Weight choice for bench press 5x5 madcow

[gunit]

Hi, these are the weights i'm going to use today for my 5x5 workout for bench. Are they okay?

111
122
133
144
and then for my last set
150 pounds.

Is this a good way of increasing the weights per set, or should I increase the difference between each weight?

 

[Jim Ouini]

I think the Starr program says something like 'try to make even jumps on the way up' so it certainly looks like you're doing that

I personally would start a little lighter, like 75, 95, 115, 135, 150. But that's just me since my work capacity isn't that great.

 

[blut wump]

Just the fact that you're asking makes me think you should err on the side of lighter rather than heavier. I'd suggest going with Jim's pattern. You can always bump it slightly as the weeks go by.

 

[gunit]

Could I just stick with my existing weight scheme

 

[blut wump]

Of course. There's nothing wrong with it and you can always change it next week if it seems wrong for any reason. It is better to be able to adjust upwards rather than downwards, in general.

Just curious, though: why did you pick those numbers that you'd prefer them over Jim's suggestion?

 

[gunit]

Of course. There's nothing wrong with it and you can always change it next week if it seems wrong for any reason. It is better to be able to adjust upwards rather than downwards, in general.

Just curious, though: why did you pick those numbers that you'd prefer them over Jim's suggestion?

Well It's really kinda hard for me to calculate the poundage, I just think about the weights in terms of kilos..

I'm in my fourth week now

So at first I started off with
7.5 kg on each side of the bar goin up 2.5 per set

then the next week

10 kg on each side of the bar
and went up by 2.5 each time

then the next week i did 12.5 as my first set

and then now i'm trying to do 13.75 on each side of the bar going up 2.5 kilos on each side of the bar after each set until i get up to 23.75 on each side of the bar for my fifth set today.

 

[blut wump]

It's scary how fast the weight climbs even at just an extra 2.5Kg per week. You seem to know what you're doing so you'll be fine. When you do eventually stall you can look back at it and decide whether it was best for you as you reselect your weights for the next bout.

 

[gunit]

yeah, but the first 3 weeks were sort of a way for me to get back up to par (I lost muscle mass for not working out for 3 months), and I climbed at 5 kg per week, and now I reduced it to just 2.5 kg per week, by putting 1.25 kg weights on each side.

 

[rbtrout]

I think you'll be fine with what you're doing, but as stated, it's better to be a bit lighter and make up for it later, than not being able to get it and have to do the same weight the next time.