West Side for Churchill

[churchill51]

I'm 6'2, currently 221 lbs, unknown bodyfat %.

I've been using the WS4BB template that Kethnaab created for almost two months now and I have to say the results are very desireable. Here's the link for it http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=789404

I was out of contact with the weight room for about 4 months due to my job out in Alberta, Canada. I was working on drilling rigs and when you work 12+ hours a day, 14 days straight, you don't get to the gym too often. When I got back home I wrecked my ankle in a pickup basketball game in early March and it still isn't fully healed. I decided that I had iced and elevated it long enough and got back into the gym. I started up light on the good old 5x5 but I was aching for something with more variety. So I started following WS.

For those of you who would like to view my old journal here is the link
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=670691

I am currently using the following supplements.

Universal Animal pump
Molecular Nutrition X-Factor (started May 30/07)
Vyo-tech Oryx goat whey
On optimen multi
glutamine
x-tend

My best lifts are:
Seated BB military press: 170lbs for 3 reps
Pendlay Rows: 205lbs for 5 reps
Flat BB bench press: 215lbs for 3 reps
ATG squat: 335lbs for 1 rep, 315lbs for 3 reps
Conventional deadlifts: 405lbs for 5 reps

I'll post todays workout just to get started

RE Upper

Flat BB bench press
2x8@185
1x7@185
-supersetted with-
wide pullups
7,5,5,4.

DB military press
3x8@60's
-supersetted with-
Yates rows
1x12@145
3x10@145

CGBP
2x8@135
-supersetted with-
Lateral raises
2x12@35's

DB hammer curls
1x7@50's
1x5@50's

[mjw8204]

My subscribed list is already overflowing, but there's always room for one more.

Thanks for the comments in my journal, by the way.

[churchill51]

Originally Posted by mjw8204

My subscribed list is already overflowing, but there's always room for one more.

Thanks for the comments in my journal, by the way.

Anytime man.

Did some 90 lb sled draggin last night along with some sprints. Cut it short cuz my right hammy started acting funny.

[churchill51]

Deadlifts
3x365
3x405
3x405

ATG squats
4x5x245

Good mornings
3x8x185

Chins
8,7,5,4.

Lateral raises
2x15x35's
-supersetted with-
weighted decline crunches
3x15x25lbs

Had a suprising amount of ease with the Deadlifts today, very happy about that. My right hamstring is giving me some problems, but nothing serious. Squats went up easy, should be getting a PR out of those aswell, soon. Good mornings went up fine, just didn't push it too much because of the hammy. Tomorrow is a big day for me, two plates on the bench, something i've been working towards for a long time. At the rate my bench is progressing though, i think it'll be a breeze. Here's to hoping. Later.

[mjw8204]

Well, it's always nice when four plates go up with ease, lol. Any particular reason for leaving the weight at 405 for the third set? Just curious. That was a pretty impressive workout overall. There's no way I'd be up for good mornings after deads and squats.

Good luck on bench!

[churchill51]

Originally Posted by mjw8204

Well, it's always nice when four plates go up with ease, lol. Any particular reason for leaving the weight at 405 for the third set? Just curious. That was a pretty impressive workout overall. There's no way I'd be up for good mornings after deads and squats.

Good luck on bench!

In regards to doing 2 sets of 405 instead of just 1... I was lazy, haha, I didn't want to change up the weights and it went up so easy the first time so I decided to pick it up again. I definitely believe the speed deads I did before really helped. I think you could handle the GM's, don't under-estimate yourself. Thanks for your input MJW.

[churchill51]

Flat BB bench press
3x205
2x225 Still a PR
2x215

Wide grip pullups
3x6xBW

Pendlay Rows
4x8x175
supersetted with
DB Military presses
1x5x70's
2x6x65's

Lateral raises
2x15x35's
-supersetted with-
Incline Skullcrushers
2x12x75

Well, poop... Crap on my day didn't it. Went to sleep last night not feeling too well and woke up worse with a sore throat. Had no energy and started feeling uneasy bout the 225x3 on the bench today, needless to say I didn't get 3 reps, but i still got 2, which is still a PR for me. I was happy with the rest of the workout, especially the rows which I thought I was going to have more problems with. Thinking of either switching out the flat bench for board presses or floor presses, I don't know, any advice would help.

[randomhero97]

If you're lifting raw there is not need really to go over 3 boards. However, a few weeks of 4 boards would be good to get the heavy weight in your hands. The floor press, rack lockouts, and boards will help with your lockout strength. You could do your raw presses one day, like you are doing now, and do some board work for your lockout strength.

