I am wanting to get back into training after laying off for a while, due to all sorts of issues. I have been mentally f#c#ed up and literally lost the last 2 years. I have decided to get as strong as i can -
I have downloaded the 531 pdf booklet and want to follow the 4 day split.
However i just cant make sense of the assistance work, he talks of boring but big, then triumvirate, then periodization , then the simplest strength routine
Do i just follow one of the ones above?
Further down in the simplest strength he talks about the powerlifting routine - is that the one i should follow for pure strength?
For my assistance exercises i need to focus on glutes and hamstrings as they are weak.
Please help me. I really want to focus and succeed in this. I want to be better.
Keep it simple and follow BBB exactly as it’s written. You will get stronger regardless of the template if you follow the program and work hard.
Do the BBB variation in which the opposite assistance lift is done (i.e. 5/3/1 squat then BBB deadlift). For glutes and hamstrings, you could do something like this:
Monday:
5/3/1 conventional deadlift
5x10 back squat (BBB)
Thursday:
5/3/1 back squat
5x10 romanian deadlift (BBB)
I honestly think you couldn’t choose better. Jim’s programme is not only about getting stronger physically, but also mentally, although this message is conveyed a bit more subtly, I guess… My training and physique has also been up and down in the last couple of years, basically reflecting what was going on in my head and in the other aspects of my life (studying, later working, etc.).
I was training using other routines, but then I read Jim’s book and decided to go for it no matter what. Still having issues and I feel that I could do better, but I have now strength and belief that I would be able to get back to my top form and beyond!
And, interestingly enough, it wasn’t Jim’s 5/3/1 programme itself which set me going - the first impulse came from one of his articles here at T-Nation and a quote I have saved and looked at almost every day ever since: “I don’t regret my mistakes, only because I’ve come to learn that regret (along with guilt) will eventually consume you. Rather, I’ve convinced myself that these mistakes were all part of the process; part of the road that led me to where I am today.”
@Jim: Thank you for everything you’ve done for us! And a special thanks for stripping down all the bullshit around and getting always to the point… with everything.
If your glutes and hamstrings are weak you should squat and deadlift. Fucking around with assistance work isn’t going to make a difference if your squatting 135 for 3 reps. Squat 500 for 20 reps and your legs will be fine.