MATT HAWKINS'

WESTSIDE BARBELL WORKOUT

by Matt Hawkins

PART I | PART II | PART III

WESTSIDE BARBELL
WORKOUT OVERVIEW
This program is broken into four
main workouts and several auxiliary workouts. The four main
workouts are broken down into
two dedicated to the bench press
and two dedicated to the squat and deadlift. Each of these two
groups is broken down into
one day for speed and explosive work
and one for maximum effort three days after the speed / explosive
day. Both the
Dynamic and the Contrast methods are needed every
week in order to get strong. You can not make maximum gains with
one
and not the other.

Dynamic Method: To maintain

form the squat and bench press are performed on the speed /
explosive days. On these
speed / explosive or volume days (called
volume days because a lot of total volume is done, total volume =
weight x reps x
sets) you should use compensatory acceleration
when performing your box squats or bench presses on this day.
Compensatory acceleration simply means that the bar should
increase in speed through the up phase of each rep and the bar
should be at its fastest at the very top of the lift, just before
lockout. Light weights are used on this day (50% to 60% of
maximum effort) to maintain good bar speed (each set should be
completed in the same time it takes to complete one
maximum
effort competition lift). Also multiple sets with short rest
periods (under 1 min.) are used, all of this is known as the
dynamic method. The squats are performed on a box with a height
1" to 2" below parallel and are done for 10 to 12 sets
(8 to
10 sets if bands and / or chains are used) of 2 reps. The
bench is done for 8 to 10 sets of 3 reps, with no pause on the
chest.
Both of these workouts are discussed in detail on Friday
Morning for squats and Sunday Morning for bench (note these
workouts, where you are actually performing the competition
lifts, are placed on the weekend because this is where meets are
done).

Contrast Method: Usually

bands and / or chains and / or weight releasers are added to the
bar on the speed / explosive days
to offer varying resistance
(this is known as the contrast method because of the change in
resistance throughout the range of
motion of each repetition).
The advantage of bands and chains are they add resistance at the
top of the lift where it normally
gets easier due to mechanical
and leverage advantages forcing you to push hard through the
entire range of motion. This can
really build explosive strength.
When using chains you should have two lighter chains, one for
each end of the bar, that hang
from the bar and hold all the
other heavier chains. These heavier chains should be about 5' in
length. The heavy chains will
hang doubled over from the lighter
chain, which means they will hang down about 2.5' from the
lighter chain. For the squat
adjust the two lighter chains so
that only about three links of the heavy chains will be on the
floor at the top of the lift (i.e. most
of the heavy chain will
be on the ground at the bottom of the lift and only the light
chains will not be on the ground). For the
bench press adjust the
two light chains so that about half of the heavy chain is on the
ground at the top of the lift, this will
prevent the swinging
effect the chains can provide when completely off the ground and
again most of the heavy chain will be
on the ground at the bottom
of the lift. The only purpose of the light chains is to adjust
the height of the heavy chains. If you
have access to a monolift
(a special squat rack where you do not have to step back to take
the weight out) use it for your
Friday Morning squat workout
because it will save a lot of energy especially when using chains
because they will swing when
completely off the ground while you
are walking in and out with the weight. As you lift the bar you
start to pick the chain off the
floor and the weight gets heavier
and heavier where the lift normally gets easier forcing you to
work hard through the entire
range of motion. Some machines try
to duplicate this but chains allow you to do this with free
weights. Chains can be used or
added to many different exercises.
Bands are used like chains. They look like large heavy-duty
rubber bands and come in
different strengths (made by Up-Stretch
Inc.). They are place around the bar and the bottom of the squat
rack (you can place
a bench in your squat rack for benches). They
offer varied resistance like the chains but have a totally
different feel and also
make the bar less stable. Weight
releasers (as seen in PLUSA) are placed on the bar and adjusted
to fall off at the bottom of
the first rep. They allow you to
lower more weight for the first rep of each set, this is a good
for muscle growth. None of these
things (chains, bands, or weight
releasers) are limited to use on the dynamic days. They can be
used for many of the
exercises on the maximum effort days as well
as some of the assistance exercises to offer more variations.

Conjugate Method: Three

days (72 hours) after the speed explosive day the maximum effort
day is performed. On the
maximum effort day a main assistance
exercise is performed very heavy usually for a 2 weeks in a row
(known as a mini-
cycle) and is then rotated to a different
exercise for a new mini-cycle so that the body is always being
stressed in different
ways (this is known as the conjugate
method). The three main lifts are usually only done heavy at a
contest but many different
similar exercises are done very heavy
that will increase your performance at contest time. If you do
exercises that increase
your glut, hamstring, lower back and
abdominal strength without doing heavy squats your squats will go
up. All exercise
including all assistance work can and should be
rotated occasionally to prevent the body from adapting. The
exceptions are
reverse hyperextensions, which are too important
to ever leave out, and box squats on Friday and bench presses on
Sunday
which are always done but can be varied (i.e. different
grips, different stances, different height boxes, different type
of boxes,
with or without chains and / or bands and / or weight
releasers, and the use of different amounts of chain and / or
band and /
or weight releaser combinations). Another useful item
that can add some variety is a stability ball. The ball used is
like a large
beach ball but much more durable and can be used
with many of the exercises. By sitting or lying on the ball you
make the
exercise you are doing less stable and thus work on the
stabilizing aspect of the muscles. They are used a lot with
dumbbell
presses. If you have ever had trouble keeping a weight
under control the use of a ball will help. The key thing for
these days is
to experiment and find the exercises that work best
for you. Different exercises will work best for different people
and the
same exercises that work today will not always work in
the future. As your body adapts so must you're training.

