I’m currently sitting at around 175, 6’ 0’', 20 percent body fat. I want to build my physique into that of an NFL player. Big, strong, conditioned, and healthy. I don’t care about having shredded abs, light visibility is good enough for me. How would I set up 5/3/1 to help me achieve this, and what other habits should I get myself into to get where I want? I’m willing to do the hard, boring, and soul draining work for this.
For 5/3/1, Jim has several excellent programs for putting on size.
5/3/1 Building the Monolith
5/3/1 BBB/BBB Beefcake
5/3/1 for Hardgainers
5/3/1 Beach Body challenge
I would suggest doing all of them.
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Got it. Which do you suggest I do first? Also, even though I don’t really buy into the cutting/bulking ideology, do you think it’d be of value to purposely try to eat as much as possible (i.e. super squats diet), or take a more modest approach?
I would follow Jim’s recommendations in the associated programs I linked/mentioned. There’s a reason I brought them to your attention.
Which program do you feel like you can DO first? You replied within 5 minutes of me posting: there is no way you read through them all that quickly.
I’ll admit I’m a compulsive speed reader, problem is I’m not very accurate! I’ll take another look at the programs.
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Reading through these, I think BBB Beefcake looks like a lot of fun. I think I’ll run that for the next 6-8 months and see what happens. Thanks for the advice! Do you have any tips when it comes to conditioning work? I like torturing myself with it.
Nooooo. That’s too long for one program. There’s a reason I linked a bunch of them. Typically you run a 5/3/1 program for 2-5 cycles at a max, with Building the Monolith being more of a challenge program that is good for 1, MAYBE 2 cycles back to back. You’ve got 4 great size programs here: rotated through them.
Stop doing what you like. Conditioning is there to support the goal of the program, and when the goal is size, conditioning can NOT be torturing you, because that’s going to detract from your recovery. Recovery is crucial to getting bigger.
All of which, of course, you read here in the article on BBB Beefcake
The conditioning Jim lays out in Building the Monolith is a pretty awesome example of conditioning to employ when gaining size is the goal. If you haven’t picked up “5/3/1 Forever”, it would be an excellent resource here. Another good choice would be to pick up the Tactical Barbell Mass Protocol and employ the conditioning protocols outlined there.
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Oh my brother told me about Tactical Barbell. I’ll borrow his copy and read through the protocols.
Ensure it’s the Mass Protocol book, as the conditioning book would be an inappropriate fit here.
I remember him telling me about something called “basebuilding” from the conditioning book. Do you think running that before jumping into 5/3/1 might be of use to build up my work capacity?
I would have to know the current state of your work capacity before being able to assess if it needs to be built up.
It’s not great to be honest. Can run a mile in about 9 minutes but the second one takes a lot longer. Get gassed out by most stuff fairly quickly.
Do you play football or just trying to look like a football player? If the latter, there’s a significant difference depending on position. If the former, when is the season including pre-conditioning/practice? That would impact programming.
The latter. My ideal physique would be something like that of someone like Nick Chubb, or another running back. Maybe with a little extra body fat.
It was odd you picked a program that requires you to do 5x10 with an assistance exercise in a span of 20 minutes if that was your starting baseline.
Take some time to really review these programs and give yourself an honest assessment of your capabilities.
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Yeah, thinking about it more, I should probably work on my conditioning before trying to build mass.
This sounds like are not doing anything at this point. If that is the case, I see commitment as your largest hurdle.
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Currently I’ve been just getting in the weight room and learning the basic movements. I used to be a competitive swimmer, so I might incorporate that into my conditioning.
This should be your prime focus. You need to learn proper form on any lift you use. Plus it needs to be second nature, where all reps look the same until you approach failure. IMO, you should stop the set as soon as your form drops in quality. No exceptions for a couple years.
It is helpful to have a competent coach, or at least, be at a gym where you can see what proper form looks like. Disclaimer: There is no certainty that exercises at the gym will be being done with good form.
BTW, how old are you? When was the last you competed in swimming?
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