system you will get a better feel for it, what it is trying to accomplish and hopefully with a little more reading you will figure out the reasons it is laid out a certain way. Learn from my mistakes - I was stubborn and tried to come up with my own "Westside spin-off" (a few times!) before I knew what I was doing, and I failed miserably most of the time. Only after following the generic program for awhile did I truly understand what I was doing, and then I modified and experimented with success.I hope this article cleared up a few more

points about Westside training, and helped you understand how to implement it into a long term plan. The Westside methods have helped me achieve things I never thought was possible in my lifting career, and I have Louie Simmons and Dave Tate to thank for all the articles they have put out to help me understand how to manage this style of training. I wrote this article to share my experiences and mistakes along the way with others so that they could have a straighter path to success than I did. For more information on Westside training, visit Elite Fitness, http://www.elitefts.com/.

Don't be a little girl! A program to improve your lockout (June

2003)I often make a trip out of town to train with

my buddy Steve. We compliment each other nicely; he is laid back and will often blow off a regular training day for something interesting like one handed thick bar barbell hammer curls, while I have a laser like focus which doesn't let little things, like overtraining or doing heavy reps 'til I cripple myself, stand in my way.It was bench day when I visited, as it always

is when I visit. After talking me out of trying a max deadlift on the spur of the moment, I thanked Steve for saving me a trip to the hospital and started into my bench workout. As usual Steve was having trouble driving the bar to lockout. He sure can blow the bar off his chest fast but when it comes to locking out, he just can't seem to get the job done."Dammit Bob," Steve said. "No matter what

I do I just can't seem to get my lockout strength going in the right direction.""Steve, that is because you have the tricep

strength of a little girl. You don't want to be a little girl, do you?" I replied. Steve shrank back and did a somewhat shameful triceps pose."C'mon Bob, I'm not that bad!" he whined. I

started to feel sorry for him. Just a little. "No Steve, not really. But still, your lockout

is a weakness, and we need to fix it."We headed off after the gym to get some

chicken wings and beer; our lockout conversation continued. "Really Steve, it is quite simple; lockout strength is a function of two things - triceps size and strength. You need to address both of these elements if you really want to improve. The biggest reason people have a tricep or lockout weakness is because they do not train their triceps with enough volume and with enough weight."Steve was getting interested and, despite

breaking out in a sweat from the spicy chicken wings, he was paying rapt attention. I outlined a 4-week triceps specialization program for him:

Monday

Narrow grip 3 board bench

• 3 sets week 1

• 5 sets week 2

• 7 sets week 3

• 3 sets week 4.

Friday

Speed bench

• 5 sets of 3 @ 60%, with bands that add 70 lbs to the top

Narrow grip 3 board bench

• 3 sets weeks 1-3, skip on week 4

Elbows out extensions

9

sumoman.co.cc

• 5 sets of 8-12I continued with some extra instructions.

"On Monday, pick a challenging weight. By week 4, your last set should be approaching the most you can handle for a triple. On Friday take the 3 boards relatively easy, using maybe 90-95% of the weight you handled on Monday. For the elbows out extension, challenge yourself. You should be approaching failure on the last couple sets after the first week. Since you are used to Westside Barbell techniques, you know how to do the speed bench - press as hard as you can for 3 reps. I know not everybody is into Westside training, but if their lockout is not too good, they may want to give the speed reps a try - not only will they help your lockout by increasing your bar speed off the chest, but the bands will really strengthen your triceps. Really, even guys who need overhead strength may benefit from this program. Remember, even though this is a bench lockout program, it will drastically improve your lockout for all of your pressing. My push press has gone up dramatically since starting serious lockout work. After doing this workout for 4 weeks, go back to your normal training for a couple of months, until you feel you need some serious lockout specialization again."I wiped the BBQ sauce off of my hands,

face and some stray splatters that had ended up in my hair. "All of the narrow grip board pressing will do wonders for your size and strength. The speed bench, although you do them already, needs a little more tension at the top. This will drive the bar past the sticking point and heavy weights will seem to float to the top. The elbows out extensions add a little more volume to help with growth and conditioning. Someone who is used to a fair amount of training, such as yourself, could even add in light pushdowns 2-3 days a week. I do 80-100 total reps, never really straining and pausing as necessary. This will help you recover after tough workouts and will also increase your work capacity."Steve cocked up one eye warily. "Now Bob,

