531 Full Body Two Days/Week?

I am in my late thirties doing weights for a few years & grapple three days/week. Recently started training the 2 day RP challenge. It’s going pretty good yet I feel like I want to try a full body template after my current cycle - both 5/3/1 books have three days/week full body templates and I feel it would be difficult to recover. I will use my garage rack & have devised the below template trying to keep workout time to 45’ max and include some hypertrophy. What do you think? Would it work?

Wednesday
Deadlift 531
Press 531 (ss Barbell Rows 310)
Lunges 5
10
Bench 510
Curls 2
10 (ss Tricep Ext 2*10)

Saturday is main rest day

Sunday
Squat 531
Bench 531 (ss Chins 310)
GHR 5
10
DB Press ss Side ss Rear 310
Hammer 2
10 (ss Dips 2*10)

Interested to hear any comments.

This would be much harder to recover from than a standard 531 FB routine. I believe you are short changing yourself.

But if you are sold on this, give it a try. I don’t know how you think doing lunges for 5x10 is a good idea when recovery is your primary concern.

Thanks very much Jim,

I will give it a try - I ‘ll start with 40% training max for my 5*10s and will fine tune the assistance work depending on my 531 progress - I aim to keep session time below 50’.

Thanks again.

No - pick another option since recovery is your main concern.

OP - the 2-Day RP Challenge IS a full-body template. If you’re eating enough you should get some decent hypertrophy from it?

OP - I want to try this template, will it work?

Jim Wendler - No, it’s a bad idea

OP - Oh OK, thanks for your advice, I’m going to do it anyway.

Sometimes I start to think this whole internet thing is just a waste of everyone’s time

3 Likes

Thanks Jim - I will go for another option - would be great to see a Full Body Twice/Week template sometime in the future.

tokon the RP is a great template and allowed me to increase reps - mostly gave me strength and some hypertrophy; yet it splits the main work into the two weekly training sessions and I feel that a whole body session template would suit me better given that I train weights every Wednesday & Sunday.

thank you for your comments

Have to agree. I workout yes, but am I accomplished like Jim? No. So I may ask stupid questions not to be annoy, but to learn and understand. And when someone as astute as Jim says NO I sure as hell would take his advice. Especially as he is offering it for free.

[quote]Arxaios wrote:
Thanks Jim - I will go for another option - would be great to see a Full Body Twice/Week template sometime in the future.

tokon the RP is a great template and allowed me to increase reps - mostly gave me strength and some hypertrophy; yet it splits the main work into the two weekly training sessions and I feel that a whole body session template would suit me better given that I train weights every Wednesday & Sunday.

thank you for your comments[/quote]

If you really think of it you realize that doing full body twice a week is not so complicated. You just need to pull, press and squat in both workouts. I would personally try something like this if I were you:

D1: Squat 3/5/1
Bench 3/5/1
DB rows (at least 50)
Light assistance (maybe some shoulder work, or whatever)

D2: Squat deload (3x5)
Press 3/5/1
DL: 3/5/1
Light assistance (abs)

Or if you are willing to do 6 week cycles, this would be good also:

D1: Squat 3/5/1
Bench 5x10 ss 5x10 db rows
Light assistance (maybe some shoulder work, or whatever)

D2:
Press 3/5/1
SLDL 5x10
Light assistance (abs)

Then for the next week just do Bench and DL with the 3/5/1 and do squats/presses with 5x10 work. Remember to do some pulling movement to your upper body (chins/rows) at least once a week.

Latter isn’t the fullbody routine, but you would train your body completely twice a week. Jim himself did something like this for a while, if I remember right.

Just my two cents.

Rattus what you suggest looks like a good program - for now I 'll implement Jim’s Full Body Training template as set out in the beyond book in 6 week cycles doing two sessions per week with some added light assistance. As far as I understand the 6 week cycle you proposed has some similarities to that template - thank you for your input.

I’ve been doing two a week training using a template I got from Chad Wesley Smith. You’ll do 5/3/1 deadlift with juggernaut overhead press and vice versa then 5/3/1 squat with juggernaut bench and then vice versa.

I have a three day routine which uses cleans and body weight assistance on the middle day that has served me well:

Monday-
Squat 5/3/1
Bench Press 5/3/1
Barbell (Pendlay) rows 5/3/1

Wednesday-
Cleans 3PRO
Dips AMRAP 5x
Chins AMRAP 5x

Friday-
Deadlifts 5/3/1
Military Press 5/3/1
Dumbbell rows 5x5

I think the OP is gone.

I doubt he’s been sitting on the edge of his seat for 4 years waiting for another response.

1 Like

I figured as much. I’m trying to get some feedback on the routine that I posted without posting a whole new forum

I would stongly recommend you just try it and see if it meets your goals. The weights will give you better feedback on your progress than the internet ever will.

If you’re dead set on hearing feedback, just post it as another thread. The only reason I replied to this was it came up on my notifications that someone liked one of my posts from 4 years ago, I can’t imagine you’ll get many other responses.

err… then keep doing it.

If stall want/ a change look up ‘Letter to a young Wendler article’ or ‘Beach body challenge’ -similar but better