That’s what I noticed too. When I started 5/3/1, I could bench 225 5 or 6 times on a good day. After going to failure (I believe my first 5+ was at 205 or 210) on every + set for the next 5-6 months, I AMRAP’d 225 again and got 15. So it definitely improves strength in the higher rep ranges, there’s no question about that. I think the tricky part is figuring out how to coax that high rep strength to come out and show itself in the lower rep ranges with higher weights.
I think you need to focus on lower rep ranges for a while if you want to see improvements. Build a solid base with the high rep stuff, and then give your body a chance to recognize that it’s being pushed to grow stronger for 3-5 reps instead of 10-12 reps.
Best example I can think of right now is this:
Week 1: 3x12 135lbs (this week should feel easy)
Week 2: 3x12 145lbs (this should be a challenge, but all reps completed)
Week 3: 3x10 155lbs (this should be pretty difficult)
Week 4: 3x10 165lbs (again… hard)
Week 5: 3x6 175lbs (not too bad because we dropped the reps)
Week 6: 3x6 185lbs (tough, but not impossible)
Week 7: 3x3 205lbs (9 for 9 with these solid working reps)
Week 8: 3x2 225lbs (6 total working reps, all completed)
Purely theoretical, but that’s what I mean by coaxing the high rep strength to show itself as low rep strength. Something like this may actually take 12-20 weeks, but you get the gist of it. Week 3 would probably be a good amount harder than week 5, but week 5 is a key point where you get to let your body know that, “hey, we’re only doing 6 reps now. The weight’s getting heavier. Adjust to that stimulus now.” I think I did a pretty bad job of this with my bench press, but then again, 5/3/1 doesn’t really give us much room to work like this. It’s a + set and then some assistance. It’s good for building a good base of strength for sure, and I think we’re all capable of a bigger base than we realize, so it’s probably a good idea for us 3 to continue cycling 5/3/1 in for a few months at a time at different points in the year.
On second thought, I just had an epiphany. The beauty of 5/3/1 is that it allows for complete, absolute, meta-self-regulation. Not just during each session, but over the course of months. You may get 15 reps on a 5+ in the beginning of a 5/3/1 block, and after a few months, only be getting 2-3 on a 1+. That in itself is teaching your body how to handle heavier weights for lower reps…
So you’re thinking of doing your first cycle with BBB, second cycle with 1 joker set with the TM? It’s interesting for sure. I think I’ve read that it’s more efficient over long periods of time to focus on hypertrophy vs. strength in different phases. I don’t know if you would be able to make/keep/utilize enough hypertrophy gains to have it carryover to strength phases and vice versa… that’s something I might do some research on later this week while I procrastinate.
Man, I’m so f*cking sore today it’s unreal. I’m deadlifting on Thursday and I’ll see if I’m able to fully recover or not before then… I wouldn’t be surprised if my deadlift strength suffered a little bit. My upper hams + glutes + quads are all weak, tight, and sore right now. Hopefully two more days of eating and two more nights of sleep can fix that for me. You’re allowed to ramble on my log whenever you want!! No need to apologize. I love love love talking about this stuff with you guys.
