Wendler’s 5/3/1

[swavescatter]

Meh. Grinding reps out is grinding reps out. I've hurt myself more on AMRAP's than attempting a 1RM. In fact, I've never hurt myself attempting to max out. Calculated reps are just that, and my numbers tell me I'm good for well over 315 bench but I've never been able to hit that. First time I grinded out 1 rep at 300 I was stoked. Nobody saw, but I'll know that I did it and felt I could eventually do more.

Racing your car in the 1/4 mile is much more likely to cause damage than idling downhill, but it's a rush you won't get otherwise. Skydiving is much more risky than driving to your destination. Buying meat at Costco is cheaper and safer than hunting.

Some people live their lives with no regard for safety or precaution, and some wear helmets inside their house in case a meteorite strikes. To each their own...

 

[mtwarden]

Ha!

 

[Poser]

Comparing AMRAPs to 1 RM is not an fair comparison. Cramming as many reps as possible into a arbitrary timeframe is arbitrary in itself and the. Reason you got hurt is because the arbitrary nature of make things fast that have no training benefit of being fast encourage improper technique.

A 1 RM is an expression of strength, but doesn’t necessarily produce a training effect unto itself in that 1 RMs are produced by a logical combination of volume and intensity. You can’t just go to the gym and do 1 RMs and increase your 1RM over time. In fact, powerlifters, who cycle to peak on a precise day, often come back to the gym considerably weaker and considerably depleted following a competitive meet. Some talk about not being able to get off the couch for 3-7 days after such a stressful event. They are typically training a few weeks of heavy singles to develop the neuromuscular efficiency needed to generate a true 1 RM.

I don’t necessarily think there is a “daredevil component to it. You aren’t going to die doing a 1 RM. it’s just that, as a strength trainee with limited resources to train, a problematic schedule due to life and hunting trips and the resources needed to dedicate to conditioning which will ultimately impede strength progress, why waste a valuable session obtaining a 1RM, which we know is not accurate anyway and even if it is, 1RMs are never static (world record holders who squatted 1,1000 on Saturday, May struggle to squat 950 a few days later), when you could be just be getting stronger with that same time? It’s your life, do what you want, but there’s no reasonable way to rationalize a purpose in testing 1RMs every 6 weeks. If you want a true 1 RM, sign up for a meet (with a non bullshit federation), get on stage in a onsey and put some numbers in the book. Everything else is a unproductive heavy single and any percentage based training that attempts to be more than approximation is bullshit for intermediate trainees. And by that measure, if you are missing 2,3,4,5+ weeks of year to go on calorie depleting hunting trips, getting an average amount of sleep each night and live a averagely stressful life, you’ll never have a reason to move beyond intermediate training since there are just too many setbacks along the way.

Knock yourself out, but those aren’t 1RMs you are performing.

 

[swavescatter]

We got an armchair trainer over here! LOL

I think this thread is derailing if we're arguing over the precise WPF-accepted definition of a 1 Rep Max that falls only on Tuesday during summer after an epsom salt bath and 100mg caffeine IV infusion administered by Mark Rippetoe himself (while wearing a onesie).

 

[amassi]

Cuz finding a heavy single to base a percentage driven cycle off of is totally comparable to 9 heavy singles over 3 lifts over the course of 6-8 hours. 3 of those attempts will likely be 102% of pre cycle 1rm, often times with a weight cut or the very least a water cut.
Same same...but different

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[Poser]

And to further muddy the waters, on Wendler 5-3-1, the percentage cycles are actually based up on a “training max”, which is a 10% reduction of a known 1RM. If a known 1RM is 300#, next cycle would be based on 270#.

 

[Poser]

Cuz finding a heavy single to base a percentage driven cycle off of is totally comparable to 9 heavy singles over 3 lifts over the course of 6-8 hours. 3 of those attempts will likely be 102% of pre cycle 1rm, often times with a weight cut or the very least a water cut.
Same same...but different

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Unless you are the only competitor in your weight class, then you’ll do all 3 attempts with 20 seconds rest. And, if you’re in the heaviest weight class, you don’t have to cut.

