Thoughts on Westside's principles, the conjugated method and training approaches

[PhreEkGarden]

Got it. Crossfit.

Can you ask him to make a new thread explaining Crossfit principles?

[iron619]

Awesome summation of the Westside principles dude, repped.

One thing I have always debated about was how many exercises to have in my "pool" of rotations for ME Work. Sometimes I program 12 different exercises so I only max out on each one once every 12 weeks; and sometimes I condense it to 4 exercises. I like to have my CNS/body have some familiarization with a particular exercise, but then again, having so much variety definitely helps avoid hitting a plateau and mental staleness.

Also, I haven't been completely sold on Dynamic work, especially for the raw lifter. The concept is sound and obviously we understand it (we had it thoroughly explained at Louie Simmon's Seminar last year!), but for me personally, I haven't seen any difference in bench strength from incorporating and excluding DE work...

[PaC-mAn8]

How often would you rotate ME movements for a beginner lifter?

Should a beginner lifter alternate DE days/RE days every week?

Is it okay to do the ACTUAL lift here and there (free squat, deadlift, full rom bench)?

Anything different for a raw lifter using westside principles?

Crap, that was a lot. Sorry

[reyes12]

I'm going to be starting this (been working out for 3 years now, I have done 5x5 type of routine prior to this, I have all my maxes in and know all my percentages as of now)

But I want to know.. when would you add on more weight to your maxes to see how much strength you've actually gained? How many weeks in would you work until you tested for your new stronger 1RM?

[jmt92]

Awesome summation of the Westside principles dude, repped.

One thing I have always debated about was how many exercises to have in my "pool" of rotations for ME Work. Sometimes I program 12 different exercises so I only max out on each one once every 12 weeks; and sometimes I condense it to 4 exercises. I like to have my CNS/body have some familiarization with a particular exercise, but then again, having so much variety definitely helps avoid hitting a plateau and mental staleness.

Also, I haven't been completely sold on Dynamic work, especially for the raw lifter. The concept is sound and obviously we understand it (we had it thoroughly explained at Louie Simmon's Seminar last year!), but for me personally, I haven't seen any difference in bench strength from incorporating and excluding DE work...

I sometimes question the DE for bench thing mysself, thats why I rotate between RE and DE days for my bench each cycle.I do however notice that after my DE cycles my bench is a lot faster at the top with the band work.

[DriveMyWhey]

solely out of interest:


1. do you have a set "package" of ME lifts that you rotate? or do you decide the next ME lift at the end/start of each cycle?

2. how do you know if something works or not? for example, if on ME bench day, you did cycle1- bench, cycle2- floor, cycle 3: 4 board and cycle4: bench again, and your bench didn't increase, how do you know which ME exercise didn't benefit you?

would you say that the conjugate method wouldn't work if you'd rotate the same exercise every 2 cycles? for example bench, close grip, bench, close grip, and squat, deads, squat, deads(can be on box but other than that no variations)?
if not, do you think it would work for a beginner to westside(not a total beginner to barbell training)?
i've read in deepsquatter.com that louie simmons said that he prefers to have ME lifts 4 weeks apart from each other to see results, but does that mean 4 different cycles or actual 4 weeks? because for a beginner using 3 week waves that means using the same ME lift every 2nd cycle.

3. are your assistance lifts supposed to build your current ME exercise or the next one? if you say now, assuming that you're using 1-week cycles, would you say it's different for athletes that use 3-week cycles?




it doesn't have to be koyongi to answer these questions, i just don't think that it's worth a thread opening for.
thanks.

[DriveMyWhey]

solely out of interest:


1. do you have a set "package" of ME lifts that you rotate? or do you decide the next ME lift at the end/start of each cycle?

2. how do you know if something works or not? for example, if on ME bench day, you did cycle1- bench, cycle2- floor, cycle 3: 4 board and cycle4: bench again, and your bench didn't increase, how do you know which ME exercise didn't benefit you?

would you say that the conjugate method wouldn't work if you'd rotate the same exercise every 2 cycles? for example bench, close grip, bench, close grip, and squat, deads, squat, deads(can be on box but other than that no variations)?
if not, do you think it would work for a beginner to westside(not a total beginner to barbell training)?
i've read in deepsquatter.com that louie simmons said that he prefers to have ME lifts 4 weeks apart from each other to see results, but does that mean 4 different cycles or actual 4 weeks? because for a beginner using 3 week waves that means using the same ME lift every 2nd cycle.

