Beyond 5/3/1: Simple Training for Extraordinary Results (14 page)

Speed

On the field, in the weight room and on the road, speed kills. And there is no better

way to

learn how to use your body as a total unit like following the example of athletes.

You can do

all the squats with bands that you want, but you will not get fast and explosive

unless you

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do things outside of the weight room. The fastest, most explosive people on earth

throw

and jump. So follow their lead or be left behind. Learn to use your entire body.

The best ways to do this are simple: throw objects, jump over and onto things and

learn how to do short bursts of sprints. These include box jumps (probably the

easiest), hurdle jumps, jumping over boxes/cones, jumping for distance (standing long

jump) and jumping for height (touching the rim of a basketball hoop). You also need

to learn to land and react. This is simple. Instead of sticking the landing of a box

jump or hurdle jump, you quickly jump over another hurdle or onto another box.

This is true plyometric work.

Throwing medicine balls overhead (backwards and forwards), from the knees, chest

passes, single arm throws (think shot put) are all great ways of linking the upper

and lower

body to one cohesive unit.

10-20 yard sprints done from a variety of starting positions are great for developing

body awareness and explosiveness. This would include 2-point stance, 3-point stance,

4-point stance (bear crawl position), on knees, on back, on stomach, sitting down and

from a lunge position.

As a reference, I like to perform about 30 “reps” per session. This can be divided any

way you see fit. 10 jumps, 10 throws and 10 starts - I like to vary it from time

to time and keep myself amused. For example:

• 3x5 box jumps (15 reps)

• 10 overhead med ball throws (10 reps)

• 5 10-yard sprints

Strength

This is very simple – perform 5 singles at 90% of your training max. You can

choose to work up heavier than 90% but you don’t want to miss the weight. You

can also do more than 5 singles. The minimum is 5 sets of 1 rep at 90% of your

training max. Since most

people train 4 days/week, the basic layout is simple:

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Press

Deadlift

Bench Press

Squat and

Power Clean

Size

For the hypertrophy phase of this program, I recommend doing 5 sets of 10 reps at

around

50%. I also recommend having a training max for each exercise you do. You don’t

have to

do all the sets at one weight; you can pyramid up or down depending on how you feel.

You

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can use a weight that is heavier or lighter than 50%. All that matters is that you get

the

work done. This is not about moving the weight - it’s about building muscle.

You can choose to do a one-leg movement for the hypertrophy phase – you are free

to do 5 sets of 10 reps with this exercise (obviously you don’t work on %’s with

one-leg movements since only a toothless mongrel would try to max out on a one-leg

movement). You can also choose to do 5 sets of 6 reps with one-leg work.

When you choose the movement, I recommend NOT choosing the same movement you

did

singles with. Pick a movement that is similar in nature. Here is a list of examples:

Squat Size

Deadlift Size

Bench Press/Press

Size

Box Squat

Good Morning (done light, Dumbbell pressing (flat,

no percentages used)

incline, standing)

Front Squat

Straight Leg Deadlift (done Incline Press

Safety Bar Squat

light,

Snat no

ch

Gr p

iper

centages

Deadlift used) Floor Press

Leg Press

Deficit Deadlift

Football Bar (flat, incline,

standing)

Hack Squat

Trap Bar

Board Press (various

boards)

One-Leg Movements (lunge, Rack Pull

Weighted Dips

step up, one leg squat)

Assistance Work

Now I know I’ll need to address this so here is my statement – all assistance work

done

during this program has to be geared towards prehabilitation and imbalances. This is

not a

bodybuilding program, this is a program to make you bigger, faster and stronger. So,

nothing is open for debate.

Assistance work will be any kind of lat/upper back work, abdominal training and

work for the rotator cuff. Any low back training MUST be done with a back raise or

reverse hyperextension. Curls can be done to help shoulders and elbows.

Hamstring work can be done with a glute-ham raise. In short, all assistance work is

to be non-intrusive to the main

work. If in doubt, leave it out. You don’t need it.

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Setting up your 12--‐Week SSS Program

This is very easy, and I’ll outline it completely for you. The first six weeks will be

the off-

season phase. The second six-week phase, wil be the prep phase for peaking.

