Westside Method — Strength & Size
Westside for Skinny Bastards. Max-effort, dynamic, repetition. Advanced.
- Length
- 12 weeks
- Frequency
- 4 days/week
- Session
- ~75 min
- Level
- Advanced
The program
Joe DeFranco's legendary program for athletes and hardgainers who want serious strength and size. Twelve weeks, four training days, combining max-effort work with repetition training.
Day 1 is max-effort upper body — work up to a heavy top set on a big press. Day 2 is heavy lower body. Day 3 is repetition upper work for hypertrophy. Day 4 (optional) is dynamic lower-body training for speed and athleticism.
Max-effort exercises rotate every four weeks to prevent accommodation — the staleness that kills progress on a fixed lift. Twelve weeks, three rotations, and a log full of top sets on movements you have never tested before.
Week 1, as written
The actual first-week prescriptions from the app — exercises, sets, tempos and rests, exactly as the program runs them.
Session 1Max Effort Upper▾
| Floor Press | 5 × 3–5 · 3 min rest |
| Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 × 6–10 · 90s rest |
| Single-Arm Dumbbell Row | 4 × 10–15 · 1 min rest |
| Lateral Raise | 3 × 10–15 · 1 min rest |
| Hammer Curl | 3 × 8–15 · 1 min rest |
| Shrug | 2 × 10–15 · 1 min rest |
Session 2Lower Body▾
| Box Squat | 5 × 3–5 · 3 min rest |
| Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 × 8–15 · 90s rest |
| Romanian Deadlift | 3 × 8–12 · 90s rest |
| Cable Crunch | 4 × 10–15 · 1 min rest |
Session 3Repetition Upper▾
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 × 15–30 · 90s rest |
| Face Pull | 4 × 12–15 · 1 min rest |
| Push-ups | 4 × 10–20 · 1 min rest |
| Lat Pulldown | 3 × 8–12 · 1 min rest |
| Cable Lateral Raise | 3 × 10–15 · 1 min rest |
| EZ-Bar Curl | 3 × 10–12 · 1 min rest |
| Tricep Pushdown | 3 × 10–12 · 1 min rest |
Session 4Dynamic Lower (Optional)▾
| Box Jump | 5 × 3 · 90s rest |
| Reverse Lunge | 3 × 8–12 · 1 min rest |
| Barbell Hip Thrust | 3 × 8–12 · 1 min rest |
| Hanging Leg Raise | 3 × 10–15 · 1 min rest |
Week 1 as programmed in the app. Later weeks progress loads, volume and variations block by block.
How it progresses
- —Max-effort days: work up to a top set; beat it next week or rotate the lift.
- —Exercise rotation every 4 weeks defeats accommodation.
- —Repetition day chases rep PRs at fixed loads — the hypertrophy engine.
Who it's for
- —Athletes who need strength that shows up outside the gym.
- —Hardgainers who have done the beginner programs and stalled.
- —Lifters who get bored — the rotation keeps every month new.
Equipment
Barbell · Dumbbells · Bench · Cable Machine · Power Rack · Pull-up Bar · Plyo Box
Questions
Is the 4th day required?
No — DeFranco wrote it as optional. Three days covers the max-effort and repetition work; the dynamic lower day adds speed and jumping for athletes who need it.
How does PRESZN handle rotating max-effort lifts?
Every exercise keeps its own scoring line — your trailing 4-week average of hard sets on that lift. When a rotation brings a movement back, your history is waiting, and a first-ever top set on a new movement still pays as a record.
Westside for Skinny Bastards vs original Westside?
WS4SB swaps most of the dynamic-effort barbell work for repetition training and athlete-friendly assistance, which makes it far more practical without a full powerlifting gym and better suited to field athletes.