javin86 is powerbuilding with 5x5!!!!!!

[javin86]

Well I guess I'll start by introducing myself. I'm javin86, 22 year old male from ottawa, I'm 5' 11" and about 198 pounds. I've been training for 2.5 years now, mostly with high volume bodybuilding routines, as my goal has always been to put on size and look like a bodybuilder. Well now I'm pretty happy with the way that I look, and I'm starting to realise that my favorite part of training is progressing in weights. So, I've decided to put all my effort into a program that focuses on strength, and hopefully once that comes the size will follow.

I'm pretty instinctive with my training, so the routine i'm posting is only an outline and may change throughout.

monday:

squats 5x5
bench 5x5
bb rows 5x5
and then some various isolation exercises


wednesday:

front squats 5x5
dead lifts 5x5
military press 5x5
random iso exercises

friday:

same as monday, probably different isolation work.

I've been playing around with this program for about 2 weeks, and so far i'm loving it. I'm not used to so much frequency on my major lifts, but it really seems to be working.

My big 3 lifts are:

squat 285 5x5
deadlift 345 5x5
bench 255 5x5

next week i'm hoping to add 5-10 pounds to all of those, and then again every week there-after.

As far as supplementing goes, I take whey protein from various brands, a multi (whichever's cheap), I'm using some free eas zma that i got from my work, various polyunsaturated fat sources, and starting soon i'll be loading maxx essentials creatine monohydrate.

My first logged workout will be starting monday, so until then I'll put up my diet, and hopefully put up a few starting pics so I can track my progress.



thanks for following along!

[faller]

I'll be following this for sure, i love the 5x5. Just wandering if you're planning to do a deload at all or are you just going to carry on with the 5x5?

[javin86]

so far I haven't needed to deload, but once the weights start to stall, or if i feel a little overtrained i'll se the program back a few weeks and work my way back up.

[Gib]

You need to push yourself on the legs, especially the squats, more bud. It is almost even with your bench.

But thats a good program otherwise, i love compound 5x5 routines! Id suggest throwing in some weighted dips and chins somewhere in there from time to time - great challenge!

You find you can recover enough with a day off between?

[tex]

he should be fine on recovery....i followed the old school program and that had me benching and squating 3 x per week and i lasted 5 weeks before my cns was toast

[faller]

i lasted 5 weeks before my cns was toast

Thats why i asked if he was going to incorporate a deload. The idea of this program is over-reaching, not over-training..

[javin86]

You need to push yourself on the legs, especially the squats, more bud. It is almost even with your bench.

But thats a good program otherwise, i love compound 5x5 routines! Id suggest throwing in some weighted dips and chins somewhere in there from time to time - great challenge!

You find you can recover enough with a day off between?

My squat used to be much higher, but after a back injury, and a poorly planned cut last summer this is where i'm at right now. Before that I hit 315 for 8 reps at my peak. The numbers are moving up very fast right now though, and I don't think it'll be too long before I get back up there.

[javin86]

In case anyone's wondering, I'll give an example of my diet. I don't really count anything, I just eat more if i'm not growing, or eat less if i'm growin fat. I try to eat lots of different things, but I usually just end up eating the same crap. so here is an example of a typica day of my diet.

breakfast: smoothie

1/2 litre of skim milk
40 grams of whey
handful of strawberries
handful of blueberries
1 banana

right before work:
2 slices multi grain bread
natural peanut butter

1st break
can of tuna
2 slices multigrain bread
tbsp of light mayo

while working: hand full of almonds

lunch:
1 or 2 chicken breasts depending on size
big serving of mixed veggies
a potato/sweet potatoe/brown rice

2nd break
usually some pasta with beef or chicken, possible chili

after work:
I work at a nursing home, and sometimes if a friend is working I get fed whatever they're feeding the old people that day

post workout:
40 grams whey
tbsp honey
skim milk
banana

last meal:
4 scrambled eggs with 2 slices of toast
or possible a 10oz steak with some veggies

bed time shake:
milk
whey
natural pb
flax/mac nut oil


Sometimes I don't get all this in, sometimes I get far more. I don't know if i mentioned, but I think I'm around 12-14% bodyfat. I have visible abs, and lots of definition in my triceps, delts and legs, but i've got a bit of spare tire around the hips. If I find I start getting higher than that i'll take out some carbs from the diet and add more veggies to fill me up.

