Given the choice, would you do pull and push movements on the same day, or separate. For example would you rather have a day for benching and one for bent over rows, or do them on the same day?
Personally, I am always going to do them on the same day: for me, pulls aren't a main exercise, they are an exercise I do to balance my pressing. So it makes sense to me to do them one the same day as pressing, and it doesn't make sense to me to do them on their own day. The two main ways I know to set up a programme wouldn't really let that happen, either. In a basic "full body" split, where you have lower body/PC, press and pull every lifting day, they are done on the same day. In a split where there is one day for each main exercise, you don't usually have a seperate day for rows or chins: they are done on pressing days. I guess the sole exception is that on that kind of split, you might also do some upper-back intensive rows on DL day. That's my perspective, anyway.
Ideally, I prefer one day for each big Lift, so Bench and Deadlift will be on seperate days. Often that's not possible so I have to Bench or Military Press on the same day as my Deadlift(or Squat for that matter). It's not a huge deal, although I would never Squat and Deadlift on the same day. SLDL's as an assistance exercise for Squats is fine, though.
Pulling movements definitely seem to be only as something to balance pressing, I wonder why that is. Im considering doing 5/3/1 but the fact that pulling is only as assistance or between exercises worries me slightly. I was wondering about using the principal and adding in some dedicated upper pull days. But it seems very few programs do this and it must be for a reason. It seems like most peoples pulling motion get neglected quite badly.
Are those the 4 lifts you focus on? I guess power lifters only need those four, but for a fighter it seems to me that bent over rows or something like that should be a big focus too.
Seeing pulling as just being a balance thing is probably something that comes from focusing on strength sports. There must be surely be some sports where certain types of pulling movements are more important than, say, horizontal pressing, and so, e.g. chins might be a more useful exercise than the bench press. If you wanted to add a pulling day, or even two pulling days (one vertical, one horizontal), then of course you could. If you were sure that pulling was more important than pressing, you could make the pull the main exercise and do the press as a secondary. Of course, you can also make sure that you get enough pulling, within the framework of a more traditional programme. I do a 'full body' type split so that there is a main pulling exercise every day, then for my assistance I do "50/20" chins once a week and "50/20" rows most weeks. I also do some kind of very high-rep pulling, like cable rows, once or twice a week. This seems like plenty, and I don't need a dedicated pulling day.
The 5/3/1 template has you doing rows and stuff between sets. The problem is that cuts into the assistance exercises I can do for push exercises. I guess I could swap each week, one week push is the emphasis and pull is the assistance, and swap next week. I guess it all comes down to is it best to do alot of pulling / pushing once a week, or a little bit twice a week.
It doesn't cut into anything. You do your main lifts, your opposing lifts, and your assistance lifts. For example, bench press day: Bench: warmup, working sets Bent rows: warmup, working sets Rolling triceps extensions, floor press, narrow grips, or whatever: a few sets Done. You're in and out of the gym in probably less than an hour.
I should have mentioned that I squat or deadlift before. Usually after heavy squats / Deadlifts im too tired for much work after. Of course 5/3/1 only has really heavy sets once a month, so I guess I might be fine to do bench, rows, db bench and db rows after on the other 3 weeks of the cycle
Well, you're not obliged to follow one of the standard templates for 5/3/1 assistance if you don't want to. You can add, take away, modify as you like. The only thing that is truly mandatory, if you want to say you are doing 5/3/1, is programming the main lifts using the 5/3/1 set/rep/intensity scheme at least once a week each. One option for you would be to keep some easy rows/pulling between the main exercises, and then also add heavier pulling done in a very time-efficient way. APRE can be done very quickly- a few warm up sets and then your two AMRAP sets. "50/20" is, by definition, pretty time-efficient because it is over in 20 minutes. I like these as ways of programming pulling- they are over pretty quickly, and you progress nicely, but you also don't have to over-think it because the progression rules are so simple.
