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.

More farmer's walk

I followed the 5/3/1 script for the most part today. It's the end of my fourth week, deload week, so I kept the weight pretty low. Instead of going strictly by the plan, however, I did lift a bit heavier on the squats and did two sets of 13 reps at 155 and one set at 175, both more than was called for in the routine for deloading.

Even though I kept the weight lower, I still wanted to do as many reps as I could at the lower weight. I was torn between just continuing with the 20-rep squat experiment and sticking to the Wendler plan. I guess doing the two higher-rep sets is kind of straddling the fence. Next week for the start of cycle two, I'm going strictly by the book and following a plan I created with the Black Iron Beast 5/3/1 calculator.

The assistance work after the squats was strictly according to the plan. Five sets of leg presses on the vertical leg press at 355 and five sets of standing leg curls on the PowerTec WorkBench multisystem.

As usual, I've logged the details on Fitocracy. I still feel I'm getting shorted in workout points for the farmer's walk. It's harder than it looks.

After the regular workout was out of the way, it was time for the farmer's walk. I found some old Olympic dumbbell bars in the garage and loaded them up with 100 lbs. each. The hard part was that I didn't really have enough plates of equal weight to really load them up properly. I had two 25-lb. plates and a whole slew of 10-pounders. So I put a 25-pounder on each and then loaded up with 10s and 5s to make each side of the bar even.

It wasn't a perfect solution, but it would do for now. I was never able to go more than 60 feet with 100 lbs. in each hand. Most of the time I was lucky to get to the 30-ft. mark. After several sets with the 100-lb. dumbbells, I dropped down to 80 and did a couple more. I finished up with three sets with the 65s I carried last weekend. I was to go 150 feet with the 65s after multiple sets with the 80s and 100s.

Besides really kicking me in the pants, it also made me realize that I need more plates.

So I went out to Dick's today and bought two more 25s and four more 10s. I really wanted a couple of 35s as well, but they didn't have any. I have two 35s, and it would be nice to have four to be able to load up two dumbbell bars. Finally, I also grabbed two new Olympic dumbbell bars.

So I think I'm set for now. My plan is to keep going as heavy as possible on the farmer's walk and then drop down for greater time and distance under load.

While having lunch with my wife and son at Old Chicago, I watched the women's Crossfit Games on ESPN. It made me want to rush home and do some front squats and weighted pull-ups. Watching these women several months back is what inspired me to get back into shape in the first place.

I've made some progress, but seeing what these women can do makes me realize just how out of shape I really am.

Improvising

Today is bench press day with dumbbell bench press and dumbbell rows for assistance exercises. I wanted to increase the weight on the DB row because the biggest dumbbell I have is 65 pounds, so I was forced to improvise:

Yes, I basically use a chain to affix several olympic plates to the handle. Not quite the same as a regular dumbbell, but it gives me a lot more growth room in terms of weight without having to go out and invest heavily in a set of giant dumbbells.

Hurray for deload week!

Today starts week 4 of the 5/3/1 routine (Triumvirate). It's the last week of cycle one, which means, gasp!, it's deload week. And when Wendler says "deload," he means deload. I hadn't peeked at today's workout until I was standing in my home gym, and I was shocked at how much weight I was pulling off the barbell.

Yes, I breezed easily through those sets of OHP at a maximum weight of 65 lbs. I confess I did more reps than the five recommended. It was just too easy, so why not? I'm not going to be doing OHP again for a week anyway.

My body seriously needs a break after last week. I worked out six days in a row, with Sunday being my only rest day. So week 4 arrived at just the right time. On the assistance exercises, I'm really not backing off, though. I added more weight for the dips, mixed pull-ups and chins, trying to squeeze out a couple more reps, and even supersetted between the dips and pull-ups/chins (alternating between the two after each set of dips).

The full workout is recorded on my Fitocracy page.

The oddest thing about following periodization plans is that it actually takes some discipline to decrease the weights when it's time to cycle back. Yes, there's a part of me that's screaming, "Yes! Thank you!" But the other part wants to forge full speed ahead.

All last week I debated with myself whether I was really going to follow the plan and drop down on everything. When it dawned on me that Sunday was the only rest day I'd taken in a week, I figured it was probably a good idea to trust to the Wendler wisdom.

I've dabbled in periodization plans before like a burgeoning artist experiments with oils, and, frankly, I either lacked the discipline to follow them strictly or worried that not pushing myself each workout would result in a loss of strength. Linear. My mind was trained to think linear when it comes to weight training. That thinking is probably also what has led to much of my discouragement.

Throwing myself into Wendler's 5/3/1 is as much retraining the way I think about weight training as it is about performing the lifts themselves. I get the idea that heavy barbell training is the way to go. I get the idea that splitting the big lifts out on their own days makes sense, especially for the hardgainer like me. What's hard for me to swallow is that I make progress when I consciously decide to decrease the amount I'm lifting instead of increasing it.

And, yes, if you know 5/3/1, then you're no doubt wondering what I was doing working out six straight days. The simple answer is, I went off script to try improve my standing in the challenge in the 5/3/1 Raw Strength group. It was in fact the challenge that led me to question whether I should be deloading in the middle of competition. I did more sets than I was supposed to, lifted more weight, even performed lifts that were nowhere in the plan. All to stay out of the basement of the challenge standings.

In the end, my commitment to the Wendler plan has won out. I will likely finish in the bottom of the challenge, but it's the right thing to do for the routine and for my body. So, hurray for deload week!

Rest days

Today I'm taking a much needed recovery day from the workouts. I slept well, ate a big breakfast, took a little nap and have basically spent the entire day doing not much of anything. When I think back on the past week, I realize my body really needed this break.