First 3--‐Week Phase (Off Season)

Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

Speed Work (jumps, Speed Work (jumps, Speed Work (jumps, Speed Work (jumps,

throws, sprints)

throws, sprints)

throws, sprints)

throws, sprints)

Press – 5 singles at Deadlift – 5 singles

Bench Press – 5

Squat – 5 singles at

90% of your TM

at 90% of your TM singles at 90% of

90% of your TM

your TM

Dumbbell Bench

Straight Leg Deadlift Incline Press – 5 sets SS Bar Squat – 5

Press – 5 sets of 10

sets

– 5 sets of 10 reps

of 10 reps

of 10 reps

reps

Lat/Upper

Abdominal Work

Lat/Upper

Abdominal Work

Back/Biceps

Back/Biceps

Second 3--‐Week Phase (Off Season)

Note: Be sure to increase your TM on your upper-body movements by 5 pounds

and your

lower-body movements by 10 pounds).

Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

Speed Work (jumps, Speed Work (jumps, Speed Work (jumps, Speed Work (jumps,

throws, sprints)

throws, sprints)

throws, sprints)

throws, sprints)

Press – 5 singles at Deadlift – 5 singles

Bench Press – 5

Squat – 5 singles at

90% of your TM

at 90% of your TM singles at 90% of

90% of your TM

your TM

DB Incline Press – 5 Good Morning – 5

Floor Press – 5 sets Leg Press – 5 sets of

sets of 10 reps

sets of 10 reps

of 10 reps

Lat/Upper

Abdominal Work

Lat/Upper

Abdominal Work

Back/Biceps

Back/Biceps

Now we start the prep phase to peak. For this phase, replace the “5x10” with the “5’s

Progression”. All six weeks of the program will use the same lifts for the 5’s

Progression. Remember that after the third week of this prep phase, you MUST

increase your TM. Also, don’t be afraid to work up higher on your singles.

Prep Phase – Final Six Weeks

Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

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Speed Work (jumps, Speed Work (jumps, Speed Work (jumps, Speed Work (jumps,

throws, sprints)

throws, sprints)

throws, sprints)

throws, sprints)

Press – 5 singles at Deadlift – 5 singles

Bench Press – 5

Squat – 5 singles at

90% of your TM

at 90% of your TM singles at 90% of

90% of your TM

your TM

Incline Press – 3x5 Front Squat – 3x5

Floor Press – 3x5

Trap Bar Deadlift –

3x5

Lat/Upper

Abdominal Work

Lat/Upper

Abdominal Work

Back/Biceps

Back/Biceps

Volume Work – 75/85

This might be the easiest workout to plan and train with in the world, even easier

than the original 5/3/1 program. This is also one of the best ways to train if you

are an advanced lifter. If you are still stuck in the bodybuilding-mode, then this is

NOT for you.

A LOT of auto-regulation is needed for this program, so experience is necessary to

succeed. You will have to adjust the number of sets and number of training days

based on how you feel, your own experiences and how your body reacts.

In this training program, there are two workouts: an “A Workout” and a “B Workout”.

The A Workout consists of two exercises – the squat and the bench press. The B

Workout consists of the deadlift and the press. These four exercises make up the

bulk of your training. You can choose whatever you want to do with assistance

work but let’s say this: if you have energy or need to do anything other than these

lifts and injury/supportive assistance work, you are clearly not using the program

correctly. This isn’t training for the people who need to “feel like they need to get

sore” or use any number of workout programs that hide

behind “WORK HARD!!” because they don’t know how to work smart. All the reps

done are

crisp and you should walk out of the weight room without being worn down/out.

You can do as many “A” and “B” workouts a week as you want. You can also

mix/match

some portions of the training.

The objective of this program is to TRAIN, not to test you. This is the main difference

between this program and the 5/3/1 program and some of the other variations.

Personally, I love testing myself with PR sets and pushing every day. But once you get

to a 2x bodyweight bench press and a 3x squat and deadlift, things aren’t the

same. Those of you who have reached this point in your training know exactly

what I’m talking about – you can’t maintain this level year-round. So we use

multiple sets at lighter weights to build strength and speed. Let me make this clear

– this is NOT dynamic work. This is sub-max

training at its finest and this is what it’s designed for.

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For the main lifts, you have two weights – the first weight is around 75% of your

max and the second is 85%. Again, these are always approximations and they are

always based on your training max, not your competitive max. Why would you

base any lift in training on your competition max? It makes zero sense.

75% Volume Work