He once asked me “have you heard about Matt Wenning?” I said “ofcouse”. He goes “the guy is very knowledgeable”. In fact whenever your name came up in our conversations, he always spoke about you with great regards and respect.
@@WenningStrength appreciate your honesty...until you made it clear I thought he was talking about Smelly.. it sounds like you both had a similar issue with Louie in regards to Raw over Geared.....I have to think (as a fan of you all) that he hated you beating his gym....but loved that you went out and developed your own path to success.. he seemed like a " don't just talk shit, if you can't walk shit!...."kinda guy...and you walked the walk..
There will never be another westside -louie simmons -dave tate -kenny patterson -matt wenning - george helbert - rob fusner - mike ruggeria - chuck vogelpohl - matt dimel - mike brown - JM blakely These are like superheros to me
Hey Matt, obviously I'm Dennie Little Sr from Westside barbell in the early 90s. This was so awesome for me to watch. I can remember you just coming up and how I knew this kid would be a star. If you don't remember me, it's ok. I came with Jimmy Ritchie and Rob Fusner. I was 190 and average at best and throwing up big weight just wasn't in the cards for me. Who cares! But this interview finally tells the story of how Louie Simmons could be at times. Make no mistake, Louie was absolutely great to me as a young man. With that being said, if a new person came to visit or popped in for a training session he would completely be oblivious to me. For anyone who is going to read this, it's 100% fact, like it or not. I respect your integrity for telling the truth and not making it one sided. Louie definitely took our sport into a new evolution of lifting. He was ahead of his time in so many ways, yet resistant to evolution in many other ways. I'm from Columbus and have followed your success. In my opinion you are the strongest lifter as just raw talent along with Kenny Patterson and Chuck Vogelphol this sport has ever seen. Kudos to you for being the person that told the story correctly and with so much respect. Not only for Louie and Westside but also yourself. Being the accomplished athlete that you are and successful, it's truly a rare quality to see someone like you be so humble. Sincerely Dennie Little Sr...for those of you that don't like my opinion either you don't know the truth or you don't want to. F$#K Y÷U!
Well done Matt Louie was awesome the last few years he didn’t talk to me as much but was always there when I needed a favor Great bold headed man with a heart big as star
Yep we all had our ups and downs with him Everyone that doesn’t know - Serrano is one of the top Drs in the world - knowing Louie as good or better than me
Louie's contribution to powerlifting speaks for itself. However, as is always the case Matt, the difficulty for a teacher/master is embracing the new concepts while simultaneously letting go of the old ones. Being tethered to old methods has its rewards and caveats. Certainly, he was hurt because one of his star pupils became a teacher, but don't think for one minute that he didn't respect what you brought to the table. He did and it was in spades. Stay humble and strong. Always!
Love these stories, Matt. Great job finding the old footage as well. Wild times back then! And you not only survived them but you continue to thrive which is the real victory.
I was a shot putter at OSU from 1976-80. Tom Paulucci was a friend of Louie and my throwing coach.We squated every Sun. night in Louies garage complete with kerosene heater and 8 track tunes. I went from a195 lb. freshman throwing 50 ft to 225 lb senior throwing 60 ft. Competed in powerlifting as a skinny 242 totaling at a Masters level. Tom and Lou are both gone now,God bless them both for being so good to me and leaving me with great memories.
Thank you for this video, Matt. I'm still in disbelief that Louie is gone. I remember a month ago I was watching his talks on WSB UA-cam channel, and I thought he looked very sick. It looked like he aged 10 years in just one year. He sounded as quick and witty as ever, but physically he looked so frail. He'd probably wanna fight me if he knew I said that about him. RIP Louie. You are very missed.
I think what’s amazing is that you were able to use your critical thinking skills that you picked up from your higher education and advance your programming when you were already at an elite phase. You demonstrated how the training that everyone assumed was optimal could be improved, even if that risked being kicked from the gym. You were true to yourself and excelled. ❤
Matt!!! Thanks for sharing (with the entire world) and with BRUTAL HONESTY your relationship with Louie Simmons and Westside Barbell. May the spirit of Louie now Rest In Peace as I pray Angels of Comfort and Healing are dispatched to all those that loved, hated, respected and miss Louie. I truly believe the posting of this video will assist in your personal healing process and will also bridge the gap that will eventually be filled with the love you both had for each other. God Bless You, Matt!!!
