5x5 + 4x2 - calories = ???

[anotherbutters]

No, it's not a maths quiz, it's my new journal . I'm going to try a combination of flat 5x5's and doubles. I've just finished a Korte (journal here), pushing triples, so I want to carry on with heavier weights and lower reps for a while longer. Here's the plan, run single factor style:

Mon
squat 4x2, 1x8 backoff
bench 5x5
row 5x5

Wed
front squat 1x5
dead 4x2, 1x5 backoff
OH press 5x5

Fri
squat 5x5
bench 4x2, 1x8 backoff
row 5x5

I have 6 or 7 weeks before I go on holiday, so I don't mind if I load up a little whilst doing this. I'll also be cutting, but slowly (well, that's the plan). I'm currently around 184lbs and I wouldn't be surprised if I have to drop 15-20 pounds before I can see my abs.

From today, my diet will something like this:

Meal 1
Oats, honey, almonds, currants
kiwi fruit
1 whole egg
6 egg whites

Meal 2
2 pints (quart) of skimmed milk
nuts

Meal 3
chicken breast, 1/2lb bag of uncooked mixed veg
nuts

Meal 4
chicken breast, 1/2lb bag of uncooked mixed veg
nuts

Meal 5
chicken breast/salmon, steamed veg, olive oil

Meal 6
tub of cottage cheese & pineapple

and about 2 gallons of water. I'm also taking a multi-vit, high strength glucosamine & chondroitin and omega 3 caps. I'll probably eat a lot of the above to start with, rather than crashing my calories overnight, then lower them as I go along, to keep the scale moving.

First workout tonight...

 

[BiggT]

I think you'll do well on it......

I actually think very low reps are good for reduced calories (provided you eat enough fat for joint health, which you do by the way) because they don't tap into energy stores so much.

 

[blut wump]

Interesting layout. I like it.

 

[Cynical Simian]

I said I was a fan of the layout in the old journal, and I still am. I know you don't count calories, but do you have an estimate of how many the diet you posted gives you?

 

[Mercere]

Good luck with your goals AB!

 

[SgtSlaughter]

Diet looks pretty good... I dig the training layout... looking forward to see how it works for ya bro!

 

[Protobuilder]

Like the layout. This will be fun to follow.

Couldn't bring yourself to do doubles on rows? LoL I don't blame you. I'm not a big fan of even the 1x5 on rows at this point.

I guess this is less volume than the Korte. Considerably less maybe? Anyway, it could create a small problem if your cals get real low. I'm sure you're more than aware of all that.

Good luck, AB.

 

[VSUdude]

This looks like a pretty cool program. Best of luck with it AB!!

 

[anotherbutters]

Thanks everyone.

CS, I've no idea how many cals that is. I haven't counted cals for a long time, lol. I'm just going to eat a bit more or a bit less every day to keep the scale going down at a steady rate. When it gets tricky, I'll start counting cals.

PB, I haven't rowed for a long time, so I figured I'd do 5x5 on both days to get some practice in. But you're right, they're a tricky exercise

I haven't worked out what the tonnage is on this. I expect it's just below the volume phase in the DF5x5, so I'm expecting to load a little bit. So long as I can keep going until my holiday in 6-7 weeks, I'll be happy.

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 1, Day 1

Bodyweight: unknown. Great start - I forgot to weight myself

All weights in kilos.

1. Core work
Back bridges, curlups, side bridges, bird dogs: 7x10 secs each

2. Squats
bar x 5, 40 x 5, 60 x 3, 80 x 3, 100 x 4 x 2 reps, forgot backoff ...... (100kg = 220lb)

Doh, I forgot the backoff set.

3. Bench
bar x 5, 40 x 5, 50 x 5, 60 x 5 x 5 ......... (60kg = 132lb)

Easy enough. I'll bump these by 2kg next week.

4. Rows
bar x 5, 40 x 5, 50 x 5 x 5 ........ (50kg = 110lb)

Ugh, did someone say "body English"? I'll get better at these

5. Abs
Decline situps, bodyweight x 3 x 20 reps


Comments

Squat doubles at 100kg were harder than expected. I was a little worried about getting all the sets in, but I managed it. I did 104x3 two weeks ago, so this shouldn't have been this hard. I've barely started cutting, so I'll just put it down to being one of those days. I'll increase these by just 1kg next week.

I've had a lump on the back of my left wrist for a few months now. It's almost like a bit of protruding bone, which stops my hand from going all the way back. It doesn't hurt that much, but benching aggravates it. I used a wrist wrap today. I should get through the next few weeks ok, so hopefully it'll clear up when I'm on holiday not exercising.