Westside, 5/3/1, and decisions

[tank]

Bros,

Currently i'm running madcow's 5x5 and being the proactive individual that i am, i am researching ahead of time for my next routine. i wanted to know everyone's opinions on the pros and cons of various powerlifting routines for the intermediate lifter of which you have knowledge or experience.

i hear and see westside barbell method, for example, every place i turn, but recently i read an interesting article concerning height and proportion and the difference in efficiency of a person's levers.

in a nutshell, the article explained a shorter person has more efficient levers as opposed to a taller person with longer limbs. because of this, the shorter individual should experience a greater level of success with increasing weight in a progressive overloading method.

the longer limbed individual is, unlike his shorter counterpart, inclined to have sticking points in lifts due to the comparatively inefficient levers that the westside barbell method of bands, chains, and box squats is perfect for working through.

because the westside method works for both shorter and taller individuals, thus the majority of weightlifters who try the system, while other methods do not work as well for taller lifters it seems reasonable to me that is the cause for the popularity of the program.

i am somewhat lost in the fray of information concerning appropriate training approaches for an intermediate lifter of "shorter stature", or if levers and height should have as much bearing as what I'm giving it at this point in my training career.


so, after my rambling, to reiterate:

What are everyone's opinions on the pros and cons of various powerlifting routines for the intermediate lifter of any program with which you have knowledge or experience?

[tank]

also, to clarify, because i am 5' 7'' (5' 8'' on a good day) and the information i've read i'm leaning towards 5/3/1.

[Fazc]

I think if you're young, enthusiastic and far from your genetic peak (as you are) you definitely do not want to do 5/3/1.

[tank]

Originally Posted by Fazc

I think if you're young, enthusiastic and far from your genetic peak (as you are) you definitely do not want to do 5/3/1.

really?! do you mean prior to linear progression halting?

[bruteforce]

I would advise against 5/3/1 as well. I got some decent gains out of it, but I am getting better gains faster off my current routine. 5/3/1 is great, but I would hold off on it until your lifts stall for a while.

[Fazc]

Yes, it's far too little volume and frequency.

Understand Wendler's experience level, goals and position when he thought up 5/3/1. He was losing weight, the bulk of his weekly work was on conditioning. He was already bull strong. He didn't need a massive amount of frequency he had years and years and million of reps ingrained.

You are in a very different situation to him. You need to get bigger, not smaller. You aren't as strong as you need to be and you haven't logged thousand of reps. You need higher frequency and more work. I'd stick with the Madcow or if you're very bored check out the sticky at the top of this forum; a few guys have had some luck with it.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by tank

What are everyone's opinions on the pros and cons of various powerlifting routines for the intermediate lifter of any program with which you have knowledge or experience?

My opinion...

Westside is an art form. I would not recommend Westside until you are certain you understand it. I also don't believe it's what you need right now.

531...very popular. I personally don't believe that a 4 week periodization is needed for most that use it. There are faster ways to progress and like Fazc said, if you're young, hard working, and still have a lot of strength to gain, it pays to be a bit more aggressive. I also agree with Fazc in that I don't believe it's enough volume, nor do I think once a week is necessarily the best for several of the lifts.

Personally I believe in pushing yourself every week until you reach a point where weekly or biweekly progression stalls, or to the point where your body is telling you that a break/deload is needed.

[Off Road]

I'm not sure why you guys would think 5/3/1 isn't enough volume or frequency? The overall volume and frequency is right on par with other great routines from Christy, McRobert, Iron Addict, and many more. And 5/3/1 is infinitely adjustable to the lifter's needs.

[tank]

first, an alibi, i did mean next routine, but not now. i plan to use madcow's until it doesn't work, then try a little more, then deload and try again, then move on.

anyway, next point. what kind of program would you suggest looking into for a lifter fresh out of linear progression?

[Shadowschmadow]

I had pretty good success with Texas Method, FWIW. I preferred it over Mad Cow. TM is simple and effective; which personally is what I'm a big advocate of. Complicated routines often turn out poor results from my experiences.