[churchill51]

Originally Posted by randomhero97

If you're lifting raw there is not need really to go over 3 boards. However, a few weeks of 4 boards would be good to get the heavy weight in your hands. The floor press, rack lockouts, and boards will help with your lockout strength. You could do your raw presses one day, like you are doing now, and do some board work for your lockout strength.

Sorry if I don't understand but I shouldn't go over 3 boards? But I should use 4? Could you please clarify? My lock out isn't the problem is midway through the lift, closer to my chest is where my sticking point is. I'm reading up more on Westside to get a better understanding of how to deal with this and your advice is welcome aswell, thanks.

[randomhero97]

Originally Posted by churchill51

Sorry if I don't understand but I shouldn't go over 3 boards? But I should use 4? Could you please clarify? My lock out isn't the problem is midway through the lift, closer to my chest is where my sticking point is. I'm reading up more on Westside to get a better understanding of how to deal with this and your advice is welcome aswell, thanks.

Sorry for mixing you up. Really, 4 boards and above will do more for shirted benchers then raw but it can help raw benchers in a sense that it will give you the feel of handling more weight. The Eight Keys by Dave Tate will definitely help you to understand Westside better. www.elitefts.com has tons of articles and that's basically Dave Tate's and Jim Wendler's website. If your sticking point is closer to your chest then you could try some 2 board pauses. What type of grip do you use for your raw bench?

[churchill51]

Originally Posted by randomhero97

Sorry for mixing you up. Really, 4 boards and above will do more for shirted benchers then raw but it can help raw benchers in a sense that it will give you the feel of handling more weight. The Eight Keys by Dave Tate will definitely help you to understand Westside better. www.elitefts.com has tons of articles and that's basically Dave Tate's and Jim Wendler's website. If your sticking point is closer to your chest then you could try some 2 board pauses.

Thanks alot man, really. Yeah right now I'm reading this part:

Periodization Bible (New Testament)
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle....le=body_133per

It was posted by Vikingman on this thread
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...6#post10583736

Its the second post.

And thanks again for your input.

(oh and what movie is your signature from?)

[VikingMan]

The very high boards are for shirted benchers. The reason is simple. The shirt gives you a very high amount of help the closer you get to the chest. I saw a video from Sebastian Burns that shows this perfectly. It's a vid of one of his bench press workouts. His first "work" set is with 405. He takes the bar down to about 2-4 inches off his chest. Why 2-4 inches off his chest? Because the weight wasn't heavy enough to overcome the assistance his shirt was giving him. So, as the bar goes up, the resistance goes up. Thus, the sticking point will usually be very high. And given that a board press is a strength building technique intended to overload the point where you are weakest, high boards are for shirted benchers.

For a raw bencher, that point will usually be much lower. So stick to lower boards. I've done 3 and 4 boards, but the majority of the board work I do is with a 2 board. Though I'll probably toss a 3 board back into the mix, for fun.

[MISSINGLINK]

Nice journal so far. 405x3 is really nice.

[churchill51]

Originally Posted by VikingMan

The very high boards are for shirted benchers. The reason is simple. The shirt gives you a very high amount of help the closer you get to the chest. I saw a video from Sebastian Burns that shows this perfectly. It's a vid of one of his bench press workouts. His first "work" set is with 405. He takes the bar down to about 2-4 inches off his chest. Why 2-4 inches off his chest? Because the weight wasn't heavy enough to overcome the assistance his shirt was giving him. So, as the bar goes up, the resistance goes up. Thus, the sticking point will usually be very high. And given that a board press is a strength building technique intended to overload the point where you are weakest, high boards are for shirted benchers.

For a raw bencher, that point will usually be much lower. So stick to lower boards. I've done 3 and 4 boards, but the majority of the board work I do is with a 2 board. Though I'll probably toss a 3 board back into the mix, for fun.

Awesome, oh and how thick are these boards you use, are we talking simple 2x4 boards?

[randomhero97]

Only the greatest film with the greatest action hero ever, "Bruce Campbell vs. The Army of Darkness." I have the Boomstick edition at home which contains the theatrical version and the director's cut.

[churchill51]

Originally Posted by MISSINGLINK

Nice journal so far. 405x3 is really nice.

Thanks, the deads are my best lift.

[churchill51]

Originally Posted by randomhero97

Only the greatest film with the greatest action hero ever, "Bruce Campbell vs. The Army of Darkness." I have the Boomstick edition at home which contains the theatrical version and the director's cut.

Hahaha, yeah, that movie rocks.. "Hail to the King baby"

[randomhero97]

Originally Posted by churchill51

Awesome, oh and how thick are these boards you use, are we talking simple 2x4 boards?

2x4's or you can use one 2x6 and nail the 2x4's on top it it. Another option instead of having multiple boards is to use velcro to attach the boards together.

