It looks like these posts are going to be a recurring thing now that the strength program has caught on over at 626.  I can’t say that I blame them, with each new cycle the members continue to achieve astounding results.  If you missed the first 5/3/1 results post, follow this link.  Okay, let’s get right into the results from the second session.  The first table shows the 1 rep max numbers achieved by each member during the first week of the program.

Bench PressBack SquatShoulder PressDeadlift
Jeanine9013060150
Ellen7513060160
Rod245245150280
Virginia9013565200
Molly9010565155
Tara12516065205
Grant170225105315
Kris175300135375
Grace9315363195
Paul205235135355
Sawanee6811358188
Clay215245165365
Ana9314363195

After three weeks of strength training and one week of de-loading, the new max lifts are in the next table.

Bench PressBack SquatShoulder PressDeadlift
Jeanine9515065150
Ellen8514562165
Rod250245160290
Virginia9516572215
Molly8012565160
Tara12516585255
Grant185240115355
Kris205325155415
Grace10817873208
Paul225275145365
SawaneeTBDTBDTBDTBD
Clay235285165385
Ana10316368203

To give you an idea of the relative gains for each lifter, the final table shows percentage gain for each of the lifts.

Bench PressBack SquatShoulder PressDeadlift
Jeanine5.56%15.38%8.33%0.00%
Ellen13.33%11.54%3.33%3.13%
Rod2.04%0.00%6.67%3.57%
Virginia5.56%22.22%10.77%7.50%
Molly-11.11%19.05%0.00%3.23%
Tara0.00%3.13%30.77%24.39%
Grant8.82%6.67%9.52%12.70%
Kris17.14%8.33%14.81%10.67%
Grace16.13%16.34%15.87%6.67%
Paul9.76%17.02%7.41%2.82%
SawaneeTBDTBDTBDTBD
Clay9.30%16.33%0.00%5.48%
Ana10.75%13.99%7.94%4.10%

As a group, they increased their lifts by a total of 695 lbs, which works out to an 8.3% average gain.  This is amazingly close to the 8.8% achieved by the group from the first session.  I’m also waiting for one lifter to finish her 1RM testing, which will knock up the percentage gain a bit.  As I continue this program, it will be really interesting to see if gains in the 8 – 9% range persist.

In my previous 5/3/1 post I speculated that a large component of the gains lifters were achieving was due to having little to no previous experience with a dedicated strength program and simply becoming more comfortable with each of the lifts.  I was fortunate enough to have three members from the first sequence continue on to the second so I’m starting to get data on this.

As a group, the three lifters were outliers as compared to others in the first session.  Their percentage gain was 15.9% (compared to 8.8% averaged across the whole group).  In their second sequence this number fell to 6.1% but the interesting thing is that number is more inline with the gains achieved by the entire group.  It is astounding to me that across both sessions the group of three achieved an average increase of 21.6% – this is from 6 weeks of work spread out over about 2 months.

I look forward to collecting more data, continuing to tweak the program and also experimenting with alternate strength programs to see how the results vary.  We’ve decided to hold off on the next session until the first of the year, but at that time I’m considering running a 5/3/1 program concurrently with something more Westside Barbell based.  Stay tuned for the results!