5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System for Raw Strength (2nd Edition) (12 page)

Assistance Movements for Upper Body:
bench press, dips, press, incline, dumbbell presses (flat, incline, standing), floor press, board presses, swiss bar press, swiss bar bench press, close grip bench, chin –ups, pull-ups, rope chins, ring chin-ups, rope climbs, hand/hand sled pulls with rope, lat pulldowns, dumbbell rows, barbell rows, chest supported rows, pushups, ring pushups, push press, dumbbell push press, single arm dumbbell bench press, single arm press

In order to accurately program the workouts, the lower and upper body days templates would look like this:

Upper Body

Lower body

Strength training

Strength Training

 Main movement (bench press or

 Main movement (squat or deadlift)

press)

 Assistance strength movement

 Assistance strength movement

Conditioning work

Conditioning work

 Full body movement

 Full body movement

 Assistance movement for upper

 Assistance movement for upper

body

body

 Conditioning movement

 Conditioning movement

 Assistance movement for upper

 Assistance movement for upper

body

body

 Core Movement

 Core Movement

You can mix and match any of the exercises that are listed above (or you can choose your own). However, you will be limited by what you have access to, the weather and the space that you have. For example, in the setting of a garage gym (and access to a street or yard) one could do the following workout.

Bench Press – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Squat – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Barbell Rows – 5 sets of 10 reps

Good Mornings – 3 sets of 10 reps

3 Rounds of the following:

2 Rounds of the following:

 Med Ball Slams – 20, 15, 10

 Hang Clean – 185x20

 Dips – 20, 15, 10

 Wall Sits – 2 minutes

 Burpees – 20, 15, 10

 Mountain Climbers – 30 reps/leg

 Chin-ups – 20,15, 10

 Chin-ups (these can be done both

days) – 15 reps

 Planks – 1 minute hold

 Pikes – 20 reps

For those that are new to this kind of training and want to start, my advice is to pick exercises that you know how to do. Make sure the loading exercises (squat, bench press, deadlift, etc.) done in the circuit make sure to keep them light and the reps low. Remember this: you can be as creative as you want or as basic as you want.

You don’t have to perform the circuits in the exact fashion as shown above. Feel free to vary them a bit but stick with the theme and the spirit of the programming. For example, a brutal workout would look like this:

Squat – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Press – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Straight Leg Deadlift – 3 sets of 10 reps

Dumbbell Rows – 3 sets of 10 reps

 Squat – 225x15

Done for 3 rounds

 Prowler Push – 2x40 yards

 Dips to failure

 Deadlift – 225x15

 Burpees – 20

 Sit-ups – 25 reps

 Chins to Failure

 Abdominal Wheel - 20

Notes:

 Be sure that each workout and circuit you choose is appropriate for you, not for someone else. It has to be tailored and suited to your strength level, your training level, the equipment you have access to and your current state of conditioning. Progress is not measured simply by how much you set martyr yourself during each training session.

 You don’t have to be fancy to be great – circuit training with basic exercises and coupled with some basic conditioning movements may be all you need. Fitness enthusiasts (aka Fitness Hipsters) rely on gadgets because they are easily bored and easily swayed by the sparkle of the latest and greatest. Lifers (yes, LIFERS NOT lifters) know where the results come from.

 Do not perform power cleans or any other variation of the Olympic lifts on upper body days.

 On the deload week, deload! You can still do conditioning work but keep it limited to non-circuits such as Prowler pushing, running/sprinting, etc. Let your body rest.

5/3/1 for Beginners

Generally, I tell everyone to just do the program as is, regardless of training age.

Of course, if you’re a trainer and are using the program with a novice athlete or someone new to training, simply use your experience to make whatever changes are required – though there shouldn’t be many.

Now if you’re a beginner and are working out without any guidance whatsoever, it’s probably best to just stick with the basic program. One of the worst things a young lifter can do is take advice from other beginners on message boards – they usually have all the advice and none of the experience.

Below is one beginner modification that’s permissible, and effective. It’s a subtle, easy way to add in some extra work on the main lifts without compromising the program or the philosophies it was built upon.

You perform a full-body routine, three days a week. Full body strength routines are the best way for novice lifters to quickly get strong, provided the program is non-retarded (i.e. adheres to an intelligent progression system).

Instead of just one main lift per workout (using the 5/3/1 set-up), two main lifts are used for additional weekly exposures. The second main lift, however, should not be performed 5/3/1

style; instead, use a standard 3 sets of 5 reps, starting at 55% of your training 1RM for the first set of 5 and increasing the weight by 10% each successive set.

The exception is the deadlifting day with presses as the second lift. Just do 5/3/1 here across the board.

The program is set up the same way – taking 90% of your max and working up slowly. All percentages are based on that training max.

The first thing I’l be asked is, “What do I do for assistance work?” Because you’re doing a full body routine each day and using compound lifts, you need to keep the assistance work to a minimum. Chins, dips, back raises, neck work, and curls will serve you well. Stick with that.

The program is nothing revolutionary, but it’s effective. When you’re given a training max and the exact percentages to use every workout, it removes al doubt as to what’s heavy, medium, or light. This is simple and easy to use for any beginner.

Intermediate lifters, provided the percentages on the non-5/3/1 days are lowered by 10 percent each set, can also use this basic structure. (As you get more experienced, you can’t handle the extra work at a heavier percentage.)

