T Nation

Choosing Between these Workouts

Powerlifting
#1

Hello, I’m male 26yo, 169cm (5’6’’), 63kg (139lbs) and bodyfat 10%

My 1RM:

bench 60kg (132lbs)
ohp 40kg (88lbs)
squat 70kg (154lbs)
dead 100kg (220lbs)

My lifting experience is around 3 years, but tracking food and training with brain ~ 1 year.

My 1RM went down because I was cutting, so now I’m bulking and building my weights.

My current workout since July 2013 is 5/3/1 fullbody/3days

Squat 5/3/1
DB bench
DB rows

Squat deload %
Bench press 5/3/1
Chins

Squat deload %
OHP 5/3/1
Deadlift 5/3/1

Since my goal is strength(75%) and size(25%), I’m young and my 1RM are not special… should I attach to my current workout or should I switch to some workout like ICF 5x5 Jason blaha?

Thanks you guys.

Which Workout Should I Do?
#2

Lift, eat, sleep as much as you can, and you may need a deload in abot 3yrs, There’s no sense to delading until your lifting enough weight that your body needs to deload from. Stop thinking so much, and start lifting and eating more. How the fuck do you deload a 130lb lift !

#3

I personally would add more volume to your main lifts each day and make them the focus. If you are squatting hard, you won’t want to squat again for a week. Same with bench, OHP and deadlift. Start eating more. Can you do the 4 day per week cycle instead of 3? Also, look into 531 BBB as that seems to be more what you need.

#4

since my 1RM is very low and I’m bulking right now, should I attach to a linear progression program like SL, SS,… ?

#5

[quote]mcwito wrote:
… but tracking food and training with brain ~ 1 year.

[/quote]

I think the 5/3/1 fullbody approach is fine, but I just wanted to comment on this. You mentioned “cutting” which obviously most people here will tell you is absurd at your size and strength, but beyond that, until you get pretty strong, a certain degree of restraint with respect to intellectual engagement in your training is needed.

Hearing someone at your level talk about “training with your brain” is a little disquieting because if you want to approach “strong,” you’re going to need at least five years of basically being an automaton, hammering a basic program into the ground and training with some urgency and aggression.

A brief survey of the landscape of successful lifters, however you define that (strongest guys in your gym, strongest guys at competitions,) reveals plainly that a high level can be achieved without much in the way of intellectual firepower.

The fact that you think “tracking your food” and “cutting” are productive ideas at your level suggests your brain is more of a liability than an advantage at this point. Unless you can kind of reset the way you look at this undertaking, it’s hard to envision you having much success.

#6

Stop bulking and cutting. Don’t even think about cutting until you are over 200 lbs and 20% BF. If you’re obsessed about seeing your abs, get over it. And your 1RM should matter to you. Strength is the basis for size/performance.

#7

[quote]pcdude wrote:
Stop bulking and cutting. Don’t even think about cutting until you are over 200 lbs and 20% BF. If you’re obsessed about seeing your abs, get over it. And your 1RM should matter to you. Strength is the basis for size/performance.[/quote]
Although I agree about the “stop bulking and cutting” hitting 200lb even at 20% bf is all but unrealistic at 5’6"

#8

I think you both dont understood me.

I started a cut when I was on 18% bodyfat and 75kg with 169cm… very fatty.

My cut phase ended 4 weeks ago, I’m currently bulking.

I’m lifting since 3 years ago but nothing serious.

I started seriously 1 year ago.

My english is not good I hope you understand me now.

#9

Nothing’s unrealistic, unless you, make it that way. You’ll never achieve it, if you don’t first beilieve it.

Never thought I’d be 270, but here I am, no ped’s by the way, just years of hard ‘’ consistant’’ lifting and eating. Don’t set limits, just set goals !

Get on starting strength, or Strong Lifts 5x5, or somthing similar, and put your head down and put the work in for a couple years. There’s no such thing as the perfect program or perfect diet. There’s only ‘‘Progressive resistance’’ Putting more weight on the bar, week to week, month to month, and year to year, on a handful of basic exercises. Getting big and strong is a real simple process ! The only way to screw it up is to over complicate it.

I’ve been doing this a long time, getting kids bigger and stronger has been my job, probably longer than you’ve been alive :slight_smile: go to Strong Lifts web sight, and follow for atleast a year, ignore all other info. While your getting bigger and stronger, you’ll also be learning what works for you, so you’ll know what to do after the first year.

