I have been doing 5/3/1 for 7 months now and my original goal with 5/3/1 was to reach my previous rep PR’s and surpass them.
For most of last year and some of this year I was hitting rep PR’s on the Bench Press regularly although I didnt reach my previous rep PR’s on the Squat and Deadlift although I came very close and im sure I would have surpassed them if I hadn’t switched to timed carb dieting but at that point some fat loss was more of a priority than PR’s.
My training over the last year has suffered due to leaving my job (which always ensured routine) brining up my young family and starting a business. Over the past year I haven’t trained enough or eaten properly enough and that’s nobodys fault but mine. Despite this I had a good run with the Bench Press which im very happy with and I still have good baseline strength (for me) on the Squat and Deadlift.
The reps on 5/3/1 are getting on the low and heavy side I could reset and work back up but after 7 months I feel a change of pace is needed so I will be transitioning back into Basebuilding.
I used Basebuilding for around 16 weeks last year and it worked quite well Basebuilding is a different stimulus to 5/3/1 and is basically sub maximal volume training with the powerlifts.
This time round im going to be using a belt with the Squat and Deadlift last time I didnt and when I used the belt again I had to relearn how to use one properly which I feel set me back.
The days and exercises will remain the same except that the main 5/3/1 lifts will be switched to Basebuilding models accessory exercises will see an increase in sets (from 3 to 4) and a slight decrease in weight and rest times.
I will use my current 5/3/1 maxes for the Basebuilding maxes to start with and adjust accordingly.
Let the Basebuilding begin