Does anyone even do the one muscle group a week anymore?

[carlsuen]

man.. every time i see those pics my legs go weak.. but it's a hell of a motivation for me.. was dave doing much cardio too? how often? and how does his routine look like?

 

[Madcow2]

He goes into a lot of detail in the thread. He did this after his back injury I think. Mainly it illustrates that training is training and muscle is muscle - it's just a matter of losing bodyfat to see all the details rather than doing something special to create it. All superheavy PLs have a great physique underneath (granted genetics will affect how pleasing it may or may not be) just a matter of leaning down to reveal it.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

man.. every time i see those pics my legs go weak..

You're here, you're queer, and that's okay.

 

[KhorneDeth]

I like bringing out madcow...Im not knocking the program..it worked for me...I was just wondering this: isnt bodybuilding all about aesthetics? and powerlifting about power and strength? So if someone wants to carve detail by doing curls, extensions or whathave you is that wrong? At the end of the 5x5 you may have a wide back, big chest and great big legs but no detail...Im curious to know how many have done the 5x5 while cutting...either way madcow i love the program..maybe im thinking to much into it...

If a BBer wants to get big, his program can look like a 5x5. If he wants to maintain and really focus on bringing up weak points and perfecting symmetry, it might look quite a bit different.

How would the above be different?

You asked a question about someone doing the 5x5 while cutting so I figured I'd chime in. I switched to the single-factor 5x5 routine in late december and actually experienced the VERY best body-composition gains than I had in my entire 1.5 yr serious lifting career. Real quick:

-- My diet remained about the same (cal deficit, clean foods), and I lost just over 10lbs of bodyfat to 210. I don't measure %, which I should do I guess, but this equated to dropping a full pant size and ALMOST getting to see the top two abs for the first time in my life. Previous results had been about 30lbs lost over the span of 1.5 yrs. So 10lbs in 2 months was glorious to me, especially considering it spanned the xmas & new year holidays

-- I quit the smith and learned to front squat, as suggested by Madcow, Ripstone, and others. Even in a deficit, I went from barely being able to do 65lbs to hitting a 5 rep PR at 165 a couple weeks ago. This wasn't even a 5RM because that weight was still well within my capacity, so who knows what my true current 5RM in front squat is.

-- I had a moderate hamstring injury in the fall which really set me back with lowerbody work. My deadlift went from doing 5x325 down to struggling to put up 225 almost overnight. As of a couple weeks ago, my ham is fully healed and I'm nearly back to my working weight at 295, with plenty of progression left in the tank.

-- On previous one-a-week programs, I worked up to a very shaky PR of 5x225 on flat bench. I would actually dread "chest" day because I was honestly a little afraid to keep going -- didn't feel really prepared to bench heavy. Switching to the SF program where I'm benching twice a week, I'm much more confident in PR territory and feel very excited to push beyond that 225 "boundary".

-- Most importantly though, aside from the physical results, I've learned so much about effective programming and how load translates to performance; how to acheive steady progression in stagnant compound lifts and exactly WHY my previous routines hadn't really done it for me. I feel like I can tweak a routine intelligently in the future, rather than just throw a bunch of shit around and hope it sticks, or try to "fool" my muscles into exploding huge overnight. Bottom line: steady progressive strength gains using big and effective compounds while eating to support my goals = the changes I want to see.

These probably aren't stellar results in the grand scheme, but I'm EXTREMELY satisfied with the 5x5-style program. All my lifts are more solid than ever and steadily going up, while at the same time I'M more solid than ever and the bodyfat is steadily going down. And this has all been within a few months of single-factor fullbody training. To me, this has been as good or BETTER than many cases of newbie gains -- all coming 1.5yrs into it!

I'm not exaggerating when I say that Madcow has changed my life by bringing these principles and ideas and resources to the forefront. I know he's humble enough to not take full credit here, but I see it as solid truth. Maybe the 5x5 isn't "his" program, but he brought it to all of us here and I think it's made all the difference.

Give me another 4-6 months, and I can almost guarantee I'll have a truly beach-worthy body for the first time since I was born!! How's that for "just" a strength program? YAY!!

-- KhorneDeth

 

[emptywallet]

This is all really wanting to make me try a single factor. Really.

 

[Roofus]

This is all really wanting to make me try a single factor. Really.

So let's try it.

 

[emptywallet]

So let's try it.

I am, I need to make sure I know the ends and outs of it, and that the knee is up to all the squatting. I'm pretty sure it'll be fine. I need to make sure I understand more about the program first, and the difference between dual and single. Some reading is in order. I'm deading and squatting now, but it's not like this program.

 

[emptywallet]

Another thing, I've been lifting seriously (off and on between injuries) for the past 6 years or so. I've been everything from 160lbs to 205lbs with various bf levels inbetween. I'm thinking, it would still be better to do the single factor first, and then dual factor when that seems to slow down. Correct? I would not say in anyform I'm a novice, however, it's is SUCH A BIG CHANGE from what I do now, that I think single factor is the way to go first. I'm no stranger at all to the DL or squat, I've been doing that as long as I've been lifting. It's just going to be a huge change going from 5 days a week isolation to 3 days a week total body. What exactly are the huge main differences between dual and single. I can't seem to get a clear cut picture.

 

[swaptrex]

i still do a 3 day split.

mon- chest/abdominal

wed- back/shoulders

fri- legs/arms

 

[djeclipse]

Stop thinking about the 5x5 as a "powerlifting program" or giving it some other title that sounds anti body building. With the right diet stronger muscles are bigger muscles. It doesn't have to be just a bulking program as KhorneDeth has shown us.

I've been on the program for 5 weeks and have made some good strength gains, put on a lot of size (people keep mentioning it), all while staying the exact same weight (which was my goal). My only cardio is indoor soccer once a week and one or two 20min sessions the treadmill. I have lost fat while gaining strength and size, all while not really watching what I ate or trying to lose fat. My play has improved in soccer as I am a lot stronger and can push people off the ball, and my stanama has somehow increased.

Just give it a good fair try.