There

Working
By
For
The
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Westside
Jim
www.EliteFTS.com
Standard
isWendler
With
aBarbell
great
the story
Template
Standard
Template
fromTemplate
Dave about how the Standard Template originated. I'v
e heard it 435 different times and it never gets old. But that's because Dave si
gns my checks and I have to nod and laugh whenever he says anything. All kidding
aside, the Standard Template was really first introduced in Dave's article, The
Periodization Bible, Part I and is gone over extensively in The Periodization B
ible, Part II. This was a two part series that made things easier for me and rea
lly broke things down. Remember, that I was in your shoes not too long ago, so I
understand your frustration with some of this stuff. This is probably the most
used template that people follow. Here is the general breakdown of the Standard
Template.
Sunday
Monday
Wednesday
Max
Lats/Upper
Shoulders
Triceps
Friday
Dynamic
Low
Hamstrings
Review
42Abs
Now
days
Effort
Back
let's –Squat
of
devoted
Bench
Max
Dynamic
–For
the
review
Exercise
Back
Max
Effort
many
Press
Standard
toEffort
Effort
Squat/DL
some
the
dynamic
max
repetition
ofSquat/DL
you
bench
squat/deadlift
effort
of
Bench
Template
Bench
the
this
training
press
Press
training
is review,
parameters
so bearwithin
with me.
this template. For the s
ake of simplicity, I'm going to leave out chains and bands. Everything is going
to be done with straight weight so there will be no confusion about percentages.
Plus, I am going to leave out stance, grip changes, rest periods, etc. In reali
ty, most
Bench Pressof Parameters
this stuff for is inconsequential
the Standard Template
once you(dynamic,
grasp themaxbigeffort
picture.
and repeti
Dynamic bench press – 8 sets of 3 repetitions; all sets done are done with 55% of
tion)
raw 1RM. Rest periods are approximately 60 seconds, but have never really seen t
he purpose of this, personally. The whole goal of speed day is to move the bar q
uickly on the concentric. If you need to take an extra minute to accomplish the
goal of the day, then by all means, do so. Also, don't get too hung up on changi
ng your grips. The only reason why I changed my grip on this day was to keep tra
ck of the number of sets I was doing. Again, remember why you are doing what you
Max
areeffort
doing.bench press – this includes a variety of exercises, but the most por ar
e the floor press, 2 board press, 3 board press, incline press and close grip be
nch press. On max effort bench press day, you pick one of these exercises and wo
rk to a 1RM. Most will switch to a different exercise every 1-2 weeks and simply
try to break their record. On this day, based on your 1RM for THAT day, you wil
l try to do 3 lifts at or above 90%. You can take as much rest as you want, but
I would –probably
Triceps one daysay is devoted
around 3-5to high
minutes
intensity/low
between yourvolume
heaviest
triceps
sets.work, the other
is devoted to low intensity/high volume triceps. For example, high intensity tri
ceps training would consist of 4 or 5 board presses or rack lockouts. The low in
tensity training will be geared to triceps extensions and pushdowns. On what day
to put each of these is entirely up to you. In my experience, I've always had g
ood results– this
Shoulders puttingis similar
the hightointensity
the triceps
day in
on that
dynamic
there
bench
is aday.
high intensity and l
ow intensity day. The high intensity day is technically not high intensity, but
high stress. In this category, I would put dumbbell bench press, dumbbell inclin
e presses, military presses (with dumbbells or a straight bar) and dumbbell floo
r presses. In the low stress category, front raises, side raises and rear raises
are good choices. Again, you can choose which day to put them on, but I liked p
utting the back
Lats/Upper high –stress
Both days
shoulder
are devoted
trainingtoonlats
dynamic
and upper
bench back
day. and both are done w
ith low intensity, high volume. The way that I worked this is that on Sunday, I
would do lat work (usually a row or a pull-up) and no upper back work. On Wednes
day, I would do another lat workout (but with a different exercise) and my low s
tress shoulder work would consist of a rear raise, face pull or a seated dumbbel
l power clean. So essentially, on the low stress shoulder day, I would kill two
birds with one stone: an upper back exercise with a low stress shoulder movement
. I did this because I never did front raises or side raises and felt that I got
enough stimulation from my other work. It's not gospel, but it's something to t
hink about.