Pics are probably gonna be a while cus my girlfriend just moved into a new apartment and it'll be a while before she gets her comp/camera and stuff sorted. First logged workout is tomorrow, so I'll be back then!

[javin86]

headin tot he gym now, will post up in a couple of hours or so. gotta walk there and back unfortunately.

[faller]

headin tot he gym now, will post up in a couple of hours or so. gotta walk there and back unfortunately.

Great warm up and cool down :D

[proximo]

Great warm up and cool down :D

Unless you live in Winnipeg.....yikes! It's like -50 out there today.

[faller]

Unless you live in Winnipeg.....yikes! It's like -50 out there today.

And to think i was whineing like a little bitch today because it only got to 7C. :ne

[javin86]

Unless you live in Winnipeg.....yikes! It's like -50 out there today.

definitely a great day for a walk in ottawa, it was about -4 bright and sunny.

[javin86]

So today was the first official workout of the log, and I gotta say it's off to an awesome start. In fact, my strength is progressing so rapidly that i'm starting to get worried about it.

last week's lifts:

squat 275 5x5
bench 245 5x5
bb row 235 5x5

This week I added 10 pounds to all of those lifts and still completed all 5 reps for each set. On squats I felt like I could have done quite a few more reps than that even.

so just for the record, this week's lifts:

squat 285 5x5
bench 255 5x5
bb row 245 5x5

after words I did a few sets of barbell curls with 90 pounds, and some side laterals with 35's. And just for the record, I took 200mg's of caffiene 10 minutes before lifting.

Finished the workout had a protein shake with milk, whey and honey. I was still hungry after so I got an Oh Yeah pb and caramel protein bar and ate it on the walk home. Now that I'm home I'm gonna have a giant bowl of chili!

btw the walk was 30 mins in each direction at a very fast pace.

[javin86]

it's like 3 hours after that workout, and I'm still completely freakin exhuasted. That's always a good sign to me. I've been eating this chili for the last two days that's so damn good I feel like I have to share the recipe with you guys.

ingrdients:
3 lbs extra lean ground beef
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
3 green peppers
4 cloves garlic
3 large stalks of celery
1 can chipotles in adobo
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
chili powder, cumin and black pepper to taste.

Fry the onions, garlic, green peppers, celery and chipotles (including sauce) over mdeium heat until onions are tender crisp. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and beef and increase heat to high. Boil for 10-15 mins and then reduce to simmer and add beans and spices. Cook for as long as you can stand the smell without eating it . Enjoy!

[warlock]

5X5 is the shit!

It is simple and works.

Right now I am doing it and loving as the weights are always going slowly and steadily up.

If you wanna get best results use you off day doing 20 min of light cardio and them stretch, and do some release work with a tennis ball and a roller, You will feel amazing and get even stronger

[javin86]

5X5 is the shit!

It is simple and works.

Right now I am doing it and loving as the weights are always going slowly and steadily up.

If you wanna get best results use you off day doing 20 min of light cardio and them stretch, and do some release work with a tennis ball and a roller, You will feel amazing and get even stronger

thanks man, I was going to do some cardio tomorrow and maybe work abs and calves. I'll look into the release work too.

[javin86]

today's an off day from lifting, so I'm gonna head to the gym for some cardio/abs/calves. going to my girlfriends tonight, so i'll update today's workout, and tomorrow's lifting when i get home tomorrow evening probably.

[javin86]

Sorry about the wait guys, tings didn't go as they were planned for the last two days. I was about to go to the gym on tusday when I got a call from my girlfriend asking me to go help her out with her appartment. So for basically the last 36 hours I've been painting building furniture etc. I haven't trained since monday. My diet wasn't too bad, but i feel i could have eaten more.

