Jim Wendlers 5/3/1 Method
 

4/14/07 ME Bench

Flat Bench
Barx15
95x10
115x8
135x3
155x3
185x2
210x1
225x1
235x2
240x1

Skulls
Bar+30x8x4

Pendlay Rows
135x8x4

Face Pulls
35x10x4

Hammers
25x4x10

Db Lateral Raises
25x15x2

Why did you double 235? Also, I would space out your increments a bit on your last two sets. If your max is 250 lbs, and you want three singles > 90% of that max, then you need anything over 225 for those three sets. What counts is the max attempt, the other two sets are just to get the work in.

Also, don't be afraid to fail. If you miss the lift, keep a mental note of where you missed it, how close you came, and what you need to work on to get it up next time.. For instance, if you failed 3/4 of the way up, then I'd be blasting my triceps next ME day with some 3-4 board presses or even pin presses.

Thanks for the tips bro,i appreciate it..

Check your PM bro...

4/16/07

ME Squat/DL

Parallel Box Squats(First time doing theses,had to find my MAX..heres how it went down)

Barx10x2
95x8
115x6
135x3
155x3
170x3
190x1
205x1
225x1
245x1

Sldl-205x10x3

Leg Curls-#5 on the machine whatever weight that is-10x3

Standing Pulldown Abs-75x10x3

good luck with the WSB, i'm real interested in seeing how you set it up and how it works out for you

thanks bro..are u thinking about trying it??

Cool Ill definately follow this, been reading a buttload of WSB stuff lately.

4/18/07 DE Bench

DE Flat Bench
Barx20
95x10
95x6
120x8x3

Pull Up
Bwx4,6,5,5

Push Press
140x5,5,4,3

CG Bench
175x5,4,3
155x5

BB Curl
105x4,4,5,3

Hammers
25x10x2

Face Pulls
50x10x3

nice man keep up the good work! im going on the principle there is never a stupid question but what does wsb stand for and what is it?

thanks bro...

WSB=Westside Barbell

no worries fella, im going to go google that then and have a look around at what it is, currently im doing starting strength by rippetoes which is working well but im always interested in reading about new methods, hope it all goes well and im going to keep an eye on your journal man and see how you get on with it

4/22/07 DE Squat/DL

Speed Box Squats
Barx10
95x8
120x8x2

Speed Deadlifts
135x10x1

Pull Throughs
25x10x4

Hypers
45x15,10,10,10

Pulldown Abs
85x10,75x10,10,15

Leg Press Calfs
1 Plate Per Side
5x20

Keep up the good work :weights:

thanks bro

4/24/07 ME Bench

Flat Bench
Barx10x2
95x10
115x8
135x3
155x3
185x3
205x3
225x1
240x1
250x0(Foot slipped lost tightness)
245x0(Bombed it mid way)

Pendlay Rows-145x8x4

Skulls-Bar+40x8x4

Double pulley pushdowns-65x10x2

Face Pulls-57.5x10x4

Hammers-40x10,10,8,8

Db Laterals-30x6,20x12x2

Pretty pissed about my bench,i seem to be slow off my chest about midway..im thinking about doing pin presses a few inches off my chest or board presses,whatcha guys think?

Either one should help. For me I prefer board presses. :weights:

yea,ima go with them..thanks..

4/26/08 ME Squat/DL

Parallel Box Squats
Barx10
95x8
115x6
135x3
155x3
185x3
205x3
230x1
240x1
255x1(PR!)


I got to the gym very late and was only able to get in squats.I was kinda rushing this workout so i could get my ME attempts in,right when they were about to shut the lights off i hit my PR..Fuck Yea..

nice pr dude.

thx bro

4/28/08 DE Bench

DE Flat Bench
Barx10x2
95x10,8
120x9x3

Pull Up
BWx7,6,5,4

Push Press
140x5,5,4,3

Dips
BW+25x10,6

CG Bench
155x8
135x6,5

Hammers
35x10x3



Wasnt feeling it at all today,which resulted in a shitty workout..oh well shit happens..

