Upper/Lower Intensity Days and Upper/Lower Volume Days

Training 5/3/1
1

Hi

I have been using the program with different templates for the last couple of years. I am 36 now and I have had a great experience following the templates to the letter.

I have only been training for 3 years so I haven´t gathered that much experience yet, but I do feel that I know the basics of the program, and I was wondering if the following tweaks were a complete violation of the program, or if the reasoning behind it makes sense.

I seem to recover better with higher volume and lower intensity. So I am thinking that I could split the program in an upper/lower intensity on day 1 and 2 and an upper/lower volume on day 3 and 4.

Basically I squat and deadlift main sets and reps on day 1 and I bench and press main sets and reps on day 2. Day 3 would be volume for the squat and deadlift (deadlift may just be hamstring work like good mornings) like FSL or SST and likewise for the upper body on day 4.

I do nothing else on intensity days except hill sprints as I feel less is better.

I think I might recover better as I only have two days of high intensity instead of four. Problem might be that deadlift and press suffers a bit as they are the second lifts of their respective days, but I could switch around every other week. Upper/lower makes more sense to me with regards to recovery and that is how I did 2x2x2 like JW suggested in Beyond…

Any comments would be much appreciated…

Mads

2

Maybe just do 3 days a week and stick to 5s progression?

Week 1
Mon - Press
Wed - Dead
Fri - Bench

Week 2
Mon - Squat
Wed - Press
Fri - Dead

Week 3
Mon - Bench
Wed - Squat
Fri - Press

You get the idea… If you’re having issues with recovery from intensity, I’d cut back on how many times per week I’m lifting. I’m 38 years old, so I know all too well what you’re experiencing. The other thing is, are you eating enough to recover? Something to think about.

Another option would be two days a week, and simply alternate the lifts each week, and do something supplemental so that you’re still targeting the main lifts.

Week 1
Monday
Squat 5/3/1
Dead lift variation SST
Abs/lower back

Thursday
Bench 5/3/1
OHP variation SST
Rows/Upper back/triceps/biceps

Week 2
Monday
Dead lift 5/3/1
Squat variation SST
Abs/lower back

Thursday
OHP 5/3/1
Bench variation SST
Rows/Upper back/triceps/biceps

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