5X5 Journal: 2nd time = right way

[go2failure]

Starting Measurements:

17" Arms (cold)
34" Waist
17" Neck
26" Thighs
17.5" Calves
13" Forearms (cold)
55.5" Chest (around arms, I do it this way to see the difference between my waist and outermost upperbody)

Weight = 220

History:

I did madcow's 5X5 version program right before this one, but I did not have predetermined weights for my lifts and a relocation to a different state threw off my schedule. This time around the program will be much more intense AND much more productive.

15 Years Training (layoffs here and there due to job/spread out college), lots of athletics during that time including college football

Injuries:

both ankles sprained twice, pulled right hamstring, sprained/strained back 4 years ago (cautious approach to deadlifts)

Gear: N/A

Supplements: PURECEE, Levorex

 

[Guinness5.0]

Good luck! Are you doing it exactly the same in terms of exercise selection?

 

[go2failure]

Good luck! Are you doing it exactly the same in terms of exercise selection?

I'm swapping from incline bench to flat bench, eveything else is the same as last time/madcow's version.

 

[go2failure]

Week 1


Day 1 (8 Aug 05)

Squats 5x5 --> 295 (very hard but got all reps)
Flat Bench 1X5 --> 285 (failed rep 3 of last set)
Rows 1X5 --> 205 (got all reps)
Seated Knee-Ins --> 4X25
Wrist Rolls --> 45 lbs

Summary --> Coming off of 3X3 Deload/Intensity this workout killed me. My rest times were too short and my workout was rushed because my partner had to leave by a certain time. I'm going to continue increasing the weights though and bump up my rest times.

 

[Jim Ouini]

go2 I haven't cross-referenced your other log but how come so heavy in Wk1?

Wk1 should be pretty manageable and definitely not to failure. I remember just plugging in my first run Wk4/Wk9 PR's into second run Wk3/Wk8 maxes and backed off from there to get my starting weights. I had to adjust up as I went along, though.

Maybe just a bad workout with all the extenuating circumstances?

Also, should we assume it's no longer a 'HIT'er experiment'?

 

[Guinness5.0]

Yeah bro- failing week 1 is a total no-no. It should be cake. It should be weight you could do in your sleep. Remember, the real loading occurs in weeks 3 and 4. THe idea is to equal or jsut beat last run's PRs in week 3, then better them again in week 4.

 

[blut wump]

What they just said.

Week 1 is mostly about getting used to doing 5x5 again rather than 3x3 and triples. You want weights that you have no problems making.

Think of the first four weeks as Easy/Medium/Hard/Harder

 

[go2failure]

Yeah bro- failing week 1 is a total no-no. It should be cake. It should be weight you could do in your sleep. Remember, the real loading occurs in weeks 3 and 4. THe idea is to equal or jsut beat last run's PRs in week 3, then better them again in week 4.

The funny thing is that my 5RM is in week 4. It may have had something to do with the short rest periods or maybe my recent lack of sleep. I'm also up in altitude from my last residence so that may be contributing as well. Supposedly I'm on track as far as my 5RMs go... :/


Thanks for the head up, I'll definitely adjust If I need too. I do my wednesday workout tonight...

 

[go2failure]

Week 1

Day 2:

Squats 5X5 minus ~20% --> 235 (Felt good, had DOMS from Monday. Worked it out)
Deadlifts 5X5 --> 280 (no problems with these)
Military Press 5X5 --> 155
Pullups 5X5 --> BW+10lbs

Workout Summary:

I extended my rest times and that seemed to do the trick. It made a huge difference. Everything felt like it was where it needed to be (I.E. my energy level and weight selection).

 

[perp69]

I extended my rest times and that seemed to do the trick. It made a huge difference. Everything felt like it was where it needed to be (I.E. my energy level and weight selection).[/QUOTE]
Yeah. 3-5 mins works good for me and makes a big difference. I tend to start at 3 mins and end up taking 5mins towards the last set.

 

[go2failure]

ATTENTION:

Unexpectedly, I have been sent by the military to do training at another location temporarily.