4/30/08 DE Squat/DL

Speed Box Squats
Barx10
95x8
120x8x2

Speed Deads
155x10x1

Pull Throughs
30x10x4

Pulldown Abs
60x20x3


5/2/08 ME Bench

2 Board Press
Barx10
95x10
115x8
135x6
155x3
175x3
205x3
225x3
235x1
245x1
260x1
265x1
270x1


Pendlay Rows
155x8x4

Rolling DB Tri Ext
15x12
20x10x3

Face Pulls
70x12x4

DB Curl
20x12
30x10x3

Looking good.:rocketwhore:

thanks bro!

4/7/08 DE Bench

DE Flat Bench
Barx20x2
95x8x2
135x3x9

Hammer Grip Pull Ups
BWx8,7,6,5

DB Shoulder Press
55x10,10,8,6

DB JM Press
20x10x4

Pushdowns
65x8x2

DB Curl
40x8,7,6

Face Pulls
75x10x4


5/9/08 DE Squat/DL

Speed Box Squats
Barx10x2
95x10
115x6
135x8x2

Speed Deads
185x10x1

Ghetto GHR
BWx8,6,6,6,6

Pull Throughs
20x12,10,10,10

Decline Sit Ups
35x12,10,10

Pulldown Abs
50x15x2
30x20

5/12/08 ME Bench

2 Board Press
Barx15x2
95x10
135x8
155x3
185x3
205x3
225x3
235x1
250x1
265x0
255x1

VERY fucken pissed about this ME session...I got to 250 which i got pretty fn easy last week but today it was like WTF hard,so i was like oh no this is not fn goood..I load up 265 and bomb the shit out of it,i got like 2 inches off the board and BAM shit went nowhere spotter had 2 help me,so i drop it down to 255 and barely get that!! WOW i was so mad..so yea the rest of my workout was just WHATEVER...Im thinking maybe i need a deload or sumthing i been going heavy for months now,any suggestions?

DB Rows
80x8x4

Dips
BW+25x8x3
BWx25x6

DB Side Laterals
25x12
20x10x2

Front Raises
45LB Platex12x2

Face Pulls
30x20

BB Curls
95x7,5

Hammers
30x12,12,10

OK, one problem with your singles is your build up. You are doing between 30 to 50 "reps" if not more before you get to your max for that day. It's a bit much. Also, are you rushing throught this? You have to rest and then rest more than you think you need between atttempts. There is no medal for speedy.

You start out with 30 reps on the empty bar as opposed to the one set of 10 from last time. No surprize if things didn't go as planned. You want to avoid a big buildup of waster products. Lactic acid, blood pump all that. A little can help you lift more efficiently. A lot will shut you down.

One set of 8 to 10 with the empty bar should be sufficient. All you need to do is grease up the joints a bit.

After that, with the 95 I would avoid going over 5 reps. It would be better, imo, to do a couple of sets of lower reps if you really think you need so many...which you probably don't.

But here you do a set of 10 with 95 and then a set of 8 with around 50 percent of your projected max. Again....much more repping than needed. One set of 3 should do it. (Remember your body should be WARM already before you even start lifting)

Then after that you can start adding about 10 pounds at a time for SINGLES until you get to your max for that day. If you are feeling really good and you know that you can hit your max you can skip ahead as long as things feel nice and tight.

So for this last workout say something like this:

You guestimate that your max is somewhere between 260 and 270 (not really necessary to guess at all though)...

BarX8-10
95 5
155 X3
185X1
195X1
205X1

Then you could keep building up 10 pounds at a time or move up a bit. Either way it's a LOT less than what your were doing. But say...

220x1
245X1
255X1
270X1

You want to rest at least a minute between the earlier sets and then as you move into the heavier sets and once you get past the 220 range you need to recognize that you are already probably upwards of 85% of your max so you don't want to be rushing through that. Good rest periods as long as needed. Anything above 90% will COUNT afterall.

So in this example, once you hit 270 you already have 3 singles. Then all you have to do is accumulate however many more is in the plan. For me that would usually be something like a three week period with 7 to 8, then, 5, then 9 to 10 then backoff with some easy triples or something (so 4 week cycle). No, that is not a lot. But I'm good at high intensity work.

If you think that you cannot do more than, say 5 singles (that is the max PLUS whatever singles you do above 90% before or after the max) then do less. Say 3 or 4. Then next time do 2. Then next time after that try for 6 or so. But I bet you can do more than that you just need to take your time and net fatigue yourself with the warmup sets at the beginning.

