Designing a Program

[njlw226]

It's not because he's doing too much weight. Where the hell is the logic in that?

because hes a newbie so im guessing he hasnt gotten his form good enough. if you start doing squats and dont go low, its easy to move up in weight. im guessing he cant isnt going down low because his legs wont handle all that weight. im saying he should start with low weight and work on form. once he can go low, start moving up. simple as that.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

As per your training, I'd recommend a routine other than 5x5. The volume is unnecessarily high and, while it has worked for people, there are better ways to go about training.

how can you say that the 5x5 has high volume when you are pushing hst? it takes me quite the volume to warm up for a 15 rep set.

i would personally recommend the 5x5 from personal experience. i weigh 140 and am 5'10" or so. i am about 2 plus months into it and my strength and size are both increasing rapidly and steady.
1. its easy
2. i get distracted and lose count above 8 reps
3. warm up, pick a weight, and do it 5x5. next week up it 5 pounds. its easy
4. the 5x5 keeps a good balance between size and strength gains, and can easily be tailored and changed to suit either.
5. did i mention that hot ass in the gym prevents me from counting high?

remember puds, there are many different workout routines. read up on them
http://elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=289306
there is a link to many descriptions

they all work, but some work better for certain needs (size vs. strength in your case)

 

[puds]

man, you should be able to take advantage of that shit and eat a shit load of food, and be able to do it for cheap.

Yea i should some of the stuff they serve is just garbage though.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

very true, res hall food can be really fatty and oily. i hated it there.

have you tried squatting again? i had the same trouble, and i dropped my weight down to 135 and did ass to floor. it hurt for a while, but now im up to 160 (5x5) ass to floor, and i have been hovering around 138 pounds body weight lately. remember to break at the hips, and keep your knees over your feet- dont let them drift in front of your feet. your ass will stick out really far, its like your an old man sitting down in a chair.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

HST is higher volume than 5x5?

You don't need a warmup for the 15's! Read the website FAQ. The point of a warmup is to increase overall body temp. and activate enzymes and get your core warmed, etc. During the 10's, do 1x5 @ 70% of your working weight. During the 5's, do 1x5 @ 50%, 1x3@70%, and then 1x2@80%. You'll do just fine.

 

[casualbb]

HST is equivalent in volume to 5x5.

5x5 for any major group is 5x5, 4x8-10, so 9 sets per week for a muscle

HST (for me at least) is 9-12 sets per week for a muscle

So while seemingly low volume on a session-to-session basis, comparatively they're pretty similar

 

[puds]

I've always been extremely inflexible, i cant go much past 90 degrees with no weight. My legs are a bit more built then the rest of my body cause I played alot of soccer until i was 15 thats why i figured i coudl handles more weight.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

its true you might be in shape from soccer. but unless playing soccer is doing squats, it wont help your squats very much. you will find that you gain quickly though.

for some reason, i just dont believe you on the flexability. no offense, but if you cant bend your legs more than 90 degrees you have more problems than you are letting on. if you mean that you cant get your legs past parallel with the floor, thats different. try widening your stance a bit, i find i can get a little lower that way. otherwise, you must have some HUGE calves that are getting in the way of your squats!!

 

[puds]

yea i meant cant get much past parralel. If im going to do 5x5 do i want to add 5 pounds total or five pounds a side when i go up weight?

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

then widen your stance a touch if you wanna go ass to grass. and again, remember to keep that ass out and the back straight- dont let it hunch any.

a 5x5 can be as flexible as you want it to be. at first you can just bump up the total weight just 5 pounds every workout. after your form is good, and if you feel up to it, bump it up 10 pounds per workout. once you start slowing down on the gains (you will know when your body wont take 10 more pounds) you can bump up the weight 5 pounds per workout again, or 5 pounds every other workout.

if you stagnate on a certain weight, you can try to hit it 5x6 or 5x7, and then up the weight and drop back down to 5x5---- OR you could up the weight and do a 5x3, then a 5x4 the next workout, and then a 5x5 and so on. super easy- nothing is set in stone.