It’s finally time to switch to 5/3/1. I think I’ve gotten all I can get out of intermediate programs and now it’s time to switch to something more advanced.
I have the basic 5/3/1 components for press/DL/bench/squat set to M/Tu/-/Th/Fr/-/-. I have plyo+olympic work set immediately after the DL and squat on my oly coaches advice.
The final question is where does sport specific training fall in? I need to sprint on a track at least twice a week. Doing it tired is dangerous in my opinion as fatigued stabilizers allow for injuries. Should I be doing them in the AM before I do those PM leg sessions?
Given the totality of this volume I’m also going to assume there’s no need for accessory work as well?
Also, deload weeks in week 4, I’ve heard those are no longer recommended, is this true?
Your coach advise to do your plyos and olympic lifting after deadlift and squat but in 5/3/1, it is advised to do them before.
So either have your coach do the whole setup for you or follow 5/3/1 which would also advise to sprint before the main lift.
However, normally you do the more neurologically demanding exercises first. This means sprints first, then plyos and/or olympic lifts and finally the main lifts. I am not sure I would add assistance after all of that except maybe some ab work.
In conclusion, sprinting, plyos, olympic lifting + squat/deads on top of sport specific training is a lot of work to program at the same time. If your coach is competent and know you well, he is the person that should help you.
Sadly I don’t have anyone who’s “all-in-one”. The oly coach is just an oly coach. The track coach focuses almost exclusively on actual sprinting.
Considering that Wendler helped write conjugate method as well, my guess is he agrees with the principles involved. Would I be able to get by in a pinch by just transforming the non-top sets to be Dynamic Effort and running standard 5/3/1? Or is it a necessity that maximal and DE gets split up over several days?
So maybe now is not the right time for 5/3/1?
Choose a plan that will compliment your athletic pursuits and save the 5/3/1 for a time when you can focus on doing the plan as written.
You mentionned sport specific training and mentionned sprinting. Are you a sprinter? Is your sport specific training sprinting?
Anyway, not having a coach who does it all don’t help. You can’t pick and choose aspect of different philosophies and add them all. This will lead you to burnout.
But you could look into training program that does it all and account for all aspect. Look for Hoss + Unit by Will Ratelle and Blaine McConnell. It incorporates sprinting, plyos, olympic lifting and strength. I think it is a 5-6 days a week training program.
This is the one I know about but there is probably more.