7th Week Protocol and How it Fits into the Overall Programming

I feel like I may not be comprehending the 7th Week Protocol and how it fits into overall programming. Would is essentially look like this?

Week 1: Leader 5/5/5
Week 2: Leader 3/3/3
Week 3: Leader 5/3/1 (increase weight if 3-5 reps are hit)
Week 4: Leader 5/5/5
Week 5: Leader 3/3/3
Week 6: Leader 5/3/1 (increase weight if 3-5 reps are hit)
Week 7: 7th Week Protocol, Deload
Week 8: Anchor 5/5/5
Week 9: Anchor 3/3/3
Week 10: Anchor 5/3/1
Week 11: 7th Week Protocol, Training Max Test or PR
Week 12: Leader 5/5/5
Week 13: Leader 3/3/3
Week 14: Leader 5/3/1 (increase weight if 3-5 reps are hit)
Week 15: Leader 5/5/5
Week 16: Leader 3/3/3
Week 17: Leader 5/3/1 (increase weight if 3-5 reps are hit)
Week 18: 7th Week Protocol, Deload
So on and so forth…

Is that correct or am I dense?

Close, here is how I would say it.

Pick a leader program, usually this is NOT the original 5/3/1 rep scheme like you are mentioning
Week 1-3 what program says to do
Increase weight
Week 4-6 what program says
Week 7: Deload protocol set/reps
Increase weight
Pick an anchor that goes with the leader you just did, usually its the anchor version of that leader, or it could be something like the original 5/3/1 PR sets
Week 8-10: anchor program
Week 11: Training max Test or PR

Adjust TM according to week 11 and repeat it all over again using new TM and new programs if you want.

3 Likes

Ah, that makes sense. Do the leader and the anchor programs HAVE to be related? Like, does it have to be (for example) Five and Dime as the leader and then Five and Dime, Anchor as the anchor? Or could it be BBB as the leader and Five and Dime, Anchor as the anchor? It seems like I am overthinking it but I want to make sure I am applying the program the way Jim intended and not just making up things as I go.

Don’t all the leaders have a list of good matching Anchors at the end of their section?

2 Likes

Yes, this exactly.

Mixing and matching could be ok in some circumstances, but you could definitely jack it up where your anchor has a higher volume of main work.

Edit: ugh, tried to quote you, not good at the internet today. But yeah, what this guy said.

Most leader programs have an anchor program that goes with it, so do that one. Some have a list of anchor programs you can do but they are pretty simple so they fit well with anything.

They do, absolutely, but sometimes I think it would be nice to have a little variety. I just wasn’t sure if it was “allowed” or not. And by “allowed” I mean I wasn’t sure if it was contradictory to the design of the programming.