Westside Barbell Podcast #21 - Louie Simmons reveals how he overcame his injuries to succeed

How did Louie Simmons recover from many career-ending injuries? How did he break records and become stronger than ever?
Today, John Quint joins Louie to provide a detailed and physiological breakdown of how these injuries occurred. And how Reverse Hyper™, Inverse Curl™, and Athletic Training Platform™ played a crucial role in the recovery process.
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For more exclusive interviews, video tutorials, webinars, master class with Louie Simmons, never seen before footage, and much more, visit Westside Barbell’s official education system at www.conjugateclub.com
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Louie Simmons is widely regarded as the 'Strength Coaches', Strength Coach' and is the founder of the world-renowned gym called Westside Barbell in Columbus, Ohio.
Westside Barbell is an invitation-only training laboratory where only the strongest of mind and body survive. Our goal is simple: “To become the best and push every boundary known to man in doing so.”
This gym has produced more world records in powerlifting than any other in the World, and Louie has been regarded as one of the main reasons that the conjugate style of training has been popularized in today's training methods.
Outside of powerlifting, Louie is a strength consultant for many NFL, NBA, MBA teams, along with having trained gold medal sprinters, pro boxers, UFC fighters, and many more athletes out of his gym via the conjugate method of strength training.
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Website: www.westside-barbell.com/
Website: www.conjugateclub.com/
Instagram: / westsidebarbellofficial
Instagram: / conjugateclub
Facebook: / westsidebarbell
Podcast: westsidebarbell.podbean.com/
Blog: westside-barbell.com/blogs/th...
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#strength101 #westsidebarbell #conjugateclub #conjugatemethod

[@donthejewler74]

Rest in peace Louie you are missed.

[@mitchellhayman381]

Louie was such a treasure. We'll miss you

[@IvanDjuric300]

Pure knowledge. Love these vids. Its like im sitting in a class with the best teacher ever.

[@Grch500]

guys I can't get enough of these please put up more.

[@rockfella27]

Reverse hyper fixed my chronic back pain in a week.

[@timshufflebottom828]

how long u had the pain for was it disk?

[@josephlee4443]

1l5 years and mines completely better at this point. Mixture of Reverse Hyper, Good morning and Back Extension for me. But can feel the reverse hyper working on lower back , feels fricking great 👍

[@rockfella27]

@@timshufflebottom828 over 2 years but no disc issues. I had lingering back pain after a squat injury. Reverse hypers fixed it in a few sessions...

[@GregRedd82]

Sciatica?

[@rockfella27]

@old man strength I don't know which one or any at all. I injured my back squatting 10 years ago, the pain was lingering and rebounded after an year. In a few sessions of reverse hypers the pain was gone. It felt like each rep was healing something in my back ... to be honest.

[@WestsideBarbellOfficial]

What is your favorite part? Share below 👇👇 00:00:00 - Intro: The Double-edged Sword 00:00:29 - '73 L5 Fracture and Subluxed SI joint 00:01:00 - List of records and start of IPF 00:02:00 - Goodmornings and losing concentration 00:02:25 - Crutches for 10 months 00:02:40 - Start of the Reverse Hyper 00:03:00 - Recovered because of the Reverse Hyper 00:03:45 - '78 back in top 10 00:03:55 - '81 back to square one again 00:04:20 - Couldn't lay down for 17 weeks and broke my upper back 00:04:58 - 2005 Age 57, 715 deadlift at 217 lbs. 00:05:00 - Age 63, 675 deadlift at 217 lbs. 00:05:11 - Expert on healthy back 00:05:40 - Abdominals 00:06:07 - The spine aligner 00:06:50 - Med ball sit-ups (fused together upper back MRI) 00:07:45 - The advantages of the Reverse Hyper 00:09:04 - Current deadlift stats and no back injuries 00:09:25 - Reverse Hyper volume 00:10:00 - Importance of Isometrics 00:10:25 - Hamstrings 00:10:30 - Hamstring to quad ratio 00:12:00 - No-go exercises in '73 and '81 00:12:53 - The strongest muscle in the body 00:13:50 - Matt Dimel and Paul Childress abs 00:14:25 - Louie's Warm-Up 00:15:10 - Reverse Hyper Technique 00:19:11 - 5 days a week 00:19:55 - Deskjob and reverse hyper 00:20:03 - Can the Reverse Hyper be dangerous? 00:20:17 - Everybody knows Westside but...... 00:21:49 - Reverse Hyper protocol 00:23:13 - Spinal flexion 00:23:51 - No such thing as a dangerous exercise 00:24:35 - The most dangerous thing in a gym is the instructor 00:25:30 - You can't be a puss all your life 00:25:33 - The key to training 00:27:15 - IAP - Study Mariah Ligget PhD 00:27:53 - '79 Bicep tear and recovery Meltdown in Mississippi 00:31:06 - If you don't have a scare, I don't believe you know what you are doing 00:31:18 - Change deadlift training after a bicep tear? 00:31:38 - '91 Injured out of boredom 00:33:05 - High repetitions 00:34:09 - Never be afraid to look stupid 00:34:28 - How Louie ruptured his patella tendon '91 00:35:00 - Anesthesia death 00:36:00 - Come back to squat the second biggest squat in the world 00:36:17 - Matt Dimel ruptured patella tendon 00:36:36 - Andy Vale ruptured patella tendon 00:37:00 - Louie's greatest accomplishment 00:38:00 - Recovery Patella Tendon 00:40:34 - Sled dragging 00:43:11 - Knee (p)rehab 00:45:26 - Non-contact injury 00:45:44 - Don't be afraid to make them strong 00:46:05 - Anti-Fragile body 00:47:58 - Hooke's Law of Elasticity 00:48:55 - The body has to be prepared 00:50:35 - Meniscus injury 00:51:36 - Studies 00:52:35 - Inverse curl and rehab 00:53:49 - Healthy hamstrings = healthy knees 00:56:14 - The spine 00:58:39 - The role of the quadriceps in rehab 01:01:46 - (2005) in '93 broke neck because of the bench; Shoulder injury 01:02:57 - Experiment operation 01:03:24 - Shoulder rehab 01:05:40 - Dumbbells 01:06:32 - Bandbell and Rhino bar 01:08:21 - The bandbell adapts to you 01:09:33 - Different grips in the Bamboo bar 01:10:09 - Bamboo bar and fighters 01:10:51 - Isometrics 01:14:11 - Shoulder rehab exercises 01:16:00 - Active vs. passive work 01:17:48 - The hardest thing in sports 01:20:34 - [S]Training 01:22:06 - The most neglected muscle in the body 01:22:45 - Louie's history of recovery 01:25:00 - What drove Louie? 01:27:20 - Too much salt 01:28:04 - You environment 01:29:37 - Read

