Asoss, bro look, underneath the title is “the SIMPLEST and most effective training system for raw strength.”
Its good you bought the book. Hopefully you’ll now grasp simplicity. In the end though, your assistance exercises should compliment your major lifts, not burn you out from them. In all honesty, when I began the program, I started over analyzing the stuff too. I even wanted to record every set of every rep of every assistance exercise that I did. Then when I found that some days I might want to do a different exercise, or do a different rep scheme or whatever, I scrapped that idea. Now I go by feel.
Think of it this way. If you’re deadlifting and squatting at least 4 plates per side and bench and press at least 3 (well, press at least 2) then you’ll be a strong individual and all of your assistance exercises will go up. Your assistance exercises are supposed to help you strengthen weak points in your main lifts, but in the end, getting stronger at your main lifts will help get you stronger at your assistance exercises, so in the end, it doesn’t really matter (all too much). I’ll show you what I mean. Here’s what mine looks like:
Deadlift 5/3/1
-Quad based movement
-Hamstring/low back movement
Bench 5/3/1
-Upper back/lats/traps
-Shoulders/Chest/Tri’s
Squat 5/3/1
-Hamstrings/low back
-Quads
M. Press 5/3/1
-Upper back/lats/traps
-Shoulders/Chest/Tri’s
Thats it.
I find the most important assistance exercise for each major lift is an exercise that works the opposite, or antagonistic muscles. Then the second exercise is one that directly works a muscle group involved in the main lift. The final exercise(s), if any are performed, then work ancillary muscle groups, like biceps, calves or abs.
On the days I do Bench or M.Press, you’ll see that I will either choose an upper back exercise, a lat exercise or a trap exercise. I don’t work all three, I just choose one to work. And then I choose either a delt exercise, and chest exercise or a tri exercise. If I have time I’ll do bi’s afterward, but because I have to squeeze in some conditioning work, I usually don’t.
There are no specific rep schemes. I go by feel. There is no point of me doing 5x10 if I am feeling run down. It is too much. Like wise, if I chose 3x8 on a given day, that might be too little. Sometimes I like to do straight sets, but majority of the time I like to ramp. I find that if you go by feel, you never do too much or too little. You always do just the right amount, which will cause you to progress in your major lifts.