^ ugh, my squat is pathetic as well, but at least it’s still moving up (albeit slowly).
I hit a 1rm PR for my DL saturday - 255lbs! It was ugly but I got it up and locked it out!
I am going to (wo)man up and test my bench and squat 1rm this cycle as well, just to see where I’m at. On cycle 6and I haven’t had to reset my maxes yet, but I’m definitely working my ass off to get more than the required reps for the last sets. Maybe I can get one or two more cycles before a reset…
This Malone guy - I can get used to training with him.
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
folks i need some help/advice/support, whatever. im just not making very good progress these days. ive reset some lifts, backed down, etc. just not feeling very strong, elbow(s) always feeling like shit on upper days (bought some elbow sleeves- theyre, eh…) shoulders feel like hell sometimes, uncomfortable to lay flat on my bed unless my arms are tucked into my sides, mainly left shoulder starts to “cramp” near the rear delt. lower back, right side is hit or miss tight on lower days…i just feel like a mess.
ive been doing 5/3/1 for the majority of the past 2 years, definitely love the program, dont think it’s the problem. ive been posting back in my log now for a few weeks, hoping if some have time, maybe an outside perspective could find some things that arent necessarily obvious to me.
not trying to be mr. negative here, but im spinning my wheels, and in some cases im weaker now than i was a few months into the program. dont know, maybe it’s accumulated fatigue, need to start doing more tissue work…who knows. im open to whatever help is out there, thanks!
start of this log is over a year ago, pg. 3-4 is the last few weeks, there was a long period where i wasnt posting anything.
Matt, my best advice is to start a different program.
OR
Switch all the lifts - try front squats, incline, floor and the trap bar (or whatever)
OR
Start with really low maxes, only do the requisite reps and up the volume on assitance work.
OR
Just do the main lift of the day and call it quits.
OR
Take a few weeks off, go do whatever the hell you want, only train with machines, go take a sabbatical, do a Benny Podda cave trip (everyone needs to do this). There maybe more going on than training so get that part of your life in order.
You see that pic of me on the left - yeah…I didn’t put it there. I’m blaming Bryan Krahn. By the way, I’ve met a ton of people in this industry and Bryan is a great guy. He’s the one that edits and gives me tons of ideas for the articles here at T-Nation. So please, the next time you see him, please give him a French kiss.
This is because he is Canadian. So like Thibaeiouasdoiusfouuseeu (sp), you can’t really trust him.
haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Jim- just saw your advice, thanks man. I’m taking this week off as a deload and to figure where I want to go with the training. I know I’m coming back to 5/3/1, it’s the most fun and most progress I’ve ever had by far.
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
Jim- just saw your advice, thanks man. I’m taking this week off as a deload and to figure where I want to go with the training. I know I’m coming back to 5/3/1, it’s the most fun and most progress I’ve ever had by far.[/quote]
Matt - just so you know, I am loyal to STRENGTH not to a program. So whatever it takes for you to reach your goals.
[quote]Jim Wendler wrote:
You see that pic of me on the left - yeah…I didn’t put it there. I’m blaming Bryan Krahn. By the way, I’ve met a ton of people in this industry and Bryan is a great guy. He’s the one that edits and gives me tons of ideas for the articles here at T-Nation. So please, the next time you see him, please give him a French kiss.
This is because he is Canadian. So like Thibaeiouasdoiusfouuseeu (sp), you can’t really trust him.[/quote]
Shouldn’t it be a Canadian kiss then?
[quote]Jim Wendler wrote:
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
Jim- just saw your advice, thanks man. I’m taking this week off as a deload and to figure where I want to go with the training. I know I’m coming back to 5/3/1, it’s the most fun and most progress I’ve ever had by far.[/quote]
Matt - just so you know, I am loyal to STRENGTH not to a program. So whatever it takes for you to reach your goals.[/quote]
I copy. Thanks Jim.
Chopper time soon bro- I’m excited for you, going to have to get someone in a chase truck get some pics of you with fists in the wind.
