I am 38 years old, have been training for years. Is the 54321 okay for the strength portion of this program. And is the 54321 a good rep scheme to use as one ages?
Well, it depends on many factors. How healthy/injury-free someone is, their training history (do they have lots of experience with heavy lifting) and other factors.
That having been said, the 5-4-3-2-1 scheme can be used by older lifters (if they don’t have injuries and a decent experience of heavy lifting) but I wouldn’t use an “all-out/RM” approach. I would keep a couple of reps in the tank for every set.
Thanks coach. Yes I have been lifting for years and even gotten to the 1500lb club naturally and thankfully never been injured. I tend to burn out neurologically before my body gives out at least I used to. Now I have adapted a strength skill approach and focusing on fat loss so I think the 54321 and leaving a couple reps in the tank for each set will work nicely. Working up to 1 non-max one rep is less stressful than 3 reps for me.