Boring But Big

Odds are that if you've been in close proximity to iron bars and cutoff shirts for any real length of time, you've heard about 5/3/1, the training program developed by monster-truck-that-walks-like-a-man Jim Wendler.

If you haven't, well, now you have.

This is a strength program developed for people who want to get stronger. If that statement seems redundant, a quick glance through one of Wendler's books will tell you that this man is nothing if not direct. No frills, no "functional" training, no imbalance correction, and no equipment that comes in colors other than gray or black. He is a meathead worthy of the title, and while he doesn't go so far as to throw decades of lifting science out the window, he insists that the only measure that matters in the gym is the weight on the bar.

Though seven years of gym experience that encompass a Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and two training certifications, I feel I am qualified to agree that, scientifically, you should indeed lift weights in an effort to get stronger. So, you know, he has science to back him up.

I haven't had a goal to train for since competing in my first -and only- bodybuilding competition back during my Sophomore year at the University of Kentucky, so my training has been without constant direction for some time now. Like many lifters, I'd go through spurts of different programs. I did Crossfit for a year, and when my elbows stopped working I get really into the corrective exercises of rehab and prehab (go figure), then I went back to bodybuilding for size, then I decided I should have a six-pack year round (HA.), then I got into Olympic lifting....

You can see where this is going. Month after month, year after year of looking the same and being slightly more improved at whatever I was doing at the time but no stronger in anything else.

The one thing that has steadily improved over my years of program hopping has been my deadlift, due entirely to my love affair with it. Seriously, I love me some deadlift. When my deadlift hit 450 for the first time, I entertained the notion of entering a powerlifting competition, momentarily forgetting that you also have to be good at the squat and bench press and also 450 is not that impressive. Maybe I just missed that competitive drive, or maybe I just really wanted to wear a singlet, but I now have my sights set on the Georgetown Classic  as a raw full powerlifter in the 181 lb class.

Pictured: Style.

So after I finished my 10,000 kettlebell swings (really oughta post something about how that went...you know, like I said I would. Good, for the record), I needed to bulk up. At 167 lbs, I had plenty of room to go to remain in my 181 lb class. Which, finally brings me back to the 5/3/1 program.

5/3/1 is fairly simple. Your main lifts are the press, the deadlift, the bench press, and the squat. You work these lifts on separate days of the week using preset percentages based off of your training max. Your training max is defined by 90% of your best current one rep max in the gym.

Week one has you doing three sets of 5 reps at 65%, 75%, and 85% of your training max on your lift for that day.

Week two has you doing three sets of 3 reps at 70%, 80% and 90% of your training max.

Week three has you doing 5 reps at 75%, 3 reps at 85%, and 1 rep at 95%.

After this three week cycle, you add 5 lbs to your training max for your upper body lifts (the press and the bench press) and 10 lbs to your training max for your lower body lifts (your deadlift and squat).

There is a swarm of different variations and concepts, but that is the gist of the program. If you want more information, please support Jim buy actually buying the 5/3/1 training manual. His four basic principles, in particular, are fantastic, and I'd feel like I was blatantly stealing them by posting them here.

To gain some much-needed size (big muscles are strong muscles, after all), I decided to go with a hypertrophy variation of the 5/3/1 program called "Boring But Big".

In the past, "bulking" has usually consisted of me changing nothing about my training and just eating a lot. I get fat, then I hate feeling fat, than I diet off the fat and I'm back where I started with very little to show for it.

From the start, I had two advantages. The first was the 181 lb weight limit on my chosen class. I know that if I go over that limit and have to compete in the 198 lb class, I will be crushed, perhaps literally. The other is the nature of the program: high volume with slowly heavier weights.

I'm telling you all of this because I started it back in November, and it's been by far the most successful bulk I've ever done.

Disclaimer: I cheated. I didn't do the program 100% as written, because my ego thinks I know better than someone three times stronger and with decades more experience than me. My ego is dumb. Still, it sure did work.

The concept behind the program is simple. The 5/3/1 sets of the big lifts will keep you strong. To get big, though, you need lots of volume. This variation has you doing 5 sets of 10 reps of the bench press after your strength work on your press day (and vice versa) and 5 sets of 10 reps of the squat after your deadlifting strength sets (and vice versa. Yes, 5 sets of 10 deadlifts on your squat day. Yes it is awful.)

So where do you start on those five sets of ten? Easy: 50% of your training max.

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THIS. When you load up the bar with essentially 45% of your one rep max, it seems like a joke, or at the very least a warm-up set before you put the real weight on. I'll admit that my first week had me doing 5 sets of 10 reps on the bench press with 105 lbs. You read that right: an aspiring powerlifter doing 105 lbs. Most beginners start with more than that. It was humiliating, and as I was doing it I hoped people though I was coming back from an injury of some sort, like maybe I had my arms recently re-attached after a horrible farming accident. The weight felt like nothing, even when trying to throw it at the ceiling, and even after all five sets.

