Beyond 5/3/1: Simple Training for Extraordinary Results (5 page)

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Deload

Deload

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3x5

5x1 @ TM

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3x3

5x1 @ TM

24

5/3/1

5x1 @ TM

25

3x5

5x1 @ TM

26

3x3

5x1 @ TM

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5/3/1

5x1 @ TM

TM = Training Max

Remember that at NO time would you ever
not
go for a PR on the last set of

the 5/3/1 work sets. In other words, if you can’t set a PR, then perform your “5x

sets,” you had best pick another physical pursuit. At all times in life, you must expect

more from yourself. This is

strength training and it is hard work.

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Boring But Big, 13 Week

Challenge

This 13-week challenge combines all of the Boring But Big challenges into one

condensed program. This is ideal for people who don’t want to spend half of

the year doing the BBB program, or its variations.

Week
Work Sets BBB Sets

1

3x5

5x10 @

50%

2

3x3

5x10 @

50%

3

5/3/1

5x10 @

60%

4

3x5

5x10 @

60%

5

3x3

5x10 @

70%

6

5/3/1

5x10 @

70%

7

Deload

Deload

8

3x5

5x5 @ 80%

9

3x3

5x5 @ 80%

10

5/3/1

5x3 @ 90%

11

3x5

5x3 @ 90%

12

3x3

5x1 @ TM

13

5/3/1

5x1 @ TM

Boring But Big, 2 Days/Week

Here is a great way to do a six-week challenge when training only two days/week.

Many

lifters can only train two days a week due to family, work or recovery issues. Here is

the

general template for this challenge:

Week One

Day One

Day Two

Squat – 3x5

Bench Press – 3x5

Deadlift– 5x10 @ 50%

Press @ 50%

Good Mornings - 3-5 sets of 10 reps (light) Lat Work – 5 sets of 10 reps

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Week Two

Day One

Day Two

Deadlift – 3x5

Press – 3x5

Squat – 5x10 @ 50%

Bench Press – 5x10 @ 50%

Good Mornings - 3-5 sets of 10 reps (light) Lat Work – 5 sets of 10 reps

Week Three

Day One

Day Two

Squat – 3x3

Bench Press – 3x3

Deadlift– 5x10 @ 60%

Press – 5x10 @ 60%

Good Mornings - 3-5 sets of 10 reps (light) Lat Work – 5 sets of 10 reps

Week Four

Day One

Day Two

Deadlift – 3x3

Press – 3x3

Squat – 5x10 @ 60%

Bench Press – 5x10 @ 60%

Good Mornings - 3-5 sets of 10 reps (light) Lat Work – 5 sets of 10 reps

Week Five

Day One

Day Two

Squat – 5/3/1

Bench Press –5/3/1

Deadlift– 5x10 @ 70%

Press – 5x10 @ 70%

Good Mornings - 3-5 sets of 10 reps (light) Lat Work – 5 sets of 10 reps

Week Six

Day One

Day Two

Deadlift – 5/3/1

Press – 5/3/1

Squat – 5x10 @ 70%

Bench Press – 5x10 @ 70%

Good Mornings - 3-5 sets of 10 reps (light) Lat Work – 5 sets of 10 reps

Boring But Big, The Rule of 50

This is a variation of Boring But Big that’s pretty simple to do. After the work

sets, drop

down and repeat the first work set. For example, do 65% of your training max on the

3x5

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week, 70% of your training max on 3x3 week and 75% of your training max on

5/3/1 week. This is exactly like the two Boring But Big Variations listed above.

The only difference is that you try to get a total of 50 reps by any means

necessary. This could mean

5 sets of 10 reps, or, 10 sets of 5 reps; the reps can vary on each set. You can do more

reps

or less reps per set – the point is to get a total of 50 reps with the first work

set of the day. Remember, this is done after the main work is done.

A good friend of mine would often time himself on the Rule of 50. He’d either go

for a set time, say 15 or 20 minutes, depending on the lift. With the lower body

movements, he’d give himself 20 minutes. The bench press and press were given

15 minutes. His goal was to do those 50 reps in that time period.

The key to doing this is not burning yourself out in one or two sets. You have

to be smart about this and not be overzealous in the beginning. This concept is

very similar to Charles Staley’s EDT program. I admit to not being terribly familiar

with EDT and I do not want to claim that this is the same thing without knowing all

of the specifics.

