BBB - Failing on the Volume Work. What to Do?

Hey Jim and everybody else,

I’ve been pretty strictly following the BBB program so far and am in the first week of the 3rd cycle right now.

During the 1st cycle, the 5 x 10 sets felt easy. In the 2nd cycle, they became challenging. But now I am failing. I can’t complete set 4 and 5 without cheating in some kind of way, like longer rest periots or pauses during the set.

So the question is: which parameter is the best to cheat on?

  1. Longer rest periods, but keep weight, reps and sets the same
  2. less reps per set, but keep weight, rest and number of sets the same
  3. Lighter weight, but keep everything else according to schedule
  4. More sets but less reps
  5. any combination…

So… yeah, advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

One of the purposes of BBB is to increase the assistance volume in order to illicit growth. If you miss a rep or two on the last sets, don’t fret. Just make sure you are training the muscle, not the movement. Keep your training dense, meaning don’t increase your rest periods. You want your muscles to fatigue and break down so you can build them back bigger and stronger.

And finally, make sure you are eating like a motherfucker (as clean as you can), stretching and sleeping to recover properly. Make recovery as big of a priority as training. No recovery = no growth and a wasted BBB cycle.

You are doing 50% of your training max right? So that’s only 2.5# and 5# jumps on the BBB work per cycle. If you are on your third cycle, that means the upper body work is only 5 lbs heavier and lower is 10 lbs heavier than when you started 1-2 months ago. You shouldn’t be struggling with this, unless you’re doing 3 month challenge.

JoeyWaters: Thanks man! That helped me alot.

DAVE 101: No, in the third cycle, its 5 x 10 @ 70 % of your TM, which has already increased. So its more than a linear incline. And 50 reps @ 70 % is really not that easy.

if you are doing this: Boring But Big 3-Month Challenge , then it’s called a “Challenge” for a reason.

Apart from that, just do the normal 5/3/1 with BBB.

  1. Eat more. It’s called a “challenge” for a reason. It’s supposed to be difficult and when a man decides to conquer a challenge he does what he needs to in order to win.

[quote]The Tie wrote:
DAVE 101: No, in the third cycle, its 5 x 10 @ 70 % of your TM, which has already increased. So its more than a linear incline. And 50 reps @ 70 % is really not that easy.[/quote]
Hence why I asked if you were actually doing the 3 month challenge, BBB assistance work does not automatically imply this.

My bad, forgot to initially mention that I’m doing the 3 month challenge.

Thanks for the replies. Now I got why it’s called “challenge” :wink:

Is there any specific amount of caloric surplus which I should be aiming for or which I should not exceed?

[quote]The Tie wrote:

Is there any specific amount of caloric surplus which I should be aiming for or which I should not exceed?[/quote]

yes. Let us know when you reach it or exceed it.

Well, at the moment I’m trying not to exceed 300 calories over maintenance too often. I’ve tried eating more earlier this year, but most of what I gained was fat.

[quote]The Tie wrote:
Well, at the moment I’m trying not to exceed 300 calories over maintenance too often. I’ve tried eating more earlier this year, but most of what I gained was fat. [/quote]

then dont bother

[quote]Young33 wrote:

[quote]The Tie wrote:
Well, at the moment I’m trying not to exceed 300 calories over maintenance too often. I’ve tried eating more earlier this year, but most of what I gained was fat. [/quote]

then dont bother[/quote]

Exactly. You were given the solution and won’t accept it. And wont follow the program as laid out. Not sure what you expected.