I killed yesterday’s workout. It consisted of bench and pullups. Yep, that’s it. I have pared my training down to two exercises per workout. I posted it up in last week’s blog https://www.elitefts.com/coaching-logs/the-last-531-program-ill-ever-need/ Keep in mind, I am following Wendler’s 531 Boring But Big program which has a fair amount of volume built into your main exercise.
When I started my program back in December I was very suspect about just having two movements per session. I actually left room in my training journal for some extra exercises like curls, pushdowns, facepulls, bandwork, etc.
For the first month or so of training, I completed a lot of those little exercises I mentioned above. Then life got in the way a few times and it kept me from doing them. Interestingly, I noticed as I was cutting them out, I felt increasingly better and better over time
I know it seems trivial, however, a bunch of band pulldowns, tke’s, and such are work. It does require physical energy, mental energy, and even more importantly - TIME. I don’t know about you, but when I think about it, I’d rather spend that time and energy on what is most important. For me, crushing my main movement, saving energy for conditioning, and time for recovery are far more important than some light dumbbell lateral raises..
Here’s the ironic part. Even after experiencing all of what I said above, when I was creating my next month of 5/3/1 for my journal, I was really reluctant to remove those extra exercises. We are creatures of habit people. Plus, if you are like me, you are more afraid of doing too little instead of too much. My suggestion, GET OVER IT! Focus on what is most important. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Less is more if you are doing it right.
