Firstly good on you for starting a log and holding yourself accountable. The transformation challenge is a great chance to get you started and meet some forum members along the way. With regards your upper lower split, how many days a week are you training and what progression model are you using ? Is there a reason you decided to write something for yourself rather than use a tested program from someone else ?
I’m training 4 days a week, usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. I’m following a pretty basic progression, push reps up until I hit the top of a rep range, then up the weight and reset back to the bottom of the rep range.
I wrote the program myself, but technically it is based off of several programs I’ve seen from several other people. In the end though it’s a program written to be exciting for me so that I’m looking forward to working out each day, and also to fit within the time constraints that I have with my life. I also feel like this has helped me to learn faster because I have to really think about what makes good versus bad programming. But in the end it really is to just tailor things to my enjoyment.
I’ve noticed a lot of people on this forum run 5/3/1 and its various variations. I haven’t actually ever run it before, but I wouldn’t mind doing so. Knowing myself I’ll probably be ready for a change in a couple months. Previously I’ve run Starting Strength (don’t worry I’m now well aware of its flaws haha) and StrongLifts 5x5. I’ve also ran random bodybuilding programs in the past.
A simple linear double progression model will work fine for a while as long as you have your recovery and diet in check.
I hear you about doing something that fits around family, I have 3 kids and this was a big thing for me when my kids were younger. I used to condense mine into 2 sessions a week in the gym and just do conditioning on the other days to limit my time away.
531 is definitely worth looking into, or at least buying the books a reading. It would be a good progression from your current training when you reach a point where you struggle to keep progressing.
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Yeah the whole reason I starting buying home gym equipment was because my wife’s recovery from the birth of our first kid was pretty rough so I had to help with a ton of stuff around the house, so going to the gym wasn’t really feasible for me. It was at that point that I bought a bar and plates and progressed from there.
I’ll definitely look into 531 more. Lifting is definitely an obsession of mine (although I get the feeling that’s not a unique trait on these forums) so I’ll definitely see if I can buy some books around it so I can prep for trying it as soon as I stall out with this current program.
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I’d ease into it. Especially if you’re lifting also. Monitor volume and recovery.
The 10k KB swing challenge is a program in itself.
@T3hPwnisher here is your ‘mythical strength’ guide - and his conditioning level is top notch!
Nice to have to you here, in for the follow.
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It was him talking about his book of bad ideas on another post that got me on his website. His book is pretty darn great haha!
I got humbled last night as the lactic acid and muscle soreness set in. I’m going to keep trying to do this, but I’m going to see if I can improve my nutrition. I’m also going to dial back the volume a bit.
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Hey dude, I’ll be following along with your progress and how you fare with the T-ransformation. Welcome to the site. I’ll echo what @heretolog and @raven78 said as I’m assuming we are not up to the same conditioning standards as @T3hPwnisher @SvenG and @unicornsandrainbows .
I ran 10k as a standalone program with a few extra conditioning sessions thrown in. It created enough of a stimulus for me by itself to see good progress in bracing, forearm strength, hip hinge strength and conditioning. I became way more confident in holding heavier weights, and in turn was able to hit PR’s confidently during the programs I ran after it. I think if you go into it with a mindset of getting stronger in bracing and hip hinge and also overall resilience before your next program you’ll be happy with the results, but it’s kind of up to you how you want to attack it.
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That’s definitely true for me. I really like the way you put it though. I love the idea of using this to lay a foundation of conditioning to help me push harder and more effectively on my strength training.
Currently I’m at 510/10,000 KB Swings. Was going to do more but work was pretty intense today. 20% of my company got laid off (not me luckily) and the hiring freeze they have in place is continuing for the foreseeable future which means the plan for me to move into a higher paying role at the same company is officially out the window. Spent a lot of today updating my resume and applying to new jobs. Hoping to get more work in tomorrow. I’ll do some more KB swings today as well. Just need a little break and some more food.
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Barbell Squat 135x8, 205x5, 205x5, 205x5
Good Morning 115x10, 115x10, 115x14
Current KB Total 675/10,000.
