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Opinion on westside for skinny bastards

mick807

New member
Looking for opinions/effectiveness of the Joe Defranco WS2SB. I have recently have gotten into strength training after realising after a year of isolation work that it is a waste of time for what i was trying to accomplish and what most people who start lifting weights are trying to accomplish all you receive is misguided information from 98% of commercial gyms.
 
i'll give you a heads up...


pretty soon you'll be told to do sets of 20 squats, bench presses, rows & stuff. I CBF'd typing it out.
 
that's a pretty ordinary reply.

re OP, I don't know much about westside but some of the beginner program's do include 20 rep squats as well as the other major compound lifts. have a search for the Beginner Program, read the sticky's in the strength section as well posting your goals, weight, etc as the more experienced members will probably only give general advice (which is still good) until then.
 
it looks alright to me. i like that it uses the repetition method rather than the dynamic method.
give it a try for 8 weeks and see how it goes.
 
not the 20 rep squat reply - i'm doing it myself. i was referring to the 'i cbf'd' component.
 
Just another training program, like DC and FST 7, HIT, 5x5 etc. You cycle the programs as you will become accustomed to the cycle and not make further gains. So for me its a yes, just not for that long maybe 6-8 weeks.
AZZA
 
Not helpful, PowerBuilder.

As puff said, we can only give general advice at this stage. You might have injuries or muscle imbalances that mean you need some different work, or something on top of the basics. Or maybe you're uber-strong already and are ready for all sorts of advanced stuff.

I would say that Westside is not for beginners. If you have been doing isolation stuff for a year and are genuinely skinny (not just talking yourself down), then you are still a beginner.

As a beginner, just squat, deadlift, bench, row, chinups - all the basic compound movements. The exact rep range isn't important, though you should pick a particular rep range (5, 6-10, whatever you like) and stick to it so you can monitor your progress. If for example you bench 40kg 3x6 on Monday and 40kg 3x7 on Wednesday, it's clear you've made progress; 40kg 10,8,4 times and then 45kg 12 times, it's not so clear.

In every session, legs, push and pull. Do a deep knee-bend, put something over your head, and pick something up off the ground. Those somethings can be just yourself (eg pushups and inverted rows). In every session, more than you did before - more weight, or the same weight but more reps, or the same weight and reps but another set.

When you can bench and row your bodyweight for some reps, squat 150% it and deadlift 175%, and do several dead-hang chinups, you're no longer a beginner and fancier stuff will be helpful. And for that, I refer you to the more experienced guys like Fadi and Markos, I only know about laying the foundations.
 
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So you've a short way to go still as a beginner, but have obviously achieved a lot already, well done!

See a sports physio about the back. Weight training can be very good for many back conditions, but you want to make sure you're doing the right thing, there could be corrective exercises that'll make a big difference and ultimately mean you lift more.

Have someone experienced look at your form for your lifts, it could be that with a little correction in small details and some encouragement, you could hit the benchmarks very soon - and more importantly, protect your back. You're in Sydney, maybe get down to Shire Speed & Strength.
 
Jo DeFranco is one of the best traininers in the world. So I have no doubt his program will work for the goals he had in mind for it.

What do you want to get out of the program?
 
I use alot of variations of this program in my own training and also when training alot of my rugby guys.

It has the same basic template as your old school westside program but has of course been changed to suit athletes.

It is a good program and will work for beginners to advanced athletes seeing as though there is a large amount of variation you can use with it.

Id say give it ago and see how you find it!
 
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