The next day I was so sore I could barely move my hands closer together. 50 reps is a lot, even with a "light" weight. Start light and add 5 lbs per week to your press and bench press, and 10 lbs per week to your deadlift and squat for your 5x10 sets. Going up slowly and steadily like this means at the end of the program, your volume for your squat and deadlift go up by 4500 lbs (90 extra pounds over the course of 50 reps) and your upper body pressing volume goes up by 2250 lbs (45 extra pounds over the course of 50 reps). That's a big improvement.

The last thing I'll say regarding this bulking program: Eat. Eat like you're not afraid to gain weight. Weight gainers, whole milk, jars upon jars of peanut butter; any high-calorie food that isn't junk should be going down your gullet in sizable proportions.

The Program

This is a nine week program that has you working out 4 days per week. It is structured as follows:

(note, exercises and stretches under main lifts are meant to be done in a superset fashion, alternating between the two)

Monday:

-Press: 5/3/1 sets and reps

   -Pulling exercise x 10 reps between sets (chins, rows, pullaparts, etc)

-Bench Press: 5 sets of 10 at 50% of TM (add 5 lbs next week)

   -Chin ups or pulldowns: 5 sets of 10 with moderate load

-Optional 3 sets of ten for biceps, triceps, and upper back

Tuesday:

-Deadlift: 5/3/1 sets and reps

   -Stretch hip flexors

-Squat: 5 sets of 10 reps at 50% of TM (add 10 lbs next week)

   -Ab work, 5 sets of 10 reps

Thursday:

-Bench press: 5/3/1 sets and reps

   -Wide grip pullups/pulldowns, x10

-Press: 5 sets of 10 reps at 50% of TM (add 5 lbs next week)

   -Dumbbell row: 5 sets of 10 reps at moderate load

-Optional 3 sets of ten for biceps, triceps, and upper back

Friday

-Squat: 5/3/1 sets and reps

   -Stretch hip flexors

-Deadlift: 5 sets of 10 reps at 50% of TM (add 10 lbs next week)

   -Ab work: 5 sets of 10 reps, optional crying

There you have it. By the end of this program I was much bigger and much stronger, going from benching 105 for my volume work to benching 155 (if you can do simple addition, you may notice I got ambitious one week and added 10 lbs instead of five. Ego, again, gets in the way.) My chest is much bigger, my arms are bigger (even bigger than when I finished by direct arm training program a year ago), and my squat is much, much better. This isn't some theoretical concept of bulking here; I did this. This exact thing. And it worked. It worked so well, I've put several of my clients on a similar program.

If you do it right, it will work for you too.   

Writing Your Success Story: Strength

We all have our reasons for going to the gym. Or at least we have reasons why we know we should go to the gym. You might even go through the process of writing down a specific, attainable goal that you consistently work towards.

 But how do you know if you've made any headway?

If you're going to write your own personal success story, you need definitive proof for yourself and all those who care to know that you've moved away from where you were and closer to where you want to be. This next series of posts will be about what you should be measuring in the gym to keep track of your progress and how you can go about it.

Hint: your goal should look a lot like this. Including the beard. Yes, you too ladies.

Goal: Get Stronger

It's a small wonder that even in 2013, where a strong back doesn't have nearly as many career advancement opportunities as a strong background in database management, strength is still a hugely valued attribute. What's even more surprising -and awesome, in my opinion- is that it's not just limited to rage-fueled jocks anymore; geeks, girls and geeky girls are finally inching their way into the iron game and finding their place under heavy weights.

But it's not enough to just show up at the gym and grunt, though grunting will account for most of your success.

Attained by: getting stronger in three big lifts, over the course of three months. 

Pick three big, multi-joint lifts, and try to improve your numbers in these lifts over the course of three months. Pick whatever three you want, but follow these guidlines:

-You should pick lifts that cover your entire body

-You should be comfortable with and have excellent form on these lifts

-You should pick a rep number to quantify your improvement. Said better, you should decide if you want to improve your 1 rep max, your 2 rep max, your 5 rep max, etc. I personally dislike 1RM's because they encourage bad form and are heavily influenced by outside factors; I like 3 reps, because ego is less of a factor and you'll get more training stimulus by keeping the reps slightly higher.

Here are some ideas for your big three exercises:

Back Squat, Deadlift, and Bench Press

The classic powerlifting combo is popular for a reason. A bit low-back intensive, but with the added possibility of getting involved in a growing sport.

Bench Press, Chin Up, and Front Squat

This is a great combo for anyone whose back can't handle frequent back squats and deadlifts.

If physique is a secondary goal, you should aim to be really good at chin-ups. If you're getting better at chins, it's either because you're stronger or leaner or both. I have this theory that for as long as you can do 10 honest, all-the-way-down, all-the-way up chin ups, you'll never be out of shape. And if you can do 3 chin-ups with 100 lbs of external load, you get your beast card in the mail within 5 business days.

