Thread: hi need some answers on 5x5 routine

Originally Posted by jman11

i have 12 weeks to bulk up before i head to uni and have been looking at some routines and 5x5 interests me but i have a few questions....

for starters can i row at 45 degrees instead of doing pendlay rows? also can i do military presses seated?

with the 12 weeks i have is there a better routine i could be doing to build mass considering it takes 4 weeks untill you hit your PRs?

thanks

You can do 45 degree rows, I can't do pendlays.
I only do seated militaries.

there isn't a better routine for a beginner. Maybe smolov for legs but not much else!

stuck between 5x5 and starting strength, i have read that starying strength is good for beginners but i have been training for a a little while though, although i havent made much progress, so i have been thinking maybe i should hit up 5x5 since ST is for pure beginners?

as far as i'm concerned starting strength is just that starting. if you've got a foundation then go to 5x5

okay one final question

on a fridays session when the First 4 sets are the same as Monday's, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5 and the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8 how much rest time would you recomend before you fo the 1x3 set and rest time after you have done that for the 1x 8 set? just want a rough idea if you had one?

I'd personally go between 2 and 3 mintues for the 1x3 set. and then about 60-90seconds for the 1x8 set.

hope that helps

just done my first day of 5x5, and i seem to fail on the last set just about is it okay to do that on the first week? i used the online calculator to guide me and after doing 4 warm up sets before they seemed to fatigue me to a certain exten so that i failed on the last set

also on the fridays when i do the assistantce work im essentially doing 6 sets for triceps right as there are 3 sets of dips and 3 sets of tricep extensions, just maijng sure because 6 sets seems a lot for average level most people would recomend?

any dudes?

You should not be failing on the first week. Sometimes it's tough to gauge what weights you should use, but typically on 5x5 or similar programs you don't hit PR's until the third week or so.

An example would be your 5 rep max is 200 pounds. So I would start with 190 pounds the first week complete the 5x5, then add weight each week and that should work better for you. In regards to the triceps, I don't know if you need any arm work, but if you do keep it to a minimum because you are pressing 3 times a week.

it was my first day monday so i dont think i gauged the amount of time i should rest between my sets as i was to busy concentrating on geting the weights right on the barbell to many 1.25 to count etc lol and for my squat i dont two ramping sets at 70 kg by accident so that probaly affect the final set