Should I start westside barbell method?

I just finished 10 weeks of madcow 5x5 and have stopped progressing. My current lifts are 405lb squat (with wraps), 225lb bench (paused), and 515lb deadlift at 175lb bodyweight.
I was wondering if these programs like westside, the cube method, and juggernaut training systems are only optimal if you’re an advanced lifter. Should wait till I’m stronger use them?

Those programs are more for intermediate lifters, a 515dl at 175 is pretty impressive. Your bench is a little behind though, you’d probably benefit from any of those programs you listed to be honest.

I use westside method. It’s a great program for intermediate to advanced lifters. Been using it for a year now, went from 405 to 440 lbs squat, 315 to 330 lbs bench, 440 to 475 dead. @176 bwt

Westside is great. The biggest thing is to pick the right assistance and make sure it is progressing. And personally I’m finding that using heavy reps like 3RM and 5RM for max effort work and not just doing 1RM work all the time helps.

You’re just about strong enough so give it a try.

Do a run of this for 9 weeks and then get back to a simpler/easier program -for most people its too much as a year round strategy. As Dave Tate says “If you don’t respect Westside, it’ll crush you”…

http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/iron_evolution_phase_6

IA local private gym run by Shawna Mendelson uses a 3 day week westside conjugate team training that I’ll be starting next week. I’m not sure how long I’ll stick with it but I’m looking forward to it.

find a program that you are going to enjoy using and run the piss out of it. Look through the Westside thread on here, if it looks like something you are going to have fun doing, start tomorrow! If not, then fuck it, pick something else

How much did you increase your lifts by over the 10 weeks doing madcow? If you made great gains then it wouldn’t hurt to rerun the program with slightly higher training maxes that will allow you to run it for another 10 weeks. If the gains were very small then moving on would be a better option.

[quote]lift206 wrote:
How much did you increase your lifts by over the 10 weeks doing madcow? If you made great gains then it wouldn’t hurt to rerun the program with slightly higher training maxes that will allow you to run it for another 10 weeks. If the gains were very small then moving on would be a better option.[/quote]
It was amazing. I added 40lbs to each of my big 3 lifts

[quote]shadowbobo8028 wrote:
It was amazing. I added 40lbs to each of my big 3 lifts
[/quote]

Before moving on to another program, try to replicate exactly what you did. Choose new training maxes not based on your true maxes but based on a projected 10 week span that you can realistically complete. If you have to reduce the training maxes so that your projected PRs are in the 20-30 lbs range instead, that is still great progress. Just shoot for 10 weeks of work again.

“If you are not training at Westside, then you are not doing Westside.”
Not my quote but used the article I found in the Sept 2007 issue of Flex when I started lifting seriously again and made very consistent gains.
As my strength increased and as I really started to listen to my body I found that I needed to back off a bit. I did not let it crush me.

I ran this for over a year and a half straight, I paid attention to Diet, Sleeping, Breathing and Thinking as well.
I was happy with the results and have carried what I learned forward. I would recommend this to anyone who has lifted
CONSISTENTLY for a good amount of time. No sense in getting injured !

I also had procurred the following in order: Weight releasers then chain and finally bands. Remember, these are to SUPPLEMENT your lifting.
They are a good tool to use, but are just that. They are not a substitute for Solid Hard Work !

Good Luck and go get Strong(er) !

[quote]shadowbobo8028 wrote:

I added 40lbs to each of my big 3 lifts
[/quote]

-Definitely do another run of madcow then

No you shouldn’t. There is a high likelihood that your progress as a raw lifter will decrease relative to the training you have been doing. I think it would be a very poor choice for you.