5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System for Raw Strength (2nd Edition) (10 page)

Get rid of all the meaningless crap in your life and your training. Get rid of the things that bleed your energy in the weight room and in life. What’s better for you? The Prowler or a stroll on the treadmill? What do you think is going to make you better?

Don’t fal for the crap that people are peddling on message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn’t matter. Start doing and believing in the stuff that works, and do it today and forever. You want science and studies? Fuck you. I’ve got scars and blood and vomit.

This is a call to arms for some of you. It is for me, too. Stop all the things that make you a pussy and steal your energy. Get your life back.

Figure 6: Squatting with Buffalo Bar

The Warm-up

Foam Roll

Perform 30-50 rolls per leg for the following areas of the body. I also recommend using a PVC

pipe (this is very uncomfortable but effective). The PVC pipe should be a 6” diameter and 3 feet long. Wrap the PVC pipe in athletic tape so it doesn’t slip.

Figure 7: Use a PVC pipe if your IT band is really tight.

 IT Band/Hamstring/Quad

 Lower and Upper Back

 Piriformis

Stretching

Do 3-5 sets of 10 seconds for each stretch.

 Hamstrings/Low Back

 Hip Flexors/Quads

 Shoulders/Chest

Jump Rope

Take only as much rest as you need between each exercise to perform it correctly.

 100 double leg

 50 left leg

 50 right leg

 100 alternating left leg and right leg

 50 high knees

 100 double leg

5/3/1
– You have the book, so you know what to do. Do whatever assistance work/template you feel is appropriate. Do not ask. Just do it.

Conditioning

The two best things to do are Prowler pushes/sprints, or sprinting hills. This is not hard to do, and it’s not hard to figure out. Just run. If you can, do better or more than you did the last time.

Set a goal for yourself in terms of time or distance. I used the number of carries a true workhorse running back would want in a football game. The minimum here is 20. Minimum.

Actual y, that should be the first half. That’s how I based my goal. If you don’t have access to a hill or a Prowler, sprint with a weighted sled. If you don’t have any of these, I don’t know what to tell you.

Figure 8: Running Hills in Springfield, Ohio

I don’t care when or how you get this conditioning done, and I don’t care whether it happens on your off days or not. This only time this matters is when you live in the Land of the Vag. Do it when you have time. Make time for it. Just get it done. Nobody ever got strong or got in shape by thinking about it. They
did
it.

Training Three Days/Week

You can use the 5/3/1 method by training either 2, 3 or 4 days per week. This is determined by your schedule and what works best for you. Training four days a week seems to fall in line with most training programs. In my experience, either way works well. When I train three days per week, I get much more motivated to train the lifts, and I recover much better. Here’s how to do it:

Week 1

Monday

Wednesday

Friday

Military – 3x5

Deadlift – 3x5

Bench – 3x5

Week 2

Squat – 3x5

Military – 3x3

Deadlift – 3x3

Week 3

Bench – 3x3

Squat – 3x3

Military – 5/3/1

Week 4

Deadlift – 5/3/1

Bench – 5/3/1

Squat – 5/3/1

Week 5

Military/Deadlift - Deload

Bench – Deload

Squat-Deload

Week 6
(Begin cycle over

again with new maxes)

Nothing changes with this program. Assistance work stays the same as it would with any normal training routine. Don’t try to overthink this.

Training Two Days/Week

Many people can only find two days per week to train. This is ideal if you’re very busy or you have a difficult time recovering. If you’re concentrating on a different training goal – you’re getting in shape, or you’re in-season in a sport – or you’re making a lifestyle change (schooling, family, job) that requires a lot of time and energy, you can try this split. For most people who train two or three days per week, the focus is on the training and the workout – and not on getting stronger. Most people believe that if they can’t lift four days per week, they can’t get stronger or better. This is what’s known as a “piss poor excuse,” and everyone has one of these. If you need to train twice per week, here are two variations you can try.

Option One:

Monday

Wednesday or Thursday

Squat – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Deadlift – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Bench – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Press – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Assistance Exercises:

Assistance Exercises:

 Chin-ups – 3 sets of 10 reps

 Dumbbell Rows – 3 sets of 10 reps

 Back Raises – 3 sets of 15 reps

 Dips – 3 sets of 10 – 15 reps

 Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets of

 Good Mornings – 3 sets of 10 reps

 Rear Laterals – 3 sets of 20 reps

Note: On your off days, I recommend doing some conditioning work (Prowler, hills, etc.) and lots of stretching and foam rolling.

For your assistance work, I would pick one or two exercises per lift (so, 2-4 total assistance lifts) per day. Again, the most important thing to consider is making progress on the main lifts. Here is another variation.

Option Two:

Week 1

Week 2

Monday

Monday

Squat – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Deadlift – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Front Squat – 5 sets of 10 reps

Safety Bar Squat – 5 sets of 10 reps

Straight Leg Deadlift – 5 sets of 10 reps

Good Morning -5 sets of 10 reps

Hanging Leg Raises – 5 sets of 10 reps

Weighted Sit-ups – 5 sets of 12-20 reps

Wednesday or Thursday

Wednesday/Thursday

Bench Press – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Press – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Press – 5 sets of 10 reps

Bench Press – 5 sets of 10 reps

Chin-ups – (do sets of 5-10 reps between all

Dumbbell Rows – 5 sets of 10 reps

bench and press sets)

Side Bends – 5 sets of 10 reps/side

Ab Wheel – 5 sets of 10 reps

Notes on Training Two Days a Week:

 If you’re training two times per week, I probably wouldn’t use a deload week unless it’s absolutely necessary.

 Don’t be afraid of real y pushing the assistance work hard on Option Two. This option is great for those lacking time AND who want to build strength and size. The assistance work is hard, heavy and high volume. You WILL get sore!

5/3/1 Full Body Training

Full body training is nothing new. Older bodybuilders championed this style of training and it has been popularized by Bill Starr and Mark Rippetoe in the strength training world. I believe that this is a great way to train, from beginner to advanced, provided that you program the training and the lifts correctly. There are three parts (the fourth part is optional) to this program and you need to do each phase for at least two months before you move to the next phase.

This will assure that your body gets used to the different training and the frequency of the lifts.

Remember that all percentages are based on your training max.

The basic outline of this program is that you will squat, do some kind of press and some kind of pull every day, three days per week. You will always squat first.

Phase One:

Monday

Bench Press – 5/3/1 sets and reps