this isn't going to be too much work is it? You can't keep training heavy and hard all year round...""No Steve," I interjected. "Of course,

someone who is used to less training volume

may wish to start with less sets than I am recommending for the board presses and extensions. Remember, use your head. If you don't have the training history to jump right into this, just do a few less sets of the 3 boards and dumbbell extensions. And of course, since this can be very demanding, you may want to back down on the volume for a week or two afterwards to recover.""What about any other pressing work?"

Steve asked."I manage to do overhead pressing and

some dumbbell benching, but I have built up to handle that type of volume over the years. Guys who are interested in improving their overhead lifts would probably want to include some sort of overhead work, though I would recommend that they keep it in the 8-12 rep range until they see how their shoulders take all the extra pressing. I would recommend those only interested in bench pressing to do some dumbbell benches in a similar rep range and save any serious shoulder work 'til after the 4 week program. All the pressing still works your shoulders, so it won't take much to get back to your previous overhead poundages, if you do them."Steve was excited. He was beet red,

sweating and out of breath. Hot wings tend to do that to him anyway, but I knew he was anxious to start his lockout program."I'll let you know how it works. I'm gonna

start right away! Dammit, I don't want to be a little girl any more!" he gasped after he caught his breath.I only hoped that after a few more beers he

would not start thinking about how to apply the newfound lockout strength he will gain to a bent press specialization program.

Bench Form (September 2003)Check out what you see on the bench the

next time you go to the gym. Besides the typical cheating techniques you'll see; bouncing, not going down all the way, the spotter helping, etc. You will also see some downright inefficient form. You'll see someone barely palm the bar and, before the rep even started they lift, their legs flop around and they push all the air out of their lungs.If you want to bench heavy weights the best

10

sumoman.co.cc

way to start is to learn proper form. Why? Two good reasons. First, good form is safer. Second, you can lift more weight. With that in mind, why the heck wouldn't you want to learn good form?In any discussion about bench press form,

the first thing to go over is the style of benching you prefer. There are different styles, which generally boil down to two distinct differences - elbows out and elbows in. The elbows out bencher typically touches higher on the chest and uses more pec and shoulder power to lock the weight out. The elbows in bencher focuses more on triceps power and tends to touch the chest well below the nipples.

I asked Bob how one would determine the best style of lifting and whether this would be different if the muscles weren't developed correctly. Bob noted that this would be an article in itself, for example the triceps could be trained to assist lockout and exercises like Kelso shrugs would train the lateral arch (discussed later).I prefer the elbows in form for two reasons.

First, I believe it is safer on the shoulder joints and pectoral muscles - relying on the triceps muscles lets you take some stress off these often injured sites. Secondly, the elbows in form will better maximize the use of a bench shirt by putting you in a better position at lockout to lift the big weights. For this article, I will discuss only the elbows in variation, since this is what I have the most experience with and it is what I think is more efficient. However, many very good lifters do choose to use the elbows out style. Regardless, many of the tips I go over in this article will be useful for whatever style of benching you prefer.

I noted here that Rickey Dale Crain almost tricep extended the weight up whilst Brooks Kubik promoted a shoving the elbows out style. Bob replied that he preferred the elbows in style and disagreed strongly with Kubik's whole methodology and style but he noted that the Metal Militia people tended to bench in the elbows out style and they were smart/good lifters. On viewing a number of top lifters videos I noticed that the degree of elbow in/out varied so perhaps it

is that there is a range from fully elbows in to fully elbows out.Good form in the bench starts well before

the lift does. First, there is the set-up. Here is where you get the firm base needed to lift heavy weights. First you lie down and grab the bar. Now, two important points here - where you want to grip the bar and how hard you grip the bar. Grip placement will be determined by many things. For a lifter in a bench shirt, I would say grip as wide as possible, because it means less distance. However, for the lifter not using a shirt, there are two factors to consider - triceps strength and pec/shoulder strength. The stronger you are in the triceps, the narrower you will want your grip and vice versa for stronger pecs. A good place to start is with your pinkies on the power ring, and experiment from there. Now for how hard you grip the bar - AS HARD AS YOU CAN! Very important! Squeeze the life out of it. The harder you squeeze the hands, the harder you will be able to contract the pressing muscles.

