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Bye-bye BBing BS: Journal of my 5x5 a la madcow2

Week 4

WEDNESDAY

Squat 5x5: 275
Standing military 5x5: 175
Deadlift: 375 3x5, 1x4; 365 1x5
Chins 5x5: BW

Comments:

-I'd failed at 175 on military last week. Got it today. Still tougher than I'd thought it would be.

-Got a little greedy on dl, but not too bad I guess. I went up twenty pounds from last week. I spoke with a dude who pulls 560 and he said a big pull just takes time :rolleyes: .

-I haven't gone up on chins because I'm BEAT after DL's. That's why I do military before 'em- I'd never move up if I did them after.
 
Keep in mind that in these programs you generally see a lot of the strength and hypertrophy show up afterward during the lighter deload/intensity period. You are pushing fairly hard so, you might be setup to pull some big triples in the dead further out. Just take your time.
 
Sounds good. I've upped my cals considerably the last two weeks and I have put some very noticeable size in my legs/hips (calves to waist).

Upper body overall has shrank just a bit but it seems that if I keep this up my body will be more balanced in terms of strength and eventually mass.

MC- I'd like your advice on setting up my weights for the intensity phase. I want to be more conservative at first and truly ramp the weights, as opposed to how I started the program (adding 10 pounds/week to each exercise basically). Would this be a good approach? Something like:

(using DL as example)

Week 5: 355 3x3 (this is the last weight I successfully completed for 5x5)
Week 6: 365 3x3
Wekk 7: 375 3x3
Week 8: 390 3x3
Week 9: 405 3x3

I realize that I should go by feel and adjust as necessary, but does the above seem like an appropriate goal/plan? It looks a little odd because weeks 6 and 7 are certainly less taxing then week 4 was, but I thought maybe that would be a good thing.
 
Looks okay - just go by feel. Sometimes what looks nice on paper is infeasible and sometimes it's too light.

If your stength was out of balance you might definitely notice a few muscles shinking - no big deal. You could build them back bigger if you wanted now that your base is increased or just keep pushing up the base and let everything fall into place as it's meant to.
 
Week 4

FRIDAY

Squat 1x5: 225, 275, 315, 335, 365
Bench 5x5: 280
Row 5x5: 245
abs
BB curls 100x9, x8

Comments:

-A perfect finish to loading. Weight selection couldn't have been better. On my very last rep of BP I just barely got it up, and on rows my form degraded on the very last one (got just a bit too upright).

-I'm definitely looking forward to some big triples. Those 5x5 days towards the end were pretty brutal.

-I guess it bears mentioning that I'm approaching my PR's from my last drug cycle, so that should say something as to the effectiveness of this program. I'm not even in the portion where the biggest gains are made...
 
do you plan on retesting your max's after the 5x5 cycle is over
I'd be interested in knowing the weight increases
 
Kane Fan said:
do you plan on retesting your max's after the 5x5 cycle is over
I'd be interested in knowing the weight increases

Not exactly. I'm gonna run the program again and use the weights from week 4 of this cycle in week 3 of the next one (or possibly better tehm by a little- we'll see). Also, week 9 of this cycle will be telling as to strength gains as they will be absolutely all-out triples- I can assure you of that.
 
DELOAD

Week 5

MONDAY

Squat 3x3: 345
Bench 1x3: 295
Row 1x3: 275
abs
BB Curls 2x10: 100

Comments:

-It's the day after and I already feel "refreshed" (for lack of a better word) from the volume phase.

-Yeah I went up on rows. Don't know why. I just had so much in the tank that I couldn't help it. Felt real good.

-I got a phone # from a SMOKIN' girl who just joined the gym and that made the workout that much more pleasant. We're gonna work out wednesday :sperm:

-I really think my lifts are gonna skyrocket. Stay tuned...
 
Week 5

WEDNESDAY

DL: 3x3 365, 1x385(PR), 1x405(PR), 1x425(PR) (I'll explain...)
Standing military 3x3: 175
Chins: 3x3

Comments:

-I ran into a competitive Olympic weightlifter who gave me some pointers on DL. Suffice to say I took advantage. I couldn't believe that I pulled those singles quite easily. No BS, they were cake. All from one minor (or so I thought) tip- I wasn't pulling with my shoulders nearly enough to initiate the movement. She (yes, she) said that if I made sure to pull with my shoulders simultaneously with my hip drive, and stick my chest out, that I would be able to do more weight. She was right. Even if I just wrecked the program (which I doubt- I'm sure I can salvage it by going 2x next week) it was worth it to instill a good habit under a watchful eye. Remember, I got buried by 405 not long ago. Also, my low back normally aches after DL's but not today. Live and learn- get help from someone who really knows their shit and it will pay big dividends.

-I should probably also mention that I wore wrestling shoes in place of my normal running shoes, so I'm sure that helped too.
 
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