Squat
Dynamic andSquat
Deadlift
– AllParameters
sets done onforathe
parallel
Standard
box.Template
A three week wave is used using t
he following
Week
Upon 321 – 10x2sets
completion @ of
50%and
55%
60% thereps.
3rd week, you simply start the wave over again. All %'s a
re based on your best squat. Let's disregard equipment at this point and say it'
s based on your best 1RM of your box squat wearing whatever you usually wear on
this day. Again, refer to my commentary on dynamic bench training regarding rest
periods. This is not conditioning, this is speed work. Save your conditioning f
or another
Max Effort Squattime. and Deadlift – Similar to the max effort bench press, one exercis
e is used per week and worked up to a 1RM. Because most people have eliminated g
ood mornings as a max effort exercise, I will choose the following for your exer
cises. I understand that many do not have these bars that I list, but this is th
e list,
Safety
Cambered
Manta
(All squats
Ray
squat
nonetheless:
bar
squat
are
bardone
squatsquaton a low (1-2" below parallel), parallel or high (1-2" abov
e parallel) box. As you can tell, there is a great many variations with these th
ree exercises.
Rack
Deadlifts
Reverse
Again, deadlifts
you
bandwhile
want
deadlifts
(or
standing
to pin around
hit pulls)
on elevated
3 liftsplatform
at or above 90% of your 1RM for that day.
Most people switch exercises every week or every 2 weeks. Try to break your PR f
rom your previous effort. To make things easier, simply switch between a squat m
ovement and–anow
Hamstrings deadlift
here ismovement.
where things
Rest get
3-5 tricky.
minutes Unlike
betweenthe
yourshoulders/triceps
heaviest sets. rou
tine of high intensity/low intensity, many people are weak at such exercises as
the glute ham raise that they simply need to do the exercise and not worry so mu
ch about sets/reps. If you don't fall into this category, you can do bodyweight
glute ham raises on one day, and on the other day, you can add a band or a plate
Low
forBack
resistance.
– Again, we cannot really isolate the lower back without hitting the glut
es and hamstrings. But you can pick from exercises such as back raises, 45 degre
e back raises, Reverse Hyperextensions, pull-throughs and good mornings. Dependi
ng on how you do some of these exercises (i.e. with a great amount of intensity)
you can use ONE of these for your hamstring and low back exercise. For example,
good mornings can be done for both. If you were to pick reverse hyperextensions
or pull-throughs, then you can get away with doing an extra hamstring exercise.
Some people can train their lower back twice a week, others cannot. A good way
to do this is to pick one "easy" exercise (R.H., pull-throughs, un-weighted back
raises or band good mornings) on one day and pick a heavier exercise on the sec
ond lower body
Abdominals – These
training
are usually
day. trained heavy twice a week in the standard template
. Some good exercises to choose from weighted sit ups, Roman Chair sit-ups, stab
ility ball, hanging leg raises, side bends. This is not very complicated but you
Sojust
Pro's
Variation:
let's
needthe
of goBecause
toover
Standard
do the
them;
youpro's
Template:
that's
are andusually
doing
con's
a variety
ofthethehardest
ofstandard
exercises
part.
template:
on max effort day, it he
lps keep things fresh and keeps you motivated. Plus most people have never done
board presses, floor presses or box squats before trying the standard template,
so thereBreaking
Record are a lot – You
of are
new doing
exercises
two max
beingeffort
utilized.
days a week, so you have the abilit
y to break a lot of personal records. This can keep motivation high and give you
Easy:
tangible
I never
results
thought
NOW.IThis
wouldissay
onethis
of thebutbest
if you
things
actually
aboutthink
this about
template.
it, the s
tandard template is pretty easy to follow IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT. You have one sl
ow and heavy day and one fast and light day for the squat and bench press. After
each of those days, you train the muscles that involve those lifts. You try to
be fastofonMaxoneEffort,
Combo day, tryDynamic
to lift
Effort
heavyandonRepetition
the other Training:
day and getIfhuge
doneafterward.
