Just finished reading "Starting Strength" and I am...in love ❤️
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pennystaplessnyder wrote: »OK thank you everyone for your help! I'm hoping I can get in on kindle.
If you're interested in what the workout looks like here's my journal on 531 http://www.iron-sanctuary.com/forums/index.php?topic=1220.1545
Right now I'm on cycle 15, although I have more than 15 under my belt (long story).
Also, while it's not an app blackironbeast.com is an online calculator for 531 and beyond 531 (plus some other programs). You can plug your numbers in to see what each week would look like.
There are lots of variations with the program on on the bib site to play with. I print it off and it goes with me to the gym. Supposedly, one of these days, an app is going to be available but since I'm old school I prefer paper.
Regardless, I highly recommend the book.2 -
I use an app called Wendler Log for my 5/3/1. It's very customizable depending which variation of 5/3/1 you're doing.0
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I remember being really into him when I first started lifting. It made sense. As others have said, I've "outgrown" some of his beliefs as well. It is a decent place to start though...good thing it's called Starting Strength.1
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I liked 5/3/1/ while I was cutting as well. I never actually ran Starting Strength but I learned a lot from Wendler's as far as programming and working with percentages of my max. That really helped when I tried to program for myself.1
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I never did ss but I did do Texas method (after sl) and enjoyed it before moving on to PHAT1
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piperdown44 wrote: »pennystaplessnyder wrote: »OK thank you everyone for your help! I'm hoping I can get in on kindle.
If you're interested in what the workout looks like here's my journal on 531 http://www.iron-sanctuary.com/forums/index.php?topic=1220.1545
Right now I'm on cycle 15, although I have more than 15 under my belt (long story).
Also, while it's not an app blackironbeast.com is an online calculator for 531 and beyond 531 (plus some other programs). You can plug your numbers in to see what each week would look like.
There are lots of variations with the program on on the bib site to play with. I print it off and it goes with me to the gym. Supposedly, one of these days, an app is going to be available but since I'm old school I prefer paper.
Regardless, I highly recommend the book.
Thanks! I will check our your journal and blackironbeast.com, especially because I purchased the book yesterday and am already 2/3 of the way through it. I get turned off by figuring percentages of weight to use. I think in pounds and plates you know? So using an on-line calculator sounds good to me. I think I will just need to put my ego aside and be ok with progressing slowly...like increasing lower body by 10#s and upper body by about 5#s.
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pennystaplessnyder wrote: »piperdown44 wrote: »pennystaplessnyder wrote: »OK thank you everyone for your help! I'm hoping I can get in on kindle.
If you're interested in what the workout looks like here's my journal on 531 http://www.iron-sanctuary.com/forums/index.php?topic=1220.1545
Right now I'm on cycle 15, although I have more than 15 under my belt (long story).
Also, while it's not an app blackironbeast.com is an online calculator for 531 and beyond 531 (plus some other programs). You can plug your numbers in to see what each week would look like.
There are lots of variations with the program on on the bib site to play with. I print it off and it goes with me to the gym. Supposedly, one of these days, an app is going to be available but since I'm old school I prefer paper.
Regardless, I highly recommend the book.
Thanks! I will check our your journal and blackironbeast.com, especially because I purchased the book yesterday and am already 2/3 of the way through it. I get turned off by figuring percentages of weight to use. I think in pounds and plates you know? So using an on-line calculator sounds good to me. I think I will just need to put my ego aside and be ok with progressing slowly...like increasing lower body by 10#s and upper body by about 5#s.
Yeah, that's the nice thing about bib.com, it sets everything out and even lets you know what to put on each side of the barbell. You should have seen me one day knowing I needed 245 for a top set but forgot my sheet at my desk and I'm trying to "think" what plates go on each side (rolling the eyes). Felt rather foolish.....
Increasing 5 and 10 is what I do each cycle, assuming I get at least 1 on the 1+ week. Sometimes it appears the top number doesn't change but the middle ones do, so that's a gain.
Right now I'm on a calorie deficit so I'm only getting maybe 1 or 2 on the top sets (1+) but I keep adding each cycle and getting those so......it works, at least for me.
You can also change the order of the Big But Boring (BBB) if you choose to follow that. I do personally because it let's me hit each body part twice a week, one heavy, one light but with volume. For instance I hit OHP on Mondays and the BBB portion would be 5x10 bench at 50%. 90 seconds rest between sets has my chest, tris and front delts buring. Deadlift on Tuesday (heavy) followed by BBB squats, again 5x10 at 50%. With the 90 seconds rest I'm huffing and puffing and my legs feel like jello but in a good way. Wed off, Thur main is bench followed by BBB OHP and Fri is heavy squats followed by BBB deadlifting.
Whatever program you choose or however you set it up....have fun and happy gainz!!!
PS. And the deload week is simply a matter of preference. I usually go 3 cycles before deloading but that's entirely up to you and how much you think your body needs a deload.
