started 5 x 5 tonite

[kingc_79]

after a layoff..i switched to a 5 x 5 routine for something different to give my joints a break. my bench sucks. on decline i kept sliding down bc my bench is too high off the ground.

incline bench- 5 x 5 w/ 155lbs (good startin pt. went pretty easy)
flat bench- 2 x 8 w/185lbs
decline bench- 2 x 8 w/185lbs...killed me. ill use the other bench next time

 

[Lord_Suston]

I hope you like NeedSize's routine, it worked well for myself more thanI ever though possible. Just make sure that every rep is quality and you go up only when you deserve to. Good luck I want to see some great numbers

 

[kingc_79]

thanks man...i'm not cheatin myself..all reps are good slow reps.
i'm gonna have to come up w/a split tho bc if i do events on sun that would be 6days a wk. i'd like 2 rest days. any suggestions?

 

[from zero]

Awesome man, I started this tonight too! Best of luck. I am anticipating HUGE gains from you bro.

 

[STEP OFF]

yeah 5x5 has given me nice results. my split is:
mon-chest
tues-legs
wed-off
thurs-back
fri-shoulders
sat-arms
sun-off

 

[Lord_Suston]

that is tough split King; I really don't know unless you combine a day or go on a eight day rotation or just split up the events

 

[from zero]

My split is going to be:

Mon: Chest/Bis
Tues: Legs
Wed: Off
Thurs: Shoulders/Tris
Fri: Back

 

[MikeK]

Youll love it, I used an old form of it back when i was compeating at 235, gives you somthing to shoot for every work out, still use it. IMO, its the king of all routines.

 

[kingc_79]

My split is going to be:

Mon: Chest/Bis
Tues: Legs
Wed: Off
Thurs: Shoulders/Tris
Fri: Back

think i may use the same split..just different days off

sun: events
mon: chest/bis
tue: legs
wed: off
thur: back
fri: shoulders/tris
sat: off

 

[from zero]

think i may use the same split..just different days off

sun: events
mon: chest/bis
tue: legs
wed: off
thur: back
fri: shoulders/tris
sat: off

I think it will work very well; giving everything as much rest as it can be given on a 4 day split.

 

[RusPA81]

after a layoff..i switched to a 5 x 5 routine for something different to give my joints a break. my bench sucks. on decline i kept sliding down bc my bench is too high off the ground.

incline bench- 5 x 5 w/ 155lbs (good startin pt. went pretty easy)
flat bench- 2 x 8 w/185lbs
decline bench- 2 x 8 w/185lbs...killed me. ill use the other bench next time

Good luck with the routine bro. I had a lot of success with it. One thing I may change if I were is not doing 3 pressing exercises. This may be to much and isnt really necessary IMO. Stick with incline as you primary lift and then you could rotate between flat and decline. If you want to do a third lift you could try somekind of fly movement.

 

[athlete0185]

hey needsize or anyone else that can answer this i have a quick question. i have been doing the 5x5 for flat bench db presses and sitting overhead db presses because i cant do regular bench (bad shoulder). we all know the problem with dumbells is that they only go up 5 pounds on each arm, so thats 10 pounds total. for example...i started with the db presses at 70 each side no problem, next week 75 each side no problem, and i did the 80's this week and was struggling but got the last reps up. now...since this is going up 10 pounds each week...im not sure if im going to be able to get the 85's next week. should i stick to the 80's until i get 5x5 easily, even though i wont be technically 'progressiving'? will this hurt my progress and take away the whole point of the routine. ive noticed all my secondary movements getting stronger though also.

 

[needsize]

athlete0185, thats a tough one. If you did struggle I would say keep the weight for next week, and try it again. but it is really going to be tough to keep going up by those increments, which you have already guessed

 

[from zero]

athlete, if I were you, I'd have started at a much lower weight. Maybe 60s, or even 55s. By the time you got to the 80s-85s, it would definitely be easier to handle.

 

[athlete0185]

athlete, if I were you, I'd have started at a much lower weight. Maybe 60s, or even 55s. By the time you got to the 80s-85s, it would definitely be easier to handle.

i dont think the starting weight was the problem because i was doing 70's for a while up to even 8 reps. i understand the whole idea behind going up every week but starting at a lower weight isnt the problem i think its the increments. i can't do any bench press or else my shoulder just hurts like a mother fcuker and hurts for a few days.

do you think since a lot of my secondary exercises have gone up its only a matter of time before my 5x5 exercise will be up to the 85's also?

 

[sinjinsmythe33]

try some platemates, i think they sell them in 1, 1.5 and 2.5 pd increments.

 

[OfimNedu]

I'm in week 3 of the program and I love it. My strength is through the roof and I'm off cycle. I'm already past the heaviest dumbbells in my gym on chest though which is a problem since they stop at 120s. I can't bench or barbell press overhead due to shoulder issues. So far my best lifts are:

Chest-120lb. dumbbells 5x5 easily
Overhead Press-95lb. dumbbells 5x5
Close Grip Bench-275 5x5

 

[kingc_79]

Re: Re: started 5 x 5 tonite

Good luck with the routine bro. I had a lot of success with it. One thing I may change if I were is not doing 3 pressing exercises. This may be to much and isnt really necessary IMO. Stick with incline as you primary lift and then you could rotate between flat and decline. If you want to do a third lift you could try somekind of fly movement.

thanks man.....the reason they're all pressing is i dont have db's at home and if i go to the gym i may do something else but i dont feel like its an overload bc i'm used to alot of volume w/chest.

