First off, I would just like to say that this is my first post on Tnation or any other weightlifting forum. At the gym I’m tired of hearing people say things like “creatine will put holes in your liver” and “you don’t have to lift heavy just lift lighter weights really slow.” This is why I decided to become a member of Tnation. It’s nice to be a part of like-minded community that I can actually have an intelligent conversation about what it takes to get stronger and build muscle. Now that my rant is over…on to the topic before I get kicked out of Tnation!
My first post is going to be about the BBB 3 month challenge since that is what I’m following at this moment. Maybe my insights and reasons for jumping on it will help someone thinking about trying it out.
I’ve been on the 5/3/1 program for about 7 months out of the 21 months that I’ve been lifting. I am now toward the end of the 2nd month of the BBB challenge (60% of TM). I decided to do this challenge because I wanted to put on some more muscle and I figured it would be a good change from constantly trying to set PRs, JK sets, FSL AMRAP, and just grinding out heavy weights ( love doing all the above by the way!).
Now for my benefits and insights thus far on the program:
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So far I’ve put on 5 lbs of muscle(193-198) and I hope to break 200 lbs when I’ve completed the challenge (I’m a hard gainer by the way)
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I feel like I’m building a better work capacity. The high reps really get me breathing, especially when I do 5x10 on deadlifts and squats. I like the fact that the program gives time (1 month) to somewhat adapt to the 5x10 at the same percentage of your TM…you can actually notice your work capacity increasing this way! I can only imagine my body trying to adapt next month though…shit!..it’s going to be a tough month…looking forward to it though!
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I also feel like my form is improving. This is probably from backing off the constant grind of lifts I was previously doing for a long while.
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Another insight to the BBB 3 month challenge is that it gives you time to build muscle and to build up that fire inside to get back to setting PRs…I’m on the end of the 2nd month of the challenge and I’m already gaining weight and the itch to go back to setting PRs and perform heavy JK sets!
Final thoughts
If your PRs have come stagnant for a while I recommend JWs 3 month BBB challenge. I think the extra muscle I’m gaining will result in new PRs. I will post final results and the effect it has on new PRs!