Program Advice, Meet Nov 2

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

To lay it straight down, I have my first meet coming up November 2. Today is my last deload day to end my third month of SST 5/3/1. my goal for the meet is just to hit all the lifts, but my ego also kicks in. 3 months ago I hit 305 1rm for bench, but havent made much progress with 5/3/1 for bench or ohp. Last week was 5/3/1 week and I hit 275*4 for bench. My bench responds well to higher frequency programs, I did arnolds pl chest routine last year and made great gains in a month or two(about 30lbs i think).

My question is should I go onto my 4th month of 5/3/1 and do the meet, or switch to a higher frequency program to gain a little more. I would really like to hit 315. I’ve looked into smolov jr and some other programs, but at the same time I’m so close to hitting 500 dl and i really want to hit that. I love 5/3/1, i’ve only read the 2nd edition,but the frequency i think isn’t enough for my bench. I’ve thought about running BBB this month for bench but I’m not sure. Should I read 531 for pl and 531 beyond? any higher frequency programs in there? I like the programming from this article too, smolov jr based:

Sorry for being all over the place, I just need some advice from the pl veterans on here.

2

If you started running Smolov for squat right now, you could go through the intro microcycle and the base mesocycle with just about perfect timing for the 1RM at the end of the base mesocycle.

Could do something similar for the bench. Draw up some kind of two week prep cycle where you get used to benching again more frequently, then set up smolov Jr so the 1RM at the end falls right around the meet.

Not awesome for your goal of also pulling 500 at the meet, but many people have seen their DL go up after running smolov for squat even when they don’t DL at all. You could even get one heavy pull in right after your last 10x3 for squats on that 3rd week, still leaving yourself 6 days off before the meet.

3

If you started running Smolov for squat right now, you could go through the intro microcycle and the base mesocycle with just about perfect timing for the 1RM at the end of the base mesocycle.

Could do something similar for the bench. Draw up some kind of two week prep cycle where you get used to benching again more frequently, then set up smolov Jr so the 1RM at the end falls right around the meet.

Not awesome for your goal of also pulling 500 at the meet, but many people have seen their DL go up after running smolov for squat even when they don’t DL at all. You could even get one heavy pull in right after your last 10x3 for squats on that 3rd week, still leaving yourself 6 days off before the meet.

4

Have you ever ran smolov? No one would do this.

5

Now is not the time to get stronger, for a simple 531 peak just do this (It what I used for my first meet)

4 weeks out
openers x3

3 weeks
required reps

2 weeks out
openers x3

1 week out deload

0 weeks out meet

You will be fresh and very confident in your openers.

6

Now is not the time to get stronger, for a simple 531 peak just do this (It what I used for my first meet)

4 weeks out
openers x3

3 weeks
required reps

2 weeks out
openers x3

1 week out deload

0 weeks out meet

You will be fresh and very confident in your openers.

7

[quote]navid123 wrote:
Now is not the time to get stronger, for a simple 531 peak just do this (It what I used for my first meet)

4 weeks out
openers x3

3 weeks
required reps

2 weeks out
openers x3

1 week out deload

0 weeks out meet

You will be fresh and very confident in your openers.[/quote]

so openers x3 is that 3 sets or 3 reps?

8

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

Have you ever ran smolov? No one would do this.[/quote]

Yes, I have. You’re off for 6 days between the last 10x3 and the meet if you schedule it this way. Pulling a single at 90-95% a week out is not the issue you’re making it out to be.

I wouldn’t want to go into a meet having not pulled for more than a month. On that last squat day you’re hitting 10 sets of 3 @ ~92-95% of your 1RM. Adding in one single at the same intensity for your deadlift is not going to be hurting your recovery if that’s what you’re getting at.

9

[quote]Rock978 wrote:

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

Have you ever ran smolov? No one would do this.[/quote]

Yes, I have. You’re off for 6 days between the last 10x3 and the meet if you schedule it this way. Pulling a single at 90-95% a week out is not the issue you’re making it out to be.

I wouldn’t want to go into a meet having not pulled for more than a month. On that last squat day you’re hitting 10 sets of 3 @ ~92-95% of your 1RM. Adding in one single at the same intensity for your deadlift is not going to be hurting your recovery if that’s what you’re getting at.[/quote]

I’m saying unless your squat is extremely poor no one wants to pull a heavy deadlift after 30 reps over 90%.

