Ye Ol' Workout Journal

Triple Threat · 03-28-2005, 10:12 AM

I’ve been doing a fairly simple, 4-day, each body-part once a week routine for a while now (legs, chest, back, arms). However, I’m getting a little bored with that and need a change. I’ve been reading about Westside training, both pros and cons, and have decided to give it a go, although it won’t be strict Westside. Actually, Westside seems to be more a philosophy than a strict training program.

One major modification is the amount of deadlifting that I plan to do. Strict Westside doesn’t do much deadlifting, preferring to maximize use of assistance exercises to increase the deadlift. Some articles suggest limit deadlifting to once per month, or you’ll lose strength. I have found that if I don’t deadlift on a regular basis, I lose strength in that exercise, so I’ll continue to deadlift once a week unless my lower back objects.

The new routine will be a mesh of Westside plus what I have been doing plus some cardio stuff that I’ve unabashedly stolen from gwcaton’s journal.

Unless life’s activities get in the way, the routine will be like this:

Mon – ME Upper (chest day – suggested ME Upper routine plus some extra exercises for chest)

Wed – ME Lower (back day)

Fri – DE Upper (arm day)

Sat – DE Lower (leg day)

I actually started this last week, doing a dry-run, testing various exercises and trying to figure out the appropriate weights to use.

Triple Threat · 03-28-2005, 10:16 AM

Mon, Mar 28 (ME Upper, chest)

Bench Press
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3
235 x 3
245 x 3
255 x 3
265 x 1
275 x 1
285 x 1
295 – the bar went up, but so did my butt about half-way up, so we’ll call it one cheat rep

Close Grip Bench
225 x 5
225 x 4
205 x 5
205 x 4

Incline DB Press
70 x 9
75 x 7
75 x 4

Hammer Strength Iso-lateral Incline Press
140 x 7
140 x 5

Triceps Machine Press (seated, arms on pad, press down)
100 x 12
112.5 x 8

Barbell Row
205 x 8
205 x 8
205 x 8
205 x 6

Barbell Curl
85 x 7
85 x 7
85 x 5

Power Cleans + Shoulder Press (doubles as cardio, hopefully more sets as time goes on)
135 x 7 + 3 (7 times cleaned, the first 3 times pressed also)
135 x 5 + 2
115 x 6 + 3
115 x 6 + 3
115 x 5 + 3

M.J.H. · 03-28-2005, 10:21 AM

Nice to see a familiar face around here! Good luck bro. I am a huge Westside fan, I'll be keeping up with this journal.

sftwrngnr · 03-28-2005, 10:28 AM

Hey Captain,
I'm also a westside fan, and summarily ignore their position on deadlifts, as it is my favorite lift

. I'll see how your modified workout works for you. Good luck.
-Dan

Rocco32 · 03-28-2005, 11:12 AM

Awww Crap!! Another "Westside" journal. Now that just makes ME want to do it again

Sorry, everytime I see Westside I want to drop whatever I'm doing and go back to it but everytime I do I get hurt

Anyway, seen you posting here for a few years and wanted to check out your journal. Looking good

Just be careful not to overtrain, obviously pretty easy with Westside and you've got a crapload of sets in there.

gwcaton · 03-28-2005, 12:42 PM

Hey Cap'n

Mind if I follow along ? LOL

**P-funk** · 03-28-2005, 12:57 PM

cool, the capt. is back!!

Triple Threat · 03-28-2005, 03:22 PM

Monstar - Glad to have you around. I've stolen some stuff from your journals, too.

sftwrngnr - Thanks. So we're in agreement on DLs? Glad to see I'm not the only one. We share similar professions, also, it seems.

rock - If you don't want to train Westside, you can live vicariously through me, although you may want to choose sftwrngnr. His lifts are better than mine. As for the number of sets I did today, I could probably have cut out the sets of 205 and 235 bench, but other than that, it was OK. I can usually tell later in the day when I've gone overboard. Right now I feel fine and I've got tomorrow to recover.

gwcaton - Nice of you to join in. Thanks to you, I'm going to try squats for cardio on the lower days.

P-funk - Thanks. Your advice is always welcome.

Everyone -

PreMier · 03-28-2005, 06:41 PM

Yea, welcome back capt'n.

JerseyDevil · 03-28-2005, 06:44 PM

I'm on board

Triple Threat · 03-30-2005, 07:54 AM

Welcome PreMier and JerseyDevil.

Two more hard-core lifters! It looks like there's a most excellent group following here.