correctly,
this combo is incredible. You can get fast, big and strong. These are three qual
ities that most
Flexibility withpeople
Supplemental/Accessory
really want. lifts – If you are doing the correct loadi
ng on max effort and dynamic day, then you can really play around with the volum
e with your training on these lifts. Let me explain: With the dynamic training,
you are almost always operating within 50-60% and no matter what max effort exer
cise you choose, you are still operating around 90-100%. Now your volume can be
raised and lowered by your assistance lifts. This can give you a lot of room to
play around with and allow you to pick and choose exercises and volume based on
how youoffeel
Con's
Variation: theNowStandard
that
stayday.
with
Template:
me on this one. Training for a big squat, bench and dea
dlift is not easy. But if you don't have good form on these three lifts, then th
ings can start to go down hill. You can counter me and say, "Your form is traine
d on dynamic day." And to you I respond, "Fool! It's easy to lift correctly with
light weight." While a safety squat bar can help increase your squat and deadli
ft, it won't teach you correct form. This is because the variation of the bar wi
ll throw your form off. Then you throw this nugget at me, "Well, I will work up
on dynamic day to 90%" and to you I respond, "Are you now doing two max effort w
orkouts a week?" Remember that if you are going to throw in a new wrinkle, then
you are going to have to smooth something else out. You can't just add without t
aking away.
Record Breaking:
(And Now
thisI've
willgot
be two
discussed
of theinsame a future
thingsarticle).
for pro and con. While reco
rd breaking is a good thing, it can also lead to a mentality of "testing" versus
"training". Too many people try to break a record and will not fall within the
3-5 lifts at or above 90% of their max. All of their focus is devoted to breakin
g a Heavy
Too PR rather
on Dynamic
than training
– I would
to say
get that
stronger.
the vast majority of questions about the s
quat revolve around dynamic squat day. Now if you take a step back and look, the
PURPOSE of dynamic day (and again, I fall victim to trying to make things too s
imple) is to basically move the weight from point A to point B as fast as possib
le. Now for the bench, that is to move the bar from your chest to lockout; in th
e squat (or box squat) that is to move from off the box to standing. So now that
we've established that, the problem that I've seen is that most people, when yo
u add up the band tension and bar weight (and factor in that they are basing the
 percentages on a full-meet squat with equipment and they are doing an un suited
box squat (different lifts!)): they are actually not even close to doing a dyna
mic workout. This is not so much a con of the program, but a con of the interpre
tation of the program. This wouldn't be a horrible thing if the max effort work
and supplemental work was cut back, but 99% of the time, it's not. This was real
ly driven home a couple of weeks ago in a conversation with Mark McLaughlin. To
quote Mark, "The reason I think people some times bash DE work is because they d
o nottheexecute
For Standardit Template
properly."to work properly here is a list of things that must be
All
done:
dynamic work must be as DYNAMIC. Focus on speed, not weight. If you are slow
, then you are missing the purpose of this day. If the bar % is not exactly 55%
or whatever, don't worry. Because you are doing a standard max effort day, I wou
ld rather have you focus on erring on the side of too light. Remember that bench
shirts can skew percentages quite a bit, so if you are going to use %'s as guid
elines,
Max effort
usework
yourmust
raw fall
benchwithin
press 3-5
as alifts
guide.at or above 90% of that day. If you g
o below this, you are not getting the benefit of max effort training. If you go
above this,
Because you need
then form
you are
workgoing
on the
to main
compromise
lifts,other
it would
areasbeofadvisable
your training.
to work up o
n dynamic effort day. When you do this, the max effort workout must be tailored
as such. For example, if you were going to work up on Sunday and hit 3 lifts at
or above 90% on the bench press, the max effort workout on Wednesday would consi
st of accessory and supplemental work only. But you need to do the appropriate a
mount of max training on DE day. So instead of doing 8x3 on dynamic day, you can
cut that to 5 sets and start working up. There is no set guideline for the amou
nt of sets, but 5 seems about right. Now if you are going to work up on dynamic
squat day, cut out the Monday max effort work PRIOR to that session. So that wou
ld be on Monday before the Friday squatting session. The Monday after the Friday
session (I'm starting to get confused now) you can still do max effort work, bu
t you may want to cut some of the assistance work. You don't have to, but it may
Sohelp.