3. are your assistance lifts supposed to build your current ME exercise or the next one? if you say now, assuming that you're using 1-week cycles, would you say it's different for athletes that use 3-week cycles?




it doesn't have to be koyongi to answer these questions, i just don't think that it's worth a thread opening for.
thanks.

bumpoon

[koyongi]

solely out of interest:

1. do you have a set "package" of ME lifts that you rotate? or do you decide the next ME lift at the end/start of each cycle?

2. how do you know if something works or not? for example, if on ME bench day, you did cycle1- bench, cycle2- floor, cycle 3: 4 board and cycle4: bench again, and your bench didn't increase, how do you know which ME exercise didn't benefit you?

would you say that the conjugate method wouldn't work if you'd rotate the same exercise every 2 cycles? for example bench, close grip, bench, close grip, and squat, deads, squat, deads(can be on box but other than that no variations)?
if not, do you think it would work for a beginner to westside(not a total beginner to barbell training)?
i've read in deepsquatter.com that louie simmons said that he prefers to have ME lifts 4 weeks apart from each other to see results, but does that mean 4 different cycles or actual 4 weeks? because for a beginner using 3 week waves that means using the same ME lift every 2nd cycle.

3. are your assistance lifts supposed to build your current ME exercise or the next one? if you say now, assuming that you're using 1-week cycles, would you say it's different for athletes that use 3-week cycles?

1. Some people plan their ME lifts, we usually wing it depending on what we need to work on and who's doing what. I rarely know what I'm doing until I get to the gym.

2. You're probably not going to "know" if a lift "works" in four weeks. Personally, my lifts go up 10-20 pounds a YEAR, that's 5 pounds every few months, so no noticeable change in a few weeks. It's more a matter of knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are, and what main movement will help address those. It may take months to figure out whether or not your plan is "working".

There's no magic number for how often you can do an ME movement. Sometimes I'll go 6 months in between, sometimes a few weeks. Keep in mind that you can change lifts in any number of ways, so it's not like you EVER have to repeat. You can add different bands, more or less chains, reverse bands, suspend from chains, change your stance, change your hand placement, change the deficit, change the blocks, change the boards, change the box height, change the foam, change the bar...
As a beginner, you want to keep the rotation more simple, and closer to competition lifts, but there's no reason you would need to repeat more than every few months.

On a three-week wave, you could do:
Squat-Bench
Deadlift-Floor press
Box squat-CGBP
---
Deficit deadlift-incline bench
Pause squat-Wide grip bench
Deadlift from boxes-Pause bench
---

There's two months with no repeats, with nothing you wouldn't find in a Gold's gym. And nothing too crazy.

3. I can't speak for everyone, but I don't wave/change/plan accessories at all. Use them to target your weaknesses and compliment the ME lift you did that day. As a general rule, on lower body days, do at LEAST one back, hamstring, and glute movement. On upper body, do AT LEAST one lat, tricep, and shoulder movement. That doesn't mean neglect quads, traps, biceps, abs, forearms, hip flexors, pecs, etc., it just means work those in as you have energy and need.

If you squat, make your next move a DL or GM. If you DL, make your next move a squat or GM. If you bench, make your next movement heavy triceps or shoulders or back. Rotate so you're hitting different body part heavy every workout. Then it's sort of like being a bodybuilder, except not.

[DriveMyWhey]

1. Some people plan their ME lifts, we usually wing it depending on what we need to work on and who's doing what. I rarely know what I'm doing until I get to the gym.

2. You're probably not going to "know" if a lift "works" in four weeks. Personally, my lifts go up 10-20 pounds a YEAR, that's 5 pounds every few months, so no noticeable change in a few weeks. It's more a matter of knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are, and what main movement will help address those. It may take months to figure out whether or not your plan is "working".

There's no magic number for how often you can do an ME movement. Sometimes I'll go 6 months in between, sometimes a few weeks. Keep in mind that you can change lifts in any number of ways, so it's not like you EVER have to repeat. You can add different bands, more or less chains, reverse bands, suspend from chains, change your stance, change your hand placement, change the deficit, change the blocks, change the boards, change the box height, change the foam, change the bar...
As a beginner, you want to keep the rotation more simple, and closer to competition lifts, but there's no reason you would need to repeat more than every few months.