[churchill51]

Originally Posted by randomhero97

2x4's or you can use one 2x6 and nail the 2x4's on top it it. Another option instead of having multiple boards is to use velcro to attach the boards together.

Sounds like a plan, I'm going to use the board press next ME upper then. I was wondering if it would be beneficial to add floor presses aswell or leave them out so as not to tax myself too much.

[randomhero97]

Originally Posted by churchill51

Sounds like a plan, I'm going to use the board press next ME upper then. I was wondering if it would be beneficial to add floor presses aswell or leave them out so as not to tax myself too much.

It wouldn't hurt to do floor presses. Bring your grip in with pinky on rings.

[churchill51]

Originally Posted by randomhero97

It wouldn't hurt to do floor presses. Bring your grip in with pinky on rings.

Right now my grip is pretty wide, compared to most people i believe. I was benching today with my middle finger on the ring. I don't think i've found the best spot for my hands to be on the bar, for my best weight. And I do have an abnormally large wingspan, I stand at 6'2'' but my wingspan is 6'7''. This helps for deadlifts but hinders for bench.

[churchill51]

calf raises
2x12
supersetted with
decline crunches
2x30

front squats
3x8x195 Yet another PR

DE Deadlifts
8x3x295 with 45-60 seconds between sets

Lateral raises
1x15x35's
1x20x35's


Oh those squats were almost a mess today, I was planning on doing 2 more sets, but I wasn't feeling too hot after those 3. Deads went up nice a powerful and the lateral raises were a nice ending. I don't think my shoulders have ever been stronger, which is a good thing.

[churchill51]

Flat BB bench press
2x8x185
supersetted with
Chins
7,7,5.

Yates Rows
2x8x155
supersetted with
DB Military presses
2x8x60's

Incline Db Press
10x65's
8x65's
-supersetted with-
Ez bar curls
2x12x85

Lateral raises
2x10x40's

This was Fridays workout. I was totally drained when it came to this one because I had a physical test for my police application at 9 am that required me to pretty much use up all the energy I had. Got started on the weights and I knew from the moment I picked up the bar for my bench work that some sets were gonna go in the trash. After that I went to a bonfire and drank some brews, some shots but thankfully I sobered up with the help of my gallon of water. What a partier I am, eh.

[krives55]

good looking workouts.. definately subscribing. and Keep up the ur progress on this workout. I am liking it.

[churchill51]

Originally Posted by krives55

good looking workouts.. definately subscribing. and Keep up the ur progress on this workout. I am liking it.

Thanks for the interest, comments are welcome anytime.

[benchintraining]

Hey Church!

A question for you. Why are you supersetting when you are benching? I just want to know what your goals are. On your bench, since you are a raw bencher I would use floor press and if you bench with a big arch, declines. Keep it up buddy.

[churchill51]

Deadlifts
3x375
3x415 PR
3x425 PR

ATG squats
4x5x255

wide pullups
6,6,4.

Good mornings
2x8x185
-supersetted with-
weighted decline crunches
2x10x35lbs

Lateral raises
2x10x40's


Notes:
Great day today, went down in the pullups though. Probably because of the deads and my weight is up to 225. Felt out the 415 and it went up easy enough that I decided to go for 425 too. The squats feel great aswell, we'll see how long I can keep this up. I might move the squats to my second lower day (at least the heavy ones) and have two ME lifts, one on Monday and one on Thursday. Took a set away from the GM's for good reason, was drained. I made videos of both deadlifts and will post once they've uploaded.

[churchill51]

Originally Posted by benchintraining

Hey Church!

A question for you. Why are you supersetting when you are benching? I just want to know what your goals are. On your bench, since you are a raw bencher I would use floor press and if you bench with a big arch, declines. Keep it up buddy.

Whats up Bench... I like supersetting the bench with my pullups/chins because of A. Cuts down on time spent. B. Helps burn more calories(i think) and C. I love the pump. My goal still is mainly increasing strength, but I still wanna look good too. I am going to be trying board presses tomorrow for the bench.

[randomhero97]

Originally Posted by churchill51

Whats up Bench... I like supersetting the bench with my pullups/chins because of A. Cuts down on time spent. B. Helps burn more calories(i think) and C. I love the pump. My goal still is mainly increasing strength, but I still wanna look good too. I am going to be trying board presses tomorrow for the bench.

Just a little FYI, make sure you have two spotters when doing boards. One to hold the boards and another to spot you.

[mjw8204]

Great deadlifting. I'm not at all surprised to see that your pullups went down after that. If it were me, I'd probably do them first. From my experience, deadlifting affects my ability to do pullups much more than pullups would affect my ability to do anything else.