Either way, Wednesdays workout will be happening today, and friday's will be moved to saturday. I'm wondering if i should just continue on a tues, thurs, sat schedule from now on. Well we'll see. I'll be headin to the gym this evening for some Front squats, deads and military press. I will update as soon as I get back.

[faller]

You know, i could forgive a guy if he missed training for the last 36 hour's and not post his workout because he was :sex,,,,, but painting http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o113/faller11/smilies/banned.gif............:D










.

[javin86]

You know, i could forgive a guy if he missed training for the last 36 hour's and not post his workout because he was :sex,,,,, but painting http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o113/faller11/smilies/banned.gif............:D





.

why do you think the painting took so long? it was only a couple of rooms:p

[javin86]

Alright, so this week was pretty crappy for training. Seems like every time I was ready to hit the weights something came up that I couldn't avoid. So I only completed to of my 3 workouts this week. I'm not overly concerned aboutt his since both of my workouts went really well, and i'm kind of worried about burning out at the pace i'm gaining. I've already posted monday's workout, so here's friday's.

front squats: 225 5x5 (felt easy ass hell, probably could have done 235 this week.)

dead lifts 335 5x5 these weren't so good. I didn't have chalk for a few weeks since the store that sells it is far away and there are no buses. However, i'm really happy to be lifting heavy in deads again, and i'm sure these numbers will be going up pretty quick.

military press 195 5x5

bw chins (underhand grip) 3x10
cgbp 195 3x10

this was a long exhausting workout, and my shoulders and traps are sore as hell. gonna take me a while to get used to the deads again. Sorry about the lack of updates guys, hopefully next week will go much better than this. I won't be training over the weekend, I'm going to winterlude with my girlfriend tomorrow, so next workout is monday.

On a side note, My weight suddenly shot up like 4 pounds this weeks, so I'm gona try and eat a little more clean... I've had some pizza and other junk lately.

[javin86]

So, today is another workout day and i'm excited as hell!! going for new pr's in squat and bench, but thinking of spending another week at the same weight for rows, since i wasn't happy with my form last week. Also I still have ridiculous doms in my traps and lats after last week's workout, so I probably shouldn't go too hard on the rows. I'll be hittin the gym this afternoon, so i'll be updating early this evening if everything goes as planned.

[javin86]

Ok, today was an interesting day in many respects. I guess first I'll start with the training session. Another great day in the gym, but the progress has slowed a little, which is probably a good thing. I didn't get a chance to do any support work because I was so drained after my 3 main lifts. they went as follows:

squats 295 5x5 My last set was challenging, and my last rep went up reeeaaaal slow. I'm thinking next workout I'll go to 305 but probably end up staying there for a while.

bench 265 5,5,5,5,3. On my last set my leg cramped up really bad and it sort of scred me. I ended up only getting half wway up on my 4th rep.

bb rows. 255 5x5, these felt much better than last week. I kept my hands a little farther apart on the bar and I think it made a big difference. I'll up this weight on friday.

So Have any of you ever switched from bodybuilding to powerlifting for a while? If so, have you ever noticed a change in the people who talk to you at the gym? In the last 2 weeks 3 people who I've never spoken to in my life approached me to talk about powerlifting with me. In fact, the guy today was someone who I've seen at this gym for almost two years and never spoken to. It feels strange to me that suddenly I'm accepted into the circle of power lifters after so much time feeling hostility from them. I was kind of bothered by this mainly because of the views these people have about boybuilding. I constantly hear these guy talking about how bodybuilding is gay. They make lame ass jokes like "hey guys i'm gonna diet down and tan myself up for a bodybuilding show. then i'm gonna have gay sex with the other competitors" and then they all proceed to laugh histerically. I don't htink I want to be part of a group with a bunch of closed minded homophobes like this, but at the same time I don't want to cause any problems with people I say evewryday. I think i'll just humour them with politeness, and try to avoid to much time around them.,