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canadianlbs wrote: »
The original 5/3/1 book simply explains the lifts and gives an overview of the basic program, along with a few assistance templates - Boring But Big, INDJS, Triumvirate, and Bodyweight, if I remember correctly. Beyond 5/3/1 has a whole bunch of other templates and some additional training methodologies. Essentially, it has more options of how to attack 5/3/1.1 -
canadianlbs wrote: »Wendler is more "fun" to me, if that makes any sense.
makes total sense. i did a year at 5/5, then almost a year on 3x5. switched to wendler earlier this year and am much happier. not that i wasn't happy with the other ones initially too, but everything runs its course.
haven't done much reading relating to him though; i'm the kind of person who mostly wants a programme, finds a programme and settles down until it wears out.Jim Wendler has a low BS tolerance
to be honest, i don't think i've found anyone anywhere in the lifting 'community' who had a high b.s. threshold. it's just a question of which person considers what things to be b.s. they've alllllll got opinions, though
I liked Wendler, especially his stance on supplements. Until T-nation paid him to talk up their supplements.
Enjoy 5/3/1 more than any other program, but i always get weaker on it. Probably not advanced enough for it.1 -
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Yeah, that's the nice thing about bib.com, it sets everything out and even lets you know what to put on each side of the barbell. You should have seen me one day knowing I needed 245 for a top set but forgot my sheet at my desk and I'm trying to "think" what plates go on each side (rolling the eyes). Felt rather foolish.....
Increasing 5 and 10 is what I do each cycle, assuming I get at least 1 on the 1+ week. Sometimes it appears the top number doesn't change but the middle ones do, so that's a gain.
Right now I'm on a calorie deficit so I'm only getting maybe 1 or 2 on the top sets (1+) but I keep adding each cycle and getting those so......it works, at least for me.
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Ahaha! That would be me. Especially since I work out in my garage so early the math does not always come swiftly!
I'm at a pretty steep deficit right now. What are your experiences with lifting heavy and progressing while cutting? I feel like if I keep the progress slow, I will be fine. So far so good. I'm losing weight and fat but also upping my weights. I mean...not in an epic way, but still. I'm hell bent on losing fat and getting stronger no matter what the haters might say. Do you eat pre and post workout? How do you schedule your programming and how many rest days do you take?
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Another good bodybuilder to follow is steve cook. I always enjoy his V-logs and fitness tips.
Been working on my lifts in the comfort of my own basement as well.
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pennystaplessnyder wrote: »
Yeah, that's the nice thing about bib.com, it sets everything out and even lets you know what to put on each side of the barbell. You should have seen me one day knowing I needed 245 for a top set but forgot my sheet at my desk and I'm trying to "think" what plates go on each side (rolling the eyes). Felt rather foolish.....
Increasing 5 and 10 is what I do each cycle, assuming I get at least 1 on the 1+ week. Sometimes it appears the top number doesn't change but the middle ones do, so that's a gain.
Right now I'm on a calorie deficit so I'm only getting maybe 1 or 2 on the top sets (1+) but I keep adding each cycle and getting those so......it works, at least for me.
[/quote]
Ahaha! That would be me. Especially since I work out in my garage so early the math does not always come swiftly!
I'm at a pretty steep deficit right now. What are your experiences with lifting heavy and progressing while cutting? I feel like if I keep the progress slow, I will be fine. So far so good. I'm losing weight and fat but also upping my weights. I mean...not in an epic way, but still. I'm hell bent on losing fat and getting stronger no matter what the haters might say. Do you eat pre and post workout? How do you schedule your programming and how many rest days do you take?
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I'm on 1600 - 1800 cals a day so fairly steep right now. My strength drops about 10 days in, then stabilizes for about 2 weeks then slowly starts creeping up. I've surpassed previous prs when eating at this deficit and once I hit maintenance or a surplus strength goes up like a rocket. Normally, once I hit surplus strength takes off.
I load 1/2 my carbs in the morning since I lift over my lunch at work. I eat about 40 grams of carbs (cliff bar) an hour before lifting and have lunch right after. My usual morning food is 2 Greek yogurts and the cliff bar.
I follow the schedule Wendler sets out, Monday, Tuesday Thursday and Friday. Wednesday, saturday and Sunday are rest days from lifting but I'm usually doing yard work on the weekends or going for a walk.
Mon OHP, BBB bench
Tue deadlift, BBB squats
Thur Bench, BBB OHP
Fri Squats, BBB deadlift
Each of those days the first lift is the primary and heavy based on the weekly cycle. The BBB is 5x10 at 50% so light for volume.
4th week is deload but I usually only deload once every 3 cycles or when I feel I need it.
Quite a few of my lifting friends think 531 is probably one of the best strength programs to run on a cut. Progression is low enough you can still make gains.1 -
OP have you started? I'm thinking of switching over to 5/3/1 myself. I have until now shied away from programs with a lot of calculating %s because I workout out early a.m. and it's my dumbest part of the day
I've repeated PHUL several times and need a change up.
So nutshell is I should go to blackiron beast, pick a program (______???) and then print out my %s each week and get to it?0 -
OP have you started? I'm thinking of switching over to 5/3/1 myself. I have until now shied away from programs with a lot of calculating %s because I workout out early a.m. and it's my dumbest part of the day I've repeated PHUL several times and need a change up.
