GSP's Better late than never 3X5...

[anotherbutters]

I'm inclined to think that dropping down to one PR per week (SF5x5), or ideally something in between the 3x5 and SF5x5 would be better than resetting a few weeks and trying the 3x5 again.

But you're not there yet. Hopefully you'll have a few more weeks on the 3x5.

 

[Protobuilder]

Congrats on your string of PRs! Looking real good so far. Ride those PRs as long as possible. I recently came off a 15 week run on the SF 5x5 so if you have questions, I may be able to help.

Keep it up!

 

[GSP]

I'm inclined to think that dropping down to one PR per week (SF5x5), or ideally something in between the 3x5 and SF5x5 would be better than resetting a few weeks and trying the 3x5 again.

But you're not there yet. Hopefully you'll have a few more weeks on the 3x5.

I hope so too. The more I think about it, I think my first tweak to the scheme will be to lighten the Wed. Squats, and go for Mon and Fri PR's, then ultimately 1X PR's. When that stalls, it's on to 5X5.

You mentioned something 'in between' 3X5 and 5X5, any ideas on that? I'm coming off a very low volume 2X program, and a gradual transition into the 5X5 workload might be a great option for me.

 

[GSP]

Congrats on your string of PRs! Looking real good so far. Ride those PRs as long as possible. I recently came off a 15 week run on the SF 5x5 so if you have questions, I may be able to help.

Keep it up!

Thanks Bro! 15 weeks is a great run on the 5X5 based on the journals I've seen on it, that takes some serious effort - effort that I have a new found respect for after just a few weeks doing 3X5.

 

[Cynical Simian]

I'm not sure what he meant by an "in between" program either, perhaps just sticking with this layout, going by feel a bit and adding weight more frequently than once per week if you think you can.

Workload-wise, the SF 5x5 would probably be what you're looking for as a transition out of the 3x5, since the sets are ramped rather than "real" 5x5 with 5 sets of the same weight (straight sets).

 

[anotherbutters]

I didn't have anything in particular in mind, but something like you're idea of turning Wednesdays into light days and only attempting 2 PRs per week is the kind of thing I meant. Just small changes like that to keep you going. Two PRs per week for a few weeks is obviously better than jumping straight onto the SF 5x5.

And like CS said, switching from flat sets of 5 to ramped sets will make the top sets easier, so that's another thing to try. Don't do both things at the same time though. Maybe swap to light squats on Wednesdays first, then when that gets tough, change one or both of the other sessions to ramped sets. Play around with the other exercises too - you get the idea.

 

[GSP]

5/1 - Workout A

Squats (3X5) 165 PR
DB Bench (3X5) 70's PR
Pendlay Rows (3X5) 148 PR

Comments: Good Workout all around. The time was definitely right for the switch to 5 lb. jumps on squat instead of 10.

DB bench is feeling good. The tough part for me is getting the weight into position and getting the first rep, the last 4 are fine, but the first one is like doing 2 as far as fatigue. I

Decided to slow down the progression on rows a bit. Seemed like a good choice too, the last rep of the 3rd set was a complete one, but didn't have the acceleration of the other reps.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Well you can't complain about 3 PR's in a workout. Congrats.

 

[GSP]

Well you can't complain about 3 PR's in a workout. Congrats.

Thanks man! Nope, not much to complain about (except that I ate like a pig this weekend and was almost a half pound lighter than on Friday - This gaining stuff takes some effort!)

 

[GSP]

5/3 - Workout B

Squats (3X5) 170 PR
Standing Press (3X5) 115 PR
Deadlift (1X5) 235 PR

Comments: Real good workout today. My wife mentioned she thought I might be leaning too far forward on my squats. I did an extra couple reps at the end with lighter weight and asked her to make sure of 2 things - that my hips were well below my knees and that the bar stayed directly over my feet for the whole rep. Yes on both counts - I have a long torso and I don't think she's used to seeing someone who folds in quite so much at full depth. Just the same, I'm taking a vid of the next workout to double check.

Standing press was very good today, much easier than 113 last Friday.

Deads continue to go well, still using double overhand grip. I think I'll start going with 5 lb. jumps from here on out. I wasn't close to failure or anything, but I'm really starting to feel the fatigue, and I'm finding if a Wed workout is taxing, better to go more conservative the next week when I'll be up for the exercises 2X.