when do you do all of this? For the bench training, it's a bit easier. This i
s because you don't have to pre-plan it. If you are feeling unusually strong on
Sunday, then let it out and see what happens. A good estimate would be to try to
do this every 3rd workout. For squatting, it may require a little more work and
would stick to the every 3rd workout guideline. But (you knew it was coming) if
you do feel a bug up your ass to go heavy on dynamic squat day, even if it wasn
't planned, then the Monday workout after should be nothing but assistance and s
upplemental work. Just make sure that your heavy is "heavy". If you are going to
Indoregards
Choose
it,one
thenlow
tocommit
highpicking
intensity/high
intensity/low
andsupplemental
do it.volumeandtriceps
accessory
(lockout)
movement
work per
–movement
toweek;
make remember
things
per week.
simple:
this – if
you are doing a lot of dumbbell work (which is essentially a close grip movemen
t) you one
Choose may low
not stress
high need
stress
a shoulder
lot
shoulder
of volume
movement
movement
on this
per
perweek.
exercise.
week.Remember my example in the beg
inning of the article – I used this movement as an upper back exercise on my max e
ffort bench
Choose two lat
press
movements
day. a week; preferably one horizontal row and one vertical
Choose one high stress low back/hamstring movement per week: good mornings, Roma
pull.
nian deadlifts, weighted back raises, weighted 45 degree back raises, glute ham
raises one
Choose withlow
added
stress
resistance
low back/hamstring
(band or weightmovement
plate).
per week: band good mornings,
Reverse
Choose
This istwo
Hyperextensions,
not abdominal
in the template,
exercises
bodybut
weight
perI would
week.
backalso
raises
choose
and some
45 degree
kind of
backquad
raises.
movement
per week. You can do it on either day, but I would probably pick dynamic effort
squathow
"So, day.much
Or ya'
you bench
can dodude?"
it theUnfortunately
scientific way;thisflip
is the
a coin
question heard most in
the gym when a guy's proverbial "manhood" is being challenged. A long time ago i
n a galaxy far, far away, the bench press became the mark of a man. The problem
is every time I have ever been in a commercial gym I have not seen anything that
resembles a correct bench press. Bad set ups, horrible technique, bouncing the
bar off the chest are all major problems. This article will hopefully clear up s
ome technique issues and give you a better understanding on how to perform and t
rain the
There arebench
many great
press.training programs out there and the one that has helped me
considerably is the workout popularized by the Westside Barbell Club, ran by Lou
ie Simmons in Columbus, Ohio. Westside is one of the strongest gyms in the world
and at the time of this writing they have multiple 600 and 700 pound benchers a
s well as one over 800. Please keep in mind this article is not in any way inten
ded to represent Louie Simmons or the Westside Barbell Club, but rather how I pu
t together my workouts based on the great info I have learned from the videos, a
rticles and seminars of Louie's I have seen, read and attended. Granted many of
you reading this don't want to be a competitive powerlifter, but for those of yo
u looking for a way to put a few pounds on your bench press, improve your techni
que and just
Basically there
plain
areget
three
stronger
methodsyoutowill
increase
learnmuscle
a lot tension.
from theirInmethods.
"Science and Pr
actice of Strength Training" Dr. Vladimir Zatsiorsky defines them as the maximum
effort method, the dynamic effort method and the repeated effort method. In the
maximum effort method typically you will work up to a 1-rep maximum or a 3-rep
maximum in a lift. Typically weights will be at or above 90% of your 1-rep maxim
um. The idea here is to expose your nervous system to heavy weights. In the dyna
mic effort method you will use a sub-maximal weight, typically 30-70% of your 1-
rep maximum in a specific lift, and the goal of dynamic effort training is to mo
ve the weight as fast as possible. For instance, if your bench press is 300 lbs.
you would train with a weight around 150 lb. but you would try to apply 300lbs.
