Today I finished my first cycle on the Jim Wendler 5/3/1 program.

I think it’s a great program. It’s simple, it provides a lot of flexibility for you to meet your needs. Training for football? 5/3/1 can work. Training for powerlifting? 5/3/1 can work. Bodybuilding? 5/3/1 can work. At its heart it’s about building strength, which also will build muscle mass. What you want to do from there, be it develop power, speed, dynamic explosiveness, sculpt your body, whatever, it can be done. But… you have to think. A key factor is recovery.

Growth doesn’t happen while you work out, it happens when you rest. You have to expose your body to progressively increasing loads, then your body realizes that load isn’t going away so it has to change and adapt. This can only happen when you 1. don’t overtrain yourself, 2. rest. Wendler’s program facilitates this because there’s always your core lift (press, deadlift, bench press, squat) that you work hard but in a submaximal way (working max is 90% of your 1RM, and it’s from that working max that you calculate your workout), then you really only do a couple more exercises to address any specific needs you have (tho there’s nothing that say you only have to or can do or are restricted to just 2 more exercises). What those assistance exercises are depends on you and your needs. Me? I’m wanting to build mass and strength. Yes, I ultimately want to eliminate the flab around my middle, but I’ve come to terms with that (more on that shortly).

The one (arguable) downside to the program? It’s slow. The basic progression is a 4-week cycle and you only up your weights 10# on squat and deadlift and 5# on press and bench press per cycle. So in theory you’ll only go up 120# on your dead and squat in a year, and only 60# on your bench and press. Of course, that sort of increase is fantastic, especially for people who have been training a long time, because gains are much slower and smaller the longer you’ve been at this and the closer you get to the limits of human potential. For a novice like me, I could gain a lot faster if I stayed on something like one of Rippetoe’s programs or moved to something like the Texas Method. The trouble there is those programs are very intense. If I was someone who could dedicate more of my life and time to lifting (and resting) sure, I’d probably be on the Texas Method right now. But that’s not my life. Wendler’s program looks like it could be a good long-term program for me because it’s not pushing me too hard too fast, and allows a lot of time for recovery. There’s a lot about the program that’s smart… subtle details in terms of how it’s done, it’s really well-thought out and constructed, so you get the work you need, when you need it, but it doesn’t kill you. I like that. Ultimately I’m in this for my health, not competition or sports, so hey… if I can jack up my dead and squat 100# in a year? That’s great. Just means I have to keep at it.

As for diet… that’s always been my tough spot. I have made changes, like I don’t eat grains that much (sometimes I do, e.g. I’ll still eat the buns on a burger), and I try to consume a lot more fresh veggies, which has been made easier with our CSA veggie box that we get once a week. I tried cutting carbs out almost entirely, but my body called me a fool. See, I do want to shed my gut, but I realized something. My weight has been a fairly steady 235-240# (depending on time of day, etc.). There’s no question I’m putting on muscle, so if I’m gaining muscle but weight remains the same, I must also be losing fat. Very slow fat loss, but still loss. Then I noticed something the past couple weeks: I was eating more useless carbs, especially in the afternoon/evening… like after a crappy day at work, I was happy to shove a few (more) cookies down gullet. I’m now hovering 240-245#. Just so happens I’ve been reading articles about insulin response and some other things and I see a pattern. Carbs? Fine, but if there’s going to be any cookies, have them in the morning. After lunch and especially after 3 PM or so, I need to have carb intake be pretty minimal. I do need some carbs (still need a crapload of protein), just focus it more during the day/morning.

The thing is, on this Wendler program, if I’m going to build mass and strength, I have to eat like a horse. That means there’s going to be some gut. That’s just how it is. I’ve come to terms with that. I do think I can eat a little smarter: if I can get back to where I have a steady weight number, muscle being built, that means fat being lost… that’ll work for me, and eventually I’ll get there and shed my gut.

All in all, I’m pleased with the program. I’ve lifted weights on and off since I was a teenager, but never did I enjoy it so much as I am right now. Finding programs like these? Geez… if I could have only had them 20+ years ago. Oh well, better late than never.

The plan now is to keep going with the Wendler program. Slow and steady. Going to change up a bit on my assistance work… more “Boring But Big” strict adherence, but trying to be I guess more “triumvirate” in picking what 2 assistance exercises work for me. The journey is good.