On a three-week wave, you could do:
Squat-Bench
Deadlift-Floor press
Box squat-CGBP
---
Deficit deadlift-incline bench
Pause squat-Wide grip bench
Deadlift from boxes-Pause bench
---

There's two months with no repeats, with nothing you wouldn't find in a Gold's gym. And nothing too crazy.

3. I can't speak for everyone, but I don't wave/change/plan accessories at all. Use them to target your weaknesses and compliment the ME lift you did that day. As a general rule, on lower body days, do at LEAST one back, hamstring, and glute movement. On upper body, do AT LEAST one lat, tricep, and shoulder movement. That doesn't mean neglect quads, traps, biceps, abs, forearms, hip flexors, pecs, etc., it just means work those in as you have energy and need.

If you squat, make your next move a DL or GM. If you DL, make your next move a squat or GM. If you bench, make your next movement heavy triceps or shoulders or back. Rotate so you're hitting different body part heavy every workout. Then it's sort of like being a bodybuilder, except not.

i knew i wasn't ready for the conjugate system

thanks anyway

[Black_Spit]

Squat-Bench
Deadlift-Floor press
Box squat-CGBP
---
Deficit deadlift-incline bench
Pause squat-Wide grip bench
Deadlift from boxes-Pause bench
---

Isaku mentioned to me not to do OHP or GM as DE movements.

Could you or Isaku share a short list of appropriate DE vs ME exercises aside from the ones listed.

Assuming the top is ME and bottom is DE.

[isaku900]

Isaku mentioned to me not to do OHP or GM as DE movements.

Could you or Isaku share a short list of appropriate DE vs ME exercises aside from the ones listed.

Assuming the top is ME and bottom is DE.

those were all examples of ME work.

DE bench should be bench, sometimes you can floor press.

DE squat should be squat, free or box.

that's it.

[Black_Spit]

those were all examples of ME work.

DE bench should be bench, sometimes you can floor press.

DE squat should be squat, free or box.

that's it.

No speed pulls?

[isaku900]

No speed pulls?

speed pulls are after your DE squats generally.

they are not the primary movement of the day.

[Black_Spit]

speed pulls are after your DE squats generally.

they are not the primary movement of the day.

Ok, and will you do the same 8-9x3 or will you do fewer sets as it's not your priority of the day and because you've already squatted @ 8x3?

Also, same general guideline of 60% for the raw lifter?

[isaku900]

Ok, and will you do the same 8-9x3 or will you do fewer sets as it's not your priority of the day and because you've already squatted @ 8x3?

Also, same general guideline of 60% for the raw lifter?

speed squats are prescribed for 8-12 doubles, 8x2-12x2.
speed bench is 8-9x3.
raw lifters are generally encouraged to do a little bit of a higher range, 60%-65%-70%.

speed pulls are generally 8-12 singles, or 4-6 doubles/triples.

[Black_Spit]

I appreciate all the responses to my n00b WS questions. This is something I'll be using down the road. Just trying to formulate a plan for when I'm ready. This thread will be invaluable when I decide to jump ship from 5/3/1.

[jpfaherty]

This may be a REALLY stupid question but on DE days you use 60% of your 1RM for your main lift, but what % should you be using for your accesory work? Is it 60% or a higher %? I'm looking into doing WSB for the first time and this seems to be the only confusing part for me.

Thanks!

[isaku900]

This may be a REALLY stupid question but on DE days you use 60% of your 1RM for your main lift, but what % should you be using for your accesory work? Is it 60% or a higher %? I'm looking into doing WSB for the first time and this seems to be the only confusing part for me.

Thanks!

accessory work isn't on a percentage basis. do what you need to do to address your weaknesses.

[jpfaherty]

accessory work isn't on a percentage basis. do what you need to do to address your weaknesses.

Thanks man, much appreciated.

[Black_Spit]

Isaku I see that you take a 4th week as deload.

Do you usually take that week off or do you still do speed work? Also do you closely do the pendulum wave 50, 55, 60%?

I guess I'm wondering how you work that deload week in with the 3 week wave.

I notice that Louie and Dave Tate don't seem too big on deloads.

[PanzeR-]

Isaku I see that you take a 4th week as deload.