Week
Work Sets BBB Sets

1

3x5

50 reps total with 65%

of your TM

2

3x3

50 reps total with 70%

of your TM

3

5/3/1

50 reps total with 75%

of your TM

4

3x5

50 reps total with 65%

of your TM

5

3x3

50 reps total with 70%

of your TM

6

5/3/1

50 reps total with 75%

of your TM

5/3/1 and The Fatherland

When I was in college, the magazine that everyone would read was
Muscle Media

(not
Muscle Media 2000
, which came later, after Bill Phillips received his MBA).

The original
Muscle Media
was the only magazine that talked about steroids and by

god, if they talked

about something taboo I was going to read it.

I didn’t realize it then, but by the time
Muscle Media
made it into my world, I had

enough

lifting and knowledge base that I COULD have written for them. Like many people, I

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thought that if you wrote for a magazine or a big “lifting” company, you were really

something. I thought that you had a big lifting penis and were free to

impregnate all the young lifters minds.

I remember reading the magazine and some of the training advice and thinking,

“Apparently I’m an idiot because I’ve been doing it all wrong.” There is a huge

distinction between what you see written by a Never Has Been and what the

strong, fast and explosive Fuck Yeah Crue was doing.

One of the biggest fads that hit the training world via Muscle Media was

Charles Poliquin’s “German Volume Training” (GVT). GVT is nothing more than doing

10 sets of 10 reps with an exercise. People reported massive size gains from this

program; obviously the volume done with a big exercise, and eating correctly, is a

simple prescription for size. But where GVT falls short is strength.

I must admit that although there is a huge fascination with GVT, I think it’s pretty

stupid. When you have a high level lifter (or hell, any lifter) the soreness you get

from doing this kind of training is not worth the benefit. The Boring But Big

program is dangerously close to being too much for many lifters and not a very smart

program for people who have reached the advanced stage of training. There is nothing

wrong with being sore but being sore on a program whose results may not be worth

the soreness isn’t a great option. In any case, I was stupid enough to do it so

maybe you will be too.

This is a combination of the 5/3/1 program and GVT. The combination of the two is

pretty

easy to figure out. Here are two versions of GVT that you can use with the

5/3/1 Program:

GVT Template One

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Press - 5/3/1

Deadlift – 5/3/1

Bench Press– 5/3/1 Squat – 5/3/1

sets/reps

sets/reps

sets/reps

sets/reps

Press – 10x10

Deadlift – 10x10 Bench Press –

Squat– 10x10

10x10

Lat Work – 10x10

Abs

Lat Work – 10x10

Abs

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GVT Template Two

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Press - 5/3/1

Deadlift – 5/3/1

Bench Press– 5/3/1 Squat – 5/3/1

sets/reps

sets/reps

sets/reps

sets/reps

Bench Press –

Squat – 10x10

Press – 10x10

Deadlift– 10x10

10x10

Lat Work – 10x10

Abs

Lat Work – 10x10

Abs

You can use whatever percentage you think you can handle with the GVT work.

Generally people use one weight for all their sets, but that’s not set in stone. If

you do use one weight, I highly recommend you use a very light weight the first

time you try this program out, as you will get incredibly sore. You may only want

to run the 5/3/1 GVT for 3 weeks (one

5/3/1 cycle). Use a Boring But Big Variation for the first three weeks and then GVT for the

next three.

The amount of volume for the squats and deadlifts might leave you a bit crippled,

so use the GVT for 1-2 lifts only – squats and presses, for example. For the other

lifts, use any other

5/3/1 variation you want. Another great way of using the GVT in the 5/3/1 program

is using it in a 3-day per week program or even a 2-day per week program. The 3-

day per week program would simply look like this (this example has the lifter

alternating the 5/3/1 lifts and the GVT lifts):

Week One

Monday

Wednesday

Friday

Press – 3x5

Deadlift – 3x5

Bench Press– 3x5

Bench Press –

Squat – 10x10

Press – 10x10

10x10

Lat Work – 10x10

Abs

Lat Work – 10x10

Week Two

Monday

Wednesday

Friday

Squat – 3x5

Press –3x3

Deadlift - 3x3

Deadlift – 10x10

Bench Press –

Squat – 10x10

10x10

Abs

Lat Work – 10x10

Abs

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Week Three

Monday

Wednesday

Friday

Bench Press – 3x3 Squat – 3x3

Press– 5/3/1

Press – 10x10

Deadlift – 10x10 Bench Press –

10x10

Lat Work – 10x10

Abs