Another thing. Have any of you done many psychoactive drugs? When I was a teenager I did ALOT of pretty much EVERYTHING. Since starting weightlifting, i've noticed a few times that I can get an effect quite similar to those from illegal drugs. The first time I noticede this was when I first too eca. I took 25mg of ephedrine with 1 serving of gaspari's cyto lean. I guess the combination of the stimulants and the mood boosters really mimicked the effects of ecstacy (the street stuff with the speed in it, not pure mdma). After today's workout I was much more drained than I'm used to. I had a pretty crazy body buzz going on from all the endorphins. I also took a really large serving of caffiene before the workout. So anyway, I'm walking home and i start to feel super warm and extremely comfortable and happy, and to me it felt almost exactly like being on mdma (pure ecstacy). It was so bizarre, I almost wanted to call up my friends to tell them I love them or hug random people on the street. Luckily it wore off pretty quick so I didn't emberass myself. Anybody else ever experience anything like this?

[javin86]

Feeling tired as hell rigt now, so i'm not gonna give too much detail. here's today's workout.

front squats 235 5x5
deadlifts 335 5x5 (kept the same weight as last week, but it felt easy as hell. going up next week)
shoulder press 205 5x5

Starting to get a little paranoid about overtraining due to the brutal exhaustion that i'm feeling at the end of these workouts. I believe the program said that you only deload when your progress starts to stal, and you do so by setting the program back a few weeks. Does this sound right to everybody? Should I consider deloading sooner/more often? should I be looking for any signs?

[faller]

You can't go on with the 5x5 indefinitly. And you don't want to go untill all progress has stalled. You can extend it beyound the 4 week mark if you started a bit too light in your first week, but if you started too heavy than you'll run into problems. The first time trying this can be a bit tricky, the goal is to get PR's in wk. 3 and 4. You should be feeling very exhausted by week 4, but not burned out, like it appears you might be doing.

If i were you i'd jump into the deload, you'll be amazed at how easy that will feel after doing the loading phase. How long have you been loading??

The protocol is: Volume/Loading Phase - Weeks 1-4:

..................... Deloading Week - Week 5

......................Intensification Phase - Week 6-9

Or option 2:......Pure Deload, 2 days a week.

Than when you feel fully recovered start Volume/Loading Phase again...

[javin86]

You can't go on with the 5x5 indefinitly. And you don't want to go untill all progress has stalled. You can extend it beyound the 4 week mark if you started a bit too light in your first week, but if you started too heavy than you'll run into problems. The first time trying this can be a bit tricky, the goal is to get PR's in wk. 3 and 4. You should be feeling very exhausted by week 4, but not burned out, like it appears you might be doing.

If i were you i'd jump into the deload, you'll be amazed at how easy that will feel after doing the loading phase. How long have you been loading??

The protocol is: Volume/Loading Phase - Weeks 1-4:

..................... Deloading Week - Week 5

......................Intensification Phase - Week 6-9

Or option 2:......Pure Deload, 2 days a week.

Than when you feel fully recovered start Volume/Loading Phase again...


This is a great post, thank you so much for the advice. Unfortunately it came a little bit too late as I've gotten sick over the weekend and I'm pretty sure it's from overtraining. I'm putting the blame on the fact that I wasn't getting enough sleep last week, since I was only 3 weeks into the program I should have been able to get another week in before being overetrained.

[javin86]

well it's been faaaar too long since i've updated this. Unfortunately another week didn't go as planned. When I woke up Friday morning I felt like crap, and I was sick all weekend. So another week goes by and again I only hit 2 of 3 workouts and none of the supplementary cardio I'd been planning on doing. I felt alot better today, but not 100% so I did something I told myself I wouldn't do anymore. I worked out while sick. here's how it went.

squats 305 5x5 I was planning on staying light today so that I would aggrevate my cold... but these felt great so I upped the weight.

Bench 265 4x1 At this point I realised that I was still under the weather and feeling extremely drained from the squats. last week I was only on rep away from achieving my 5x5 goal with this weight, but I barely managed to get one set of 4. So I droped the weight and still struggled doing 225 for 4 sets of 5.

bb rows 225 5x5 decided that I was gonna stay light on these and just keep the muscle active to prevent atrophy. Felt light, definitely could have done more.

