Female lifters - advice and what's your workout routine?
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violetrix
Posts: 60 Member
I'm 5ft 2" and weigh 130lbs, still trying to lose 10lbs. I've been doing a version of Wendler's 5/3/1 with supersets and some added HIIT for the past year but don't feel like I'm making any progress. It's becoming quite difficult to up my weight and have been stuck at squatting 1x my bw for a while. This is a typical workout:
Squat 3x 5/3/1
Supersets- pushups, dips, hanging leg raises, good mornings 3x10-15
HIIT cardio (15-20mins)
I've already done SL 5x5, which I liked for the simplicity but haven't been able to find any other programs like it. I tried new rules of lifting for women when I started, but I found it too fussy and complicated. Is my current workout enough to lose fat while retaining muscle or should I change it up? What does your workout look like?
Squat 3x 5/3/1
Supersets- pushups, dips, hanging leg raises, good mornings 3x10-15
HIIT cardio (15-20mins)
I've already done SL 5x5, which I liked for the simplicity but haven't been able to find any other programs like it. I tried new rules of lifting for women when I started, but I found it too fussy and complicated. Is my current workout enough to lose fat while retaining muscle or should I change it up? What does your workout look like?
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Replies
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I do 531. Have you been doing the deload weeks, either every cycle (4th week) or every other cycle (7th week) deloading as prescribed? Or, have you been resetting your weights, going back a couple of cycles. That is something that @Sam_I_Am77 alerted me to--Wendler wrote an article about resetting the weights after every 5 cycles. You would do cycles 1 through 5 and then on the 6th cycle you use weights from the 3rd cycle. After that move up like normal and then after the 10th cycle use weights from the 8th cycle, etc. Resetting might seem like going backward but it is really helpful.
I recently to reset my press and bench based on the above and went further back for my squat and deadlift while recuperating from some back trouble. Sure, it seemed like "ugh, I can't believe I had to go back to these low weights" but at the same time it has been fun to see how many more reps I get on the AMRAP sets. Plus I am currently cutting and now instead of feeling like my strength is stalling (my norm while cutting), I feel stronger than I did the first time I was lifting the same weight so it's a bit of a mental boost.
Are you only doing 531 for squats? I would suggest doing a full program. There are a lot of variations to choose from. Get the books or, at the minimum, look at his site online. You can also look at blackironbeast.com to find a calculator that shows a bunch of 531 templates.0 -
I do 531. Have you been doing the deload weeks, either every cycle (4th week) or every other cycle (7th week) deloading as prescribed? Or, have you been resetting your weights, going back a couple of cycles. That is something that @Sam_I_Am77 alerted me to--Wendler wrote an article about resetting the weights after every 5 cycles. You would do cycles 1 through 5 and then on the 6th cycle you use weights from the 3rd cycle. After that move up like normal and then after the 10th cycle use weights from the 8th cycle, etc. Resetting might seem like going backward but it is really helpful.
I recently to reset my press and bench based on the above and went further back for my squat and deadlift while recuperating from some back trouble. Sure, it seemed like "ugh, I can't believe I had to go back to these low weights" but at the same time it has been fun to see how many more reps I get on the AMRAP sets. Plus I am currently cutting and now instead of feeling like my strength is stalling (my norm while cutting), I feel stronger than I did the first time I was lifting the same weight so it's a bit of a mental boost.
Are you only doing 531 for squats? I would suggest doing a full program. There are a lot of variations to choose from. Get the books or, at the minimum, look at his site online. You can also look at blackironbeast.com to find a calculator that shows a bunch of 531 templates.
^^^excellent post and advice!
