Does any of the westsiders here do this? I like to do one heavy supplemental exercise (3-5 RM) after my max effort work and was thinking about throwing in some sort of a squatting movement for example once every 3-4 weeks or so… What do you think? I would still be hitting the hamstrings and lower back with the accessory work.
I would also like to know other squatting exercises which would have a good carryover to powerlifting squat? I remember Bigmartin mentioning the Goodmorning squat. Would it be okey to use this as a supplemental exercise every now and then, even if you’re using it as a max effort exercise also?
Front squats are cool sometimes. I’ve seen some of the efs guys do them. I do them to take it easy on my back sometimes… they’re cool w/ bands. And definitely use a box.
If you’re going to use good mornings or gm squats (I forgot what you said in your post)… I wouldn’t do them as a heavy supplemental movement. Maybe do them for a few sets of 10-15 reps… That just me. And I’d try to keep it far away from an ME day where I was doing that exercise.
Try front squats off a box, they really force you to push your hips forward. If I cant use big weights with my ME move, Ill usually do some squat or pull variation as an accessory lift.
PS Antti, k?y tsekkaamassa westsidebar, siell? on tasokasta wsb-juttua suomeks.
Talking about squatting… When doing squatting movements to a low box, I understand one should use a close stance most of the time ( to save the hips etc. ). My question is: Should these squats also ( low box, close stance ) be performed with shins perpendicular to the floor? This sounds extremely difficult if not impossible… Are you “westside veterans” really able to do this? Should I look forward one day to be able to do this? Or are you just supposed to TRY to do this?
TENU: Kiitos muistutuksesta… Kes?ll? katselin ko. foorumia aktiivisemmin, mutta olin jo ihan unohtanut koko sivut. T?ytyypi palata sinnekin…
One of the things that I intend to incorporate into my training (actually, I started today) is front squats.
While I was very pleased with the results my foray into Westside got me, one thing that I discovered was that without specialization work my quads got weaker - much weaker. When I went to Meltdown for a couple of weeks all the other lifts were up, but my Front Squats were pathetic. So I’m going to incorporate some supplemental quad work from now on.
Antti- You should try to keep your shins perpendicular as much as possible in that situation, though it might not always happen. Don’t sweat it so much; push your ass back initially, keep your knees out, and do your best with it. It will come.
Davidian- Your squat numbers probably went down initially when starting WS because you weren’t used to using your posterior chain, and specifically your hips and hamstrings, that much when squatting. If you stick with it long enough, you will find that these muscles will become MUCH stronger than your quads, and your ability to handle heavier poundages will go through the roof (as these muscles have the potential to handle more weight than the quads). I really feel that for MOST people, quads are not a limiting factor for their squat poundages if they are squatting a la Westside.
In my opinion, close stance ME work, the occasional step-up or lunge variation, and the occasional backwards sled-dragging is usually sufficient to keep the quads in shape when following this style of training.
i guess my paranoia that “if im not squatting, my squat will go down” has always dominated my training.
how often do you think a squat movement be included? other than box squats of course, or do you feel that box squats alone provide enough quad stimulation?
i always had trouble attempting a big squat if i hadnt squatted big for a while, which is why i always included some form of the squat 75% of the time.
Im going to do front squats in my next round of WS, but I will tell you this: right now im doing lunges for 4*10 after goodmorning squats and my legs (the whole thing) have never felt so fried as that say.