Louie Simmons, an American powerlifter, passed away at the age of 74, but no cause of death has been revealed.

Louie Simmons was a former American powerlifter and strength instructor. Simmons is most recognized for inventing and adapting the Westside Conjugate training system into powerlifting and other sports.

Simmons was also credited with the invention of a number of pieces of strength-training equipment. Simmons developed Westside Barbell in Columbus, Ohio, a private, invitation-only top training facility.

He also had a long history of justifying the use of performance-enhancing drugs to achieve strength and muscle growth goals.

Simmons was a powerlifting competitor for almost 50 years. By the age of 50, Simmons had squatted 420 kilograms, benched 270 kilograms, and deadlifted 327 kg. He also qualified for the Olympics in five different weight classes.

Simmons also invented the Reverse Hyper® machine, the Inverse Curl machine, the Hip/Quad machine, the Static/Dynamic developer, and the Virtual Force Swing.