So nutshell is I should go to blackiron beast, pick a program (______???) and then print out my %s each week and get to it?
You could always use Excel (or some other spreadsheet) to do the work for you. Once you put in the formulas, it'll give you the numbers you need for each lift. For each month/cycle, copy the spreadsheet and adjust the training maxes. That's what I do/did and now have a nice easy file/spreadsheet to look at to see how I've progressed and see when I can somewhat expect to reach certain milestones.1 -
The Wendler 5/3/1 app from SaraSoft does all of the calculating for you. It is the one I use.
It let's you choose your bar weight and tells you what plates to use.
Graphs of your progress, cloud backups of your data, all kinds of stuff.
Almost any "Wendler 5/3/1" phone app will do most -if not all- of the math for you and track your workouts.
Free SaraSoft Wendler 5/3/1 app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sarasoft.es.fivethreeonebasic
SaraSoft Wendler 5/3/1 "Pro" version with some extra features:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sarasoft.es.fivethreeone
Wendler himself tells you pretty much everything you need to know to get started for free in interviews and articles.
Example: https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/531-how-to-build-pure-strength
Use Google to find more.
But to really understand the program, it's variations and philosophy, read the books.
5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System for Raw Strength (2nd Edition)
and
Beyond 5/3/1: Simple Training for Extraordinary Results
You can usually buy both books on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Simplest-Effective-Training-System-Strength/dp/B00686OYGQ/
https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Simple-Training-Extraordinary-Results/dp/1467580309/
Or directly from his web store:
https://jimwendler.com/collections/books-programs
I personally use First Set Last (either AMRAP or 3x8) from Beyond 5/3/1 instead of Boring But Big mostly because of time.
Do not screw around and mess with the program.
Do it as written for least 6 months before you act like you understand it better than Wendler does.
Make sure you get your starting weights correct, especially your "Training Max" even though you will probably think it is too light.
Don't add a bunch of accessory work.
If you can do more than 1 or 2 accessory lifts then you probably aren't working hard enough on the Big Four.
Consider adding Joker sets, FSL, BBB or something like that instead of 3 or 4 accessory exercises.
Stick to compound exercises as much as you can for accessory work; pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, dumbbell rows.
HIIT cardio only after lifting or on off-days.
Stay away from Steady-State cardio unless you don't care about making decent strength gains on the 5/3/1 program.
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You could always use Excel (or some other spreadsheet) to do the work for you. Once you put in the formulas, it'll give you the numbers you need for each lift. For each month/cycle, copy the spreadsheet and adjust the training maxes. That's what I do/did and now have a nice easy file/spreadsheet to look at to see how I've progressed and see when I can somewhat expect to reach certain milestones.
this works great for me too. you can have it auto-calculate your new training weight/maxes as well. i have it set up so that each cycle is its own worksheet. you just make a reference call back to the same cell in the previous sheet, and add the +5 or +10.
i like gloating over this kind of thing so i set mine up to also show me how much absolute volume i did for that lift and that week overall, plus the progression from the same lift in the previous week or cycle.0 -
I'm about half way through the Starting Strength book. I picked it up on a recommendation from another MFPer. I'm enjoying the technical explanations of the lifts. Once I'm done with it I will start reading Practical Programming. As for lifts I'm doing 5X5 on the big 4, plus some accessory work with rowing.
I am interested in this Wendler program mentioned on this thread, but feel like to need to at least finish up Starting Strength & Practical Programming before moving on to something else.
I also need some more lifting friends. So feel free to add me.
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OP have you started? I'm thinking of switching over to 5/3/1 myself. I have until now shied away from programs with a lot of calculating %s because I workout out early a.m. and it's my dumbest part of the day I've repeated PHUL several times and need a change up.
So nutshell is I should go to blackiron beast, pick a program (______???) and then print out my %s each week and get to it?
You could always use Excel (or some other spreadsheet) to do the work for you. Once you put in the formulas, it'll give you the numbers you need for each lift. For each month/cycle, copy the spreadsheet and adjust the training maxes. That's what I do/did and now have a nice easy file/spreadsheet to look at to see how I've progressed and see when I can somewhat expect to reach certain milestones.
^This. I keep track of all my lifts and progress in a spreadsheet and print out the workouts. Sometimes I forget to do that. No problem, I load the SS into my google docs and if I forget my actual paper, I can pull it up on my phone. I just hate taking my phone into the weight room.0 -
I think I might agree with you if I had to go to a gym. I don't know.iplayoutside19 wrote: »I just hate taking my phone into the weight room.
As it is, I am a bit more fortunate than some since I have equipment of my own.
I saved up for quite a while and added my income tax refund to buy myself a power rack & safety squat ("SS Yoke") bar.
I don't mind having my phone with me now since the 5/3/1 app I use has a rest timer built-in that I use anyway.
Guessing how long to rest just cannot compare to hearing an alarm go off, in my opinion.
I frequently find myself "ready to go", but the timer still has something like 30 seconds more on it.
Not resting long enough seems to be a common reason why people miss the prescribed reps.
5/3/1, Starting Strength and StrongLifts5x5 all agree that resting enough between sets is important.2
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