Suggestions for bridge between 5x5's - some high repper Q's.....

[al420]

I am hoping I call out all the monsters but I have never figured out the trick to writing a decent title so I will hope and bump till I puke.....

Finishing a 9 week linear 5x5 next week or so. I am starting a bulking cycle on Sept 1 and am looking at a few different options between next week and Sept 1. Thinking I should give my joints/tendons/etc a break. I will start back on a 5x5 on Sept 1 - and it is going to be SICK as I was cutting on this current 5x5 and it has been tough (fridays are a bitch, but I hit my triples on all lifts today!) So I am thinking about the below as a bridge program:

M/W/F
Mon:
ATF Squat 1x10, 1x15, 1x20, 1x20
Incline Bench 1x10, 1x15, 1x20, 1x20
Pendalay Rows 1x10, 1x15, 1x20, 1x20
4 sets weighted abs, 4 set weighted hypers

Wed:
ATF Squat 1x10, 1x15, 1x20, 1x20
Decline Bench 1x10, 1x15, 1x20, 1x20
DL ATF Squat 1x10, 1x15, 1x20, 1x20
3 sets chins, 3 sets power shrugs, 3 sets abs

Fri:
ATF Squat 1x10, 1x15, 1x20, 1x20
Incline Bench 1x10, 1x15, 1x20, 1x20
Pendalay Rows 1x10, 1x15, 1x20, 1x20
4 sets dips, 4 sets BB curls, 4 sets skul crushers, 4 sets weighted abs

What do you think? SHould I throw in some more exercises to mix it up, or is the bread and butter just that?

I will also be doing a clen/T# cycle starting this sunday till 1 week before my bulker starts.

Bulker is 10 weeks of Test 550, and Deca 250
4 weeks of Dbol
6 months of 8iu's GH EOD

 

[Protobuilder]

So, you're looking at 5 weeks between now and Sept 1, right? Right off the bat, I don't think there's ANY reason to do high reps like that for 5 weeks. You WILL lose quite a bit of limit strength doing that. Instead, keep at least one heavy day each week. I don't rely on studies and crap all that much but it seems pretty well accepted that even if you cut volume & frequency, you'll be OK so long as you don't drop weight from the bar and you can even go to one heavy maintenance session a week. But don't drop it altogether. You're dropping MAJOR weight from the bar and doing it for 5 weeks straight. That's a disaster, IMO. At the most, I"d look at 1 maybe 2 weeks of high rep crap but frankly, I would keep at least one day heavy after maybe one or two weeks of all light work.

You could do heavy work twice a week, and light one day a week, and even on the heavy days, go down to 1-3 work sets and add in 2-3 high rep sets of 15-20 reps. That'll be a pretty high workload, but it's just one way to get high rep work w/out sacrificing weight on the bar.

 

[al420]

Thanks Proto -

Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[Cynical Simian]

I pretty much agree with PB. Find more of a balance between giving your joints a break and keeping the strength you gained on the 5x5. What I decided to do was (and is since I'm in the middle of it) a 3x8. I guess I won't know for sure whether it was a good choice for strength until I get back into the 5s, but it's a lot more reasonable in terms of volume and carryover to strength than what you're proposing.

Also, 20-rep deads, let alone back-to-back 20s after sets of 10 and 15 seems like a bad idea regardless of context. And with multiple 20-reppers, multiple times per week on squats, it's borderline suicidal if any of those sets are anywhere near maximal.

 

[al420]

Thanks CS - I have been thinking about the 20 repper on DL's since I typed the post and agree w/ you.

So do you think only squat on say Monday and Friady? Or just one day a week?

 

[BiggT]

I agree with the consensus.

If you're really banged up joint-wise, then a week off or a week of high reps will do you good as the aches and pains will go away, but I agree that 15's and 20's don't have much carry-over to a strength training program. 3 or 4 weeks of 20-rep squats aren't a bad idea, but remember that it is very taxing, so if you want to regroup for another push they may not be ideal.

Personally, I wouldn't even really consider it a bridge in programs. Think of starting a big push on 9/1/06, but between now and then maybe train some different lifts for a month. If you were training flat bench on the 5x5 template, maybe train close-grips , or train it with 5x3, but don't go over your 5 rep weights for the triples, or train inclines.....maybe behind the neck instead of military to the front or push presses....front squats instead of back squats, drop deads for the next 5 weeks and do clean pulls.....just make a tweak that allows you to let all the fatigue fade and prep for another heavy push.....you could cut squats back to 1x5 on Mon and Front Squats to a triple on Fri.....there are a lot of ways you could be creative, just slash the volume a little and do less total work.

 

[Cynical Simian]

Honestly, I'm not sure. I'm hardly one of the "monsters" with a ton of experience to whom you referred in the first post and haven't ever tried 20-rep programs. But based on the journals of those who have, if you're using them they should be your primary focus (at least if you're doing the breathing squats version). And if you're not doing breathing squats, I'm not sure what purpose they serve that the 15s couldn't with regard to conditioning and lactic acid flushing.

So one option would be to do the 20-rep squat program, which might help your conditioning in preparation for the 5x5.

Another would be to rework the standard 5x5 template you have to take care of the lack of strength emphasis. Unless you want to turn it into a full-blown 20-rep program (see above), I don't see any reason to go above 15. I'm not sure how your joints and whatnot are feeling, so I can't really say what would be best. Personally, I wanted a complete break from lower reps (had trained 5s, 3s, then 5s again), so 8s made sense. But if you don't want to do that something like a 5-10-15 ramp or low reps on Monday, high on Friday like PB suggested could work.

With deads, splitting the volume up into multiple smaller sets with short rests would probably be a better option than risking sloppy form toward the end of a 15-repper.

EDIT: Didn't see T's post as I was typing - sorry for any repeats.

 

[fortunatesun]

Something else you could consider just because the timing works out- Take a normal one week deload and then run a 3 week mini-cycle on something you've been meaning to improve- squat, bench, whatever. Then you deload again the last week.
Not to bludgeon the subject, but if your joints are sore then sticking with repetition work in the suggested range rather interspersing some max effort or dynamic lifts would be way more beneficial for recovery. Word of caution: Don't feel the need to increase your workload because you're not going heavy. You won't feel very rested after your vacation.

 

[FFQuads]

Try taking all your clothes off, running around the gym pissing on everyone, and chin kicking anything that gets in your way.........then drop sets. Remember to eat lots of pig fat and hit those hard to grow ankles alot.