I have a couple questions.
First I am a baseball coach and time is scarce at the moment. I was having trouble finding the time to get my four days in. I still wanted to get my four main lifts in each week. So I decided to do my DL and Squat on the same day. I warmed up and got my squat sets in and then went straight into DL. I did leg press and GHR for assistance. I felt really good doing this but I was shit the next two days. I have done this the last two weeks and i like it. It allows my back and legs to recover a full week before lifting again. Is this advisable or am I heading for trouble.
Second. My weights are creeping up and my 90% of RM is over my original 1 RM on DL and squat. I am completing the reps but rarely going past the prescribed reps on the last set. Should I just continue until I fail at this rate not worrying about rep PRs? I usually am able to get one or two reps past the prescribed reps on my last set.
I plan on continuing until I fail and reset each lift individually and continue raising weight until I fail with it.
French people live in Canada too.
I am coming back from an injury (slipped disc [L4 L5 anterolisthesis to be specific]). I did 5/3/1 pre-injury. Afterwards I was out of the gym for a while, and I lost around 20 pounds. Now I am back into training with hill sprints, rope skipping, and weights.
The program I am doing is simple and my own design, although I stole almost everything from 5/3/1. For the main lift I do 3 with sets across after a warm-up, adding a rep to all three sets or adding weight to the bar every workout. I usually start with 3x3 and add weight when I can get 3x5. Aside from the rep scheme, I lift 4 days per week, every day has a main lift, and the accessory work is as prescribed by 5/3/1. Squats, GHRs, and deadlifts are out, so I am doing lunges, leg curls, Bulgarian split squats, and farmer’s walks instead (although if anyone has better suggestions, I’d love to hear them).
I am making progress, though this is actually regaining strength I lost in the main lifts from the lay-off and weight loss. Much of my accessory work, on the other hand, is stronger than ever. I don’t switch the accessory work around too much as a result.
I want to get back in to 5/3/1 training eventually. My question is do I abandon my current program now, or do I keep going until I stop making progress and then switch?
Thank you.
If you want to get back to 5/3/1, and your current programming is so similar to 5/3/1 in that each main lift has its own day followed by accessories for that lift, why not just get back to 5/3/1 now? It sounds like you prefer the 5/3/1 loading parameters over what you’re doing now.
That makes sense because 5/3/1 has the progression programmed already- what you’re doing now sounds like you’re just going by feel or perceived effort- while this may work sometimes, I wouldn’t think it would be as easy to track progress as 5/3/1 where you can look back at your log/charts and see that either you did or didn’t hit weights that you should have.
On a personal note, lately I’ve been having mediocre workouts, and while I knew 5/3/1 wasn’t the problem, I considered taking a break in hopes that a different program would give me some renewed motivation and get me back on track. I was even considering training like a bodybuilder for a few months- increased muscle mass should help, and the idea of just going in and doing multiple sets, pumping up the guns and all the shit seemed appealing. Considered westside a bit too.
Anyway, I’ve got my head on straight, realized my errors, realized why I was driving myself into the ground and making shit progress. Too much conditioning too soon, didn’t back off training maxes to compensate, getting shit sleep- nothing good would come of this.
I’ve backed my training maxes down and after a deload week, started a new cycle lastnight, and I think it will be good. Also ordered some ZMA which arrived today. I’ve been plagued with sleep issues about the past year and a half, and ZMA was pretty regular for me prior to that. It’s not the end-all be-all, but I know it helps me. For $15/month and free shipping, it’s too cheap to NOT take it!
I’m excited. Electric Wizard’s “Dopethrone” was lastnight’s training music, very different from the usual Metallica/Avenged Sevenfold/BLS.
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
That makes sense because 5/3/1 has the progression programmed already- what you’re doing now sounds like you’re just going by feel or perceived effort- while this may work sometimes, I wouldn’t think it would be as easy to track progress as 5/3/1 where you can look back at your log/charts and see that either you did or didn’t hit weights that you should have.
