5-3-1 Questions

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   I'm going to give 5-3-1 a shot since I have been kind of winging it since I got back into the gym 6 months ago and have stalled out in most of my lifts. 
In my past life I had really good results from structured periodization 
routines and have been looking around for something with a short 
"period" to accommodate throwing and my old age. 5-3-1 seems to be the routine du
 jour so I figured I will give it a try.

So my question is this - since I'm doing this to help me become a better thrower and this board is full of better throwers, what template and assistance work do others use and/or recommend for the 4 different 
workouts?

Also, do you really just add 5 or 10 pounds to your max at the end of the cycle rather than use your actual new max?

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Lance Creed Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 9/19/11 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 658	Post Options Post Reply Quote Lance Creed Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: 5-3-1 Questions Posted: 12/31/11 at 1:34pm
	I'm going to give 5-3-1 a shot since I have been kind of winging it since I got back into the gym 6 months ago and have stalled out in most of my lifts. In my past life I had really good results from structured periodization routines and have been looking around for something with a short "period" to accommodate throwing and my old age. 5-3-1 seems to be the routine du jour so I figured I will give it a try. So my question is this - since I'm doing this to help me become a better thrower and this board is full of better throwers, what template and assistance work do others use and/or recommend for the 4 different workouts? Also, do you really just add 5 or 10 pounds to your max at the end of the cycle rather than use your actual new max?
	Creed Brewing Kilted Lance

MAT$O Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Postaholic World Champ - '12 Joined: 7/19/10 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1242	Post Options Post Reply Quote MAT$O Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 12/31/11 at 2:28pm
	I think the 5/3/1 is a great basic training formula. With minor tweeks it can be pretty good for throwing. In regards to you max every cycle it works on sub maximal training. So that you take whatever weight you are rx'd and go for rep maxes. Once this done you can determine a estimated rep max from that with a simple formula. weight x reps x 0.0333 + weight = new estimated 1 rep max. This formula work really well as long as you maintain a couple of things. It will not work if you start cheating reps to get more reps. Also this is very evident when dead lifting more than other lifts. Since on rep dead lifts you can go touch and go and benefit from stretch reflex on the reps. A full stop at the bottom is required for this to work well on dead lifting. One of the other great things about 5/3/1 is how simple it is. Do not start to over think this program. Just follow it as it is prepared and be smart listening to your self. Also, do you really just add 5 or 10 pounds to your max at the end of the cycle rather than use your actual new max? IMO Take your new training max that you got using the rep max formula. Multiply that .9 and use that as your new training max. This will work best and continue to allow you to hit all weights during training thus making consistent gains. Where you make up ground will be how hard you push your last sets when you feel good going for a new PR. Hope this helps.
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Alaska Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 6/16/08 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 341	Post Options Post Reply Quote Alaska Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 1/01/12 at 3:57am
	I agree with Matt that it is a good program for a thrower. Since you're not working maximum effort, you should always have the strength to throw. A couple of ideas: Do the quicklifts on your squat and deadlift days, and do them before your main lift. For example: On squat day, work up to a fairly challenging clean. I'm guessing that your clean is no where near your max squat, so this shouldn't take too much out of you. If you're in season, throw before you lift. If you're concerned more about throwing than your gym strength, this is important and will make sure you're fresh for throwing.

thegnome Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Postaholic Joined: 9/22/04 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3169	Post Options Post Reply Quote thegnome Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 1/02/12 at 2:29am
	I've been more or less following the 5/3/1 for about 18 months or so. I might be weak as a kitten but I'm a much stronger kitten than when I started. Works great for those of us that kind of tend to just go in the gym and do whatever if we don't have a plan. Some suggestions: Stick with the adding 10 or 5 lbs per cycle. The weights sneak up on you and if you follow it and keep record you see it kind of creates a periodization type plan with little cycles without you really noticing it. Take the main lifts and keep track of your 10, 5, 3 and 1 rep PR's. This gives you something to shoot for in almost every workout. I also track the results of each projected max and use that to track progress or getting stuck. I actually average that out for each cycle and it lets me see if I progress from one cycle to the next. I am however a total goof with a background in stats so I am a complete complete psycho about numbers and realize that might be more than a little "odd". If you are stuck for time for a week you can combine the days pretty easy. Say you are doing three days a week and the kids get sick and you can only get in 2. Just drop the assistance stuff and do two big lifts on one day. Then remember to stop and get kids tylenol on the way back from the gym or the wife gets pissed....
	Andrew G Vada a bordo CAZZO!!!!