Yanick · 03-30-2005, 08:00 AM

hey cap'n. i'll be following along, strength training is always interesting. throw some higher rep front squats between the p-cleans and oh presses and that will kick your ass! your a strong dude, good luck with westside.

Triple Threat · 03-30-2005, 09:47 AM

Hi Yan.

Front squats too, huh? Got any ideas on what day to do that combo? DE Lower day might be a possibility. What do you think?

Triple Threat · 03-30-2005, 09:51 AM

Wed, Mar 30 (ME Lower, back)

Squats
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 1 (I’m not sure that I broke parallel on this one. It felt a little high.)

Deadlifts
225 x 3
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 3
425 x 1
445 x 1
455

Shrugs
225 x 12
315 x 10
405 x 6
405 x 6
405 x 5 (grip starting to fail here)

Standing Good Mornings
185 x 8
225 - 3 x 6

Hammer Strength Hi Row
180 x 10
230 x 8
230 x 8
230 x 6

Hammer Strength Low Row
140 x 10
180 x 6
180 x 5

I think I’m going to replace the low row with a Lat pulldown or chin-ups next week, and move the low row to DE Upper day as the back exercise. One rowing exercise a day is enough, especially since they’re being done 3 days a week.

Squats for cardio (alternated sets with the Ab Crunch Machine)
135 x 8
135 x 8
135 x 6
135 x 7
135 x 4 (ug)

Ab Crunch Machine
45 x 15
70 x 12
90 x 8
90 x 8
90 x 6

BW: 221, down a pound from Monday, which I now realize I forgot to enter.

**P-funk** · 03-30-2005, 10:00 AM

looks like a good session. Don't you want your max effort lift ot be something like Good mornings or rack position deads? So that you aren't pulling sinlges for the full ROM? Also, are you supposed to be doing squats and deads in the same workout? Is this your own thing based on west-side or is this a traditional approach to it? It has been awhile since I took a look at the template.

Yanick · 03-30-2005, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainDeadlift

Hi Yan.

Front squats too, huh? Got any ideas on what day to do that combo? DE Lower day might be a possibility. What do you think?

if your going light and doing them to increase conditioning, i'd put them anywhere really. its really tough though, so i would put it on a day where you won't be completely wiped out by the end of the workout. If you are doing them to increase power and conditioning and are planning on actually going heavy and progressing, then i'd say put them on a DE day and do them first because the clean is so dependant on skill and explosiveness you want to be fresh when doing them.

gwcaton · 03-30-2005, 11:16 AM

Damn Capt..

You are strong

JerseyDevil · 03-30-2005, 05:15 PM

Damn Captain, you're another one I'd like to workout with. Our age and weights used are close, but of course you would blow me away in deadlifts

. My dl max on a good day, with the earth positioned in perfect alignment with the sun is 405.

Triple Threat · 03-31-2005, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-funk

Don't you want your max effort lift ot be something like Good mornings or rack position deads? So that you aren't pulling sinlges for the full ROM? Also, are you supposed to be doing squats and deads in the same workout? Is this your own thing based on west-side or is this a traditional approach to it? It has been awhile since I took a look at the template.

By-the-book Westside has only one max effort lift per workout and the recommended lifts are Good Mornings (60%), Squats (25%) and Deadlifts (15%), so no, I shouldn't be doing squats and deads in the same workout.
As I mentioned in the intro, for me personally, I lose strength in the deadlift if I don't deadlift, so I will perform that exercise at least 3 out of 4 weeks.

Also, I don't intend to squat and deadlift in every ME lower workout, but my squat total is not very good, so I'm trying to squat twice a week on occasion.

Triple Threat · 03-31-2005, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yanick

if your going light and doing them to increase conditioning, i'd put them anywhere really. its really tough though, so i would put it on a day where you won't be completely wiped out by the end of the workout.

Right now I'm doing them for cardio only, so I think I'll add them in right after box squats on DE lower day. I have been saving the cardio portion for the end of the workout, but you've got a good point about not being wiped out when doing them. Saturday it is!

Triple Threat · 03-31-2005, 05:51 PM

Thanks Gary and JD. It would be good having a workout partner of similar ability. I've had just a couple of workout partners in the past few years, but they don't last much past 3 weeks.

nikegurl · 03-31-2005, 06:21 PM

glad you're back! i'll be following along.

Triple Threat · 04-01-2005, 02:08 PM

Thanks, nikegurl. All that travelling was getting tiring.