Overall I'm glad I worked out, I really missed it. I'm gonna have to work On getting more sleep though, I think that's why I got sick, and I think it's why I've been feeling overtrained so soon. The rest of this week is going to be much better. No more slip ups from here on!!

[faller]

I doubt that you'd be overtrained if you were in week three... I don't know where you live, but around here there is a brutal flu going around. It's kicking the crap out everyone around me, my daughter and son both have it and they are really tired. I'm thinking thats what you might have.

[javin86]

from tuesday night:

Time for another update! I worked out yesterday, but still wasn't really feeling 100%. I started with 20 mins of hiit on the treadmill 1 min at 3.8 one min at 9.5, then just jogged at 6.0 for the rest. I then did a few isolation sets of abs, calves, biceps and triceps with little rest between sets. I started feeling weak towards the end, so I did about 10 mins of hard stretching then left.

I'm feeling almost 100% today, so i'll be doing m regular wednesday routine of front squats, dead and military press. I'm working right after so I won't be able to update until later this evening. catch you then.

[javin86]

Well, It looks like the sickness has finally passed, cus I had a FREAKIN FANTASTIC workout!!! I was feeling kinda crappy after getting a bad sleep last night, so I decided to kick up my preworkout supplementation a bit. I took 2 servings of endo-rush, and decided to add 8mg of ehpedrine. the workout went as follows:

Front squats: 245 5x5 felt great, I think I'll be fine with 255 next week

deadlifts: 355 5x5 these also felt VERY easy. I might go up another 20 pounds ainstead of the usual 10 next week. I'll see how I feel.

military press: 215 4x5, 1x4 I didn't leave alot of rest time between these sets, not sure if that would have helped on my last set.

Side note: A tendon near my left elbow is giving me a bit of trouble. I'm hoping that when I deload the pain goes away. Also thinking of delaying my delaod due to the fact that I've missed so many training sessions due to sickness etc. I'm gonna play this all by ear though and see how it turns out.

[javin86]

I doubt that you'd be overtrained if you were in week three... I don't know where you live, but around here there is a brutal flu going around. It's kicking the crap out everyone around me, my daughter and son both have it and they are really tired. I'm thinking thats what you might have.

thanks again for the comments, you're probably right that I wasn't overtrained. I had planned on deloading next week since friday will be the end of my third week, but I've really missed alot more workouts than I should have, especially after being sick. I'm feeling really refreshed now that I'm over this, and i'm thinking i'll go another week and see how I do. I will be keeping my eyes open for signs though.

[javin86]

Well, it's time to let the readers participate a little more actively in my thread. I'm having alot of thoughts about my training lately, and I feel like I want to go in new directions. I've really enjoyed my little stint in powerlifting, and it's made me realise that there are lots of other types of training i'd like to do. I'm also looking to lean up a bit. Not necessarily cut, but definitely decrease bodyfat percentage. After I'm done my 5x5 cycle, which should be another month and a half or so, I'll be starting an aas cycle consisting of test and possibly an oral, not sure yet. For this cycle I have some goals (in some cases I may have to choose one instead of another, these are just things that interest me) :

-increase funtional strength
-increase explosive strength
-decrease bodyfat
-work on sprints
-learn some olympic lifts
-improve overall health
-improve abdominal strength (Now that I'm lifting really heavy i'm finding my abs to be a limiting factor, and i'm starting to believe that I may be experiencing lower back pain because of it.)

i've got alot of time to thinka bout this, and really haven't begun to work on a plan yet, but if anyone wants to help me work on a routine to reach these goals I would really appreciate it as I have no experience with anything but bodybuilding and predesigned power lifting programs. I'm sure the sprints/cardio/reduce bodyfat stuff I can take care of on my own but as for the functional and explosive strength I only have a very rough idea of where to begin with this.

So come feel free to shout out any ideas or tips you may have. If we have any athletes who follow a specific training program tell me what you do.