Do you usually take that week off or do you still do speed work? Also do you closely do the pendulum wave 50, 55, 60%?

I guess I'm wondering how you work that deload week in with the 3 week wave.

I notice that Louie and Dave Tate don't seem too big on deloads.

Don't need to deload if you have "enhanced recovery"

[isaku900]

Isaku I see that you take a 4th week as deload.

Do you usually take that week off or do you still do speed work? Also do you closely do the pendulum wave 50, 55, 60%?

I guess I'm wondering how you work that deload week in with the 3 week wave.

I notice that Louie and Dave Tate don't seem too big on deloads.

the strict 4th week deload thing has kinda gone by the wayside, people deload as they need to now at Wild Iron.

if you're going to do a 4th week deload, it depends on the type of deload, the most common one is to take your gear off and do no contrast. Instead of a DE day I would do an RE day on deload. Pendulum waves are followed pretty generally, with the 4th week being an RE then going back in at 50%.

Don't need to deload if you have "enhanced recovery"

not strictly true, you just may not need an entire week, or may not need it quite so regularly or scheduled.

[UPAJudge]

I am guessing no incline press for DE work?

How often can you or would you swap RE in for a DE day? (when joints hurt?)

What do you think of using decline bench for ME?

Also for floor press DE I am guessing you don't descend fast, only explode fast? Do you tuck elbows when floor pressing or just maintain natural groove?

[isaku900]

I am guessing no incline press for DE work?

use it as an accessory a lot.

How often can you or would you swap RE in for a DE day? (when joints hurt?)

I do RE on deloads, other teammates use it more often or don't do DE bench at all.

What do you think of using decline bench for ME?

I think its silly compared to my flat bench arch.

Also for floor press DE I am guessing you don't descend fast, only explode fast? Do you tuck elbows when floor pressing or just maintain natural groove?

not particularly unless we have foam under the elbows. more natural, but I've retrained my "natural" groove to be somewhat tucked.

[muscleman420]

hey i have a few questions, I figure some of this I will just have to figure out what works best for me through trial and error, but any insight before I dive in would be appreciated.

1. I want to do the 3 weeks of a certain ME movement before I switch, but how can I make sure I don't lose strength on say, bench, while I'm doing 3 weeks of incline press? speed days enough? can I add bench in as assistance to help maintain my strength on it (keeping it a rep or 2 away from failure of course)?

2. Say your deadlift is lagging and you want to do a 3 week training block that focuses on it. Should you put your deadlift DE work 1st instead of squat DE work and make it your main focus for lower DE days or keep box squats first and the the main focus of DE day?

3. , say you have 3 weeks of squats planned as your ME movement, but you fail a PR attempt in week 2...do you still go for the squat in week 3 as planned or once you fail a week is it time to change up the movement?

[DetKimble]

hey i have a few questions, I figure some of this I will just have to figure out what works best for me through trial and error, but any insight before I dive in would be appreciated.

1. I want to do the 3 weeks of a certain ME movement before I switch, but how can I make sure I don't lose strength on say, bench, while I'm doing 3 weeks of incline press? speed days enough? can I add bench in as assistance to help maintain my strength on it (keeping it a rep or 2 away from failure of course)?

2. Say your deadlift is lagging and you want to do a 3 week training block that focuses on it. Should you put your deadlift DE work 1st instead of squat DE work and make it your main focus for lower DE days or keep box squats first and the the main focus of DE day?

3. , say you have 3 weeks of squats planned as your ME movement, but you fail a PR attempt in week 2...do you still go for the squat in week 3 as planned or once you fail a week is it time to change up the movement?

personally i think its better to vary the exercises every week. lets say you want to squat 3 weeks in a row. i think its much better to do free squat wk1, squat w/chains wk2, box squat wk3, just as an example. also try lifts that will help strengthen your weak points

if you are lifting raw, you should try doing some higher rep DB bench on your bench days after you bench.

heres an article with AJ Roberts:
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/fi...dom_things.htm

[isaku900]

hey i have a few questions, I figure some of this I will just have to figure out what works best for me through trial and error, but any insight before I dive in would be appreciated.

1. I want to do the 3 weeks of a certain ME movement before I switch, but how can I make sure I don't lose strength on say, bench, while I'm doing 3 weeks of incline press? speed days enough? can I add bench in as assistance to help maintain my strength on it (keeping it a rep or 2 away from failure of course)?