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I've used Wendler in the past an liked it well enough. I'm currently running Strong Curves, and I like it. You may not be progressing if you're eating at a deficit. A reset, as suggested above, is a good idea.0
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I do 531. Have you been doing the deload weeks, either every cycle (4th week) or every other cycle (7th week) deloading as prescribed? Or, have you been resetting your weights, going back a couple of cycles. That is something that @Sam_I_Am77 alerted me to--Wendler wrote an article about resetting the weights after every 5 cycles. You would do cycles 1 through 5 and then on the 6th cycle you use weights from the 3rd cycle. After that move up like normal and then after the 10th cycle use weights from the 8th cycle, etc. Resetting might seem like going backward but it is really helpful.
Hi @jemhh, I may have written that wrong when I wrote it but it's 6 weeks and a 7th week deload. So 3weeks, increase TM & 3 weeks, deload, increase TM 3 weeks, increase TM 3 weeks, deload, increase TM 3 weeks, reset to week 3 TM, rinse and repeat.
I'm 5ft 2" and weigh 130lbs, still trying to lose 10lbs. I've been doing a version of Wendler's 5/3/1 with supersets and some added HIIT for the past year but don't feel like I'm making any progress. It's becoming quite difficult to up my weight and have been stuck at squatting 1x my bw for a while. This is a typical workout:
Squat 3x 5/3/1
Supersets- pushups, dips, hanging leg raises, good mornings 3x10-15
HIIT cardio (15-20mins)
What did you estimate your 1-rep max to be for each lift and 1 is your training max for each lift? What does each workout session look like? What about non-strength training days? How's your nutrition and how much total are you eating?
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Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »I do 531. Have you been doing the deload weeks, either every cycle (4th week) or every other cycle (7th week) deloading as prescribed? Or, have you been resetting your weights, going back a couple of cycles. That is something that @Sam_I_Am77 alerted me to--Wendler wrote an article about resetting the weights after every 5 cycles. You would do cycles 1 through 5 and then on the 6th cycle you use weights from the 3rd cycle. After that move up like normal and then after the 10th cycle use weights from the 8th cycle, etc. Resetting might seem like going backward but it is really helpful.
Hi @jemhh, I may have written that wrong when I wrote it but it's 6 weeks and a 7th week deload. So 3weeks, increase TM & 3 weeks, deload, increase TM 3 weeks, increase TM 3 weeks, deload, increase TM 3 weeks, reset to week 3 TM, rinse and repeat.I'm 5ft 2" and weigh 130lbs, still trying to lose 10lbs. I've been doing a version of Wendler's 5/3/1 with supersets and some added HIIT for the past year but don't feel like I'm making any progress. It's becoming quite difficult to up my weight and have been stuck at squatting 1x my bw for a while. This is a typical workout:
Squat 3x 5/3/1
Supersets- pushups, dips, hanging leg raises, good mornings 3x10-15
HIIT cardio (15-20mins)
What did you estimate your 1-rep max to be for each lift and 1 is your training max for each lift? What does each workout session look like? What about non-strength training days? How's your nutrition and how much total are you eating?
@Sam_I_Am77 , maybe I misunderstood. I do understand the idea of doing 6 weeks with a 7th week deload (skipping the deload after week 4 and then starting the next cycle right away.) But I thought that you mentioned something that he wrote about doing 5 cycles and then, on the 6th cycle, using the weights from the 3rd cycle. I couldn't find the article and you mentioned that it might not be online. I will try to find the post but the search function here is not great.
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Read up on 'drop sets' and do them for a week, it's good for when you hit a plateau0
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Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »I do 531. Have you been doing the deload weeks, either every cycle (4th week) or every other cycle (7th week) deloading as prescribed? Or, have you been resetting your weights, going back a couple of cycles. That is something that @Sam_I_Am77 alerted me to--Wendler wrote an article about resetting the weights after every 5 cycles. You would do cycles 1 through 5 and then on the 6th cycle you use weights from the 3rd cycle. After that move up like normal and then after the 10th cycle use weights from the 8th cycle, etc. Resetting might seem like going backward but it is really helpful.
