What an awesome class we had on Saturday! We got some top-notch instruction on the snatch and clean & jerk from Veronica Carpenter, then under her experienced eye got to test our strength and technique. Everyone was moving really well, and there were some new PR's set! We will keep the momentum rolling by continuing to program the oly lifts and assistance exercises into our workouts. Big mahalo to Veronica for coming by and working with us. Hmmmm......is this the beginnings of a weightlifting club starting at RFM ;) ???
***********************************************************************
We have seen some impressive gains in your strength and conditioning over the last few months. In an effort to continue this progress we will be starting a new strength program following Jim Wendler's 5-3-1 protocol. This program is pure genius based on its simplicity and effectiveness, and we are confident that it will work very well at RFM. The program is made up of only four movements: back squat, deadlift, press, and bench press. It runs in 4 week cycles with the loads for each movement based on a percentage of your 1RM. If you are thinking
“What about all the other lifts?” don't worry...we will still get plenty of exposure to the other lifts during our conditioning workouts.
So here is how the 5-3-1 program works. We will be doing back squats on Mondays, bench press on Tuesdays, deadlifts on Wednesdays, and presses on Fridays. Your loads for the whole 4 week cycle will be based off of your “working weight” which is actually 90% of your most recent 1RM. For example: if your back squat 1RM is 300# then your working weight for the month would be 270# (300*0.9=270) and all your percentages would be based on this number. The first week you will do 3 sets of 5 reps (3x5). The second week you will do 3 sets of 3 reps (3x3). The third week you will do 1 set of 5 reps, 1 set of 3 reps, and 1 set of 1 rep (5/3/1). The fourth week is a deload week where you will do 3 sets of 5 reps (3x5) at lower weights. Each week and each set has a percentage for you to follow so you won't be guessing on what weights to use.
Sound easy so far, right? Well here is where the fun begins. The last set of each day is an ALL-OUT set. You will be going for as many reps as possible. Because we are working off a weight that's 10% less than your actual max, you should be able to get the prescribed reps for the day fairly easily. On the last set, however, you dig down deep and crank out as many reps as you possibly can with good form. Wendler says that doing the prescribed reps tests your strength and shows you and your body that you are strong enough for the workout. The extra reps are your way of DOMINATING your workout and getting better!
Important note: in the 4th week (deload week) you should NOT be going for max reps. This is a week to get some light work in and prime yourself for the next month of training.
You probably have some questions. Here are some answers to some of them now:
What if I don't know my 1RM? Most of you should have your 1RM for these lifts. If you don't you can estimate your 1RM by using this process.
- Take an educated guess of your 1RM. Take 80% of that educated guess and perform as many reps as possible.
- Plug the weight and reps into this formula to get your estimated 1RM:
Weight x Reps x 0.0333 + Weight = Estimated 1RMWhat if I miss a day or only workout 2-3x/week? Since we are only working on one movement per day and the reps and loads are all predetermined, you should have plenty of time to squeeze in two lifts in a day if you use your time wisely.
How should I warm-up? Wendler recommends these warm-up reps and loads: 5 reps @ 40%, 5 reps @ 50%, and 3 reps @ 60%.
What happens after the 4 weeks are up? For each new cycle you will add 5# to the upper body working max load and 10# to the lower body working max load. Once you can't do the prescribed reps in a cycle we will have you do a deload week and then test your new one rep max.
There may be a lot of confusion and calculating to do at first, but once we get the hang of it it should all go smoothly and quickly. We are looking forward to starting this program and watching you all get stronger!
*************************************************************************
WOD for 5/10/10:
Strength:
5/3/1 program Week 1
Back squat
5 reps @ 65%
5 reps @ 75%
Max reps @ 85%
Conditioning:
AMRAP in 10 minutes:
7 thrusters (115#/75#)
12 kettlebell swings (53#/35#)
7 chest-to-bar pull-ups
