Wendler 5/3/1: Cycle 2

Yesterday I started my second cycle on Wendler's 5/3/1 plan. After the deload week my first step was to recalculate my theoretical 1RMs for the main lifts. I know this time around I have seriously raised expectations. Week three of cycle 2 will be tough, but based on what I've accomplished to date, I'm sure I will continue moving forward. I've already seen the kind of gains that boost my confidence in this plan—not only in the plan itself, but also that it's the right plan for me.

That's an important distinction I feel must be made. There are multitudes of cookie-cutter weight training, powerlifting and bodybuilding plans you can follow, the real trick is often just finding out what works best for you and your body type.

Yes, you can certainly find programs tied to the concept of somatyping (assuming, of course, you believe the  system is valid). Somatyping classifies body types into three broad categories: endomorph—people who tend to carry and store more fat; ectomorph—people who tend to be skinny and small; and mesomorph—people who tend to be lean and muscular.

Naturally, it's the mesomorph body type that most people aspire to have. Mesomorphs just naturally have leaner, more muscular bodies. It doesn't much matter what they do in the weightroom or in their jogging shoes because getting lean and strong is in their genes.

The only problem with somatyping is that most people likely don't fit neatly into one of the three categories. The study acknowledges that fact; the problem is, how would you devise a workout plan tailored to whatever hybrid you are? By this classification system, I define myself as somewhere between endomorph and ectomorph. I've never in my life ever been truly lean. I've always carried a padding of fat around my midsection even when I was a scrawny high schooler. Even when I was running three to five miles a day and lifting weights three days a week, I was still not lean. For years I ate a very lean diet and avoided sugar altogether. But still I was not lean.

At the same time, gaining strength and muscle mass also comes hard to me. I would go to the gym anywhere from three to five days a week, achieving neither noticeable mass gains nor leanness. Yes, I did get a little stronger, but the gains were not as significant as one would expect from the effort I was putting into it.

I discovered that all I really needed to know is that I am a classic hard gainer. It was Stuart McRobert's Brawn that entirely changed my approach to weight training.

I am convinced one of the reasons Wendler's 5/3/1 plan works well—especially for guys like me—is because it follows the same basic principles as McRobert's Brawn: basic heavy movements, split routines, plenty of rest days and shorter, lower volume workouts.

Yesterday's workout provided a good example of how I've improved on 5/3/1. In the last week I followed SL 5x5, I was able to do 5 reps at 115 on the overhead press (OHP). But I was really hitting the wall at that point. In yesterdays OHP workout, I did 9 reps at 110 and could have done a couple more (part of Wendler's plan calls for doing as many reps in the last set as possible above the target of 5, but he does not advocate working to failure). It's easy to extrapolate and predict where I will be next week. The periodization aspect of Wendler's plan is a valuable element that ensures success.

The key is patience. People follow straight linear progression plans because they want to see constant improvement. The problem is, obstacles on the tracks are always waiting to derail you. Periodization actually helps you avoid those obstacles; you just have to have the patience to stick to the cycles as prescribed.

For my second cycle on Wendler's plan, I decided I wanted to mix in some different assistance movements, such as shrugs, Pendlay rows and lunges. I just wasn't sure how to do that without sacrificing other assistance work I want to continue performing.

The solution—at least on paper—is to reduce the number of assistance sets of one exercise and mix in a few of the new. For example, yesterday's OHP plan called for 5 sets of chin-ups. Instead, I did three sets of chin-ups and then mixed in three sets of Pendlay rows. I supersetted the chin-ups and rows with dips. Wendler advocates doing pull-ups or chin-ups between pressing movements, so I'm going to try to do as many pull-ups and chins as I can, whenever I can. The workout, as usual, is logged on Fitocracy.

Today's deadlift workout calls for hanging leg raises and good mornings for assistance work, but I want to work in shrugs and ab crunches as well. So I'm cutting the 5 sets of hanging leg raise to 3 and working in three sets of ab crunches on the PowerTec Workbench ab machine. The shrugs will come at the very end. Wendler advocates high reps for shrugs, so my plan is to do three sets of 20 or more. I'm not sure right now how much weight that will be since I haven't done shrugs in years, so I'll have to experiment a bit. Between the shrugs I'll be doing on deadlift days, the Kroc rows on bench press days and the farmer's walk on weekends, I think I'm in good shape to improve my grip strength. I'm curious to see how this will affect my deadlift in coming weeks.

Cycle 2 is off to a good start, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming workouts. Oh, and incidentally, I used the Black Iron Beast 5/3/1 calculator to devise the base workout, but I had to create my own spreadsheet to customize. The important thing is to have a plan on paper as a contract between you and your workout routine.