10

[quote]arc23p wrote:

[quote]navid123 wrote:
Now is not the time to get stronger, for a simple 531 peak just do this (It what I used for my first meet)

4 weeks out
openers x3

3 weeks
required reps

2 weeks out
openers x3

1 week out deload

0 weeks out meet

You will be fresh and very confident in your openers.[/quote]

so openers x3 is that 3 sets or 3 reps?[/quote]

This is a smart approach…your familiar with 5/3/1 and this is your first meet. As a novice, I wouldn’t add too many variables 8 weeks out from your first meet. If you want to focus more on your bench then substitute your OHP day with another bench day focused on speed (±75%.

Get this meet under your belt, then spend the next 3-4 months building towards your next meet. That’s when you can experiment with Smolov, Cube, or whatever you have an appetite for.

Good luck and have fun.

11

[quote]arc23p wrote:

[quote]navid123 wrote:
Now is not the time to get stronger, for a simple 531 peak just do this (It what I used for my first meet)

4 weeks out
openers x3

3 weeks
required reps

2 weeks out
openers x3

1 week out deload

0 weeks out meet

You will be fresh and very confident in your openers.[/quote]

so openers x3 is that 3 sets or 3 reps?[/quote]

3 reps, own your opener and make it your bitch . Good luck !

12

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

[quote]Rock978 wrote:

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

Have you ever ran smolov? No one would do this.[/quote]

Yes, I have. You’re off for 6 days between the last 10x3 and the meet if you schedule it this way. Pulling a single at 90-95% a week out is not the issue you’re making it out to be.

I wouldn’t want to go into a meet having not pulled for more than a month. On that last squat day you’re hitting 10 sets of 3 @ ~92-95% of your 1RM. Adding in one single at the same intensity for your deadlift is not going to be hurting your recovery if that’s what you’re getting at.[/quote]

I’m saying unless your squat is extremely poor no one wants to pull a heavy deadlift after 30 reps over 90%.[/quote]

I don’t know of anyone who really wants to squat a sixth set of 3 above 90%, much less a 10th set. If you get through the 10 sets you have it somewhere in you to pull a couple heavy singles at the end. Yes, it will suck, but so did the last 5+ triples you just grinded through. Like I said, I’d much rather get a couple heavy singles in a week before the meet then have the meet be the first real pull I’ve had in over a month. OP is hoping to pull 500 in his meet, so I’m guessing he may feel the same way.

It’s not going to mess with your recovery for the meet, and if you can make it through the three base weeks of Smolov you sure as hell can pull a couple singles at the end.

13

[quote]Rock978 wrote:

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

[quote]Rock978 wrote:

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

Have you ever ran smolov? No one would do this.[/quote]

Yes, I have. You’re off for 6 days between the last 10x3 and the meet if you schedule it this way. Pulling a single at 90-95% a week out is not the issue you’re making it out to be.

I wouldn’t want to go into a meet having not pulled for more than a month. On that last squat day you’re hitting 10 sets of 3 @ ~92-95% of your 1RM. Adding in one single at the same intensity for your deadlift is not going to be hurting your recovery if that’s what you’re getting at.[/quote]

I’m saying unless your squat is extremely poor no one wants to pull a heavy deadlift after 30 reps over 90%.[/quote]

I don’t know of anyone who really wants to squat a sixth set of 3 above 90%, much less a 10th set. If you get through the 10 sets you have it somewhere in you to pull a couple heavy singles at the end. Yes, it will suck, but so did the last 5+ triples you just grinded through. Like I said, I’d much rather get a couple heavy singles in a week before the meet then have the meet be the first real pull I’ve had in over a month. OP is hoping to pull 500 in his meet, so I’m guessing he may feel the same way.

It’s not going to mess with your recovery for the meet, and if you can make it through the three base weeks of Smolov you sure as hell can pull a couple singles at the end.

[/quote]

Like I said it depends what your 90% is. If your squat sucks then its gonna be alot easier to pull a 90% deadlift after the fact. I still think its a waste of time and your not confident enough in your programming to have to pull 90% the week before a meet.

14

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

[quote]Rock978 wrote:

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

[quote]Rock978 wrote:

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

Have you ever ran smolov? No one would do this.[/quote]

Yes, I have. You’re off for 6 days between the last 10x3 and the meet if you schedule it this way. Pulling a single at 90-95% a week out is not the issue you’re making it out to be.

