3x5 changes

[coreyb]

So I've been doing the 3x5 for 8 weeks now and have had a lot of progress. however I'm wondering what changes I can do to keep it up so that I don't have to switch over to the intermediate version.

I was reading a post by anotherbutters and he mentioned changing wednesday to a light day and get some more pr's out of the program for a few weeks. But I'm wondering what all I can do over the next couple months to keep my progress going?

I've had to reset my squats 2 times already because I keep stalling at this certain weight...so i was thinking of doing the light day thing and only upping the weight by 2 lbs each workout instead?

any help is appreciated.

 

[mad dipz]

So I've been doing the 3x5 for 8 weeks now and have had a lot of progress. however I'm wondering what changes I can do to keep it up so that I don't have to switch over to the intermediate version.

I was reading a post by anotherbutters and he mentioned changing wednesday to a light day and get some more pr's out of the program for a few weeks. But I'm wondering what all I can do over the next couple months to keep my progress going?

I've had to reset my squats 2 times already because I keep stalling at this certain weight...so i was thinking of doing the light day thing and only upping the weight by 2 lbs each workout instead?

any help is appreciated.

well if you're stuck at one weight, how many reps are you getting out of it each set? recovery and nutrition are very important during these times, so when doing a back-off of let's say 10% of where you got stuck at, eating and resting alot should help you through that so you can keep progressing, but in smaller increments.

There's another kind of back-off. Everything else stays the same, except just lower your weights for squats around 10%, and lower the volume to 1 set, that way you're not detraining, and your getting enough recovery to help you get passed the plateau when you build your weight back up.

You can also try what AB is doing, making wednesday front squats instead of back, since they're lighter, and you can get more recovery out of the deal.

 

[s8nlilhlpr]

I like your suggestion mad dipz, though I used a different techinque myself. When the weight got too heavy for 5x5 I simply switched to 5x3 (setsxreps) and kept adding more weight. Monday, dropped my 5x5 weight to reramp, friday continued with current weight. I've passed my old 5rm by a good 30lbs now. For some reason, once I got used to heavier tripples, I just get winded the old weight doens't feel as heavy.

 

[mad dipz]

I like your suggestion mad dipz, though I used a different techinque myself. When the weight got too heavy for 5x5 I simply switched to 5x3 (setsxreps) and kept adding more weight. Monday, dropped my 5x5 weight to reramp, friday continued with current weight. I've passed my old 5rm by a good 30lbs now. For some reason, once I got used to heavier tripples, I just get winded the old weight doens't feel as heavy.

ya' that's a good one too. I guess it pretty much comes down to trying different variations with volume/intensity and weight used. During AB's 3x5 I believe it was his BP IIRC where he switched from 3x5 to either 4x4 or 5x3 to help increase his PR's after stalling a little bit.

 

[coreyb]

thanks guys. that clears things up a bit for me. I'm going to make wednesday my light front squat day for now and see how that works. then if i stall again ill do a ramped set on friday then straight sets on monday...

 

[nbutch0352]

can anyone break a beginner 5x5 down barney style for me??

 

[s8nlilhlpr]

Sure butch, its right here.
http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/table_of_contents_thread.htm