how often should you max out

[jackedfibras222]

is every 4 weeks good ???

[HRK (herb)]

on max effort day.....

squats/dl - saturday

bench - tuesday

[nayrb182]

^^^^^^^^^^^^+1

[jackedfibras222]

on max effort day.....

squats/dl - saturday

bench - tuesday

so you're saying once a week ????

[isaku900]

so you're saying once a week ????

on westside, yes.

on other programs, no.

depends what you're doing really.

[jrs0343]

yea, it does depend on what system your using..most systems are good for every 4-6 weeks (at least thats been my experience)

[mochi]

so you're saying once a week ????

i think it's important to note that using westside principles you should be maxing out on a squat/dead or bench variant (or the lift itself) every week. you're not actually doing a full squat, full deadlift, and full bench every single week

[GoJu]

guys who are 150lbs don't need to do westside....

[Danimal]

on max effort day.....

squats/dl - saturday

bench - tuesday

That's a bit misleading. It should be noted that on a program using max effort lifts you are not doing the competition style lift (full squat, bench, deadlift) week in and week out. You might max out 2 boards for a couple weeks, then move to another lift.

[Drew23]

guys who are 150lbs don't need to do westside....

why not?

[Danimal]

There was a 132lb master at the meet I reffed this weekend. He did nearly a double bodyweight bench and nearly 3x deadlift, in older single ply gear (blast shirt and old inzer suit). I bet he could use WSB.

Making statements about who can use what routine based on your size isn't real smart. A better statement might be "someone who hasn't lifted using a basic program with compound lifts for 2 years or so shouldn't be doing WSB", but even that is subjective.

[5G]

greatly depends what you are doing

[GoJu]

why not?

westside isn't for noobies, dave tate and jim wendler can say what they want but I think it's not necessary for a guy who can't bench 225 to do speed work with less than 95lbs and maxing on 2 board press with 185....

[Drew23]

westside isn't for noobies, dave tate and jim wendler can say what they want but I think it's not necessary for a guy who can't bench 225 to do speed work with less than 95lbs and maxing on 2 board press with 185....

If used correctly it will work for anyone. Speed work in itself shouldn't be done until the technique is correct. I don't care if you bench 95 or 405, if your technique is crap then speed work won't work.

[Kiknskreem]

guys who are 150lbs don't need to do westside....

I disagree.

But I DO agree that guys who weigh 150 lbs and also bench 115 don't need to be doing westside. They also don't need to be doing speed work or "maxing out".

[John Prophet]

guys who are 150lbs don't need to do westside....

I agree....(unless they are advanced 132 or 148 class powerlifters, lol)

[John Prophet]

is every 4 weeks good ???

even 4 weeks could be too often. Maybe every 8 weeks for a true max. That way u have some time in between to actually make some strength gains

maybe at the end of 4 weeks u can work up to a max triple to see where you are. Then after 4 more weeks hit a true max

after you max, take about the first half of the next week off then kick back in again

[cupcakekid]

did wsbb for 15 weeks, toughest routine ive ever done. maxed out 2 lifts evry week.

Im doing Ed Coan deadlift (so i max at the end of 11 weeks)

and Ryan Kennelly BP program.

for wsbb, you NEED to be an advanced lifter. i think i was even a little too soon to do it. was by far the most draining experience ever. Ill go back to it in about 20 weeks

[Andalite]

here's what i think (and some of what i have to say is common with what a few people have said above).

Westside isnt the be all and end all of powerlifting. to be honest: unless you are training with louie, all you are using is a template. simple. a template. which is, intrinsically, an upper-lower split.

therefore, if that upper lower split was manipulated, you would be using a different type of an upper lower set-up but its still westside.

so Topic #1: westside can be any program that has an upper-lower. it doesnt need a specific ME or DE or RE day by label because DeFranco's westside stuff is still westisde, right?

next,

speed work for small lifters. sorry, i have used speed work when my max bench was 210. i still use speed work and it is working. some people just arent built to bench press. therefore, discarding everyone under a certain lift limit to use DE work is incorrect.

