Here is a lot of info on 5/3/1.
http://articles.elitefts.com/author/jimwendler/
http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/52-most-common-531-questions/
[quote]Osmosis wrote:
[quote]METAL VIPER wrote:
Did my first 5/3/1 workout yesterday. Hit squat, press, BBB press, BBB deads, and chins. Went super light on the assistance to start out and get used to that volume. What a breath of fresh air. Wanna stay on this shit forever. Had a great lifting day and when done, felt a lot better than when I started[/quote]
Either I’m reading it wrong or you typed it wrong. You’re not supposed to do all for exercises in one workout. Day 1 = Squat, Day 2 = Press, Day 3 = Bench, Day 4= DL
Which exercise did you actually use 5/3/1? The assistance should be higher reps (bodybuilding style), i.e., 10 reps or whatever you like but not similar or heavy.[/quote]
You read it correctly. I did 5/3/1 on squat and press. If you’re familiar with Wendler’s Training 3 Days a Week book, he has a template where you do press on either squat or deadlift day. Also, you can perform the assistance (this case BBB deads) on opposite days. Both my assistance movements were done extremely light, for 5x10. So I do volume deads on 5/3/1 squat day and volume squat on 5/3/1 bench day.
Anyway, I had my first bench day yesterday and got 12 easy-ish reps. Not going to be like the other new guys to the program and ask if I should bump the weight; I’ll be patient and ride it out. Felt good and looking forward to tomorrow’s deadlift day. I’m going to do some lat work after and was wondering if anyone has ever made a ghetto chest supported row out of a power rack? I’m going to get a 2x12 and put a pillow to do some rows; should be fun.
Oh, I not familiar with the contents of the Three-Days-a-Week book but I do have the 5/3/1 book. I follow a Mon(1)-Wed(2)-Fri(3)-Mon(4), etc. schedule using 5/3/1. As a result my training days have turned into Upper bod and Lower body training days.
My current schedule allows each lift/muscle group 3-4 days of recovery before I perform that lift again.
I’ve followed a pattern similar to the Three-Days-a-Week but I inadvertently end up pushing too hard on the accessory work and I don’t get enough recovery time.
My current schedule won’t allow me 4 days of training, which is fine, because I prefer 3 days anyway. As it is currently laid out, I love it so far, but I’m ready if need be to make some minute adjustments. I was initially worried about shoulder fatigue from Monday becoming a detriment on Wednesday, but I felt fine yesterday and I’m sure I’ll get used to the volume in a few sessions.
Initially, I was worried about squatting once a week, but when I saw that people were switching squat and deadlift assistance, which allows two times per week to keep the movement pattern fresh, I knew I’d love this program. I’m happy that the workouts are short, intense, and more over, fun again.
I was curious as to Jim’t thoughts on the utilization of 5/3/1 as posed by Dan John in this article.
Guys, have my 5/3/1 all set up and reading through and seeing metal vipers posting it sounds like were about in the same boat training only 3 days a week on 5/3/1. Currently my setup looks like so:
Military Press - 5/3/1
Seated DB Press 4x6-8
Chin Ups 4-5x5+
BB Curls 3x8-12
Close Grip Bench 2-3x10
Deadlift - 5/3/1
Hack Squat 2-3x10
Back Raises 4x8-10
Weighted Cable Crunch 3x10-12
Bench Press - 5/3/1
Kroc Rows 3x8-12
Dips 3x6-10
Cable Tricep Pushdowns 2-3x8-12
Squat - 5/3/1
Leg Curl 2-3x8-12
Leg Press 2-3x10
Seated Calf Raise 3x10-12
I would be training on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.
