I slipped in an extra day at the gym today, a chest workout. All lifts were of the inclined variety, first with DBs and then the bar. I hit new personal highs with both.

Personal records have been coming pretty rapidly for me of late, but I share Jim Wendler's basic philosophy that such attainments should not be rushed. Wendler's  5/3/1 program has been criticized by some because the increases are incremental, but I feel that incremental increases lay a solid foundation for future progress.

While I don't do Wendler's program as written, I do use a very gradual process when going heavy. For instance, say I do one set at a new personal high. Then I'll follow that with an added set or two at that weight at a future session. Once I can do three sets at an acceptable number of reps, I'll then look to add weight. To me, when I can do three sets at a given weight/reps, it shows that I have 'control' of that weight and can consider moving up.