I followed 531 for almost two years and made “fair” gains. I have always made shit gains since I started lifting (15) I am now 24 and my strength and size level is of that of a two year lift (lol).
However I’ve recently been doing the version of 531 (351).
The 5s and 3s week are switched and I use joker sets, However I will go for 6 weeks and increase %s, due to this I set my TM pretty conservative.
DAY 1 - OHP / Bench
DAY 2 - SQUAT / DEADS
DAY 3 - BENCH / OHP
DAY 4 - DEADS / SQUAT
The accessory lift is 90% on 3s and 1+ week, then 80% on the 5s week. But it kicks my arse and I find doing 5 sets of 90% deads/squats after deads/squats a real challenge, how can I increase my work capacity?
HOWEVER! I have an issue where I will build up to where my 1RMs would be when setting the TMs but I seem to just about hit those with no additional gains, I then will reset weights and go back at it and maybe add 2.5kg over a 6 month period.
I am not sure where I am going wrong and perhaps it’s just a mental mind fuck as I really do over analyze the big weights and doubt myself a lot.
What sort of assistance work should I be following?
[quote]Jim Wendler wrote:
I would HIGHLY recommend using the 28 week program in the book.
What you are doing is not good. Follow the path that has already been paved. [/quote]
I’ve been reading through this forum and I saw last night how you recommend it to be over 6 stages.
Will try to find that again and I think I will just go back to the basic program. I do find I was responding to hitting the lifts twice a week, but quickly stalled. I did maybe think a variation of the big 4 as an accessory would work better. So front squats, deficit deads etc.
Been a while since I read the books fully, going to go back to Advanced 531 and refresh memory.
I do appreciate the program and a dedicated forum. Thanks.