@mortdk unfortunately that wasn’t my 531 day… Was 3’s week but I accidently did 5 on my first set. I think I just have to get a little more used to having more weight on the bar. Before I dropped some weight my working sets were a little higher than they are now and I wasn’t getting 10 on my + sets, so I’m definitely getting stronger, just not very quickly haha. I’ll definitely keep going until I hit only 3 on my 1+ days.
I’m going to have to buy forever so I cana look in to leaders/anchors as I don’t know how to use them. I’ve read about them on the forums here but never really grasped what they’re all about. I have the original 2nd edition book which is outstanding, but if leaders/anchors are the way to go I’ll definitely buy the book. Thanks for all of your advice by the way- I really appreciate it. It’s tough to navigate through this stuff by myself and having someone more experienced and knowledgable as a guide is invaluable.
As with bench, ohp is starting to get a little wonky. As I’m doing my set I picture myself getting more but my body just says “nope”. Tried to put it up once more after #10 but wasn’t able to.
EDIT: 10 reps on 3’s week is very good as well, even better than 10 reps on 531 week which would be a bit on the light side.
Leader/Anchor are easy to understand.
You use 5’s pro (progression) on the leader.
I you don’t know the term it’s just doing 5 reps on all sets on all weeks no + sets.
A standard leader/anchor would have you starting at 85% TM (or a 5RM weight)
The leader is two cycles:
Main sets and reps as 5’s pro.
Then you’d do FSL for 5x5
Then you’d do what Jim refers to as
push/pull/single leg or core. 50 reps of each
Push: push up, db work, dips,
pull: chins, pull ups, rows
single leg or core: either lunges, split squat or some ab work.
You can do one exercise on each category or you could do more. like 25 pull ups and 25 db rows.
The push/pull/single leg or core should be light and treated as assistance non fatiguing work.
You do two cycles of that increasing weight after the first cycle.
Then you do a deload week, working up so a single at TM no FSL and 0 - 20 reps of push/pull/Single leg or core.
Increase weight then one cycle anchor here you use + sets
Main work is standard 531 with + sets.
then FSL for 3 sets of 5
push/pull/single leg or core is reduced to about 25 reps.
after this cycle you do a testing week.
That could be work up to a 1RM or even better work up to TM weight and set a rep pr. If you get 5 reps or more that would be the new TM weight for the next leader cycles.
I’ve tried it and I didn’t like it. Everytime I write it I feel the urge to try it again. Might try it sometime later this year.
Oh cool, thanks mortdk. Seems like something I’d be willing to give a shot after I’m through with at least a few more cycles of what I’ve been doing. I am pretty happy with my progress on squat and deadlift and it’d be awesome to keep rolling with it until I stop progressing so quickly.
Been a rough few days at work. Not really feeling 100%… I’d venture a guess and say I could get 1-2 more at 205 on a good day, but hey, I’m happy with it under the circumstances.
On the pressing movements if you’d like to be a little higher in the rep range, you could rerun the cycle aiming for at least one more rep on each day.
@mortdk would there be any benefit to me doing so? I’m thinking of continuing until I can only hit 3 on my 1+ week then resetting back a few cycles (on ohp and bench, depending on where squat and DL are I’ll evaluate when I get closer to that point).
My thinking is that the more weight I have on the bar, the more adapted I’ll be to having more weight on the bar and what it feels like. For example a few cycles ago for deadlifts I was hitting 275 on my 1+ set and it felt pretty heavy. Now since I’ve been working around 275 for so long it’s not that bad. Don’t get me wrong it still feels heavy to me but I can hit it without even really thinking about it now.
I’m hoping this will translate similarly to bench and ohp, and I’d really like to get my numbers up on them even if that means the typical (for me anyhow) 10 reps on 1+ week suffers. My guess would be after 3 or maybe 4 more cycles I’ll be ready to reset back and continue progressing in the same way I have been.
I know this is a long winded post but I’d also like to mention that my #1 goal here is strength. That’s not to say that looking like I lift doesn’t matter to me, but I figure it’ll just come with the added weight on the bar. It has so far anyway. Since I dropped the 20# or whatever before I started this log until now I’ve definitely gotten bigger and I think that has something to do with the weight going up (obviously) and the high rep + sets. I kind of like the way I am progressing right now and plan on continuing this way until I find a reason to change. I was even thinking of the BBB template but I’d definitely have to take a good look at my diet before doing so.
Again, thanks mortdk for all of the advice and checking up on the log. It helps me just by hearing ideas and thinking through different strategies.
I don’t think so, I just remember you were a little angry with yourself for not getting that many reps And keeping the same weights and pushing the reps is just another way to skin the cat.
Keep grinding the cycles, what matters is consistency and pushing the last set.
Paul Carter says it pretty well if you do more reps with the same weight you’re stronger, if you do the same reps with more weight you’re stronger.
So keep going until you reach about 3 reps on the 531 week before resetting.
I’ve been tossing around the idea of possibly attempting a max on deadlifts in the coming months. It’s been a goal since day one to pull a 405… I have been putting it off obviously. My thinking is yeah, pulling 405 for one is cool… but repping 405 is even more badass. I’ll probably skip any max attempts. Even though I’m interested in where I’m at, I’d rather hold off due to it just delaying any progress I’d make in the program (I’d assume).
Crushed it today. Cannot believe I did almost bodyweight x 19. Kind of brings back the hardgainer template with the Widowmaker 20 rep squats. Squat was by far my worst lift when I started a little over a year ago. Legs are Jello and I’m a happy dude.
Surprised I did so well today. Partied pretty hard this weekend, did a shitload of yardwork and digging out root balls and havent eaten lunch the past week or so due to work being so crazy and working through lunch to be able to get out at a decent time. No wonder I’m not gaining weight… Still hanging around 197 in the morning.
Not mad my deadlift is going up but damn it’s feeling heavy. The first rep on the + set is very difficult… then they just keep going up… I feel like squat and deadlift (for me at this point) is way more mental than anything. I feel like I’m forcing my body and mind to continue to do reps. After every rep my brain is telling me “ok that’s enough”. Feeling pretty awesome right now. About 9-10 months ago I hit 255x9 and thought it was crazy… Maybe in 10 more months I’ll hit 405x12…
Damn, lost two reps since last time I did 105. Hopefully next week I’ll do a bit better. It’ll be the first time I’ve ohp 110 so it should be fun no matter what.
Crushed deadlifts again. Really happy with my progress on them so far. It’s getting pretty obvious that I’ve been undereating lately. Lifting belt used to be tight on the second hole, now I am stuck between 2 and 3. Gotta start eating some more.
Job for a Cowboy- Genesis
Considering trying the “building the monolith” template after I get my diet in check. Just have to prep more food so it’s easily accessible. Thinking after I stall on 2-3 of the lifts I’ll reset back a few cycles, get my food intake where it should be then start monolith. Anyone have any experience with that template? Just by what I’ve been reading it sounds like a serious challenge. Sounds like it’s right up my alley.