What program for strength do you use?

[DOMS4DAYS]

If you plan on actually competing I think there are several better options in terms of programming for PL. If you just want to get stronger for the sake of it and also get bigger then it's a pretty good program.

Thanks Doc. I think I'm going to give it a try. No plans on competing at this point. Stronger and bigger is the goal. Have been training BB style for years and it's becoming a little stagnant, looking for a change, and to progress and increase my lifts. What programs do you recommend that are better options for PL?

 

[Docd187123]

Thanks Doc. I think I'm going to give it a try. No plans on competing at this point. Stronger and bigger is the goal. Have been training BB style for years and it's becoming a little stagnant, looking for a change, and to progress and increase my lifts. What programs do you recommend that are better options for PL?

This will work for stronger and bigger.

For purely powerlifting and competing I'd suggest something with higher frequency and intensity for the competitive lifts. There's no shortage of programs that will "work" but it becomes a question of what will work BEST and what fits your lifestyle and preferences best. I prefer being in the gym 3-4 days a week. Some people go crazy if they lift less than 5 days. Some people's recovery is lower for whatever reason and they'll need more auto-regulatory programming or more programmed deloads. There's so much individual variability there is no one correct answer here. That's why it's best to teach yourself about programming or have someone knowledgeable to help you. That's not to say you cant accomplish your goals on your own or without getting this in depth in the topic but that you'll probably make more efficient use of your time, suffer from less wasted effort, and gain a better understanding into why things work for the future than if you just go by feel everyday.

As for specific programs I like:RTS, Sheiko, block periodization, and many more. Something I like to do that everybody should is run a program as is for 3-6months. Learn it. Learn everything you can about it. Then after running it as is initially, begin tweaking it to suit your needs and goals.

 

[DOMS4DAYS]

This will work for stronger and bigger.

For purely powerlifting and competing I'd suggest something with higher frequency and intensity for the competitive lifts. There's no shortage of programs that will "work" but it becomes a question of what will work BEST and what fits your lifestyle and preferences best. I prefer being in the gym 3-4 days a week. Some people go crazy if they lift less than 5 days. Some people's recovery is lower for whatever reason and they'll need more auto-regulatory programming or more programmed deloads. There's so much individual variability there is no one correct answer here. That's why it's best to teach yourself about programming or have someone knowledgeable to help you. That's not to say you can of accomplish your goals on your own or without getting this in depth in the topic but that you'll probably make more efficient use of your time, suffer from less wasted effort, and gain a better understanding into why things work for the future than if you just go by feel everyday.

As for specific programs I like:RTS, Sheiko, block periodization, and many more. Something I like to do that everybody should is run a program as is for 3-6months. Learn it. Learn everything you can about it. Then after running it as is initially, begin tweaking it to suit your needs and goals.

Thanks a bunch Doc. Appreciate your knowledge and input. I'm going to give this one a try as an intro and run it for as long as I continue to make progress. Ive always been a 5-6 day a week lifter but actually looking forward to this 4 day/wk program. I'll definitely be taking your advice about programming and learn what works best for me and also researching the programs you suggested in the meantime.

 

[Docd187123]

Thanks a bunch Doc. Appreciate your knowledge and input. I'm going to give this one a try as an intro and run it for as long as I continue to make progress. Ive always been a 5-6 day a week lifter but actually looking forward to this 4 day/wk program. I'll definitely be taking your advice about programming and learn what works best for me and also researching the programs you suggested in the meantime.

Progress should not stop with the way 5/3/1 program's it's progression. You also shouldn't get overtrained with it either. The basic progression scheme is to add 5-10lbs to lower body lifts and 2.5-5lbs for upper body provided you make it through the macrocycle. You also base your percentages off 90% of your 1RM so intensity is relatively low. All this means is that you should be able to run this program with very few major modifications, if any, for a long time.

Good luck to you!

 

[DOMS4DAYS]

Progress should not stop with the way 5/3/1 program's it's progression. You also shouldn't get overtrained with it either. The basic progression scheme is to add 5-10lbs to lower body lifts and 2.5-5lbs for upper body provided you make it through the macrocycle. You also base your percentages off 90% of your 1RM so intensity is relatively low. All this means is that you should be able to run this program with very few major modifications, if any, for a long time.

Good luck to you!

Right on Brother, thank you! Are you referring to the standard 5/3/1 program? Or the individualized programs built into "Beyond 5/3/1". Here are a couple. I am sure you have read about them. Which would you prefer knowing my goals?

Boring But Big 3-Month Challenge | T Nation
Beyond 5/3/1 Program 1.1 | T Nation
Beyond 5/3/1 Program 1.4 | T Nation

 

[Docd187123]

Right on Brother, thank you! Are you referring to the standard 5/3/1 program? Or the individualized programs built into "Beyond 5/3/1". Here are a couple. I am sure you have read about them. Which would you prefer knowing my goals?

Boring But Big 3-Month Challenge | T Nation
Beyond 5/3/1 Program 1.1 | T Nation
Beyond 5/3/1 Program 1.4 | T Nation

I'm not a 5/3/1 "guru" but I believe most programs run the same or very similar progression schemes.

For the size aspect I think you'd enjoy the Boring But Big option. The 5x10 on the secondary movement will add size for sure.

 

[UncleB]

Current 3 x per week split:

3-5 reasonably heavy singles for SQ, then some down sets of triples and 5s. DB BP heavy 3s, 5s, 8s, 15s. Some hang clean singles, heavy.

10+ triples for BP, DB military press 5s, rows and/or pullup 8s. Lunge 3s, deepest possible stretch.

