Man.. 18 cycles on the Wendler 5/3/1 program.

I’ve thought about changing up. I’ve looked at other programs: Cube, Juggernaut, Westside, Sheiko, Smolov, DC, whatever. I see much benefit in it, and I think I might want to try them out. But for now, 5/3/1 is working. I see progress towards my goals. So hey, for now, fine.

But while I stay the basic course, I’m willing to dabble in other things to see how they might do for me. So with that, been reading too much Paul Carter and much of his 100-rep stuff. I mean, I started to poke at high rep stuff, but Paul’s going extreme high rep. And I’m trying it. Why? Because I can. Because I’m curious if it will do anything for me.

I didn’t record any of it during cycle 18, but I did it. For example, after press, I’d try something like a 10# plate and go for 100 front plate raises.

Yeah, if you like the pump, you’ll love this.

Here’s one of Paul’s articles on the topic. Another.

I want to see how it might help my joints, my recovery, and yes, my hypertrophy. While I really like all the strength I’m building, and there’s some muscle mass too, part of me wants to kick up the mass building portion a little more. I keep looking at that 5/3/1 bodybuilding template and the only thing that keeps me away is the gym time required (just can’t pull it off these days).

Because honestly… as much as I’m enjoying 5/3/1, I’m starting to feel some wear. I have thought that it might be good for me to take a break and focus my goals elsewhere. Like instead of just heavy weights in the 1-5 rep range for strength, move to a more bodybuilder style workout, push more blood through the muscles, and see if that helps me reduce some of the beat-up feeling. But I’m on track to meet some strength goals, so I’m not going to give up on them. If something like some 100-rep work can help me work towards my goals, I’ll give ’em a shot.

Cycle 19 will remain essentially a “BBB” template, but some slight mods. I’m going to keep with the 20 rep assistance squats. It’s a hell of a pump, and a lot of mental fortitude. I like the feeling of pushing through. I’m debating if I want to dump the Pendlay Rows and go back to DB rows, in terms of not overworking my lower back (again, more Paul Carter). I’ll also add some 100-rep work. What I’ve done is simple stuff: front plate raises, curls, pressdowns, face pulls; extremely light weight, I might have to take a break on my way to 100 but then just for a few seconds then back on it; it’s about pushing through because truly when I can’t lift it any more I won’t, but until then, keep pushing through the pain. And yes, I had to work up to it… that 10# plate for 100 front raises only got maybe 50 at first, but after a couple more workouts I got it up to 100 but really had to deal with it.

So, onwards.