As I've never used a shirt I asked Bob how they work and he noted that some shirts pull the elbows up but all pull the arms across the centre. He felt that the elbows in style of bench maximised triceps leverage. I asked Bob whether one didn't in fact keep the wrist bent back when benching but he said the wrist should be straight so that the bar is straight over the wrist.The next thing I do is lift myself and

squeeze my shoulder blades together. This does two things - It immobilizes the shoulder joint to some degree, making the lift safer for the shoulder joint. Secondly, it can greatly reduce the distance you push the weight. Less distance = easier lift. This is what as known as the "lateral arch".

By lift Bob means lifting the upper body off the bench so as to shrug the shoulders - on setting back down they are 'pinned' into place. This pinning also stops the bencher finishing off with a sort of loose shoulder reverse shrug.The next thing I do may not be for everyone

- it is arching the lower back. The good thing is that it further reduces the distance the bar travels. The bad thing is that it could lead to back problems for some people. To achieve

11

sumoman.co.cc

this arch, while you are lying down push your chest up while scooting your legs to increase the bend in your back. Typically this will scoot you quite a bit towards the bar, so usually I will start my set-up 6 inches or more away from where I want to end up.

I asked Bob whether putting the feet back so as to achieve the big arch also engaged the back muscles in the lift, as well as putting the chest in line with the push. Bob agreed that these were contributory but felt that reducing the range of motion was the main reason. I also asked whether back problems from arching were due to the lifter having a dodgy back in the first place. Bob noted that this might be so (for example in his own case) but that his warning was a general caution based on the experiences of other benchers. Now, from this point keep the tension in

your legs. Again, the harder you contract other muscles, the harder you will press. Also, you can get a significant drive out of your legs out of the bottom of your press. For me, this happens just by staying tight in the lower body during the whole lift. By pressing with your legs tight against the bench, this will also pin your shoulder blades to the bench and preserve your lateral arch.

I asked about stance width and if this leg thrust automatically increased back arch to 'throw' the bar up. Bob sort of agreed about the back arch, though I got the general idea that he felt that increased muscular tension from the leg thrust was the reason. He agreed that if the butt came of the bench that the lifter should immediately take a wider stance.From this point, take a big breath of air and

push out with your abs. This does two things - it reduces how far the bar travels and by keeping tight everywhere increases pressing power.When you are ready to take the bar, make

sure your grip is tight and rock solid. You are ready for the lift-off. For your own lift-off, just lift up and steady the bar where you want it. If a spotter does it, do so with minimal commands so as to not lose any tightness from air escaping. Have the spotter follow you out to where you want the bar. I prefer to receive the bar in a straight line above from where I touch. I think receiving the bar too

far over the face wastes energy as you arc down to where you touch and also I believe to some degree this may lead you to press back over your face on the way up.

I noted here that Dougie Edmunds often asked strongman competitors to say ready which makes them lose their air pressure. Bob said that he would instead just nod his head rather than say "One, two, three, go".Now you are ready for the descent. Lower

the bar somewhere between the bottom of the pecs and the top of the abs. New IPF rules state that the bar cannot go below the xiphoid process, so IPF/USAPL lifters may wish to watch their bar placement accordingly.

I asked, "Is this IPF rule to prevent 'belly toss'?"Bob replied "No, actually it is supposed

to prevent extreme arching. Some females ended up with 1-2 inch bench strokes so they added a new directive."Now, if competing you need to learn to

pause. I touch the bar to the chest, supporting almost all the weight with muscles and not simply resting the bar on the chest. This is for two reasons - One, I think it makes the press easier due to less distance and because I believe you waste some energy trying to develop tension again if you relax too much. Secondly, in tight competitions you can get called for sinking the bar too far into the chest.