 

[Will_m]

If the argument is that a 1rm is dangerous because you are pushing yourself to the limit, it seems like it’s equally dangerous to push yourself to the limit for 3rm.

(coming from someone who does not have the ability to move a dangerous amount of weight)

 

[bard]

If the argument is that a 1rm is dangerous because you are pushing yourself to the limit, it seems like it’s equally dangerous to push yourself to the limit for 3rm.

(coming from someone who does not have the ability to move a dangerous amount of weight)

last year at my strongest i could rep a 6 plate deadlift fairly safely for 3-5 reps pain free. stepping up to a 7 plate 1rep PR was a different story. I heard things pop and crunch in my back that have never made that noise before. i strongly recommend people shy away from testing the 1RM on deads and squats too often once they are getting strong enough to hurt themselves. Wendler is a great tool though. use it a good portion of the year but shy away from too heavy of squats and deads the closer it gets to sheep season.

 

[TJE0705]

I did a 3 month cycle of 531 last winter and saw great results. I was still doing 2-3 CrossFit metcons a week too to keep the lung capacity up. Definitely will be doing another one this winter. Might do the whole 5 month cycle

 

[TILLER]

I did starting strength novice progression into the Texas method. That was the hard and wiped me out so I went to 5/3/1. I did not have good results, I seemed to get weaker. Maybe it was just me and how I was running it, or that I went into it from the texas method.

I've moved towards kettlebells and the simple and sinister, 10,000 kettlebell challenge, rite of passage workouts. Definitely not big strengthening workouts for hitting big bench/squats, but they are fun and seem more applicable for hunting/walking around with a backpack.

I will say that heavy squats made heavy vests/backpacks feel light on my shoulders/back. I could go a long way slowly, but got gassed easy if I tried to walk faster.

 

[PowerHunter]

I did 5,3,1 as a way of getting back to training heavy. I liked it, but wanted more so I added in "first set last" as 5x3, 3x5, and 3x3 I think it was for more volume/practice. I then went to Juggernaut and liked it but the progression didn't work for my mentality. I need to keep it heavier regularly to feel comfortable at higher percentages. Recently I've been doing an Alexander Bromley template called Bullmastiff and have been loving it. My squat and dead have been going nuts. It is an auto regulation program with increasing volume by added sets in the main variation and accessories over the mesocycle.

Any decent program (5/3/1, Jugg, Gray Skull, Texas, Cube, Wendler, on and on) that has some modality of regular progression that fits your life so you can actually stick to it, and that you enjoy, is going to benefit you.

 

[ccc9092]

I really love 5/3/1, I've run the NOV and currently doing BBB variation. Like others have said, it's a great program that cuts out all the BS. I was actually looking forward to working out rather than dreading it. If you are serious about running the program, buy his books as you will learn more about the program and it's variations from it than on a forum. I reccomend the 5/3/1 OG and 5/3/1 Forever books.

With all that said, programs don't matter if you don't have the discipline to be consistent. 5/3/1 or any program worth its salt; building strength takes time, dedication, good diet and lots of sleep. Or steroids.

For me personally, I really enjoy: Warm Up (Agile 8) > Jumps/Throws > 5/3/1 > Assistance Work
Sometimes I even add at MetCon on the end or switch up the Assistance work but the base 5/3/1 progressions are the base. I also really enjoy CHALK, by Ryan Fischer, his programs are awesome and I love the variety for when things get boring. His FBA also uses 5/3/1 progression but more (fun) assistance work.

 

[Maverick1]

But, did you kill an elk?

 

[decker1313]

I ran 531 back when I was strength training/powerlifting. It's a good program in that regard. Cardiovascular/endurance based programs seem to better prepare me for hunting.