Group: Strength & Powerlifting

Created: 2012/01/01, Members: 39, Messages: 16459

Discuss the topic of Power lifting, Strength training and Strong Man training!

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why does DE use such light weight?

Devinm
Devinm
Posts: 270
Joined: 2006/06/01
United States
2007/09/30, 02:55 PM
can anyone tell me why DE uses such a light weight? how will this help improve strength? i read waht it said on westdie but it doesnt make sense to me

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Veni,Vidi,Vici.= I came, I saw, I conquered.- Ceasar
Devinm
Devinm
Posts: 270
Joined: 2006/06/01
United States
2007/09/30, 03:00 PM
also what % should i use for ME triples?

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Veni,Vidi,Vici.= I came, I saw, I conquered.- Ceasar
Pemdas
Pemdas
Posts: 973
Joined: 2004/07/22
United States
2007/09/30, 08:15 PM
The whole objective of DE days is to train speed. Now, just because the weight is light does not mean the reps should be easy. For example, suppose that you can bench 300lb for one rep. On your speed days, you should be applying the same amount of force that you applied to the 300lb rep. So if you are using say 150lbs for speed day it should be moving fast enough that you are applying 300lbs of force to bar. Through experimentation westside has found that most people generate maximum force somewhere in the 40-70% range. I believe that the percentage can give you a good baseline to start out with, but you really need to figure shit out by yourself. The most important thing is speed. So if you are using 50% and you feel slow or you started to slow down in later sets, don't be afraid to knock some weight off. The opposite is also true.

Depending on your strength levels you might benefit more from replacing speed work with repetition work.

I don't worry about percentages when doing triples. I just go as heavy as I can, but if you are looking for a baseline to start with, I would go with something in the range of 80-85% and work my way up to heavier weight each week.
Pemdas
Pemdas
Posts: 973
Joined: 2004/07/22
United States
2007/09/30, 08:20 PM
Also, if you really really interested in study Westside training principles read the Westside For Skinny Bastards 3 program. Dave Tate also wrote some excellent articles on the Westside template. Head over to T-Nation.com and do a search for

The Periodization Bible - Part I & II
The Eight Keys, Part I
The Eight Keys, Part II
The Eight Keys, Part III
The Eight Keys, Part IV