At the end of the day there was mutual respect. Both of you were pushed to think differently, both successful. Block the noise Matt. Thanks for sharing YOUR story!!!
Matt, I always wondered what happened between you and Louie. Thank you for posting this, love hearing the story. Westside Barbell and Wenning Strength are my top 2 influences on my training and the 2 UA-cam channels I go to for advice. Thank you for sharing!
I have been following Matt and Westside for maybe 6 or 7 years now. Watching as many videos, interviews reading articles as many as I can. I've come to the personal conclusion that Matt is basically an updated version of Louie Simmons and the rightful heir to continue Louie's teachings.
What a great video! Thanks for sharing the good and bad and recognizing the huge impact Louie Simmons had on you💪🙏💪 Tons of respect and love for what you guys did for the strength community!!!
Matt, you did right by making this video with all of its honesty. I hope you arent taking it to hard that you didnt get to make that phone call. Louie was Louie and there will never be another. Keep it solid always, I've been following you for a long while along with ole Dave Tate. I will always have respect for you both.
Thanks for the great story, it really gives us a look behind the scenes of Westside. I dabbled in powerlifting in the ‘94-‘95 time frame, all we had then was three vhs tapes, squat, bench and deadlift from Westside Barbell.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but I was unfamiliar with you before I saw this video. You're a good storyteller, very articulate. You held my interest for the entire half hour. I'm taking your story at face value, and you appear to tell it like it is, holding Louie accountable for his mistakes as well as owning up to your own. Very rarely is one party solely to blame when a relationship breaks down, and your story reflects an understanding of that.
What a great story. Even a recreational lifter as myself can learn from your lesson. Sometimes you got to drop the belts and wraps to build real muscular strength. It goes a long way.
Love the honesty and the balls to go your own way. Nice to hear a genuine point of view Matt. Keep it up. Well into the bench manual with great results. Thanks again
I’m glad you spoke about this despite your differences and issues(I could be wrong as I’ve only heard Chinese whispers about your relationship). From what I’ve know about him he was knowledgeable beyond belief and it is clear when he speaks about lifting. Massive respect and of course rest in peace Louie
What a amazing video Matt. I never knew the story of your time at west side. I know you have tremendous respect for Louie, it really shows. Just because we have different ideas in life is no reason to dump on another person. Your integrity is evident with this information and story. You are very motivational for me. I will be ending my career as a firefighter in a few years and would love to look into education avenues for coaching Athletes, Firefighters and youth with nutrition, strength and speed when I come off the rig. I will reach out to you for some information and ideas if you don’t mind. With respect from NC 👊🏽
Hey Matt, you said you may explain at a later date, but I'd love to hear your thought process and reasoning as to why you prefer lighter weights with DE work over Louie's heavier percentages. Appreciate the story and all you've done for and continue to do for the industry
I think they did dynamic work in at least briefs or in suits with the straps down. So the heavier percentages were lighter. Not sure if they did upper in a shirt tho.
@@witheredserenity3183 if anything that would make the % higher. ie 50% of a multiply comp squat done in just briefs is going to be a lot harder/heavier (it’d be more like 70-80% of your 1rm in just briefs) than 50% of an unequipped squat
Great content from the heart, from a fantastic powerlifter who proved it drug free, geared, raw and obtained the advanced formal education along with his platform and gym cred. Thank you for creating this Matt and Wenning Strength. It should be clear to everyone how you feel about Louie as well as where people should turn now for training guidance now that he has passed on and you continue your blended legacy of correct strength training information.
It’s been a tough year for powerlifting. We’ve lost some big influencers. It’s up to guys like you to pick up the torch and keep it going. I can attest that since following your methodology I’ve been injury free and feel better at 46 than I did at 36
Never got to meet louie, but its a funny thing, when you take information from a someone that helps you improve and become a better stronger person, it feels like I knew the guy for years.
