So I’m currently running alpha destiny’s novice program.
After researching and reading. I’m iffy about the program now. Your alls thoughts would be appreciated.
Recommendations for a new one would be awesome. Here are a few of my lifts
I’m currently stuck on bench and my OHP. My box squat is slowly climbing and so is my deadlift. I’m also currently cutting. Trying to lose some fat I’ve gained. Current height and weight being 6 feet at 204. And my goal weight is 180-190.
I’ve just recently in the last year or so. Been taking lifting seriously. Studying what i can. And addressing any issues. Still have alot to learn but want to make sure I’m following a correct path. So I’m not just wasting my time.
Thanks Badger! Definitely liking the first one. I thought about the 5/3/1 but not sure what template to use. I like how straightforward 5/3/1 is. What are your thoughts on that? I really enjoy doing heavy lifts. And muscle strength is really my end goal. Sorry if i sound stupid. Some of this is still very confusing to me.
Yeah 5/3/1 is great, millions of sucess stories on these boards from it. Triumvirate or Dan John’s ‘Mass made Simple’ (has 5/3/1 for main lift) template are a great starting point
I’m a big fan of 5/3/1 for all training ages. I like Beyond 1.2 and also had excellent results from the Hardgainer’s template (both found on this site).
Thanks man! I’m really leaning towards 5/3/1 with boring but big. Out of curiosity what do you think of my current program. I really like the exercise selection. But I’m finding I’m stalling alot. But wandering if that can be remedied. Here’s the routine
DAY A
Box Squat 3/5×4-6
Floor Press or Pause Bench 3/5×4-6
Pendlay Row 3/5×4-6
Overhead Barbell Extension 3×6-10
Barbell/Dumbbell Preacher Curl 3×6-10
Stiff-Legged Deadlift/Good Morning 2-3×6-10
Weighted Plank 3×30-60s
DAY B
Box Squat 3/5×4-6
Paused Overhead Press 3/5×4-
Jefferson Deadlift 2×4-6 ( rep range is 10-12)
Close-Grip Bench Press 3×6-8
Weighted Chin-up 3×3-5
Weighted Plank 3×30-60s
It’s a 3 day a week program. And i alternate the workouts. So it may be B,A,B then next week A,B,A I’ve seen awesome squat gains from it. As well as deadlifts. But my bench hasn’t increased much.
I think the exercise selection is decent. Lots of good compound movements.
I know that there would be no way for me to adequately recover from session to session of what you posted. That’s wayyy more work than I would ever recover from.
I would probably split that up into a four day program (A, B, C, D) and not add a single exercise…or just do 5/3/1.
Also, just a few general questions for you:
Why box squats?
Where are you pausing the overhead press?
This program looks very cut/pasted, where did this program come from?
What sort of progression have you been using with this program?
I read this as “Two sets of four to six reps (rep range is ten to twelve)” ← Which does not make sense.
I seen this program. Its by AlphaDestiny on YouTube (you can find it on his site, which Im not sure if Im allowed to link here). I forget what his reasoning was for box squats, but I think you just milk the linear progression as long as you can.
@benh7915 from what I see, you’re pretty strong and I think you can benefit from any 5/3/1 variation.
It is the alpha destiny novice program. ( sorry for bad formatting. Doing this on mobile and i rarely ever use forums) the reason he said to do box squats and i quote
"Can I free-squat instead of box squat?
If you don’t have a box/bench/platform/object to sit on, then you really don’t have any other options. Otherwise, squat off a box. It will allow you to recover better than a free-squat, give you less knee pain, develop explosiveness, provide immediate deadlift carryover, and strengthen the posterior chain like you’ve never seen before. Plus, your depth will be below parallel 100% of the time."
Recovery hasn’t been too bad. But i always do the least amount of sets specified because I’m cutting with this program. And maybe that’s do to me not pushing myself as hard as i should. But I’ve been able to recover well enough IMO.
For the overhead press. It would be the same reason as the squats i believe.
And the reason the deadlifts say " 2x4-6 ( rep range 10-12) is for progression. I at first didn’t fully get how i was suppose to progress. So i added that in for my own information. So if I’m able to hit 10-12 total reps on my working sets. For the deadlift. I would know to go up in weight next week and progress. If that makes any sense. And it goes the same for the other exercises
Squats for example. If i can squat for for 3 sets of 6,5,4 then i would go up 5lbs next week. And work that up to 3 sets of 6,5,4 and keep progressing like that.
I’ve heard about this guy…usually followed by reputable guys saying what a crock of $hit he is. I keep meaning to look him up just so I can form my own opinion on him.
IMO, it is tough to beat 5/3/1 unless you plan to hire a coach and get some personalized programming. I’ve used it for years (off and on) with success.
I would attribute your lack of progress on the bench/press to being in a deficit. I rarely make strength progress when cutting, you’ll be doing well to just maintain strength. Also, bodyweight seems to have the greatest correlation to strength in the presses for some reason (more-so than squat/deadlift - for most people). So if you lose some weight, you can reasonably expect these lifts to take a bit of a hit.
How’s your diet look?
