Are you still running BBB Beefcake? If so, what’s up with the PR sets? Should be using 5s progression.
Band pull aparts are VERY restorative on my shoulders. Might be worth giving that a go.
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I have discussed that in a previous post.
What you’ve effectively done is transitioned midway between a leader set into an anchor. Instead of getting the benefits of both, I imagine you’re observing the detriments of both.
I’d keep with 5s progression and focus on absolutely hammering the supplemental work. Make the reps strong, drive hard, recover well.
All of THAT being said, if your goal is specifically to bench 225, I’d train in a manner that specifically supports that. That manner being powerlifting. 5/3/1 isn’t a powerlifting program, but a general program for getting bigger, stronger, faster and better. In turn, it’s not going to get you to a higher bench compared to a program that is specifically about benching more weight. However, at the start of all of this, it appeared your goal was more about adding quality bodymass. Is that still the goal?
Yes, it is. And I know that bringing your bench up isn’t a requirement for increasing your muscle mass. But becoming much bigger and much stronger is my goal.
It’s just that I can’t ignore my lifts, since with 5/3/1 they are the very means to getting stronger and bigger. And I feel pathetic struggling to bench 75 kg. I feel it shouldn’t be like that. People plateau at 315 maybe, but plateauing even before 225? IMO that shouldn’t happen, as this is still well into the “beginner” level of strength territory.
But that said, yes a 225 bench isn’t the primary goal. I just feel it’s weird that I’m stuck at such a weak level.
Face pulls e band pull aparts come se piovesse, aiuta molto anche restare appeso alla sbarra delle trazioni più tempo possibile (ma fai attenzione a tenere le spalle rilassate altrimenti è inutile). Tempo e pazienza, passerà. Non ti sforzare troppo con panca e military press altrimenti potresti peggiorare la situazione. Cerca di tenere un rapporto esercizi di spinta/trazione almeno 1:1.
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Exactly: the means, not the end. This means that the numbers on the lift getting higher isn’t necessary for YOU to get bigger and stronger. Jim talks all the time about guys using TMs of like 440lbs hitting 600lb lifts in competition. I had a competition prep cycle where I never got over 240lbs in push press and managed an easy 270 in comp.
It’s tough to appreciate, but strength is what you have OUTSIDE of training. Training gets you strong, and sometimes that means you’re not performing at your best because you’ve accumulated a good amount of fatigue along the process.
You won’t be stuck or plateau if you keep training hard and eating well. It’s a process and it takes time. And a LOT of reps. Sometimes growth happens in fast spurts, but sometimes you spend YEARS grinding away at some sticking point to get there.
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Sounds good. Do you think I should change anything in my training at this point? Lately I’ve been wondering whether I might be doing “too little.” Like when I finish my session, I’m like “wait, did I just bench, row, and some curls and that’s it?” I know that more exercises isn’t necessarily the answer but maybe I should add in some specific assistance work for the muscles involved in the lift? Also as a means of getting some hypertrophy in, in case benching alone isn’t enough.
Same for Deadlift and squats, I have wondered if doing more core and single leg work, which I’ve always pretty much neglected, would help with progress. Or if switching movements altogether in favor of exercises that lend themselves better to hypertrophy (like Rack pulls for main work and sldl for BBB instead of Deadlifts, or Incline db presses instead of flat Bb bench etc.)—in his article on BBB, Jim said that you can use a variation of the main lift for supplemental so that’s why I’m wondering about this.
It’s probably all bullshit but this is what I’ve had on my mind for a couple of weeks now.
My honest assessment is that you’re “Goldilocking” here. You were originally not jazzed about BBB because it didn’t seem like enough work, then backed away from Beefcake because it was too much. My feeling is that you’re not going to find a program that is both effective AND has the exact right movements, sets, and reps that satisfy you.
All of that being said, assistance exercises are permitting in BBB. Your copy of Forever shows that. You can do 50 reps of pressing, pull and single leg/core each workout, which will be an extra 200 reps a week on top of your main and core work.
I would stop thinking that certain movements lend themselves better to hypertrophy. That’s going to get you chasing rabbits you don’t need to chase. PROGRAMMING is what lends to hypertrophy. Sure, a chin up is going to get you more back hypertrophy than a push up, but beyond that it’s getting into the weeds and just getting you off track. The best hypertrophy results I got were from Deep Water, and that was just the core movements absolutely hammered to the point of absurdity.