Debating on keeping the 4 main lifts split, or doing something like what Metalviper did…
If you see this metalviper could you private message me?
guys, there’s nothing complicated about working out 3x a week with 4 different lifts.
week 1
mon- military press
wed- deadlift
fri- bench
week 2
mon- squat
wed- military press
fri- deadlift
week 3
mon- bench
wed- squat
fri- military press
week 4
mon- deadlift
wed- bench
fri- squat
then deload and start again. this isn’t “something new” or anything of that sort. it’s an option that allows a bit more recovery while still maintaining good frequency. ive always done it this way, for a year and a half now. in fact i think one of the best things about this setup is if something comes up and you have to push a training day forwards or backwards, it doesn’t really screw you up at all. plus, because your lifts aren’t nailed to a certain day of the week, it doesn’t really allow you to have a day that you dread going to the gym- if you suck at a certain lift or just hate doing it regardless, you don’t associate it with “monday” or whatever, and i think this helps going into the gym ready to go all the time.
[quote]pbclax1 wrote:
Guys, have my 5/3/1 all set up and reading through and seeing metal vipers posting it sounds like were about in the same boat training only 3 days a week on 5/3/1. Currently my setup looks like so:
Military Press - 5/3/1
Seated DB Press 4x6-8
Chin Ups 4-5x5+
BB Curls 3x8-12
Close Grip Bench 2-3x10
Deadlift - 5/3/1
Hack Squat 2-3x10
Back Raises 4x8-10
Weighted Cable Crunch 3x10-12
Bench Press - 5/3/1
Kroc Rows 3x8-12
Dips 3x6-10
Cable Tricep Pushdowns 2-3x8-12
Squat - 5/3/1
Leg Curl 2-3x8-12
Leg Press 2-3x10
Seated Calf Raise 3x10-12
I would be training on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.
Debating on keeping the 4 main lifts split, or doing something like what Metalviper did…
If you see this metalviper could you private message me?[/quote]
I think you have mixed up “Kroc Rows” with “Bent Over Rows”. Kroc Rows are one all out set and the reps are typically much higher than 8-12.
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
guys, there’s nothing complicated about working out 3x a week with 4 different lifts.
week 1
mon- military press
wed- deadlift
fri- bench
week 2
mon- squat
wed- military press
fri- deadlift
week 3
mon- bench
wed- squat
fri- military press
week 4
mon- deadlift
wed- bench
fri- squat
then deload and start again. this isn’t “something new” or anything of that sort. it’s an option that allows a bit more recovery while still maintaining good frequency. ive always done it this way, for a year and a half now. in fact i think one of the best things about this setup is if something comes up and you have to push a training day forwards or backwards, it doesn’t really screw you up at all. plus, because your lifts aren’t nailed to a certain day of the week, it doesn’t really allow you to have a day that you dread going to the gym- if you suck at a certain lift or just hate doing it regardless, you don’t associate it with “monday” or whatever, and i think this helps going into the gym ready to go all the time. [/quote]
That is what I’m going to do. My post for just for people’s experience with doing something like what metalviper is doing.
I’m looking to do 5/3/1 for the first time. What’s a good length of time to do it for; or if it’s individual how do I judge such a thing?
I’m looking to do 5/3/1 for the first time. What’s a good length of time to do it for; or if it’s individual how do I judge such a thing?
[quote]HumanHorrorFilm wrote:
I was curious as to Jim’t thoughts on the utilization of 5/3/1 as posed by Dan John in this article.
[/quote]
I’m starting week 4 of this today. Don’t know about Jim’s thoughts, but I’ll post my results and experiences when I’m done.
[quote]KidofNoise wrote:
I’m looking to do 5/3/1 for the first time. What’s a good length of time to do it for; or if it’s individual how do I judge such a thing?[/quote]
For a long time. Like at LEAST a year, but longer is even better.