[/quote]
Thanks for replying. My progress is programmed in the sense that I know my goal for a particular workout is X lbs at Y reps for Z sets. If I get it, then it’s X + h lbs for Y + k reps for Z sets the next time I train that lift. I generally stick to the plan for the day; I am not chasing PRs almost every workout as I would on 5/3/1.
I haven’t missed my planned weights yet; since I lost so much strength and I am crawling back slowly not getting the prescribed reps hasn’t happened.
[quote]evitagen wrote:
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
That makes sense because 5/3/1 has the progression programmed already- what you’re doing now sounds like you’re just going by feel or perceived effort- while this may work sometimes, I wouldn’t think it would be as easy to track progress as 5/3/1 where you can look back at your log/charts and see that either you did or didn’t hit weights that you should have.
[/quote]
Thanks for replying. My progress is programmed in the sense that I know my goal for a particular workout is X lbs at Y reps for Z sets. If I get it, then it’s X + h lbs for Y + k reps for Z sets the next time I train that lift. I generally stick to the plan for the day; I am not chasing PRs almost every workout as I would on 5/3/1.
I haven’t missed my planned weights yet; since I lost so much strength and I am crawling back slowly not getting the prescribed reps hasn’t happened.[/quote]
I guess your way just seems kind of complicated Brojangs- but if it works for you that’s what matters. big part of why I’ve stuck with 5/3/1 for so long is how simple it is. I can think about my next workout riding the metro into work- I don’t need my log book because it’s easy enough to remember what the training max for the cycle is, and I know if I’m doing 5s, 3s, etc.
It’s funny actually, when I started this program in February 2009, I made a post on another board (before tnation had this PL forum) asking for a simple power routine with all of the big lifts in it. Jason Pegg pointed me to Wendler’s “training 3 days/week” ebook. At the time I didn’t know who Pegg even was. And while I knew who Wendler was, it was mostly from his article “the yoke”…anyway- Pegg told me to buy the 3 days book and do 5/3/1- which was just one of many templates in the book. I saw the %'s and all that and was turned off, that made it seem complicated to me. Now it makes so much sense and makes it so simple, I won’t do it without them.
I got a PR yesterday 225x7 on squats! It’s 2 days later and I’m sore as hell. accessory BBB 5x10 at 145 is killer
[quote]UFgator11 wrote:
I got a PR yesterday 225x7 on squats! It’s 2 days later and I’m sore as hell. accessory BBB 5x10 at 145 is killer[/quote]
lol it was most likely the BBB that killed your legs. I stopped doing BBB altogether because I was tired of not being able to walk for a week. To each his own, I can recover better without that unnecessary[to me] work.
[quote]TheDudeAbides wrote:
[quote]UFgator11 wrote:
I got a PR yesterday 225x7 on squats! It’s 2 days later and I’m sore as hell. accessory BBB 5x10 at 145 is killer[/quote]
lol it was most likely the BBB that killed your legs. I stopped doing BBB altogether because I was tired of not being able to walk for a week. To each his own, I can recover better without that unnecessary[to me] work.[/quote]
I end up gimpy with soreness for two days after every squat workout with the BBB assistance. I kind of like it though.
hello guys ,
I’m sure this question has been asked before so in advance i would like to apologize for making you re answer it.
it’s my second year of wendler’s 5/3/1 and i have made great progress training that way! after 5 cycles of non stop progress where i could always have 2 reps above the prescribed reps (5/3/1) i start to stall and i’m short of one rep to get a PR , what i want to know is do you guys think that i should shave two cycles and do the process again or you consider that as long as i get the prescribed reps or above i should keep adding weight
a concrete example:
today was my 3rd week cycle ( 1 rep week ) and i had to perform 5 reps with 5 more pound on the bar , i only did 4 , is the fact that i performed more than one rep making the job done or should i consider it like a failure because i couldn’t get 5 reps
thank you in advance for the answer
Amine