of force to the bar. This is how you become fast and develop power which is ext
remely important when lifting heavier weights. In the repeated effort method you
would lift a sub-maximal weight until you could no longer perform repetitions i
n good form. Typically a repeated effort exercise might be performing 3 sets of
10-15 repetitions. This method works by creating a greater time under tension fo
r the muscles being trained and is a great way to build muscle mass, if that is
the method
The goal. of training that Louie Simmons and the Westside Barbell Club have pop
ularized utilizes all three of these methods in a weekly cycle. Typically the be
nch press is trained twice. One maximum effort day in which a maximum effort ben
ch press exercise is performed for a 1-rep maximum or a 3-rep maximum and one dy
namic effort day in which the bench press is performed for 6-8 sets of 3 reps wi
th around 50-60% of your 1-rep maximum. Supplementary and accessory work is typi
cally performed
Maximum Effort Training Do you
on each day want
using thetorepeated
bench more? Simple,
effort bench more! One day a w
method.
eek you need to devote to training variations of the bench press. Notice I said
VARIATIONS and not the bench press. What are some variations? Incline bench, inc
line close grip bench, close grip flat bench, bench press with various boards of
different heights stacked on your chest, floor press and pin press. On this tra
ining day you are going to work up to either a 5-rep max, 3-rep max or 1-rep max
in one of the above lifts. Rotate each exercise every 2 to 3 workouts. After th
e main lift do some heavy back work, then shoulders, light triceps and if you ar
e the ultra-vain type finish with the biceps. The key to this training day is th
e rotation of max effort exercises every 2 or 3 weeks. You can only make progres
s in a lift for about 3 weeks then you will plateau. By changing to a new max ef
fort lift, you can continue to make progress almost year round. The important th
ing about the max effort day is getting between 3 and 10 lifts over 90% of the m
ax that
Max Effort
day.Workout
Here is(Wednesday):
a sample workout
1. FloorforPress:
a 300lb5x45
bencher:
3x95 3x115 3x135 3x155 3x185 1x205 1x2
ss - 265 3-5x1x225 (about 91% of 245) 2. Chin Ups: 5x5xBW 3. Face Pull: 3x15x90 4. BB Tr
ps Extension:
Dynamic Effort3x10x70
Training It's all about the speed! 2-3 days after the Max Effort wo
rkout you will need to perform a dynamic effort (or speed bench) workout. The go
al of this workout is to execute perfect form in the bench press and move the ba
r fast. We use the guideline of performing 8 sets of 3 reps with somewhere betwe
en 50 and 60% of your bench press 1 rep max. Please notice I said bench press 1R
M, NOT the 1RM from your max effort workout 2 or 3 days before. The only time yo
u should
On the dynamic
changeday
youryoudynamic
will warm
day up
% istowhen
the weight
you increase
you areyour
using,
benchthen
press
perform
max. 8
sets of 3 reps with your training weight. After this you will move on to heavy l
ockout work for the triceps, heavy back work (if you did pull ups on the max eff
ort day, do a row or other horizontal pulling variation on this day) then heavy
work forEffort
Dynamic the shoulders.
Day (Saturday):
Here is1.a Bench
samplePress:
workout1x5x45
for a1x3x95
300lb bencher:
1x3x115 8x3x135 2. Pin-Press
Bench
Lockout):
Press1x3x185
Technique
1x3x225
Now that
1x3x275
you understand
3. BB Military
how toPress:
set up3x5x135
a good 4.
training
Seatedprogra
Row: 5x10x110
m, we can talk about the correct way to perform the bench press when you test yo
ur max. The bar must be lowered under control to the upper abdomen/lower chest a
rea, pause for 1-2 seconds then blasted off the chest to a complete and even loc
kout. Bouncing the bar off of the chest IS NOT A REAL PRESS! If you cannot pause
the bar on your chest it is not a good lift. It is important to stay tight thro
ughout the lift, driving the feet into the ground, tucking the elbows on the way
down, flaring the elbows at the lockout and "pulling" the bar apart during the
duration of the lift. Remember, the bench press is not just an upper body lift,
it is a full-body lift!