I have not been happy with training pretty much since last summer. That is a very weird thing for me as it's something I have loved forever. I have tried various programs since then, but nothing has stuck. However, I just kept on because that's what I do. I'm one of those people who believes in working harder than smarter if need be and that I'd figure things out eventually.

I think the first reason for my malaise was because I got caught up in training for the NOV Meet in late fall and just had my numbers too high. It left me feeling too beat up all the time. I need to remind myself that I have and can still make progress using sub max numbers.

As I was training for pure strength, I cut back on conditioning because that's what you are supposed to do. That made me miserable. I have come to love conditioning. It's great for not only how I look, but how I feel.

Another truth I am realizing is that I can't train full body two times a week. I cannot recover from training my whole upper body on both bench and overhead press days and my lower body twice on both deadlift and squat days.

Lastly, I was getting too caught up in assistance work. I started looking for what I thought would be the best exercises along with set and rep ranges. It was very consuming and unnecessary.

For the last bunch of months I have just kept plugging along waiting for the right inspiration to get me on track and then it hit me. I'm going to once again follow that pipe dream of doing a full meet after a 20 year layoff. However, in order for it to work it has to be well planned out so I can recover as well as enjoy the process.

So here's what I came up with. I'm pretty much training the main lifts of squat, bench, ohp, and deadlift at around 60%. The percentage was pretty arbitrary. Basically I started juggling around numbers until I found ones that I would be comfortable with. Considering I have not used anything other than the yoke and trap bar for squats and deads, I needed my numbers to be very conservative and 60% filled the bill.

At this point I don't want to be using a true AMRAP as form degrades as weight gets heavy. Plus I want to be able to recover better than I have recently. More importantly, I have to find and work my form. You'll notice below I capped the "AMRAP" sets at 10. The plan is, as long as I continually hit 10's for my top sets, for the following month's cycle I'll add ten pounds to the lifts. I know ten pounds a month does not sound like a lot, but that means a year from now I'll be hitting sets of ten with 120 lbs more than I'm doing right now. I'm also throwing an FSL set of 15 for some additional volume after my top set.

For assistance I have split up my bodyparts as they made sense to me. This way I'm for the most part only hitting them once a week. I know the main lifts have some overlap, but it still allows for a lot more recovery between sessions than I was getting with my traditional 5/3/1 program. It kind of mirrors the 5/3/1 Bodybuilding Template, but I am not following that assistance protocol.

The assistance exercises are as follows, I will be doing whatever the hell I feel like that day. I'll be doing them for however many sets and reps that tickles my fancy at that particular moment. This fulfills me in a couple of ways. First, I'll stop chasing perfect movements, sets, and rep counts. In addition it helps me out with my training ADHD. Lastly, I have noticed some overuse issues from getting stuck in the same movements. This remedies that problem as well.

Like I said earlier, I love conditioning. With my training days I'll be finishing with a conditioning tabata. These are only four minutes long, but are brutal. I usually choose from squat thrusts, kettlebell swings, airdyne, or jump rope. For my non training days I'll be doing 20 minutes to an hour of steady state work. These will comprise of either walking or jogging on the treadmill. I also like to get outside for weight vest walks or hikes. I'll also on occasion drag the sled.

There you go, my very well thought out and comprehensive program. I can qualify this by letting you all know I have been running it for the past two weeks with great success. I am having fun getting under a squat bar and conventionally deadlifting and I'm making strides in form. The assistance has been fun and I have been killing the conditioning. It checks all the boxes that are important to me.

I do want to finish with this, I have read all of Wendler's 5/3/1 books. If you get some ideas from this, great. However Jim is far knowledgeable about training than I will ever be. Chances are the prefect program for you is in one of his books so make sure to read them.

MONDAY:
OHP (Viking press) 5/3/1 - 10 rep AMRAP Max, & 15 FSL reps
Assistance Shoulders and biceps
Conditioning Tabata

TUESDAY:
Conditioning Steady state 20-60 minutes

WEDNESDAY:
Deadlift 5/3/1 - 10 rep AMRAP Max, & 15 FSL reps
Assistance Upper and lower back
Conditioning Tabata

THURSDAY:
Conditioning Steady state 20-60 minutes

FRIDAY:
Bench 5/3/1 - 10 rep AMRAP Max, & 15 FSL reps
Assistance Chest and triceps
Conditioning Tabata

SATURDAY:
Squat (Duffalo bar) 5/3/1 - 10 rep AMRAP Max, & 15 FSL reps
Assistance Legs and abs
Conditioning Tabata

SUNDAY:
Conditioning Steady state 20-60 minutes