WESTSIDE TRAINING

 

July 2011 - Vol. 34 No. 9

STRONG LEGS

by Louie Simmons | 614.801.2060

www.westside-barbell.com

 

It was late 1969, and the Culver City, CA, Westside boys were writing an article called Conditioned Legs Break Record Squats. Well, it's as true today as it was back then. Here at the Columbus Westside Barbell, we have held world records at 181, 220, 242, 275, 308, and SHW in the squat or total. Westside has a variety of leg exercises that we choose from. Everyone knows we box squat all the time, but what do we do to supplement leg strength or to complement our hip strength?

First, belt squats. Westside lifters started doing belt squats in 1975. I personally realized in the early 1970s that my quads were somewhat smaller than before I started doing box squats. Of course, I Olympic lifted first and used a close stance with a raised heel, but box squatting with a wide stance while pushing the knees out to the sides placed most of the work on the hips and glutes. It was at this point that I started to belt squat, including standing on a ramp and not locking out the legs to keep tension on the quads. Westside lifters would belt squat after box squatting or on max effort day after a good morning or a deadlift of some type. Today, we use several variations of the belt squat. Variations include belt squatting on a box, belt squatting without a box, walking on the belt squat platform until failure, walking forward where the cable is behind you, bent over like deadlifting (this is an unreal glute developer), and walking backward with tension on the front of the legs. We also do a lot of calf work in the belt squat machine.

Next up is the calf ham/glute bench. You must have incredibly strong hamstrings for squatting, deadlifting and, of course, running. The reps can be very high, up to 60, for conditioning or 2–6 for strength with weight. Our glute/ham bench is 34 inches wide, so we can hit the entire hamstring. Raising the foot plate will make it much harder, for added development. For the advanced, use one leg at a time.

Band leg curls are frequently done to thicken the ligaments and tendons. Ten- or 20-pound ankle weights for up to 200 reps will also thicken the soft tissue to prevent injuries. Kinetic energy can be increased by thickening the ligaments and tendons, which will help reversal strength. Switching specialty bars on max effort day will cause added growth and strength development by causing extra stimulation by not allowing you to master the bar. Front squats, the Safety Squat bar, a 14-inch cambered bar, and even the Zercher harness will make it possible for new physical development due to learning a new task. Using bands and chains to create accommodation to cause max tension throughout the entire range of motion can do amazing things to one's muscle. Westside was the first to introduce chains, then bands to barbells, and now every commercial has a football player doing something with chains or bands attached to the bar.

Next up is the Plyo Swing. Ours is much like the one shown in the Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vlad Zatsiorsky. We attach bands to the machine first to accommodate resistance and second to increase kinetic energy, causing an overspeed eccentric phase. We also do lots of leg pressing with light weight for high reps, up to 75, or low reps with very heavy weight. It's important to do one leg at a time to eliminate a bilateral deficit, which almost everyone possesses.

This brings us to power walking with a weight sled. About 1994, I was wondering why the Finns were so good at deadlifting. Of course they were very athletic, but was that the only reason? I doubt it. My good friend Eskil Thomasson from Sweden was staying here with us. He was going back to Sweden for a visit before moving to Westside for 10 years. When he went to Finland, he asked why they were all great deadlifters. To his surprise they had no idea. Some were lumberjacks and would pull the logs out to the road for the tractor to pick them up. They used several ways to pull the logs. One way was to pull them backwards; some would walk forward; some would pull over the shoulder. All and all, the key was heavy manual labor, but it added up to a lot of log pulling. On hearing this, I started pulling a tire at first and then sleds, very heavy at times, around 450 pounds for 100 feet for three or four trips. Using 225 pounds for six trips of 60 yards works great for powerlifters, sprinters, and football players. It is done three times a week, weather permitting. The heaviest pulling is on Monday. For strength development, reduce the load about one-third on Wednesday for strength endurance, and on Friday use a 45-pound plate or two for a warm-up or restoration. Sled power-walking will build all the muscles in the lower body while increasing your conditioning at the same time. Don't forget, you can work your upper body as well by using a second strap. You can do any movement you want, such as curls, upright rows, triceps extensions, pec work—you name it. Kids of 10 years old and up can use a sled. For a more intense workout, add ankle weights, weight vests, or both for added resistance. For extra hamstring work, walk with the straps between your legs and lower them to knee level. Walk with as large a step as possible, or they can be done like pull-throughs. Just switch styles as often as you like to keep new stimulation of the lower or upper body. One of my favorite exercises is good mornings with the sled. Use a neck harness attached to the sled strap, walk backwards slowly, bend over, and methodically stand erect, then walk backwards with tension at all times. This will blow up the back like nothing else. Note: you don't need very heavy weight for this to be effective.

Phil Harrington has broken several world records in the squat. His best is 905 pounds in the 181-pound class, before Mike Cartinian raised it to 930 pounds lifting for Big Iron. Phil set a goal to break Tony Fratto's raw 749-pound record at 198, set in 1972, and in March 2011, Phil did 755 pounds. He was concentrating on jumping exercises of all types and not doing a lot of squatting. Here is a list of jumping exercises Phil used to break the raw squat record. First, to prepare himself for jumping, he started by doing presses with a barbell and dumbbells while sitting on the floor. They are used to condition all muscles involved in jumping. First while on his knees, he did several repetitions of jumping to his feet. Next, Phil added a barbell on his back while jumping to his feet. Then he did the following over several weeks. First, he held a bar on his thighs while kneeling and jumped to a power clean. Next, from a kneeling position with the bar on his thighs, he jumped into a power snatch. After mastering the mentioned movements, he held a bar on his thighs and jumped into a split clean and then split snatch. After this, he set records in the kneeling squat up onto a box or from a kneeling position into a long jump. These jumps build explosive power. For strength, jump onto boxes with ankle weights or a weight vest. Hold dumbbells and jump onto boxes for record heights with a certain amount of weight or combinations of weight. Switch the resistance often and do 10–30 jumps per workout. Two or three jump workouts a week works well. About once every month try a body weight jump record. This may look like a sports workout, but it will serve to condition a lifter as well as making his legs very explosive.

This is just a small sample of workouts you can do. Don't overdo it. You must raise your GPP to recover from your high-volume or high-intensity workout. Phil proved it works, and Laura Phelps is experimenting with jumps as well. Do easy jumping as a warm-up or come back to the gym later for a more intense workout and watch your squats and pulls go up.

 

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