Just putting this out there to see where the general opinion stands…ive been doing 531 with jokers ( to satisfy my urge to do heavy singles ) and FSL to satisfy my inner volume whore…all has been really going well except for the damn press…im getting the reps but barely, so im thinking i programmed to high…example last night was 3’s and i got my 3 reps + 3 reps and last time on my 1’s i got +2 more…
im not really happy about the reps and figure i should just stay put with the TM until i get them maybe around the target +5 more- any one else doing this? ive never been a great presser or repper, so im really not all that surprised.
Drop the training max an start eating more.
[quote]antknee1 wrote:
Just putting this out there to see where the general opinion stands…ive been doing 531 with jokers ( to satisfy my urge to do heavy singles ) and FSL to satisfy my inner volume whore…all has been really going well except for the damn press…im getting the reps but barely, so im thinking i programmed to high…example last night was 3’s and i got my 3 reps + 3 reps and last time on my 1’s i got +2 more…
im not really happy about the reps and figure i should just stay put with the TM until i get them maybe around the target +5 more- any one else doing this? ive never been a great presser or repper, so im really not all that surprised.[/quote]
You got the minimum reps plus more, what’s the problem? If you’re not happy you can always recalculate your 1RM, maybe set a TM of 85% and go from there. With your FSL sets try doing them as paused reps.
Definitely make sure you’re eating.
thanks guys…i guess i was feeling like i was grinding a bit too much on the reps…all my other lifts im capping at 8- 10 on the max sets alot of the time, so maybe the issue was in my head… i guess if im getting above the 531’s im ok to bump by 5%.
eating, yeah, i could do a bit more. im coming off a great summer of progess and had some nagging injuries i was sort of rehabbing so my diet laxed a bit…
pressing… i love doing them, i just suck at them.
My advice is to adhere to 5/3 and set PR’s.
[quote]antknee1 wrote:
Just putting this out there to see where the general opinion stands…ive been doing 531 with jokers ( to satisfy my urge to do heavy singles ) and FSL to satisfy my inner volume whore…all has been really going well except for the damn press…im getting the reps but barely, so im thinking i programmed to high…example last night was 3’s and i got my 3 reps + 3 reps and last time on my 1’s i got +2 more…
im not really happy about the reps and figure i should just stay put with the TM until i get them maybe around the target +5 more- any one else doing this? ive never been a great presser or repper, so im really not all that surprised.[/quote]
As the saying goes… “to press a lot you have to press a lot.” On you press day you’ll get plenty of volume from the 5/3/1 reps + jokers + fsl. On bench day, do some presses. If your recovery allows for it, do some more presses on another day too. And finally, eat more. Sometimes you find a skinny dude that can pull heavy but this is not the case with strict pressing.
Remember, slow progress is still PROGRESS.
Don’t look at it as you ‘suck’ at pressing… maybe your better (whether it’s strength/technique) at the other 3.
Stick with it until you can’t hit the required reps, then reset.
Progress is progress.
i guess ’ suck ’ is relative… not that im a huge numbers guy, but im at 60% of my bench at grinding 205 press on a 340 bench… would love to hit 225x3. i think i got caught up in a numbers thing while i should just focus on hitting my numbers and setting small PR’s along the way.
thanks to all for the input
If you want to add more weight to the bar at some point you are going to have to add more weight to the bar.
lol trust me, ive been training a long time and i have no issues adding weight to the bar… im trying to change my approach in order to hit some long term goals ( 405 bench- last done in my 20’s, overhead 225x3-5, 575 deadlift among them ). i want to start low, set PR’s and ride this out as long as i can before i go stale or get hurt. i didnt want to add weight before i was ready for it, or before the program dictated.
Everyone thinks the human body and thus strength conforms to some kind of logic- it does not. There are simply times when some things improve and others do not. I have had months and months of my bench tm DECREASING because for whatever reason I just got weaker on the bench.
I learned to look at the complete picture- my deadlift has basically done nothing but improve since I started this program almost a decade ago- squat has literally been a few steps forward and a few steps back- but overall I am squatting and pulling more for more than I was in 2007- when I was 37. Now I am pushing 50 and improving- still. The bench for me in many ways is still just a fuckin mystery.
Constantly evaluating and then tightening up my form is the best advice I can give- because over time- everyone changes physically in 1 way or another and with that- leverages, flexibility- the whole thing- changes. But you can use that to your advantage if you play your cards right
Also- there are a lot of places to find strength- set records on your FSL- do jokers- whatever- in fact- if you use the rep-max calculator from the book you really have a lot of options.