best lifts past 12 months:
380 squat (always kinda been my worst but im working hard at it. was way lower 24 months ago)
315 bench
185 OHP (wanna focus on this i dont care much for bench)
455 Dead (untrained for >year)
so I’ve run 5/3/1 for a while. It works decently well for me in everything but squats, So for the past 24 months I have been run 2 Hatch squat cycles (12 week progression of squatting 2 times a week) and following each session with 5/3/1 BBB upper body days.
program looks like:
Day 1: Hatch Squat 1
Day 2: 5/3/1 OHP BBB
off
Day 4: Hatch Squat 2
Day 5: 5/3/1 Bench BBB
off
off
My squats have been steady going up and and my other numbers have been decent ( squatting heavy or high volume twice a weak is too tough to make wake in other main lifts so I’m climbing SLOW and steady)
I want to reincorporate deadlifts into my programming and thinking of continuously running Hatch for squats then maybe doing a typical powerbuilding esc program of:
1.Hatch day 1
2.Dead/upper back/bi
3.bench/chest/tri (probably switch this between day 2-3 based on how hard my second squat day will be)
4.off
5.Hatch day 2
6.ohp/shoulders
7.off
8.possibly extra off day (could just slap this after any super heavy/hard squat day as needed per autoregulation)
I was just looking for some of you more well versed lifters to weigh in with possible programming tips. anyone not firmiliar with the program id be happy to share my template but its probly important to note that its not set up as day 1: heavy, day 2: light or vice versa.
I do alot of mobility work/yoga
I eat well
I sleep well
just kinda throwing out feelers before I embark, dont wanna waste a couple months of training before i realize it wont work for me.
I have no idea what HATCH is, but it looks fine. Switch the bench and deadlift days though. Deadlifting the day after squats can be… problematic in my experience. Try it with the seven day plan, it should be fine. Are you confident that you can recover off of this? People’s knowledge of what their body can take is a good guide. If you think “How the fuck am I supposed to do this”, then you probably shouldn’t do it.
I did the Hatch cycle last year and enjoyed it. I assume your eight days are an “8 Day Training Week???” Which is cool.
Instead of more training days, I would program my shit like this:
1)Hatch Day 1, deadlift to 1x5 or 1x3 or 1x1 etcetera (something with low volume), Upper back
2)Bench, Chest, Tri
3)Off
4)Hatch Day 2
5)Shoulders/OHP
6)Off
7)Off
I know there is some good volume in the hatch days, but I paired mine with upper back work with no problem. I think if you kept the deadlifts low on the volume side and just train enough to do it but not overwork yourself, you will be fine. I personally would just go into not doing enough (deadlift wise), and see how my responds after several weeks.
I think this will without a doubt be my approach, im coming up on my 3rd hatch cycle and the volume doesn’t destroy me anymore. Ill probly do 5/3/1 for deads and just start super light so 2-3 months in when Deads start feeling like work ill be used to doing them post squat.
I definitely want to keep light leg extensions and good mornings in after each hatch workout as i think theyre the key for me as far as knee health and a strong squat is concerned. but what do you think would be the most bang for my buck upper back work/ squat assistance? Im thinking pullups/pulldowns (depending on how hard to squat day was) then Im not sure. maybe just some rear delt stuff? my back is probably my most developed bodypart so im not worry about imbalances. what did your assistance work look like? I dont want to do back extensions or any more hamstring work on top of GMs/squats/deads
Personally, I have never really done assistance work for my squat. Only stuff to keep me balanced or to address issues. So other than GHDs, RDLs, and stuff like that I have never done much outside of squatting (and it’s variants like front squats, pauses, etc). If done right, I personally think squats are all you need.
For upper back I’m a big fan of face pulls, band pull aparts, rowing, high pulls and explosive pulls from the floor.
yah I only do the leg extensions b/c ive noticed that when lifting heavy for long periods light high rep work helped my knee joint feel alot better. and hamstring work tends to help my squat. I wanna tack on high pulls and cleans but fitting them in with deads is tricky given the other volume. I might cycle weekA: heavy deads light cleans/high pulls weekB: light deads heavy cleans and high pulls or something like that. Do you like to program specific percentages for cleans or just say work up to a heavy ish set of 3 or 1? and do you like them pre squat?
It would be hard for anyone to evaluate this beyond a very basic notion of “Looks reasonable given your strength levels” without your being more specific about your goals.