Just wanted to holler at Mr. Wendler for the 5/3/1 program and to say ‘THANKS’.
I’m 44 years old and have been on-off again lifting for 25+ years.
Read the 2nd edition of 5/3/1 4x and kept learning more with each reading. I also bought the beyond 5/3/1 book too. Haven’t read it yet as I would like to stay on this basic yet very effective plan for awhile( 6 months to 1 year).
I’m on the deload of my first cycle and feel great. I have had questions but chose to use the search feature to not waste everybody’s time. I under estimated my weights for all but the BP. Slow and steady increases make all the sense in the world.
The brightest light bulb to turn on in my head is that RECOVERY is the KEY for me. Sleep and nutrition.
That is funny. I was thinking of writing the same thread.
I just finished the first week of my fourth cycle, and it is amazing. My lifts are increasing faster than I would have thought, and I find that 5/3/1 actually gives me a sense of freedom that other plans don’t. I love knowing exactly what I need to do on the main lifts, and I have the freedom to experiment with my accessory lifts. Last cycle and this cycle I’ve been adding in a lot of bodyweight accessory movements, and it is a lot of fun. Back bridges, pushups, etc really do a lot for my general athelticism, and I’m just really having a lot of fun.
So in regards to the “Thanks, Jim”, an x2 from me!
Yep, I’ve got to get a ‘thank you’ in as well. I use the various 5/3/1 methods to help me get ready for meets, and I’ll still use it when my competition days are behind me. Thanks for taking the time to continue putting out good stuff and responding to folks.
I’ve enjoy the simple progression of 5/3/1 for several years, but this is more about my son. He plays Jr. league football and next year he will be a Freshman. I started training him at 12 with nothing more than Push-ups, Pull-ups, Goblet Squats, Back Raises, and such. At 13, when puberty hit, I was looking for a nice way to break him into weight training.
I added form work for Bench and Squats and only added weight when he was bored with the weight being used. When he got strong enough I implemented 5/3/1 with 5s Pro and FSL (3x5). His routine today still only consists of Bench, Squat, Prowler, and all the bodyweight stuff. But with the help of Mr. Wendler’s methods, he can now easily squat 225 for reps and Bench 135 for reps. I now feel good about turning him loose on the High School coaches and know he has a good foundation in form and work ethic. Thanks again.
I hate to sounds like a broken record, but I’d also like to extend my thanks to JW.
I have been experimenting with several programs over the last few years, most 5-6days/week and leaving me burnt out in 6-8weeks.
Entering the 6th week of 5/3/1 BBB and I’m loving it. The freedom to personalize the accessory lifts, only being required to work out 4days/week and the slow and constant progression has had nothing but positive effects on my body.
I can see myself doing this for years to come, especially with the amount of variations that can be performed with this basic principle.
I’m on cycle 9 after almost 10 months and I have yet to hit any sort of wall or plateau (just yesterday I hit 10 reps for my 1+ squat set with some left in the tank). My squat’s gone up by 60%, my bench by almost 40%, and my deadlift by almost 20%.
The combination of varying rep ranges and being able to hit rep PRs so often, together with the room the TM allows for on bad days is simply ingenious!
It simply makes training a pure joy.
The only problem is that it’s hard on the ego to start light and progress slowly. But after some months spent on 531, everybody should see that this is the way to go and how slow progress in the short term actually translates to fast adn steady progress long term!
Thanks to everyone - it is great to hear all these stories and even better when I hear kids are involved in training. Embrace the principles, find your own path and strong mind/strong body = Men of Action.