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.
Wow…this is deep! I’m definitely going to look into your programs. I’m currently doing a program & it’s pretty successful since I’m going up in strength but I’m super weak compared to you guys. Thank you!
Ordinary lifters like myself are less ordinary because of the Extra Ordinary Mastodons like Louie Simmons and Matt Wenning, (and MANY others). It's their extra ordinary intelligence and singularity of purpose to learn and teach. I hope Louie, Matt, and those many others have some idea of how many lives they made and make better by sharing their knowledge. RIP Louie Simmons, a pioneer of Strength.
If you’ve seen farther, it’s because you’ve stood on the shoulders of giants like Louie. Super interesting how strength has become where it is today and how training methods come full circle
@@WenningStrength Cheers buddy!! :-)) Just a quick question - I have started doing these tricep extensions against a barbell where you lean forward and dip underneath it, are these something that can realistically add 20 to 30 pounds to your bench if you currently do zero tricep work like myself? I can hit 470 for a single but dream of 495 some day :-)
That was good! I especially like the Louie impression 😂 Do you know much about Louie’s earlier days lifting - or how he discovered/got interested in Conjugate? That would be an interesting episode.
Louie got interested in lifting fairly young, around 12, and said he had slightly above average drive and strength compared to some others...Louie self educated and kept on lifting as he grew older, always self educating. He injured his lower back in his 30s, and after deciding his training was wrong...he got refered to a company that sold the Russian text books from the Soviet Olympics wl program, and Louie converted it to pl
Louie was the SEED for USA POWER LIFTING..RIP. I use all these persons to study the different way of how each defines n interperates each lifting techiques..speed, sets,angles , percentages warming up etc..from a SEED Came all these trainers on UA-cam..
I think Louie had to be that way to get the most out of all you guys. Underneath it all I think he was so proud of all you guys and what you accomplished.
I remember a trio at World Gym on Sawmill Road around 1993/94 who seemed impressive at the time. The most impressive guy was rather lanky, maybe 6 feet 190 and he squatted around 500 with wraps. The numbers you put up would have been unimaginable.
"I am the teacher of athletes. He that by me spreads a wider breast than my own proves the width of my own. He most honors my style who learns under it to destroy the teacher." Walt Whitman
Wow I’m really interested in your methods , I’m trying to go to single ply in deadlift only but having a bit of trouble with getting the right position in the suit.
He once asked me “have you heard about Matt Wenning?” I said “ofcouse”. He goes “the guy is very knowledgeable”. In fact whenever your name came up in our conversations, he always spoke about you with great regards and respect.
Awesome man we were close to mending and reached out to him a few months ago
I appreciate you not sugarcoating your relationship with Louie. He was a legend but also had his flaws just like all of us.
Wasn’t easy but wanted people to know the story
@@WenningStrength appreciate your honesty...until you made it clear I thought he was talking about Smelly.. it sounds like you both had a similar issue with Louie in regards to Raw over Geared.....I have to think (as a fan of you all) that he hated you beating his gym....but loved that you went out and developed your own path to success.. he seemed like a " don't just talk shit, if you can't walk shit!...."kinda guy...and you walked the walk..
It's a stupid argument because Louie trained raw pretty much his whole life. Look at all the athletes in the world that use his system.
There will never be another westside
-louie simmons
-dave tate
-kenny patterson
-matt wenning
- george helbert
- rob fusner
- mike ruggeria
- chuck vogelpohl
- matt dimel
- mike brown
- JM blakely
These are like superheros to me
🎖🎖🎖🎖🎖
You forgot Mike brown
@@bpswank429 m sorry mike brown was a freak man 😂
The Avengers of strength! 😂
@@baldur4898 why you laughing fool ?
Louie said (paraphrasing from a YT interview) what made him most proud was former Westside lifters going on to create successful businesses.
✅✅✅✅✅
RIP Louie, your lessons and their aftereffects will never die.
