skipping rippotoes 3x5 novice > straight to madcows 5x5 intermediate

[shortie_]

just thought id do a little rant

I'm only young (20) but ive been lifting for about 2.5 years(on and off), mainly isolation, but still working legs,chest,back etc in that time. i definately had some size but wasnt at all very "big". at the time of starting madcows 5x5 i definately wasnt completely NEW to lifting as a whole, but was no where near the intermediate level in terms of the compound lifts. i was not also completely foreign to physical demands being placed on my body from being a sprinter from a young age and playing football (rugby union) and several other sports. i decided to just jump into madcows 5x5. to me the program seemed much more attractive - from its structure and exercise variation to rep amount to the fact it was 3 different workouts a week.

i hired myself a personal trainer and got all the lifts down pat. i then did the usual and put my personal best at around week 3. the only change i made was in the ramping amounts. i figured because i was fairly new to some of the compound lifts i could sustain 5lb + gains a week - just like someone on rippotoes, as opposed to the 2.5% madcow recommended.

the results ive been getting are absolutely crazy to say the least. ive put on about 9kgs in 4-5 weeks. and thats with an improper diet (im poor and eat what mum cooks)

looking back now im starting to ponder if i made the right choice. yes the intermediate program has a way larger workload which i absolutely love and in my mind makes me think 'this is going to get me big quicker than the novice one', but perhaps i have the wrong attitude?

id like to think that using madcows program but with higher rampings suitable for beginner gains would yeild the same results, if not more, than the novice program.

i know alot of you are going to shoot me down and say im a idiot, but i gotta point out i made sure i did everything properly. i learnt all the lifts, i determined what i could achieve in weekly gains/records according to my 'fairly newb' potential and then applied that to madcows intermediate instead of rippotoes novice, which i felt was sort of lacking. maybe im impatient and had the totally wrong mindset

anyway, has anyone else out there done this like i have ? anyone out there wanna lecture me to change my views ? im honestly open to suggestions/people proving me wrong/pointing me in a 'righter' direction

 

[TylerT]

I skipped straight to the intermediate as well and would do the same again if I could go back. Chicken breast, brown rice, lean ground turkey or beef are not expensive at all. At to that a half gallon or so of milk per day (if your body can handle it), you can get alot of quality calories in affordably. My only concern is you learning all the lifts from a PT..alot of them don't know as much as people give them credit for.

 

[chicagobuffedbod]

Yeah, I would agree on tylerts last comment. A powerlifting "coach" is the correct person you want to seek out. Not a personal trainer.

And to shortie_:
Don't sweat it. You're gaining and that's a good thing. You have a couple years of experience. Keep mastering the techniques for powerlifting and eat well. I like the intermediate 5x5 compared to all three programs. It seems to be more thorough in my opinion.

 

[Andalite]

i would not skip Rippetoe's Starting Strength Program.

 

[GSP]

Sounds fine. Only potential drawback is that you're slowing your gains by progressing once per week instead of 3X, but you'll end up in the same place so it's not a huge deal.

 

[solarclimax]

If you think u can gain 3 x a week do the ripptoe program, if not then do 5x5