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anotherbutters
New member
Unlucky. Hope you get back into it soon.
My Training Journal - Bill Starr's Single Factor 5 x 5
- Thread starter |D_J^B_J|
- Start date
As it turns out, I didn't feel too bad on Thursday, and I actually set a new PR. Here's how my workout went.
Thursday:
1. Front squats (light):
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
45kg x 5
2. BB Military Press:
30kg x 5
33.5kg x 5
38.5kg x 5
41kg x 5 --> PR
3. Deadlift:
60kg x 5
75kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 5
4. Pull-ups:
BW x 8
BW x 8
BW + 5kg x 6
5. Calf Raise:
3 sets of 8
6. Weighted situps:
3 sets of 12
Thursday:
1. Front squats (light):
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
45kg x 5
2. BB Military Press:
30kg x 5
33.5kg x 5
38.5kg x 5
41kg x 5 --> PR
3. Deadlift:
60kg x 5
75kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 5
4. Pull-ups:
BW x 8
BW x 8
BW + 5kg x 6
5. Calf Raise:
3 sets of 8
6. Weighted situps:
3 sets of 12
Saturday:
1. Bench:
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5
65kg x 3
---> 50kg x 8
2. Squat:
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
65kg x 5
73.5kg x 3
---> 50kg x 8
3. Row:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
43.5kg x 5
48.5kg x 3
--> 37.5kg x 8
4. Dips:
BW x 8
BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 7.5kg x 6
--> Cable pushdown x 8
5. Standing Barbell curl:
26.5kg x 8
29kg x 8
29kg x 7
1. Bench:
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5
65kg x 3
---> 50kg x 8
2. Squat:
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
65kg x 5
73.5kg x 3
---> 50kg x 8
3. Row:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
43.5kg x 5
48.5kg x 3
--> 37.5kg x 8
4. Dips:
BW x 8
BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 7.5kg x 6
--> Cable pushdown x 8
5. Standing Barbell curl:
26.5kg x 8
29kg x 8
29kg x 7
anotherbutters
New member
Congrats on the military PR. How's your bodyweight? Have you put on much weight/size since you started this? I think I've put on about 4-5kg in as many weeks.
PS. Enjoying the cricket?
PS. Enjoying the cricket?
Well, my progress in the gym seems to be better than the Australian cricket team at the moment, and to make matters worse, my (Australian) football team just missed the finals for the second successive year 
.
Anyway, back to the stuff which I have control over: I haven't weighed myself for a while but I definitely look noticeable bigger in my back, chest and legs, while still staying fairly lean. People have commented that my arms are underdeveloped compared to the rest of my body, which is why I am considering going to the gym four times a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday.
I was thinking of doing the program as it is set out on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then doing the accessory arm and calf work on the Saturday - for example, I could do four sets of a curling exercise, two different tricep exercises (dips/pushdowns/skull-crushers), some forearm exercises, a calf exercise and some grip work. The only accessory exercise I'd be doing during the week would be situps once or twice a week and some hypers. What do you think of that?
I think it would also be better because my gym sessions wouldn't be much longer than an hour (before they were around 1hr 20mins).
.Anyway, back to the stuff which I have control over: I haven't weighed myself for a while but I definitely look noticeable bigger in my back, chest and legs, while still staying fairly lean. People have commented that my arms are underdeveloped compared to the rest of my body, which is why I am considering going to the gym four times a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday.
I was thinking of doing the program as it is set out on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then doing the accessory arm and calf work on the Saturday - for example, I could do four sets of a curling exercise, two different tricep exercises (dips/pushdowns/skull-crushers), some forearm exercises, a calf exercise and some grip work. The only accessory exercise I'd be doing during the week would be situps once or twice a week and some hypers. What do you think of that?
