Louis Simmons (October 12, 1947 – March 24, 2022) was an American weightlifter and strength trainer. He is known for developing the Westside Conjugate training method and applying it to weightlifting and other sports, as well as inventing various weight training machines. Westside Barbell is a private, invitation-only, elite training facility in Columbus, Ohio founded by Simmons.
Simmons has publicly defended the use of performance-enhancing drugs to achieve strength and muscle growth goals, including his own use of anabolic steroids since 1970, saying in a 2016 podcast for Joe Rogan: “I took anabolic steroids in January from 1970. So what is this? , 2016? I never left them. “Look, drug use is not against the rules. It is against the law for them to catch you.”
Simmons is one of only five lifters to reach the elite level overall in five different weight classes. He is an elite member of several powerlifting organizations.
Simmons has competed in powerlifting for more than 50 years. At age 50, he had squatted 420kg, benched 270kg and deadlifted 327kg. For almost four years, she reached the elite level in five different weight classes.
Despite Simmons’ views on performance-enhancing drugs, Simmons’ weightlifting students continue to cite his methods as the foundation of their training long after they have left his gym. Simmons has also worked as a strength consultant for collegiate and professional sports teams, and his training approach is reflected in the CrossFit weightlifting certification program. His articles on his training methods appear regularly in the acclaimed American Weightlifting Magazine. Simmons owns Westside Barbell, a private gym in Columbus, Ohio. Membership is by invitation only.
Louie developed and popularized a training system, sometimes called conjugation, named after the Westside Barbell Gym. The system is known for its guidelines on exercise selection, periodization, and the use of resistance bands and chains in strength training. The Simmons Method has been used to train athletes in a variety of strength-based sports, including weightlifting, track and field, martial arts, and soccer.
Simmons claims that he developed and invented specific barbell exercises to address weaknesses in competitive sports. [18] Upper and lower body routines are rotated frequently (at least every three weeks) on the principle that training the same routine for too long will backfire. The training system emphasizes various specialized exercises. Various weight lifts such as good mornings can be performed instead of squats. Competitive weightlifting can be modified by increasing or decreasing range of motion, such as squatting on low or high boxes, bench pressing with limited range of motion, using planks to shorten punches, or deadlifting with blocks or pins in a power cage. Traditional bars can be replaced with specialty bars such as arch bars, safety squat bars, or Swiss bars.
Load specific exercises designed to increase both strength and speed each week. The twice-weekly “max effort” classes, one for the upper body and one for the lower body, require maximal weight training on the specific exercises above. Dynamic hard work twice a week, one for the upper body and one for the lower body, with submaximal weight training but with as much acceleration as possible on the upstroke. With alternating classes of ME and DE, the conjugate sequence system is designed to replace traditional Western strength training cycles where only one quality such as hypertrophy, speed or strength is developed in a given week. This contrasts sharply with the conjugate sequence system used by Soviet athletes, which trains one major motor skill at a time while maintaining the rest.