Hi @jemhh, I may have written that wrong when I wrote it but it's 6 weeks and a 7th week deload. So 3weeks, increase TM & 3 weeks, deload, increase TM 3 weeks, increase TM 3 weeks, deload, increase TM 3 weeks, reset to week 3 TM, rinse and repeat.I'm 5ft 2" and weigh 130lbs, still trying to lose 10lbs. I've been doing a version of Wendler's 5/3/1 with supersets and some added HIIT for the past year but don't feel like I'm making any progress. It's becoming quite difficult to up my weight and have been stuck at squatting 1x my bw for a while. This is a typical workout:
Squat 3x 5/3/1
Supersets- pushups, dips, hanging leg raises, good mornings 3x10-15
HIIT cardio (15-20mins)
What did you estimate your 1-rep max to be for each lift and 1 is your training max for each lift? What does each workout session look like? What about non-strength training days? How's your nutrition and how much total are you eating?
@Sam_I_Am77 , maybe I misunderstood. I do understand the idea of doing 6 weeks with a 7th week deload (skipping the deload after week 4 and then starting the next cycle right away.) But I thought that you mentioned something that he wrote about doing 5 cycles and then, on the 6th cycle, using the weights from the 3rd cycle. I couldn't find the article and you mentioned that it might not be online. I will try to find the post but the search function here is not great.
@jemhh
I think the article may only have been on his membership site. Basically it would look like this
- Cycle 1 3 weeks (beginning TM)
- Cycle 2 3 weeks (add 5 & 10 to TM)
- Deload
- Cycle 3 3 weeks (add 5 & 10 to TM)
- Cycle 4 3 weeks (add 5 & 10 to TM)
- Deload
- Cycle 5 3 weeks (add 5 & 10 to TM)
- Deload & Reset
- Cycle 1 3 weeks (begin with cycle 3's TM)
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Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »I do 531. Have you been doing the deload weeks, either every cycle (4th week) or every other cycle (7th week) deloading as prescribed? Or, have you been resetting your weights, going back a couple of cycles. That is something that @Sam_I_Am77 alerted me to--Wendler wrote an article about resetting the weights after every 5 cycles. You would do cycles 1 through 5 and then on the 6th cycle you use weights from the 3rd cycle. After that move up like normal and then after the 10th cycle use weights from the 8th cycle, etc. Resetting might seem like going backward but it is really helpful.
Hi @jemhh, I may have written that wrong when I wrote it but it's 6 weeks and a 7th week deload. So 3weeks, increase TM & 3 weeks, deload, increase TM 3 weeks, increase TM 3 weeks, deload, increase TM 3 weeks, reset to week 3 TM, rinse and repeat.I'm 5ft 2" and weigh 130lbs, still trying to lose 10lbs. I've been doing a version of Wendler's 5/3/1 with supersets and some added HIIT for the past year but don't feel like I'm making any progress. It's becoming quite difficult to up my weight and have been stuck at squatting 1x my bw for a while. This is a typical workout:
Squat 3x 5/3/1
Supersets- pushups, dips, hanging leg raises, good mornings 3x10-15
HIIT cardio (15-20mins)
What did you estimate your 1-rep max to be for each lift and 1 is your training max for each lift? What does each workout session look like? What about non-strength training days? How's your nutrition and how much total are you eating?
@Sam_I_Am77 , maybe I misunderstood. I do understand the idea of doing 6 weeks with a 7th week deload (skipping the deload after week 4 and then starting the next cycle right away.) But I thought that you mentioned something that he wrote about doing 5 cycles and then, on the 6th cycle, using the weights from the 3rd cycle. I couldn't find the article and you mentioned that it might not be online. I will try to find the post but the search function here is not great.
