Hi guys,its cubanito's lil bro

[Cubanito17]

Ok this is directed toward the more experienced PL's.I started lifting about 5-6 months ago.Currently I bench 205(lame) Squat (245) and clean 170.The first month I worked out I used my coaches workout which had alot of volume in it.But in one month my bench went from 135 to 185,nice huh.Of course,theyre begginer gains.Then my brother got me into west side,its been 5 months on west side and my bench went from 185 to 205.Now Im not flaming WS,it has worked for him and many of you.But did any of you read heavywear's post? The one that said begginers should start out by benching 3x10 and in 3 weeks 3x8 and so on?I think this might work for me because it was similar to my coaches plan which put 50 lbs on my bench.As if these 2 reasons are not enough,I read in T-mag this one coach said for people new to PL they should start out with high rep benching like 8 or more.What Im thinking is I dont have enough experience weightlifting to do Westside and thats why its not working so good for me.Basically Im trying to ask you guys if I should try heavywear's "intro to powerlifting" seeing the fact that I have not gone through this stage yet but my bro has so thats why westside works so well for him.Thanks guys,sorry for the long post.

 

[GRIMMER]

I htink it would be a good idea for most beggnners to start with some sort of training that will build a base for you to grow on. It sounds like a good idea and should work well.

 

[Skizac]

IMO, a beginner shouldn't be maxing out regularly for the first 4-5 months of lifting. It takes that much time to get the form down and build up the connective tissue needed to control the weight and protect the joints. Westside has you maxing on 2 lifts every week. The only change I would make in a Westside program for a beginner is to replace the 1-rep max stuff with 5-rep maxes.

You seem to have made some very good progress with your current routine, so stick with what works for you. Remember, a workout routine is only as good as the time it takes for you to adapt to it.

Of course, I have less than 2 years of lifting experience, so take my advice with a dash of Sodium Chloride.

 

[Cubanito17]

Thank you both

Thanks grim and skizac,I think Im gonna go with grim on this one because alot of my friends started out with 3x10 and then lowered and theyve made twice as much progress as I have.Skizac,sorry but I think 20lbs on my bench in 4-5 months is not too impressive,not a flame,just opinion.So what I think Im gonna do is go by heavywears post and do that bench work on my de days and do the usual ME stuff and so on.Skizac I may do ur 5rm thing,I will have to confer with my bro about this one.But hey this post is still open,guys I need more opinions.Again thank you both.

 

[Deciever]

from what i've read, it seems that for benching westside doesnt do nearly as much for benching as it does for squatting and deadlifting.. It could just be for people who bench raw that the gains are spectacular, i dont know.

 

[Cubanito17]

Thank you all again for such quick replies,I myself do bench raw,and the gains Ive seen arent too spectacular,your right about my SQ/DL though.Ive made good progress on them deceiver.I think the consensus is I should try heavywear's method.But hey I'm still looking for more opinions guys! Thanks all

 

[Skizac]

Re: Thank you both

Skizac,sorry but I think 20lbs on my bench in 4-5 months is not too impressive,not a flame,just opinion.

Sorry, I misread your original post. I meant that the routine that you used to go from 135 to 185 worked well for you, so you should stick with it as long as it continues to give you good gains.

 

[Cubanito17]

Oh well then sorry about that skizac,yes the routine i was using was giving me good gains but it didnt give my bro good gains so he switched to WS,I kinda follow everything he says for powerlifting,but the difference is he has been training on and off for 2-3 yrs.I have been in it for 5-6 months.Yea so I think what Im gonna do is 3x10 for 4 weeks,then 3x8,3x5,3x3,3x2 as the post says,if you guys havent read it yet plz do so,it's called "a good intro to powerlifting". Hey more opinions wanted though! Thnx guys.