The following is a portion of the new book, 5/3/1 Forever. The book is extensive and covers how to PROGRAM your training for long term results. Besides the actual weight training, conditioning, jumps/throws, mobility, conditioning and recovery are discussed. This has been years in the making with a lot of successes and a lot of failures.
The goal of the book is to give you the tools to help plan and periodize your training, whatever your goals may be. While you do need a working knowledge of the 5/3/1 program, you do not need a PhD in Strength/Conditioning to follow any of the programs. There are literally thousands of program possibilities which give you the option to pursue whatever you seek; the good thing is that each program has guidelines that can keep you on track.
This book is a good example of how training evolves when one always seeks to be a student of your passion. Even now, the training continues to evolve with athletes I coach; nothing remains stagnant and I'm always looking to learn and evolve to help others. This doesn't mean training becomes more complex; in fact, it is the opposite. The results I've had with the athletes and this program is immense; what has happened over the last year has been more than anything I could have imagined in helping athletes become stronger, faster, bigger and in better shape. The applications are limitless provided you commit to principles and evolve as needed.
Below is an excerpt from 5/3/1 Forever.
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"The final step of recovery is what I hope to accomplish with this book: having a plan. My goal is to put you in the best position, month after month, for success. I see too many people trying to run Boring But Big, First Set Last, PR sets, Joker sets, a ridiculous amount of assistance work and then push the Prowler – all done four days/week. This may work for you, but only for a short time. A smart way to program for the long term is to mix/match each different portion of your training. A smart approach does not make you less hardcore.
This doesn’t mean you’ll always make huge gains every week. This means you’ll have a system of principles that allow you to make progress over a long period of time. For too long, training has been about burying yourself. I can’t count the number of times people tell me, “Jim, I feel really good and strong. I was thinking about adding X to my training.” Training is SUPPOSED to make you feel strong; constantly trying to bury yourself is what I call self-sabotage. I’m hoping this is as benign as believing that training involves total suffering; martyrs for the strong! At worst, this is an unconscious decision to constantly bask in a world of complaints, afraid of success because the victim is now reviled as a hero in our society. It’s a bit dramatic, but I can’t find the answer why anyone is changing what works. If you won the lotto every week with the same numbers, why would you change? Whatever the case, success can be had if you use your plan and use your head.
Believe in what you do. Be honest in your commitment. Be ruthless in that commitment. Work with what you have and what you are given; and never try to be anyone other than yourself. As said before, you are not Dan Gable. You are not Arnold. And this is a blessing because you get to define and conquer as YOU. All of this is important for recovery, as this is the mindset that allows you to persevere when things become difficult."
* You need a working knowledge of 5/3/1 to enjoy and get the full benefits of the programming in 5/3/1 Forever. Please start HERE for best results.