@jemhh
I think the article may only have been on his membership site. Basically it would look like this
- Cycle 1 3 weeks (beginning TM)
- Cycle 2 3 weeks (add 5 & 10 to TM)
- Deload
- Cycle 3 3 weeks (add 5 & 10 to TM)
- Cycle 4 3 weeks (add 5 & 10 to TM)
- Deload
- Cycle 5 3 weeks (add 5 & 10 to TM)
- Deload & Reset
- Cycle 1 3 weeks (begin with cycle 3's TM)
@Sam_I_Am77
Ok, that's what I thought. I'm following that except I'm increasing 2.5 for upper body, 5 for squats, and 10 for deadlifts. I'm hoping to go to 5/10 after Thanksgiving when I'm eating more.0 -
Thanks for all the replies! I will definitely try resetting and dropping the weight to see if that changes anything.
From the calculator app I was using, it estimated my 1 rep maxes to be:Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »What did you estimate your 1-rep max to be for each lift and 1 is your training max for each lift? What does each workout session look like? What about non-strength training days? How's your nutrition and how much total are you eating?
Squat: 75kg
Bench press: 39kg
Deadlift: 82kg
Military: 30kg
I then follow whichever lift I'm doing with supersets, mostly bodyweight stuff and some HIIT cardio. On non-strength training days I don't do anything. I walk and cycle to university everyday so I guess that counts as cardio? I listen to my hunger cues so I'm not sure how much I eat. I stopped counting calories a while ago after I cut out processed foods and eating clean. Counting calories was too mentally stressful so I focused on eating better. I mainly eat meat, vegetables and fruit and snack on things like nuts, greek yogurt and rice cakes.0 -
Thanks for all the replies! I will definitely try resetting and dropping the weight to see if that changes anything.
From the calculator app I was using, it estimated my 1 rep maxes to be:Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »What did you estimate your 1-rep max to be for each lift and 1 is your training max for each lift? What does each workout session look like? What about non-strength training days? How's your nutrition and how much total are you eating?
Squat: 75kg
Bench press: 39kg
Deadlift: 82kg
Military: 30kg
I then follow whichever lift I'm doing with supersets, mostly bodyweight stuff and some HIIT cardio. On non-strength training days I don't do anything. I walk and cycle to university everyday so I guess that counts as cardio? I listen to my hunger cues so I'm not sure how much I eat. I stopped counting calories a while ago after I cut out processed foods and eating clean. Counting calories was too mentally stressful so I focused on eating better. I mainly eat meat, vegetables and fruit and snack on things like nuts, greek yogurt and rice cakes.
Okay, cool. What are your training maxes for each lift?
Counting calories doesn't work for everybody but you should have some means of gauging what you're eating; hunger pains is not accurate as that can be manipulated by blood sugar for example; it doesn't mean you're eating sufficiently.0 -
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louubelle16 wrote: »
The OP is following a method called 5/3/1 and drop-sets are not part of that program or a way to help it. She likely needs to make some nutrition adjustments or possibly the program itself, I'm curious to see her answers to the questions I just posted above.
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Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »The OP is following a method called 5/3/1 and drop-sets are not part of that program or a way to help it. She likely needs to make some nutrition adjustments or possibly the program itself, I'm curious to see her answers to the questions I just posted above.
If by training maxes you mean max weight for 5 reps, then for squats it's 65kg, DL is 72.5kg, bench is 32.5kg and military is 22.5kg.
I added supersets to try and increase calories burnt. I don't know what to do about nutrition though. I think I eat fairly well but if I can't rely on hunger cues then I'm not sure what else to do?0 -
I've been doing 5/3/1 for a year. I'm pretty much the same scale weight, but I'm done from a size 8 to 2. The first thing I would suggest would be to look at your diet. I'm 5'3 about 125lbs. I eat about 150+ grams of protein. I've found that in the last few months, I've needed to start adding calories. I'm up to about 2400 calories a day. No weight/fat gain; definite strength gains. I track my food on MFP to make sure I hit my protein for the day.
I just switched to 5/3/1 for PL (which is in Beyond 5/3/1). I like the set-up of this program. You might want to look at Beyond 5/3/1 and tweak your programming a little.0 -
Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »The OP is following a method called 5/3/1 and drop-sets are not part of that program or a way to help it. She likely needs to make some nutrition adjustments or possibly the program itself, I'm curious to see her answers to the questions I just posted above.
