( I'm grateful for this video because I just couldn't imagine Louie dying. Here, he's obviously dying and that somehow gives me a sense that it did really happen.) I'd love comments on my reminiscences. In the beginning, when I first met Lou at the Columbus YMCA where he would come once a month to do his lifts in a public setting, there were only a handful of us. We saw the first inklings of what was coming. I'm fortunate to have been there and after. I still have the rack he welded for me in exchange for an Olympic bar I picked up during the 1970 World Weightlifting Championships in Columbus. It was supposedly used by the Russian lifters, like Alexeev, who competed in the event. He studied those guys, like we all did. I also remember when we attended a Lexington Open Powerlifting Meet and he took first and I took second as light heavyweights. Still don't know how we made it home as tired as we were and it was snowing the whole way. I still like to tell how Louie sometimes used to like to listen to Rod Stewart when we trained in the basement. Not my first choice, but it was his and Doris's basement. Around that time I was getting on the freeway on the westside of Columbus when Stewart's Maggie May came on the radio and I was astounded to discover that I started sweating just hearing it! Still do. I also remember a Region 6 meet we attended in Anderson, Indiana, where I took third in the weight class and Louie first. Those were the days! Several have gone long before him, Paolucci (spelling?) and Dr. Ron Gutter, the veterinarian, just to name two. They're there to greet him! I'd like to hear from Bill Whittaker DVM on this. More later. I remember when Lou first started experimenting with various ways to get more support out of things you wear when you lift. Sometimes that was hilarious. For example, he got his first wife, Judy, to sew him canvas shorts to wear using thread normally used to sew, say, boat sails. When he tried them out, he was squatting around 600 lbs in his rack in the basement when the shorts literally exploded even creating a dust cloud off the floor. I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself. I just had to laugh! Now, both Louie and I were followers of George Frenn, hammer thrower and ground breaking powerlifter. You could see why Louie liked him because he had a similar intensity. One example of that was the time Frenn was practicing his hammer throw and he tripped in the circular spin part and fractured both tibia with spiral fractures. Not to be slowed down, he actually showed up to a powerlifting meet with casts on both tibias and lifted in the meet. And, that famous picture on the cover of Muscular Development of Frenn coming up out of a record-breaking squat so powerfully that the bar bent around his shoulders. That was Louie, too. And, we were shocked too when Frenn died. You know, I'm reminded by Mark Bell's comments about Louie's inventiveness regarding strength training that I experienced and many others credit Louie (including Wikipedia, I believe) with having come up with the exercise called Good Mornings. I know that we who trained with him at the time were told to take an empty bar and perform that movement for reps. Over time we gradually added small amounts of weight, always monitoring how our backs felt, until eventually and incredibly we reached, in my case, 380lbs (for three reps) and, in Louie's case 500lbs. That, of course, led to incredible deadlifts. My best in training was 650lbs for three reps! And, I think we and Louie deserve some credit for realizing early on that the closest you could come to simulating deadlifting barefoot (ballet slippers, wrestling shoes) the better for your lifts in competitions.

@scilles

Жыл бұрын

Would love to hear more stories of your old days hanging out with Louie Simmons!

@kevinnummi3154

Жыл бұрын

Tom Paulucci was my throwing coach at OSU. We squated in Lous garage every sun. night. Great guys,great times. That kerosene heater always made me nervous.

@gharm9129

Жыл бұрын

I would love to hear more of the good old days! Plus I'm jealous of that treasure, a rack put together and welded by Louie himself! Interesting as well to hear that's where the barefoot deadlifting came from. I always read or was told it was the best way to engage the kinetic chain and nervous system, never knew where it started.

@MaddTrapper-gn8qs

10 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing man. I started reading Louie's articles in pl USA in the mid 90s..I was really young but I already knew there was something different about the methods he was talking about.

@billuhman

10 ай бұрын

I got to go to a seminar with him in mid 90s. Sat next to him and had lunch (Subway). I got to talk to him for 30 minutes during lunch. He definitely looks rough in this video. He told me they take steroids (obvious now but mid 90s was a bit more hush). He also said he doesn't like creatine because it causes cramping. I used to call his gym and talk to Doris and tell them to fix various things in their website in the late 90s. I didn't ever get to talk to him again after the seminar though.

In regards to stretching. His method of progressively squatting on a lower and lower box gave me more hip mobility than anything else. The man was a walking encyclopedia of training knowledge and numbers. Truly one of a kind.

