I think I will be doing more of a partial deload rather than full, 3-5 days, every 8 weeks or so and see how that feels. I also plan to incorporate your torturous method a much slower reps on every movement for every set, and do fewer sets, so I do believe my workouts will be more difficult from an intensity level. We'll see how it all feels beginning next week.
Let us know how it goes. I know we discussed rep speed in the past, but what have you settled on presently in terms of rep cadence? I personally try to stay in the range of 6-8 seconds per rep, depending on the exercise, with the eccentric side being a bit slower than the concentric side of the rep. I'm not suggesting that's the "right" cadence for everyone (or anyone), but it feels right to me for now.
I don't think 6-8 seconds would be doable for me at present. I've been experimenting with an explosive move followed by 3-4 seconds, so it's probably 5 seconds max total. That feels like something I can manage for all sets and movements at this time.
Okay, but I think it's the explosive moves that will give you grief in the long run. Regardless, I hope you're focusing on proper form throughout.
My form is probably the biggest area of improvement in the last year or so. Used to be rather sloppy.
I had a different image of the 5/3/1 method. I thought it to be 3 sets of 5 reps in the first week (using the appropriate weight to make this heavy), followed by 3 sets of 3 reps the second week (using the appropriate weight to make this heavy), etc. (see: https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/531-how-to-build-pure-strength ). This is a training method focused on strength and relatively close to your 1RM. I personally don't like to be so close to my 1RM as that makes me more prone to get injuries. Your description of your training setup seems a better schedule, in my opinion.
I know, but still that is my experience. If I'm away from the gym one week and on the following training use the exact same weights, sets and reps as on the last training before I get severe soreness. I consider this level of soreness unhealthy, so I rather do a small step back, restart a bit lighter and work my way up again.
I also get some soreness for a couple of days if I missed a couple of weeks. Not severe, but notable. But I rather like it, provided that it's only muscle soreness and not joint-related. Why would you think it's unhealthy? I do agree that, depending on how long someone's been away, it's good to get back incrementally, with a bit less intensity.
There is a difference between soreness that feels good, or acceptable. And soreness which is clearly too much, feeling close to muscle damage. I don't want to play that close to the borderline, so I take it a bit easy and accept that it takes another week or so before I'm back to the weights I used previously. I don't mind that it takes time as I'm not in a hurry.
That makes sense, although I personally haven't ever felt the latter. And you can feel such severe soreness after only one week of not working out? If so, I'm curious to know what your workout looks like.