deload??

[GlynnDiesel]

Hi

Read this board regular but rarely post. Got a question about Df 5x5 regarding deloading. I've ran a Rippetoe/Pendaly 3x5 and 2 SF 5x5 routines before this DF 5x5 just to give you some background on what i've done regarding this type of training.

Anyway i've currently ran my volume phase into week 6 as I'd given my self a good ramp and I still feel very fresh on my deadlift and squats. My bench, overhead press and chins are slowing down and starting to feel real hard work but I feel as though I can still carry on increasing my squat and deads without feeling beat up. So do I deload now just because my pressing and chins are feeling hard work or do I carry on milkiing the volume phase, or hold the pressing at the current level and carry on pushin the squats and deads?

 

[blut wump]

Did you already hit your 5RM maxes and just sail straight through them or are you on gear and your strength and conditioning have improved to the extent that your old maxes no longer mean much?

 

[GlynnDiesel]

Basically I've blown my maxes as my old maxes were set when I was cuttin now I've got the calorie surplas I'm much stronger and feel fresh still even after 6 weeks of volume work especially on the deads and squats. Sorry I did forget to mention that!

 

[Protobuilder]

That’s awesome. I’m no expert here, but I’d think it’s a personal thing based on how well you know your body and can guage whether you’re about to get buried . . . If the big lifts are still moving, I’d keep on going. It might be a “bad” idea, but maybe you could even back off the chins & press, and then start the intensity phase for those lifts while still running volume on the other lifts? I don’t know about that, I’m just thinking out loud. At any rate, I think I’d push the big lifts further in the volume phase. Then deload when necessary and start the intensity phase. Heck, maybe you’ve got some SF gains left in you!

 

[blut wump]

As I see it, you have two choices for next week.

1) Go into a simple deload and then probably start again at week one. This probably isn't worthwhile if you're still feeling fresh.

2) Go balls to the wall to his maxes next week. There's going to be some guess-work involved but the whole idea of the dual factor approach is to grind yourself into overtraining and then rebound during deload. It's also meant to be done fairly aggressively. Adding two further weeks will be dragging it out to 8 weeks which might well be fine depending on just how easy you've been on yourself in the earlier weeks.

As time passes, you get a feel for how much extra weight to pile onto the bar to over-reach in a reasonable time frame. Since you reckon that you're feeling fresh, I say try to guess and hit your current maxes next week and then try to better them the following week. Two weeks should be plenty for almost anyone to hit over-reaching from your current position.

As Proto mentions, you could probably have made good gains just running the Single Factor version.

 

[GlynnDiesel]

Proto I'm thinking along the same lines as what ur sayin, about backing off on the pressin and chins and continue to push the deads and squats but I'm not sure myself if it's such a good idea! main reason i've posted today.

As for SF I honestly wouldnt want to go back to the SF Intermediate routine I actually disliked running both them routines and much preffered the so called beginners routine of 3x5. I feel somehow underworked on the Intermediate routine with just the 1 top set. I've loved this 5x5 especially the heavy sets of 5x5 but again not so much the days of 1x5 even when setting PR with them. But I undersatnd what ur sayin but I'm sure I can can carry on with this DF 5x5 even if it is do only deload now.

 

[GlynnDiesel]

Cheers Blut wump I think I'll push on for another week or 2 as I wanna milk this run as much as I can. As I put it before I never felt happy on the SF intermediate routine and that was one of the the reason for running this DF 5x5 but maybe I should have ran another SF 3x5 or 5x5 (without the singles) but whats done is done and either way I'm making good progress, so I'm happy and I'm gonna have to deload at some point so I may as while use this cycle to do it.

Thanks to u both for the input.

 

[blut wump]

I feel the same after three or four weeks of the SF. It just doesn't feel as though it's enough volume. If you're making gains then stick with it. Moreso if you're enjoying yourself.

Meanwhile, take a read of this article from Higher, Faster Sports if you've not seen it before. It gives a good explanation of dual-factor theory.
http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/PlannedOvertraining.html

 

[GlynnDiesel]

Blut thats a very good article on DF and it explains it well compared to some articles i've read. Maybe that should be sticky..

 

[blut wump]

If you enjoyed that then you might like the rest of them
http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/articles.html