I don't closely follow powerlifting but I like to lift, and just about any time I saw a video with Louie in it I stopped and watched. What a Master. RIP

He's not talking about HIIT. He's talking about HIT. HIIT= High intensity interval training HIT= High intensity training Arthur Jones

@LWT1449

5 ай бұрын

Dorian Yates didn't look weak to me😂

@jerppazz4525

21 күн бұрын

If dorian had entered a powelifting competition would he have won? Answer is no.

Louie was ahead of his time when it came to training. RIP

I still perform some dynamic stretches before I get into my warm up sets, I find that it helps me with my mobility. For example, I stretch the day before I perform a compound lift.

Good interview.

Good points. I always thought it was funny when people tried to say powerlifters are strong, and bodybuilders are weak. When nowadays a lot of these pros can incline bench 5 plates.

Im not totally sure why they’re hating on passive stretching, but from experience passive stretching helped get better (active) range of motion. So I need the passive stretch to get there.

I really struggle with understanding this man, but I want to! Is there anywhere I can see this with subtitles?

louie is a lot smarter than i ever knew.

I see what they are saying but I still think it's important to passive stretch. Maybe not right before or right after your exercise but definitely at some point.

As I'm watching Westside Barbell move forward, I'm thinking it should not forget its origins with the hammer thrower and powerlifter George Frenn. Louie would want that and I think so too. In the beginning it was just Louie and me and Louie's veneration of Frenn was always there. They had so much in common. And, it's where he got the name of his gym.

@existentialerasure

9 ай бұрын

I agree completely! George Frenn should be much more popular now than he is.

He looked ill, here. He was a great contributor to power lifting!

@anthonycaruso6065

2 жыл бұрын

Idk about ill but he was definitely starting to look his age more. RIP the legend

@sergeant1446

2 жыл бұрын

Not ill, just old, the man was 74 years of age.

@AlejandroSanchez-pl6jw

2 жыл бұрын

I mean yeah he’s aged but at the time I was “hey he looked very pale than usual, hope everything is okay “

@Masterofmonotony

Жыл бұрын

@@sergeant1446 No he looks ill and old, especially considering that he looked good for an old guy just a couple of years ago. My dad is 73 and looks 10 years younger than louie does here, and my dad has ruined his body just like Louie, but from manual labour and not powerlifting.

@goffredo29

Жыл бұрын

@@sergeant1446 Knowing Louie as I did, one thing one gets from this video is that he is actually more relaxed maybe even at peace here than I ever knew him to be. He was a very intense person. It's said that, at a certain point, he checked out of the hospital so he could die at home, which I gather he did.

Title should be referencing HIT not HIIT I believe

It's always been telling that HIT coaches say that higher volume not to failure is a business model. It's the ultimate gaslight. Why would you have trainees in the gym 3x longer to make more money?

Thats because h.i.t is based on bodybuilding, not power or strength like the likes of louie would be looking for. If you think it doesnt work, listen to the likes of Mike Mentzer and look at his physique, look at Dorian Yates who also trained like this after training the volume way, saying it was more effective etc. That being said Rip louie, the godfather of powerlifting in my opinion

@user-cm9ef4fw7m

Жыл бұрын

🤦🏻‍♂️

@jonnyoneplate

Жыл бұрын

Didn't Mentzer say heavy duty/hit 1 set per exercise is really only for advanced bodybuiders who aren't seeing results from more standard training?

@mattchart9808

Жыл бұрын

If you look at Dorian’s actual training it’s a lot higher volume than you think.

@joeyhuebner10

10 ай бұрын

​@mattchart9808 - Exactly, the dude was doing a couple warm up sets then doing a top set to failure. I come across a lot of people that think Dorian just went in cold and did one heavy ass set... that's how you tear muscles and cause irreparable damage to your body.

@Adam-cs3ld

8 ай бұрын

​@@joeyhuebner10Lmao despite agreeing with you, what you said described Dorian very well lmao 😂

title is wrong guys

@Powerathletehq

2 жыл бұрын

Good catch, swapped it with another clip from full interview. Thank you.

i really want to know what old school WSBB did for recovery lol

@red5performance

7 ай бұрын

They did many smaller muscle group and gpp workouts that lasted about 20 min

@cdcaleo

Ай бұрын

Steroids helped with their recovery.

I agree with Louie on HIT I’ve tried it and got weaker not stronger. In the end it depends on your goals but if you’re looking to be strong HIT is not the answer. I don’t believe it’s affective for Bodybuilding either but that’s just my opinion. I’m sure others have their own views on it.

