Been working out consistently for about 3 months now using a beginner plan (Grey skulls lp) and I think I'm hitting plateaus just using linear progression. I'm up to:
DL: 120kg
Squat: 120kg
Bench: 75kg
OHP: 55kg
And I've had to deload all those weights twice, so I think now is a good time to find a different routine. I was looking at 5/3/1, but I'm not really sure I understand it well and there's a lot of variations (reddit also seems vague on details cause they want you to buy the books or something, idk). The volume also looks kinda ridiculous and I don't wanna spend more than an hour and a half at the gym everytime.
So yeah, sorta progress update, sorta asking where to go next.
You don't need the books for 5/3/1. I would strongly recommend that program though, it made me very strong.
Use the Black Iron Beast calculator website, pick the Boring But Big variation, less boring swap option, leave everything else recommended and pop your numbers in. That will be your basic setup. Four days per week will probably be easier and definitely leave you less sore than three, if you can manage that.
The basic setup for each day is 5/3/1 sets for lift one, volume sets for lift two, and one (or more, if desired) accessory lift. Days alternate between upper and lower body. You can add more lifts if you want after you get a feel for it.
You might consider changing up your auxillary lifts to see if you get a new stimulus on your muscles. I was always a mad cow 5x5 believer, though it might be early for you at 3 months. Though as long as you have the form down, a working weight, and a calculator or two, it's not like the weight is going to jump out and bite you. I (aspire to be) a big advocate for just trying stuff.
What did you find difficult to understand about 5/3/1?
I see, I've been focusing on traps/delts when it comes to auxiliaries because my pull-ups/OHP are still weak. But I'll try changing what I do more often.
For some routines on 5/3/1, the rep/set scheme is just written as 531 and I'm not sure what that is (I think it's 5/3/1 reps with increasing weights, but idk).
The base plan with 5/3/1 also has too much volume (I'm trying to avoid high reps because it's given me rhabdomylosis before) and I'm not sure where to find routines for variations on it.
I'm also not certain what a "cycle" is with 5/3/1 - there's a 4 week cycle described where I think weights are increased until you deload on the 4th week, but I've also seen that 4th week deloading is unnecessary.
Finally, I'm not sure how you go about increasing the training max since the cycles described earlier only increase weight based on a percentage of your TM.
I see this really good plan on t nation which, despite its... branding... seems like a solid layout for a plan [1]. It makes for a good read, but if you feel confident with it, the table with the percentages and the table with the example workout would be sufficient. The idea appears to be that it's a 4 week cycle on any given primary compound lift - the first week is the 5 reps, the second week is the 3 reps, the third week is the 5/3/1 so you can blast that 1RM. Then the fourth week is the deload since you're attempting to max out your central nervous system. I imagine if you're getting too much volume from 3x5 then you have issues beyond our scope (we can't do medical advice). I like this idea that, in the pursuit of getting bigger numbers, you're focusing in precisely on getting that progressive overload in by increasing intensity and decreasing reps. It's all based on your (calculated) 1RM and I'd probably just type in my working set into the exrx calculator and then put that number into a spreadsheet with the percentages from tnation [2]. There wouldn't be any guess work in what weight or how many reps you're doing on any given day, it might just take a couple cycles to dial in what your 1RM is so you can make the cycle be the appropriate amount of intense. Does this answer your questions? Does it seem like the move?
[1] https://t-nation.com/t/5-3-1-how-to-build-pure-strength/281694
[2] https://exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax
Yes, this answers a lot for me, thank you so much
i like greyskull LP and got further than you on it. are you eating enough?
When did you change your routine? And what actually prompted changing it?
I think I'm eating enough, but I've been a little lazy about it recently. Idk, I'll re-evaluate that.
Reverse Pyramid Training helped me break through when I started hitting plateaus on the beginner programs. It's pretty simple, you start your lift heavier and aim for 6-8 reps, then drop 10% and try to hit two more and then another 10% to complete the set. There are some guides online.
Add weighted pull ups and dips to help continue your upper body gains, they make a huge difference.
The other thing to start looking into is nutrition. If you aren't hitting your macros it gets much harder to progress after you start to get into heavy lifts. Protein is important but so are carbs because muscles burn calories and you need energy to build more. It can be time-consuming and I relied a lot on make-ahead freezer meals.
