WestSide vs. Sheiko vs. 5X5 vs. Smolov vs. Anything else

[JHogg11]

Right now I'm in the middle of a month of Sheiko. So far it's going well. When I'm done I'm probably going to take a week off and then try a 5X5 routine but I'm not 100% sure just yet. Can someone give me a rundown of each of these and compare the strategies of each? Also, post whatever experience you have with these or anything else that you think could be added to the list.

[ruga buga]

first off what are your goals and other vital stats? i.e. experience ect...

[MISSINGLINK]

Right now I'm in the middle of a month of Sheiko. So far it's going well. When I'm done I'm probably going to take a week off and then try a 5X5 routine but I'm not 100% sure just yet. Can someone give me a rundown of each of these and compare the strategies of each? Also, post whatever experience you have with these or anything else that you think could be added to the list.

Can you do my term paper on the Abraham Lincoln administration and compare his presidency to that of BIll CLintons discussing each presidents views on National and Foreign policy, the economy, and what Bill CLinton would do if there were slavery around. Also, post whatever experience you have with these or anything else that you think could be added to the list.

[JHogg11]

Can you do my term paper on the Abraham Lincoln administration and compare his presidency to that of BIll CLintons discussing each presidents views on National and Foreign policy, the economy, and what Bill CLinton would do if there were slavery around. Also, post whatever experience you have with these or anything else that you think could be added to the list.

I'll do the paper if you can answer my question.

Alright, here's my deal:

Age: 22
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 177

Maxes (All estimates)
Squat 305
Deadlift: 380 (hurt back at the moment so I'm not doing these.)
Bench: 260
Pullups: 20 max, +100lbs for one rep
Shoulder Press: 175
Rows: 225

I've been lifting on and off for almost a decade and I've been lifting consistently for about a year and a half. I have probably about 4 years worth of lifting experience if you add up all of the spurts of lifting. I'm not a big fan of looking huge, so I've tended to make fairly slow progress in strength because I haven't gained weight and I'm alright with that.

[vicjg]

Can you do my term paper on the Abraham Lincoln administration and compare his presidency to that of BIll CLintons discussing each presidents views on National and Foreign policy, the economy, and what Bill CLinton would do if there were slavery around. Also, post whatever experience you have with these or anything else that you think could be added to the list.

Sheiko was a president?

[JHogg11]

Goals:

Bench: 315
Squat: 405
Deadlift: 455
One Arm Pullup
Planche Pushup
Dunk

[MISSINGLINK]

Sheiko was a president?

Who the f*ck is sheiko???

[LessThanLuke]

Who the f*ck is sheiko???

BORIS MOTHER****ER

[MISSINGLINK]

BORIS MOTHER****ER

I know this. I was playing along with him. I follow his journal and I know who sheiko is. Do you have to call names?

[LessThanLuke]

I know this. I was playing along with him. I follow his journal and I know who sheiko is. Do you have to call names?

no hate brah.

[f00t]

i did smolov and added 50lbs to my squat in three months. i did westside and after understanding it i added 50lbs to my squat in 2 months.

[MISSINGLINK]

Right now I'm in the middle of a month of Sheiko. So far it's going well. When I'm done I'm probably going to take a week off and then try a 5X5 routine but I'm not 100% sure just yet. Can someone give me a rundown of each of these and compare the strategies of each? Also, post whatever experience you have with these or anything else that you think could be added to the list.

Why are you so far in the red?

[vicjg]

BORIS MOTHER****ER

Neg'd MOTHER****ER.





































































j/k

[btlifter]

you're affiliated with the millitary in some way, correct? If so, i'd definitely stray away from Sheiko, as the volume of that, coupled with the running etc. you're sure to do with the millitary training, would lead you to be overtrained relatively quickly, i'm not overly experienced with 5x5, but from all accounts is a GREAT beginners program, as you are an "intermediate" that may not apply, but... nonetheless, i'm sure you'll get good gains off of it, but i'll let somebody more knowlegable than i talk about it, personally i'm a huge advocate of westside, and think that it's great for somebody like you, as it will allow you to adjust it a TON to focus specifically on what you want to focus on (i'm not sure hwo well you'll be able to perform other programs without being able to deadliftt)
cheers

[JHogg11]

you're affiliated with the millitary in some way, correct? If so, i'd definitely stray away from Sheiko, as the volume of that, coupled with the running etc. you're sure to do with the millitary training, would lead you to be overtrained relatively quickly, i'm not overly experienced with 5x5, but from all accounts is a GREAT beginners program, as you are an "intermediate" that may not apply, but... nonetheless, i'm sure you'll get good gains off of it, but i'll let somebody more knowlegable than i talk about it, personally i'm a huge advocate of westside, and think that it's great for somebody like you, as it will allow you to adjust it a TON to focus specifically on what you want to focus on (i'm not sure hwo well you'll be able to perform other programs without being able to deadliftt)
cheers

I was going to join the Marines. I have since decided against it for personal reasons.

