Just seeing if this blend of the two would work. Considering a hectic work week and desire for upper body hypertrophy, I wanted to implement the “Repetition Method” on thursdays while I do 5/3/1 at the beginning of the week. I feel like by the end of the week Im too drained to do ME work, more notably on squats. I came up with two templates.
Option #1
Monday ME Upper: 5/3/1 Bench + 5/3/1 Press (Seperated by pulling assistance)
Tuesday ME Lower: 5/3/1 Squat + 5/3/1 Deadlift (5 Minute Rest B/W)
Wed: OFF
Thursday Rep Method Upper: Bench/Press Variation + Assistance
Friday: Power Movement + Dynamic Squats/DL + Assistance
Option #2
Monday ME Upper: 5/3/1 Bench + 5/3/1 Press (Seperated by pulling assistance)
Tuesday ME Lower: 5/3/1 Squat (+ Assistance)
Wed: OFF
Thursday Rep Method Upper: Bench/Press Variation (3-4 Sets x Max Rep or 12-15) (+ Assistance)
Friday: Power Movement/Dynamic Squats/DL + 5/3/1 DL (+ Assistance)
My job schedule is not very consistent so I tend to sometimes work early mornings, last friday I got 4 hours of sleep (usual squat day) and it was arguably the worst workout I did in a very very long time.
Thanks guys…I was actually thinking, if squats was my main concern at the end of the week. I should just do them Monday or Tuesday. Upperbody isn’t very tasking, CNS speaking, so I can handle it later in the week when Im drained. Again, thanks for the responses.
Over the last few years I have used these two styles exclusively, getting great results from them. I either do one or the other, I have never tried to combine them. Don’t know how that would work out?
[quote]kghof wrote:
Joe Defranco used 5/3/1 for ME lift loading with WS4SB at one point. Don’t know if he is still using it or how successful it was.[/quote]
In an article somewhere he indicated that he uses it when he has guys for longer, but often has guys for short periods and just maxes out then. I would think this would be an acceptable way to go, use WS4SB 3 as the base and only change the max effort bench and squat for 5/3/1, or alternate weeks of Bench/Squat and Press/Deadlift using the 5/3/1 scheme – otherwise exactly the same as WS4SB. Run for a while and report back.
Haha Jim’s going to have a testicle explosion when he reads that!
Don’t mix the two, do the programs as they are outlined.
I know a few guys that combine the two in the sense one of their days is based on WSBB or 5/3/1 … determined through how their main lifts progressed when doing the programs in full. Got one guy who uses a 5/3/1 bench day and the remainder are WSBB because he didn’t make much progress on his squat/deadlift using 5/3/1. Conversely WSBB didn’t do shit for his bench either.
But then you really need to have an understanding of how your body responds, which isn’t something you can determine in just a year or two of training. You also need to run the individual programs for a good 6 to 12 months and keep an eye on how your lifts move up and down with the programs over the period.
Sure you can combine the two, but how do you gauge if the combo is better for you than say a strict 5/3/1 or WSBB template?
I think I might just go with the idea of 5/3/1 percentages for the bench and squat and basically follow the WSB4SB program without pressing and DL’ing. Maybe cycling the two like some of you mentioned.
I saw a lot of growth from it in the past. I think I get too caught up in the assistance work on 5/3/1, I think at times I am going too light. For example…
Press day say its 135x5+ ; ill follow that up with 5x10 Std. DB Press @55-60lbs…should I bump up the weights even more on the assistance?
I just have monstrous legs (yes thats a good thing) but I feel as though my upper body is lacking a bit.
Honestly, there’s no reason why using a 5/3/1 loading scheme for the ME work in WS4SB wouldn’t work. What you have wrong, however, is that your overhead work also follows the same loading scheme.
If you really wanted to merge the two, I’d hit 5/3/1 on the ME work and then 3-5x8-12 on your lift after. So it would be bench 5/3/1, overhead 3-5x8-12 // squat 5/3/1, romanian deadlift (or something) 3-5x8-12. Do that for however long you want and then switch the next cycle so that the overhead press and deadlift are the ME work.
I used to have the same problem with WS4SB where I would burn out to fast. My biggest problem was I wasn’t taking the dynamic days and repetition days seriously enough. I was lifting way to heavy instead of for speed and explosiveness. Once I figured that out, everything started going along smoothly. I haven’t deloaded in 6 weeks yet either.