Jim Wendler

About 12 weeks ago, I started training with a local football player, Caleb Sexton.

I think everyone was holding their breath at this years WPO meet at the Arnold Classic.

Recently I have been flooded with e-mails and questions on the EFS Q/A, and rather than answering them one by one, I decided to put them into an article form so that everyone has access to them. There is a lot of great information in these answers.

I’m going to do is make a list articles and other assorted products that will make things very, very easy for someone navigating this site and trying to learn.

Almost a year ago, Matt Bash and I put our collective heads together and were thinking of different ways to approach our weak point in the deadlift; the lockout.

As a follow up to Bob Youngs article “Things I Would do Differently”, I decided to give this idea a shot and see what I could come up with.

We get a lot of questions regarding how to choose openers for powerlifting meets and there are a lot of ways to look at this.

Since most veteran powerlifters have their own way of doing things and will probably never read this article, we are not going to address them. What I am going to do is address the lifter that is entering the first powerlifting meet.

I’ve wanted to write this article for awhile and there have been several questions on the Q/A that touched on this subject. For those not familiar with the term “deload” by basic definition of it is this: to take a break from extreme training.

The number 3 is held in reverence by many people. Of course, the title of this article is in reference to the Roman Empire and where would we be without them?

One of the biggest things that I struggled with during my deadlift training was my grip. This was never a big deal when I was lighter (under 250lbs), but as I became bigger my grip began to suffer.

This article was inspired by Alwyn Cosgrove and something that he mentioned to me in passing.

The circa max phase is a three week squat phase designed to peak you for your contest.

How things have changed. Five years ago, all you ever read were articles on how to use your gear, how to use your bench shirt, squat suit, knee wraps, etc. Now people want articles on how to train without gear. Very strange.

Hot chick with no shirt = good

Cornucopia. Hodge Podge. Horn-a-plenty. Whatever you want to a call a huge grab bag of stuff, I’m selling it here.

In the spirit of the 4th of July, we are going to focus on explosive (re: dynamic) training. So listed below are the top 3 cycles for the squat and bench.

For those that don’t know how I train or how I think – it all comes down to one thing; Going Heavy.

We get asked all the time what the difference between an accessory lift and a supplemental lift. After doing some research, I came up with the following ideas. I got these from “A System of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting” by A.S. Medvedyev. To make things easier here are some basic definitions;

Evan Simon recently became the head strength and conditioning coach for Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina.

Here are some actual stories from actual strength coaches. All these stories have been substantiated by coaches that I know very well and trust.

When training your lower back, think about it two ways; to strengthen your lower back and injury prevention. These don’t necessarily go hand in hand. Many people who have very strong backs injure themselves.

Matt is one of the least physically gifted lifters that I have ever seen.

The Monday after the 2005 Arnold Classic I had to attend a meeting about 45 minutes away and found myself driving the back roads of Ohio

Being a part of Elite Fitness Systems for the past couple of years as well as powerlifting and competitive sports, I have been exposed to a lot of critics telling me what I’m doing is wrong or, in the case of football, what the team is doing wrong.

Dave and I wanted to do an interview with Chuck Vogelpohl for awhile and for several reasons.

We’ve all been there. Whether it be in front of our families, while lying in bed with a significant other or while sipping on a few cold drafts with a new acquaintance at a bar, we’ve all encountered the question; “Why do you powerlift?”

There are two variations to this structure. For the sake of time and space, I will only discuss one at this time. The second variation is a bit more complicated and is recommended for an experienced lifter only.

The program listed below was done by one of my training partners, Kevin Deweese.

Here are 10 things that will help you plan your workouts and help keep you focused

Having coached for several years and after attending several Force Training seminars, I see the same problems on dynamic bench day no matter where I am. These problems aren’t always reserved for the beginner; I seem to make some of these same mistakes and have to take a step back and re-evaluate. Let us first take a look at the general parameters on this day so that we are all on the same page.

When I first started training using the Westside methods, I would often end my max effort exercise and feel like I didn’t do anything.

The 2002 IPA Nationals marked the one-year anniversary of my competitive powerlifting career.

One of the most asked questions throughout the day was “What would you have done differently, if you knew what you know now?” And though I answered the question as best I could, I couldn’t help but rethink the question over and over.

When discussing training, there are many things to consider, such as speed work, building absolute strength, improving form, raising work capacity, recuperation, and selecting exercises and rotating them them in proper sequence to avoid adaptation.

The other day I got off the phone with a friend of mine who coaches college football. I told him that I had recently consulted with Dave Tate about applying the Westside principles for a college football player

Here is a training diary and some thoughts on my preparation for the 2001 IPA Nationals.