Variations of the main lifts are permitted. It’s definitely an effective way to stretch out BBB. I just don’t think it’s going to have the impact you’re imagining it’s going to have.
Thank you for the response, makes sense.
So I’ll make good use of the assistance work allotted per workout.
As far as variation, I’ll stick to the main movements for now if you think that it won’t necessarily have a much different effect. I’m probably just too weak for it to matter anyway.
I guess I just need to work harder and stick with the plan. Now though, I’m not sure whether I should keep my bench TM the same for next cycle and just increase the percentage for the supplemental work since I only got 5 reps on my main set. I’ll switch back to 5’s PRO like you suggested and increase the supplemental work from 50% to 60% for the next cycle, along with increasing my TM’s for the other lifts. I’m just not sure whether I should increase that of the bench too.
I think you would do better to use 5 forward/3 back for TM management for the foreseeable future. It will obviate the need to think this much about it. It’s what I use.
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I feel like you’re beginning to overthink your training and get caught up in other people’s progress, particularly with regards to bench.
I’ve always thought, and said it many times before, that what set you apart from others on this site was your ability to make a plan and stick to the plan.
@Frank_C has a challenge starting on his log in a month on this very subject.
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You’re right and I need to get back on track.
However, I think I have kind of a reason to justify this bit of “wobbliness” that I’ve been going through.
So for the past 2 and a half weeks, I’ve dealt with numerous gut issues that have taken some life from me. I’ve had periods of strong constipation, accompanied by abdominal pain and a persistent feeling of bloatedness, followed by days where I had diarrhea and had to severely restrict food choices. It came to a point where I straight up saw blood in my feces.
This, summed to the debilitatingly hot weather, has had me feel like shit for a while now and basically I haven’t been able to think my training and nutrition straight. Basically I put myself on autopilot mode, get up, train, and go about my day trying to forget about how I feel.
And thinking of changing things up is my natural reaction when things aren’t going well.
But now I’m starting to feel better. The weather is getting more tolerable and my gut is feeling better now that I’ve found my sweet spot: I’m loading up on white rice (and rice pasta), cream of rice, Greek yoghurt, salmon, ground beef, chicken beast, and carrots. Those are the foods that don’t upset my gut. Whey protein, quest bars, fruit loops pre workout, spinach, olive oil, and wraps also work. Eggs are a big no-no right now, unfortunately, and I want to wait a bit until I include peanut butter back as well.
Honestly I don’t know if I caught a virus or something, or maybe my body reacted to me eating a bit too much pizza, burgers, and fried shit lately. Some of the symptoms are worrying and I’ll take some exams, but I’ve always suffered from irritable bowel syndrome ever since I was a kid. Hopefully this’ll get better soon.
Squat
90 kg x 5
102 kg x 5
114 kg x 5
62 kg x 10
62 kg x 10
62 kg x 10
62 kg x 10
62 kg x 10
Rope crunch alternating with face pull 3 x 15-25
@T3hPwnisher I’m trying to see if I can get my hands on a band for pull aparts. Meanwhile, have you ever tried cable external rotations? Did you find benefit in those?
I don’t get many opportunities to use cables. Haven’t done that move.
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Gotcha. I’ll try it out for a while and report back.
I’ve been using these now for a couple months. Started off with yellow, then black, now purple. I use them for other types of resistance mobility stuff as well. Very handy. I’ve never had a if name band so I can’t compare them to the top of the line, but so far with every day use they are holding up well.
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Press
34 kg x 5
39.3 kg x 5
44.6 kg x 5
32 kg x 10
32 kg x 10
32 kg x 10
32 kg x 10
32 kg x 10
Alternating with neutral grip chins x 10,10,9,8,8
Face pull 3x20
Seated Lateral Raise 3x12
I think you need to do some more editing to your photo if you wanted to remove your zip code. It’s at the top and bottom, fyi.
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I didn’t even notice, but I don’t care. In this day and age it’s pretty easy to find people if you want.
Should I care? Is my reasoning flawed? I’m always open to change my views lol
Not the slightest clue, honestly. Just noticed you’d taken the effort to try and cover the one at the bottom and figured you did care