Westside for Skinny *kitten* Discussion

The purpose of this thread is to introduce and discuss a strength training method called, “Westside for Skinny *kitten* 3” (WS4SB3). For those of you that recognize the name “Westside” don’t let the name scare you into thinking this is some crazy advanced program that requires chains, bands, bench shirts, etc because it’s not like that. Although you could easily include chains and bands if you wanted. There’s been a lot of discussion on these boards about light weight / high reps, heavy weight / low reps, what’s better, what sucks and this method will help those that need a little guidance. Lastly, I’m not proposing that this method is better than popular methods like “5x5”, “5/3/1”, etc it’s just another good and simple method for building strength.

WS4SB3 incorporate a four-day training split that focuses on Max Effort lifting and Dynamic Effort lifting. The Max Effort days incorporate one main lift that focuses on improving Maximal Strength and then supporting / accessory movements. The Dynamic / Repetition Effort day takes one of those same main lifts and changes the focus to using a weight that’s about 60% of your 1-rep max (1RM) and moving it explosively or a weight that you can rep multiple times, followed by supporting / accessory exercises. Here’s what my last Max Effort day looked for me.

a. Close-Grip Bench Press: Worked up to a weight I could only rep 3 times without grinding.
b. Flat Dumbell Bench Press: 2 sets of max reps, minimum of 15 rep (I did 19 and 18 reps).
c. Exercise 1: DB rows / Exercise 2: Chin-ups for 4sets of 12 reps (yes you’ll notice chin-ups aren’t on the list for Group 2 but I love chin-ups so I do them anyway.)
d. DB Shrugs: 4 sets of 12 – 15 reps
e. Hammer Strength Bicep Curl machine 4 sets of 12-15reps: I’m having trouble with my shoulders when I curl so I’m sticking to machines for the time being.

One alternative to Repetition Upper Body day is to make it a Dynamic Effort day. I work with an individual that spent some time with Louis Simmons himself at Westside Barbell Club and he told me to do Dynamic Upper Body day instead of Upper Body Repetition day with a specific recommendation of 5 – 8 sets of 3 reps. The weight would be 50% to 60% of your 1RM. This is an option or you can stick 100% to the article, your choice.

Here’s the link to WS4SB3 enjoy, http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles/38-articles/65-westside-for-skinny-*kitten*-part3.html

The topic of finding good form for some of the main lifts inevitably comes up. Here are a couple links to help get you started. The EliteFTS group is my favorite to read and watch but please feel free to post your favorites in the thread.

Squatting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkF9QD7oCIA&feature=g-vrec&context=G20ca3ebRVAAAAAAAABA
Bench Pressing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byOk4OE_6uI
Deadlifting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr2_mCh2dUI

Some of you might be thinking, how the hell do I find my 1RM? Well, there are two options. First and most obvious grab some weight and work-up until you find a weight you can do no more than once. Working that heavy can be a little intimidating if you’ve never done it so the other option is to find a weight that you can do no more than 5 reps and use the following formula (not claiming this as my formula by any means) to find your estimated 1RM. To use the formula,

a. Copy and paste this into cell D9 in Microsoft Excel, =(D7)/(1.0278-(0.0278*D8))
b. Enter the weight you can only do 5 reps with in cell D7
c. Enter “5” into cell D8.
d. It should calculate if not try hitting F9 if still nothing… not sure what to say. LOL

Let’s have some good discussion.