Monday

Squat – 5/3/1 sets/reps

Bench – 55%x5, 65×5%, 75%x5

Assistance work

Wednesday

Deadlift – 5/3/1 sets/reps

Press – 5/3/1 sets/reps

Assistance work

Friday

Bench – 5/3/1 sets/reps

Squat – 55%x5, 65%x5, 75%x5

Assistance work

Using Excel for 5/3/1

An easy way to plan and track your 5/3/1 workouts is to use Excel. Here’s a sampling of the formulas I use to plan my training. Since I’m not an Excel expert, I don’t real y know how to explain this if you don’t know what it is. If you know anything about Excel, these formulas should mean something to you. If not, simply use a calculator and figure things out the old fashioned way. I place an entire year’s worth of workouts in Excel – without the assistance work – and have tabs for each month. The following Excel sheet details the first two weeks of training.

Again, I’m not an expert, so this is just a reference guide.

 =CEILING is a function that rounds the numbers.

 A4 is simply the box is which the max number is put in. In the case of the military press, A4 contains the number 160.

 .The * symbol tells Excel to multiply the number is A4 by the number that follows it.

 The percentages are shown as numbers, (.65, .75, .80, etc).

 The number 5 that follows the percentages tells the CEILING function to round the nearest five pounds.

 On one Excel spreadsheet, I have 12 Excel books; one for each month. This way I can look at what the workouts will be like in the next year.

 I never put my assistance work in the Excel sheet.

Eating for Size and Strength

Nothing is more confusing than diet. There are a million opinions, books, experts and internet heroes claiming to know how to eat, what to eat and judging by the scare tactics out there, what NOT to eat. I’m not sure if there isn’t a food out there that hasn’t been linked to cancer, heart disease, death, diabetes and obesity. Even fruit has gotten a Frowny Face from some nutritional experts. Really? You think apples are what make people fat?

The bottom line is that if you want to be big and strong, your diet has to be big and strong. You can’t expect to eat like a mouse and lift like a lion. There are some exceptions to this rule but let’s just leave that for the ignorant.

Like my programming and training, I have made eating as easy and simple as I can. But you are going to have to suspend some of your Gotta Have Abs mentality if you want to get stronger. Some people will claim that they have gotten stronger when eating like a waif, but they sure as hel aren’t strong. There is a difference. If you want to move some weight, you are gonna have to gain some weight. This is especially true of squatting and any pressing movement. You want those lifts to go up? Eat like mean it.

There are two simple templates of eating to gain size and strength. One is meant for leaner, slower gains. The second is meant for those that just want to get big and strong. Both will work; you will have to decide what is good for you and your goals.

Plan One

This plan is for those that want leaner, slower weight gain.

Each meal will consist of the following, in this order: 1. 50g protein shake (you choose whey, casein or whatever you want or tastes good). You can mix this with milk or water.

2. 30-50g of protein from eggs, chicken, fish or beef. Eat as much whole food protein as you can but no less than 30-50g of protein. Do not eat any other food until this is done.

3. One serving of a fruit or vegetable.

4. Any amount of carbs you can stuff in your face. This can be rice, potatoes, oatmeal or some doughnuts. If you want the gains to be leaner, opt for less carbs and cleaner carbs. If you want to gain some weight, eat as much of whatever you can get your hands on.

5. Strive to start with 4 meals/day with this eating plan. You can work yourself up to 6 if you have the time and the appetite.

Plan Two

This plan is for those that want to gain weight quickly.

Each meal will consist of the following, in this order; 1. 30-50g of protein from eggs, chicken, fish or beef. Eat as much whole food protein as you can but no less than 30-50g of protein. Do not eat any other food until this is done.

2. 100g of carbs; this can be clean carbs or whatever you can fill your mouth with.

4. 50g protein shake, preferably mixed with milk and whatever else you can dump in the blender for calories. Peanut butter or whipping cream will add a ton of calories and fat.

5. Strive to start with 4 meals/day with this eating plan. You can work yourself up to 6 if you have the time and the appetite. If you want to put on size and get strong, you had better learn how anabolic food can be. Get in a ton of protein (at least double your bodyweight).

Plan Two (slightly revised)

This revised Plan Two is what I did in high school. It may not be recommended for everyone but it worked very well for me. So I feel obligated to share it.

1. Eat whatever food you want. And eat a lot of it.

2. After each meal, no matter how full, drink a huge protein drink with milk.

3. Do this 4 or more times a day.

How Dedicated Are You?

With any of these plans it is only going to work if you are 90% compliant with your diet over 6

months. Yes, 90% complaint. How do we monitor this? Use the chart provided to track each and every meal that you eat. In order for you to be complaint with these two diet plans (or any plan), you have to do these things 90% of the time:

1. Get a 50g (or more) protein shake for each meal.

2. Eat 30-50g of protein or more (eggs, beef, chicken, fish) for each meal.

3. Eat 1-2 servings of vegetables or fruit for each meal.

4. Eat 100 (or more) grams of carbs for each meal.

Every meal that fol ows the fol owing rules gets a “check” mark. ANY meal that doesn’t gets an “X” There are no “If’s” or substitutions. You either do it or you don’t. At the end of the week, add up the amount of check marks and divide that number by 28 (the minimum amount of meals you should eat a week). In order to hit 90%, you have to eat 25 “proper” meals a week. If you don’t reach this number you need to reassess your commitment. The proof is in the numbers and your actions. If you feel that 90% is too much, you sound very average.