Questions 10
- What Do I Do When 3x5 Runs Out?
- How Can I Quickly Get More Mobile / Flexible?
- My XYZ Feels Funny…
What Do I Do When 3x5 Runs Out?
It depends…
3x5 is an excellent way of getting people really strong really fast, as long as they meet the conditions for growth.
One day this will run out... It just isn’t possible to keep adding 2.5 kg twice per week forever.
We need to see you miss twice. If you miss once, we can call that an off day - dehydrated, poor sleep, fight with the other half, not eaten, whatever…
Missing once might look like:
160 x 5 - 5 - 5
162.5 x 5 - 5 - 5
165 x 5 - 4 - 3
165 x 5 - 5 - 5
Missing twice might look like:
160 x 5 - 5 - 5
162.5 x 5 - 5 - 5
165 x 5 - 4 - 3
165 x 5 - 4 - 3
If you miss twice, and it’s a respectable weight, we can assume you have finished novice progression. You now have options...
Option 1 - Variety.
If two people back squat, one may develop glutes and quads, one may develop hammies and back… Variety [the option on the board] should now be used to bring up any weak areas, improve technique, avoid imbalances & injuries, and continue to drive adaptation. This works well for both genders.
Option 2 - Running It Out.
If there’s no overuse injury lurking round the bend, running it out is a possible option…
Men: continue to try and hit a new 5rm every session, followed by 2 back off sets [take about 10% off for these]
Women: 3x3 is the way forward… Possibly even 5x3 if time allows.
Important Shit To Note.
Try not to sabotage your own training by eating low calorie, using poor technique, or deciding to do something else… Linear progression will take you surprisingly far surprisingly quickly if you stay consistent and meet the conditions for growth. If you don’t meet the conditions for growth, you’ll get stuck sooner - this does not make you an intermediate…
If you had to take some time off for whatever reason [food poisoning… Did he mention that?] then reduce the weight from your last session. By how much will depend on the individual and the length of time out - use common sense, and if you don’t have any, ask someone who does.
How Can I Quickly Get More Flexible / Mobile?
Ultimately it’s consistency that leads to progress.
A while back I wrote about the benefits of 3-5 minutes of joint circles first thing in the morning.
You could easily add in slow Cossack squats [keeping your hips low] - this will drastically improve ankle and hip mobility. Why not add in a gymnastic bridge and table rocks for the shoulders? A few paused deep lunges for the hip flexors and hammies?
It doesn’t take 5 minutes, but you can see some impressive mobility progress in a month if you stay consistent…
My XYZ Feels Funny…
No single part can be understood except in its relation to the whole. To fix a problem / symptom, you need to know how it fits into your entire being / behaviour. Everything is situated in the context of your life / biography.
As an example: if you only ever carry things on one side - bags of cement / equipment / whatever - then you can’t be too surprised when you develop problems on one side after, say, deadlifting... The solution is not to permanently stop deadlifting, but rather to balance out the body. The easiest thing to do is carry your equipment on the other side. If this is not possible [military personnel, etc] then a focus in the gym is needed with sandbag and suitcase carries etc.
If you need help, come find me.
“Sit the f*** down and have a beer…”
~ Coach Collins
Copyright 2018
- What Do I Do When 3x5 Runs Out?
- How Can I Quickly Get More Mobile / Flexible?
- My XYZ Feels Funny…
What Do I Do When 3x5 Runs Out?
It depends…
3x5 is an excellent way of getting people really strong really fast, as long as they meet the conditions for growth.
One day this will run out... It just isn’t possible to keep adding 2.5 kg twice per week forever.
We need to see you miss twice. If you miss once, we can call that an off day - dehydrated, poor sleep, fight with the other half, not eaten, whatever…
Missing once might look like:
160 x 5 - 5 - 5
162.5 x 5 - 5 - 5
165 x 5 - 4 - 3
165 x 5 - 5 - 5
Missing twice might look like:
160 x 5 - 5 - 5
162.5 x 5 - 5 - 5
165 x 5 - 4 - 3
165 x 5 - 4 - 3
If you miss twice, and it’s a respectable weight, we can assume you have finished novice progression. You now have options...
Option 1 - Variety.
If two people back squat, one may develop glutes and quads, one may develop hammies and back… Variety [the option on the board] should now be used to bring up any weak areas, improve technique, avoid imbalances & injuries, and continue to drive adaptation. This works well for both genders.
Option 2 - Running It Out.
If there’s no overuse injury lurking round the bend, running it out is a possible option…
Men: continue to try and hit a new 5rm every session, followed by 2 back off sets [take about 10% off for these]
Women: 3x3 is the way forward… Possibly even 5x3 if time allows.
Important Shit To Note.
Try not to sabotage your own training by eating low calorie, using poor technique, or deciding to do something else… Linear progression will take you surprisingly far surprisingly quickly if you stay consistent and meet the conditions for growth. If you don’t meet the conditions for growth, you’ll get stuck sooner - this does not make you an intermediate…
If you had to take some time off for whatever reason [food poisoning… Did he mention that?] then reduce the weight from your last session. By how much will depend on the individual and the length of time out - use common sense, and if you don’t have any, ask someone who does.
How Can I Quickly Get More Flexible / Mobile?
Ultimately it’s consistency that leads to progress.
A while back I wrote about the benefits of 3-5 minutes of joint circles first thing in the morning.
You could easily add in slow Cossack squats [keeping your hips low] - this will drastically improve ankle and hip mobility. Why not add in a gymnastic bridge and table rocks for the shoulders? A few paused deep lunges for the hip flexors and hammies?
It doesn’t take 5 minutes, but you can see some impressive mobility progress in a month if you stay consistent…
My XYZ Feels Funny…
No single part can be understood except in its relation to the whole. To fix a problem / symptom, you need to know how it fits into your entire being / behaviour. Everything is situated in the context of your life / biography.
As an example: if you only ever carry things on one side - bags of cement / equipment / whatever - then you can’t be too surprised when you develop problems on one side after, say, deadlifting... The solution is not to permanently stop deadlifting, but rather to balance out the body. The easiest thing to do is carry your equipment on the other side. If this is not possible [military personnel, etc] then a focus in the gym is needed with sandbag and suitcase carries etc.
If you need help, come find me.
“Sit the f*** down and have a beer…”
~ Coach Collins
Copyright 2018
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* She's gotten a lot stronger since March...
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