[javin86]

Well, it's time to let the readers participate a little more actively in my thread. I'm having alot of thoughts about my training lately, and I feel like I want to go in new directions. I've really enjoyed my little stint in powerlifting, and it's made me realise that there are lots of other types of training i'd like to do. I'm also looking to lean up a bit. Not necessarily cut, but definitely decrease bodyfat percentage. After I'm done my 5x5 cycle, which should be another month and a half or so, I'll be starting an aas cycle consisting of test and possibly an oral, not sure yet. For this cycle I have some goals (in some cases I may have to choose one instead of another, these are just things that interest me) :

-increase funtional strength
-increase explosive strength
-decrease bodyfat
-work on sprints
-learn some olympic lifts
-improve overall health
-improve abdominal strength (Now that I'm lifting really heavy i'm finding my abs to be a limiting factor, and i'm starting to believe that I may be experiencing lower back pain because of it.)

i've got alot of time to thinka bout this, and really haven't begun to work on a plan yet, but if anyone wants to help me work on a routine to reach these goals I would really appreciate it as I have no experience with anything but bodybuilding and predesigned power lifting programs. I'm sure the sprints/cardio/reduce bodyfat stuff I can take care of on my own but as for the functional and explosive strength I only have a very rough idea of where to begin with this.

So come feel free to shout out any ideas or tips you may have. If we have any athletes who follow a specific training program tell me what you do.

well I've kinda neglected my log on this site, and I appologise to anyone who may have been following. I got a great response to the above quote on another forum which i'd like to share with you guys. Hopefully you can let me know what you think.



Drumed
Global Moderator

Ok, remember this is going to be alot different then a BBer routine. We want to focus on strength, speed and conditioning.
Strength training will be focusing on CNS stimulation, fiber recruitment and a whole lot less hypertrophy (Don't worry your physique will change for the better)
I think a three day split will be awesome. I like to do Mon (medium), Wed (Light- recovery)and Fri (High) with two days to recover after it.
I like to pyramid up the weights, light warmup..usually two sets and then working sets. I go down to doubles and singles on day three but stop at triples on Day 1

I like to do my explosive movements first, then compounds and last (if you have the energy) secondaries like a bicep curl or whatever
Day 1 (Medium Intensity)
Power clean
Deadlift
Pendlay or bent over row
pullups (weighted when you can)
(Secondaries) bicep curls, other rows, calves or whatever you would like

Day 2 (Light Intensity- Meaning no 1 rep maxes for any of them but still damn heavy)
Clean and Jerk
Squat
Bench
Dips (weighted when you can)
Standing shoulder press
(Secondaries)

Day 3 (High Intensity- Get down to triples, doubles and even singles)
Power clean
Deadlift
Pendlay or bent over row
pullups (weighted when you can)
(Secondaries)

Cardio: I would start with 2 HIT days and a jog on Sunday for now
One day I would try hill sprints (get a weighted vest so you can die like me haha) You will have to find out what condition you are really in and how big the hill is but make sure to leave it all there. This is about HIT training. Mostly any type of sport or activity isn't a steady pace so sprint type training is superior to steady state.

Day two could be the same or flat out sprint with 1 min rests. The ladders you ran in like basketball are great as well. I would stick with full out sprints for now.

Then Sunday would be a good recovery day. A nice jog would be great for overall health and it really does help with fitness. You will have to find out where you really are for now but try to push the distance or the pace every time. You will eventually get past the side stitch and be able to just go. It's awesome.

When you start to hit a point where gains have stopped you can change out for front squats, hang cleans, snatches. I think this will be a good starter setup.

Every two weeks I would switch from barbells to dumbells. Then you can switch to one arm lifts on them...which are death haha

[javin86]

I've also had some different recommendations for my upcoming cycle. I had originally planned on running 400mg of test per week and possibly an oral for 6-8 weeks to kickstart. Now that I plan on working more to athleticism I've been recommended eq ore masteron. I'm also thinking that if I run another injectable I may lower the test due to it's effects on cardio etc.

As for eq, I'm not sure that I'm interested, as I'm not particularly fond of running extended cycles, and the opinion seems to be that 16+ weeks is the only acceptable way. I've been told that a frontload with eq could help achieve optimal plasma levels faster, but I'm gonna do alot of research before I pin obscene amounts of gear for no benefit.

