Blood and Chalk Volume 2: Jim Wendler Talks Big Weights
by Bryan Krahn
11/10/09

The Hellraiser returns with answers about bands and chains, reverse hypers, assistance moves for the squat, mixed-grip lifting, and lots more topics.

Awesome.

Is this going to be a monthly feature now?

Interesting bit about the curls. What's the reasoning behind that?

I liked the part where you mention wearing a specific shirt or listening to music as a good pre workout routine. Personally I need to take a hot shower before I lift. Seems weird because I'm gonna be soaked in sweat when I'm done ,but it does more for me than a few hundred milligrams of caffeine.

Love this program, on my third cycle. Have not felt this strong since my early 20's. Jim you fucking rock. If half of the internet generation would just shut up and follow 5/3/1 to the letter they would make gains like never before. If you can't hang stop lifting and go do something else, lifting weights is about blood, sweat and pain.

Sorry had a little rant, I don't know how you can even answer half the questions you get, my hats off to you. Keep it coming with articles like this, the only reason I keep coming to this site.

Great article. That last paragraph made my fuckin day!

Haha awesome quote

"At certain times of your life you've got to quit being such a slave to your pussiness and step up and see how well you can do under shitty conditions."

Incredible quote that I am going to save. Everytime I didn't get enough sleep or feel stressed out or like I'm coming down with something I just tell myself to stop being a pussy. 90% of the time I go to the gym and crush it.

"People have always been working labor jobs for long hours. There are single mom's working two jobs and still finding time for their kids. There are soldiers that fought for our country that were hungry, tired, thirsty, and with pieces of steel stuck in their bodies, but somehow they were able to pull it together in combat. Why can't you get your shit together for an hour and do a couple sets of squats?"

Truest words ever spoken.

I liked the perspective on instinctive training. It is something that is gained through many years of hard work, through many years of following certain programs and working your ass off at them. A new lifter has no idea what his instinct is actually telling him when he lifts because everything hurts.

Only the veteran knows his body well enough to be able to say that his body is telling him something important because he's gained a strong connection with this body through years of hard work.

Interviews on guys like Jim are defintely a step in the right direction here.

Speaking of which, any possibility of an in-depth interview with Matt Kroczaleski down the road?

Jim, I'm in the exact situation you describe: having a weak military press. I'd love to improve it on 5/3/1, but my calculations off of 90% of my 1 RM put me doing significant time at 35# and 40#. Should I use dumbbells for all weights below 45#? Load up the ez curl bar? Something else?

I'd sure appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!

"This is a simple black & white issue with me. If you're so worried about tearing a biceps that you don't want to do a mixed grip deadlift, you clearly don't want to lift big weight, and therefore you're in the wrong hobby. You probably also own a lot of ties and drink wine- so you and I likely wouldn't get along, either"

Fairly interesting interview but this statement is laughable. I don't know if Jim is just being sarcastic or is serious but a man's taste in alcohol and fashion has little if anything to do with his desire to bust ass and get big and stong (by the way, I neither drink wine nor wear ties, although a friend of mine with a raw drug-free deadlift of 625 lbs. wears a suit and tie to work and drinks merlot.)

You don't have to be a "blue-collar" type to be a "bad-ass" in the gym. If a man trains with passion and intensity who gives a shit how he dresses or what he likes to drink? What goes on within the four walls of the gym is all that matters. Live and let live, Jim.

Jim: Why haven't you accepted my Facebook friend request? Are you avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?

J/K man.....thanks for another awesome article...I'm still making awesome gains on 5-3-1 and have decided to do a PL competition in Norfolk in February. Many thanks!

I love the last paragraph.

These articles are fantastic!

^X2

"People have always been working labor jobs for long hours. There are single mom's working two jobs and still finding time for their kids. There are soldiers that fought for our country that were hungry, tired, thirsty, and with pieces of steel stuck in their bodies, but somehow they were able to pull it together in combat. Why can't you get your shit together for an hour and do a couple sets of squats?"

=

Very awesome, and true. This is why the world has gone to shit, most people have forgotten about getting the fuck over their own meager problems instead of just getting shit done.

Now I want to go lift weights.

Jim,

In the Bigger, Faster, Stronger program, the fourth week has reps of 10,8, and 6. We have had a lot of success with this program at our high school. We had never used your 5/3/1 version with percentages before but are about to start using them with some of our kids.

My question is this, what advantage does your fourth week have over the old BFS program of 10/8/6 for our high school athletes?

Where can I read the details of the program?