🔥🔥🔥🔥
Hey Matt, obviously I'm Dennie Little Sr from Westside barbell in the early 90s. This was so awesome for me to watch. I can remember you just coming up and how I knew this kid would be a star. If you don't remember me, it's ok. I came with Jimmy Ritchie and Rob Fusner. I was 190 and average at best and throwing up big weight just wasn't in the cards for me. Who cares! But this interview finally tells the story of how Louie Simmons could be at times. Make no mistake, Louie was absolutely great to me as a young man. With that being said, if a new person came to visit or popped in for a training session he would completely be oblivious to me. For anyone who is going to read this, it's 100% fact, like it or not. I respect your integrity for telling the truth and not making it one sided. Louie definitely took our sport into a new evolution of lifting. He was ahead of his time in so many ways, yet resistant to evolution in many other ways. I'm from Columbus and have followed your success. In my opinion you are the strongest lifter as just raw talent along with Kenny Patterson and Chuck Vogelphol this sport has ever seen. Kudos to you for being the person that told the story correctly and with so much respect. Not only for Louie and Westside but also yourself. Being the accomplished athlete that you are and successful, it's truly a rare quality to see someone like you be so humble. Sincerely Dennie Little Sr...for those of you that don't like my opinion either you don't know the truth or you don't want to. F$#K Y÷U!
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 I remember you my friend and appreciate you
I did 8 sets of reverse hyperextensions today for Louie! Rest in power - great, great video Matt!
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Meh, i just broke my back on purpose in His honour.
Good on you
Well done Matt
Louie was awesome the last few years he didn’t talk to me as much but was always there when I needed a favor
Great bold headed man with a heart big as star
Yep we all had our ups and downs with him
Everyone that doesn’t know - Serrano is one of the top Drs in the world - knowing Louie as good or better than me
Louie's contribution to powerlifting speaks for itself. However, as is always the case Matt, the difficulty for a teacher/master is embracing the new concepts while simultaneously letting go of the old ones. Being tethered to old methods has its rewards and caveats. Certainly, he was hurt because one of his star pupils became a teacher, but don't think for one minute that he didn't respect what you brought to the table. He did and it was in spades. Stay humble and strong. Always!
Oh for sure 🙏
Thank you for your openness. This is strength history. It’s important. I appreciate you telling your story.
🎯🎯🎯🎯
RIP Louie you will be missed. I also love how everyone does the higher pitched Louie voice in these vids as if late.
Done it for years 💪💪😅😅
Love these stories, Matt. Great job finding the old footage as well. Wild times back then! And you not only survived them but you continue to thrive which is the real victory.
Working hard brother!!!! Louie was a big part of my success
I was a shot putter at OSU from 1976-80. Tom Paulucci was a friend of Louie and my throwing coach.We squated every Sun. night in Louies garage complete with kerosene heater and 8 track tunes. I went from a195 lb. freshman throwing 50 ft to 225 lb senior throwing 60 ft. Competed in powerlifting as a skinny 242 totaling at a Masters level. Tom and Lou are both gone now,God bless them both for being so good to me and leaving me with great memories.
I used to own that house. You were lucky to have them back then
Thank you for this video, Matt. I'm still in disbelief that Louie is gone. I remember a month ago I was watching his talks on WSB UA-cam channel, and I thought he looked very sick. It looked like he aged 10 years in just one year. He sounded as quick and witty as ever, but physically he looked so frail. He'd probably wanna fight me if he knew I said that about him. RIP Louie. You are very missed.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
One of the best vids made. Love the honesty.
✅✅✅✅
You are a top class person, way to keep Louie’s spirit alive…
🙏🙏🙏🙏💪
R.I.P Louie and thanks for this video Matt.
Yes sir!!!
I think what’s amazing is that you were able to use your critical thinking skills that you picked up from your higher education and advance your programming when you were already at an elite phase. You demonstrated how the training that everyone assumed was optimal could be improved, even if that risked being kicked from the gym. You were true to yourself and excelled. ❤
Never stop learning
To be honest didn't think I was gonna watch the whole 30+ min video but I did great heart felt story Matt
💥💥💥💥
Please repost and share my friends keep the Louie legend alive
Matt!!! Thanks for sharing (with the entire world) and with BRUTAL HONESTY your relationship with Louie Simmons and Westside Barbell.