[quote]KidofNoise wrote:
I’m looking to do 5/3/1 for the first time. What’s a good length of time to do it for; or if it’s individual how do I judge such a thing?[/quote]
I plan on doing it for-ev-er
u can do 5/3/1 for the rest of your life, just alter the assistance to whatever goal your trying to acheive, but yes, give it at LEAST a year, doing exactly what jw says, and see if your not stronger and in better shape then youve ever been in your life
[quote]METAL VIPER wrote:
[quote]KidofNoise wrote:
I’m looking to do 5/3/1 for the first time. What’s a good length of time to do it for; or if it’s individual how do I judge such a thing?[/quote]
I plan on doing it for-ev-er[/quote]
Me too!! After all the programs I’ve tried I finally feel like I’ve found “the one”
[quote]Spock81 wrote:
[quote]METAL VIPER wrote:
[quote]KidofNoise wrote:
I’m looking to do 5/3/1 for the first time. What’s a good length of time to do it for; or if it’s individual how do I judge such a thing?[/quote]
I plan on doing it for-ev-er[/quote]
Me too!! After all the programs I’ve tried I finally feel like I’ve found “the one” [/quote]
Agreed. Even though I’ve only done 1 week so far, I’m loving it. Miss the feeling of not wanting to wait to work out and just generally enjoying my training. I’m running it with BBB and love it, plus as an added incentive to run this for the rest of my lifting career, I can swap out any of the assistance templates to help meet goals. Win
One question for the vets of 5/3/1. I’ve been reading all 4 parts of the 5/3/1 thread and I’m halfway through the third part and I’d seen people were saying that it was working well for squat and deadlift, but their bench and press was struggling. What have you found that helped you get things moving again? A couple higher intensity singles after the sets or what?
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
guys, there’s nothing complicated about working out 3x a week with 4 different lifts.
week 1
mon- military press
wed- deadlift
fri- bench
week 2
mon- squat
wed- military press
fri- deadlift
week 3
mon- bench
wed- squat
fri- military press
week 4
mon- deadlift
wed- bench
fri- squat
then deload and start again. this isn’t “something new” or anything of that sort. it’s an option that allows a bit more recovery while still maintaining good frequency. ive always done it this way, for a year and a half now. in fact i think one of the best things about this setup is if something comes up and you have to push a training day forwards or backwards, it doesn’t really screw you up at all. plus, because your lifts aren’t nailed to a certain day of the week, it doesn’t really allow you to have a day that you dread going to the gym- if you suck at a certain lift or just hate doing it regardless, you don’t associate it with “monday” or whatever, and i think this helps going into the gym ready to go all the time. [/quote]
That is EXACTLY the rotation I use. I’ve had to double up on a rare occasions when I travel for work. I only do the primary exercises when I double up -OR- I bump it up to 4 days a week when I anticipate traveling.
I workout at home and only have a barbell and weights (no bench or rack) so I’m forced to do floor presses instead of bench and front squats instead of back squats.
So I was thinking of setting up 5/3/1 in an upper lower fashion like this:
Monday
Deadlift
Power Clean 10x2
Natural GHR 3x5
Weighted Sit-ups 3x10
Tuesday
Press
T-bar/Corner Rows 3x10
Floor Press 3x10
Chin-ups 3xF
Push-ups 3xF
Thursday
Front Squat
Power Clean 10x2
Natural GHR 3x5
Weighted Sit-ups 3x10
Friday
Floor Press
T-bar/Corner Rows 3x10
Press 3x10
Chin-ups 3xF
Push-ups 3xF
I know Wendler says to do 5x10 with assistance but I feel it would be a bit much with my set-up.
Also, curls are out of the question because I get a searing pain up my forearms. Not too bothered about them though.
After both lower body days I’ll be doing lots of conditioning, hill sprints, agility drills, plyos etc.
I’m also trying to figure out how to do chest flys while holding a weight plate in my hand. Might just be possible 
Any help or tips would be great. Thanks.
[quote]Jim Wendler wrote:
[quote]forbes wrote:
[quote]Jim Wendler wrote:
[quote]forbes wrote:
What are your guys opinions about balancing horizontal pushing and pulling and vertical pushing and pulling? Do you think its enough to simply do the same amount of pulling with pushing (despite plane of movement) or do you think that every horizontal press should be equaled out with a horizontal pull. Same goes for the vertical plane.
Did that even make any sense? :P[/quote]
For every push - do 2 reps of pulling. This includes all warm-ups. Do rows and chins.[/quote]
So for example, between every set of bench press, do a set of pullups?
[/quote]
Kind of…for every rep you do of pushing, do two of pulling. 2:1 ratio.[/quote]
ok…likely stupid question, but could it possibly hurt to increase that ratio?