1 July 2013 - Beyond 5/3/1 -How it will affect me.

I am nearly finished reading and hoisting it a board into my thick skull. As always Jim Wendler provides outstanding material. I first bought 5/3/1 in 2009 pretty much the first week it came out if i recall. It took me about 6 months of messing around before i got the program down solidly. I have lifted weights in some form or fashion since i was 13 which is going on 24 being in various weight rooms. But i would say my education since 2009 has been exponential. Partially because the internet has made mass amounts of real training info available. But Also because with one book purchase Jim Wendler turned what i thought was 2 decades of lifting knowledge on it's head. 5/3/1 was one of those turning points.
When he released 5/3/1 for Powerlifting i picked it up as well as 5/3/1 2nd edition. Both were very solid stand alone books. expanding on the original material while staying true to the core program. I still reference them. I think one of Wendler's biggest strengths is being able to break stuff down to the level of a 10 yr old. It also can be a curse for the first time reader. At least for me it was. I could not believe lifting and getting Strong(er) was so straight forward. My yrs spent doing multiple magazine programs, lifting with Kettle bells, and some other stuff too was all too often misguided in the grand scheme of things. I was always trying to serve too many masters.
When i tore my ACL last year i did a few things. I consulted with Friend, Coach and Guru Harry Selkow. I emailed Elite Powerlifter Jeremy Frey on the Elitefts Q&A. I also picked up my copy of 5/3/1. I read through it in it's entirety, I read and re-read Jim's T-nation post on how he came back from his shoulder surgery. I attempted to put together a plan for myself to charge into surgery. To go in as strong as I could be. I guess in a way i asked myself "What would Jim Wendler do?" and how would he keep this N.O.V.? Realize at the time of the ACL Tear i finally had a cylinders running on full. My Trg weights for Squat and Deadlift were around 400 lbs, My Trg weights for Press was closing in on 200 lbs, and my Bench around 250 lbs. I had all the pieces together.
So yeah the day of the Tear i was pissed. I had every emotion go through me that is humanly possible. But after about 2 hrs or so of having a pity party i got down to business. By the time surgery rolled around my leg was bullet proof and most people did not believe i was severely injured. Mostily because i had altered my training to accommodate my injury and to keep moving forward.Coming out of surgery and the subsequent months up until May were fairly smooth sailing. It has only been the last month where my body rebelled slightly but i have that under control. (damn dislocated rib heads)
But i applied the same conscientious approach coming out of surgery of being careful but still pushing my body to get strong(er) every day. But the last month i have felt a little lost. I was looking back to get onto 5/3/1 but was not sure how i would do it. First i had to be honest with myself. As far as i have come, i still have have further to go, until i am back to where i was this time last year. So be it.
But now i have a whole new re-vamped program to use. Tonight i applied it for the first time. It was a perfect fit. The Joker sets, the last set first. It is just what i need at this point and time in my recovery. My Training maxes have dropped. So be it. They will go up, every 3 weeks because I am willing to put the blood, toil and sacrifice to push those numbers up.
This is not simply 5/3/1 with some varied assistance work. Jim has taken the time to write functional templates with the core 5/3/1 philosophy involved. He has taken those philosophies and adapted them to multiple scenarios. This book is full of ideas and ways to apply them intelligently. He even has a whole new program that i still have to go through a little more till i understand it fully. Once again he has set the bar for simple straight forward strength training
I just want to say Thank you to Jim Wendler for taking the time to write another spectacular program(s).  From the first time i read 5/3/1  he has re-educated me and challenged me to keep learning in and out of the gym. Thanks for that as well.

Don't think less of yourself, he says that constantly. So don't. This week my surgeon cleared me to return to normal activities. He could not tell the difference between my two knees. Credit that to my mindset. Credit that to my training. Credit that to the help i have received from friends, family and coaches. Thank you to them too.

Keep Moving Forward, Keep Getting Strong(er)