Shades McCool
New member
Ok, this system has always worked very well for me and I was wondering what you all thought of it. I use it on my major compound lifts. It was called the "Bigger Faster Stronger System" when it was introduced to me. When on it, I have never plateued.
It goes something like this.
You have a basic four week rotation:
3x3...3x5...5-3-1...10-8-6 (6-4-2 for cleans and deads)
You also must keep a very detailed journal with this system. I have it so there are two pages for each lift (I do Squats, Bench, Hanging Cleans, and Deads on this system). You can still do all your auxillary lifts however you want. I just use this for the main lifts.
The first page for a lift has 4 columns(one for each week) where you record your sets. The second page for the lift is a large grid. There are either 10 or 6 columns depending on the lift. There are as many rows as you can fit on the page. The columns represent your PR for each number of reps. So in this system you have a PR for reps 1-10 or reps 1-6. The rows are where you record when you break a PR.
So you start out on this system. The first day you are doing your 3x3 workout on bench. Say on the first set you warm up with 225. You get that easy, thats great. You feel good and put 260 on and pump out 3 for your second set. Then you let your ego go to your head and try 280 on your third set and get 2. So in your grid you should fill out your PR's. Your 1 rep PR is 280, 2 rep is 280 and your 3 rep is 260.
So after 1 month of working out you should have the whole first row filled out with the PR for each corresponding rep number. You get to start back at the 3x3 workout. You look at your grid and see your 3 rep record is 260 lbs. You know you should try 265 or 270(if you are feeling great I guess) on your second set(1st set is a warmup usually 15lbs less than the 3 rep PR) to break your 3 rep PR.
If you break the 3 rep PR on your second set you can try to go up weight and try to increase your 3 rep PR again on your 3rd set or you can try and break your 4 rep PR or your 2 rep PR...its all up to you. In your grid, you should have 265 in the second row of the 3 rep column.
All I can say is I have never plateued using this system. All you have to do is work hard and make sure you record right. I know there are probably much better systems than this out there, but this works for me.
I can answer any questions anyone has and I also have Excel spreadsheets with the printable versions of the recording page and grid page. I can send them to anyone who is interested. Also give me what you guys think about this. Is anyone doing anything like this? Any comments are welcome. And by the way Happy Holidays!!!!!
Shades
It goes something like this.
You have a basic four week rotation:
3x3...3x5...5-3-1...10-8-6 (6-4-2 for cleans and deads)
You also must keep a very detailed journal with this system. I have it so there are two pages for each lift (I do Squats, Bench, Hanging Cleans, and Deads on this system). You can still do all your auxillary lifts however you want. I just use this for the main lifts.
The first page for a lift has 4 columns(one for each week) where you record your sets. The second page for the lift is a large grid. There are either 10 or 6 columns depending on the lift. There are as many rows as you can fit on the page. The columns represent your PR for each number of reps. So in this system you have a PR for reps 1-10 or reps 1-6. The rows are where you record when you break a PR.
So you start out on this system. The first day you are doing your 3x3 workout on bench. Say on the first set you warm up with 225. You get that easy, thats great. You feel good and put 260 on and pump out 3 for your second set. Then you let your ego go to your head and try 280 on your third set and get 2. So in your grid you should fill out your PR's. Your 1 rep PR is 280, 2 rep is 280 and your 3 rep is 260.
So after 1 month of working out you should have the whole first row filled out with the PR for each corresponding rep number. You get to start back at the 3x3 workout. You look at your grid and see your 3 rep record is 260 lbs. You know you should try 265 or 270(if you are feeling great I guess) on your second set(1st set is a warmup usually 15lbs less than the 3 rep PR) to break your 3 rep PR.
If you break the 3 rep PR on your second set you can try to go up weight and try to increase your 3 rep PR again on your 3rd set or you can try and break your 4 rep PR or your 2 rep PR...its all up to you. In your grid, you should have 265 in the second row of the 3 rep column.
All I can say is I have never plateued using this system. All you have to do is work hard and make sure you record right. I know there are probably much better systems than this out there, but this works for me.
I can answer any questions anyone has and I also have Excel spreadsheets with the printable versions of the recording page and grid page. I can send them to anyone who is interested. Also give me what you guys think about this. Is anyone doing anything like this? Any comments are welcome. And by the way Happy Holidays!!!!!
Shades