[JHogg11]

Why are you so far in the red?

I got negged by someone with like 14,000 posts or something. I think it requires a while to recover from that. Somehow I am still able to sleep at night.

[JHogg11]

Anyone, anyone?

[Code_B]

i did smolov and added 50lbs to my squat in three months. i did westside and after understanding it i added 50lbs to my squat in 2 months.

There is still alot I don't understand but I think this is why people end up calling westside stupid and saying its no good for drug free lifters or whatever. At first I didn't get it, I still just followed along with the workouts and I wasn't getting much out of it. I started reading and reading and reading. I've read a ton of articles, bought Louie's new book and read it, asked a bunch of questions and after all that I feel like now I have a basic grasp on the concepts and why I'm actually doing what I do during my workouts. I've barely been training like this for a couple months but I am making progress now. I think an understanding of the system, even a basic one, is important to really get something out of training in a Westside style.

[tinyman5000]

Yeah Brother Train West Side All Other Program Suck Hardcore

Yyeah Brother

[DManiac]

The foundation in westside is an very obvious one. Train your respective lifts. Dynamic/ME; then accessory work. Find out what is weak, train that extra. Its success depends on the lifters ability to pursue their weaknesses. This is a very hard thing to do. It requires one to remove their ego and train hard. Smolov and all the others are templates that may work, but if you need someone to write you out a routine, then you def do not want to try to structure your workouts around a westside type philosophy.

[JHogg11]

The foundation in westside is an very obvious one. Train your respective lifts. Dynamic/ME; then accessory work. Find out what is weak, train that extra. Its success depends on the lifters ability to pursue their weaknesses. This is a very hard thing to do. It requires one to remove their ego and train hard. Smolov and all the others are templates that may work, but if you need someone to write you out a routine, then you def do not want to try to structure your workouts around a westside type philosophy.

I don't have much experience writing my own program. I've found that when I do, I'm more likely to want to make changes and not stick with it. I've always done programs centering equally around squats, deads, bench, shoulder press, rows, and pullups. The programs that I mentioned are more oriented for powerlifters (I really don't know much about Westside so that might not be the case for it) and center around the three lifts. Also they tend to be high volume. When it comes to these two elements, I'm in the dark.

[DManiac]

Dynamic= Chains/ Bands/None): Squats, Deads, Bench; ( or if your in my boat, OH Press's, Jerks, etc) 3 rep range 1-3, FAST! Controlled! Technique!
ME: Maximum Effort: (Chains/Bands/None): BP, SQ, D; Most weight, no speed, Put it up with the best possible technique. Focus of technique.

Accessory Work: All the lifts that help do these lift: Abs, Upr Back, Rvs Hyper, Gluteham, etc.

[The_cannibal]

Westside is probably the one in the list which I know the least, but from what I understand, it is not really a program (although some templates are available), but more of a philosophy of training: you do ME days, DE days and RE days; you train your weaker points to make them stronger; and although Louie Simmons do not believe in periodisation (or so I've heard), there's nothing that says that you can't vary the volume and intensity throughout the year.

Sheiko is a low intensity, high volume training program. I currently know of 12 different programs: #29, #30, #31, #32, #37, #39, #40, CMS-MS Prep, CMS-MS Prep 2, CMS-MS Comp, plus 2 more programs found on www.joeskopec.com/programs.html. These programs are all inclusive: you just need to follow it to a T. It focuses mainly on the big 3 lifts, but it doesn't have much assistance exercises for the back (no pull-ups or rows). Of course, with the amount of volume in the program, 'they' had to cut somewhere.
It is a periodized training program: you can see the volume fluctuates through the weeks, and you'd usually use different programs concatenated together to form a prep/comp continuity, such as: #29 (prep), #30 (prep), #32 (comp).

5x5, aka Bill Starr's, is a very nice program. It includes all 3 lifts + some very important assistance exercises. You squat 3x/wk, bench 2x/wk and deadlift once a week. It is very easy to follow and you can make decent gains on it. It is available in an intermediate linear version, and in an advanced periodized version. The intermediate version is actually periodized (linearly) since you would reset the program after a couple of weeks (when you can no longer increase the weights by 2.5%), and this would give you 2-3 easy weeks.

