After reading many of the posts on 5/3/1 I felt compelled to share my experience. I’ll try and keep it short.
Every year I have a birthday challenge. It keeps me from drinking beer at nine in the morning on my b-day. Getting old can be depressing.
So I decided in Jan. that my birthday (61) challenge this year would be to OHP my weight in June. I came across Wendler’s 5/3/1 and the first thing that jumped out at me was this is the same stuff we were doing in the 70’s, pyramid up and down, fsl, 5 pro’s etc., EXCEPT for the 90% TM and lite weeks programed in every 6 weeks. Great ideas.
For 7 years I’d been going through the motions and just maintaining a decent level of fitness. 5/3/1 has reinvigorated me beyond what I thought was possible.
I’ve had to change some lifts because of past injury’s. Incline instead of bench (2 blown cuffs), can’t squat because of a past injury, (but plan on trying box squats in the future). I use the basic 5/3/1 and have used amrap fsl, and fsl multiple sets at different times. I do jokers about every 6 weeks. I’ve done them on my 1 plus days up to this point. Conditioning consists of walking, hiking in the mountains, and sled.
My TM was calculated from actual max lifts the week before starting the workout.
Results: workouts started on 1/26/2015
Incline max - from 205 to 265
deadlift max - from 315 to 360 (Haven’t done deads in years)
OHP max - from 165 to 205
Yesterday on my 61st birthday I pressed my weight 205.
This is the best program out there whether your an athlete or want to be strong and healthy. Do the workouts as written and you’ll be successful. I like the way 5/3/1 is regulated, has built in safe guards, and gives the experienced lifter room to make minor adjustments. My ramblings aren’t to say look at me, it’s to give another example of how successful this program can be. Already have next birthday challenge lined up, at least 315 incline on my 62nd. Strength doesn’t come in 12 week cycles, it’s a life long pursuit.
BTW - My pet peeve is guys talking about being older lifters and you find out their 35 or in their forties. Your not older.
You’ll know your an older lifter when you see a hot 35 year old women at the gym and your first thought is, I wonder what her mom looks like, then your officially an older lifter.
beyond 5/3/1 with also a lot of success.