I know this is to simple and basic for you to beilieve and follow, but you’ll look back at this post in 10 years, and wish you had of listened to me. Good luck !

#10

[quote]mcwito wrote:
I think you both dont understood me.

I started a cut when I was on 18% bodyfat and 75kg with 169cm… very fatty.

My cut phase ended 4 weeks ago, I’m currently bulking.

I’m lifting since 3 years ago but nothing serious.

I started seriously 1 year ago.

My english is not good I hope you understand me now.[/quote]

Maybe the misunderstanding is flowing both ways. “Bulking” and “cutting” should not be part of your training lexicon.

There is only getting stronger or not getting stronger. It is up to you how fat you are willing to permit yourself to get. Eat in such a way that you don’t exceed that threshold, or that you approach it very very slowly. This is very different than “bulking” or “cutting”.

Your question was about your programming, which again, is fine for now. Any 5/3/1 iteration from any of the books would be fine. The particular one you choose will not make or break your progress; your tenacity and consistency will.

#11

And I don’t mean to pick on you by harping on the point, but maybe you’ll take it as tough love and redouble your efforts. My wife is about your age and height, about 5 lbs lighter than you, and has also trained for about three years. Her squat and deadlift (in competition) are both about 100 lbs heavier than yours, and her bench is about 40 lbs heavier. I don’t say this to give insult; she is a strong girl. But you need to have some perspective about where you are and the implications of that.

In your own words, “My 1RM went down because I was cutting”. To me, at your level of strength, that has to be completely unacceptable under any circumstances. No matter what your situation is with respect to diet, lifestyle, sleep patterns, whatever, at your level of strength, going backwards cannot be an option.

No one ever wants to get weaker, but for a guy at or near the elite level, it may happen from time to time. For a rank beginner though, there is no reason for that to ever happen, absent serious illness or injury. Yet the way you describe it, it’s as though it’s an inevitable result of “cutting”. Until you radically change your mindset, again, you are unlikely to meet with any success in your pursuit of strength.

#12

[quote]mcwito wrote:
I think you both dont understood me.

I started a cut when I was on 18% bodyfat and 75kg with 169cm… very fatty.

My cut phase ended 4 weeks ago, I’m currently bulking.

I’m lifting since 3 years ago but nothing serious.

I started seriously 1 year ago.

My english is not good I hope you understand me now.[/quote]

So you when you started the cut you had 135 lb of lean bodymass and now you have about 125 lb of lean bodymass, based on the numbers you posted. Sounds like a large part of your cut eliminated muscle.

#13

[quote]Ramo wrote:
And I don’t mean to pick on you by harping on the point, but maybe you’ll take it as tough love and redouble your efforts. My wife is about your age and height, about 5 lbs lighter than you, and has also trained for about three years. Her squat and deadlift (in competition) are both about 100 lbs heavier than yours, and her bench is about 40 lbs heavier. I don’t say this to give insult; she is a strong girl. But you need to have some perspective about where you are and the implications of that.

In your own words, “My 1RM went down because I was cutting”. To me, at your level of strength, that has to be completely unacceptable under any circumstances. No matter what your situation is with respect to diet, lifestyle, sleep patterns, whatever, at your level of strength, going backwards cannot be an option.

No one ever wants to get weaker, but for a guy at or near the elite level, it may happen from time to time. For a rank beginner though, there is no reason for that to ever happen, absent serious illness or injury. Yet the way you describe it, it’s as though it’s an inevitable result of “cutting”. Until you radically change your mindset, again, you are unlikely to meet with any success in your pursuit of strength.[/quote]

You are right, when I take diet seriously, my mind was cut my fat… but now my mind and body is ready to get strong and now I dont care getting some fat, cutting is a waste of time that I can expend getting stronger and stronger :wink:

[quote]Ecchastang wrote:

[quote]mcwito wrote:
I think you both dont understood me.

I started a cut when I was on 18% bodyfat and 75kg with 169cm… very fatty.

My cut phase ended 4 weeks ago, I’m currently bulking.

I’m lifting since 3 years ago but nothing serious.

I started seriously 1 year ago.

My english is not good I hope you understand me now.[/quote]

So you when you started the cut you had 135 lb of lean bodymass and now you have about 125 lb of lean bodymass, based on the numbers you posted. Sounds like a large part of your cut eliminated muscle. [/quote]

Yeah that was an aggresive cut… never more.