3-5 heavy DL singles, followed by stiff leg 3s, followed by power clean doubles, all pretty heavy. Bench 5s, light. Front squat 5s and 8s.

Abs every workout, never very heavy. Sometimes DB hammer curls, BB hack squats, bench rack lockout max singles, all depending on how I feel. I change things around every few months, or when I stop making progress. The general strategy is to do something that helps each lift every workout.

I have to lose 23 pounds by June and I like to eat, so I do long slow cardio once a week and hope it comes off slowly. I'll quit that and eat my way up (10 pounds) to 275 if it interferes with my performance.

Edit: BTW, I'm 58 and had a long layoff last year. It took 7 months to slowly build back up to this kind of workload. I always pick my weights by how I feel on a particular day, not percentages. I always pyramid down, never up - I want my energy and focus for the heavy stuff. Example: Squat 45x5, 135x5, 225x3, 275x1, 315x1, 365x1, 405x1, 455x1x5, 405x3x3, 365x5x2. The first few are warmups, then I find out how much I feel like lifting with singles. I train raw, no belt, until a few weeks from a meet, but I've been lifting long enough that I don't need to get used to my gear.

 

[turcao]

Right on Brother, thank you! Are you referring to the standard 5/3/1 program? Or the individualized programs built into "Beyond 5/3/1". Here are a couple. I am sure you have read about them. Which would you prefer knowing my goals?

Boring But Big 3-Month Challenge | T Nation
Beyond 5/3/1 Program 1.1 | T Nation
Beyond 5/3/1 Program 1.4 | T Nation

The 1.1-1.4 Programs add an element of Dynamic training. If you're not into box jumps, ball slams, etc. you may not want to run these versions. Boring but big is pretty simple and effective and sounds like it fits what you're looking for. If you want to focus a little more on size check out:

Building the Monolith – 5/3/1 for Size - JimWendler.com

It focuses more on the squat and the press.

 

[Perrin Aybara]

Currently DUP mixed with some elements of other programs that have worked for me in the past. Four training days per week, squat and bench 3x and deadlift 2x. Each lift gets its own day to come first. Fourth day is extras and BB stuff like front squat, overhead press, curls, triceps, etc. Also, recovery work on that day. 15-20 minutes moderate cardio after each session.

It's currently looking a little different as I approach my meet I'm doing squats first every time and I've dropped a lot of the extras for more recovery stuff.

 

[DOMS4DAYS]

The 1.1-1.4 Programs add an element of Dynamic training. If you're not into box jumps, ball slams, etc. you may not want to run these versions. Boring but big is pretty simple and effective and sounds like it fits what you're looking for. If you want to focus a little more on size check out:

Building the Monolith – 5/3/1 for Size - JimWendler.com

It focuses more on the squat and the press.

Thank you brother! I read over that program as well. Definitely looks like a beast for volume and something I think I will run in the future. I am really starting to lean more towards a program geared for powerlifting vs hypertrophy. I started boring but big today using the 3/5/1 base. Today's workout looked super easy on paper especially starting off with weights based off TM but I underestimated I'll let you guys know how it goes. I plan on sticking with it for quite a while but will continue to research more!

 

[turcao]

Thank you brother! I read over that program as well. Definitely looks like a beast for volume and something I think I will run in the future. I am really starting to lean more towards a program geared for powerlifting vs hypertrophy. I started boring but big today using the 3/5/1 base. Today's workout looked super easy on paper especially starting off with weights based off TM but I underestimated I'll let you guys know how it goes. I plan on sticking with it for quite a while but will continue to research more!

You're welcome and good luck. Keep me posted on how you do with it.

 

[DonQKong]

How did you program the bulgarian routine friend?

Here's the synopsised version:

• 10 weeks
• Aimed for 2 sessions per day, hit around 11-12 per week
• 150 reps per day over 50 DL/Squat/Bench respectively
• First set warm up with 10 rep bar only
• 2nd and 3rd set were 5 and 3 reps each (or thereabouts, depending on how I felt)
• At 4th set, I would hit my daily maximum (approx. 85% of PR) - finding the daily maximum is key - what is the weight you can hit every day regardless of how hyped you are, PWO, music, partner, PT etc etc. Keeping it at 85% is key to injury prevention as well
• Then I would finish off with sets of 5-8 reps until I hit my 50 rep goal
• DL and Squat in the morning (100 reps), Bench in the evening (50 reps) + accessory work

Eat like a mofo, train like a beast !

Don

 

[SteroidsBro]

Why is lifting to failure not best for strength and size?

 

[SteroidsBro]

Are circuits just not how it's done? I've always felt like its better to pound on one muscle at a time, and I always thought the pump has to be way better this way.

 

[Hunch98]

@RodgerThat How do you like the app STRONG, is it purely for creating the workout routine, logging it or both? I'm looking to get back into logging my workouts to track progression.

 

[RodgerThat]

@RodgerThat How do you like the app STRONG, is it purely for creating the workout routine, logging it or both? I'm looking to get back into logging my workouts to track progression.

It's for both and it's my favourite workout logging app by far. Especially since it's free it's very much worth it I've used it for I believe 2 and a bit years now to track my workouts

 

[Hunch98]

It's for both and it's my favourite workout logging app by far. Especially since it's free it's very much worth it I've used it for I believe 2 and a bit years now to track my workouts

Nice, I will definitely try it out since I need to start tracking my workout again. I used rep counter for sometime but its not the most user friendly. Thanks

 

[ddp7]

Today i have reading about 5x3x1 seems very cool,what about that?