If you are wanting to do 5/3/1 again and gain 20lbs as a goal, seriously consider “Building the Monolith”. Fatnastic program.
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I’m trying to gain 20 lbs and also get stronger so I figured the big compound lifts should make up most of the program. I’d add 5 lbs to my upper body and 10 to lower body lifts after each month
I will definitely look into it. Thank you!
Eat. More. Food.
Sleep more.
Don’t screw around and write your own program. I’m speaking from experience here. Let the guys who do it for a living and publish it for FREE make it up for you.
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I really don’t like the fact that you’ve selected SO MANY EXERCISES. I like things much simpler. I want to pick the lifts that give you the best bang for your buck. So for me, in a given session, I’m not going to do chin ups, db rows, barbell rows, and iso rows. I’ll usually pick 1 of those and really hammer that in a given session. I might do 2 of them if I’m feeling frisky. So in this case, I’d probably alternate EITHER chins or rows in a session, and then for a second lift, choose either the iso row or db row, to get the training effect of unilateral work.
I’d also prefer a drop set over the superset you’ve outlined here. What added training effect do you expect to get out of performing all 3 of these biceps exercises. The biceps are such a simple muscle group, they don’t have to be trained with 3 different exercises. Just pick one, and extend your last set or 2 with a drop-set.
So, to summarize. I’d essentially cut your exercise selections in half, but still devote a similar amount of time to the gym sessions. Basically, spend more time on each exercise. There’s no way you should be able to get through the sessions you’ve outlined in the timespans you’ve suggested. I’d much prefer to see you lifting heavier and resting a little longer.
More importantly than this though, is what Kris Kolachi said. Eating will trump everything. My suggestions are of minor value in comparison to a proper diet.
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I see what you did there…
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Holy cow that’s amazing. I wish I did that on pupose.
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So at 20 years old, 5’10", and 143 pounds (young and underweight)… you gained less than 2 pounds of bodyweight per month while following what’s arguably one of the most effective training plans around. The problem was, and is, your food.
Did I miss where this was mentioned already? Because that’s kind of a big thing. If you hurt your back bad enough to have to stop the entire program, that’s something to pay attention to and specifically address. Is it an issue that still causes problems/pain?
Based on your row:bench numbers (and your dead to squat), your back is definitely weak. I’d consider de-emphasizing pressing with minimal total volume while building up the back strength.
Thank you. I appreciate the endorsement.
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So I am hearing that I should do 5/3/1 again after I can get my back strength where it should be? My low back gets very sore very quick so I have been doing defranco agile 8 before lifting to try and loosen up and then some more stretching before I go to bed at night. Seems to help a little. I have been working on my core strength because I think that is also part of my problem. So to bring my back strength up what would you recommend?
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Hey man, can I recommend a program for you? Its by Mike Westering and it’s minimal. Mike has several successful athletes so he is legit. It’s a 12 week program, each cycle is 2 weeks and looks like this (ie you repeat the following 6 times):
Week 1 - Day 1
Bench*, shoulders 3x8-12, triceps 3x8-12
Week 1 - Day 2
Squat*, RDL or SLDL 3x8-12
Week 2 - Day 1
Press or Push Press*, Upper back 3x8-12, biceps 3x8-12
Week 2 - Day 2
Deadlift*, (Bulgarian) Split Squat or lunge or step up 3x8-12
.* The weight for these is:
Cycle 1: 7x3@75-80%
Cycle 2: 8x2@80-85%
Cycle 3:10x1@85-90%
Cycle 4: 3RM
Cycle 5: 2RM
Cycle 6: 1RM
I recommend this because you do so much volume. You may be very surprised at the results when you do just enough to stimulate your muscles then give them time and space to grow (ie. it’s good to look at the other side of the coin now and again)
You should do some conditioning on your other days.
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