Bob of course means supporting the bar with muscle tension. I asked Bob about the bar sinking and he replied, "Sinking after the bar is motionless is heaving, and so is using the chest to help push the bar up. If judging is strict, the judges will interpret any sinking as heaving."When not doing singles for competition

purposes, or for rep sets, I merely gently touch the chest before I reverse direction.For the ascent, press up hard! Concentrate

on keeping the elbows in. For the most part, this seems to stop one of the bigger problems in this style of benching, which is having the bar go over towards your face. While some drifting towards the face may not be harmful, if it happens early in the lift or if it happens to a great degree, you could lose the lift. While bench shirts seem to make this more

12

sumoman.co.cc

of a problem, even some raw lifters (such as myself at one time) have had this problem. First I would concentrate on keeping elbows in, then if necessary consciously push the bar more towards your feet. Lock it out and you're done!

I asked Bob, "Is it a case that one need not have to concentrate on keeping the elbows in if the proper triceps to pec ratio strength is developed - in other words if the correct ratio is developed would the body assume the strongest position which would be elbows in.""Yeah, in theory. Some people have more

trouble because they might train in a format with little assistance, making most form improvements by just practising ala Pavel, Sheiko, 3×3, etc".Now, here is a quick list of pointers for

bench form. The more you practice, the more these things will become automatic. A good tip that was passed on to me is to take 2-3 of these things that you are having the most trouble on and concentrate hard on them during each lift. Sometimes trying to remember too many things will paralyse you with too much info and you'll wind up doing nothing. Keep 2-3 reminders in your head before each lift and you will have a manageable number. When some behaviours become automatic, move your emphasis to less practised or weaker areas. Now, here is the list:

Set Up1. Grip the bar HARD 2. Lay back and squeeze your shoulder

blades together 3. Scoot into your arch 4. Stay tight in the legs 5. Belly full of air, abs pushed out 6. Receive the bar straight above where

you touch

Lift1. Don't sink the bar into your chest 2. Elbows in 3. Push the bar straight up I hope this article gives you some insights

on how to improve your bench form. Good luck!

Speed Training for the Bench Press (April 2004)

When trying to improve your pressing, the two obvious things to do are to increase your strength and perfect your form. One thing that can help quite a bit, but is often neglected, is improving your speed.Now, the obvious question is, "How will

making me faster make me lift more?" If you are way too into HIT, stop here, otherwise I will explain. First, training slow makes you slow. I'm not talking about any superslow stuff here, but any heavy lifting, which by nature is slow compared to how fast you move unweighted, will slow down how fast your muscles can improve force to some degree. Now, for the beginner who doubles their strength this may not matter, but for the intermediate to advanced guy trying to pull every last bit out of their training, eventually this will catch up to you. However, you can train your muscles to produce force faster. In other words, the rate at which your muscles develop force is a property that is separate from strength, and is trainable on its own merits.Okay, forget the mumbo jumbo crap. In

plain English, improving your lifting speed helps for 2 main reasons. First of all, it teaches you how to push as hard as you can every time you touch the bar. All the 8-12, 80%ish stuff teaches you it is okay to loaf for the first few reps. If you are after a max lift, you have to be ready to push as hard as you can right from the start. Now, the second reason training speed helps is because it can blast you through sticking points. A weak midrange or lockout on the bench press isn't as big a deal when you rocket the bar off your chest fast enough to complete the lift.All right, that is the "why". Now here is the

"how".First of all, I am assuming you've got some

training under your belt here. I think that while speed training may benefit beginners, it simply isn't worth the effort - why get all fancy when all you need is a few hard sets to get bigger and stronger? Also, it helps to be in good shape when you are throwing weights around, as it can be quite stressful on the body.

Starting out

13

sumoman.co.cc

Let's start with the basics. For someone who is just getting into this stuff, I would recommend the basics, as advocated by Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell Club. 6-8 set of 3 reps, with 60% of a raw (no shirt) bench press. I unrack the weight, lower it as fast as possible, then try to "catch" the weight by reversing the direction as quickly as possible (but not bouncing it off the chest!!!) and getting it to lockout as fast as possible. With no pause at the top, I do the next two reps and then re-rack. Now, among lifters I have talked with, some have different preferences. Some prefer to pause the bar at the chest, then explode up. If you are in the mood to experiment, try it both ways and see what you prefer.

