5/3/1 Scheduling Question

JTick

When I started 5/3/1, I obviously started at the beginning of the program with the 3X5 week. As a result, I hit the 5/3/1 week on all my lifts at the same time.

I'm wondering if it would be better to stagger my 5/3/1 weeks. So, I would pull my heaviest deadlifts on that Monday. Wednesday, I would be on 3X3 for squats. Friday I would do 3X5 for Bench, and deload my OHP.

Does that make sense? Would it be beneficial to stagger my max efforts like that? Would I see better strength progression? Also, I run this program alongside training for half marathons. Would it be easier on my body to split it up, or would I simply drag out the fatigue from pulling my heaviest sets for one exercise each week?

Sarauk2sf

Personally, I would stick with the program as it is written. If better strength gains were to be made by staggering, it would have been written into the program tbh.

Regarding fatigue, I would suggest that you look at which you want to prioritize - marathons or strength - you can improve both, but trying to juggle both too much will leaf to performance issues in both. Most people that have a goal of running in an endurance, seem to do better either doing a 2 day full body or doing more of a split so 'legs day' is worked around the half marathon training. Now, strength gains will not be as quick, but at least you should have some progression, get enough lifting in to maintain LBM (assuming diet is good) and still allow for proper recovery for running.

a_stronger_me13

I agree with Sara on keeping the program as it is written.

What kind of accessories are you doing with the 5/3/1 sets? I know a lot of endurance athletes on MFP run 5/3/1 even while training for big events but they typically run something pretty minimal, either strictly the 5/3/1 sets with abdominal assistance or something like Boring But Big and they scale back the 5x10 work to 3x10's and do the alternate lift as an accessory so squats with deads assistance, deads with squat assistance, bench with pressing assistance and pressing with bech assistance.

It's difficult to make steady strength gains while training for an intense endurance race but at the very least either what Sara recommends or one of the suggestions above will help in maintaining LBM and keep up ROM during running season.

JTick

Thank you both for your thoughts. I'll keep it as written.

I run normal assistance work until my runs get to 8+ miles. At that point, I cut out some of the exercises, and sometimes drop from 3x10 to 3x8 until after race day. I do a big deload race week, lifting just enough to stay loose and active without risking DOMS.

I also go slow on the strength gains, and repeat cycles sometimes. I go slow on improving my running as well - I don't really care how quickly they improve, as long as they are heading in that general direction.

I also do legs on Wednesdays, and then Friday have paired bench and OHP so that my legs are fresh for my long runs on Saturday. I know Wendler suggests NOT pairing those two, but it was a sacrifice that had to be made to get my running schedule to work as well. So far, no problems there. My biggest concerns are continuing to drop weight, keep the muscle I have, and enjoy my workouts in the process.

Thank you both for your thoughts! You've given me some stuff to chew on, and I'll be back if I have more questions later. :happy:

tomcornhole

I just finished a 12 week experiment of staggering 5/3/1. I had squats and bench synced and then DL and OHP synced. Then I staggered it so I was a week apart. Then I got all confused and could not figure out how to deload with the stagger and my head exploded. So I gave up and I'm back to the program. Didn't see any real benefit to staggering.

JTick

I just finished a 12 week experiment of staggering 5/3/1. I had squats and bench synced and then DL and OHP synced. Then I staggered it so I was a week apart. Then I got all confused and could not figure out how to deload with the stagger and my head exploded. So I gave up and I'm back to the program. Didn't see any real benefit to staggering.

Thanks! I'm glad that someone else has had the thought as well. I think I've got a better handle on my assistance work...I've cut a couple of things out and don't feel as fatigued this week. I also moved some real life stuff around, and my schedule includes more rest than it did. Will move forward this way for a few weeks and see how it goes.

_errata_

Taken from here:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/how_to_build_pure_strength

4 Rookie Mistakes to Avoid
If you're going to try 5/3/1, avoid these four common rookie mistakes.

1. Don't customize:
This applies to any program published on this site, but it especially matters for 5/3/1. You must do the program the way it's written.

People ask the craziest ****. "Can I combine 5/3/1 with Westside for Skinny *kitten*?" Why not just do one or the other and make progress?

These same guys then ***** three months later on some message board that the program didn't work. That's like complaining that your girl got pregnant despite you using a Trojan condom, except you forget to mention you were wearing the condom on your freakin' fingers.
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