Triple Threat · 04-01-2005, 02:11 PM

Fri, Apr 1 (DE Upper, arms)

Med grip Bench Press
185 – 10 x 3

Tricep machine
112.5 x 11
112.5 x 11
112.5 x 9
112.5 x 8

V-bar pressdowns (not sure how much each plate weighs, 10 lb I think)
6 plates x 9
6 plates x 9
6 plates x 8

Hammer Strength Low Row
140 – 4 x 10

Chinups (not too impressive here)
BW x 5
BW x 3

Standing BB Curl
75 x 8
75 x 8
85 x 7
85 x 6

Bicep machine
75 x 9
87.5 x 5
87.5 x 4

DB Lateral Raise
20 x 9
20 x 8
20 x 8

No cardio.

BW: 221

PreMier · 04-01-2005, 04:42 PM

Chinups at 221lbs is pretty good

Thats right, you were in Paris? How was that?

Triple Threat · 04-02-2005, 07:46 AM

For the past 14 months, I've been spending about half my time in Spain. Initially I was working in a place called Aranjuez, about 35-40 miles SSE of Madrid. Lately, I've been going to a place called Ferrol on the north coast. Fortunately, in both places I've been able to find a gym to workout, thus helping to keep my sanity. I just wish they were open on the weekends.

PreMier · 04-02-2005, 05:11 PM

Oh thats right Spain. You speak fluent spanish? What do you do? Iwant to live in Europe.

03-28-2005, 10:12 AM	#1
Triple Threat ... Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lost Posts: 9,472 Photos: 6	Ye Ol' Workout Journal I’ve been doing a fairly simple, 4-day, each body-part once a week routine for a while now (legs, chest, back, arms). However, I’m getting a little bored with that and need a change. I’ve been reading about Westside training, both pros and cons, and have decided to give it a go, although it won’t be strict Westside. Actually, Westside seems to be more a philosophy than a strict training program. One major modification is the amount of deadlifting that I plan to do. Strict Westside doesn’t do much deadlifting, preferring to maximize use of assistance exercises to increase the deadlift. Some articles suggest limit deadlifting to once per month, or you’ll lose strength. I have found that if I don’t deadlift on a regular basis, I lose strength in that exercise, so I’ll continue to deadlift once a week unless my lower back objects. The new routine will be a mesh of Westside plus what I have been doing plus some cardio stuff that I’ve unabashedly stolen from gwcaton’s journal. Unless life’s activities get in the way, the routine will be like this: Mon – ME Upper (chest day – suggested ME Upper routine plus some extra exercises for chest) Wed – ME Lower (back day) Fri – DE Upper (arm day) Sat – DE Lower (leg day) I actually started this last week, doing a dry-run, testing various exercises and trying to figure out the appropriate weights to use.

03-28-2005, 10:21 AM	#3
M.J.H. Obsessed Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Delaware Posts: 3,587 Photos: 12	Nice to see a familiar face around here! Good luck bro. I am a huge Westside fan, I'll be keeping up with this journal.
	Stats! 23 years old, 5'11.5", 206 lbs., ~8% bodyfat 380/455/655 bench/squat/deadlift (current) 405/495/675 bench/squat/deadlift (goals) The M.J.H. Chronicles

03-28-2005, 10:28 AM	#4
sftwrngnr Registered User Join Date: May 2004 Location: Chandler, AZ Posts: 187 Photos: 2	Hey Captain, I'm also a westside fan, and summarily ignore their position on deadlifts, as it is my favorite lift . I'll see how your modified workout works for you. Good luck. -Dan
	*"Dude... thats a lot-a weight... I mean yer like... what... 50??"* Said to me by a 17 year old when I was doing deadlifts. -------------------------------------- Current Stats: Age: 39 Squat: 585 Bench: 265 (STILL Pathetic) Deadlift: 565 Weight: 218 Goals: Interrupted due to accident ! Rehab journal: Dan's rehab journal Training journal: Dan's westside training journal

03-28-2005, 11:12 AM	#5
Rocco32 UNLEASH THE BEAST Elite Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 22,316 Photos: 18	Awww Crap!! Another "Westside" journal. Now that just makes ME want to do it again Sorry, everytime I see Westside I want to drop whatever I'm doing and go back to it but everytime I do I get hurt Anyway, seen you posting here for a few years and wanted to check out your journal. Looking good Just be careful not to overtrain, obviously pretty easy with Westside and you've got a crapload of sets in there.
	I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain...

