Mate, if you don’t like this Hepburn program or feel the need to already change it, than don’t do it.
If you are really keen and motivated to do 3/5/1 than get into that.
I’m sure @jbackos will understand.
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I posted a Hepburn type progression, not his entire method (or one of them). If you, as a beginner try to follow his program to the letter it will bury you. Ask me how I know.
I just gave a Hepburn progression, not the program. The actual program will fuck a beginner up in no time.
Everyone forgets that 5/3/1 was invented as a rebellion aginst powerlifting training. Wendler trains high school football players for a living and 5/3/1 is generally geared to the athlete. If you go back far enough its a highly altered form of Starr’s 5 x 5 with ascending sets combined with a weekly Rip schedule.
I’m not saying to not do those exercises at all, I’m just telling you that doing them between bench sets is not a very good idea if you want your bench to go up.
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Look up Mike Israetel on facebook, his most recent post (at the time that I’m writing this) starts with the heading “Training Myths That Won’t Die #6: “Timing Cardio in Relation to Lifting”. One thing that stands out:
" If you’re an athlete with a high power component and low endurance component to your sport (weightlifting or gymnastics, for example), consider not doing cardio at all.”
If your aerobic capacity sucks then doing some cardio AKA conditioning will likely benefit you. Greg Nuckols said somewhere that if your resting heart rate (check this first thing in the morning) is in the low 60’s then you are fine, but if it’s higher it would be useful because it will improve your ability to recover. As for what sort of conditioning/cardio, that’s another debate. LISS is much easier to recover from. I personally enjoy HIIT more, but it adds another stressor to recover from. Hill sprints are definitely going to cause a lot of fatigue, complexes can be even worse. Walking with a prowler or sled is probably the best option in the HIIT category, or maybe walking with a weighted vest (which I haven’t tried myself). Sprinting is also a high risk for hamstring injury, Wendler is a former football player and trains high school football players so there is a different context to consider. Remember that 5/3/1 is not an actual powerlifting program.
For the record, I do no cardio or conditioning. My resting heart rate was just over 60 the last time I checked, laying on the couch after drinking a cup of coffee. For the last while I have been doing CAT (compensatory acceleration training) down sets like how Josh Bryant recommends, which is basically heavy speed work with 1-2 minute rest in between sets. I own a prowler but I haven’t used it lately, I don’t feel the need to.
That’s the thing, there is a “5/3/1 for powerlifting” book too, that’s where he says to do hard conditioning 2-4 times a week and superset bench and press sets with chin-ups. I have yet to hear of a high-level lifter who trains that way. If you’re into the 5/3/1 mentality and just want to do a meet now and then I suppose it can work, but other things will work better.
I read them all. 5/3/1 for powerlifting is not all that different from the base program. It’s as if he juggled a few things around and marketed it to powerlifters.
Yeah, pretty much. It’s a decent program for general strength and there are worse things that someone new to powerlifting could do (look at some of the programs that people have asked to be reviewed on here) but it’s not the best option in most cases either. To be fair, Jim gives a lot of different options for templates and whatever so there is something appropriate for just about everyone, but the rep maxes as the foundation of the program aren’t really appropriate for anyone who doesn’t have solid technique. Most people won’t want to admit that to themselves either. I did 5/3/1 for about 6 months, before I actually started training with the intention to compete in PL, and I did make some progress but my squat technique was shit and took a long time to fix. My bench barely made any progress either, once I started training it more frequently it took off.
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So now I’m kinda confused @jbackos . Were you suggesting I just use the 8x2 progression on squats 2x per week, and then use assistance instead of pump work?
My main reason to want to do conditioning was to maks sure I can compete in whatever class with the best body composition possible. Also, less importantly, I only get one hour (maybe slightly longer) to train so having the work capacity to be able to do more sets/weight helps
You’re focusing on a prescription rather than a method. I used the 8 x 2 as an example of a high set, low rep program to build technical proficiency. Nobody I ever heard of built a hge squat with sets of “pump work”.
You don’t need to do conditioning to stay lean, diet is the most important factor. Don’t bulk too fast or you will gain a lot of weight. How come you only have an hour to train though?
Strength is built in the gym.
Fat is lost in the kitchen.
Balancing school, sleep, social life etc basically leaves me around an hour every day to train, but I can at least do 1 hour frequently
Last night I did my ME floor press, 3 sets dips, 3 sets DB bench,3 sets supported rows, 3 sets rear delts on a pec deck. Then band pull aparts, band pressdowns, and cable pressdowns. Completed in slightly less than an hour.
An hour is all it should take if you’re training raw. Equipment - different story. Big pain in the ass.
I agree, I don’t struggle to finish in an hour, but I like being able to get as much done as possible.
I appreciate all the help on this thread @jbackos but I don’t think I’ll do the Hepburn progression. I will however avoid the AMRAPs on 531 and just do 5s Pro, also opposite FSL so I’m doing each lift twice a week. That way I’m getting the higher volume, low rep (I hope) program that everyone on this thread has reccomended.
Cheers all of you
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Are you talking about one hour from when you enter the gym or from your first work set? I hear some guys (Matt Wenning comes to mind) saying that their workout takes less than an hour but they don’t count all the warm stuff they do and all their sets working up to their top set. I take 1.5-2hours.
Good choice. Hepburn method is good too and will work, but I could see it getting boring with limited exercise selection and the same weight and reps for several workouts in a row.