I just have one quick word to put in… People claim that certain rep ranges are for strength vs hypertrophy and that you need under 5 reps for strength and at least 8 for hypertrophy… IMO Strength building does predominantly come in the 5 or less rep range due to this facilitating acclimation to holding heavier weights, but I think lean mass can be gained training with any rep range really.
I personally train almost exclusively triples, and I have gained over 20lb in the last 8 months and my bodyfat has stayed fairly stable… Maybe 8-9% up to 9-10%. Note that I am 5’6 and 205 so fairly significant. Just eat a full diet and train hard… Your body will grow.
As far as programming… I think that when you are fairly new to lifting, it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it right. You don’t miss sessions, you push hard and more importantly your nutrition and rest is spot on. All of this, and any program will easily take a 180lb male past the 1000lb total.
[quote]killerDIRK wrote:
even though Wendler nor Ripp has posted here (yet?) you would be advised to follow the program(s) to a T .
Anyone here would agree that these gentlemen of strength have put their programs together for a very specific reason with a very specific order. To not follow it as such would be the proverbial slap in the face.
Follow a program for a year as written, sleep deep, eat everything and then come back with your better #'s ![/quote]
I wasnt aware that they even bothered to post here.
I wouldnt feel right not doing the assistance lifts though. While I dont think that arms are the be all and end all of everything, I cant just not train them. I have been making decent size gains with the aforementioned program. About a pound of bodyweight a week steadily with what is probably under eating. (I try to eat a pound of meat a day whatever that may be, half gallon of milk, a couple eggs and whatever else I can get my hands on throughout the day, pizza, cottage cheese, or whatever).
I am at the point where I am willing to be patient to see results, as long as they are steadily coming. I figure Ill be at this for years, so theres no rush. Just gotta do it the right way.
-Zep[/quote]
If you want to train arms, get on a program that has you training arms.[/quote]
That is why I am leaning toward BBB, but I really want my numbers to go up. Lets say the goal is to be a lean well proportioned 195 with a 1100+ total.
-Zep[/quote]
You can still get strong while training your arms.
[quote]killerDIRK wrote:
even though Wendler nor Ripp has posted here (yet?) you would be advised to follow the program(s) to a T .
Anyone here would agree that these gentlemen of strength have put their programs together for a very specific reason with a very specific order. To not follow it as such would be the proverbial slap in the face.
Follow a program for a year as written, sleep deep, eat everything and then come back with your better #'s ![/quote]
I wasnt aware that they even bothered to post here.
I wouldnt feel right not doing the assistance lifts though. While I dont think that arms are the be all and end all of everything, I cant just not train them. I have been making decent size gains with the aforementioned program. About a pound of bodyweight a week steadily with what is probably under eating. (I try to eat a pound of meat a day whatever that may be, half gallon of milk, a couple eggs and whatever else I can get my hands on throughout the day, pizza, cottage cheese, or whatever).
I am at the point where I am willing to be patient to see results, as long as they are steadily coming. I figure Ill be at this for years, so theres no rush. Just gotta do it the right way.
-Zep[/quote]
If you want to train arms, get on a program that has you training arms.[/quote]
That is why I am leaning toward BBB, but I really want my numbers to go up. Lets say the goal is to be a lean well proportioned 195 with a 1100+ total.
-Zep[/quote]
You can still get strong while training your arms.[/quote]
I actually have to train my arms to get my bench up. Gotta have the triceps work and some bicep too to keep elbow tendonitus away.
I agree that 5-3-1 is not a good idea for rank beginners. They will make incredibly rapid gains for the first 3-4 months or so (due to better neural coordination, better technique of the lifts, and newbie gains) such that they would be getting 20 reps on their AMRAP sets within just a couple of cycles. IMO, this is too much for a strength program and would either require adding more weight than recommended each cycle or repping out 20 rep sets. As a 5-3-1 purist, I do not like the former idea and think the latter is ridiculous.
quote]
I built and am building a shitload of strength with 10-20 rep sets. But I only get 1 set per session so it’s all out.
in 4 months of juggernaut method for presses and 531 for squats and dl have gone from
I am convinced that heavy weight and high reps for one AMRAP set builds strength more than Westside maxing out or a fixed reps at a given percentage scheme a la 5*5 for me
The gains arent coming from improved technique but gpp (Storm the beach said something about this) - it’s Repetition Effort but it builds strength for me because it doesnt kill my nervous system like ME does. (I also do DE squats, dls and bench). Apart from that I do fuck all assistance apart from rows, chins and core (yep zero assistance for lower body other than DE sqs, dls and core).
Check my log to see my gains in past few months
PS I dont think OP is a newb and I dont think linear 5*5 would work for him
The biggest constants in successful lifting are SHOW UP, start easy, train as much as you can handle, and taper before a meet. Don’t even think about training, just go in the gym and do it. I say fuck 5-3-1, fuck westside, fuck all these programs. If you really want science behind your training, read actual textbooks and apply the readings in your own interpretation, until then just show up to the gym everyday and things will take care of themselves. Just my opinion, good luck