03-28-2005, 12:42 PM	#6
gwcaton Lookin' for abs ! Elite Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: central missouri Posts: 9,271 Photos: 28	Hey Cap'n Mind if I follow along ? LOL
	My Last Journal Before The One You're Reading Now Old Journals : My P/RR/S Journal My GWcaton Journal My Bulking Journal Just remember, when you think you're done you've just started . DEADBOLT . 2005

03-28-2005, 10:16 AM	#2
Triple Threat ... Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lost Posts: 9,472 Photos: 6	Mon, Mar 28 (ME Upper, chest) Bench Press 185 x 3 205 x 3 225 x 3 235 x 3 245 x 3 255 x 3 265 x 1 275 x 1 285 x 1 295 – the bar went up, but so did my butt about half-way up, so we’ll call it one cheat rep Close Grip Bench 225 x 5 225 x 4 205 x 5 205 x 4 Incline DB Press 70 x 9 75 x 7 75 x 4 Hammer Strength Iso-lateral Incline Press 140 x 7 140 x 5 Triceps Machine Press (seated, arms on pad, press down) 100 x 12 112.5 x 8 Barbell Row 205 x 8 205 x 8 205 x 8 205 x 6 Barbell Curl 85 x 7 85 x 7 85 x 5 Power Cleans + Shoulder Press (doubles as cardio, hopefully more sets as time goes on) 135 x 7 + 3 (7 times cleaned, the first 3 times pressed also) 135 x 5 + 2 115 x 6 + 3 115 x 6 + 3 115 x 5 + 3

03-28-2005, 12:57 PM	#7
P-funk Patrick Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: AZ Posts: 30,425	cool, the capt. is back!!
	http://pwtraining.blogspot.com/.....come and see what is on my mind! http://ivonneberkowitz.blogspot.com/....check out Ivonne's new blog! Optimum Sports Performance "In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the experts there are few." -Buddha's Little Instruction Book

03-28-2005, 03:22 PM	#8
Triple Threat ... Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lost Posts: 9,472 Photos: 6	Monstar - Glad to have you around. I've stolen some stuff from your journals, too. sftwrngnr - Thanks. So we're in agreement on DLs? Glad to see I'm not the only one. We share similar professions, also, it seems. rock - If you don't want to train Westside, you can live vicariously through me, although you may want to choose sftwrngnr. His lifts are better than mine. As for the number of sets I did today, I could probably have cut out the sets of 205 and 235 bench, but other than that, it was OK. I can usually tell later in the day when I've gone overboard. Right now I feel fine and I've got tomorrow to recover. gwcaton - Nice of you to join in. Thanks to you, I'm going to try squats for cardio on the lower days. P-funk - Thanks. Your advice is always welcome. Everyone -

03-28-2005, 06:41 PM	#9
PreMier happy sumo Elite Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 21,081 Photos: 2	Yea, welcome back capt'n.
	P-side Inc. "the post-workout high is more profound than any drug-induced rush imaginable." -Dante B.

03-28-2005, 06:44 PM	#10
JerseyDevil GO Buckeyes! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Southern, NJ Posts: 5,180	I'm on board

03-30-2005, 07:54 AM	#11
Triple Threat ... Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lost Posts: 9,472 Photos: 6	Welcome PreMier and JerseyDevil. Two more hard-core lifters! It looks like there's a most excellent group following here.

03-30-2005, 08:00 AM	#12
Yanick Amor Fati Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 3,798	hey cap'n. i'll be following along, strength training is always interesting. throw some higher rep front squats between the p-cleans and oh presses and that will kick your ass! your a strong dude, good luck with westside.
Yanick Amor Fati Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 3,798	"...we have to remember that training is a complicated dance of stimuli and response. Our goal is to understand how to manipulate the stimuli in order to evoke the responses we desire." -Nathan J. Polenchek

03-30-2005, 09:47 AM	#13
Triple Threat ... Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lost Posts: 9,472 Photos: 6	Hi Yan. Front squats too, huh? Got any ideas on what day to do that combo? DE Lower day might be a possibility. What do you think?

