For assistance, i would treat the first assistance almost as a main movement where you go heavyish and have long rests. Then after that you could do your other stuff in a circuit like you are doing.
Here is a pretty good article by CWS about westside for raw lifters. Its kind of dumb cause west side isnt meant to be ran in 12 week blocks like he lays out but you can kind of see a good way to set up the different movements and assistance.
Bench ME - 2014-09-30
1x185
1x205
1x225 PR
0x235
3x8x175
Incline DB - 2x12x70
Circuit - OHP, Tricep Extensions, Lateral Raises
Ab Work
Bench was feeling real good so I decided to push for a 2nd PR. Didn't quite work out. Now that I have my maxes set, I probably won't be trying that stuff too often going forward.
Upper Body DE - 2014-10-04
Speed Bench - 9x3x135
Incline Bench - 2x12x135
Chinups, Dips, Shrugs
I'm dealing with some pretty serious elbow pain and had to cut my assistance short. It's the same injury that I was dealing with on page 1 of my log. I fixed it last time by cutting out back squats for a month or so. Hopefully the periodization of this program will let me heal without changing things up too much.
Lower Body ME - 2014-10-06
Deadlift - 1x360, 1x380, 1x401
Front Squat - 2x10x164
Circuit - Lunges, Dimel Deadlifts, DB Rows
The deadlift went up reasonably quick and felt pretty strong. My PR is 420 but I did that many months ago before injuring myself so hitting 400 again was nice.
I had a pretty scary moment when deadlifting. After dropping my final rep, my vision got a little blurry and I lost complete control of my left leg and left arm. My left arm was shaking uncontrollably and I was unable to move/talk. Thankfully I was able to sulk down onto a nearby bench and calm down a bit. I think I was on the verge of passing out but was able to fight it off. I need to do a better job of staying tight w/o cutting off oxygen to my brain.
First time squatting with bands but it felt pretty cool. Hercules DL is some exercise my training partner learned from a powerlifter he used to lift with (his name currently escapes me). Basically, you put one end of a barbell in the corner of the room and load the other end with 45lb plates. You DL the loaded end from the end of the bar for a triple.
Lower Body ME - 2014-10-13
Good Mornings - 3x3x220
Squat - 3x8x264 (68%)
Lunges, Abs
I wasn't feeling too great today so decided to go with a less taxing movement in Good Mornings. I probably won't be doing much max effort GM work going forward as I wasn't a big fan. It's too easy to cheat when the weight gets heavy. However they did feel real good when warming up. I'd like to utilize them as assistance work going forward, sticking in the 6-10 rep range.
I added in some volume squats at a decent weight only because I haven't squatted heavy in a bit and don't want to get rusty.
Upper Body ME - 2014-10-14
Overhead Press - 1x137, 1x149, 0x160, 0x155
Bench Press - 3x8x176
Incline DB - 2x12x80
Circuit - DB rows, curls, tricep extensions.
Abs
My performance on OHP was a little disappointing. I've hit 155 for a double before so I was feeling confident that I could hit 160 for a new PR. Once I failed that I tried for 155 and failed that as well. Never felt 100% locked in today.
12 rep pin squats? That sounds so awful even with just the bar. I don't think I would do those even if it guaranteed I would add 50lbs to my squat after 4 weeks
I was originally going to do 3x8, but 154 felt pretty light so I went with 12 in order to hammer the quads. First time doing that exercise so I didn't want to go heavy and hurt myself.
You make a very good point. I definitely need to work on my speed bench form as right now it's pretty spazzy. I was thinking about descending really slow and in control and then exploding up, but was told the whole thing should be fast.
I did some rock climbing today, but only lasted about 30 minutes before my elbow was begging me to stop. The elbow pain radiates down my arm and affects my grip. It's definitely an issue for both pulling and pushing movements.
Lower Body ME - 2014-10-20
Front Squat - 3x198, 3x208, 3x220, 3x242, 3x264
Deficit Deads - 3x5x264 (66%)
Pendlay Rows - 3x12x110
Box Jumps (+60lb) - 3x8
Leg Curl - 3x12x65
Abs
Did more front squat volume than I was planning on. I was shooting for a 3RM today but started a little low. I just kept ramping it up. My true 3RM is probably close to 285.
Started doing rack pulls instead of deficit deadlifts, but the lowest I could get the pins was a little high for my taste (a few inches above me knee). I was hitting a lot of quads which I wanted to avoid due to my front squat volume beforehand.
Also - first day wearing a sleeve on my left elbow and it felt great!
Upper Body ME - 2014-10-22
Close Grip Floor Press - 1x195, 1x210, 1x225, 1x235
JM Press - 3x8x95
Tate Press, Curls, Pullups, Front Raises, Abs
I was pretty pumped to hit 235 on floor press. I hit my bench PR of 225 four weeks ago, so to be able to hit 235 without leg drive is hugely encouraging. I hope this means I can fly past 240 when I bench heavy again in a few weeks.
I think my triceps are a weak point so I tried hammering those during my assistance work. I didn't get as much of a workout as I would have hoped, but I think it was due to the weights being too low. JM press, Tate press, and front raises were all brand new to me.
Holy mother of God. I'm pretty sure those pause squats instantly added 20 lbs to my comp squat. I was getting extremely gassed towards the end, but was able to remain explosive throughout. I love this exercise.
Elbow started getting a little achey towards the end, even with the sleeves on, but it's not a big deal.
Upper Body DE - 2014-10-25
Pause Bench - 9x3x135 (3s pause)
Bench Press Off Pins - 4x5x198
Kroc Rows - 30x100lb per arm
Curls, DB Press, DB Fly, Abs
Trying to work on my chest strength and explosiveness out of the bottom. I'm going to try to work up to 3x5x220 on pin bench press over the next 3 weeks.
Lower Body ME - 2014-10-27
Pause Squat (5 seconds) - 1x296, 1x315, 1x330, 1x340
Rack Pulls - 2x8x286
Circuit - Bulgarian Split Squats, Pendlay Rows, SLDL
Pause squats felt pretty good. I didn't know if I would be able to get 330 but I crushed it and was able to hit 340 as well. I'm so stoked to try to hit a new PR in squat in 2 weeks.
Rack pulls felt terrible, probably won't be doing them again since my setup sucks. The lowest setting my pins go is too high so I was deadlifting off a small platform. In addition the pins are slanted so the bar was constantly rolling towards me. Injury risk is too high for my taste.
Upper Body ME - 2014-10-29
Close Grip Bench - 1x195, 1x210, 1x225, 0x240, 1x230 (PR)
OHP - 132x5,5,7
Circuit - Chins/Pullups, Curls, Lat Raises
Abs
The CGBP was feeling pretty strong so I decided to challenge myself for 240. I lost control of the weight very early on, as my elbows buckled and I dropped the bar to my chest way too fast, pinning it there. After a short rest I decided to put up 230 for a new bench PR, it wasn't that heavy. 240 should be doable with regular grip bench in 2 weeks.
