Mike's 5-3-1 Fullbody Routine

[Pull14]

Its been some time since looking at 5/3/1 but I believe Wendler recommendations (via 5/3/1 powerlifting) was week 1: 3x3 then a few heavy singles. week 2: 3x5 (don't push last set), and then week 3 was 5/3/1 with a a few heavy singles. On weeks 1 and 3, push the last set but leave some gas in the tank so you can nail those singles.

Regular signs of progress with 5/3/1 will mostly come from rep PR's ie: going from 8x200 to 8x210 or 3x300 to 3x320. If you want to know where you stand, every 4-5 months work up to a 1 rep max on week 3.

[MikeM]

Thanks, Pull! That sounds about right. Thanks Elijah!

OK, I've been reading a ton about 5-3-1 the last few days, and I think my plan is still pretty good, but I think it is a bad idea to mix cleans and Push press together. The focus needs to be on the press as my main goal is a stronger press in general.

Also, I don't like the idea of 5 rep cleans, also my pp is higher than my cleans at the moment, so I don't want one to hold up the other, and finally I defintly don't want one hampering the other as cleans might do once they get higher in weight and are an actual expenditure of serious energy. The OH part for me is more important this year, so I think it should be a focus unto itself.

So, tomorrow is a bit different. I'm thinking swings, then do Push Press or OHP on it's own 5-3-1. Then work up to a max clean or two, with backoff 2-3 sets of 3, probably with a few reps of some medium OHP or PP in there just to keep the technique solid. And the cleans will get me fired up for deadlifts which is their purpose to begin with. I'm thinking I will actually do OHP instead of PP, but add in some PP at the end because they are fun and I likie them, but I think OHP will have more carryover to my current goals.

Anyway, still a work in progress, so let me know what you think of the change.

Monday, cycle 1, week 1* (I'm really starting over, so back to week 1)

P. Snatch:
2x1x 95 (bad day with this, pressed both out, so quit)*

Cleans: 3x 3x 120

Squat:
5x 205, 215
7x 230 (PR for reps )

Bench:
175x 7, 7, 7 (21, rep goal met, add 5)

Hi-Row:
160x 9, 8, 8 (25, rep goal met, add 5)

No time for Abs as I only had an hour to get this in, so rolled out and did flexibility stuff at home.

*Was pressed for time, so no video this time, but I will video next chance I get. However, I did do better hooking both snatch and cleans, tape helped, but also on the snatch, I realized I needed to hook one hand at a time. I was trying to do both at same time which didn't work, this allowed me to keep my hands further out and hold the bar better. I still might go to straps though as snatch grip is tough. We'll see.

Anyway, that's the news. I'll catch up with folks later as I am hugely busy the next couple days.

[BendtheBar]

Squat:
5x 205, 215
7x 230 (PR for reps )

Congrats Anton.

[tank]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

Congrats Anton.

LOL. I was wondering who the hell was Anton!

Great work Anton, congrats.

[MikeM]

Man, posting workouts three times a week certainly puts your log back a ways! Took me three pages to find it! Somebody needs to post something random in it everyday so It's not so hard to find!

Thanks, BtB! I'll legally change it to Anton, the day I squat 405.

So, I made some changes to today: Main lift is now OHP 5-3-1, followed by Front Squats, then Cleans and a few PP thrown in, then second main lift is Deadlifts 5-3-1, followed by Chins and Dips. It's tough, but I like it so far.

Wednesday, cycle 1, week 1

Warmup: Rowing and then Swings 3x 15x 20

OHP:
5x 100, 110
9x 115 (PR for reps)

Front Squat:
5x 3x 135 (sets and reps met, add 5)*

Extra Snatch session for a video:
1x 95

C+P:
Worked up to 5x 1x 135

Deadlift:
5x 240, 255
6x 275 (mini PR for reps, +1)

Chins: 4,4,4,3,2
ss w/ Dips: 10, 10, 10, 7, 5

Back yoga stuff and some hamstring stretches

Here's some video to show my hook grip
95 snatch:

MVI 5800 - YouTube

MVI 5800 - YouTube

95 clean:

MVI 5801 - YouTube

MVI 5801 - YouTube

135 Clean and Press:

MVI 5802 - YouTube

MVI 5802 - YouTube

Kinda ugly, but some days with cleans are like that.
255 Deadlifts:

MVI 5803 - YouTube

MVI 5803 - YouTube

Trying to pull from my heels more. Obviously with mixed success. A work in progress.

Anyway, so I decided OHP needs to be the main lift and C+P is an assistance. I'll just hit those as I see fit. Maybe work up to a max, maybe just hone form, whatever I feel like. That way the main press work gets done, and there's no pressure on working my cleans up in weight quickly. I like this plan. Plus, they are a fantastic warmup for Deadlifts.

For Front Squats, I'm going to try Mike's Bench plan. Hit 5x3, then add 5 pounds next time, and keep adding as long as I'm hitting the 5 sets, drop sets when I can't hit them for 3 and keep going until I'm down to 1x3. Then start over. Should be interesting. I'm doing these beltless for now too.

Deadlifts felt great, but obviously there's still some work to be done on getting the bar moving, but standing up as opposed to letting my hips get high, etc.

Finally, the chins and Dips were butt hard! I've never done these after heavy deadlifting before and they thrashed me. So, I'll work into them without killing myself. Just work my way up to 5x5 Chins, then add weight, same with Dips. Get to 5x 12, then add weight. Not trying to major in minor for you Wendler fans out there! Same with the cleans btw, they're a helper right now, not the main focus.

There you go enough rambling.

[tank]

Glad to see you getting after it, Mike. I can't watch the videos at work, but I'll watch them before or after the gym.

Good to see your zeroing in on your programming. There are so many moving pieces (it seems, anyway)! Remember your goals so that you're only doing what's necessary to achieve them, and so you can test yourself to measure your progress.

Great work, Mike. You are training the right way, for sure.

[BendtheBar]

Deadlifts felt great

Yeah buddy. Deadlift PR, deadlift PR.

And your snatch looks good. Awkward to say, but the truth.

[tank]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

And your snatch looks good. Awkward to say, but the truth.

LOL

[miked96]

PRs are rolling and I am jealous of those flexible elbows! Good luck with the bench plan!

[Spartigus]

Looking goood! Sounds like you are working all the kinks out the programming!

Just a very small bit of feedback on the cleans and snatches from my very limited knowledge on them, so feel free to tell me I am wrong. (this is something I picked up at the gym I train at).

When you deadlift, the feet are almost forward and the knees track over them more or less, but your knees are still forward. The cleans and snatches is a little different from my understanding.

With cleans and snathes, the knees are way out sideways, this really switches on the glutes and helps a large amount with driving and snapping the hips forward. Here is a good picture of what I mean.