Hi everyone,
I’ve been doing crossfit for the last 3-4 months and I can see it doesn’t have a long term strategy regarding strength training, so I’m applying the great 5/3/1 on my own to counteract this. I’ve done SS before with great results until stalling several times, then Bill Starr’s 5x5 but was boring as hell, and researching for strength training I’ve discovered Jim Wendler’s awesome book.
I’m currently in my 2nd cycle of doing 5/3/1 and only 1 big assistance, and crossfit 2-3 times a week.
I’m about to finish this cycle (today starts week 3) and since I wanted to know more about Jim’s philosophy I got a copy of the 2nd edition of 5/3/1, and read the book to get the best of his training method.
Since I like what Jim proposes regarding assistance and conditioning better than crossfit and its randomness, I’ve tried to put together a 5/3/1 program to attack everything: strength, speed/power, assistance and conditioning. My intention is to train 4x a week, being monday-tuesday-thursday-friday, and the rest of the week rest. Crossfit will be over since I’m covering oly and conditioning with this.
Anyways, this is what reading the book and planning my training from next cycle to next december got me:
MONDAY:
CLEAN & JERK 5X3
SQUAT 5/3/1
SNATCH GRIP DEADLIFT big assistance rep scheme
GOOD MORNINGS 3x10-20
Conditioning: 3-5 rounds:
HANG POWER SNATCH 7 reps
KB SWING 20 reps
BOX JUMP 10 reps
BURPEES 10 reps
BALL SITUPS 30 reps
TUESDAY:
OVERHEAD SQUAT 3X5 - 5X5
BENCH PRESS 5/3/1
INCLINE BENCH big assistance rep scheme
ARNOLD PRESS 3x10-20
Conditioning: 3-5 rounds:
WALL BALL 10 reps
CHINUPS 10/MAX
SINGLE/DOUBLE UNDERS 50/15-25 reps (singles or doubles, not both)
PUSH PRESS 10 reps
HANGING LEG RAISES 5 reps
THURSDAY:
SNATCH 3X3 - 5X3
DEADLIFT 5/3/1
FRONT SQUAT big assistance rep scheme
BULGARIAN SQUAT 3x10-20
Conditioning: 3-5 rounds:
HANG POWER CLEAN 7 reps
PISTOL SQUAT 10 reps
MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS 20 reps
CHINUPS 10/MAX
BALL SITUPS 30 reps
FRIDAY:
SNATCH BALANCE 5X3
PRESS 5/3/1
CLOSE GRIP BENCH big assistance rep scheme
DB BENCH 3x10-20
Conditioning: 3-5 rounds:
JUMPING LUNGES 20 reps
RING DIPS 10 reps
BURPEE PULLUPS 6 reps
RING PUSHUPS 10 reps
HANGING LEG RAISES 5 reps
Some clarifications regarding all of this:
-
Oly lifts: they’d go from heavier to lighter according the cycle’s week. In week 1 I’d handle more weight than in week 3 for example. Anyways, those excercises are there because I enjoy training them, I find C&J and snatches to be fun stuff so I want them in my workouts. The idea is to practice and master their mechanics, not to lift hundreds of kg. They won’t be heavy, and if they interfere with the main lifts they will be out of the program but for the hang power versions for conditioning. OH squats and snatch balance will be only for practicing balance and how to handle the bar at the bottom of the lift. They won’t be heavy enough to kill my shoulders previous to the big lift. If they turn into a problem I’ll remove them from the scheme.
-
Regarding conditioning, I put 3-5 rounds because since this will be new to me, I’m not sure how gassed I’ll be. I’ll do my best for 3 rounds, and if they were easy I’ll go for a fourth, and if they were easy enough I’ll do the fifth. If that doesn’t work I’ll lower the rounds to 3 and increase the reps/weight and try again the following week. The number of reps are estimated on how I think I’ll be capable of doing during the rounds.
-
I’ve put 2 assistance lifts for every big lift, one big assistance as Jim calls them, with the corresponding set/rep programming, and another assistance with 3 sets of 10-20 reps with moderate weight. If that kills me then I’ll remove the 2nd assistance lift.
To sum up, my idea is to follow and don’t screw up the 5/3/1 since I really like to train strength, and use in the program what I like outside the big lifts: oly lifts and conditioning.
I would really like your opinion in this matter, since I’ve been learning how to program my own workouts with the book’s help of course, but I’m still a newbie and all help is more than welcome.
Thanks a lot.