1. why do you think you're going to lose strength on a lift while you do variants of it? If you're doing DE/RE bench and hitting the proper accessories, you won't.
Full ROM bench as an assistance movement can be beneficial occasionally, I've done it...twice I think in the last year, I would recommend pausing these, and using it sparingly.

2. Say your deadlift is lagging and you want to do a 3 week training block that focuses on it. Should you put your deadlift DE work 1st instead of squat DE work and make it your main focus for lower DE days or keep box squats first and the the main focus of DE day?

no. the latter.

3. , say you have 3 weeks of squats planned as your ME movement, but you fail a PR attempt in week 2...do you still go for the squat in week 3 as planned or once you fail a week is it time to change up the movement?

You'd change up the movement, but you should be anyways.

Bottom line, I don't recommend doing the same ME movement every week for a three week block.

If you want to squat for three weeks straight on your ME lower day, fine, but do different variants.

[koyongi]

hey i have a few questions, I figure some of this I will just have to figure out what works best for me through trial and error, but any insight before I dive in would be appreciated.

1. I want to do the 3 weeks of a certain ME movement before I switch, but how can I make sure I don't lose strength on say, bench, while I'm doing 3 weeks of incline press? speed days enough? can I add bench in as assistance to help maintain my strength on it (keeping it a rep or 2 away from failure of course)?

2. Say your deadlift is lagging and you want to do a 3 week training block that focuses on it. Should you put your deadlift DE work 1st instead of squat DE work and make it your main focus for lower DE days or keep box squats first and the the main focus of DE day?

3. , say you have 3 weeks of squats planned as your ME movement, but you fail a PR attempt in week 2...do you still go for the squat in week 3 as planned or once you fail a week is it time to change up the movement?

Bill has already answered a lot of your questions, but I'll throw in my 2 cents since you asked nicely.

You are correct that you will learn things through trial and error. But keep a close eye on what you're doing, and make a record of EVERYTHING, so you can look back and see patterns when something goes well or something doesn't go well.

1. As already mentioned, I would rotate movements every week. Personally, I usually go squat-deadlift-gm, or geared squat-deadlift-raw squat if I'm training in gear, sometimes even DL-squat-DL if I really want to focus on it. Bench is pretty much always bench, or occasional floor press. Either way, you're not going to lose strength on a movement in three weeks while you train a variant of it, but you can do a competition lift as an accessory if you really feel the need. BUT, remember to treat it like an accessory, not another ME movement. A quick 3x10 at 60-70% or so will suffice.

2. Keep your squats first, and pull 2nd. Especially if you're focusing on DL on ME days, DE days are going to be your chance to get your squat volume in.

3. This is why you don't do the same movement three weeks in a row. Unless you're still in noob gain territory or are doing a completely new movement, you're just not going to be able to PR three weeks in a row, and chances are good you'll go backwards. Either way, Westside isn't about hitting absolute PRs every week. You hit your max for that day, and work with that. If you did a fully-geared squat to a new PR on Tuesday, there's a good chance you're not going to be able to hit a new PR on bench two days later. Maybe you had a particularly stressful day at work or didn't eat much, so you won't hit the numbers you were hoping for. So, you do what you can, and maybe next time eat more and don't blow your wad before bench day.

Personally, I think you should save your "emphases" for your accessories. ME is for practice, DE and accessories (RE) are for building strength. For instance, historically, CGBP and tricep strength in general have been a weaknesses for me. Last November, I did 175 on CGBP. Over the past two months or so, I started adding in CGBP as my first accessory for sets of 5-8. Earlier this month, I did CGBP for my ME day, and hit an easy 195 (without doing ME CGBP for 8 months). Throw volume at your weaknesses, not necessarily intensity.

[brudman]

I've got a few questions about setting up a mesocycle. Since, as koyongi said above, ME work is for practice (I assume in conditioning yourself to handle 90% to 100% of RMs), is that to say ME exercises chosen at random?

When planning for a meet, do you guys usually cycle in specific ME exercises as the meet approaches or do you maintain sport form by just cycling in a competition squat, bench, DL now and then throughout your training? Or do you just do it through DE work?

I would have to think that although you are getting your volume on competition lifts during DE days, form is different at 70% than it is at 100%.

