This is the third and final installment of using Westside for raw powerlifting, in which we covered the strength phase here if you haven’t read it prior. For those of you who are interested in using a unique peaking cycle, this can be worked into most training programs. We’ll go over the peaking cycle that my coach Jesse Burdick utilizes for his powerlifting athletes getting ready for a meet, along with the short duration of tapering used to give us an opportunity to recuperate from the peak cycle before platform day. I have been powerlifting for close to 8 years and have never used a peaking system like this before, nor have I seen anything more effective for raw lifters that are using Westside or conjugate training in general.

To give the underlying premise of peaking using Westside – this is when specificity to the competition lifts MUST be present for a majority of the compound movement work. That means no box squatting, no board pressing for max effort, and so on. However, we’ll still use forms of overload to push our lifting intensities towards maximum ranges of effort. We use reverse mini bands towards the end of our squatting session for the first week, as an example. This type of overload puts a lifter into a state of overreaching, and will help develop maximal strength towards platform day.

The peak phase is arguably the most physically and mentally demanding block of training. Things start out with a giant rocket punch to your posterior chain on day 1, and the pedal doesn’t let loose until 4 weeks in. You will fatigue and hate life in general towards the end of meet prep. This is completely intentional by design, as the accumulation of fatigue through the weeks of training will take its toll on you. While you will feel miserable, the end result is having done a good amount of volume & overreaching necessary to put on a few additional pounds to your total on meet day, while having practiced the competition lifts to the extent that your motor patterns will be firing off properly on meet day. In other words, the specificity in this peak cycle gave you enough sets and reps for you to remember how to squat, bench, and deadlift under competition conditions. You aren’t heading into a competition for box squats using a cambered bar versus 300 pounds of bands and chains – you need to practice exactly how you’ll play.

Tapering is just how it sounds – to reduce the overall amount of workload being done in training & allowing your body to gradually recover in time for meet day. If peaking is to be considered as supercompensation (the process in which you become stronger from a training block prior to the beginning), tapering is the process in which you mend your battle wounds from training while retaining the training effect of your peak phase. Our coach keeps it relatively simple for the last 2 weeks of training, and dials down intensity while still employing enough volume & specificity to further peak a lifter.

Without further ado, this is how our current peak & taper cycle is set up. This is a 5 week peaking cycle that is used right up until meet day. Note that for accessory work, everything should be done to the normal amount of volume for the first 3 weeks. Don’t taper down your accessory volume until the 4th week, which is when the tapering phase actually begins.

Week 1

Squat Peak

Work up to squat opener. Then work up to a weight around your planned 2nd attempt.

Reverse Bands on. 1-2 sets of triples. First set of triples using weight around your planned 2nd, second set of triples with your planned 3rd.

Bench Day

80% x 2

85% x 2

90% x 1

95% x 1

Red Slingshot on

100% x 2

105% x 2

110% x 1

Usual accessories

DE Work

DE work for week 1 can be standard work of 8-10 sets, using intensity ranging from 50% to 60%. Nothing too heavy.

Week 2

Deadlift Peak

Work up to opener for a single

“Wagon Wheels” or block pulls: 1-2 sets of overload for 1-3 reps, no misses

Bench Day

5 sets of 3. You can progressively work up to a max triple, depending on how the sets feel as you go up.

Slingshot On

2 sets of 3 with 105-110%

DE Work

DE Work for week 2 can be done exactly as the week prior.

Week 3 – Hell Week

Squat Day

Total of 10 reps with either opener or 90% of current max. Perform in as few sets as possible. No misses.

Bench Day

Work up opener using a pause (or full commands for meet practice). You can work up to your planned 2nd attempt if you are sure you won’t miss. NO MISSES!

Deadlift Day

Total of 10 reps with either opener or 90% of current max. Perform in as few sets as possible. No misses.

Week 4 – Beginning of Taper

Squat & Deadlift Day – PERFORM THIS SESSION 2X DURING THE WEEK.

Squat: 6 sets of 3 @ 70% (If you use knee wraps, base the percentage off your raw max and squat without wraps on.)

Deadlift: 6 sets of 3 @ 70%

Bench Day (Last bench session of training)

Work up to 80% for a single using meet commands / pause.

Week 5 – End of Taper (Used on week of the meet)

Squat & Deadlift Day – Perform once during the week (no later than Wednesday)

Squat: 5 sets of 2 @ 50% (If you use knee wraps, base the percentage off your raw max and squat without wraps on.)

Deadlift: 5 sets of 2 @ 50%

And that finishes off the basic explanation of training blocks as to how we use Westside for raw powerlifting. Many thanks to Jesse Burdick for everything that he’s taught me, and for coaching me towards a rate of progress that I wasn’t ever expecting. I have used this peaking cycle for a total of 3 times (with minor adjustments at times) with great success. If you are using Westside as a raw lifter, give this peaking cycle a shot and you should see a better opportunity for success on the platform as well.

Jacob Rothenberg

jacob@themusclebear.com