5/3/1 (nSuns) with CrossFit question

[nessofonett05]

I am starting a nSuns lifting program (4 day variant) and I was hoping to do CrossFit on my off days. I have seen a few people on here mention doing something similar. I am wondering: do you guys just go to your local box and do whatever the wod is? Or are you doing your own workout that is a CrossFit workout?

I’d imagine wanting to do metcons. I assume if you are going to a box and it’s back squat day you couldn’t do that after “squat day” on your lifting program?

Trying not to overtrain but also looking to mesh the two together as best as possible. Currently mon, tues, thurs, fri nSuns and Weds, Sat, sometimes Sunday CrossFit.

Any input appreciated!

Edit: For those wondering - this is the spreadsheet for nSuns and I just do a few accessory lifts on each day in addition to the program: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O0scKzbV22jNs3yYcNYymon4fsY7b7PQbWPjstorM4o

 

[dawn16]

@nessofonett05 I’d be interested in this too if people have actually done it.

5/3/1 is so low volume I imagine you will be fine though, if you do the WODs that are more conditioning based it should go hand in hand with 5/3/1 and doesn’t Wendler say to do a couple of conditioning sessions a week anyway?

 

[nessofonett05]

@dawn16 As someone else pointed out to me the nSuns variant is much higher volume. Just wanted to make sure you saw that info for your own purposes in interpreting the answers here.

 

[dawn16]

@nessofonett05 Thanks, I didn’t know there was a difference between nSuns and 5/3/1 as hadn’t seen that before so assumed it was been used interchangeably

I did 5/3/1 for a couple of months and didn’t like that it was so low volume so glad to know there is a higher volume version out there

 

[nessofonett05]

@dawn16 Yeah, I agree, part of the entire appeal is the volume for me. Especially as a beginner/intermediate I can make progression much faster if it’s linear. I’ll let you know how it goes for me - I’m getting a lot of good advice from this post but generally seems to book down to: if you do it, recovery will be crucial.

 

[oddrob]

@dawn16 Yeah, 5/3/1 is great to use along with Crossfit, just be sensible and don't do any secondary strength work in the Crossfit classes and scale appropriately to keep the wod conditioning-focused.

If you just did your deadlift session don't do RX Diane, even if your PR is 600lbs.

If you're doing a strength program, the idea is that you focus on maximizing your strength gains.

 

[nessofonett05]

@oddrob Ok, thanks for this comment. So you wouldn’t only do metcons, you’d just scale appropriately even if it is the same muscle group?

I’d love to be able to workout with my wife at her CrossFit box, but if I was limited to metcons it wouldn’t be worth it probably.

 

[oddrob]

@nessofonett05

you’d just scale appropriately even if it is the same muscle group?

It varies.

For me deadlifts are the most taxing lift there is so I'd avoid anything even remotely associated with deadlifts for a wod.

Squats OTOH aren't as much taxing and in Crossfit you can't really run away from squat movements so those I'd scale in weight or volume with the help of my coach.

on Bench and Shoulder press days I'd just scale down the weight for the wod.

So I'd try doing the metcons on squat/bench/shoulder press days and would do deadlifts in my offday from Crossfit.

Doing Crossfit on the off days is completely fine, regardless of what you trained IME.

EDIT:

Currently mon, tues, thurs, fri nSuns and Weds, Sat, sometimes Sunday CrossFit.

Didn't even see this part of the OP. I think that's completely fine. I was talking about doing the strength work and a crossfit class in the same day, what is totally feasible, as I mentioned.

 

[nessofonett05]

@oddrob Ok just read your edit - excited to try this (responsibly). I am limited by strength atm, so this should really help.

 

[revdstephen]

@nessofonett05 You do know that 5/3/1 and nSuns are two entirely different programs and methodologies right?

 

[nessofonett05]

@revdstephen I am clearly not an expert, but I was operating by this description in the nSuns reddit :

“Nsuns is 5/3/1 with a flexible accessory program and lots of volume on the t1/t2 lifts. “

I wanted to include 5/3/1 in the subject line in case people didn’t know what nSuns was since it is described as a variant of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was incorrect about that though.

 

[revdstephen]

@nessofonett05 The main reason why i brought it up is because most people are commenting on the fact that 5/3/1 is low volume so you’ll be fine. NSuns is basically 3 cycles of 5/3/1 crammed into 1 week with linear progression. It is a high volume program. If i were you, I’d look into actual 5/3/1 programming as it would be better suited for your goals with CrossFit.

 

[nessofonett05]

@revdstephen Ok, thank you. So in your opinion, it’d be too much to treat nSuns the same way for recovery reasons as a result of the high volume?

The point isn’t to get injured obviously haha.

 

[revdstephen]

@nessofonett05 If you feel like spending 90 minutes in the gym lifting per day (not sure what variant of nSuns you are doing but it ranges from 4 to 6 days) and eating a ton of calories, you may feel up for doing CrossFit on your off days. But more than likely you will rest as much as possible.

If you want to lift to get stronger at a slower rate over time, not kill yourself in the gym day in and day out, and feel ok for some CrossFit workouts here and there, I’d look into some of the more traditional 5/3/1 routines.

 

[godsgirlox]

@nessofonett05 I've done nSuns here and there. If you're doing it as prescribed, it's a LOT of volume. I'm not sure you'll benefit from metcons on your days off, besides breaking up the routine a bit. You'll definitely need to give your body a rest when on nSuns.

 

[mtmomof3]

@godsgirlox I've done nSuns and 100% agree with this. In order for it to be sustainable, I'd limit any accessories and opt to take a rest day even if it means you won't get all 4 days in that week.

 

[nessofonett05]

@godsgirlox I am hoping the metcon or at least hiit style workouts will help my conditioning. I’d like to be able to not collapse when my wife invites me to be active or do a workout with her haha.

 

[pray4rslts]

@nessofonett05 I have previously done nSuns 531 and made really quicks gains but I dont know if I would do it supplemented with Crossfit long term.

It is a high volume program and beats the body up quickly. Make sure you program in deload weeks to let the body rest.

 

[nessofonett05]

@pray4rslts I believe the recommended duration for nsuns is 2-3 months. Did you do multiple cycles or just 1? I’m wondering if it will become less manageable as I approach my cap of linear progression. I am still in the new lifter phase where I am adding weight frequently.

Would you think that it’d be ideal to swap to a normal 5/3/1 at the point where progression slows?

 

[bfall]

@nessofonett05 I did 531 Building the Monolith for the past 6 weeks. I approached it with my focus on 531. CrossFit was conditioning, meaning the cardio side was more important than picking up the most weight I could. In the strength portion of the class, if they were working something I just did, I would go do skill work. Happened a few times with strict press - I went and did handstand work. Or bench - I did some close grip bench as accessory work. Ideally the metcon would be setup to complement the 531 work but I would just do whatever the class was doing.

After doing that, I would say that was too much (I was also running 15mpw). I wanted more volume because I wasn't getting enough in CF but that for me was too much. I'm dialing back now to a different 531 template and going to give that a try. Which is what I would recommend for you as well. If it seems like something that isn't too crazy, try it and see what happens. Be smart, listen to your body, back off if needed, but don't be afraid to try