@seanharricharan9191

5 ай бұрын

HIT was more endurance and explosiveness

@BruceWayne-ri4wr

5 ай бұрын

Dorian Yates won six Mr Olympia's doing that training I don't like it either but it must work for some people He's maybe the greatest bodybuilder ever and he did that training of hit training I think dorian's the greatest of all time and it did work for him

Stretching doesn't make you weak it just doesn't work if you're not warmed up 1st these guys pull muscles cuz their not warmed up and there are active stretches that work like side lounges but another problem is that the bulky football pads and cleets mess up your balance and flexibility from start

@lovesgibson

11 ай бұрын

Exactly. And every guy who trained at westside has like a ton of serious injuries… so clearly their method wasn’t very good at preventing injuries

@johnsambo9379

8 ай бұрын

@lovesgibson You are obviously an expert. Tell us your credentials and champions you have trained again?

He was right. It is a business model. Run people through 20 minutes of training and then next client. Its nonsense.

Gosh Louie looks awful here. Poor man

@Josh_tippie

Жыл бұрын

I noticed that too ☹️

@mattl8774

3 ай бұрын

He was at the end. He looked good in his later years for a while. And then it just hit him all at once. Fucking aging sucks.

I love Louie Simmons and his methodology and he is right about football injuries and other sports but he is wrong about HIT. He must mean HIIT, HIIT which is high intensity interval training is crap yes i agree as well as I trained this way. It will get you skinny and weak. High Intensity Training which is one set to failure as Mentzer, Doryan Yates and Jay Vincent trains is totally different and will make you bigger and stronger. Im sorry but Louie here is wrong about Arthur Jones. As the say, stay in your lane on this one. I have gone from high volume bodybuilding which as a natural you will burn out. To Starting Sttrength, Bill Starrs 5x5 then training Westside to HIT using Mentzer methodology and never felt better.I train upper then lower once a week, 2 workouts a week and 1 hour total training and i went from 155-170 in 4 months natural. Westside got me strong as hell except I couldnt train as much as it required. Louie will always be a legend and expert in powerlifting and strength training but HIT is a great way to train for naturals.

@Ironborne

6 ай бұрын

HIIT and HIT are both good.

Louie is wrong here!

I love the late, great Louie Simmons. However, these guy's are wrong when it comes to football training. Football players are not powerlifters. HIT is the best way for athletes to strength train. Ask Pat Riley, Mickey Marotti, Mark Asanovich, & Ken Mannie. Shearing forces pre-expose athletes to injury. Also, the other major component other than anatomy & physiology is motor learning. An athlete cannot take a power clean, squat, bench, DL onto the football field. It does not translate.

@Powerathletehq

10 ай бұрын

You mean the dude talking to Louie Simmons? The guy who was a starter in the NFL for 10 years? He is wrong about football training?

@buddyreview5017

10 ай бұрын

I think he’s referring to when they were talking about Beckham. Hurting your knee in football is never due to weak hamstrings and calves. More often than not footballers have overly tight hamstrings.

@Powerathletehq

10 ай бұрын

He is referring to National Football League. When he says football he means football, not soccer. I guaranteed no soccer player has been Westside. Let alone Louie working with them.

@buddyreview5017

10 ай бұрын

@@Powerathletehq gotcha. So he was referring Odell Beckham 👍🏻 my bad Either way, weak calves and hamstrings is not usually the source of a knee injury

@Powerathletehq

10 ай бұрын

Do you understand that most of the knee injuries in the NFL are related to the ACL. The function of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is to stabilize the knee joint by preventing excessive forward movements of the tibia and/or limiting rotational knee movements. Hamstrings dampen these effects. If the hamstrings are weak the ACL can not decelerate or change direction during deceleration. @@buddyreview5017

Hurt his knee because they don’t train their calves and hamstrings? What a ridiculous statement. Absolutely no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to athletic performance. Footballers have far more aesthetically pleasing claves and hamstrings in comparison to bodybuilders.

@Powerathletehq

10 ай бұрын

Once again Football players, not soccer players. And weak hamstrings are the major culprit in knee injuries - well established.

@buddyreview5017

10 ай бұрын

@@Powerathletehq I thought knee injuries were more often attributed to weak hip stability, no?

@Powerathletehq

10 ай бұрын

I would say weak hamstrings and glutes are a major player in knee injuries as much as weak feet and poor control of the knee from the foot as it relates to t he glute. Hamstring is key for deceleration. @@buddyreview5017

Dorian Yates didn't look weak to me and he used hit!😂

@mattl8774

3 ай бұрын

After he built his foundation on a higher volume of training. And using a freak like him is a bad example. That fucking guy could probably take jazzercise and make gains from it.

here he looks old and weak…