Bill Starr's 5 x 5 program... Variation per Madcow2 (thanx) So here it is! K up now!

[blut wump]

The general consensus is that Smith machine squats are one of the worst things for your knees. You should just reduce the weight and play with foot flare and stance width until you find a pain-free position. Always go fully down, don't stop at parallel and certainly not before parallel. Keep it tight at the bottom rather than relaxing there. Make sure you do sufficient warmups to ease the knee into the workout. Always stretch out your hamstrings and thighs after a workout.

If you can't squat well, for whatever reason, then definitely stick with the single factor version for a while. The dual factor just isn't appropriate until you are solid in the lifts, most especially the squat.

 

[Salv]

Hi there, only new to this board, but a big advocate of Bill Starr, and have read Only the Strongest ….. plenty of times.

Just wondering why only Bill’s 5x5 routine is ever mentioned….he talks plenty about changing it up, using 5,3, 10’s and numerous other things…yet these don’t get talked about. Most tend to just talk about changing to something different once 5x5 is no longer giving results.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Hi there, only new to this board, but a big advocate of Bill Starr, and have read Only the Strongest ….. plenty of times.

Just wondering why only Bill’s 5x5 routine is ever mentioned….he talks plenty about changing it up, using 5,3, 10’s and numerous other things…yet these don’t get talked about. Most tend to just talk about changing to something different once 5x5 is no longer giving results.

If I understand correctly, Madcow promotes this program as a way to get away from the nonsensical, Flex magazine type of stuff that leads to frustration for so many people. The sheer volume of the posts on this thread may make it seem that we 5x5'ers think that this is it and that nothing else matters any more.

That's not the case- this program, as you know, is fantastic but other programs and rep ranges appropriate to one's goals should be used as well. This program seems to serve the function of getting people on the right track in terms of setting up programs that properly regulate volume, intensity, frequency, workload and exercise selection.

 

[Salv]

I think the program set out here sounds great and I will be giving it a go. I was just pointing out that if one is a Bill Starr devotee, his routine suggestions start with the 5x5 and variations of ie. Enough variety that one could simply use Bill Starr routines forever. And so what surprises me is that people only ever talk about single factor 5x5 from Bill’s book, when there’s more to it than that.

 

[blut wump]

Take a browse through this thread, you'll find a lot more than the basic routine.

 

[JL_204]

I think the program set out here sounds great and I will be giving it a go. I was just pointing out that if one is a Bill Starr devotee, his routine suggestions start with the 5x5 and variations of ie. Enough variety that one could simply use Bill Starr routines forever. And so what surprises me is that people only ever talk about single factor 5x5 from Bill’s book, when there’s more to it than that.

No, we mainly talk about dual factor theory which is different from the single factor. Besides, look how much space this took up. Could you imagine if we talked about the whole book???

Also, MC2 didnt expect people to run this forever. He wanted to give HIT'ers a kick in the ass to think outside the box.

 

[Madcow2]

Re: Bill Starr's 5 x 5 program... Variation per Madcow2 (thanx) So here it is! K up n

Update on new TOC (rough draft in link), backup site, and Practical Periodization

For those interested, this is kind of a preliminary on what the new and likely final TOC is going to look like. A bit better organized around training theory with more info in the actual TOC before one reaches the program links. I'll also be getting the Dual Factor Description edited a bit.

This site is where I'll likely backup everything here (in case the servers barf as I spent too damn long on this) and throw up a few other goodies as I'm able. I just need to get everything in order first. It's your plain vanilla black and white site so the low bandwidth afforded by geocities shouldn't get too cramped for people: http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1.

There is a rough draft of the new TOC there that links back to EF or the appropriate site as the topic dictates. This is a much better and clearer version and I'm hoping to leave something of a reference for people to refer to - at least until they start putting real training info in the mags.

In other news I had a conversation today with Glenn P. and he spoke for a bit about the upcomming release of Practical Periodization due out in early 2006. The way he described it was that a good subtitle would be "Training - Years 1-3." He said it will pick up from the beginners program where Starting Strength left off. It will cover the "how", "why", and "when" training is gradually altered over time as a lifter or athlete progresses. In a sense the progression might go from setting records 3x per week to 2x and 1x, then to 1x every 4 weeks, and 1x every 8 weeks. Obviously structure and workload will be covered in depth.

This is likely to be the book everyone has been waiting for. Personally, I'm really excited about it.

Also, I likely won't be posting with anywhere near the frequency I did in the past although I will still stop in. The goal was to help people out, try to change things a bit in the way of getting real training theory out there, and leave a useable reference. I think that's been accomplished with the TOC update and the backup site (which is frankly a lot easier to update than an internet thread where editing becomes really onerous - as I find new stuff, I'll put it there and then try to duplicate here or provide a link, the TOC here likely won't reflect this). It's certainly been great to see so many people here and all over the net getting great results, learning, and just generally enjoying their training and progression. One of the very few boards where "PR" and "Gained Xlbs" are commonplace.

Anyway, hope everyone is well and all the best.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Nice to see you again! Welcome Back!

 

[JL_204]

Welcome back MC2!!!

 

[Extra_Strong]

I have benefited greatly!!! lots of good info..