I plan on doing this version of the 5/3/1 program for my off season summer lifting program- 5/3/1: How to Build Pure Strength
I’m 325, and I physically cannot do everything that’s said. I can only do about 12 dips when I’m fresh, and 2 maybe 3 chinups on a good day. I know you’re supposed to do everything exactly as said, but I physically cannot. Is there a replacement I could do instead of these? Should I just limit the reps to what I can do? Should I do assisted variations of these exercises?
If you can’t do that many, than just don’t do that many. Get good at chins and dips now so that when you lose the weight you can crank them out like nobodies business.
band assisted pullups are very good if you can’t do many unassisted
with chins - grease the groove, do some, even if one at a time, every day for eg 3 days then take a 1 day break. you will get stronger on these. whats cooler than a 300lb+ guy banging out chins?
dips - i would get stronger in other pressing exercises and weighted pushups before carrying on with these. i had shoulder problems with them till i got a 160lb ohp
Jim has said many times that as long as the the 5/3/1 lifts keep going up you can do whatever the hell you want for assistance.
Just start with whatever you can do and try to increase it over time. One thing I have done in the past when I couldn’t do many chins was to do several low rep sets then do one set of pulldowns for 10+ reps just to get a little more pulling volume in while my chin numbers were low.
at 325 make sure your joints can handle it first. you might want to substitute diff exercises. sorry this post did not take right away and I already posted below. and I can’t delete this one but I can add to it.
at 325 ensure your joints can handle it first. are you new to lifting? you may want to substitute some exercises instead. then again 2 dips and 3 chinups? cool!
Thanks for the input guys!
Yes, my joints can handle it. No I’m not new to lifting. I’m 325 with 25% body fat(I’m lean at 260ish)…I play offensive line. I wanna get down to like 305-310ish at like 20-22%.
I can do 12 dips fresh…not 2 lol. I have a bench max of 355-365, and a squat max of around 550.
you should easily be able to substitute diff movements then. close grip benches and band (big bands!) chinups