Am I doing the 5x5 wrong?

[ellinghad]

Hey guys! I have been on the single factor 5x5 program (Or whichever one new weightlifters use), and my program thusfar is this:

Monday – Heavy Day
Squat – 5 sets of 5
Bench – 5 sets of 5
Bent-Over Rows – 5 sets of 5
2 sets of weighted hypers
4 sets of weighted Sit-ups

Wednesday – Light Day
Squat – 5 sets of 5
Bench – 5 sets of 5
Deadlift – 5 sets of 5
3 sets of Sit-ups

Friday - Medium
Squat – 4 sets of 5, 1 triple, back-off
Bench – 4 sets of 5, 1 triple, back-off
Bent-Over Rows – 4 sets of 5, 1 triple
Weighted Dips – 3 sets of 5-8
Triceps and Biceps – 3 sets of 8 each

This is almost exactly the same as is suggested (except olympic lifting isn't allowed on campus) in the workout template.

The problem I am having is that I am not feeling sore like I used to. I remember the days I would work out and feel sore for a few days as my body recovered. It was letting me know that it was weaker now, but going to grow back stronger! I don't even feel sore anymore in the arms and chest when I do this. I don't want to say it's too easy, but my arms and chest don't feel completely worked out.

I have started taking whey protein so I'm sure that that's causing my body to be a little less sore, but I kind of enjoyed the soreness because it let me know I did a good job. I still feel sore in the legs because I am not used to doing so many squats, but my arms and chest don't feel sore at all. I feel like I'm not growing if I don't feel sore. Do you think I should add more exercises to this regimen? Maybe I am doing something wrong, if so, please correct me! Thanks!

 

[siamesedream]

I always felt that too on the single-factor 5x5. My legs were always sore, but my upper body was never ever sore.

 

[HunterUk]

It is said that soreness (DOMS) isn't the measure of a good workout, just a measure of the athletes conditioning to the stress. Training full body 3x per week gets you far more accustomed to the stress and thus you don't get sore. Soreness and results are not linked as far as I can tell - I made good gains on the SF 5x5 without getting sore at all after the first few days!

 

[anotherbutters]

Yeh, soreness isn't something that indicates a good workout. The indicator you're looking for is that you're able to lift slightly heavier weights from week to week.

I've been doing the SF for about 12 weeks now, setting PRs every week, and I can't remember the last time I was sore. Well, apart from when I started doing direct ab work last week.

 

[ellinghad]

So as I train more and more I will become less and less sore anytime I work out? So not being sore is merely a sign of superior conditioning?

It wouldn't hurt to add a few exercises to this regimen (like seated rows and wide grip pullups) would it?

 

[Flesh Drink]

Im on my 2nd 5x5 term, and just from experience ive noticed that while i AM tired after workouts im not sore either. Soreness is the lactic acid build up in your muscles, and it doesnt correspond to gains just like Hunter said. Before you go and add more exercises, make sure you have pushed your muscles to their limits with the exercises suggested. I keep increasing weight each week and im rarely, if ever, sore.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Don't mess with the program- not yet anyway.

I'll just add one more vote to the "soreness is not an indicator of progress" camp. It's a measure of conditioning.

I set many a PR in the Dual Factor 5x5 with mihimal soreness. Soreness can be expected when starting something new but should dissipate as your body becomes conditioned to the stresses applied.

Think about it this way- would you consider it a good program if you were sore all the time but didn't grow or get stronger? Of course not. As long as strength/size improves, the other "sides" are of no consequence.

 

[blackwell33]

Don't touch this program! Working a muscle group 3 times a week is already taxing enough on your body. If you worked until you were sore on every workout, you'd definintely be overtraining, imo anyways. Stick with how it is now and slowly add weight. There are tons of people here that have made huge gains without changing a thing.. stick with it and feed your body enough calories and you will see in a few weeks, trust me.

 

[anotherbutters]

It wouldn't hurt to add a few exercises to this regimen (like seated rows and wide grip pullups) would it?

I just noticed you're doing flat bench press on Wednesday. I assume it's flat anyway. The program calls for incline bench on Wednesdays as you're already flat benching on Monday and Fridays. Military press is an ok substitute for this anyway, which is what I do. I also throw in wide grip pullups on Wednesdays, which I think are part of the dual factor but not mentioned in the single factor.

I do this:

Mon: Squat, bench, bent over row: 5 sets of 5 each

Wed: light squats, deadlift, military press, pullups, 5 sets of 5 each

Fri: squat, bench, bent over row: 4 sets of 5 each, a triple, a backoff for 8 reps

All sets are done ramping up the weight, not the same weight for 5 sets. Apart from pullups, where I just use bodyweight.

I've started throwing in some ab work, but I don't bother with anything else. The above is the core of the workout. Don't add any seated rows - you're already doing bent over rows, which are more effective.

 

[blut wump]

I'll just throw in that the military press should be done standing and to the front. Push press is a good alternative to military.