Louie Simmons was one of the most well-respected strength experts in the gym world. He passed away a few years ago but his legacy remains, as does the equipment and exercises he invested to support men in becoming the strongest they could possibly be – but his philosophy can be used to strengthen women, too.

With gyms filled with women who want to get strong and put on muscle but who spend all of their time taking selfies and getting a ‘glute burn’, it makes me a little sad that the old ways of lifting (the ways I have been trained in since the beginning) are becoming lost. But it’s not lost to – and in my intention to strength women, his methods have provided enormous benefit.

Who is Louie Simmons?

Louie Simmons had a gym in Ohio, US, where he trained powerlifters using his own methods including chains, bands, and his programming centred around nervous system overload to optimise strength. 

Although he worked mostly with men, as a female who came up in the industry before social media, I appreciate, and implement many of his teachings with my female clients. I know first hand how his philosophies can be used to strengthen women. By following my own version of his philosophy, my clients feel stronger than ever, are protected from injuries and build amazing physiques. 

Short of the Barbell Squat, Deadlift and Bench Press he specialised in, here are some of the pieces of equipment he designed to support his lifters and which I use with my own clients today; 

Box Squat 

I use this one to teach women how to sit back into their glutes and hamstrings in a squat, and develop the capacity to squat parallel (thighs parallel to the floor – this makes a ‘legitimate’ squat according to powerlifting regulation, and it’s also how you get the most benefit from performing a squat). Once they have the movement, I take the box away and they continue squatting seamlessly without it; 

Note that in my video I’m using a step, he designed an adjustable metal box instead, which is far more durable for heavy weight lifting!

Glute-Hamstring Raise (GH Raise) 

This is an advanced exercise, if you can do this one then it suggests your posterior chain – hamstrings, abs, glutes and back – are pretty strong. This is amazing for women, as we are naturally very weak in this area unless trained otherwise. 

Reverse Hyper 

This was designed to decompress the lower back whilst also strengthening it. This mini hybrid version is a little more controlled, and great for developing hamstring, glute and lower back strength. The original machine is more dynamic and designed for much heavier weights than this portable version, but both are effective 

Safety Bar Squat

For people with shoulder injuries or chest/shoulder mobility issues, this one is great as you can squat without having to strengthen your arms back. It’s also amazing for mimicking a front-squat, so you’ll load your quads and abdominals more with the weight sitting slightly forward of the usual position.  

Belt Squat

Born from the many lifters with lower back issues, this ensures you can squat without having to load your upper back and erectors (lower back muscles) with a heavy weight. It sits on your hips, and although many of my clients find the belt painful on their hips, some absolutely love it. 

So those are my favourite exercises by Louie Simmons – I hope you found the article inspiring!

If you’re interested in building real (and lasting) strength as a Woman, I have the most amazing Female Training program for you! It’s contains the entire philosophy of training that I have developed over the last 15-years of coaching women.

Hope you enjoyed the article!

Jen x