Ballast's Westside Log

[ballast]

November 12th

Bottom-Position Floor Press 1 rep @ 225ibs
Wide-Grip Bench Presses 2 sets of 5 reps @ 195ibs

chest-supported rows
cuban rotations
hammer curls

November 14th

Bottom-Position Zercher Squats 1 rep @ 315ibs
Arched-Back Good Mornings(Wide Stance) w/14-inch ROM 3 sets of 5 reps @ 225ibs

chest-supported rows
stability ball abs

[Deciever]

looks pretty good.. No abs with the squats??


how old are you and how much do you weigh? max lifts??

good job in starting a journal.

[ballast]

Deciever-I did a bit of ab work on the stability ball after my session, but I plan on hitting an extra session tonight for some additional ham and ab work.
I'm on the down side of 28 and I weigh 195ibs.Maxes are 425 for the deadlift,350 for the squat and I have no idea about bench press.I have been focusing on overhead pressing for the past two months but wanted to start training Westside again.I should have some idea to my bench in a few weeks.

[Antaeus]

Good stuff. Happy lifting!

[ballast]

Speed Benches
8 sets of 3 reps @ 155ibs
1 rep @ 185ibs(fast)
1 rep @ 205ibs(fairly fast)
1 rep @ 225ibs(a bit slow)

elbows-out triceps extensions
sternum chins
cuban rotations

[ballast]

Speed Squats
8 sets of 2 reps @ 205ibs
Partial Deadlifts(below knees)
2 sets of 15 reps @ 275ibs

glute-ham raises
dumbell side bends
hanging leg raises

[Antaeus]

Nice exercises. Do you have bands or chains??

[ballast]

Antaeus-No, I don't have either.I'm hoping to find a set of bands in my stocking this December(I'm a poor college student, so its not in the budget).I went to the local hardware store to check out the price of chains, but those establishments are professional rape artists when it comes to their prices.I'm basically still a beginner when it comes to Westside and I'd like to get my poundages up a bit before I tackle the more involved variables of the system anyway.

[Antaeus]

Originally posted by ballast
Antaeus-No, I don't have either.I'm hoping to find a set of bands in my stocking this December(I'm a poor college student, so its not in the budget).I went to the local hardware store to check out the price of chains, but those establishments are professional rape artists when it comes to their prices.I'm basically still a beginner when it comes to Westside and I'd like to get my poundages up a bit before I tackle the more involved variables of the system anyway.

lol yeah I think I'm asking for a pair of bands from each family member this xmas!!

yes the hardware stores suck for buying chains, call up a metal or chain supply company. They are basically foundries who make the stuff there, you can get it real cheap. Whatever you do don't have it shipped to you. I'd start using that stuff right away, it helps slow you down at the top so you won't get tendonitis from DE.

[Deciever]

home depot atually had decent prices on chains... 20 ft of chain (thin) weighing 25lbs for 30$. not too bad for a beginner... and you can use that for benching, or using it for suspended lifts...

considering checking that out..

[Antaeus]

Originally posted by Deciever
home depot atually had decent prices on chains... 20 ft of chain (thin) weighing 25lbs for 30$. not too bad for a beginner... and you can use that for benching, or using it for suspended lifts...

considering checking that out..

$1.50 a ft? damn that's cheap. I assume that's 3/8ths??

[Deciever]

yeah, 3/8 th works fine for me and my tiny lifts

[Antaeus]

Originally posted by Deciever
yeah, 3/8 th works fine for me and my tiny lifts

hey I have 2 sets of 3/8ths, np!
at the hardcore gym we have 50 lbs of chain in 1/2 in.

[Deciever]

at my other gym i think we have about 100lbs total...

[Antaeus]

we actually don't do a lot of chain work, mostly bands.

and 30 lbs for DE is fine for us.

[ballast]

Antaeus-Your suggestion about starting with chains now due to the tendonitis issue on DE day is a good one.The speed benches are pretty tough on the joints.Thanks for bringing this up.
Deciever-Thanks for the tip about Home Depot.I'm going to have to check that out this weekend.That is pretty cheap compared to what the hardware store wants.Thanks.

[ballast]

Floor Presses
135x3_155x2_175x1_195x1_215x1_235xfail_230x1_235xf ail
Stability Ball DB Bench Presses
2 sets of 10 reps @ 75ibs

chest-supported rows
cuban rotations


Extra Workout(about 5 hours later)

dumbell upright rows
dumbell tricep extensions
cuban rotations

[Antaeus]

np. The bicep actually contracts to help stop the bar at the top of the ROM with raw weight, this is what gives you bicepital tendonitis. Chains will help you from lifting your back off the bench too, which I did all the time with raw wt.

