I’ve been running the triumvirate for 1 1/2 cycles and will finish the 2nd before looking for a change.
My thoughts have always been with BBB. But I’m already a guy with big legs. Like 30inch plus thighs. And my upper body is far behind. I blame rugby. So I wanted to run BBB for press and bench so I look a bit more “even”. And keep the triumvirate for the lower body. Any reason this would not work?
Also, my deadlift and squat are exploding under the triumvirate. From:
5x170kg to 9x162.5kg dead lift
155x5 to 147.5x9 squat.
Which I assume is down to the new assistance exercises (came over for starting strength so I didn’t do assistance really). The issue I’m having is poor upper body resonance. I’m confident in my TM. As I used my 5 RM from my last week of Starting Strength. My issue I think is an old injury. I had a shoulder op in Jan 2017. It’s not hindered me in my SS training. Not sure why it’s started now. My current thoughts are to lower the TM to 85%. Concentrate on Volume. Not weight. Which is the second reason I like the look of BBB for upper body. Build mass around the shoulder. Keep it healthier. And keeping the triumvirate for lower body as its working. And don’t fix thing that work is like rule number one!
Oh and now the December embargo on buying myself gifts has ended - 5/3/1 forever the book to get?
Get the Forever book. It’s awesome, you will get smarter from reading it, and it should answer your questions about the triumverate/BBB thing.
There have been some changes between the original 5/3/1 program where triumverate and BBB first made their appearances and what is now in the Forever book (and on JIm’s forums.) Most 5/3/1 programs now have (after warm-up and jumps/throws) the main lift (5/3/1, 3/5/1/, PROs, etc) and then supplemental work (BBB, FSL, etc.) After that you add in the assistance work like dips, rows, chins, etc. The amount of assistance work varies depending on what template you’re using for main and supplemental work. So now you could do 5/3/1 followed by BBB and then do dips, chins, and leg raises (or whatever you picked for triumverate) as your assistance work.
Jim explains it all so much better in the book. He also talks about doing different supplemental lifts for different lifts. So, if you wanted to do BBB for the bench and press and something else for the squat and deadlift, that is covered in the book.
So my recommendation is just to buy the Forever book, be enlightened, and enjoy.