If by training maxes you mean max weight for 5 reps, then for squats it's 65kg, DL is 72.5kg, bench is 32.5kg and military is 22.5kg.
I added supersets to try and increase calories burnt. I don't know what to do about nutrition though. I think I eat fairly well but if I can't rely on hunger cues then I'm not sure what else to do?
Okay, if I'm understanding your correctly (perhaps I'm not) I don't think you have the program setup correctly.
These are your est 1RM's
Squat: 75kg
Bench press: 39kg
Deadlift: 82kg
Military: 30kg
Because when I wrote Training Max your reply was referencing your work sets, which indicates to me you don't understand the Training Max concept; I'm assuming this is what you're doing. That wasn't meant to be a shot at your, please don't take it the wrong way. It sounds like you're planning your weekly weights off of your 1RM. To check for understanding let's use the Squat and I'm going to convert to LBs for my sanity. 
Week 1 Squat
65% x 165lbs = 107, round to 105lbs x 5 reps
75% x 165lbs = 124, round to 125lbs x 5 reps
85% x 165lbs = 140lbs x 5+ reps
If that's what you're doing, then you're using the program incorrectly which is really messing with your progress. Using the Squat and week 1 training as an example, this is how it should look.
Est 1RM = 165
Training Max = 85% * 165lbs = 140lb Training Max *this is what the weights are based off of, not your est 1RM
Using a 140lb training max, your week 1 weights would be
65% = 90lbs x 5 reps
75% = 105lbs x 5 reps
85% = 120lbs x 5+ reps (PR Set)
See the difference? Now this will enable you to add Weight to your TRAINING MAX each new cycle and make good solid progress over time. Jim does allow for as much as a 90% training max, but I tend to start conservatively and use an 85% Training Max (which he also supports); always err on the side of slightly conservative with your weights / loads. If you want to add a little more volume to your training, you could do that first set after your PR set for 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps. So your training could look like... 65% x 5 / 75% x 5 / 85% x 5+ / 65% x 3-5sets x 5-8 reps.
Make sense?
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I've done 5/3/1 in a deficit, PHUL in maintenance, and am doing 5x5 now in a deficit.
Supersets and added accessory work for 5/3/1, in a deficit...no. I wouldn't do that. Too much volume for me and I wouldn't be able to stick to my deficit and feel well. If I were to go back to 5/3/1 in a deficit I'd probably do the big lifts, maybe some pull ups and dips, and call it a day.0 -
I've been doing 5/3/1 for a year. I'm pretty much the same scale weight, but I'm done from a size 8 to 2. The first thing I would suggest would be to look at your diet. I'm 5'3 about 125lbs. I eat about 150+ grams of protein. I've found that in the last few months, I've needed to start adding calories. I'm up to about 2400 calories a day. No weight/fat gain; definite strength gains. I track my food on MFP to make sure I hit my protein for the day.
Wow great job! How many calories were you eating before? And did you do any cardio while on 5/3/1?
@Sam_I_Am77 that definitely makes a lot more sense. I just plugged my inital numbers into one of the 531 apps I downloaded (which I've now deleted) and unchecked the 90% option without really thinking about what it actually was - guess I should really fully understand the programming first. My bad. Thanks so much for explaining it to me!
I think I'll take my 1rm down to 85% and see how much progress I make. Are the supersets still OK or should I just do 2-3 exercises like the program says?0 -
I used to do more cardio, cut back on that and added some accessory work: squat/bench/dl/ohp + 1 day is hip thrusts and 1 day is chin-ups/rows (1 rest day). I still do some low intensity cardio after lifting (just walking on the treadmill). I think I was losing weight around 1900-2000 cals. I was at a very low deficit (maybe 100 cals).0
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