Last month we wrapped up the latest, 6-week, 5/3/1 based, strength-specific program at 626. Continuing as I have done in the past, below is a recap of the results for the 5 recent participants.
Just when I think I’ll be able to predict the results based on past data, a group breaks the mold….
Week 1 Max Lifts (Pre)
| Bench Press | Back Squat | Shoulder Press | Deadlift | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard | 175 | 265 | 120 | 300 |
| Shivaly | 73 | 103 | 65 | 185 |
| Katie | 100 | 135 | 75 | 220 |
| Brenda | 78 | 98 | 65 | 190 |
| Monica | 83 | 170 | 70 | 250 |
Week 6 Max Lifts (Post)
| Bench Press | Back Squat | Shoulder Press | Deadlift | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard | 185 | 300 | 125 | 340 |
| Shivaly | 85 | 125 | 75 | 188 |
| Katie | 115 | 155 | 80 | 230 |
| Brenda | 90 | 140 | 75 | 200 |
| Monica | 95 | 200 | 75 | 265 |
Percentage Gains
| Bench Press | Back Squat | Shoulder Press | Deadlift | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard | 6 | 13 | 4 | 13 |
| Shivaly | 16 | 21 | 15 | 2 |
| Katie | 15 | 15 | 7 | 5 |
| Brenda | 15 | 43 | 15 | 5 |
| Monica | 14 | 18 | 7 | 6 |
Discussion
This was the 5th session we’ve run at the gym and while the structure has mostly been the same across all sessions, I continue to experiment with each group – modifying supplement work, changing up the 5/3/1 lifts based on performance on the AMRAPs, etc.
This time around, I made some minor tweaks to the supplemental work and continued with my experiment of upping weekly loads based on what I would consider “out of range” results on the AMRAPs (as I did with the previous group). Encouragingly, this group observed the greatest performance increases of any group to date.
Previous groups have averaged an approximate 8 – 9% increase across the 4 lifts. This group saw a collective increase of 323 lbs. corresponding to a nearly 11.5% gain!
Of course, the sample size is quite small – each session consists of only 5 to 6 people, but each person in the latest session achieved greater than a 9% increase individually – an outstanding result.
Moving forward, I think I’ll keep the supplemental work the same for the next session to explore whether the improvements of this group were chance or if they were in any way due to the changes to the program this time around. If the results are similar I’ll be sure to post the differences in the supplemental work that yielded these improved numbers.
We’ll be running the strength program at 626 more frequently in the future, so stay tuned for updates.