03-30-2005, 09:51 AM	#14
Triple Threat ... Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lost Posts: 9,472 Photos: 6	Wed, Mar 30 (ME Lower, back) Squats 135 x 5 185 x 3 225 x 3 275 x 3 315 x 1 (I’m not sure that I broke parallel on this one. It felt a little high.) Deadlifts 225 x 3 315 x 3 365 x 3 405 x 3 425 x 1 445 x 1 455 Shrugs 225 x 12 315 x 10 405 x 6 405 x 6 405 x 5 (grip starting to fail here) Standing Good Mornings 185 x 8 225 - 3 x 6 Hammer Strength Hi Row 180 x 10 230 x 8 230 x 8 230 x 6 Hammer Strength Low Row 140 x 10 180 x 6 180 x 5 I think I’m going to replace the low row with a Lat pulldown or chin-ups next week, and move the low row to DE Upper day as the back exercise. One rowing exercise a day is enough, especially since they’re being done 3 days a week. Squats for cardio (alternated sets with the Ab Crunch Machine) 135 x 8 135 x 8 135 x 6 135 x 7 135 x 4 (ug) Ab Crunch Machine 45 x 15 70 x 12 90 x 8 90 x 8 90 x 6 BW: 221, down a pound from Monday, which I now realize I forgot to enter.

03-30-2005, 10:00 AM	#15
P-funk Patrick Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: AZ Posts: 30,425	looks like a good session. Don't you want your max effort lift ot be something like Good mornings or rack position deads? So that you aren't pulling sinlges for the full ROM? Also, are you supposed to be doing squats and deads in the same workout? Is this your own thing based on west-side or is this a traditional approach to it? It has been awhile since I took a look at the template.
	http://pwtraining.blogspot.com/.....come and see what is on my mind! http://ivonneberkowitz.blogspot.com/....check out Ivonne's new blog! Optimum Sports Performance "In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the experts there are few." -Buddha's Little Instruction Book

03-30-2005, 11:16 AM	#17
gwcaton Lookin' for abs ! Elite Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: central missouri Posts: 9,271 Photos: 28	Damn Capt.. You are strong
	My Last Journal Before The One You're Reading Now Old Journals : My P/RR/S Journal My GWcaton Journal My Bulking Journal Just remember, when you think you're done you've just started . DEADBOLT . 2005

03-30-2005, 05:15 PM	#18
JerseyDevil GO Buckeyes! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Southern, NJ Posts: 5,180	Damn Captain, you're another one I'd like to workout with. Our age and weights used are close, but of course you would blow me away in deadlifts . My dl max on a good day, with the earth positioned in perfect alignment with the sun is 405.

03-31-2005, 05:51 PM	#21
Triple Threat ... Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lost Posts: 9,472 Photos: 6	Thanks Gary and JD. It would be good having a workout partner of similar ability. I've had just a couple of workout partners in the past few years, but they don't last much past 3 weeks.

03-31-2005, 06:21 PM	#22
nikegurl Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: LA, CA Posts: 5,635	glad you're back! i'll be following along.
	If you want to achieve things that others can't... You have to do things that others won't.

04-01-2005, 02:08 PM	#23
Triple Threat ... Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lost Posts: 9,472 Photos: 6	Thanks, nikegurl. All that travelling was getting tiring.

04-01-2005, 02:11 PM	#24
Triple Threat ... Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lost Posts: 9,472 Photos: 6	Fri, Apr 1 (DE Upper, arms) Med grip Bench Press 185 – 10 x 3 Tricep machine 112.5 x 11 112.5 x 11 112.5 x 9 112.5 x 8 V-bar pressdowns (not sure how much each plate weighs, 10 lb I think) 6 plates x 9 6 plates x 9 6 plates x 8 Hammer Strength Low Row 140 – 4 x 10 Chinups (not too impressive here) BW x 5 BW x 3 Standing BB Curl 75 x 8 75 x 8 85 x 7 85 x 6 Bicep machine 75 x 9 87.5 x 5 87.5 x 4 DB Lateral Raise 20 x 9 20 x 8 20 x 8 No cardio. BW: 221

04-01-2005, 04:42 PM	#25
PreMier happy sumo Elite Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 21,081 Photos: 2	Chinups at 221lbs is pretty good Thats right, you were in Paris? How was that?
	P-side Inc. "the post-workout high is more profound than any drug-induced rush imaginable." -Dante B.

04-02-2005, 07:46 AM	#26
Triple Threat ... Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lost Posts: 9,472 Photos: 6	For the past 14 months, I've been spending about half my time in Spain. Initially I was working in a place called Aranjuez, about 35-40 miles SSE of Madrid. Lately, I've been going to a place called Ferrol on the north coast. Fortunately, in both places I've been able to find a gym to workout, thus helping to keep my sanity. I just wish they were open on the weekends.

04-02-2005, 05:11 PM	#27
PreMier happy sumo Elite Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 21,081 Photos: 2	Oh thats right Spain. You speak fluent spanish? What do you do? Iwant to live in Europe.
	P-side Inc. "the post-workout high is more profound than any drug-induced rush imaginable." -Dante B.