Hang Power Clean, Push Press, and Bulgarian Split Squat

Are you an athlete? Whether you're on your high school football team or just play pick-up basketball every Thursday, you need two things specifically in addition to your other gym goals: power and single-leg strength. I like the hang version better than the pull off the floor, simply  because you don't get a whole lot of added power compared to the increased risk. The push press is a great way to get crazy upper-body and core strength without destroying your shoulders, and....no, really, the push gets the bar out of the "danger zone" as far as your shoulders are concerned, even when you use more weight. And the bulgarian split squat can be loaded up like few other single leg exercises.

Putting It Together

Strength is a goal that benefits with a lot of rest, so go with lifting 3-4 days a week. Here's how you would divvy it up, using the powerlifts as an example:

 3 Day Split, 3 RM Goal

Day 1

A- Back Squat: work up to a heavy triple over the course of 3-5 sets

B1- Deadlift assistance exercise (Romanian Deadlift, pull from blocks, deficit, etc.): 3 sets of 6

B2- Upper body pull:  3 sets of 8

C - Abs, your choice

Day 2

A- Bench Press: work up to a heavy triple over the couse of 3-5 sets

B1- Squat assistance exercise (Front squat, squat w/chains, overhead squat): 3 sets of 6

B2-  Glute work (hip thrust, glute bridge): 3 sets of 8

C- Abs, your choice

Day 3

A- Deadlift: work up to a heavy triple over the couse of 3-5 sets

B1- Bench assistance exercise (close grip bench, floor press, board press): 3 sets of 6

B2- Upper body pull: 3 sets of 8

C - Finisher: Max reps of Bench and Back Squat with 60% of your 3RM from this week

Stay on this program for 3 months and try to add 5 lbs to your 3 rep max every week.  Provided you're doing everything mostly right outside of the gym -eating enough calories and protein, getting enough sleep, drinking water, getting sleep, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, sleeping for the love of God- you'll be well on your way to being a modern He-Man. Or She-Ra. 

Knowing Where to Tap It

I heard a great anecdote over at the thePTDC.com the other day:

A guy calls in a plumber to fix a problem he's having in his house. When the plumber shows up and listens to a brief description of the problem, he heads down to the basement and kneels down at one section of a pipe near the water heater. The plumber takes out is hammer, aims it at a particular bend in the pipe, and with one clink of the hammer, the problem is fixed. The plumber smiles, tips his hat to the guy, and is on his way within five minutes. The guy is understandably impressed.

Two days later the guy gets a bill from the plumber for $500. The guy is outraged, and calls the plumber to dispute the bill. "All you did was tap the pipe with a hammer!" he says. "How in the world does that cost you $500 to accomplish?"

After another two days, the guy receives a bill that outlined the charges in his bill. It read:
-$1: tapping pipe with hammer
-$499: knowing where to tap it

To be fair, most of life's problems can be solved in some way with a hammer.

When I was just starting out training a year ago, I felt like I need to use the most expensive pieces of equipment in the gym to make sure my clients were getting their money's worth. I honestly felt guilty when I had them do planks and push-ups because I still thought of myself as a demonstrator of equipment, not a designer of programs.

"Trainers do more than demonstrate exercises."

When you hire a personal trainer, you're not hiring someone to show you how to do a squat. At least, not just how. You also need to know why you're doing this squat, with this much weight, this many times, before these lunges but after those mobility drills, for this many sets, resting this much afterwards, on this day of the week.

There is, believe it or not, a reason I went to school for this.

I'm glad I bought this program for my arms, because it reminded me of my own value as a trainer. I'm writing this an hour after I finished a tricep-focused workout that had me doing 100 rope pressdowns to end the day. For the record, it felt like my arms were about to pop, and I'm having trouble keeping them in place atop my laptop as I type. 

Could I have thought of that on my own?

Yeah, but I didn't.

Do I know how to do every exercise presented in the program?

I have a literal degree in knowing every exercise in the program.

Do I understand the concepts of eccentric muscle contractions, time under tension, and volume principles that are the basis for the design of this program?

Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, homey. 

But when someone else puts it all together, they provide a service that is absolutely worth the money.

I wouldn't have stuck with an arm program for this long if I had written it myself. I would have found reasons to switch to something else, or would have convinced myself I had to change something, or wouldn't have pushed myself as hard and let the weights just fall instead of being controlled and stopped at 8 reps instead of 12, and blah blah blah. But I have a sheet of paper telling me to do these things, and that's all it took for me to stick to a program and make some already noticeable gains in my physique. 

Now imagine if that piece of paper could talk, instantly clear up any questions you had, and look damn good in a 1/4 zip pullover, and you'd have yourself a personal trainer.

It also makes me think maybe I shouldn't complain about my doctor's bill from when I cut off part of my pinky. (But I'm still gonna.)

Justin is personal trainer in Lexington, Kentucky. He also writes the blog for his gym over at liftfitnessandwellness.blogspot.com.