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Question on Bill Starr 5x5 Routine

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I have seen some good reviews from people on here and around the net about the Bill Star 5x5 routine, so I finally decided to read up on it. In the past I have followed the Max-OT style of lifting, not necessarily to a "T", but I train mostly under that philosophy. I strictly perform compound lifts, and I go heavy for 2-3 sets per exercises with 4-8 reps per set.

When looking over this 5x5 routine, I was blown away by the fact that you are expected to perform squats 3 times per week! Do any of you actually do this with any success? After I do 3 sets of squats on Monday (followed by the rest of my leg routine), my legs are toast for the next 7-10 days. I don't see any possible way that I could perform a max set of 5 reps on Monday, and then exceed that just 4 days later.

My quads and hamstrings are at the absolute worst (in terms of soreness) about 48 hours after my leg day, and that is when I'd be expected to hit the squats again under this routine. How is this even possible? And wouldn't this violate the principle of not interrupting the recovery time of the muscle? It also seems like the calves are completely ignored under this program.

Thanks in advance for your advice!
 
Bill Starr is a genius. Buy his book: Starting Strength. Do his program for a year, then see if you want to make changes.

I train 4x a week, and have a Push Day (overhead press, bench, squat) and a Pull Day (Deadlift, Row, Powerclean, Etc) I do accessory work for smaller muscles groups on the day they fall so bicep and forearm on Pull Day, and triceps on Push Day.

Soreness will not be a factor as your only doing 25 reps for legs, not squats, then a bunch of faggorty like extentions and hamstring curls - both are useless for building strength.

Conditioning will be a factor. Your body will become accustomed to squatting 3x a week in 2-3 weeks. Just man up and do it.
 
I concur, I'm currently on the program and have no DOMS. The program starts with a deloading period and your body gets used to the exercise due to the frequency. The volume per workout is quite low so you never get completely wasted. You can still walk after and play sports and have a life.
 
al420 said:
Soreness will not be a factor as your only doing 25 reps for legs, not squats, then a bunch of faggorty like extentions and hamstring curls - both are useless for building strength.


lmao. Faggorty, Im gonna add this word to my vocab.
 
al420 said:
Conditioning will be a factor. Your body will become accustomed to squatting 3x a week in 2-3 weeks. Just man up and do it.
Why is so much emphasis placed on the squat? I consider myself more of a powerlifter than a bodybuilder (al420 - I alternate push and pull days as well), so I certainly understand the importnace of the squat, deadlift, and the bench press, but I have a hard time understanding why the squat needs to be done 3 times per week.
 
With the 5x5, you're only really doing two work sets of squat per week. The squats you do on deadlift day are very light.
 
The reason why you can squat 3 times a week is due to the fact that there are heavy, medium, and light days. I only squat two times a week, but some of the workouts are push 10+ work sets of 85% of my 1RM. I also deadlift 2 times each week and bench 4 times. It is all about controlling volume and intensity and this program does a great job at it.

It might suck for a few weeks, but like AL420 said, just man up and get it done... you will get use to the higher volume.
 
I think it is also important to point out that most athletes that strength train this way deload on a regular basis. Either they train light on-season, or they train hard for 6-9 weeks, then train @ 65% of 5RM for 2 weeks, then 75%, and then 85%....rinse repeat
 
u418936 said:
With the 5x5, you're only really doing two work sets of squat per week. The squats you do on deadlift day are very light.
See, I have never understood the point of a "light day." Lifting lighter weights certainly won't generate new muscle growth, so what's the point? All it can do is interrupt the recovery period of the muscle that is trying to grow. A few of you have said that if I squat 3 times per week then my body will get used to it. Why is that necessary?
 
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