[@88minotauro]

I can hear Louie all day. I hope u keep the podcast going. U are my greatest teacher and mentor for me, THANK YOU LOUIE SIMMONS and all the people that are making the podcast happen, i hope some day you'll be as big JRE.

[@Grch500]

I thank Loui and everybody at Westside for these videos, ton of great information and huge motivation.

[@cnsgains5506]

This podcast helped tremendously when I injured my back. I was bed ridden for days then weeks and could barely walk but to know that someone was messed up worse than me and fully recovered was exactly what I needed to move forward. Sooooo much knowledge in these podcasts thanks Lou

[@WestsideBarbellOfficial]

We're glad to hear you're on track. Stay strong - Westside Barbell

[@cnsgains5506]

@old man strength put 200 on the machine do 20 reps and do 4-5 sets. Add more reps and sets or weight as it becomes easier

[@julianphillips2100]

1:25:48 When he says he went into a meditational state and he went into emptiness, that is nothing to overlook.

[@rodgerpyle1597]

I just want to say thank you another great pod cast. Many years ago Jimmy Sitzer took into the weight room when was inside OSU stadium and helped rehab a shoulder injury. From then I have been on the path of learning and understanding how to rehab injuries.

[@Filaxsan]

That was a great talk. Thanks for making this. RIP Master.

[@samsanders3150]

maybe my favorite video on youtube. So motivational and helpful. I am a university student, but this is by far the most informative and positive 90 minutes I have witnessed.

[@WestsideBarbellOfficial]

We appreciate it!

[@samsanders3150]

​@@WestsideBarbellOfficialI bought the Book of Methods a month ago. A great read! But I would love a book focused on the ways Simmons fights back from injuries. Box squats and Sled drags helped so much for my decrepit knees. Too bad many local gym goers haven't had access to his creativity. My personnel anecdote, after years of struggling with knee pain, I employed sled dragging and cured my Patellofemoral pain syndrome within a month.

[@TheDartblockstang]

Amazing info guys, long live louie.

[@Grch500]

thank for the podcast guys great stuff. keep it up.

[@ActionSetPieces]

John Quint for the win!

[@TheDeathstag]

says this is ep21 need u guys to upload all the others, cant get enough of his perspectives

[@nated7528]

Hey there. Try westsidebarbell.podbean.com/ I don't think they were video recording the earlier ones

[@SamBarrass]

Thanks man

[@jigaree]

Lol i feel proud i can do those leg curls..ive stayed out the gym over a yesr and squat 405 at about 195lbs bodyweight..my coach learned from westside..best strength training i ever experience

[@WestsideBarbellOfficial]

🙏

[@pascalalwazzan7616]

this man is a fucking legend..we need more content please !

[@junaidvasta5887]

Watching this build my hope to train again

[@natejoe9387]

i can't say what is my favorite part, everything louie is my favorite!

[@hushai5154]

Takeaway, find a way to train around your injuries. Keep pushing it to the limit then back off.

[@tgruber5150]

One leg reverse hyper? Awesome!

