Finally decided to listen to everyone and try out 5/3/1. Am a beginner, have done SS for a little while, GSLP for a little while, some custom stuff from a friend who’s a trainer, but have been having some trouble sticking to them consistently. One issue has been time; 3 day a week whole body takes me a bit longer than the time I can generally make, so wanted to try a 4 day program to spread it out, and the sub-maximal slow progression of 5/3/1 could help with some of the issues I’ve been having with just doing too much that is too close to failure and getting discouraged by that.
Since I’m small and weak and need to grow, and I want to stop fiddling around in the gym so much and just make progress, figure BBB would be a good template.
Saw the 5/3/1 BBB Beefcake Training template, it looks promising, and started out today doing it according to the BBB instructions in 5/3/1 Second Edition (5/3/1 sets/reps/weights, starting at 50% TM for my 5x10s).
Was then informed that BBB Beefcake is actually supposed to be done with 5’s pro for the main sets, and FSL weights for the 5x10s, which is substantially different. I don’t have Beyond 5/3/1 or 5/3/1 Forever (just ordered Forever, but it will take a couple days to get here), so I can’t check the book. I’d like to see if I’ve gotten the template correct for the main and supplemental lifts:
Vanilla BBB
Main Lifts
Supplemental Lifts
Week 1
5@65% 5@75% 5+@85%
5x10@50-60%
Week 2
3@70% 3@80% 3+@90%
5x10@50-60%
Week 3
5@75% 3@85% 1+@95%
5x10@50-60%
BBB 5's pro/FSL
Week 1
5@65% 5@75% 5@85%
5x10@65%
Week 2
5@70% 5@80% 5@90%
5x10@70%
Week 3
5@75% 5@85% 5@95%
5x10@75%
Did I get that correct? Looks like the 5’s pro/FSL would be significantly more weight. The first day with 5x10@50% did feel pretty easy for me, but if I switch to the 5’s pro/FSL, I am not sure if I’ll be jumping in too fast.
Don’t do any version of BBB as a beginner. Jim has been very adamant about that. See here
Stick with FSL until you are not a beginner. Beginners cannot maintain form on sets of 10 (by definition of being a beginner) and tend to do more harm than good with BBB as a result.
Hmm. I suppose I’d have to ask where you’d put the cut-off. I’ve been training for a year and a half, but inconsistently, so let’s say about 6 to 8 months of training.
I am at the point where I feel like I really need some more dumb volume to progress. BBB seemed like the answer. At my current TM, 5x10@50% barely feels like anything, so I wasn’t even thinking about concerns about form there; I would have more concerns at the higher percentages listed for the 5’s pro/FSL.
So anyhow, it sounds like you’re recommending I do 5/3/1 with 5x5@FSL? Should that be 5/3/1 sets/reps/weights, or 5’s pro? Not really sure what the tradeoff is there.
If you read the rest of that link I linked, Jim provides some good guidance on how to set up your training.
Just do the basic program and add in the FSL work.
For the squats and pulls - nothing over 5 reps (FSL). For upper body, you can do some higher reps (5-8).
Make sure to you have jumps in there prior to each workout.
Make sure you do agile 8 before each workout and 2 times a day.
Make sure you have some kind of conditioning work. And a conditioning goal.
Be sure to have a consistent eating plan you can adhere to.
Only assistance I recommend other than Dumb Strength work: Wendler Six.
Definitely stick with something like the above. I completely understand the urge to jump into higher volume especially after something like Starting Strength, but you will make huge progress and learn a lot from the basic 5/3/1 setup first.
If you’ve got the discipline, I’d absolutely recommend doing 1 lift per day with a PR set and a couple of basic assistance exercises each workout like mentioned above (dips, pushups, pullups, rows, back raises, abs).
5x5 FSL is good if you want to add it. Whethet you use 5s PRO or regular 5/3/1 is a personal thing, PR sets are generally more atreas on your body so you can always just do them every few cycles if needed. They’re a big part of the program for me.
The FSL sets probably feel easy to start with but that’s fully intentional when your TM is set right. You want to be able to do those sets under complete control, and even when they feel easy they are going to help you long term.
For me personally, after a few months on a beginner program I just did the basic 5/3/1 Triumvirate setup:
agile 8 and jumps/throws
1 main lift with a PR set
no supplemental
2 assistance exercises
deload every 4th week
conditioning 3-4 times per week
I did that for 6 months and set PRs in every lift, every week of every cycle. I left most workouts feeling great, and came back to set new PRs every single time.
It might sound silly but it’s honestly very hard mentally to fully commit to a program like that, when there’s so many new variations out. And especially keeping with a deload every month.
But it’s paid off hugely and I’ve never felt better, and I finished with a much better understanding of the 5/3/1 principles overall. It’s all about the long term, and at least for me, those PR sets are where the magic happens.