This past weekend I went to a CrossFit Powerlifting Certification with Louie Simmons at Westside Barbell. What an awesome experience that was. I was able to talk with the man himself about lifting and his methods. He has produced some of the strongest men and women on the planet. We are talking about multiple World Records. If there is one thing Louie knows, it’s that he knows how to make you strong. Louie probably has the strongest gym on the planet. Anyone that trains there is only allowed by invite only. And if they don’t put in work then they get booted out.
Fortunately for me I was able to go and spend the weekend at this Cert. So many ideas and thoughts ran through my head as I listened and thought about how I could apply what I was learning to my training and more importantly my clients training. After going to this cert I am going to experiment with the Westside Barbells methods and apply them to my olympic lifting. I want to see what I can do while incorporating these methods. If it works for Powerlifters, NFL players, Olympic track athletes, etc. Why wouldn’t it work for an Olympic lifter? You could argue about technique and that the lifts are different, but what if you practice the lifts while you’re doing all of this. Why wouldn’t I experience the same results?
I talked to a Pro Football player who had a 44 inch vert, 4.5 second 40, and was squatting some super heavy weight. On top of all that he was probably one of the most explosive people I have ever seen in person. Unbelievable. He might be a freak, but so are all the other people training there then. They are all strong. I looked at his chalkboard of records and realized that I am about as strong as his 123lb women. That is embarrassing. Not only because it’s a girl, but also I outweigh her by 60 lbs. Holy moly!!! Everyone else up on that board is stronger than me. There has to be something right with this program or method.
For the next month or so I am going to mix the Westside Barbell Methods with Coach Burgener’s Olympic lifting. Talk about the best of both worlds! I would be shocked if I didn’t see any increase in my numbers. As I do so, i will update this blog and let you guys know how its going. So make sure you guys check back every so often.
Wish me luck!!!