I wouldn’t want to go into a meet having not pulled for more than a month. On that last squat day you’re hitting 10 sets of 3 @ ~92-95% of your 1RM. Adding in one single at the same intensity for your deadlift is not going to be hurting your recovery if that’s what you’re getting at.[/quote]

I’m saying unless your squat is extremely poor no one wants to pull a heavy deadlift after 30 reps over 90%.[/quote]

I don’t know of anyone who really wants to squat a sixth set of 3 above 90%, much less a 10th set. If you get through the 10 sets you have it somewhere in you to pull a couple heavy singles at the end. Yes, it will suck, but so did the last 5+ triples you just grinded through. Like I said, I’d much rather get a couple heavy singles in a week before the meet then have the meet be the first real pull I’ve had in over a month. OP is hoping to pull 500 in his meet, so I’m guessing he may feel the same way.

It’s not going to mess with your recovery for the meet, and if you can make it through the three base weeks of Smolov you sure as hell can pull a couple singles at the end.

[/quote]

Like I said it depends what your 90% is. If your squat sucks then its gonna be alot easier to pull a 90% deadlift after the fact. I still think its a waste of time and your not confident enough in your programming to have to pull 90% the week before a meet.
[/quote]

For the love of God did you even read the OP, or are you just interested in telling other people that their squat sucks and how no one could imagine what it feels like after your Godly squat finishes smolov base v. some weakling doing the same?

OP benches about 300 and his DL is close to 500, pretty safe to bet his squat is somewhere around 400. He has NEVER done a meet before. He feels he responds well to high frequency programs and has looked into smolov, but wants his dl and bench to do well. As covered extensively, after getting through 10x3 at 95% of his squat I’m sure he can pull a couple singles no problem. Perhaps you’ve done plenty of meets and feel fine going into a meet not having deadlifted heavy for more than a month. Again, my guess is OP would probably feel differently being that this is his first meet.

15

[quote]Rock978 wrote:

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

[quote]Rock978 wrote:

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

[quote]Rock978 wrote:

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

Have you ever ran smolov? No one would do this.[/quote]

Yes, I have. You’re off for 6 days between the last 10x3 and the meet if you schedule it this way. Pulling a single at 90-95% a week out is not the issue you’re making it out to be.

I wouldn’t want to go into a meet having not pulled for more than a month. On that last squat day you’re hitting 10 sets of 3 @ ~92-95% of your 1RM. Adding in one single at the same intensity for your deadlift is not going to be hurting your recovery if that’s what you’re getting at.[/quote]

I’m saying unless your squat is extremely poor no one wants to pull a heavy deadlift after 30 reps over 90%.[/quote]

I don’t know of anyone who really wants to squat a sixth set of 3 above 90%, much less a 10th set. If you get through the 10 sets you have it somewhere in you to pull a couple heavy singles at the end. Yes, it will suck, but so did the last 5+ triples you just grinded through. Like I said, I’d much rather get a couple heavy singles in a week before the meet then have the meet be the first real pull I’ve had in over a month. OP is hoping to pull 500 in his meet, so I’m guessing he may feel the same way.

It’s not going to mess with your recovery for the meet, and if you can make it through the three base weeks of Smolov you sure as hell can pull a couple singles at the end.

[/quote]

Like I said it depends what your 90% is. If your squat sucks then its gonna be alot easier to pull a 90% deadlift after the fact. I still think its a waste of time and your not confident enough in your programming to have to pull 90% the week before a meet.
[/quote]

For the love of God did you even read the OP, or are you just interested in telling other people that their squat sucks and how no one could imagine what it feels like after your Godly squat finishes smolov base v. some weakling doing the same?

OP benches about 300 and his DL is close to 500, pretty safe to bet his squat is somewhere around 400. He has NEVER done a meet before. He feels he responds well to high frequency programs and has looked into smolov, but wants his dl and bench to do well. As covered extensively, after getting through 10x3 at 95% of his squat I’m sure he can pull a couple singles no problem. Perhaps you’ve done plenty of meets and feel fine going into a meet not having deadlifted heavy for more than a month. Again, my guess is OP would probably feel differently being that this is his first meet.[/quote]

Your right after 30 reps at 95% you might as well get in a few benches in around 90% too. If you can make it through those then surely deadlifts at 90% would be a piece of cake. Or you could deadlift moderately throughout the base cycle to maintain the movement pattern and practice technique so that you can translate the the intensive squat volume to your pull. But thats just crazy talk. Either way its irrelevant because he’s not running smolov.

16

well my meet is saturday! so excited. navid, i followed something pretty similar to what you recommended and my openers are a breeze! thank you, my planned second lifts are solid too. I weighed in 179.6 this morning so I should be good to go for weigh-ins at 181.

also, I’m competing in the RPS autumn apoclypse meet in runnemede, nj, if anyone else is too I could use some advice/help on meet day!