Getting Trickier

The next thing to do is to add bands. For those familiar with Westside Barbell Club training, you know what I mean. For others, they are rubber bands which are attached to the barbell in order to give you elastic resistance. For purchasing bands, try http://elitefitnesssystems.com. While there are countless ways to set up the bands, I prefer to wrap them around dumbbells underneath each end of the bar.

Band SetupsFor all lifters, I would recommend

starting with doubled minibands. These add roughly 30 pounds to the bottom, and 60 pounds to the top of the lift. I always include bottom tension when calculating %, i.e. for a 300 raw bencher, you would use 150 bar weight for minibands, for a total of 180 pounds (60%) at the bottom. I also reduce the number of sets when using bands, from 6-8 to more like 5-6, because bands are harder on the body. For shirted lifters, I prefer to use

medium bands double choked around a dumbbell (by "choking" I mean tying the band around the dumbbell - double choked is tied around twice on each side), which provide around 60-70 pounds of resistance at the top, and none until a little above the chest. I believe the higher tension differential better mimics

14

Single Light Tube Double Choked

This is a single 700-mm touring tube, you can see its wrapped twice around the dumbbell bar.

Triple Heavy Tube Single Choked

This is three 26" mountain bike tubes, wrapped once around the dumbbell rod.

Light Doubled Tube

This is a single 700-mm touring tube stretched so that it doubles around the bar - this stretching and doubling dramatically increases the tension.

Tubes for Free

Instead of using bands I use old bicycle tubes from the bicycle shop, they normally just throw them away. A bicycle tube is like a pipe joined end to end. This join is a weak link so I cut it out along with the valve and tie the ends together. The amount of tension that can be derived depends on the type of tube, the number of tubes and how much they are stretched. For example the Single Light Tube Double Choked provides 7 kg at the bottom and 16 kg at the top of my Bench Press. Whilst the Triple Heavy Tube Single Choked provides 38 kg at the bottom and 84 kg at the top of my Box Squat on a 450 mm box. I measure the tension using a simple spring scale.

sumoman.co.cc

the large boost that a lifter will get out of a shirt.Bands do two things - they serve to prevent

the jarring of the joints at the top of the lift and they also "teach" you to press the bar faster. This effect is easily demonstrated by doing a bandless rep after some sets with bands - the bar seems to almost want to float to the top of the lift.

Advanced techniquesOne interesting thing I have been doing is

regulating speed bench weight by timing my sets. Westside barbell likes to use 3 seconds as a guideline, counting unracking and re-racking the bar. I believe this can lead to sloppy set-up and therefore lift performance, so my goal is 2.5 seconds, not counting the unracking or re-racking of the bar. While this may seem unbearably anal, timing your bench sets gives you a better idea of how you are doing than "gosh that felt fast". Timing the speed work also gives you a better idea of how much weight to use (too slow = too much weight and vice versa) and to me it offers immediate feedback, making the work more "fun".Another thing I have been experimenting

with is cycling band tension. Over a 5-week period, I go from my regular band tension set-up, to a set-up where the weight at the top of the lift is 90% of my 1 rep max. I have found that when I go back to my regular speed work, I am much faster, even though the bar is moving relatively slow the last week or two of the cycle. For the advanced lifter, or one with 2 years or so of speed training under their belt, I would consider experimenting with tension cycling a couple of times a year.

Other ApplicationsWhile I have outlined speed work for the

bench press in detail, Westside barbell has used speed work to improve the squat and deadlift; also many strongman competitors have used speed work to improve their overhead press. In my experience, speed for the bench press has dramatically improved my speed in all pressing.While not all lifters have benefited from

incorporating these techniques into their training, many have. For me, speed work made a dramatic and immediate increase in my pressing strength and speed. I hope you

have similar success.