[@frankjohnston5142]

Badass thoughtful

[@TheCrizzan]

Great pod as always! I cant really hear what Louie says at 58:20, I guess its something with the ankle weights I can hear "i did a "blank" up in the powerrack. Need someone to fill in the blank for me :)

[@ironbowman2046]

Magne Lonn hes saying he used to do reverse hypers with weights fastened to his ankles, lying across a table or bench...before he built a machine for it

[@ShawnJonesHellion]

Im in columbus, can i come just hang with you guys and check out what you do? My body is mostly fucked from scoliosis and martial arts but these normal trainers at the hospitals dont know jack squat and are children in college usually.

[@bluegreendragon]

41:35 - You can, actually, do standing thigh extensions, with ankle cuff/cable machine. I use it for people with knee problems, works like magic. There's something about doing the knee extension with the hips extended rather than flexed (standard leg extension machine.) Could you post a video of the wheelbarrow shrug, how it differs from ordinary shrugs?

[@Dr_Footbrake]

@old man strength Inherently; no. Being a bonehead about how you load and perform them; yes.

[@newjak10]

does that make sense

[@MikeLibbie]

A subluxed SI joint? He dislocated his SI joint? Am I understanding this right? I didn't know the SI joint can do that.

[@michaelkborozan4121]

Sounds weird but I thought I did it also....dr said it is a piriformis injury

[@xNeoCam]

Hey tom, who's the guy sitting next to Louie? I'd like to come see him bc I'm experiencing a lot of issues

[@xNeoCam]

Actually just found his KZbin. It's John quint. Thx for all you guys are doing

[@RichMorti]

28:20 bicep story

[@razman95x]

When it comes to inflammation and injury, where do you stand on that? Shovelling blood through the muscle or trying to get it through the tendon through work will surely increase inflammation and reduce ROM in the short term? Do you just take shit to reduce inflammation or is there a training solution for it?

[@WestsideBarbellOfficial]

That's why we stress improving your GPP, doing ultra-high reps with bands, and switching exercises. And also consider your mobility, do not do an exercise that your body isn't ready for yet.

[@razman95x]

@@WestsideBarbellOfficial thank you

[@prophylacticfaith]

I’ll watch this 7-10 times and still not absorb all the information.

[@thebestever333]

But what about contact?

[@tommyharris5817]

Stuart McGill, the world's foremost authority on back pain, advises keeping away from reverse hypers as they can cause serious disc injuries. He recommends spine-sparing exercises like the bird-dog and the side plank.

[@cnsgains5506]

I've seen quite a few of his interviews and in one he says it's dangerous then in another he says as long as the hips are free swinging (which they are in the reverse hyper) then it can be good. Depending on the case obviously, every back injury is different. So if you want to ignore an exercise that can potentially help u then that's fine too.

[@tommyharris5817]

@@cnsgains5506 The bird-dog exercise is vastly superior as Dr McGill recommends. Also, Mark Rippetoe of Starting Strength has removed the RH from his gyms as it was damaging the spines.

[@Dr_Footbrake]

@@cnsgains5506 He also says he has no business telling someone that’s pain free how to move.

[@7THxSIGN]

I absolutely love Dr. Stuat McGill and his 40 years of experience. I have all his books and have watched all his interviews. That said, I have been practicing his approach to rehabbing my L5/S1 disc bulge now for over a year. I also see a McGill master clinician who is local to me (not cheap). I am still in pain every day, all day. I am seriously considering purchasing a Westside Barbell Hyperextension machine. At this point in my life and 10 years of suffering from lower back pain... I have nothing to lose.

[@tommyharris5817]

@@7THxSIGN If the birddog exercise hasn't worked, then the reverse hyper will definitely not work, and in fact, make it worse due to undue shear pressure around the discs (refer to his book Low Back Disorders). Try alternative methods like trigger point therapy, Active Release therapy, or Prolotherapy which treats injured ligaments via sugar injections.

[@weinerman]

That wonky WB is screwing with muh eyes...

[@samjohnsondees4747]

Could you talk about exercises for hockey? You talk about football but not hockey. Thanks!!!

[@NicholasRachuna]

sam johnsondees I think squatting westside style carries over very well to skating...

[@SuperPulseadasArmwrestling]

Wath exerxises he said to rehsb the back?

[@WestsideBarbellOfficial]

Big on high rep (50+) reverse hypers and long light sled pulls (1/4mi +)

[@IkeCreed]

It amazes me just how butt hurt people get over Loui and Westside. Most of them don’t have a damn clue the knowledge they have.

[@meocats]

acupuncture doesn't do shit. cmon now

[@weinerman]

It was a huge letdown to hear Mr. Simmons believes in chiropractic and acupuncture/pressure. Now I can see why some people doubt his methods. Sad.

[@differentvoices6241]

Y don't chiropractors don't help with back pain?

[@weinerman]

@@differentvoices6241 is that the set up for a joke or are you genuinely intrigued?

[@tommyharris5817]

REVERSE HYPERS ARE A NO-NO IF YOU HAVE DISC INJURIES!!

[@sheldor73]

STOP SPREADING MISINFORMATION DUMBASS!!!🤡🤡🤡🤡