May the spirit of Louie now Rest In Peace as I pray Angels of Comfort and Healing are dispatched to all those that loved, hated, respected and miss Louie.
I truly believe the posting of this video will assist in your personal healing process and will also bridge the gap that will eventually be filled with the love you both had for each other.
God Bless You, Matt!!!
✅✅✅✅✅
At the end of the day there was mutual respect. Both of you were pushed to think differently, both successful. Block the noise Matt. Thanks for sharing YOUR story!!!
🔥🔥🔥⚡️
Matt,
I always wondered what happened between you and Louie. Thank you for posting this, love hearing the story.
Westside Barbell and Wenning Strength are my top 2 influences on my training and the 2 UA-cam channels I go to for advice.
Thank you for sharing!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Real man talk !! What a respectful humble knowledgeable dude Wenning you’re a stud !! Keep banging ‘em brother !!
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I have been following Matt and Westside for maybe 6 or 7 years now. Watching as many videos, interviews reading articles as many as I can. I've come to the personal conclusion that Matt is basically an updated version of Louie Simmons and the rightful heir to continue Louie's teachings.
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Matt, appreciate you sharing. I didn’t know the backstory. It was a very respectful and honest tribute.
Did my best brother 💪💪💪
Man that note from him in the book tugs at the heart
What a great video! Thanks for sharing the good and bad and recognizing the huge impact Louie Simmons had on you💪🙏💪 Tons of respect and love for what you guys did for the strength community!!!
✅✅✅✅
Good for you Matt Wenning. The time to pass the torch has come and it’s your choice to carry it forward.
I do my best
Matt, you did right by making this video with all of its honesty. I hope you arent taking it to hard that you didnt get to make that phone call. Louie was Louie and there will never be another. Keep it solid always, I've been following you for a long while along with ole Dave Tate. I will always have respect for you both.
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Awesome video Matt!! Condolence for your friend and his family in all aspects and circles🙏🏻
💪💪💪💪 thanks my friend
Thanks for the great story, it really gives us a look behind the scenes of Westside. I dabbled in powerlifting in the ‘94-‘95 time frame, all we had then was three vhs tapes, squat, bench and deadlift from Westside Barbell.
🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯
Thanks for that story, I’ve been following lifting for 55 years. And lifting the same. Good luck.
Much respect my friend
Please don't take this the wrong way, but I was unfamiliar with you before I saw this video. You're a good storyteller, very articulate. You held my interest for the entire half hour. I'm taking your story at face value, and you appear to tell it like it is, holding Louie accountable for his mistakes as well as owning up to your own. Very rarely is one party solely to blame when a relationship breaks down, and your story reflects an understanding of that.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
What a great story. Even a recreational lifter as myself can learn from your lesson. Sometimes you got to drop the belts and wraps to build real muscular strength. It goes a long way.
Yep!!!
Good video man. Can't believe he is gone. Take care.
We all have our time
Thanks for sharing Matt, you are all great Americans 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Love the honesty and the balls to go your own way. Nice to hear a genuine point of view Matt. Keep it up. Well into the bench manual with great results. Thanks again
Thanks homie!!!
This is epic. Thank you for the background story Matt
🏆🏆🏆🏆
Thanks for making this video, Matt
🙏🙏🙏🙏
All-Time great lifter and coach, thank you for all you do sir!
🙏🙏🙏🙏
I’m glad you spoke about this despite your differences and issues(I could be wrong as I’ve only heard Chinese whispers about your relationship). From what I’ve know about him he was knowledgeable beyond belief and it is clear when he speaks about lifting.
Massive respect and of course rest in peace Louie
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Great video. Ego can destroy great relationships. Live and learn, is what it is. RIP Louie.
What a amazing video Matt. I never knew the story of your time at west side. I know you have tremendous respect for Louie, it really shows. Just because we have different ideas in life is no reason to dump on another person. Your integrity is evident with this information and story.
