Replacing 5x5 while in CKD - looking for opinions

[PickMe69]

So I've been doing Bill Starr's 5x5 (the staple routine of my weightlifting) Mon, Wed, Fri and doing cario days (a mix of HIIT, LIT and Crossfit) Tues, Thurs, Sat... been seeing good results but I worry like last summer when I was doing the same split that eventually the pounding my legs are taking is going to catch up to me, and being on CKD that my muscles may need more rest to recover.

I've found that I can actually lose fat and gain muscle while on CKD (i.e. by calculating my lean muscle mass with my BF% I've found that I have lost 10 pounds of fat in the last 3 weeks and gained about 3 pounds in muscle) but I keep getting stuck on my 5th week of the 5x5 program, even though I even took a step back to week 4 one week and then tried to go forward again. I can't seem to be able to complete my Monday workout for that last set of 5 (usually getting stuck at 3-4 reps). I can increase weight and do 3 reps but even when I decrease weight I'm still stuck at 3 reps...

So I was thinking about switching up routines, I've done 5x5 a lot this past year (been very off and on due to injuries and illness, so it hasn't helped me as much as it probably could have), but I'm healthy now.

So without further ado, this is what I was thinking:

Mon - Legs (Squats)
Tues - Chest, shoulders, Bis (Bench, Standing Barbell Press)
Wed - Back, Tris (Deadlift, Pendlay Rows)
Thur- Cardio
Fri - Squats, Bench, Pendlay Row
Sat - Cardio
Sun - Rest

So for Mon, Tues, Wed, I would do those muscle groups with the focus on the big lifts still doing increasing weight like a 5x5 routine and doing a set of 5 on my last set, but on Friday doing only the lifts specified and doing a set of 3 for my heaviest set and then a set of 8. I figure this would allow me to continue to increase my lifts and with the amount of protein I'm still taking in, I'd continue to see muscle growth while cutting.

So as you can see its a blend between 5x5 and a typcial push/pull split, also I figure that the full body friday workout will be perfect for depleting glycogen before my saturday "carb-up"

What do you guys think?

 

[joeblow12345]

Your playing with a double edge sword. Its very difficult to lose weight and expect to get stronger at the same time. Too much cardio will destroy size and strength gains. If you want to get bigger and stronger than you must eat like a horse. You can still do cardio but I would decrease intensity and take more rest days. 6 days a week is good for cutting but not building. If your stuck on the same weight on bench then try a deload. You may be overtrained in the bench and a low intensity day might do the trick.

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[PickMe69]

Joe, I appreciate the advice. I realize what I'm doing is rare, I guess I can thank my young age and high testosterone levels for this one, I'm actually cutting right now, so any muscle gain is icing on the cake... my thing is, I'm trying to milk this for as much of that icing as I can get.

I've choosen my cardio very carefully as to prevent muscle loss. I don't do any long distance cardio (such as jogging), its all fast twitch muscle or low intensity.

I may just be simply asking too much out of my body, but I'd like to ride the fat loss and muscle gain for as long as I can.