Assistance Work: The four

main workouts (Friday Morning, Sunday Morning, Monday Morning,
and Wednesday Morning)
should always include the first exercise
listed (i.e. box squats on Friday Morning, bench on Sunday
Morning, primary squat /
deadlift assistance on Monday Morning,
and primary bench assistance on Wednesday Morning). Also each of
the four main
workouts should include a total of about 4 to 6
exercises including the main exercise for that day. You do not
and should not
do all the assistance exercises listed for a given
workout, work your individual weak areas, the exercises you are
weakest at,
the most often because you are only as strong as your
weakest link. For the bench press the triceps are very important
and
do 70% of the work for bench pressing so work them hard. For
the squat and deadlift glut, hamstring, lower back, and
abdominal
strength are the key muscle groups so work them hard as well so
you should always include reverse
hyperextensions every squat
workout (Friday Morning) and squat assistance workout (Monday
Morning). because they really
work the lower back, gluts, and
hamstrings. You do not have to follow the order the assistance
exercises are listed in, instead
you should work your weak areas
first after the main exercise for that day saving the exercises
that work your stronger muscle
groups for latter in the workout
however, the order listed will more or less be the best order to
use for most people. Rotate or
change to different assistance
exercises when you feel a particular exercise is no longer
working for you. By rotating in
different exercises you should be
doing over 20 different exercises in an eight-week period. When
picking the number of reps
and sets to do for a given exercise
pick what works best for you on that exercise. The number of sets
and reps listed for some
of the exercises are only there as a
guide but you can do as many or as few sets and reps as you feel
work best for you. For
some it may take 8 sets to work the upper
back where as another may be burnt-out after 3 sets. Try to
increase the weight
and / or the number of sets and / or reps you
use throughout the training year but do not be concerned about
counting your
reps, rather it is best to go by feel or to failure
depending on what you feel you need at that time. Trying to get a
predetermined number of reps may not push you hard enough or may
push you too far. When performing the exercises use
grips and
stances that makes the assistance work hard. The assistance work
is suppose to be hard where as the actual lifts
(i.e. squat,
bench, & deadlift) are supposed to be easy due to the use of
proper form. Also every time you come into the gym,
for each and
every assistance exercise you should try to break a record. If
you can not go up in weight try to do one more rep
or one more
set than you did last time. Every time you perform an exercise
you should be doing more weight, more reps, and
/ or more sets
than you have before. If you can not or you become mentally or
physically burnt out with a particular exercise
then rotate or
switch to a different exercise that will work similar muscle
groups in a different manner. Variety is the key to this
program.
If you know of other exercises or variations of the exercises
listed feel free to rotate them in.

Auxiliary Workouts: Do not

start with all the workouts in this program rather start with the
four main workouts (Friday
Morning, Sunday Morning, Monday
Morning, and Wednesday Morning) and slowly and steadily increase
your workload
throughout the training year. This is done by any
or all of the following: increase the weight, increase the sets,
increase the
reps, increase the number of exercises per workout,
increase the number of workouts, and / or decrease the rest time
between sets and exercises. If you are going to add any of the
extra workouts do so slowly and gradually and only if you feel
you need more work in a particular area. The auxiliary workouts
are treated as active rest days. These workouts use lighter
weights (usually about 60% of the weight of the weight used the
day before) and are done for fewer sets with less intensity.
The
main workouts do not have to be performed in the morning but if
you were doing more then one workout on a given day
the main
workout would be done before any auxiliary workout.

Time: The four main

workouts should take 70 minutes or less and the other auxiliary
workouts should take 15 minutes or less.
The main workouts would
be broken down as followed; about 15 min of warming up, 15 min of
the main lift and 20 to 40 min
of other assistance. Keep your
rest periods short, often 15 seconds rest between sets and never
more than 2 or 3 minutes.
Stretching for a few minutes after each
workout and on your off days is also important.

The Meet: There is no off

season with this training. The same routine is used the week of
the contest as well as twelve weeks
out from your next meet. If a
meet was on Saturday you would do all the normal workouts right
up to Wednesday but you may
back off slightly on the main
exercise (perhaps doing a rep max exercise rather than a max
single) and never leave out or skip
any of the assistance that
you would normally do (In fact you might want to pick up the
intensity, i.e. more sets, exercises,
weight, etc.). After the
meet you would be back in the gym on Sunday going at it with full
force. With time and experience you
will learn which mini-cycles
and assistance exercises work best for you right before a meet.
Also most of the members of
Westside Barbell try to do a meet
about every eight weeks. When you go to a meet you should know
all of your attempts
before hand. If your training has been going
well then perhaps make your second attempt about a 5 lb. meet
personal record
with your first attempt being something you can
confidently get even on a bad day and your third attempt should
be something
a little over your second attempt. Once you pick
your attempts stick to them, only change them if after your first
attempt you
do not feel as strong as you thought you would, it is
easy to get talked into trying more but it is better to get a
third attempt
with room to spare and come back and get more at
your next meet then take a weight well beyond your abilities and
not know
what you were capable of. Also be sure to take at least
one handler to the meet with you who has trained with you and
knows
how you lift and what you need to be reminded of as far as
your form and how to get and keep you focused on your lifts.
 PART I | PART II | PART III

BACK

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws