opinion on program

jacksonpt

I'm bored, so lets talk lifting.

Now that I'm in full-on winter mode, i.e. my off-season, i.e. less dietary restraint, i.e. "bulking", I want to tweak my lifting routine to take full advantage of the extra calories.

Factors that have influenced my thinking -

• I've been on 5.3.1 for a while now (2ish years, mostly during my off-season) and have seen solid progress.
• I like Wendler's philosophy on lifting
• Strength:weight is still my primary focus, but would like to add a little more mass to get the most out of my strength work.
• I want to stay focused on big/compound lifts as much as possible
• I prefer push/pull splits

So, with all that said, here's my plan... it's kind of a hybrid version of 5/3/1 and PHAT. Comments are more than welcome.

Day 1 - upper body, power - 5 sets, 3 reps
- chest: bench, flys, incline db press
- upper back: bent-over rows, pull-ups, lat pulldown
- shoulders: military press, upright row, delt raises

Day 2 - lower body, power - 5 sets, 3 reps
- quads: back squat, front squat, leg press
- posterior chain: RDLs, GHRs, barbell lunges
- calves: calf raises

Day 3 - recovery

Day 4 - upper body, hypertrophy - 3 sets, 12 reps
- chest: bench, flys, incline db press
- upper back: bent-over rows, pull-ups, lat pulldown
- shoulders: military press, upright row, delt raises

Day 5 - lower body, hypertrophy - 3 sets, 12 reps
- quads: back squat, front squat, leg press
- posterior chain: RDLs, GHRs, barbell lunges
- calves: standing calf raises, seated calf raises

Day 6 - recovery

Day 7 - recovery

Lofteren

When you say "Chest: bench, flys, incline db press" or "posterior chain: RDL's, CHR's, Barbell lunges" Do you mean that you are going to do all of those exercises? or are you just listing some possible selections of the 1 exercise that you are going to perform?

If you mean you are going to do all of them then this plan is horrible. If you mean that you are going to do one of them then it's not bad at all. Assuming that you only mean to do one of those exercises, there is only one problem that I have with the program and that is that there is no set weight progression. You have to have a LOGICAL plan as to how you are going to increase the poundages on all of your lifts.

If you are interested, I am doing some research for a book I am writing about the powerlifting program that I have developed that looks somewhat similar to this. I have a group of volunteers that are running the program so I can see how well it works for other people. They have only been doing it for about a week so you could jump in if you'd like to.

If you are interested you can email me at norsemanpowerlifter@yahoo.com

jacksonpt

Power days I should be able to do all 3 lifts for each muscle group, but the focus will obviously be on the main lift.

Hyper days I'm not sure. This is way more volume than I'm used to, but my body generally responds well to volume, so I'm curious to see how I feel after a few cycles. At a minimum, my plan is to do 2 of the 3 lifts listed.

My plan is to increase weight every 2 weeks, but I'll see how things go and how I feel. Maybe increasing weight each month is more realistic.