You will probably be find it goes a lot better if you use a better buildup but the one I gave is just an example for reference...you got to figure you what works for you but definitely what you were doing is TOO much. You should use as many singles in the buildup as YOU need. But don't put so many triples or doubles in. I think 0311 mentioned that before. Volume doesn't count for anything here.

Remember that your relative max for the day and all your single attempts should be good form. You are not going for an all out PR like you are in a powerlifting comp.

My suggestion would be that you backoff with something easier for a week or two and then go at the singles again with a more moderate approach. And you can't do singles all the time. You gotta mix it up. You may be a person who needs to build up so that the singles cycle is more of a "peak" or you may be able to do it more by feel just making sure that the intensity cycles down and up so you don't end up losing ability through too much CNS intensive stuff.

Eric is absolutely right. You are doing way too much volume prior to your max attempts. Lighten the load (volume) a bit and you will probably perform a good deal better. Good luck. :biglaugh:

^^^ agreed.


what you are doing looks more like a pyramid "workout" instead of a "warmup" i am honestly not the greatest at telling you what you should do to warm up but it def looks more like a full workout instead of a buildup to what your absolute max is. this aint the best guess but i would imagine that weight started getting really heavy aroun that 205/225 mark it shouldnt have fely as heavy as it did.

Hey guys thanks for all the advice

i really appreciate it

Will def lower the volume and see what happens..

thanks!

Yeah...like Monsta is saying it shouldn't start to get real challenging until you actually get to the acclimation stage. From there it will depend on the individual how they react. But really what should ideally happen is that some of your heavy build-ups, say from the 85% range and higher should feel kinda heavy, but with proper rest you actually should should improve as you go along. I.E. the acclimations are getting you ready for the heavier weight, say, tuning up your CNS and such.

When you really start responding well to the high intensities you should get a lot of potentiation. So while your max, for instance, may feel very challenging, the subsequent singles to round out the day, may feel light, even though you would expect to be tired. But unless you are very liberal with rest it won't work. Also, I have to keep stressing that QUALITY is of the utmost. If you cannot maintain quality, don't do it. You will screw yourself bigtime.

BTW, I know my descriptions aren't WSB style. That's just the way I like to do it...works a charm though :)

That's the beauty of the conjugate system.. Just a bunch of principles, exercises, and round about structure.. All else only matters in how much more weight you press the following week, by ANY means necessary. Similiar in concept to Jeet Kun Do, where you take what works and use it.. And what works usually differs from person to person.

Strong stuff mate, oh BTW I could stare at you avatar all day!! Please never change it!

Yeah, I agree. I just figure that I'd say something because many will not consider something that didn't come direct from an article by Tate or Simmons :). I've also found that people have a preconception about singles...that you can only do a couple and then you have to change exercises or that you can only do them once in a blue moon...all sorts of things like that.

5/14/08 ME Squat/DL

Deadlifts
Barx5
135x5
185x5
215x3
250x2
290x1
325x1
340x1
365x1(PR!)
375X1(25LB PR!)

SLDL
185x12x4

Pull Throughs
20x15
25x12
30x12
30x15

Pulldown Abs
60x20x4

Standing Calf Raise
115x12x2

Seated Raise
90x12x3

No doubt.. The majority of articles I've read by them sorta seem more directed at themselves lol, or anyone who can handle A LOT of volume and intensity. For every ten intermediates who train according to those articles, two would succeed (if used verbatim without acknowledging the fact that it should be more open to interpretation based on individual recovery, experience, and strength level).

Nice PR! I bet when you devote a max testing day without all that work, you'd be in the 400's for sure.

Great PR!! I have to agree with 0311 in that going for a max day you would probably be over 400. Keep it going :weights:

thanks guys!!


yea,next time i ME deadlift im going for 405..

Great job on the pr's!

You really should stick to your best max for that day...whatever you can do with good form. May or may not be a pr. This is why the idea is to accumulate work in the above 90% range...not just to hit big PR's.

You seem to be going for a pr and just stopping. Heavy singles are not the same as testing days!

the last set was with good form and very hard,there was noway i could of did another set..

btw,your only supose to hit like 3-4 lifts above 90%..correct?