Okay, I'll admit, it has been a bit too long since my last update to the ol' training blog. My apologies. Since my most recent update approximately two months ago, I competed in my fifth amateur bodybuilding competition (taking home a sweet fourth place trophy in the Open Short Class, by the way) and took a week off from the gym before gearing my training towards powerlifting and strength.
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| Told ya' it was pretty nice. |
A little over four weeks ago I began following the insanely popular, ridiculously simple
5/3/1 program by Jim Wendler of
Elite Fitness Systems. Designed to give you an easy-to-follow, long-term approach (one completely free of any b.s.) to gaining strength, the program requires four weekly workouts; one centered around the squat, one the bench press, one the deadlift, and one the military press. The four workouts don't take long to perform (I'm usually out in forty-five or fifty minutes), and, although I'm almost exclusively using multi-joint exercises (no concentration curls or pec deck flyes here!), I'm required to use sub-maximal poundages based on a percentage of my one-rep max (1RM) for each primary lift, sparing my joints and preventing burnout.
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| Wendler's 5/3/1 e-book. |
Surprisingly, it's the use of sub-maximal weights that has many ego-driven lifters shying away from attempting the routine. After all, if they can't be seen in the gym moving as much weight as possible, what's the point, right? Another stumbling block for trainees that might otherwise be interested in the program is its protracted nature. Instead of promising you something ridiculous like adding fifty pounds to your bench press in eight weeks (sorry, folks, but unless you're just starting out with the iron or are using some anabolic assistance, such a thing just ain't gonna happen), the program requires you to think long term, in monthly increments. The effectiveness of the routine is largely a product of its slow, gradual nature, and not everyone is patient enough for that. In fact, you'll absolutely hate this routine if you display any of the following traits: have a hard time committing to four weekly workouts in the first place; are of a "gotta have it yesterday" mentality; can't stand the basic movements; or jump into a new routine every couple of weeks. If any of those describe you accurately, I'd find a different program to follow.
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The program is all about increasing your
squat, deadlift, and bench. |
At the time of this writing, I will be starting my second four-week cycle tonight. Because I've only completed one cycle (three weeks of progression plus one "deload" week of using baby weights), I can't yet speak of the program's long-term effectiveness with any real conviction. I
can, however, report that I've already noticed some
extremely encouraging signs related to my strength levels. As the weeks wear on and I have more data, right here in my fitness blog I'll break one of my personal "rules" by posting the poundages I'm using and the reps that I'm performing at each workout. This won't be done in an effort to show off. Believe me, considering I compete at a contest weight of 136 pounds, my weights are not all that impressive. Besides, I've simply never been all that strong; hence the need for this program! Rather, I'll post weights and reps so you can get a clear image of the progress being made.
One thing I
won't do here is provide a complete breakdown of the 5/3/1 program and all of its details. If it's something you might be interested in trying, visit the
EFS website and buy the damn e-book, available for immediate download. It'll set you back a whole twenty bucks (good lord!), but you'll be supporting a good company and might actually learn something at the same time. Having said that, below is a breakdown of my 5/3/1 split, complete with my choice of assistance exercises (movements chosen strictly to help with the primary lifts). My plan is to switch up assistance exercises every four week cycle.
CYCLE 1
Monday
Squat: Warm-up and stretch, 3 sets of 5/3/1 reps (depending on week)
Hanging Leg Raises: 5 sets of 5 reps, using increasingly heavier ankle weights
Decline Sit-ups: 5 sets of 10-12 reps, using full-range of motion
Tuesday
Bench Press: Warm-up and stretch, 3 sets of 5/3/1 reps (depending on week)
Incline Dumbbell Presses: 5 sets of 10-12 reps, using a lower angle on each set
Parallel Bar Dips: 5 sets of max reps
Thursday
Deadlift: Warm-up and stretch, 3 sets of 5/3/1 reps (depending on week)
Chins: 5 sets of max reps, alternating grip on each set
Back Extensions: 5 sets of max reps
Friday
Military Press: Warm-up and stretch, 3 sets of 5/3/1 reps (depending on week)
Wide-Grip Upright Rows: 5 sets of 10-12 reps
Trap-Bar Shrugs: 5 sets of 10-12 reps
And that's that! As I wrote above, I'll be making regular updates charting my progress, and going into slightly greater detail as to what I'm doing, and why. Join me on my journey, won't you? Until next time ...
