Jim and Others 5/3 Advice

Hi guys,

I just started reading about the 5 steps forward/3 steps back cycling for 5/3/1. I need some help. I weigh 170lbs. I started with a 245 bench press with a pause and 185 military press. I’m currently in cycle 9. I started April 7th and now it’s November 29th. I"m doing 5x5 for squats and deadlifts twice a week since I’m recovering from a torn ACL.

My current TM’s are 250 for the BP and 190 for the MP.

My numbers for max rep set for the bench press are 5 for 5s week, 4 for 3s week, and 3 for the 5/3/1 week.

My numbers for the military press are now 4 for 5s week, 2 for 3s week and hopefully I’ll get 1 for the 5/3/1 for this cycle.

What should I do now with the 5/3 approach?

Thanks!

Phillip

[quote]philtwine5 wrote:
Hi guys,

I just started reading about the 5 steps forward/3 steps back cycling for 5/3/1. I need some help. I weigh 170lbs. I started with a 245 bench press with a pause and 185 military press. I’m currently in cycle 9. I started April 7th and now it’s November 29th. I"m doing 5x5 for squats and deadlifts twice a week since I’m recovering from a torn ACL.

My current TM’s are 250 for the BP and 190 for the MP.

My numbers for max rep set for the bench press are 5 for 5s week, 4 for 3s week, and 3 for the 5/3/1 week.

My numbers for the military press are now 4 for 5s week, 2 for 3s week and hopefully I’ll get 1 for the 5/3/1 for this cycle.

What should I do now with the 5/3 approach?

Thanks!

Phillip
[/quote]
Firstly drop tm to 85-90% of your current 1rm and start fresh before 5/3 it will help in the long run. Get bigger- eat a shitload and run bbb templates. 5x5 twice a week with squats/deads wouldnt be helping your recovery either. Run 531 with all lifts maybe just required reps for squat/deads till you are recovered more rehab work after main lift. If it hurts do less.

Jim has already told you what to do. Please follow his advice.

Also, your weight hasn’t changed in over a year, eat.

Hi JFG,

I asked Jim about assistance exercises last time. This was about the 5 steps forward 3 steps back principle this time. Thanks.

Phillip

I’m not sure of the question - you should back up 3 cycles and go from there. You should always be able to get 5 strong reps with last set on 5/3/1 week. Always.

Bar speed kills.

Hi Jim,

You answered my question. Thanks man. Is getting 5 strong reps on the 5/3/1 week a change? I thought you wanted to get a least 1 rep. Thanks.

Phillip

"With a TM of about 85-90% of the real max, should one expect to be able to go 5 months forward and still get 5 reps the last set of the last week? "

This is why you train and eat 2-3 pounds/meat a day, and do mobility work and sleep 10 hours/day - to force an adaption in strength. The best thing I can tell you is that no matter the % you use, you should be able to get around 5 strong reps on the last set.

I have seen this work EVERY SINGLE TIME. Please read the article on the TM on my website: its by Kevin Deweese and will explain the TM to you.

It’s not about getting 10 hours of sleep - just the principle of getting a lot of sleep. Control what you can control and sleep is something you can control. As is diet, attitude, work ethic, discipline and effort. All things 100% in your control.

Curious about this as well. I’m in my fifth cycle, about to reset. I get 1 or 2 +reps this cycle, starting to get heavy for me. No way I’ll get 5 in the last week, so my TM is obviously too high. Was planning to go 3 back. However if I’m going to set up for being able to do at least 5 reps in the 531 week at the end of the next 5 month cycle, I’ll have to make a much bigger reset. With a TM of about 85-90% of the real max, should one expect to be able to go 5 months forward and still get 5 reps the last set of the last week?
I’m glad this topic came up at the right time for me, since I had just started to ponder how I should do the reset! Any insight would be welcome!

Thank you, Jim.
I’ve eaten well and read the article, and I’ll read it again. However I haven’t slept 10 hours even once these 5 months, so that’s obviously something I have to work on. Getting 10 hours every night sounds more challenging than any of your training challenges!