Notes from the Editor – Steve Fredine and I have been corresponding for a little less than a year. We have discussed varying topics such as the saga of Elizabeth Smart, religion (Steve is from Salt Lake City), lifting, and music amongst others. I have never met Steve in person, but judging by his emails he is an intelligent and funny person. Many times there is a tendency to over think your training program and it is easy to get confused with all the misinformation posted on the Web. Steve has been asked many times about his training and he’s decided to write something that will help explain things in simple terms. Some of the ideas listed below have been things that he has taken to heart and have helped him keep on track when things may get out of focus. You may recognize some of the musings from past EliteFTS.com Q/A’s. - Jim

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED IN MY 1ST YEAR OF EXPLORING WSB PRINCIPLES

1. 4 main workouts a week: 2 Maximum effort workouts (1 for bench and 1 for squat/deadlift) and 2 Dynamic effort (speed) workouts (1 for bench and 1 for squat/deadlift).
2. ME workouts follow the DE workouts by 72 hours. If you do your DE bench on Monday, the ME bench workout will be on Thursday.
3. Do not have back to back ME workouts.
4. Workouts typically consist of 1 main exercise, 1 supplemental exercise & 1-2 accessory exercises.
5. Less is more, more is less.
6. Dynamic effort bench days always use the bench press as the main exercise (grips inside of contest width) for 8 sets of 3 reps@ approx. 50% of your 1 rep max.
7. Dynamic effort squat days always use the box squat as the main exercise (1” below parallel) for 8 sets of 2 reps @ 50-60% of your 1 rep max.
8. Percentages are a guideline.
9. Good mornings are misnamed.
10. Rotate max effort exercises at least every 2 weeks.
11. Be fast on dynamic effort day.
12. Put your life on the line on max effort day.
13. Chuck Taylors.
14. Eat and get rest.
15. Workout to recover.
16. Learn to strain.
17. Be open-minded.
18. If it works, figure out the why later.
19. If it doesn’t work, don’t do it.
20. Be patient with the uninformed.
21. The conjugate method is as much art as science.
22. Be smart but not anal.
23. Don’t make excuses.
24. Give back to the sport.
25. Be focused but keep a sense of humor.
26. Nutrition is often overrated.
27. Take the aisle seat on the plane.
28. Workouts should not exceed an hour.
29. Train the chain.
30. Train weaknesses.
31. Train the core.
32. Train for chaos.
33. Triceps, triceps, triceps.
34. Hurting and being injured is not the same thing.
35. Ephedrine = good times.
36. Polygamy = extra spotters
37. Accommodate resistance.
38. Make certain your power rack is anchored before hooking up your bands.
39. After seeing the pictures, never let your kids: 1) Play twister with Uncle Jim. 2) Do online research with Uncle Dave at his house.
40. A totally safe exercise is probably totally useless.
41. Baby wipes, a cut above.
42. I don’t know Billy Mimnaugh, but I’m pretty certain I don’t want to see him hovering over a bidet either.
43. Be patient.
44. Be persistent.
45. Be creative.
46. Talk is cheap.
47. Don’t worry about the other guy.
48. Be humble, there will always be somebody stronger than you.
49. Adjust and tweak the program as necessary for personal needs.
50. I am not the only one not a Buckeyes fan.
51. Get a dedicated training partner.
52. An extended middle digit from a training partner is not necessarily a rep count.
53. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
54. Black underwear is a good idea.
55. Again, don’t sweat the small stuff.
56. Why do this? It’s because it’s what I do.

Last January, at 45, not having really trained in a very long time, I discovered WSB and EFS. I saw many opinions pro and con to the methods presented. I decided to give the program a shot. I don’t know about the online debates, all I know is that in January I struggled to squat 315. Yesterday, 11 months later (drug free and only a belt), doing GM’s, I singled 380 twice. Maybe this stuff does work.

Many, many thanks to Louie, Dave, Bob, Jim, John, Martin, Paul, Tom & all of those who have contributed to the EFS site. God bless you all in the New Year; have a safe and healthy holiday season.