Hi everyone,
I’m running BBB Beefcake at the moment then going into a Deload next week, then 1 cycle anchor (531+, 5x5 FSL), a test week and then back into a leader for 2/3 cycles.
For this leader I’m thinking of going with Forever BBB, rather than Beefcake BBB but I’m slightly confused with the new guidance on accessories in comparison to original 531 BBB.
ORIGINAL
Main 531
5x10 BBB
5x10 Accessories
FOREVER
Main 5s pro
5x10 BBB
25-50 Pulls
25-50 Pushes
0-50 Abs/single leg
That seems a hell of a jump in accessory volume from the old BBB! Even more so during an anchor when it would be 50-100 reps on everything!
It also seems very unbalanced on the upper days. For example, bench day would be…
5s Pro bench (push)
5x10 Bench (push)
25- 50 reps push
25-50 reps pull
I know JW always says not to major in the minors but I’m curious as to how people have set this up under the new guidance as it seems so different!
Any examples would be greatly appreciated.
The Forever version lends itself better to “small” assistance movements for Push and ab movements only for the abs/single leg category. When I ran it I did push ups, delt raises, and tricep extensions for push, and ab wheel/hanging leg lifts for abs. I kept pull movements “big” with chin/pull ups and rows, and always aimed for 50 reps with them. It isn’t exactly perfectly balanced, but BBB is supposed to be a short block to grow and not a year-round program.
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Hey thanks for the response.
The old version where you’d just essentially do pulls between your pushing sets just seemed to make more sense in my head. Something like…
531 bench / ss with Facepulls
5x10 BBB ohp / ss with pulldowns
Bis/tris (not strictly in the program but he put them in the 3 month challenge so I just used to do them!)
Plenty of volume and much more balanced. I asked if supersetting pulls between 531 main lifts was still a thing when I joined these forums and got my head ripped off haha!
I took a while off 531 and have only just recently come back to it and it’s getting unrecognisable from how it started. Not that that’s bad necessarily, just that something described as “the simplest and most effective training system for raw strength” doesn’t seem so simple any more!!
Both versions are good, if one feels like it’ll work better for you then that’s the one you should be doing. Never understood elitism when someone asks questions about something, I’d just brush it off. Internet bawlz are real dude.
I’ll admit that the Forever stuff looks complicated at first, but once you get into it you’ll find it’s still pretty simple. I’d recommend trying the Forever version at least once, I’ve really liked everything I’ve tried from the book.
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Yeah I know what you mean, forums are dangerous places!
I’m enjoying beefcake at the moment (end of cycle 2) so may just do that again after my deload/anchor/test as it is just BBB but with 5x10 FSL (low 80% TM). I like the fact that lower days have a good amount of upper accessories.
My only potential issue with it is the overlap with muscle groups being worked 2 days in a row. For example squat day has 50 dips / 50 pullups (which I tend to just do as 5x10) but then the next day is OHP day so OHP 5s pro, OHP 5x10 FSL and 50 rows (again 5x10 I do). Its a similar pattern with deadlift day and bench day.
Im not suffering yet but recovery might start to suffer after a few more cycles. I’ll see how it goes.
I’d like to keep on with the same beefcake accessories through my anchor cycyle as I’m enjoying working on my pullups and dips ut they’re already on the high volume side. Should I increase them or just keep them the same?
@stern84 Just pitching in on the overlap → Working muscles multiple days is fine, 531 isn’t written to be an assistance kind of any kind. 90% of your growth comes from the big 4, 10% comes from the assistance. Don’t go to failure, take it easy and you’ll be fine (and adjust in no time).
There’s even templates that superset deadlifts with chinups (and other exercises), really… It’s fine.
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