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Westside for skinny bastards

·3 mins

I started this program twice but discontinued on both occasions. I don’t think I should give it another shot. I think the two major reasons I don’t stick with it is that, one, it doesn’t have deadlifts (and my OCD kicks in because I don’t want to leave out an important exercise) and, two, it doesn’t give explicit recommendation on what weights to use for bench press and squats.

Max-Effort Upper Body #

  • Regular barbell bench press.
    • Max-Effort Exercise – work up to a max set of 3-5 reps.
    • Go up quickly - rest 2-3 minutes.
  • Flat DB bench press
    • Supplemental Exercise – perform 2 sets of max reps.
    • Choose a weight you can perform for 15-20 reps on the 1st set. Use the same weight for both sets and rest 3-4 minutes between sets.
  • Superset:
    • Seated cable rows.
    • Face pulls.
    • Horizontal pulling / Rear delt superset – Perform 3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps of each exercise.
  • DB shrugs
    • Traps – Perform 3 – 4 sets of 8-15 reps.
  • Hammer curls
    • Elbow flexor exercise – Perform 3-4 sets of 8-15 reps.
    • (Keep elbows a little in front of the hips and go up only a little further than 90 degrees.)

Dynamic-Effort Lower Body #

  • Broad jumps
    • Jump training – perform 5-8 sets of 1-3 jumps.
  • Step-ups (box height slightly above knee).
    • Unilateral exercise – perform 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps.
  • Romanian Deadlift. (Keep butt back and bend knees only slightly.)
    • Hip extension exercise – perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps.
  • DB side bends
    • Weighted Abdominals – perform 4 sets of 10-15 reps.

Repetition Upper Body #

  • Incline (or flat, if incline bench is not free) DB bench press.
    • Repetition Exercise – perform 3 sets of max reps OR 4 sets of 12-15 reps.
    • I recommend 90 seconds rest between repetition sets for most beginners and 3 minutes rest for stronger athletes.
  • Superset:
    • Lat pulldowns.
    • Band pull-aparts.
    • Vertical pulling / Rear delt superset – perform 3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps of each exercise.
  • DB military press.
    • Medial delts – perform 4 sets of 8-12 reps.
  • Superset:
    • DB shrugs.
    • DB curls.
    • Traps / Arms superset – perform 3 supersets or 8-10 reps each.
  • Thick bar or heavy DB holds (2-3 sets of max time).
    • Grip / Forearms.

Max-Effort Lower Body #

  • Squats.
    • Max-effort lift – work up to a max set of 3-5 reps.
  • Walking lunges.
    • UNILATERAL MOVEMENT – perform 3 sets of 6-12 reps.
  • Pull-throughs.
    • HAMSTRING / POSTERIOR CHAIN MOVEMENT – perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps.
  • Circuit – Example: sprinter sit-ups, V-ups, toe touches, hip thrusts.
    • Ground-based, high-rep abdominal.
    • Perform 10-20 reps of each exercise and go through the circuit 2-3 times. Rest 1-2 minutes between circuits.

Other notes #

  • Max days all involve a personal record—that is, you’ll be doing one main exercise in which you’ll break your previous best by five pounds. Start with a thorough warm-up using the bar, then go right into singles, pyramiding up as fast as you can safely to reach your record-breaking lift, resting no more than 2-3 minutes between sets.
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