I thought it would be good to give kind of an overview of my workouts. My coach does a 5/3/1 type program customized to fit what the lifter needs. Despite the Jim Wendler namesake for the design, this type of programming has been around for decades. That doesn't diminish Wendler at all though as his methods are proven.
My current main lift split is Monday - Deadlift, Wednesday - Bench, Friday - Squat. Tuesdays and Thursdays are assistance days with lighter weights and focus on volume. For example, on a Tuesday I might do Lat pull-downs, Reverse Leg Curls, Stiff Leg Deadlifts, dumbbell rows or Glute-Ham Developer in some combination. Basically focusing more on lower to mid-back stuff. Doing a lot of upper-back exercises would impede bench day. Thursday then is a shoulder/upper back with overhead presses (standing or sitting), some front/side raises, upright rows or t-bar rows, shrugs and maybe some hammer curls at the end.
For the main lifts, my coach's mantra is that there is never enough warm-up. Always start with the bar and leave your ego at the door. Even if you can squat (or bro squat) 800lbs, you still start with the bar. The basic idea is to do decreasing sets as you add the weight and once you exceed 50% of your 1 rep max (1RM), only do 1-2 reps. This maximizes energy conservation while getting to your work sets and helps to adapt to the heavier weights.
Here's an example from Monday's deadlift. We were working up to doing 5 reps at 85% or so of my 1RM.
Weight x Reps x Sets
Bar (45lbs) x 8 x 2
135 x 5 x 1
185 x 3 x 1
225 x 1 x 1
Work Sets:
275 x 5 x 1
295 x 5 x 1
305 x 5 x 1
I could have used another single between 225 and 275, but you get the idea.
After the main lift, we switch it up to assistance exercises. Common things include:
Squat with chains
Reverse Band Squats
Pause Squats (3 seconds)
Box Squats
Banded Bench
Bench with boards (between 1 and 3 boards depending on the situation)
Rack pulls
Deficit Deadlifts
These exercises can really strengthen aspects of the lift where you are struggling. I know for me lock out on bench and deadlifts can be a real struggle so these are great.