I think it would also be better because my gym sessions wouldn't be much longer than an hour (before they were around 1hr 20mins).
anotherbutters
New member
I thought of this quote from madcow:
"Substituting Exercises:
Don't fuck with this. Every BBer seems to have Attention Deficit Disorder and an overwhelming desire to customize everything. The bottom line is that these are all the most effective exercises and just about anything one does will result in less gains. As a rule those people who want to change it don't know enough to make proper alterations - those who do know enough, don't have much to change. The two guys who are responsible for this program are some of the best on the planet at bulking lifters and making people stronger."
Then realised you're not substituting exercises. But you are adding extra work, which means extra recovery is required. And you're not getting extra recovery, you're getting less as you're adding that work on Saturday - during the only two day rest period you have, and prior to Monday, which is the PR attempt day.
You won't know unless you try it, but personally I wouldn't. If you can get away with it and keep making PRs on the Monday, with extra arm development, then that's great, but I suspect adding work and reducing recovery will affect the PRs.
You might want to start tracking weight instead to make sure you're eating enough. I know my arms have gone up from 13" to 13.5" over the past month or so (and my gut's gone up from 33.75" to 35" but that's another matter). My weight's up to 74kg, about 4kg in as many weeks.
I should be the one complaining about upper body strength anyway - you're stronger then me on all the upper body lifts, but I beat you on lower body.
"Substituting Exercises:
Don't fuck with this. Every BBer seems to have Attention Deficit Disorder and an overwhelming desire to customize everything. The bottom line is that these are all the most effective exercises and just about anything one does will result in less gains. As a rule those people who want to change it don't know enough to make proper alterations - those who do know enough, don't have much to change. The two guys who are responsible for this program are some of the best on the planet at bulking lifters and making people stronger."
Then realised you're not substituting exercises. But you are adding extra work, which means extra recovery is required. And you're not getting extra recovery, you're getting less as you're adding that work on Saturday - during the only two day rest period you have, and prior to Monday, which is the PR attempt day.
You won't know unless you try it, but personally I wouldn't. If you can get away with it and keep making PRs on the Monday, with extra arm development, then that's great, but I suspect adding work and reducing recovery will affect the PRs.
You might want to start tracking weight instead to make sure you're eating enough. I know my arms have gone up from 13" to 13.5" over the past month or so (and my gut's gone up from 33.75" to 35" but that's another matter). My weight's up to 74kg, about 4kg in as many weeks.
I should be the one complaining about upper body strength anyway - you're stronger then me on all the upper body lifts, but I beat you on lower body.
blut wump
New member
I found myself the other day thinking that I should finish off my workout with a few sets of curls. The thought didn't last long though since I realised that if I had energy for a few sets of curls then I probably had energy for another set of deads. I did the deads and went home.
Personally, I do extra triceps work from time to time and I throw in some biceps work between programs or add a few sets of curls to one of the scheduled workouts. Same with calves. If you feel a bodypart is lagging behind and needs work then you have to deal with it but the 5x5 does hit everything in some way or another.
Personally, I do extra triceps work from time to time and I throw in some biceps work between programs or add a few sets of curls to one of the scheduled workouts. Same with calves. If you feel a bodypart is lagging behind and needs work then you have to deal with it but the 5x5 does hit everything in some way or another.
Guinness5.0
New member
Re: arm work
I found that my arms were lagging and a couple heavy sets of bb curls (6-10 reps) at the end of a workout seemed to help. I agree that adding an extra day would most likely be detrimental. just toss in some stuff at the end and see how it goes.
I found that my arms were lagging and a couple heavy sets of bb curls (6-10 reps) at the end of a workout seemed to help. I agree that adding an extra day would most likely be detrimental. just toss in some stuff at the end and see how it goes.
Sorry, I've been pretty busy this week and haven't had as much time to access elitefitness as I've liked.
I think for now I'll keep it as it is by training 3 x week and throwing in some arm exercises at the end of the final workout. In a month or so I might reassess by doing the arm exercises on a completely separate day.
I think for now I'll keep it as it is by training 3 x week and throwing in some arm exercises at the end of the final workout. In a month or so I might reassess by doing the arm exercises on a completely separate day.
