I just got the Westside Squatting Secrets video. The workouts they show are dynamic sessions, but Louie states they are training at 70% of their max. They work up at the end of the session but that is pretty standard, to work up once ever 3 weeks or so. I was wondering if anyone had any insight as to why they were training above 60% on DE day.
I have a couple theories; they were using a hassock, so this might be something unique to hassock training, but that seems like a poor choice of workouts for the video. It may have been because they were using straight weight, although the recommendations for straight weight don’t vary from the recommendations for chains, 50-60%. If anyone could validate these theories or provide their own I’d be happy to listen/discuss. I’ll try to get some opinions from the guys at my gym since there are a lot of WSB style lifters there (Paul Childress among them).
That tape is several years old, they have lowered their percentages over the years.
I beleive the video is over 8 years old. The %'s have changed. There are some blocks that they do not go over 50% for a few weeks.
Keep you %'s lower, 50-60% with accomodatiing resistance. Be sure to go straight weight every so often. Don’t get wrapped up into using bands/chains/releasers all the time.
box squat advocate,
SP
At the Westside seminar the past February, Wendler made a point of saying that the percentages were guidelines at best, not hard-and-fast laws.
The point of a Dynamic Effort day is to move the bar from Point A to Point B, real fast. If you can go heavier, and still keep speed on the bar, go heavier. If the bar starts to slow down, decrease the weight.
That makes sense, I just thought it might be something they were doing pre-chains. I’ve been lifting westside for a while keeping my lifts between 50-60% but I recently got the video and thought I was missing something.
If your using straight weight I hear you start at 60%, then if your going through a cycle and de-loading on the fourth-week it’d go like: week 1: 60%, week 2: 62.5% then week:3 65%.
I use 60% (usually) staight weight when I’m doing explosive lifts.