I paid 2.69/ft for 3/8ths (that's like $50 for 2 sets), but I recently found 1/2 in for $3 and 5/8ths for $5 after shopping around.

[Antaeus]

ballast we have very similar numbers. I am 26 and 185ish. I compete in the 181s, and my lifts are roughly 405/245/405 as of my last maxing out days a couple months ago. It would be great to compare lifts in the future.

[ballast]

Sounds good.I'm very interested in how others train using Westside.This is my third attempt, and I'm finally getting comfortable with it.But, I like to see how others train so I can maybe tweak my routine here and there based on other peoples training and suggestions.Thanks for the info.

[ballast]

Bottom-Position Good Mornings @ 39" 2 reps @ 255ibs(PR)
Bottom-Position Zercher Squats 3 sets of 5 reps @ 235ibs


Extra Workout*(performed 5 hours later)

glute-ham raises
stability ball static abs
reverse hypers

*all exercises performed in circuit fashion.3 sets each.


Pretty good session today.Set a pr in the bottom gms today.Used a wide stance with knees slightly bent.Starting position of the bar was 39 inches off the floor.Progression was 135x3_165x3_195x3_225x3_245x2_255x2.Last rep was nearly impossible.I thought I was going to sh*t or go blind.Performing reps on the zercher squats starting at the bottom was pretty difficult as well.Upper thighs were nearly parallel to the ground and paused each rep on the pins for a full two seconds.Came back later in the day to finish off the assistance stuff.Performed in circuit style, second workout took 12 minutes.Next max effort session will be bottom-position back squats and I hope to hit a pr with 350ibs.

[Antaeus]

Originally posted by ballast
Next max effort session will be bottom-position back squats and I hope to hit a pr with 350ibs.

Congrats on the PR! I do pin GMs from parrallel quite often. itching to try suspended chain GMs.

with your next ME exercise, do you mean a back squat from pins in the hole?? have you tried a box squat max??

[ballast]

Antaeus-Yeah.On the bottom squats I start in the bottom position of a back squat with the bar on the pins.The bar is 39 inches off the floor and my upper thighs are parallel to the floor.I love these and they seem to hit the quads and posterior chain equally hard.I haven't tried a max box squat yet, my box is unreliable when it comes to heavy weights.I'm looking to reinforce it soon.I too am anxious to try suspended chain gms.Doing them off the pins is difficult when trying to get into proper position.

[Antaeus]

Originally posted by ballast
Antaeus-Yeah.On the bottom squats I start in the bottom position of a back squat with the bar on the pins.

yeeouch I don't actually know anyone who does these. I think the board's talked about it before, and the lack of an eccentric for a big 3 move that's *supposed* to have one is the turn-off for most, I believe. That's why I don't do them. I'll just GM instead. But of course if they work for you that's cool. How much can you put up on these? and how much is that relative to your reg. squat?

[ballast]

My current max in bottom squats is 245 for a single.Usually, I can regular squat between 10-20 pounds more than I can bottom squat.You're right, not many people like them.I like to use them as a ME exercise because they help my deadlift.They begin with a concentric movement like a deadlift does and they use similar muscles.

[Antaeus]

true, true. the only squatting-style ME exercise I like for DL is high box max. The box is about 3-4" above parrallel, roughly where my ass is in the DL. I've done 405 raw on this one...

[ballast]

Sounds interesting.I'll have to throw those into my ME rotation once my box gets fixed.BTW, that last post of mine was a bit of a mistake.My max in the bottom squat is 345 for a single not 245.Jumping from 245 to 350 would be quite an accomplishment though eh?My bad.

[Antaeus]

yeah I thought 245 sounded a little low for you!

[ballast]

Speed Benches 8 sets of 3 reps @ 155ibs
Floor Presses 3 sets of 5 reps @ 185ibs

chest-supported rows
hammer curls
cuban rotations
reverse hypers


So-so session today.Speed was a bit slow on the benches.Used three different grips and rested 30 seconds between sets.Floor presses felt strong, but its time to give them a rest for a bit.Did the usual assistance work.Low back and hamstrings were still a bit sore from Wednesday workout, so I threw in some reverse hypers to get some blood flowing in those areas.

[ballast]

Speed Squats 8 sets of 2 reps @ 225ibs
Partial Deadlifts 2 sets of 15,12 reps @ 295ibs

side bends

Kick ass session tonight.Speed was pretty fast on the squats.Took 60 seconds rest in between sets.Next week I'm going back down to 185 and throw in a few more sets.Got my letter off to Santa requesting a few sets of bands, so I'm geeked up about that.Partial deadlifts were awesome.Hams,glutes,low back and traps are totally trashed.I think these are going to be a big help in improving the sticking point in my squats.Next week I'll probably go back to speed deadlifts for one workout, just to see where I'm at.Finished off with some heavy side bends.