Tips for 5/3/1 Log

[Deleted member 238667]

Hey guys,

I'm looking at doing 5/3/1 for a few months and wanted to know first of all, if anyone would be interested in a log? I wouldn't be able to be very strict with workout days, because I am a college student, but I would like to do 4 days a week, with some hypertrophy assistance work if time permits that day. I will not be tracking my calories tightly, mainly because at school, it is hard to find calorie information, but I am trying to bulk. I'm very thin and always have a very hard time putting on weight because I have no appetite, and feel sick if I try to force feed. My goal is to gain 15+ pounds by the end of the year, obviously not all muscle, but at 6'3" 158 pounds, I just need to bulk up anybody has any tips on the program, log, or bulking, please reply!

I've been training for a few years off and on, never made any big gains. My strength is not very good. My goal is to get a lot stronger so late winter/early spring when I try to do hypertrophy training, it will be more effective.

Thank you all

 

[compudog]

Hey guys,

I'm looking at doing 5/3/1 for a few months and wanted to know first of all, if anyone would be interested in a log? I wouldn't be able to be very strict with workout days, because I am a college student, but I would like to do 4 days a week, with some hypertrophy assistance work if time permits that day. I will not be tracking my calories tightly, mainly because at school, it is hard to find calorie information, but I am trying to bulk. I'm very thin and always have a very hard time putting on weight because I have no appetite, and feel sick if I try to force feed. My goal is to gain 15+ pounds by the end of the year, obviously not all muscle, but at 6'3" 158 pounds, I just need to bulk up anybody has any tips on the program, log, or bulking, please reply!

I've been training for a few years off and on, never made any big gains. My strength is not very good. My goal is to get a lot stronger so late winter/early spring when I try to do hypertrophy training, it will be more effective.

Thank you all

5/3/1 is a great program. I started lifting seriously 6 years ago, I went from 160 lb, pretty fat, to 195, way less fat. I'm 49. During that time I've also observed lots of other people at the gym, so I'll give you my opinion. BB splits won't do jack for you unless you're already huge, so don't waste your time. Full body lifts like 5/3/1 OTOH will put the mass on you're looking for, provided you bust your ass in the gym AND eat enough. If you don't eat enough you won't grow. If you don't grow you won't get stronger. If you don't get stronger your 5/3/1 will stall and you'll quit.

You need to track your food. Not forever, but for long enough to learn how to eat properly. The best starting point IMO is something like 30/30/40, which is 30% of calories from protein, 30% from carbs, and 40% from fat. That sounds like a lot of fat but in practice it's not that hard, since fat has twice as many calories per gram as protein and carbs. So what you have to do is write down everything you eat, and break it down by macros to see how close you are to 30/30/40. When I did that I found my protein was super low, in fact I didn't believe it was possible to eat that much protein. It took a while, and a lot of research, to get up to that level. Once you learn how to eat properly you can stop tracking your diet. You'll know you're eating properly when you start to grow and get stronger. That might not be 30/30/40, it will be whatever works to let you grow. You'll figure it out as you go, if you are persistent. However, let me say this. Over the 6 years I've been doing bodybuilding, I've seen a lot more people fail at it that I've seen succeed. So if you don't get to where you want to be, don't beat yourself up over it. Most don't.

So. Eat right. Follow 5/3/1 TO THE LETTER. And you will grow. Good luck.

 

[Deleted member 238667]

Thank you!

 

[Rodja]

5/3/1 isn't something that's great for someone without established, recent strength numbers nor is it something that is best run for a few months. 5/3/1 is about long-term progress and I recommend a minimum of 6 months with it and recommend a year.

 

[compudog]

5/3/1 isn't something that's great for someone without established, recent strength numbers nor is it something that is best run for a few months. 5/3/1 is about long-term progress and I recommend a minimum of 6 months with it and recommend a year.

I agree. I did it for I think 3 years. However, I do think it's OK for beginners. I talked about that with someone on here when I started, I think it was Red. I didn't think the lifts were suitable for beginners, but he corrected me on that.

 

[Rodja]

I agree. I did it for I think 3 years. However, I do think it's OK for beginners. I talked about that with someone on here when I started, I think it was Red. I didn't think the lifts were suitable for beginners, but he corrected me on that.

The lifts are 100% suitable for beginners. The programming, however, is not. Novices do not need to deload every 4th week nor go off of a percentage program as they do not have a reliable 1RM.

 

[Deleted member 238667]

The lifts are 100% suitable for beginners. The programming, however, is not. Novices do not need to deload every 4th week nor go off of a percentage program as they do not have a reliable 1RM.

What do you guys recommend then

 

[compudog]

The lifts are 100% suitable for beginners. The programming, however, is not. Novices do not need to deload every 4th week nor go off of a percentage program as they do not have a reliable 1RM.

Personally I think it's OK. I think you're right, novices don't need to deload, but OTOH, they can use that week to explore other lifts, or variations of the main lifts. I usually did that any way. In terms of the 5/3/1 rep scheme, I think it's fine. I did 5x5 for a while before 5/3/1 and even for a beginner I felt like the volume was high. Beginners won't get a *true* 1 RM for some time in 5/3/1 of course, because their form isn't there, but OTOH, they will get pretty rapid progress as their form improves. Honestly I don't think you *can* learn proper form until your strength is sufficiently challenged, so the 2 things (strength/form) go hand in hand, in my mind at least. This is all just my opinion though, I'm certainly not an expert.

 

[Rodja]

Personally I think it's OK. I think you're right, novices don't need to deload, but OTOH, they can use that week to explore other lifts, or variations of the main lifts. I usually did that any way. In terms of the 5/3/1 rep scheme, I think it's fine. I did 5x5 for a while before 5/3/1 and even for a beginner I felt like the volume was high. Beginners won't get a *true* 1 RM for some time in 5/3/1 of course, because their form isn't there, but OTOH, they will get pretty rapid progress as their form improves. Honestly I don't think you *can* learn proper form until your strength is sufficiently challenged, so the 2 things (strength/form) go hand in hand, in my mind at least. This is all just my opinion though, I'm certainly not an expert.

Proper form takes years to learn. I don't mean 2-3 either; you're looking at closer to a decade to reach real proficiency. That and technique constantly changes as the body develops and weaknesses are exposed. 5/3/1 is too low on volume of the main lifts for a beginner as they're not proficient at draining their CNS and can handle more volume. This is why you can train a novice pretty much up until a handful of days out from a meet; they don't know how to truly tax their CNS yet and need the constant practice.

 

[compudog]

Proper form takes years to learn. I don't mean 2-3 either; you're looking at closer to a decade to reach real proficiency. That and technique constantly changes as the body develops and weaknesses are exposed. 5/3/1 is too low on volume of the main lifts for a beginner as they're not proficient at draining their CNS and can handle more volume. This is why you can train a novice pretty much up until a handful of days out from a meet; they don't know how to truly tax their CNS yet and need the constant practice.

Yes, that's probably all true. I know my own form is still improving. Regarding volume, I don't know. There may be an age related factor there. I didn't start seriously training until I was past 40, so every time I've tried working at higher volumes it's flattened me. Younger trainees might have a different experience though.

 

[Rodja]

Yes, that's probably all true. I know my own form is still improving. Regarding volume, I don't know. There may be an age related factor there. I didn't start seriously training until I was past 40, so every time I've tried working at higher volumes it's flattened me. Younger trainees might have a different experience though.

You have to build to higher volumes and can only hold them for short periods of time. Anything that can be done year round likely isn't going to elicit the stress needed for adaptation.