Book
The Westside Barbell Book of Methods
Louie Simmons
Louie Simmons lays out the Westside Barbell system—a conjugate method of powerlifting training that rotates special exercises, accommodating resistance, and periodized speed and max-effort work to build record-breaking squat, bench, and deadlift performance.
What it’s about
Written by the founder of the world's strongest powerlifting gym, this book distills decades of experimentation with over 70 Elite lifters and the training science of the former Soviet Bloc into a single, coherent system. It rejects the American progressive-overload model in favor of the 'conjugate' method: rotating max-effort core lifts weekly to lift 100%+ year-round, training explosive speed-strength with submaximal weights, accommodating resistance with bands and chains, and relentlessly building weak muscle groups through special exercises. Whether you want to understand the deep theory of force-velocity, kinetic energy, and periodization, or simply learn how to bench, squat, and deadlift more, this book teaches you to analyze your own training and coach yourself and others toward continuous, injury-free progress.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- A powerlifter, strength athlete, or coach who wants to keep setting records—bigger squats, benches, deadlifts, and totals—without stalling or getting hurt.
- The problem
- Their lifts have plateaued, they can't seem to break records, and conventional programs keep failing them. They feel frustrated, worn out, and afraid that they're built wrong or destined to fade like everyone who came before them.
- The plan
- Set up a seven-day micro-cycle: max-effort squat/deadlift, max-effort bench, dynamic squat/deadlift, dynamic bench, spaced 72 hours apart.
- Rotate a max-effort core exercise every week (or two) to lift 100%+ safely all year.
- Train the dynamic day with submaximal weights at maximal speed using bands, chains, or weight releasers.
- Identify and hammer your weakest muscle groups with special exercises after the core lift.
- Control volume and intensity with Prilepin's table and pendulum waves based on percentages.
- The payoff
- Continuous, injury-free progress in the squat, bench, deadlift, and total year after year. · The ability to analyze your own training and coach yourself and others. · Peak performance realized at meets, not just in the gym, through delayed transformation.