Meeting the Iron 3: 
Westside Training for the Beginner Months 3&4
Paul DiMarino

The moment of truth is finally here. It’s time to see if I actually understand the Westside system because now I’m designing my own workouts based on what I’ve experienced so far. I’m still a bit hung up on my box squat, but knocking down the poundage on my dynamic day should do the trick. I don’t have a set program this month, and I’m just working by feel. I’m still following the Westside structure, but it’s time to experiment. I’m also starting my boxing and submission training again, so I’m hoping the increase in activity won’t negatively effect me in the gym. This should be interesting…

The first two weeks went extremely well. I experienced some joint pain from starting up my training again, but it wasn’t a hindrance at all. My board press is up over the 200 lbs mark, and my pin press is closing in on 300. I purposely took it easy on my legs, so they could recover a bit from the last two months. I had to give up being able to do reverse hypers at my gym because the set-up is almost impossible now. I’m doing a lot of pull-throughs and dumbbell snatches in hopes of strengthening my back.

Weeks 3 and 4 followed the pretty much the same pattern of steady increases. I don’t know if it’s just the fact that I’m a beginner or if it’s the system, but I’m kind of diggin' not hitting a wall yet. It’s probably a combination of the two. I’m sure I’ll find out. The added strength and weight have helped me tremendously on the mat as well. I’m not saying that I’m going to be the next Royce Gracie or Frank Shamrock, but it’s a huge improvement from what I’m used to. 

I switched up my routine a bit for the next two weeks. During a conditioning session, I came to realize that since I’ve been ignoring my old exercises for a while, they’ve become extremely difficult. I’m sure the fact that I’m carrying an extra 30 pounds doesn’t help much either. Okay, so maybe I got carried away with that three candy bars per day thing! Anyway, instead of doing rows on bench days, I do varying grip weighted pull-ups. On my off days, I’m also doing some calisthenics like one-leg squats and one-arm push-ups/pull-ups for active restoration. I just don’t want to trade one extreme for another. 

The progress I made over the two weeks was great though. I love my pull-ups, so my back is feeling fresh and all my presses are over 200 lbs now. My pin press is over 300 lbs too! I don’t know what it is, but it’s always a good feeling when you move up a plate. My squat is also on the road to recovery. I handled 250 rather easily the other day, and I’m even approaching 200 lbs for good mornings! 

For the final two weeks, it was much of the same. I was praying for something to happen, so I would actually have something to write about. I’m not complaining about the steady progress, but I feel like a broken a record. Maybe I’ll try to walk out of the rack with 700 lbs on my back next month just so I’ll have an injury to talk about. I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out. 

These first four months have definitely been a learning experience. Working out by feel is a lot harder than it sounds, and I ended up reverting back to the exercises I had used in previous months the majority of the time. I did find a few more exercises that I liked though, which I’m sure will pay off in the future. I plan to test my 1RM at the end of next cycle to see where I stand. It’ll be interesting to see what 6 months of Westside training will do for a beginner. My weight is staying steady at 185 as I planned. My goal is to gradually gain another 15 lbs over the next few months, but I don’t want to put on too much too soon. I’m just getting used to pull-ups at this weight! If you’ve been reading these articles wondering if Westside training is for you, stop wondering! You won’t be disappointed. See ya next month. Train hard!