You are very motivational for me. I will be ending my career as a firefighter in a few years and would love to look into education avenues for coaching Athletes, Firefighters and youth with nutrition, strength and speed when I come off the rig. I will reach out to you for some information and ideas if you don’t mind.
With respect from NC 👊🏽
💪💪💪💪
Thanks for sharing, great stories and history!
Thanks brother !!!
class act, great story, just what you would expect from hearing other stories, thanks for sharing allways.
Truthful and from
The heart ❤️. Thanks brother
Thanks for sharing this great story.
💪💪💪💪💪
Great history about the contributions of Louie Simmons from someone who has a genuine depth of knowledge.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Great tribute to a legend from someone who doubtlessly deserves that status too, man. 👊💪
🙏🙏🙏 working hard every day. Louie was a huge part of that
Great story. Thanks for sharing.
🏆🏆🏆🏆
Hey Matt, you said you may explain at a later date, but I'd love to hear your thought process and reasoning as to why you prefer lighter weights with DE work over Louie's heavier percentages.
Appreciate the story and all you've done for and continue to do for the industry
Come on to patreon brother we could use your support for the channel
www.patreon.com/wenningstrength
I think they did dynamic work in at least briefs or in suits with the straps down. So the heavier percentages were lighter. Not sure if they did upper in a shirt tho.
@@witheredserenity3183 if anything that would make the % higher.
ie 50% of a multiply comp squat done in just briefs is going to be a lot harder/heavier (it’d be more like 70-80% of your 1rm in just briefs) than 50% of an unequipped squat
Im glad to hear your story and how you don't sugar coat anything. And i love the respect that you pay to the Soviets.
🙏🙏🙏
It's like losing a dad. I'm sorry Matt. Send him your prayers and don't regret the past.
Yes for many. 💪
Great content from the heart, from a fantastic powerlifter who proved it drug free, geared, raw and obtained the advanced formal education along with his platform and gym cred. Thank you for creating this Matt and Wenning Strength. It should be clear to everyone how you feel about Louie as well as where people should turn now for training guidance now that he has passed on and you continue your blended legacy of correct strength training information.
🏆🏆🏆
Great video, Matt!
🙏🙏🙏🙏
It’s been a tough year for powerlifting. We’ve lost some big influencers. It’s up to guys like you to pick up the torch and keep it going. I can attest that since following your methodology I’ve been injury free and feel better at 46 than I did at 36
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Never got to meet louie, but its a funny thing, when you take information from a someone that helps you improve and become a better stronger person, it feels like I knew the guy for years.
Yea he positively effected way more people from a distance 💪💪💪
Heard some thing I never knew. Thanks Matt!!!
🏆🏆🏆
Great story Matt! I've learned so much from both you and Louie. Keep up the great work!
We all did
Maybe I’m wrong, but in a lot of ways, you just made peace with Louie.
God bless you both
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
What your relationship would have been if Louie was more open minded to new ideas 💡.. thank you Matt for this video remembering Louie
Admire you and Louie and all you guys that came before🙏🏽
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Great video Matt!
💥💥💥
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.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
God bless Matt.. that was very humble and madd interesting. You got a crazy story. Sorry for your loss
💪💪💪💪
Wow…this is deep! I’m definitely going to look into your programs. I’m currently doing a program & it’s pretty successful since I’m going up in strength but I’m super weak compared to you guys. Thank you!
🏆🏆🏆🏆
Matt, that was a dang good video brother
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Well said. What a stand up way to tell your story both the highs and lows. 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
🙏🙏🙏🙏
awesome video man
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ordinary lifters like myself are less ordinary because of the Extra Ordinary Mastodons like Louie Simmons and Matt Wenning, (and MANY others). It's their extra ordinary intelligence and singularity of purpose to learn and teach. I hope Louie, Matt, and those many others have some idea of how many lives they made and make better by sharing their knowledge. RIP Louie Simmons, a pioneer of Strength.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Great stuff
✅✅✅
“Do what you’re not good at.” 👍👍👍
💯💯💯💯
I had no idea. Wow. RIP. He definitely made an impact.