 

[kingc_79]

I'm in week 3 of the program and I love it. My strength is through the roof and I'm off cycle. I'm already past the heaviest dumbbells in my gym on chest though which is a problem since they stop at 120s. I can't bench or barbell press overhead due to shoulder issues. So far my best lifts are:

Chest-120lb. dumbbells 5x5 easily
Overhead Press-95lb. dumbbells 5x5
Close Grip Bench-275 5x5

nice work man..those are some heavy lifts.

 

[OfimNedu]

nice work man..those are some heavy lifts.

Thanks. I'm always had a good press for some reason but not a great pull. My squat and deadlift numbers are nothing to write home about. My quads respond very well to training even with moderate weights. I usually work with around 315 right now. My quads are at 25" right now at my leanest point.

 

[Zander1983]

I'm willing to jump on the bandwagon and give this a go. Having decided to jump back into my training properly, this is perfect timing.

I'll post my first workout a little later

 

[kingc_79]

cool man..keep us updated

 

[RusPA81]

Re: Re: Re: started 5 x 5 tonite

thanks man.....the reason they're all pressing is i dont have db's at home and if i go to the gym i may do something else but i dont feel like its an overload bc i'm used to alot of volume w/chest.

Thats cool man. If you can handle it, then by all means go for it. I just wanted to make sure that you didnt end up overtraining. Anyways, good luck with the program. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Zander1983]

cool man..keep us updated

http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?postid=3099186#post3099186

 

[athlete0185]

since going up on the increment of 10 pounds w/ overhead dumbell presses was way too intense, i have decided to switch my 5x5 shoulder movement to the smith machine barbell military press. since im only in the 3rd week of the program, i feel this change won't be too substancial. still having the same dumbell problem with the flat bench db press though (going up 10 pounds and hitting a pleteau), so im looking for a good chest exercise to do 5x5 (can't do regular bench press; bad shoulder)

 

[STEP OFF]

maybe dips .. if your shoulder is that bad tho. that may cause more stress

 

[lucidblue]

I started the 5x5 in August. It's going great. I definitely see an improvement in muscle appearance and my strength. Would have a really great squat if I hadn't hurt my back when I was up to 135. I had to decrease by 50lbs. I've worked my way back up to 120, three more weeks until 135 again... can't wait!

 

[athlete0185]

maybe dips .. if your shoulder is that bad tho. that may cause more stress

i do dips as a secondary movement 2x8 on my chest day. i wouldnt do it 5x5.

 

[Zander1983]

Here's my split and routine:

Day 1: Chest
Flat Bench Press 5x5
Incline Bench Press 2x8
Flat DB Flys 2x8

Day 2: Shoulders
Military Press 5x5
Side Laterals 2x8
Lying Laterals 2x8

Day 3: Off

Day 4: Back
Deadlifts 5x5
Chin-ups 2x8
Rows 2x8

Day 5: Arms & Traps
Close-grip Bench 5x5
Barbell Curls 5x5
Shrugs 2x8

Day 6: Legs
Squats 5x5
Straight-leg Deadlifts 2x8
Lunges 2x8

Day 7: Off

Differs from needsize's template slightly. For example, I didn't want two main 5x5 movements on any one day. This allows me to give 110% to all of the 5x5 moves. Deadlifts and military presses on the same day wouldn't have worked well for me.

There's also less arm work. Just the two 5x5 bicep and tricep moves. The arms get enough extra work on the other days.

I might play around with the order of the days, but we'll see how it goes.

 

[Zander1983]

For example, I didn't want two main 5x5 movements on any one day. This allows me to give 110% to all of the 5x5 moves.

The obvious exception being arms, but they're a little different anyway.

 

[kingc_79]

since going up on the increment of 10 pounds w/ overhead dumbell presses was way too intense, i have decided to switch my 5x5 shoulder movement to the smith machine barbell military press. since im only in the 3rd week of the program, i feel this change won't be too substancial. still having the same dumbell problem with the flat bench db press though (going up 10 pounds and hitting a pleteau), so im looking for a good chest exercise to do 5x5 (can't do regular bench press; bad shoulder)

do inclines...they dont hurt my rotators as bad..and why use the smith machine? just do reg bb ohp or standing ohp.

 

[athlete0185]

do inclines...they dont hurt my rotators as bad..and why use the smith machine? just do reg bb ohp or standing ohp.

i might do inclines, but im pretty happy doing incline db press because ive been going up lately. there is just something about my shoulder that doesnt like doing things with the barbell when it comes to benching. i like the smith machine because i feel i have just overall better control with it. on the sitting bb military press...the barbell is racked too far back and i can't really lift it off that well. i dunno if i dont feel comftorable doing an exercise (not because of the intensity, because of the stress it puts on a certain joint) then i need to switch to make sure im getting the most out of my form. even with the smuth if i keep increasing ill get stronger. its just like asking people why they do smitth press bench instead of regular. plus i work out alone.