I notice the differences compared to the original in Beyond 531 (P30). No problems with that.
So I’m not combining strength and volume anymore. That why I want to do the 13 week challenge following the SVR II cycles.
I can see that it looks the wrong way around when I would start these cycles. I understand that doing volume first followed by a program focused on strength is more logical. But I do quite a bit of volume right now (too much?) so I think it would be wise to decrease the volume for some cycles and than start again.
I don’t see what I’m missing.
Where does it say how many cycles I can do of one type of training and how to combine strength and volume cycles.
That’s exactly what I suggested I would do, in my previous post. (PR sets + jokers is replaced by SVR II)
And yes, I found in “Beyond” that I have to push the last set of the 531 to set a PR every time, before starting on the BBB sets. I missed that the first time I read it.
If you are having troubles with exhaustion, it means you aren’t recovering well enough. Could be several areas that need to be addressed first. Adding more intensity is not the answer; No Jokers! Adding more volume isn’t the answer; No BBB! Those will just make recovering that much harder. Make recovery and base building your priority for right now.
Areas to address:
Recovery; Sleep better, eat better, make sure you are doing your mobility stuff. Have more recovery days that workout days.
Conditioning; make sure to get your conditioning up. Start slow and easy, then progress to tougher stuff. Good condition helps you recover faster.
Build your base; Lower your Training Max and give yourself room to progress for a longer time. Make sure you are doing your chins, push-ups, and sit-ups (lots of them). Get your body used to doing more basic work before you ask it to do more advanced stuff.
4, Skip the volume and intensity; Get everything else in order first and teach your body to recover and progression will come as your Training Max increases over time.
Honestly? I’ve started with the original 531 program + BBB 5*10 somewhere last year. I did a few cycles and then I started looking for something more challenging. Maybe I didn’t set my TM correctly. I took my 5RM and calculated it with the formula from the book.
I now see that I went over the top with the challenging part.
But this also makes the BBB 13 week challenge seem quite doable and the SVR II as a template I could do for the long run.
I might be completely wrong. It’s just that it’s hard to tell what is doable for me while doing a routine that’s quite a bit harder than what I should be doing.
I can see that doing a standard 531 schedule as you suggest leaves more energy for conditioning (which might be well needed) for instance.
It’s not that I picked SVR II because it’s complex, but it looks interesting and according to Jim it’s a very nice routine to follow.
And like I said, compared to my current routine the 13 week challenge looks like a small de-load.
Feeling the way I do now, I understand that it would be wise to just do a couple of standard 531 cycles. It gives me the chance to recuperate a bit and look for a routine that fits my needs/wants better.
So no jokers anymore. No BBB. Also skip the FSL stuff? Just do the required reps and push the last set and done?
What do I do with assistance? Keep some pulling and ab stuff but not too heavy (more light weight reps?)?
De-load after every 531 week? (I got the impression that this was a little too much de-load, the last time I did regular 531)
BTW: Although I feel quite exhausted, still put up rep-records and at least match my 1RM on heavy singles.
So I still progress. But I know it will not last. It’s time for change.