On so many including myself
Never met Louie, however, he was a character in the sport with new and different training methods. RIP
💪💪💪💪
Thanks for sharing this story 🙏. Fascinating story about a mentor mentee relationship.
🏆🏆🏆🏆
Thanx Matt. R.I.P. Louie
✅✅✅
If you’ve seen farther, it’s because you’ve stood on the shoulders of giants like Louie. Super interesting how strength has become where it is today and how training methods come full circle
⚡️⚡️⚡️
kudos, Matt. respect for respect. RIP Louie
🏆🏆🏆🏆
This makes me want to sign up to one of the Wenning Bench programmes now :-)
Ahhh. Be honored to have ya
@@WenningStrength Cheers buddy!! :-)) Just a quick question - I have started doing these tricep extensions against a barbell where you lean forward and dip underneath it, are these something that can realistically add 20 to 30 pounds to your bench if you currently do zero tricep work like myself? I can hit 470 for a single but dream of 495 some day :-)
Amazing Video
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Awesome story, brother!
🎖🎖🎖🎖
You are a great Powerlifter and coach. “With that being said” …
😅😅
Amazing story.
✅✅✅
Your outlook on personal success would of made you a record holder in any career, great mindset to crush your goals and pr's!
💪💪💪💪
1st !!!!!!!!
RIP Louie!!!!!
A true legend
🔥🔥🔥🔥
That was good!
I especially like the Louie impression 😂
Do you know much about Louie’s earlier days lifting - or how he discovered/got interested in Conjugate? That would be an interesting episode.
Yes I do
Louie got interested in lifting fairly young, around 12, and said he had slightly above average drive and strength compared to some others...Louie self educated and kept on lifting as he grew older, always self educating. He injured his lower back in his 30s, and after deciding his training was wrong...he got refered to a company that sold the Russian text books from the Soviet Olympics wl program, and Louie converted it to pl
Watch the WSB podcast called "training partners"
Bad ass video man
🙏🙏🙏
Thank you for sharing.
✅✅✅✅
Louie was the SEED for USA POWER LIFTING..RIP. I use all these persons to study the different way of how each defines n interperates each lifting techiques..speed, sets,angles , percentages warming up etc..from a SEED Came all these trainers on UA-cam..
Make sure you include the authors louie got that from. The seed was planted in Russia
I think Louie had to be that way to get the most out of all you guys. Underneath it all I think he was so proud of all you guys and what you accomplished.
🏆🏆🏆🙏🙏🙏
Great story man! 🙏
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What your thoughts on Elite Powerlifter Strength Coach Jason Blaha
No idea who that is
@@WenningStrength This guy mentions your name often. He claims he is a Professional Strength Coach and Elite record holder Powerlifter.
Well said Matt💪
✅✅✅✅
I remember a trio at World Gym on Sawmill Road around 1993/94 who seemed impressive at the time. The most impressive guy was rather lanky, maybe 6 feet 190 and he squatted around 500 with wraps. The numbers you put up would have been unimaginable.
Lots of work my brother. 💪💪
Louie has affected many lives in such a positive way and will as long as people lift weights.
🎖🎖🎖🎖🎖
@@WenningStrength Louies philosophies will live in all who lift weights.
I was very sad to learn that Louie Simmons passed away. He was an authentic man, who from my perspective lived a life doing what he loved.
🙏🙏🙏
“Lived a life doing what he loved.” Indeed. A wise and fortunate man. Good example for others to follow. “Louie donating equipment.” 👍👍👍☝️☝️☝️
"I am the teacher of athletes. He that by me spreads a wider breast than my own proves the width of my own. He most honors my style who learns under it to destroy the teacher." Walt Whitman
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Good to guest
Nice video matt, algorithm mate 👍🏾 too
💪💪💪💪
Wow I’m really interested in your methods , I’m trying to go to single ply in deadlift only but having a bit of trouble with getting the right position in the suit.
Takes lots of time.