Help with my Westside Program

[Alcoholday]

Well, i'm going to do another 5 weeks of Pendulum, but i thought i'd start working out the kinks of a westside program now, so i'd be ready. I used the 8 keys as a guide, so hopefully, i didn't stray too far off base.

I need help determining the exercises for the DE Lower body. I want to use box squats, but I haven't done them before. I also don't have a box to squat on. Is it safe to make one, Or what? Any ideas on making adjustable ones?

Also, is there any trouble doing the same setup for 3 weeks? After that, I would change it.

From what I can tell, my weak areas are my shoulders, and my hamstrings. When benching, I believe I get stuck about half way up, but I will have to check to be exact. I believe sled dragging will really bring up the strength of my hams.

Is there a big difference in using 8 or 10 reps for some of the exercises?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!


Week 1-3

Day 1 (ME Lower)
A) Good Mornings (3 reps until you can't do anymore, then drop to 1)
B) Sled Dragging (3-5 sets of 20 steps)
C) Lunges (4x10)
D) Cable Crunch (4x10)

Day 2 (ME Upper)
A) Board Press (I need to determine the sticking point in my bench)
B) Seated DB Shoulder Press (3*8)
C) Decline nosebreaker (3*10)
D) Pushdown (3*10)

Day 4 (DE Lower)
A) Box Squats (1" below parallel, then lower it an inch each phase, if I can) (10x2, 50% 1RM, 60 sec rest)
B) 1 leg squats (4x10)
C) Seated Rows (4x6)
D) Sled Dragging (3 sets of 20 steps)


Day 5 (DE Upper)
A) Bench Press (10x2) (60% 1RM, 3 sets close, 3 sets medium, 4 sets wide grip)
B) Close Grip Pushups (3x8)
C) Seated DB Shoulder Press (3x8)
D) Leg Raises (4x10)


Thanks for your help, guys!

[Bill Hartman]

I'd build your own boxes. Here's some recommendations from an old forum:

Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 11:36:26 -0500
From: "Joe"
Subject: RE: Re: Box squat boxes

Tagg:

I built my box out of 1"X 6"'s, 2"X 6"'s, and 3" brass drywall screws. I
cut the 2"X'S and 1"X's in 14" lengths and then stacked them two side by
side and then cross grain until the were the right height. I then screwed
them together using the drywall screws. The stands are solid and don't
shift and I can feel comfortable in knowing they won't collapse. A little
labor intensive though.

JoeL

Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 12:17:21 -0400
From: "Feairheller, Philip"
Subject: RE: Box squat boxes

Hi Tagg-

I just recently took Mitch Armentrout(I think) advice and made my self 6
boxes that worked out great and cost a mere $35. Cut 18 inch square pieces
of 1/2 inch plywood, and attach 18 inch long pieces of 2x4 to the plywood,
in alternating directions as needed for height. I made two 1 inch boxes (2
pieces of plywood), two 2 inch boxes (1 plywood, 1 layer of 3 2x4s), a 4
inch box (plywood, 2 layers of 3 2x4s and another plywood) and an 8 inch box
(plywood, 5 layers of 3 2x4s and another plywood). They are light enough,
strong as heck and I can make heights from 1 inch up to 16 inches in 1 inch
increments. I made two 1 and 2 inch boxes so I could use them for deads off
blocks. To make this work, you have to attach the 2x4 pieces laying flat
along the 4 inch side, not up on the 2 inch side. That allows for the
different heights as well as makes them very sturdy.

I have one hint from my own experience: Buy your wood at a Home Depot or
Lowes and make use of the wook cutting service. I bought 4 12 foot 2x4s and
took home 32 18 inch pieces (no extra cost), it saved me hours of cutting
and clean up!

Take Care
-Philip S. Feairheller
West Chester, PA

Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 12:37:34 -0700
From: "Doug Schurman"
Subject: RE: Box squat boxes

Tagg
I made some new boxes about a month ago that are working very well. My
previous boxes were made with plywood outsides and 2x4's lining the
inside joints for added strength. Each of the three dimensions were
different to get a variety of box sizes. The worked okay but I had a new
idea.

I decided to make my width and length of all boxes 18" by 18" for
greater
surface area. Then I build an 8", 4", 3", 2" and 1" high box. For each
box I
use 18" 2x4's stacked in opposite directions for layers. For the 8" high
box
I used 15 (5 layers of 3) 2x4's 18" long stacked on their 1 1/2" side
and
added a 1/2" piece of plywood on top to make 8". See the diagram below
for
stacking:

18" width
_____________
| | |
| | |
|______|______| 18" length
| | |
| | |
|______|______|

I assembled them with 2 1/2 wood screws. Each box is relatively light
and
they stack well on top of each other to get you boxes from 8" to 18" in
1"
increments. Also since each layer is stacked they have built in
handholds
for easy carrying. Total cost for all 5 boxes was $40 and assembly was
much
easier than the previous boxes I built.

Doug Schurman, CSCS
Seattle, WA
www.BodyResults.com
Doug@BodyResults.com


Also, if you're serious about your hamstring strength consider using sled drags more for restorative/work capacity needs. There's no eccentric load with sled drags so the gains in strength will be significantly less. Try hypers or reverse hypers, RDLs, or glut-ham raises.

Bill

[Alcoholday]

Thanks for the post Bill, it was VERY informative. I plan on making those boxes within the next few weeks.

I'm also making a sled out of an old tire. I got the link from someone, i think off the t-mag forums. You take a tire, put plywood on the inside, and then pour 2 bags of cement in it. Weighs a hundred and something pounds.

I will switch up the sled dragging as GPP work instead of part of the actual exercises. I work out at home, so i don't have access to a GHR machine. I actually don't even know how to do them. Whenever I try to download a video of them, my stupid realplayer won't play it.

[kuri]

Be sure to not load too heavy on the Bx squats when starting out - its tougher than I realized when 1st doing them & made that mistake.

Once you get the hang of it that is a fun movement! really an ass-kicker (literally).

Hows the pendulum going?

I'm on the 2nd go thru, back to strucutural 1 and looking forward to functional. 1 is just alot to handle when life intrudes. damn life. Am getting stronger though- bench and squat are up slightly.

[Alcoholday]

Yeah, i'll go light on the box squats to get the movement down. I think i'll enjoy them once i get the hang of it.

Pendulum is going great. I loved the functional phases. I lifted heavier in those then i thought i could.

I'm in week 5 my first time around. I plan on doing it for another 5 weeks, then taking a rest, and starting WS.

I have gotten the impression that pendulum is alot like WS, but WS kicks more ass.

[kuri]

WS kicks more ass if your looking to train for powerlifting, certainly.
CT also has a Pendulum for powerlifters article on T-mag (bout a month ago) you might wanna check.

I've mixed in some session with Oly lifts into the pendulum program, mostly in Structural 2 and functional wks, just because I'm looking for benefits for activities I do.

Coach Davies has a point that so many train to lift instead of actually doing something and using the gym to supplement or increase performance in that sport of activity. Not to dis powerlifting at all - great sport, and athletes do improve by using some methodology as Bill and others have mentioned.

Where am I going with this?... not sure but let us know how you feel and what happens with your results after starting Westside.

We could share some thoughts on possible ways to utilize both "systems" perhaps.

[Q.]

Just don't make the mistake that I made... when doing box squats, don't release your back when you're seated. I did that briefly once (got sloppy) and shifted slightly... OUCH! Another injury that screwed with my workouts for quite a while.

I didn't learn how to squat correctly (in my self-assessed opinion) until I started doing box squats so I think they are great if for nothing more than learning hip-dominant form and learning to sit back in my squat.

Q