5/3/1 Wendler's program--question

[Sharpy]

I'm looking at doing Wendler's 5/3/1 program. It's recommended a person do 3 workouts per week, BUT there are 4 workouts (Squat, Bench, Deads, Military). This means that from one wave to the next there are 9 or 10 days between doing workouts of the same type (e.g. 9 or 10 days from one Squat workout to the next).

Does this cause any problems? Comments?

Thx.

[WhiteGorilla]

Jim Wendler actually recommends doing four workouts a week, so that it will only be one week between each squat workout

[Mouse]

If you can fit in 4 WOs per week then go for it.
However, there are plenty of people here doing 3 WOs per week on 5/3/1, including me, who have not had any problems.

[atypical1]

Jim Wendler actually recommends doing four workouts a week, so that it will only be one week between each squat workout

Actually Mr. Wendler recommends that you work out the days that best work for you. On page 61 of the e-book he says that you can train either 3 or 4 days and that when he trains three days a week he's much more motivated to get to the gym.

I work out using the three day template and it works well for me. It's only been a cycle and a half though so it's a bit early to tell what my rate of advancement will be on this though.

Another way of looking at it is that it's only three workouts between exercises. That means if you wanted to you could elect to workout on the weekends too and simply workout every other day regardless of what day it lies on.

Oh, this is yet another reason this is not a beginner's program and why I think that Madcow or SL Advanced is a better program for trainees just moving into the intermediate phase.

james

[Buffalo150]

Sharpy-

Not to flog a dead horse here, but...

You really have to know what works for you and how your body reacts to work loads.

I'm in my fourth cycle and I am still struggling with the 4 day or 3 day question as well as how much assistance work to schedule.

James is spot on stating that this is not a program for trainees. Not so much because of the weighs involved, but because of the scheduling and programming.

-Bflo

[NorthstarUK]

Like James i'm just getting going with 5/3/1 but I was concerned about the not squating or BPing for 9 or 10 days, however i think i found a good way round this by being smart with the assistance work.

my program is as follows:

W/O 1 - Main lift = OHP, assistance - Dips 3 x 6, pullups 4 x NF (near failure)
W/O 2 - Main Lift = DL, assistance - Front squats 4 x 5, dragon flags 3 x NF
W/O 3 - Main Lift = BP, assistance - Power Clean 5 x 3, Incline DB Press, 3 x 6
W/O 4 - Main Lift = Squat, assistance - GH Raises 3 x NF, GM 4 x 5

As you can see I got front squats as an assistance exercise in the middle of the 9 days on WO 2, same issue with BP but got the dips as assistance on W/O 1 same with the other main muscle groups for the main lifts. This is pretty similar to what Wendler sets out in his basic template, he leaves the chioce of assistance work fairly open as its the main lifts that are the bread and butter of the programme.

[thegiorgio]

I am also doing 5/3/1 3 days per week, it gives me plenty of space to fast on non workout days, try new things like body-weight cardio circuits without having to stress about time.

[kidsoftheblackhole]

Oh, this is yet another reason this is not a beginner's program and why I think that Madcow or SL Advanced is a better program for trainees just moving into the intermediate phase.

james

Might have lost you a bit here -you mean the fact that it has 4 workouts, instead of 3?

[atypical1]

Might have lost you a bit here -you mean the fact that it has 4 workouts, instead of 3?

No, the fact that you are so open to changing or adding days, exercises, etc. There's a lot of flexibility built into this program which is wonderful but not for someone new.

james

[Sharpy]

Thanks for all the input. I need to move onto an intermediate program. I tried SL Advanced for a cycle---not sure I liked it. On SL Advanced, I went with the weights the Excel Spreadsheet gave me---the first couple weeks felt way to light, the next week or two reminded me of the basic SL program which I loved (but takes too much time now), the last four weeks I found some weights that were just too heavy---I realize, I can play with the amount of weight. Also, a 9 wk cycle seemed really long. Undecided, may go back to it.

I haven't tried Wendler's but it looks like something I'd like....shorter time, intense, always has some heavy weight in each workout, interesting because you can try max reps on last set......I love to lift, but frankly at age 47 my body needs a little more recovery, so something that spaces out the exercises a bit more than "every other day" looks appealing. My concern is that on Wendler's at 3x/wk the gap between main exercises is 9 or 10 days and my fear is that I might lose strength (probably a silly fear)---NorthstarUK had a good idea for this. I'm not concerned that Wendler's is/might be a "slow gainer". I'm intrigued that each Wendler's workout looks shorter, but hard (intense)---I think I'd like that combo.

Any other comments by anyone? Thanks once again!

[Buffalo150]

Sharpy-

To may way of thinking, 5/3/1 is all about recovery.

I started this program for that exact reason.

You can make your day as hard or as easy (a relative term) as you want when you get to the assistance work.

I have not tested my 1rm since I started, but I am confident that I am progressing nicely. I have pushed my body when I could and I did just the required work when I wasn't up to par. I have had far more good days than bad days and my body has responded well in all instances.

Give it a try for three months, I think you'll like this approach.

-Bflo

[knoted]

You won't lose strength in 9 or 10 days between workouts if that's what you are really worried about.

[Sharpy]

Thx to all!