Training and Effort (August 2004)

It was a typical training day in Midland. I was on my 4th set of tricep extensions and I was getting psyched up. I was gonna tear those damn things apart!"Hell yeah!" I said to my self."What the fuck are you doing?" said Steve."I'm getting ready for my set!" "It's only Tate presses you retard, calm

down."Since I rarely made a habit of listening to

Steve, I went and tried to kill myself on the next set.Fast forward another few days. We were

doing box squats for max effort. I was feeling strong and, despite being a relative gimp, I pushed out a decent max. Steve tied me and tried 10 pounds more. He got stapled. This was very strange, since Steve has always been a natural squatter. After I rubbed in the fact that I would soon beat him on all three powerlifts, I decided to encourage him on for another."C'mon Steve, put some effort into your

training for once! Shit, most of the time it looks like you are half asleep under the bar!"At once, I saw Steve start to concentrate a

little - just like a lightswitch, he 'turned it on'. He got the lift and added another 20 pounds for an even easier lift."Despite your midget legs, I won't let you

out squat me!"Of course I tried to beat him, but failed

miserably. Steve was still the Squat King of the Midland Community Center.Over the weekend we went out for way too

many drinks, as usual. I was complaining about pre-competition burnout. Looking deep in thought, Steve said,"You know, Mike Mentzer had it all

wrong.""Hell yeah!" I said. "There is no way you're

gonna sell any oranges while naked AND jacked up on amphetamines.""No, not that. I mean about going on with

each set like your life was on the line. I think half the reason that some of the HIT crowd can only train every 10 days is that they get

15

sumoman.co.cc

mentally burned out, almost sorta like frying the nervous system. You gotta ration that kind of effort and use it when it will do the most good. I can tell you used to be an HIT guy Bob - you put way too much effort into everything. Sure it is nice to bust your ass on the main lift of the day, but not on the goofy bodybuilding stuff you do. Relax, let the volume take care of the work. You've been doing this for years, you can tell if you are working hard enough. So what if you don't get a PR? You've been lifting over 10 years, get that HIT mentality of beating a PR every session out of your head, cause it doesn't happen in the real world.""That's true," I said. "I think leading up to a

bench contest, I should ration and regulate effort just like I do volume. Far out from a contest, when I am pushing the volume to increase size and work capacity, I should probably keep the psyching up to a minimum. Maybe one lift a week really put my all into it, if that.""Exactly," Steve went on. "And then as a

contest approaches pick and choose the important lifts that you really need to get. Put your full effort into lifts that might bring up your confidence, or lifts that most directly correlate with your max bench. But be careful - cut that crazy shit out maybe two weeks from the contest. Half of being well rested isn't just what is going on in the muscles, but what is going on in your head and nervous system. The last 7-14 days is the time to recharge. No sense breaking PRs at this point, 'cos if you aren't strong enough by now you're out of luck.""Yeah Steve, but remember - you have to

put in the effort at least sometimes! I don't think you can get the best results by coasting through all of your training.""Bob, I know. I could probably benefit from

increasing my 'mental intensity' every once in a while. Also, if I was training someone new to lifting, I'd want them to bust their ass a little more. I think it is important to push your limits regularly when you start for two reasons - first of all you need to learn what hard work really is and secondly the new lifter isn't gonna be able to burn themselves out as easily or have trouble busting out PRs on a regular basis."We drank more and talked about the time

The Monkey Man almost stole a gripper from Steve. The night went by, but the conversation about effort stuck with me.Now when I train I 'ration' my effort. While

I always train on, I don't really get psyched up unless I am hitting my core lifts during a heavy pre-comp session, or if I am feeling good and shooting for a PR which is important to me. The days of psyching up for the 3rd set of triceps extensions, or my 5th set of chin-ups is over.While this is a very subtle distinction I think

that being more careful with my effort has saved me from burnout, ESPECIALLY when preparing for a contest. Also, I think it has given me a lot less anxiety about my training - the mindset of killing yourself every workout to get a PR can be depressing when you fail. When you train long enough you will have bad days and sometimes you'll barely be within 2-3 reps or 20-40 pounds of your best PR.The point of this article isn't to take your

training easy. On the contrary, you don't have to psyche yourself up to the point of insanity to get some incredible pain in high rep stuff. And this isn't necessarily a diatribe against training to failure - I have gone to failure many times, gotten pissed off at how bad I did and beat the next set by 1-2 reps 'cos I really, really wanted to. The point is just to remember to ration your effort, 'cos just like overtraining from too much volume you can burn yourself out from using too much mental intensity.

16

sumoman.co.cc