I'm leaning towards the mast at the moment. The few people I've spoken to about it in an athletics context have raved about the strength gains they've had with minimal impact on cardio. If I were to go this route I would run it for 6-8 weeks. I'm not sure whether I'd run it at the beginning as a kickstart, or at the end going into my pct.

[javin86]

This is my workout from friday. It was posted in a rush and is fairly brief.


workout day!

Workout was pretty good, but not the best I've had. I went into this one still feeling noticeable doms in the abs, and somewhat in the legs as well. I was pretty stron, but unfortunately there were some crappy cicumstances the made the workout worse than others.

squats 315 3x5 Even the first rep of the first set felt hard for these. by the time I was nearing the end of a set my form had degraded to the point where I was leaning over to far and having to use my back alot. after my third set I started noticing strange pains in my leg and decided I wouldn`t aggrevate that anymore.

bench 265 4x5 1x4 these felt soooo easy, but on the last set I hit one of the pegs on the way up, so I had to readjust myself, and just couldn`t get the right form, so I ended up failing on the last rep.

bb rows 255 5x5 no problem with these

...gtg more updates l8er

[javin86]

Alright, had a super busy weekend, but I'm home now so it's time for a more detailed post.

firstly today's workout:

Treadmill: 20 mins HIIT alternating at first 1 min at 4.0 then 1 min at 10.2, but after a few cycles like this I started increasing my rest times. Followed by a 10 minute jog at 6.0.

Afterwards I stretched for about 15 mins and it felt great.

Looks like this week will be a total deload. I will follow the same set rep scheme, however I will use 15-20 pounds less per lift. I may also throw in a few more iso's than normal as I will have more energy for them. I would also like to focus more of this energy into cardio as well, but we'll see how my will power goes.

I'd like to thank drumed once again for the excellent routine he has posted for me. I will try to follow it exactly as it is written. I can't really tell at the moment if I'll like it or not, as i've never attempted any olympic lifts. I did spend my day at work watching vids on teaching yourself olympic lifts. I'm getting really excited for this.


Asfor my current log I'm thinking I'll continue for another 5 weeks including my upcoming deload. I'm considering whether I should try to peak when I come back to it, or just continue what i've been doing. I'm also considering switching overe to the more advanced program using percentages of myt lifts and working up to a heavy 5th set... so many options!

[javin86]

To anyone who says a power lifting program won't add size, I'm inclined to disagree. in the weeks since i started my log i've gained 6 pounds, leaving me at an even 204. Obviously this is not all muscle, but as an indicator of my progress I've suddenyl grown a new stretch mark that actually reaches about half way across my pec.

Today's workout wasn't so great. I'm thinking that the intensity of my cardio last night may have actually caused some muscle fatigue in my legs. Even though I deloaded, on my front squats I still found them too heavy. The deads also were extremely difficult to finish. I`m going to skip cardio tomorrow and spend the whole day resting, maybe do some intense stretching.

today`s workout:

deadlifts: 365 5x5

front squat 225 1x5, 1x1, felt like crap doing these. Figured if i`m doing a deload I shouldn`t tax myself this hard. i`ll try these again on fri.

military press: 185 5x5 finally a lift that felt easy.

[faller]

Are you deloading?

[javin86]

I kinda decided to delaod on everything but the dead lifts... I wish I hadn't. For the rest of the week ALL of my lifts will be reduced.

[faller]

So on your deload you still do a 5x5? Sorry i'm just kinda confused.

[javin86]

hey no worries man, I'm still new to this kind of training, so if something seems unusual let me know. in the routine that I read it recommended keeping everything the same but just dropping the weight for your deload period... no good? Should I switch to higher volume?

[faller]

No, i was just wandering. There's a few different variations of the 5x5 out there, i've never done it like that though. On a deload for me i go to a 3x3, everything is the same except i drop the wed. squat, and do that for four weeks. If i need some extra recoup. i'll drop the fri. altogether for a week or so, and than back to 5x5.