I think this type of progression is great IF executed properly. I’m not someone who can self-regulate well, or give consistent effort in the gym to know if I’m progressing. I need tables and spreadsheets with %'s that tell me how much weight I must lift today. Sure, some days that feels light and others it feels extremely heavy, but this ensures that work is being done consistently. I think there are a lot of people that would benefit more than they think from this sort of programming. 5/3/1 has +sets that are designed to let you let loose on those days you feel strong or dial it back on days where the force of gravity seems to have doubled.
You’ve made some good progress so far though so kudos to you there.
I’ve figured it’s partly do to my deficit that hinders my bench. I also feel my form is off. Because no matter what i try i always seem to be unstable. I’ve figured out a few things recently that has helped. But still don’t feel steady enough on the bench press. I actually do way better with dumbbells it’s weird.
I’ve heard the same things about alpha destiny too. And that’s what has sparked my curiosity for a different program. 5/3/1’s seems simple and foolproof. But it’s also slightly overwhelming to me. Since I’ve always only done this current type of progression. Seeing percentages and Deload weeks throws me off some. What template would you recommend that is similar to what I’m running currently? And would buying the book be necessary?
My diet is usually on point. Depending on what is in the house ( i don’t live alone so sometimes i run out of good sources of protein) i eat around 1800 calories a day. And try my hardest to hit 200+ grams of protein per day. And keep my carbs at around 150-180 i eat strictly clean food. So i let my other macros fall where they will. ( i slightly watch my fats and all around just try to keep things balanced) since i started cutting and this program. I was at 235. I’ve dropped to 204 as of today. My squats started at 185. Bench at 165 and deadlifts around the 245 range. And this is my 20th week running the program. So I’m surprised I’ve made it this far. And I’m anxious to see how i do with a proper program. And be in a surplus.
I would recommend this template for a good 3day/week version of 5/3/1:
There is definitely enough information out there that you don’t NEED to buy the book to get a lot out of it. I personally used 5/3/1 for the better part of a year (using freely acquired information) and then bought a couple of his books to support him since his programs did so much for my training.
If you are thinking of starting 5/3/1 I’d start reading some of Jim’s stuff and really buy into his type of training philosophy. It’s a no fluff, no BS, hard work and steady progression model. I love it and it fits my training personality. His original program is here, along with a bunch of tips and rules too:
I’m personally a fan of the guy. I don’t think his bench record is anything impressive, but he’s got good unconventional knowledge and does his own thing.
I like 5/3/1 myself, but ultimately I did exactly that - I hired a coach and got personalized programming. I also recommend Texas Method or Omar Isuf’s free KIZEN program. @benh7915
Here’s an article on T-Nation about Texas Method:
The only thing I didn’t like about it was that the Volume day took forever, and I didn’t feel like deadlifting by the end. And that 1x5 Deadlift wasn’t nearly enough for me.
I usually did the Volume day on a Saturday or Sunday, then did my recovery day Monday or Tuesday, then the 5RM on Thursday or Friday.
KIZEN has you doing a 3x5 and then an AMRAP. Then you program your next week’s session based on how that AMRAP went. You start at 70% and once you hit 82.5-85% you go back down to 70% of your new 1RM (I personally calculated this off my AMRAP). The numbers progress is slow as hell, but I think I made good hypertrophy gains off this. I was also doing 8x8 lat pulldowns every session too though.
Thanks guys! I’m gonna look more into the template for 5/3/1 and look at the Texas method. Both look amazing.
I’ll post my progress . Any other tips to help me continue to progress? And can you all point me somewhere to find a good video for power cleans/snatches. I’ve never done Olympic lifting so i don’t wanna look like an idiot.
I would hire a coach. But sadly i live in a small town. So there aren’t many gyms here. At least not any with coaches I’d trust. All of them are fat asses who don’t actually lift.
I’d recommend holding off on Olympic lifting till you can find a coach for that. It is my opinion that Crossfit would be the next best thing. Most of the Olympic Lifting Barbell clubs I’ve seen have been based out of CrossFit Boxes, so maybe you can find a USAW certified CrossFit coach.
But to answer your question, check out some of these guys:
There’s so much more autonomy with Squat/Bench/Deadlift/Overhead Press. Hiring an online coach isn’t a bad idea either, but you seem to be making good progress on your own.
I didn’t even know he had a bench record, shows how much I know about him! In my head I just put him in the category of general out-of-shape,self-proclaimed fitness “guru”. I Googled him and the photos actually surprised me, I did not expect him to look like he lifted…which he obviously does.
Patience.
Pick a program and trust it. Give it at least a 2-3month trial.
Train hard. I don’t workout in public gyms often, but when I do I see a lot of people are just going through the motions. These are the same people wondering why they aren’t making progress. You shouldn’t be sacrificing form, but the workouts should never be easy.
Recover. Eat sleep, mobility work, cardio, etc. These are things that I tend to neglect the most, but I sure can tell the difference when I am actively paying more attention to these through the week. (Rather than eating whatever, sleeping minimally, no mobility work, and no cardio…)
Yeah, AlphaDestiny has a Canadian bench record of 320lbs at 165 in bench only, in what I assume isn’t a big federation. Which is cool (more than what I bench fo sho, but way less than the state record where I live), and he’s strong as hell, but I’d rather get my programming from a more qualified individual.
. Any other tips to help me continue to progress? And can you all point me somewhere to find a good video for power cleans/snatches. I’ve never done Olympic lifting so i don’t wanna look like an idiot.