Topic #2: DE method works wonders if used correctly and for the right people.

---x---

[Rawngus]

imo west side is great for beginers and as for speed day i think even if its <95 who cares noobs are usually not quick enough and as for hypertrophy they get plenty from assistance is planned right

[PLANETGETLOW]

I think you'll get alot of different responses. I've tried various routines but like the poster above me just stated trying to follow the west-side routine is tough because unless you're there, you don't know what Louie is doing.

I called him and spoke with him about a week ago and altered my splits to accommodate for not having bands or chains. I made some good progress last year with westside and will stay with is again to see if I can get past my plateau.

If not, I will just go to higher weight, lower reps and will completely change my sets and reps. You've got to really lift HEAVY weight to keep increasing your max BUT you've also need recovery time.

Right now I'm maxing out twice a week (Upper and Lower Body). Each week I have a different ME exercise but always a 1 RM. Then on the 3rd or 4th week I rotate back around to the intial ME exercise and increase the weight by 5lbs. It's not much, but mentally it's all I need.

[philapino18]

I usually max out about every 6-8 weeks depending on how my body is reacting/ adapting to my current program.

[bigred90]

at 150lbs, and a 115 bench, all you need to me worried about is eating, lifting consistently, and lifting heavy. Westside can work for a beginner, if you have someone experienced to help you. A key to westside principles is knowing how certain exercises affect your lifts(the big three) and how you recover from those exercises, intensity, and volume. 90% of beginning lifters form sucks alone, no way will they know how to set up the assistance work. Part of the fun of lifting to me is seeing how your body responds to certain exercises/volume/etc. To the OP, your best doing ripptoes, bill stars, or some other routine that is pretty much set in stone what you do. Also, do some kind of flexibility work on your off days, it will help a lot. After your comfortable with the main lifts, then you could easily adapt some other routine, using westside principles or whatever. To say westside sucks for weaker or smaller people is retarded. To say westside sucks for unguided people is reasonable.

Regarding maxing out, usually you would finish whatever routine your doing, take a deload week, where at the end you max out. With westside, its a different story, but i wouldnt worry about that right now

[strongman963]

but max out bout 2 out of every three workouts, in at least one exercise.

[disbeast57]

i would say every 2 months to monitor your progress. There is no need to max out often, you are just hindering gains.

[Mata Leao]

is every 4 weeks good ???

ive never done it.

[Mata Leao]

at 150lbs, and a 115 bench, all you need to me worried about is eating, lifting consistently, and lifting heavy. Westside can work for a beginner, if you have someone experienced to help you. A key to westside principles is knowing how certain exercises affect your lifts(the big three) and how you recover from those exercises, intensity, and volume. 90% of beginning lifters form sucks alone, no way will they know how to set up the assistance work. Part of the fun of lifting to me is seeing how your body responds to certain exercises/volume/etc. To the OP, your best doing ripptoes, bill stars, or some other routine that is pretty much set in stone what you do. Also, do some kind of flexibility work on your off days, it will help a lot. After your comfortable with the main lifts, then you could easily adapt some other routine, using westside principles or whatever. To say westside sucks for weaker or smaller people is retarded. To say westside sucks for unguided people is reasonable.

Regarding maxing out, usually you would finish whatever routine your doing, take a deload week, where at the end you max out. With westside, its a different story, but i wouldnt worry about that right now

yeah what he said

[SCskinnymuscle]

guys who are 150lbs don't need to do westside....

hes 8 inches shorter than you... dumbass.

[bigred90]

hes 8 inches shorter than you... dumbass.

according to Goju's sig, 6 inches, lol

[Hard Drive]

I agree....(unless they are advanced 132 or 148 class powerlifters, lol)

What about 123:-(