Smolov is an overreaching program. I did the mistake of doing this program and overestimating my capacities... I failed miserably. I thought I could do it while adding a bunch of squat assistance exercises + heavy bench days, and the result is that I failed to overcompensate at the end. Althought the first week is fairly easy, it becomes hard very quickly on the 2nd and 3rd week. You can also apply the principles of Smolov to bench and deadlift, but not at the same time obviously. There is also a Smolov Jr version, which is often used for the bench; it is slightly easier. Contrarily to 5x5 or Sheiko or Westside, you could not do Smolov over and over. It is more something you'd try a few times a year.

[Spidey101]

Well, I just finished the base cycle of smololv. I will have to say it was the hardest thing I've done. I'mnot much of a powerlifter and I typically dont train for strength, but my squat plateaued and my legs werent gettin any bigger. I read up on smolov and gave it a shot.

First week wasnt bad

2nd week was HELL

3rd week was HELL on Mars

Just got done with it today, and i'm gonna test out my new squat next thursd.

Havent tried any of the other methods, however

[f00t]

Westside is probably the one is the list which I know the least, but from what I understand, it is not really a program (although some templates are available), but more of a philosophy of training: you do ME days, DE days and RE days; you train your weaker points to make them stronger; and although Louie Simmons do not believe in periodisation (or so I've heard), there's nothing that says that you can't vary the volume and intensity throughout the year.

westside is like the matrix

[swolegantor]

To be quite honest.

It actually really doesent matter what you do.

It seriously doesent.

Train hard, lift heavy **** and after a long time you might not suck. Do what feels right, dont over think things, it really doesent matter at this point.

[DManiac]

It does matter what you do. With that said, Squat more.

[JHogg11]

Westside is probably the one in the list which I know the least, but from what I understand, it is not really a program (although some templates are available), but more of a philosophy of training: you do ME days, DE days and RE days; you train your weaker points to make them stronger; and although Louie Simmons do not believe in periodisation (or so I've heard), there's nothing that says that you can't vary the volume and intensity throughout the year.

Sheiko is a low intensity, high volume training program. I currently know of 12 different programs: #29, #30, #31, #32, #37, #39, #40, CMS-MS Prep, CMS-MS Prep 2, CMS-MS Comp, plus 2 more programs found on www.joeskopec.com/programs.html. These programs are all inclusive: you just need to follow it to a T. It focuses mainly on the big 3 lifts, but it doesn't have much assistance exercises for the back (no pull-ups or rows). Of course, with the amount of volume in the program, 'they' had to cut somewhere.
It is a periodized training program: you can see the volume fluctuates through the weeks, and you'd usually use different programs concatenated together to form a prep/comp continuity, such as: #29 (prep), #30 (prep), #32 (comp).

5x5, aka Bill Starr's, is a very nice program. It includes all 3 lifts + some very important assistance exercises. You squat 3x/wk, bench 2x/wk and deadlift once a week. It is very easy to follow and you can make decent gains on it. It is available in an intermediate linear version, and in an advanced periodized version. The intermediate version is actually periodized (linearly) since you would reset the program after a couple of weeks (when you can no longer increase the weights by 2.5%), and this would give you 2-3 easy weeks.

Smolov is an overreaching program. I did the mistake of doing this program and overestimating my capacities... I failed miserably. I thought I could do it while adding a bunch of squat assistance exercises + heavy bench days, and the result is that I failed to overcompensate at the end. Althought the first week is fairly easy, it becomes hard very quickly on the 2nd and 3rd week. You can also apply the principles of Smolov to bench and deadlift, but not at the same time obviously. There is also a Smolov Jr version, which is often used for the bench; it is slightly easier. Contrarily to 5x5 or Sheiko or Westside, you could not do Smolov over and over. It is more something you'd try a few times a year.

I'm thoroughly convinced that you are the smartest person on this forum. People with rep power, please rep this guy.

It sounds like you favor 5X5, correct?

[swolegantor]

Cannibal doesent "favour" anything Ill tell you that right now.

As far as what you should be doing...yes 5x5 would probably be the most suitable.

however the concepts of "westside" ( I hate using that term) can be applied to a begginer.

[The_cannibal]

I'm thoroughly convinced that you are the smartest person on this forum. People with rep power, please rep this guy.

It sounds like you favor 5X5, correct?

Each program has its virtues, however, for an intermediate lifter, I'd say 5x5 (Bill Starr's) is one of the easiest program to understand and follow. Sheiko and Westside both require more "self-planning".