[isaku900]

I've got a few questions about setting up a mesocycle. Since, as koyongi said above, ME work is for practice (I assume in conditioning yourself to handle 90% to 100% of RMs), is that to say ME exercises chosen at random? How do you go about choosing protocols for assistance work (i.e. 4 reps vs. 8 reps on CG bench if my triceps are weak)?

ME work is practice in that it conditions you for heavy weights and teaches you to strain and handle stress during a lift. ME exercises are not chosen at random, although it can seem that way sometimes. I tend to choose my ME movements based on very broad themes, i.e. I know that my weaknesses are lower back, top of the squat, bottom of the bench, etc. I choose my ME movements to work on those areas mostly.

Many people misunderstand the whole ME/DE/RE thing, ME/DE are for main movements, RE is for everything else. A lot of people I see think that RE should be a separate day, which strictly speaking it isn't. Your accessory movement should be for Repetition Effort, that's why I lay out general rep ranges for 1st accesory and supplemental/assistance movements. 3-5x5-8 for a first accessory because you're going a little heavier, and then your assistance movements are 8-12-15-20 reps depending on the movement and the goal. There isn't really a specific "do 8 reps for CGBP" protocol. You should be able to think about the following when choosing an accessory:

1. What weakness am I addressing? 2. How am I addressing this weakness (strength, hypertrophy, mobility, prehab/rehab?) 3. What weight and rep range should I be using to address this?

If you can't seriously consider and answer those questions, you might need to rethink your accessories, and if you can't answer that for a majority of your movements....then you might want to reconsider using westside.

When planning for a meet, do you guys usually cycle in specific ME exercises as the meet approaches or do you maintain sport form by just cycling in a competition squat, bench, DL now and then throughout your training? Or do you just do it through DE work?

I would have to think that although you are getting your volume on competition lifts during DE days, form is different at 70% than it is at 100%.

for my last meet, this was my 12 weeks:

week 1-4/10-4/16
DEB: speed bench vs. light band
MEL: straight weight squat, briefs only
MEB: straight weight, floor press
DES: Giant Cambered bar vs double light bands
week 2: 4/17-4/23
DEB: stupid hypertrophy benching
MEL: Deadlift from floor vs short light band
MEB: straight weight shirted, 2 board
DES: SSB vs 115lbs of chain
week 3: 4/24-4/30
DEB: speed bench vs. mini band
MEL: straight weight squat, briefs only
MEB: raw 2 board vs 95lbs of chain
DES: speed squat vs average band
week 4: 5/1-5/7
deload
week 5: 5/8-5/14
DEB: RE bench
MEL: suited deadlift, full ROM
MEB: shirted bench, no boards
DES: SSB vs 125c
week 6: 5/15-5/21
DEB: missed
MEL: straight weight, full gear squat
MEB: raw 1 board vs. 105lbs chain
DES: speed squat vs. average band
week 7: 5/22-5/28
DEB: RE bench
MEL: free squat vs 150lbs of chain, briefs
MEB: shirted bench, 1 board
DES: buffalo bar vs 95lbs chain
week 8: 5/29-6/4
DEB: RE bench, fat bar
MEL: box squat vs strong band, briefs
MEB: slingshot full ROM
DES: speed squat vs. average band+105lbs chain
week 9: 6/5-6/11
DEB: RE bench
MEL: reverse band deadlift
MEB: raw, fat bar vs 95lbs chain
DES: speed squat vs average band
week 10: 6/12-6/18
DEB: shirted up, boards down to touch
MEL: full gear, squat opener test
MEB: shirted bench, touched opener
DES: ssb vs light band, raw
week 11: 6/19-6/25
accessories only.
week 12: 6/26-7/2
deload to meet.

obviously I did a lot of squat training on ME days, this is because I was trying to 1) learn my new gear, 2) recover from a back injury, so there wasn't going to be much ME good morning or deadlift training.

I did a lot of RE bench this training cycle, in part because I had a brand new shirt and wasn't going to be doing much raw work, and I was too small for my shirt for a lot of the training cycle so I needed to get some hypertrophies.

since I had a lot of new gear, it wasn't a typical training cycle....but it was effective, since i'm going to use the same gear in my next meet, I'll have a lot more variation on my ME lower day in terms of squat, deadlift and good morning frequency.