Sleep was actually quite good last night. Nutrition was pretty good for the most part today. The more I think about it, don’t really eat enough to push myself really hard right now. So I’m having to steadily increase the amount of food I’m eating so I can be in that slight surplus. I’m a bit afraid of that though because I really do want to get lean enough to get rid of the love handles. But at the same time I know with the transformation challenge it’s probably not wise to be cutting now and bulking later. Honestly probably a bit too much in my head about it at the moment. And to be honest I am at a high enough body fat percentage to get away with just “recomping” and worry about cutting in the lead up to the end of the transformation challenge.
I guess what I’m really realizing is that if I’m taking this seriously, which I am, I may have to confront some inner demons in order to execute this properly.
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So I think looking at my log it’s pretty clear that I suffer from some internet induced training ADHD. Especially the last couple of months where my brain has been all over the place as I’ve rehabbed my back. When I look at my history, I always seem to do best when I’m making consistent strength gains. And what always interrupts that has been injury. Following the recommendation of some people on this forum I’m gonna start 5/3/1 soon, specifically the BBB variation. I’m pretty sure I need the strength gains to help build the momentum I need moving into this year, and the BBB version to build muscle in prep up a cut moving into summer for the transformation seems to be best.
In order to make sure I actually stick to this I’m going to step away from my YouTube fitness viewing habits which having me looking from one shiny thing to the next all the time, leading to me never actually making progress. I’m also acknowledging that I still need some wiggle room for trying new exercises here and there, but the flexibility of the assistance work I think will provide what I need there. That way whenever I get on a weighted dip kick, or a upright row kick or whatever, I can still do them without upending my whole program and my progress.
I’m going to keep doing the KB swings for the next little while as conditioning, but not with the goal of hitting 10K. My goodness my conditioning needs work haha.
Wish me luck as I sort myself out and get disciplined.
So for today I followed roughly what I have been doing, but lowered the reps so I can get some more accurate numbers for calculating my training max for the 5/3/1 BBB program.
Barbell OHP 115x5, 125x5, 130x3
Pullups 8, 7
Incline AN (Arch Nemesis) Bench 115x10, 165x8, 185x5
DB Row 72x12, 72x11
If you’ve been following this sorry for being all over the place. Hopefully I can just provide some consistent gains for this log without as much rambling in the coming months.
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I think committing yourself to a program is a great way to steal some accountability. Have you bought and read any of the 531 books ? If not as I said above I recommend you do this. Many people get 531 wrong (which I find incredible) and it is always because they don’t read the books.
Tagging in @dagill2 @SvenG here as they have both used 531, so are great sources of information if you have 531 questions.
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Not yet. Trying to figure out which one I’ll get. Looking at one of the Kindle versions since money is a bit tight at the moment. It seems like 5/3/1 Forever is the way to go if I just want to make one purchase?
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Gonna answer my own question on that. Looks like 5/3/1 Forever should be read after reading the foundational book. Grabbing the 2nd Edition the original to read before I grab Forever.
I think this is a wise choice assuming you can afford it.
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I started with Forever, because it’s the most recent and totally comprehensive, but I ended up buying both the 2nd edition and Beyond as well. Really, though, you can’t go wrong.
I’ve been on 5/3/1 programming (almost exclusively) for about a year-and-a-half now, and it’s working pretty well for me!
I hope you find the same thing. But really, @simo74’s right: commit yourself to something and just get after it!
Time + Effort + Consistency → Results
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Definitely the most important thing I could apply. Every time I’ve made great progress it has been because of this.
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Thanks for the tag @simo74
I agree with the others, 531 is a fantastic way to go, not because of any magic in the rep scheme or programming but because its based on sound principles. The same principles that every successful, long term program follows.
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Agreed. I finished the 2nd edition last night. I’m unbelievably impressed.
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I’ve basically got myself prepped to start 5/3/1 on Monday. I setup the accessories in a way that the training will not be too different from how I have been training. The difference will be of course from the calculations laying out the weights for me, the intentional AMRAP final set, and just applying the principles from the book in general.
Today I also experimented with a conditioning option. I thought maybe 20 seconds on 10 seconds on (TABATA is what it usually seems to be referred to) with burpees. It definitely worked but I quit after a measly 7 rounds. Definitely have room to improve there. But I’m enjoying seeing the different ways I can do conditioning that are actually fun to me as opposed to just running.
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