5/3/1 can work real well when you are lifting that kind of weight. I'd imagine your 10-12 reps were hardly light in absolute terms.
When I was in my 40s I built up to a 550-560 lb squat doing 5/3/1 once a week followed by 3 sets of 10-12 reps, descending 10 lbs per set and stopping 1 rep before failure. If I got 12 reps on the first set I added 10 lbs next week to the 3 sets of 10. For me, legs need to be totally recovered and fresh to make gains past the intermediate stage, and lower reps don't build any mass. I tried Texas method and another 2x a week program and made very little progress. Plus I hate going to the gym that often.
5/3/1 can work real well when you are lifting that kind of weight. I'd imagine your 10-12 reps were hardly light in absolute terms.
When you say 'that kind of weight' surely that's relative to an individuals genetic potential?
We know the 'freaks' can squat 900+ but what about the other end of the scale? Rip squatted 630 IIRC with 'average' genetics. How much further would he have gone at 242 or 275 bodyweight, maybe 700?
So, someone with below average genetics, where does that leave them? Could they attain a 500 squat, maybe 600? OR is everyone capable of 800+ with enough time under the bar and perfect recovery?
T.
Relative strength is useful and but absolute load should not be ignored especially in the absence of drug use. Rip had very long recovery times between heavy attempts when he was that strong so keep that in mind. This is even more important for very explosive guys. D'Agostino once told me he would be wrecked for extended periods of time after all out grinders, which for him are Actually Heavy in absolute terms. This effect is present across the genetic spectrum.
Last edited by Robert Santana; 06-22-2020 at 07:04 PM.
Still stuck. Today’s workout; 160x4, 160x3. Called it a day. Lost motivation.
I’m inclined to trust my gut and adding 2.5kg at this point is ignorant.
I realise at my level of advancement it’s hard to say what I should do but I hope you can appreciate my frustration.
Looking back at your programming template...you seem to have 2 and sometimes more than 2 rest days between workouts. Is that still the case?
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Yes. I train twice a week, Monday & Thursday.
Squatting once a week at the moment and will continue to do that for a few more weeks and see how it goes.
You might be detraining a bit too much with all of those rest days.
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