The Year of Strength. in Exerbabble III

And then it hits me that I’m smarter than I realize. I know two things: Starting Strength made me dread squatting, but all my lifts went up comparatively the same to 5/3/1. And two, I really liked the cyclic nature of 5/3/1. Shit man, I backcycled three times in starting strength on squat, just like I planned. And my progress slowed to a grinding halt. I missed so many lifts towards the end. As well, if I check my logs for my deadlifts, the same thing happened. I’d argue I was squatting too frequently, and deadlifting not frequently enough.

Here’s my logic. Sets/week for starting strength:
Squat: 9 sets
Deads: 1.5 sets
everythingelse: 5.5 sets

sets/week for 5/3/1:
everything: 6 sets.

Except, for 5/3/1, how many of those sets were quality strength sets? Don’t get me wrong, the program will work, but I don’t think I’m strong enough for it to be worthwhile. I need more stimulation - but also a safety system to ensure I don’t burn out.

Day A: Press/Chins
Press 3x5
Weighted Chins 3x5
BB Bench Press 3x8
BB Row 3x8
Standing DB Shoulder Press 2x12
Wide-grip Lat Pull 2x12
(Cable Lateral Raise 3x10)

Day B: Squat/Dead
Squat 3x5
Deadlift 3+x3
Reverse Lunge 3x12 (BSS 3x8?)
Plank 3x
One-Leg Bridge 3x

Day C: Bench/Row
BB Bench Press 3x5
DB Row 3x5
Seated DB Shoulder Press 3x8
Pull-ups 3x8
DB Incline Press 2x12
Cable Row 2x12
(Dips 2x
Curls 3x10)

Day D: Squat/Speed Deads
Squat 3x5
Deadlift 1x5 (with 3x3 weight)
Speed Deadlift 3x3
Farmer’s Walks 3x
Box Jump?
Plank 3x
One-Leg Bridge 3x

I double-checked my logs and it turns out I did something similar for my upper body this past late spring, around June. So, I know the volume isn’t too high. I was doing 5’s, 10’s, and 15’s. As far as lower body, I was doing a lot of sets of heavy weight, similar to what’s burning me out now. Less sets, more quality work.

My basic idea is this: add weight/progress for 3-6 weeks. Then have a back-off week, AND backcycle 10%. For squat and deads, it’ll take two weeks to get back to previous numbers. That’s enough time to fix any form problems and get my confidence back up. I’m not looking at a week or a month from now, I’m looking at a year from now. If I can progress just five pounds per 6 week cycle (plus a week off, so seven weeks), that’s 35 lbs in a year. Which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s been a significant amount of time since I’ve added weight to my lifts. That’s a 270 squat, a 370 deadlift, a 210 bench.

Droppables: Items in parenthesis. I’ll only do them if my workout time is under an hour. I should be fine with my third pairings of 2x12 on my upper days, as far as time goes. If my deadlifts stagnant or backslide, I’ll consider dropping the set of five on the speed deadlift day. Lunges should stay, whether I like it or not. I need the unilateral work, it’s like your vitamins. As well, my grip strength has been flagging, and farmer’s walks are good for that. The plank/bridges are pretty much part of my cooldown, so that’s no biggie. I used to do squats followed by deadlifts during starting strength, so I know I won’t be flagged for time.

Hell, this past spring I did 5x5 squats followed by 5x3 deadlifts. I AM ALLOWED to tweak, but ONLY after each cycle. I need consistency. : )

Also, for my own records:

Deload Day A Reverse Lunges 2x12 DB Bench 2x12 (with incline weight) Face Pull 2x12 Deload Day B Squat 2x5 (light) Seated DB Press 2x12 (with standing weight) Lat Pull 2x12 (with wide grip weight)

Get stronger with 5’s, 8’s, and 12’s. Deload and backcycle. Three steps forward, two steps back. I can do this. I can do this…

Why stop at three sets of deads? 3x3 should be the requisite for increasing the weight, absolutely. But in terms of backcycling and stimulus, alternating like 8 sets of doable deadlifts with one set of five coupled with some speed deadlifts sounds like reasonable volume distribution.

Last updated November 19, 2014