Question for Madcow2...regarding 5x5

[seizer]

I am now in my fourth week of training with your recommended 5x5 program. However, I feel I have a made a mistake in a very important area...When you say that weeks 3 and 4 are record setting, did you mean for all lifts? Because for some of the lifts, it definitely feels like i am pushing myself, but for others, it still feels like i can push more. Should i add another week of loading or no? Or is what i am doing fine. Like with my squats for example, i feel like with my 1x5 maxes i could push a bit more as well as with the 5x5 squats (i just dont feel too comfortable going as heavy as i can go). With my bench's i am doing perfect, rows are almost as good. As for the wednesday excersises like deads, chins, and incline (i subbed in for military because i hate that lift) i could be pushing alot more. Did i make a mistake here? I didnt want to start with too much weight because i figure if i am adding weight each week for about 10 weeks, then come the latter weeks, its gonna get pretty heavy and i wanna actually be able to perform the sets. Have I misinterpretted something?

Yours anyones help would be much appreciated!

 

[blut wump]

You ought to be trying to set yourself new 5x5 and 1x5 records this week which means lifting higher in those sets than you've lifted in the past and that should apply to all of the targets. Obviously, you need to work to good form but you should be going heavy enough to find the 5 reps hard to do, but possible, and similarly for the last set of a 5x5.

I went slightly the other way and went a little heavier than I probably should have in the early weeks. I'm now in week 6 and finding that this week and last week are a breeze compared with weeks 3 and 4. Don't worry about the weight climbing week after week since from week 5 onwards you drop down to 3 reps and stop the Wednesday squats which makes the workouts a lot easier.

From the way I understand this system, unless you've gone really too easy on yourself, the volume is the more important factor to date. After the volume phase, it's all about getting ever heavier to put more load onto the CNS and the weights you finish the volume phase at stand as a comfortable transition mark into the intensity phase. As you ramp up the weights you will be straining hard in weeks 8 and 9.

In week 5, although the workouts were comfortably easy, I found myself sleeping a lot. I put this down to my body knocking me so it could recover from the previous month. For myself, I'm concerned that this phase is too light on volume and am having to resist the temptation to add exercises rather than leave the gym. It is good, though, to be going to the gym and knowing exactly what I'm going to be lifting.

I suggest you just stick with the system and see it through. madcow has mentioned that mostly everyone gets it slightly wrong first time and that the experience will serve to help be more accurate next time. From my experience of tiredness in week 5, I'd expect that adding another volume week would be hard on your body.

How are you finding the program so far? I found I was feeling stronger across the board by the end of week 4 and it was great to have some written-down numbers to prove it. I'm looking forward to the next three weeks.

 

[seizer]

Thanks for the response, blut wump! I am finding the program to be my favourite method of lifting because i am definitely increasing strength throughout all lifts. As a a side not, the reason for my hesitation on squats in because now i am doing full OLY squats all the way to the floor and i want to be a little cautious with the weight so i can do the movement properly since it is relatively new movement to me. I normally just go to parallel. I've been bumping the weights up by 5 pounds, should i up it by 10 perhaps? Madcow2 really put an emphisas on speed for the 5x5 excerises, and boy am i motoring when i do them. I am slower than i was in the first two weeks, but i am by no means taking longer than a second or two to bring the weight up or push the wieght up. My beginning weight estimates were decent, but not perfect - I can see this now. And as you were commenting on how its actually volume that is the key factor here when it comes to the dual theory training - that's where i give myself some reassurance and not worry about my mistake. I assume that while having a heavy load is important, and for the most part I do, the high volume and working the CNS is where its at in terms where this program is beneficial. Anyways, yeah, thanks for the response man, K to you!

 

[seizer]

God, damn...i really got spell check my shite more often^^my bad to any readers before i edited it.