This past week I have not been able to workout or follow the program. I'm going to be extremely active and risk overtraining if I continue the 5X5 program due to all the running and calisthenics I'm doing.

So knowing this, I'm stopping the 3 time per week 5X5 program for now and simply doing the alternate madcow deload twice a week for the next 5 weeks.

I will be posting my progress of the 3X3 twice per week program. I may not have a lot of gains, but at leats I'll keep the weights heavy for the next 5 weeks.

 

[blut wump]

It's a good maintenance routine if you're active with other things too.

 

[go2failure]

UPDATE:

3 weeks of using the two workout deload has seen the following improvements:


Flat Bench: 295 3X3 --> 315 3X3

Squats ATF: 315 3X3 --> 355 3X3

Deadlifts: 315 3X3 --> 335 3X3

Pendlay Rows: 225 3X3 --> 245 3X3

Military Press: 165 3X3 --> 185 3X3

Pullups: BW+25 3X3 --> BW+35 3X3


For simply trying to maintain, I'm extremely happy with the unexpected gains.

 

[go2failure]

Week 6 Maintenance

Gains from Week 3:

Flat Bench 3X3 --> 315 same
Squats ATF 3X3 --> 365 +10
Deadlifts 3X3 --> 345 +10
Pendlay Rows 3X3 --> 245 same
Military Press 3X3 --> 185 same
Pullups 3X3 --> BW + 35 lbs = same

Well starting on the 26th, I could be entering into another 5X5 cycle. It just depends on what my schedule is like and whether or not I'm rested.

Overall, I've actually gotten fatter doing military PT with 3X3 maintenance. This is because I stay in a "motel room" setting eating stuff out of a can as well as plenty of junk food snacks. I've been in a hurry a lot during this military training and sometimes the fast food comes into play as well when I have to be back to work in a certain amount of time. I've gained 10 lbs, mostly fat with some muscle.

Doing this 3X3 deload twice a week is a excellent maintenance plan if the diet is in order and the workouts are not spread to far apart (making it once per week, which I had to do twice out of 6 weeks :lol)

 

[Kane Fan]

Week 1


Day 1 (8 Aug 05)

Squats 5x5 --> 295 (very hard but got all reps)
Flat Bench 1X5 --> 285 (failed rep 3 of last set)
Rows 1X5 --> 205 (got all reps)
Seated Knee-Ins --> 4X25
Wrist Rolls --> 45 lbs

Summary --> Coming off of 3X3 Deload/Intensity this workout killed me. My rest times were too short and my workout was rushed because my partner had to leave by a certain time. I'm going to continue increasing the weights though and bump up my rest times.

a rushing partner can be a real pain in the ass
on flat bench you wrote failed rep 3 of last set but 1x5
was that a typo?
also your bench is like 10 lbs behind your squat what is going on?
is the squat low cus of your ankles and back?

 

[Kane Fan]

The funny thing is that my 5RM is in week 4. It may have had something to do with the short rest periods or maybe my recent lack of sleep. I'm also up in altitude from my last residence so that may be contributing as well. Supposedly I'm on track as far as my 5RMs go... :/


Thanks for the head up, I'll definitely adjust If I need too. I do my wednesday workout tonight...

how much higher altitude
you may need to take time to adjust before really giving this 5x5 a run
I know that's not a good thing to hear but you could get hurt doing it the other way and really it wont be a fair example of 5x5
also the short rest periods, how short are we talking?

 

[Kane Fan]

UPDATE:

3 weeks of using the two workout deload has seen the following improvements:


Flat Bench: 295 3X3 --> 315 3X3

Squats ATF: 315 3X3 --> 355 3X3

Deadlifts: 315 3X3 --> 335 3X3

Pendlay Rows: 225 3X3 --> 245 3X3

Military Press: 165 3X3 --> 185 3X3

Pullups: BW+25 3X3 --> BW+35 3X3


For simply trying to maintain, I'm extremely happy with the unexpected gains.

10-40 lbs of Strength increase in 3 weeks
I want to maintain lol : o )

 

[Kane Fan]

can I get some info on this deloading program it looks like an effective strength builder