Stop Testing, Start Building

Westside Barbell has a concept of Tester vs Builder exercises. Testers are movements that allow us to accurately gauge progress and check the efficacy of our program. A builder is an exercise that may not be specific but can improve strengths or qualities that carry over to Tester movements.

For most football programs out there, the bench press and squat are Tester movements. When these two lifts are improving, your program is getting athletes stronger. A good training program finds what exercises are Builders and utilizes those to get stronger, instead of just relying on tester exercises to make constant progress.

The challenging part of this idea is that Builders will be different for every athlete, and different for during an athlete’s entire time training with you.

For younger athletes, goblet squats and lunges might be Builders to a front squat Tester. Over time, that front squat is a Builder to a back squat Tester. Eventually, things like accommodating resistance back squats could be a Builder for a more advanced football player.

With the bench press, younger athletes will benefit from building with higher volume pushups and DB Bench. Eventually incline BB Bench and pause benches might be a superior Builder for players with decent strength. Eventually, things like floor or board presses and swiss bar bench press will build the supporting structure an athlete needs to take their bench strength to a higher level.

The art (and challenge) of programming is to find the most appropriate level Builder for each athlete and have them work their until they need a better Builder. Don’t rush the progression just because you are bored. If after every rep out week or testing cycle the team is making progress, keep building. When team progress is starting to stall, then it’s time to adjust the assistance work.

Lastly, don’t get caught up in the Tester exercises. Yes, the max out squat and bench days are the best, but the work is done in the building phase. Embrace the higher rep work, Embrace attacking the weaknesses, and the results will speak for themselves on testing days.

Keep the Fire Burning,

Leech

P.S. – If you like discussions like this and have more questions about programming, jump in The Insiders . We cover topics like this and more during live Film Studies on a weekly basis.