I usually don't work out more than four days a week, but this past week, I lifted six days in a row. In retrospect, I realize that's probably overdoing it a bit.

On the 5/3/1 plan the scheduled work days are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Instead of taking off on Wednesday, I did a set of 20-rep squats followed by barbell and dumbbell curls. Scratch one rest day. On Saturday, I wanted to try out the Farmer's walk and performed a total of six circuits around my backyard course. Scratch another rest day. I essentially robbed my body of two important recovery opportunities.

On paper, it looks really good. People say, wow, you're really working out a lot! In truth, this is more than likely just a setup for disappointment. Those recuperation days are as important as--if not more important than--the workout days themselves. It's only during the recovery period that your body actually gets stronger.

Admittedly, a lot of people can do this and not only get away with it, but even thrive on the constant activity.

But not me.

For one thing, I'm not a young guy any more. When you start closing in on that half-century mark, you realize you may not be able to push yourself as much as you used to and continue to make any progress. For another, I've always been the classic hardgainer. For many years I made the mistake of trying to follow some cookie-cutter bodybuilding and powerlifting plans to no avail. When I finally wised up to what would really work best for me, I found myself working out far less than I used to.

At first I followed the three-day-a-week, whole-body workout plan, the old standard. It was fine to some extent, but here's the problem: To do cover all the bases in one workout, you may find yourself in the gym for two hours or more at a time. My workouts eventually ballooned to three hours, three days a week. One big problem with that is it's hard to find that much time in a day to work out. The other problem is that you rob your body of recovery time. The longer you spend working out, the less time your body has to recuperate. And the best recovery comes in the time period immediately following the workout. If you go from doing a set of heavy squats to doing heavy bench press, your body is expending energy that could be spent on rebuilding those broken down quads.

So the best plan is to get in and out as quickly as possible and give your body time to recover. And that almost certainly means splitting your workout in some way.

Believe it or not, the most difficult thing for me was to honor those rest days. I split my routine so I benched only once a week, squatted only once a week and deadlifted once a week. Weekends were strictly recovery days. And every time I rested, I felt lazy.

But the bottom line is, I got stronger. So I learned how important those recovery days are.

Now it seems I may need to relearn how to restrain myself as I did when I first discovered the value of logging much-needed rest days.

Farmer's walk: Improve your grip strength

Today I gave the Farmer's walk a try with my 65-lb. dumbbells. I'll have to experiment with other options to be able to increase the weight. Right now, I think it's enough to do multiple laps around my "course" with the 65s. The course consists of the back yard. I measured from one end of the area I'm walking to the other at 60 feet.

I completed six "sets." The farthest I was able to go in any one set was about 240 feet, which amounts to four laps.

As you can see from the log on Fitocracy, I was wearing down fast in the last couple of sets. It was all I could do to complete two laps in the last set. The dumbbells were dangling from my fingers.

The one thing I learned from this is that if you want to improve your grip strength, I can think of nothing better than Farmer's walk.

 

Yep, still cheating. Big time.

Yesterday was bench press day. In an effort to stay in the running in the 5/3/1 Raw Strength Brawl for It All challenge, I went a little off script. Again. Not terribly, really, but in the spirit of periodization, I'm committing serious sins here.

I'm violating the foundational principles of Wendler's program by working at a higher percentage of my 1RM than I'm supposed to--and by performing more sets than is recommended. All to get me more points for my workouts for this silly challenge.

But, you know what? It's not like nobody else is cheating. When I looked at the recent workouts completed by the current challenge leaders, I found that they are way off the Wendler script. Their workouts don't even come close to resembling 5/3/1. I didn't feel at all bad about yesterday's workout after seeing what these other jokers were doing. Frankly, I have trouble understanding it. If you're going to be in the 5/3/1 group and voluntarily sign up for a challenge in said group, why would you completely change your workout for the challenge? Seems to defeat the whole purpose of the group and of adopting a specific plan in the first place.

I called my workout "cheating," but I see now that I'm just fudging a little compared to what they're doing.

I wasn't supposed to go near my 1RM on the bench press, but I did 2 reps at 215, sandwiched between sets of 205 and then descending sets after that down to 155. Yes, way off the Wendler script. The DB bench presses and DB rows were, however, well within plan guidelines.

I finished up with three sets of triceps pushdowns. That was cheating pure and simple because there are few isolation exercises in the Wendler plan. In fact, the only isolation movement I can think of that's part of the Triumvirate is the leg curl. I'm not even sure why the leg curls are included as an assistance movement, given that there are so many others that hit the posterior chain, including deadlifts and good mornings.

Today is squat day, and I'm frankly not sure what I'm going to do. I've sort of been cheating the 5/3/1 plan on this anyway because of the 20-rep squat experiment. I want to stay in the labrat maze with that, but I think today instead of doing 3-4 sets of 20, I may start with one set at 20 and then do several sets at a much higher percentage of my 1RM--just like I did on the barbell bench press. For the points, of course.

Tomorrow I'm going to see what I can do with the farmer's walk. I will probably do as many sets as I can with 65-pound dumbbells just get a feel for it. After that I can cook up ways to increase the weight and the intensity. Hopefully, the weather will hold up.

Depending on where I stand in the challenge after Saturday's freelancing, I'll either go back to the Wendler script and deload next week or push onward in the true spirit of cheating. If other guys are going to throw the plan under the bus just to win the challenge, then there's no sense in my putting any real effort into it. Why would I wreck my whole routine just to get a virtual pat on the back from a bunch of people I don't even know?

At this stage in my life, it's good enough that I'm just doing something.