T Nation

Soon to Finish the 3 Month Challenge, Now What?

Jim Wendler 5/3/1 Coaching
#1

Pretty straight forward. For those of you who have finished the 3 month challenge, what direction did you go after?

I know I am going to need to deload, my body has taken a pretty good beating this last couple of months.

I have another 2 to 3 months of eating above maintenance before I go back to below maintenance.

I honestly will probably run BBB with 8/6/3 for some extra volume, with the same daily set up that I have been running. I am just curious as to what others have done after the challenge.

#2

Depends on what your goals are, man. Do you want more size? More strength? I needed about a month of just hitting my normal 5/3/1 weeks before I was ready for another challenge or to really get after the last sets, FSL, etc. Everyone’s different, though. Kudos on completing the 3 month challenge.

#3

Thanks for the reply, honestly that was about what I figured. Strength, size, yeah I would like to gain both of those.

I missed some reps across the board on my BBB sets on my SOHP, bench press, and deads first week of the 70 percent. The heavy squat and volume deads were about the most brutal part of the challenge. So I don’t know if I get an A for passing the challenge, but I will give myself a solid C+.

Great challenge that I plan on running yearly around the same time from here on out.

#4

I’m no expert but running BBB in a calorie deficit as you’re suggesting probably isn’t a great idea.

Also, “8/6/3”? If Bbb isn’t giving you enough volume, I’m assuming the extra few reps on the main sets won’t make too much difference either?

#5

[quote]Robo-tops wrote:
I’m no expert but running BBB in a calorie deficit as you’re suggesting probably isn’t a great idea.

[/quote]

Yep, that’s very clearly delineated in the book. It’s designed to make you “big,” hence Jim’s diatribe on why you’ve got to be eating big when you do that template.

I went back to the First Set Last / As Many Reps as Possible template when I finished BBB last February. I switched up some of the assistance exercises too. I’ve been running the 5/3/1 and Bodybuilding template to cut some fat and it’s going fine. The higher volume assistance work in super set fashion compliments a cut well, and you continue with the traditional 5/3/1 template for the four core lifts.

#6

I ran the BBB 3-month challenge a few years ago. It was the first time I really learned how beneficial volume is for building muscle and strength. From there I did the normal BBB until I stalled out and then reset with the normal BBB template. Looking back, the best recommendation I could give is to do the 3-month challenge, switch to a normal template to recover from the high volume while transitioning to higher intensity work as the weights increase. Ride out the gains for as long as possible and once you stall, build a volume base using the 3-month challenge again.

It’s common to see people stick with high volume for too long or high intensity for too long and stop making progress. The time to lose weight is while the volume is lower and the time to add weight is when the volume is higher. The caloric intake should match the workload.

#7

Thanks for the replies fellas, I don’t plan on doing BBB on a deficit. I have all of Jim’s books and understand that BBB is meant to eat on.

Plan right now is to run BBB, while eating to support it, through Feb, and then I will decide which way to go when I decide to cut.

#8

[quote]shaneinga wrote:
Pretty straight forward. For those of you who have finished the 3 month challenge, what direction did you go after?

I know I am going to need to deload, my body has taken a pretty good beating this last couple of months.

I have another 2 to 3 months of eating above maintenance before I go back to below maintenance.

I honestly will probably run BBB with 8/6/3 for some extra volume, with the same daily set up that I have been running. I am just curious as to what others have done after the challenge.

[/quote]

8/6/3 is a fucking joke. Whoever made that doesn’t understand basic principles of the 5/3/1 program and the TM. Please do shit that works by someone who has done something. I’ve tweaked and worked every goddamn thing I’ve written.

Why does EVERYONE that trains here get stronger? It’s because a properly applied program works. And trust me, I don’t coach form.

#9

Jim, thanks for the reply. Straight from the horses mouth. I could not find anywhere in your books where 863 was ever mentioned.

3 month challenge was challenging to say the least. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

#10

Try ‘Beyond’…

#11

Thanks Rampant. That looks solid as well. I am probably just going to do the BBB for awhile and go from there. Beyond will be run at sometime though.

Thanks for all the replies in this thread.