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This is the first half of the Instagram Q/A that I put up recently.  Some of the questions were answered on the Table Talk that Dave Tate and I did. The ones we didn't get to, I answered them below.

Hey Jim, first off I wanted to say thank you for writing the 5/3/1 program. I love it, it keeps me grounded and I am making great gains from it. So much so that I wanted to share them with you. You don't hear a lot about conditioning goals being reached on here so I thought you might appreciate this.

Chinatown simply rules. This is because film noir rules. To quote Juliet Wendler - "This is when men were men." This 1974 classic revolves around the water crisis in Los Angeles in the late 30's. Jack Nicholson stars as J.J. Gittes, a private detective that gets wrapped up in political corruption, sex and murder. This is a long movie and one that requires several sittings to really appreciate. Also, notice that the POV is always of Gittes - what he sees and knows, you do too.

More importantly, are the results on the court and hopefully on the field in the fall. The kids are playing with an aggression I have not seen in a basketball team at this school in many years. They are winning the tough games, the games that require mental toughness, something that was lacking during football. They have won eight straight games and are one game out of first in the league. They credit their success to the training they are doing in the weight room and have tried to get the other basketball players to lift with them. I had the players test their max verticals the first day of practice. Two players could barely touch the foam pad on the bottom of the backboard; they are both slapping the glass.

Many years ago, having a beard meant that you were a man. Now, people have to shave them off to get a job or to look more "presentable." These are sad days

I had no idea I'd write a book - I just love training. And I still do. And as you become more and more popular and try to help others, you will be hated by more and more. It is just part of the game and it's good to know that you will occupy the mind/time of total losers who hang on to your every word. They are just waiting to comment and send you something shitty. Conor McGregor recently said something important: "Winners focus on winning. Losers focus on winners." Seems to be about right.

Sunday morning I woke up to the news that a good friend of mine, Chris Young, passed away. My first reaction one of sadness and I simply said to my wife, "He was a great dude." Chris and his wife Marie would come over from London (not London, Ohio) and visit the states. In fact, our first meeting was a small seminar we had at EFS at the original 122 S. Main Street address. Chris was a passionate lifter and we originally bonded over our love of strength. But that soon morphed into a friendship that went far beyond training.

Some of the best advice I got from Jim wasn't training related. Right before my first daughter was born in the summer of 2009, I got a call from Jim (most of the time I called him) when I was teaching Physical Education for the Upward Bound program at Columbus State. I asked him about fatherhood and he told me two things.

As much as I am impressed and amazed at watching the videos of Ed Coan, Dmitry Klokov, Stan Efferding and the other great lifters I admire, these videos offer a different perspective and attitude I think we all can learn from. Once again, the only thing you have control is your attitude. You can choose to be/associate with the gossip scum, the Facebook fucks and the petty Life Suckers that martyr their lives and jobs - "poor, poor ME." Or you can choose to turn off the negative and realize that this short life deserves the best of you. Don't waste your life surviving. Find your passion and go forth, full bore.

Without a doubt, the Boring But Big is the most popular assistance template for the 5/3/1 training program.  This is because it is easy to program, easy to use and great for both strength and size.  There are two basic ways to do the Boring But Big template:

The success of the 5/3/1 Method has been nothing short of extraordinary. The response towards this simple but brutally effective training system has been overwhelming. This is because it works. And works for just about anyone willing to put in the discipline and work that getting stronger requires Elite level lifters to absolute beginners have all used the 5/3/1 Method; the basic tenets of strength training have and will never change. Big exercises, constant progress, and personal records will never go out of style. High school and college coaches are now using the 5/3/1 with their athletes with amazing success; it is easy to track, implement and will inspire any team to push for themselves to the limit. Powerlifters use this program, for both raw meets and geared meets. The 5/3/1 Method is truly for anyone that is looking to get stronger. This is not a fancy training program that requires special equipment or Master's degree - all is required is your dedication to moving more weight than you had ever dreamed.

Now if you're a beginner and are working out without any guidance whatsoever, it's probably best to just stick with the basic program. One of the worst things a young lifter can do is take advice from other beginners on message boards –  they usually have all the advice and none of the experience