Beyond 531.....Just Do it

I’ve just completed Beyond 531 1.1 Last week and I can’t recommend it enough.
That being said, I do not own a weighted vest, so I have been doing farmers walks, rowing and other exercises for conditioning. I do ab wheel work on days where I am supposed to do weighted walking.
I know there is ‘no substitute’ but I work with what I have got at the moment.

I’ve put on weight following this program, which i have previously struggled to do, and i’m pretty darn sure it’s because I’m lifting less often, but with better quality. I dialed back my maxes in order to make sure all reps were tight and perfect. My squat, in particular, feels so much more stable.
Today in my first week of 1.2 I managed to squat 5 reps of 172.5kg with about 1 or two in the tank, I chose to stop at technical breakdown rather than actual failure.

This is by far my favourite 531 template, and I’m hoping to find a reasonably priced weight vest soon, but I’m on a student budget so I’ll have to make do for the time being.

Jim - you are a legend.
Everyone else - try this program.

Totally agree. Full body templates for the win!

Glad you liked it - you hit upon a key point about the TM that few people seem to get. Good for you for seeing the bigger picture.

Not sure if you’ll see this or not Jim, but I’m just about to start 1.3
and I’ve been crushing rep records left and right, and I feel like my TM’s are dialed right in, if not a little lighter than 90%.

I’m looking forward to the Joker sets, and I know they get a lot of bad press, but I don’t see why if your TM is on the money that these would be a problem…as it’s really just subsequent sets of 90-100% true max.
I actually (naughtily, not in the program) did a joker set of deads last week and hit a new 1RM which was awesome.
Just to double check though, the 5-10% increase (which i imagine is just a rough guide) is of the TM for the lift correct?
I’ve also got 1.4 printed off already and have my mock meet total goals in my head.
This program has so much focus, its awesome.

[quote]kleinhound wrote:
Not sure if you’ll see this or not Jim, but I’m just about to start 1.3
and I’ve been crushing rep records left and right, and I feel like my TM’s are dialed right in, if not a little lighter than 90%.

I’m looking forward to the Joker sets, and I know they get a lot of bad press, but I don’t see why if your TM is on the money that these would be a problem…as it’s really just subsequent sets of 90-100% true max.
I actually (naughtily, not in the program) did a joker set of deads last week and hit a new 1RM which was awesome.
Just to double check though, the 5-10% increase (which i imagine is just a rough guide) is of the TM for the lift correct?
I’ve also got 1.4 printed off already and have my mock meet total goals in my head.
This program has so much focus, its awesome.[/quote]

The 5-10% increase can be whatever you want it to be - just base it on your final “work” set.

awesome, thanks mate

Can I ask a really stupid question? What do you mean by 5-3-1 1.1?

[quote]pontybiker wrote:
Can I ask a really stupid question? What do you mean by 5-3-1 1.1?[/quote]

Just wanted to add a few things thoughts in here for anyone keen on doing this program, as well as another Thank you to Jim and his ideals.

*I was admittedly sceptical about the jumps and throws in 1.1, but I kept doing them diligently and reminded myself they were part of a bigger picture. The other day at university as part of biomechanics I made a 3.3m standing broad jump, not too bad for a 5’9 dude with no background in athletics…guess the jumping works.

  • Believe in submaximal training. Don’t get too caught up in going to 1 RM’s all the time. I hadn’t squatted anything over 185 kg for about two months and the other day I hit 190 kg for 3 reps.

  • Print out the 10 rules for being awesome and stick them on your log book/folder. If you don’t have a logbook/folder…get one, write stuff down and stay accountable.

*push your technique over reps. What I mean by that is, instead of going for a ton of reps, do them as perfectly as you can. I found this to be much harder, but also provide much better strength/technique progression. Make every rep count, it’s not the
weight. Treat light weight like it’s heavy and you’ll treat heavy weight like it’s light - someone said that, Blaine Norton maybe?

Anyway this next bit is more for Jim.
About to start 1.4 and having never done a PL meet, I was just wondering how best I can simulate doing one. I understand Squat, Bench, Deadlift with three attempts each to achieve my highest total, but I was just curious as to how long a meet usually lasts in total, and between attempts and the different lifts?

Also I got an emailed copy of the Frequency Project, and thank you sir, it looks phenomenal. It immediately got my attention because, after four months of Three Days a week, I’m itching to get some more frequency in…ironic right?
Would frequency project be a good option in terms of programming, or would you recommend a few bridging cycles of a different template? (I feel I will be fine with frequency and volume. The biggest challenge for me will be the protein intake, I usually get 200+g protein but I’ll have to bump it up to 270g…nothing a few extra shakes won’t fix).
Thanks for any help given thus far, and in the future. The ‘Don’t be a victim’ mentality has already begun to carry over into my everyday life, and for that I thank you.